Kaput!

This is a tragic story about a Toshiba laptop!

David saves his money for years! For his thirteenth birthday, he asked only for money to put towards the purchase of a laptop. He gets his laptop....YAY! Not so much....

A few months after having the laptop, the bios password set automatically without any help from us. This means that nobody can access his computer until the code is entered. Well, since we were not the ones that set the password, we had no idea what it would be. I did research online and found out that there were some Toshiba models that were doing this and that it was a defect from the factory. I called, had it repaired, and it was back in our possession. A month later same thing happened....Errrr. I was assured the first time that it would not happen after it was repaired once....but, behold, it did! Anyway, sent it in, it was repaired, and again it was back in our possession.

Now, the end of February the bios password struck again! Out of commission! I called, it stayed, and was not fixed due to a crack in the LCD screen. They informed me that a crack was a non-warranty repair....ooookay, what they did not inform me was that all non-warranty issues had to be fixed prior to warrantied issues...RATS! So, I called (very agitated at this point) and just curiously asked why I wasn't made aware of this situation when I was on the telephone with the representative????? I did get an, "I'm sorry". SO WHAT is what I say....just help me!

After days and days of calling, not getting promised return calls, and the computer just ending up at my front door with no foresight from Toshiba, my fight with them came to an end. I called them today for the last time to see why the computer was here without so much as a phone call from them (as was promised to me). They said they would remove the password after fixing the screen for a whopping $425.00. Thanks a lot Toshiba, I can almost buy a brand new one for that (like I would ever really buy a Toshiba again)!

Poor kid....had the computer for less than a year.......Would anybody like to come to my house and tell my thirteen year-old son with Aspergers that the computer he bought with his money is KAPUT? I know I don't want to..............he will never comprehend this!

Conversation Points This Morning.

Braydon and Mommy:

Braydon: "Mommy, do you think that I will ever be a real super hero? It's just that I am such a little guy right now that I am not sure I will ever have those big muscles and special powers."

Me: (Trying to be as serious as possible) "Well, we will just have to wait and see what happens."

Braydon: "Ok Momma."

David and Myself:

David going into each room of the house for just brief moments, inhaling deeply, thinking for just a bit, and exiting upon completion of ????

Me: "David, may I ask what you are doing, son?"

David: "Yes."

Rrrr.....I then rephrased my question to where he would understand what I wanted back from him.

David: "Well, I am just making sure that I have the odors of the house memorized correctly."

Me: ?????

David: "You see Mom, I know the odor for each room of the house."

He then goes on to state what each room of the house had the odor of. The two that stuck out in my mind were the play room and his bedroom. He said that they just smelled like "normal" (whatever that means) because that is where the majority of his time is spent so that is the aroma he is accustomed to.

David: "You should really do the same, Mom, because if you ever lose your eyesight, you will have no idea what room of the house that you are in. That is why I pay really close attention to the little details of life. If I ever lose my vision, I will know exactly where I am in this world."

Me: "Well, I will keep that in mind buddy."

Just interesting to hear and to think about his concerns/daily routines!

Anniversary This Weekend!

Just a note explaining the blog background!

Our anniversary falls on a Sunday this year, so I suppose we probably will go out to eat after church and browse around the big city. It will not be sans children, which is ok, but maybe we will have a postponed "date" sometime in the near future!

The Battle Begins.

This Spring Break we participated in a silly string war together. It was hilarious! The kiddos were running around acting like maniacs with their aerosol based ammunition. They all were equally covered with string and no winner was declared. This was a really fun, energy using activity that only cost three dollars! Maybe we will have a weekly war! Great exercise.

Mom was running around trying to get silly pictures and was bombed as well....what a blast! Next time I am getting my own can....watch out boys!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you all have a wonderful day....Don't forget to wear green to avoid the dreaded pinching!

We are headed to the big city today for some fun. I am very excited about the kids playing at the park because I hope to catch up on a lot of reading that I am behind on...but ya' know how that goes with kiddos: "Mom, will you push me on the swing, Mom, will you play tag with us, Mom, insert name here is pesting me." We will see how it goes. I guess if I am not able to read, then I will surely burn some calories running around with the herd! I don't mind, though. They are only little so long, right?

Spring Break.

It has been a wonderful spring break for us so far. The weather has been unbelieveable! We have been outside a lot and we are going to Texarkana tomorrow to have some fun with our school group. We are also taking a trip to the big city library which just happens to be connected to a really cool castle play area. We have a fun experiment planned for later in the week involving Newton's third law and explosions (something all of the boys LOVE), and good ol' Traxxas Slash (really cool 30+ mph rc cars) racing with Daddy!

We are all very thankful to be together as a family doing these exciting things!!

Happy Spring Break to all...

Box-Free Report Card.

Eight days in and I have to say that I am doing better than I thought that I would. Thus far I have only cheated a couple of times:

• I was running really behind one day and I fixed the boys some canned soup!!
• I have not stopped making cream of wheat, yes it is from a box, but it's really good for you and I have no idea how I would make it without the box?? I know, I am just making lame excuses!!

Anyway, I have also added a smoothie a day to our regime. I can pack all sorts of things in those drinks that my kids (mainly the small one) will not eat alone....and they have no idea. I am getting a lot of ideas online and coming up with some of my own concoctions. I also put the smoothies in covered, no-see-through, cups so that they cannot see the color!! (Some are not so pleasantly colored!) I can get all kinds of great antioxidants and vitamins in their bellies...YAY!

Can She Do It Ladies and Gentlemen??

For the next thirty days, I am going to attempt to have box-free breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks!! We sort of slid off of the band wagon after Christmas time with our healthy eating habits and didn't get back on it totally. I have been very busy and have been making some "easier" meals lately, and I don't want my kids eating that way on a regular basis. I am thinking this will be a good jump start and then when return to our pre-Christmas semi-homemade cooking, the boys will think that they have "softened" me.

So, just about everything going into my kiddos bellies for at least the next thirty days should be pretty much homemade. I will not be making the condiments; ie., ketchup, mustard, mayo, jelly, peanut butter, etc. That would be a little too much for this momma!

Off we go...

Weird Mole Update.

Dermatologist called:

Mole removed was benign! PTL!

Oh and since I have the aforementioned condition, I am under the order not to leave the house without my special sunblock on....but no worries! I am happy to do it.

I Make Weird Moles??

Monday, I went to the dermatologist to get some moles checked out. The doc ended up taking one of them off of my back to be sent out for "pathological investigation". I will know in five days whether it is some sort of melanoma or just an irregular mole....so I am assuming I will know early next week.

The doc also informed me that I have dysplastic nevi. This means that I make weird moles and will need to be monitored every six months to keep an eye out for "suspicious mole making". Oh joy!

Since the mole that was removed was on the middle of my back, wound care management is a little tricky and really not possible for me to do. Good ol' hubby to the rescue! Thank goodness I have him to help me! I know he just loves doing it....haha!