Just a few funnies.....

These graphics are for Andrea as I couldnt post them in the comments of her blog. I will try to be back later though and blog more.

First one Andrea, this one is the shirt I went out in and couldnt figure out why everyone was staring at me!




**for those of you that can't quite see the shirt it reads:

"Mr. Potato Head picks his nose."

for those that know us personally, Allen stole this shirt from the INSANE T.J. I went to Walmart in this shirt at midnight one night not realizing I was wearing it. I just couldnt quite figure out why everyone was staring at me.

And my all time favorite graphic that TOTALLY describes your "worst pic ever" pic



Those of you that want to know the story behind these pics....see Andrea's blog entitled:

"What the chub part two"

Change

I have been thinking so much about all the changes that have happened in my life since Makily was born. I had no idea the ways in which my life would change that Thursday night when I laid in bed laboring and trying to give birth to this kid.

My baby girl is starting Developmental Pre-K on Wednesday.

There have been many times in the past three years of my life that I NEVER thought we would make it here. I recall the awful four weeks Makily and I spent in Shands when she was six months old. That was one of the worst times of my life and I hated every moment of living in that nightmare day in and day out. It seemed like each day was worse than the last and I thought we would never leave that place. I could tell story after story of all the terrible things that went on in that hospital for us during that time. I will spare you with just this one. Basically to add some humor to this particular entry.

So during our long four weeks stay (and while I realize that four weeks to some ISN'T that long, IT IS considering all she went in for was a leaking G-tube) we were moved around from room to room to room. Sometimes in the middle of the night. One of our moves was particularly strange. Makily was kind of in the "step down" phase...not PICU worthy but also not stable enough to just be in "no man's land"....errrr uhmmmmm I mean the regular Peds floor. So we were put in "special care step down". It's a large room with TINY cubbies for each patient. When I say tiny I MEAN TINY. There literally was enough room for Makily's crib and my sleep chair butted RIGHT UP next to it. I called it our "hole". For some strange unknown reason they had a 23 year old woman in the bed next to us. She was a psych patient. I told you we had great luck. She talked CONSTANTLY. Most of what she said I could not understand, it was alot of gibberish most times. The nurse in there apologized to me almost hourly, which was a change because usually when there were mistakes made or inconveniences you were looked at as though you were a bother....ya know "how dare you complain that your six month old is in with a 23 year old crazy lady". We couldn't sleep, I couldn't think straight. I decided one night to get a audio tape of this woman. I couldn't resist and I knew no one would ever believe me that we were SERIOUSLY put in with a 23 year old psych patient. I mean we were on the PEDIATRIC SPECIAL CARE FLOOR.

Listen closely to the chatting in the background, remember this was ALL DAY every day!



Now on the other hand there were more days there that were not humorous in any way, although I tried desperately to find humor...somewhere. So many days I sat in the PICU with Makily, tubes down her throat, in her stomach and up her nose. I can still smell the hospital tape that was all over her, the soap I used every day and the sour smell of her little hand when her IV would blow and they would unwrap it and place another. I remember vividly the frustration of trying to hold a hypotonic baby with tubes, wires, and bandages all over her without pulling anything or hurting her. It just all seemed so unreal. I kept thinking "This only happens to other people........I guess I am one of them now".



Some memories just never seem to fade to gray, these memories for me are as vivid as the day they happened.

I remember this time because it was one of my darkest with Makily. It also a huge bonding period for her and I. My motherly instincts had FINALLY seemed to kick in the night they were letting her WRITHE in pain in the bed and did nothing. I felt like a part of me had awoken and that even though I didn't know what the future was going to be like for her or I, that I would be damned if they were gonna let my baby lie in bed in agony because they were too busy or simply didn't give a darn.

So I look back at where we started, where we have been and where we are going and I am in awe.

In awe of Makily.

She is not the child I dreamed of having,
in fact she isn't even the child I wanted when she was born.

She is the child I NEEDED, the child I was destined by God to have and the child that has changed me in ways I never imagined a child could.

She is the child that has taught me how to love UNCONDITIONALLY, to look past disabilities, to see that every special needs child is truly a miracle. It's all I can do NOT to approach a mother in the store pushing her child's wheelchair. I immediately feel a connection there, an unspoken one that you can truly only know if you walk that road.

I see kids with trach's, g tubes, feeding pumps, tight muscles, scars and oxygen and I am in awe of them too. These children have a gift of showing other's what is TRULY important in life without using the spoken word. What's sad is that so many people (me included at least the "me" before Makily) can't look beyond all the medical equipment, disabilities and struggles and see what is behind all of that.



These children have the strength of Goliath and the patience of Job. I know some adults would be frustrated with the day in and day out therapies and treatments. Many would just give up. Not these children, they continue to fight to survive because to many of them, it's all they have ever known. Makily does not know that eating is supposed to be easy for her. She doesn't realize that walking should have been something she started doing EASILY over two years ago. So she continues to work hard during therapy, standing on her two now chunky legs until they begin to shake because she is trying so damn hard.

I am in awe that after all she has struggled and suffered through that she still manages to laugh and giggle at the small things. That she can go from hysterically crying from a terribly painful procedure one minute to hugging and snuggling me while smiling the next. That she wants NOTHING from ANYONE except to be loved. That's all, she just wants to be loved.

I am not sure how much more perfect her spirit could be.

Money and material things will never matter to her, she won't complain to me when she is older that she MUST have the newest Polly Pocket or that she hates me because I won't get her the cell phone she is demanding. She will always be my baby.

Although her worldly body has failed her time and time again...and most likely will continue to, Makily will always be a perfect, innocent soul. What God has given her this world cannot ruin.

And for that, I am forever grateful.

Our luck just never runs out.

*****UPDATED AT THE END WITH ANOTHER VIDEO 8-17-07 AT 6.55PM!*****

So as promised here is the entire story with names, VIDEO and details. I intend on sharing this EVERYWHERE on the internet that I can find, emailing and calling the Orlando Sentinal and Ocala Star Banner and also contacting channel 2 news. But you can read it here first blog friends.

Here is there contact information and address!
(407) 872-8559
906 W Michigan St
Orlando, FL 32805
Email: skylinemotorsgtr@yahoo.com
The owner's name is Mohammed


We needed a van.

Why?

Makily is BIG now and we had a two door Ford Explorer. It was getting harder and harder to get her in and out of the truck. Due to Allen's job he is only here a few days a week which means I do the majority of getting her in and out. We have a pediatric wheelchair and stroller, we like to bring both to use according to where or what we are doing. As many of you know we are going to start fostering soon. We are in the middle of the licensing process and so we just needed something bigger and with more doors.

We sold the Explorer for $3500. We could not afford to spend much more than that.

Allen and I didn't need anything brand new. Just something that we could get around in with lots of room, working air conditioning and that was safe and reliable.

We looked in Ocala and the only things we found were either way too high in mileage (meaning 150K or more) or totally out of our price range. We cannot afford a car payment. As long as poor Allen is working like a dog and I am staying home to care for Makily I refuse to add more pressure or work on him to afford a car payment just so I can drive something newer or better.

I was driving our Cavalier while we were looking for a van. Makily does not do well in the Cavalier because the windows are NOT tinted and the a/c ONLY works on low. It is hot here and she actually retched a few times from getting too hot in the Cavalier. We were told last year when she had that NASTY seizure that we should not let Makily get too hot, it could trigger a seizure.

I look on Autotrader.com and found a pretty good deal, it was listed with "McCoy Auto" in Orlando. It was a Pontiac Montana with about 100k miles. It was $3495. We could afford this. Makily had a neuro appt the next day and so we figured we would look at it then.

When we went to see the van I explained to the salesman that we were buying a van because we have a daughter with a wheelchair and we are going to start fostering. We needed something reliable with air. He knew our situation... very well. Allen test drove it. We liked it BUT the power locks and power windows were not working right. I was concerned about the locks for child safety reasons. There were other very minor things and when I mentioned them the salesman IMMEDIATELY said "We can fix that". So with the agreement in writing that those things would be fixed we gave the guy our $3500. He said we could pick it up in 2-3 days.

He called me a few days later and said it would be TWO weeks as they were waiting on parts. This didn't sit well with me. I had other things to worry about though, Makily's heart catheterization was coming up and so I just said fine.

My sister and I went to pick up the van on June 30, 2007. When I got there the power locks were not working. The other minor things were done but I was still upset about the locks, as it was in the contract that they would fix it. The van smelled funny too and I had been told they were going to detail and shampoo it so I wasn't happy about that. I called Allen and he said "Just take the van, we will take care of the locks later, we need to get it so you have something that isn't so hot for Makily to ride in".

I was not shy about showing that I was angry. They said that I could get the locks fixed by my mechanic and that it would cost about $30. I laughed and said "yeah right", he said well maybe $50 but that's it. He said if we had it fixed to save our receipt and he would reimburse us for it.

I still didn't feel right but I agreed anyway.

This is the last time I don't listen to my gut.

I had him put it in writing about the door locks and paid the remaining $600ish for tax, tag, title and "dealer fees" and left.

On the way home I notice the "add coolant" light came on. I told Allen when he got home the next morning. He opened up the radiator and it was full of rust (see video). I went and bought radiator flush, expensive coolant and we flushed out the whole system according to the instructions on the "flush container". I even used distilled water because the auto parts place said it was better.

The add coolant light went off and it seemed to be okay, we fixed it for less than $40 ourselves...no big deal...or so I thought.

Two days later on July 4th the power window on the driver side stopped rolling back up (also in video).

Two days after that on July 6th Makily and I were driving home at 10 pm. The "add coolant" light came on, the engine started stalling and when I looked down at the dash I saw the temperature gauge was all the way up.

The van overheated after we had owned it a total of seven days. I WAS LIVID.


Here is the video of the window problem and the radiator problem:

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I called the car lot owner the next day and we told him EVERYTHING. He asked why I hadn't called him the day after we bought it when the "add coolant" light came on. I told him that we had flushed out the radiator ourselves, the "add coolant" light went off and it ran fine so we didn't think it was a big deal....until everything else started falling apart on it.

He said that his mechanics look over all the vehicles. I then asked him to explain the RUSTED radiator and he of course couldn't. He just kept saying "How do I know you haven't been driving it a week with no water in it".

WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?


If his mechanic TRULY looked over the van, he would have found that the radiator was rusted. Rust does not buildup in a radiator like THIS in just one week. He was crazy for even suggesting that.

He also would have ensured that the van had all the appropriate fluids in it WHICH IT DIDN'T because the add coolant light came on THE DAY I BOUGHT IT! He also told me that we put the "wrong water" in the van. That GM vehicles only take "GM water" and that I just need to go to the auto parts store and ask for it. I told him I HAD gone to the auto parts store AND ASKED them and they suggested distilled. No one I have asked has ever heard of "special GM water".

I told him I wanted my money back and that he could take the van. He REFUSED to do this. I was very upset and I told him that they HAD to know about the radiator and he just kept saying "My mechanic checks over all the cars". I continually asked him if he looked in the radiator or not and he would not answer me. Finally he said "well I am sure my mechanic did".

WHATEVER.

I told him that I had MORE IMPORTANT things to deal with that I did not have time OR MONEY to run around trying to get the van fixed. I understand it's a used vehicle but we only had a week before it overheated! Obviously the problem that made it overheat was the same problem that caused the "add coolant" issue...WHICH HAPPENED WHEN I WAS DRIVING IT HOME FROM THEIR LOT!!

In the end he said to "take it to your mechanic and get receipts and we will talk".

We took it in and the mechanic and he found a leak. It was going to be about $350-500 to fix.

Makily's heart cath was coming up and so we did not have the time or money to deal with it. So we had to put water and coolant in it every time we drove it. Lovely.

We went to Orlando for Makily's heart cath. (SEE VIDEO) It was here that my parents discovered our brake lights weren't working when they were driving behind us. We had family members follow us while there just in case something else went wrong with our lemon.

Makily's Heart Cath:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

After Makily's cath was all done we took it in to be fixed. In total he found three leaks that led all the way to the intake manifold. It would be over $500 to replace this. He told me he could try something to seal it with and that would save money. Luckily the "seal" worked and we have a mechanic that is HONEST and WON'T RIP US OFF! THANKS DAVE WE LOVE YOU!

I emailed the owner Mohammed last Monday 8-6 with the estimates. He never replied. I tried faxing over the estimates on Friday 8-10 and the fax number was not working. I even called them to ensure I had the right number and I did.

On Monday 8-13 I emailed, faxed and mailed the receipts to him. When I called again about the fax machine on Monday I asked whom I was speaking with. I was told it was Mohammed, which is who I have been dealing with. I reminded him of who I was and told him that I was trying to fax him the receipts and it was not working. He then claimed to have never spoken to me. I said "isnt this Mohammed?" He said "um, this is the other Mohammed". I asked how many Mohammed's worked there and he said two...umm okay maybe.

The fax did go through on Monday, I mailed the receipts certified mail with return receipt and I have yet to hear anything from them.

I realize they do not and have not intended on paying ANYTHING on the repairs of the van.

They basically ripped Allen and I off, they could care less that our child was having A HEART CATHETERIZATION during all of this. They knew we had a special needs kid, they knew our situation and they sold us a lemon anyway. I will never understand how people can do this to others and sleep at night.

Today the "add coolant" light keeps coming on and going off. Oh and the "gas" light came on although I have more than half a tank.

I wonder what else is going to happen and what will fall off of the van next!?

So I hope that this blog somehow saves someone else from buying a lemon from these CROOKS. SKYLINE MOTORS WORKS LLC aka MCCOY AUTO of Orlando Florida are liars. I found a few people on ebay that have had VERY SIMILAR experiences with these people.

Their ebay name is "skylinemotorsgtr".

DO NOT EVER BUY FROM THEM.

If they can sell us a lemon KNOWING our circumstances then they will sell ANYONE, ANYTHING for a buck.

SHAME ON YOU MOHAMMED AND EVERYONE ELSE THAT DEALT WITH US AT SKYLINE MOTOR WORKS LLC aka McCoy Auto.


*******UPDATE AT 6:55 PM 8-17-07*****

So we took Makily to Neuro in Orlando today. The van drove GREAT, not a problem at all. IN FACT when we drove up at the house, Allen said "ya know the van drove well today, hopefully all the problems with it are behind us".

NOT!

When we got out.....THIS is what we found!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

WHAT NEXT!?

Where are all the shopping carts?

Today I took Makily shopping. She does need new clothes right now, this child has gone through a growth spurt and has jumped into size 2T and 3T clothes. It's INSANE!

We get to K-Mart and I decide I am NOT taking Makily's stroller or Kid Kart in. It's IMPOSSIBLE to shop this way. I haven't mastered pushing a stroller/wheelchair and buggy (I sometimes refer to a shopping cart as a buggy) at the same time and I don't imagine I ever will. Makily was in a particularly good mood and WIDE awake so I figured I would just carry her into the store and have her sit in the buggy.

So, I get out her diaper bag full of all her stuff, then I get her feeding pump bag and throw them both over my shoulder. Next I get all 30 pounds of Makily out and I go into the store. Now remember we are in Florida and it's SO HOT right now and the humidity is enough to take your breath away. By the time I get in the store I am sweating.

I go to get a buggy and I was less than thrilled about what I had to choose from.

There were but three lonely, decrepit buggies.


Cart number one: Rusty....I could have cared less but it was rusted in the area Makily would be sitting and that aint gonna work.

Cart number two: Had no "seat plate" in the kid seat part. So it would have just been Makily sitting on metal...that's another BIG no go.

Cart number three: The seat belt strap is broken on both sides. Now there is an accident waiting to happen!

I stand there and wait to see if anyone is bringing a cart back...no one is coming.

So I go to the "Customer Service" desk (and I did just laugh as I typed that). I ask where the rest of the buggies are. The lady looks up from her work and says "there are some over there". I explained the above choices and told her none of those would work for me. Her response?

"Well that's all there is, the rest are being used". She then went back to her paper work.

Now I have been to K-Mart before and let me say, I have never been there when they only had three available carts to shop with. I mean MAYBE black Friday but today? No way.

I stood there for a minute wondering what to say. I came up with:

"Well ugh, how am I going to shop like this?"

She says "I don't know what to tell you ma'am".....and again goes back to her paper work.

So I say "Can ya call a manager over?"

She says "oh sure."

The manager comes and I explain the situation. She kinda looks at me like I am crazy and then looks at Makily. I am sure she was wondering why I didn't just put her down and make her walk. I abruptly said "She can't walk, so I have to have a buggy, I can't shop like this."

REMEMBER now, this entire time I am holding 30 pounds of Makily, 5 pounds of diaper bag and another 5 pounds of feeding pump and formula.

The manager then says "Oh I will get you a buggy." She goes to one of the check outs and steals a buggy from someone that was FINALLY leaving.

I just don't understand how their customer service desk just brushed me off. I think it's RIDICULOUS that in order to get a cart that my DISABLED three year old could sit in, I had to call the manager.

CUSTOMER SERVICE THESE DAYS STINKS!

On the flip side of that I had a good experience while I was there.

I had forgotten Makily's needles and syringes for her Robinul (aka slobber medication). She uses the injectable form of this for MANY reasons (right Andrea? LOL) but I just put it through the G tube. ANYWAY...I ran out of it yesterday so she didnt have her morning dose. I picked up the Robinul before I went to K-Mart. Once we got there and I FINALLY got Makily into the cart i realize I have no way to get it out of the bottle. I know that unless you have some kind of script for injectable meds most pharmacies won't sell you needles and syringes. I thought I would give it a shot though. I knew since I don't fill the script with K-Mart most likely they wouldn't sell me one. I thought I would ask anyway.

So I sheepishly go up to the pharmacist and say:

"Uhm, Hi, my daughter has a G tube and is on injectable Robinul, we just put it through the G tube. Uhm, anyway I forgot her syringes and needles and I was wondering if I showed you the med, if you could sell me one."

He was SO NICE. He smiled and said "You don't have to show me anything, I can sell you one, what size do you need." I told him and he went to find it. When he came back he fawned over how cute Makily is, handed me the needle and syringe and said "no charge ma'am...have a good day."

This made up for the shopping cart idiots.

We bought a lemon.

Well today really took the cake. There were several times I pondered stripping naked and running around the van screaming while banging a pot with a spoon.

So Allen and I bought a van a little over a month ago. We don't have a lot of money and can't afford a car payment so basically we could only afford what we got for the truck we sold.

We find a van in Orlando, test drive it the whole nine yards. There were a few things I didnt like about it. As soon as I mentioned them the salesman immediately said "we can fix that". Long story short, we agreed to buy the van under the condition that a few things were fixed. Basically the power windows and locks and a few other minor things. They told us it would take 2-3 days. I said fine we can pick it up then.

Two weeks went by before it was ready.

I was not thrilled with the length of time it took, but they said they were waiting on parts. My sister and I go to pick up the van as Allen was on the road. When I got there the power locks were not working right. There was that "tugging" in my head saying "no deal, just leave". I called Allen and we rambled back and forth. Makily's heart cath was coming up the following weekend and we basically just wanted to have a vehicle that wasnt HOT AS HADES to drive her in. I expressed my anger about the door locks and the salesman told me we could have it fixed at our own mechanic and to send them the bill they will cover it. I made sure to get this in writing and so we bought the van.

Well our fears about buying the van came true. The day after I brought it home the "add coolant" light came on. Allen checked the radiator and discovered it had rust in it....lots of rust. I actually have a video of it. ANYWAY....Allen flushed out the radiator, we added coolant and water and things seemed okay. Three days later the driver side passenger window stopped working. Two days after that it overheated on the way back to my house at 10 pm with Makily in the van.

I called the car lot and explained everything the next morning. Basically he said "how do I know you haven't been driving it for a week with no water?" So I guess they don't make it a point to make sure all their vehicles have appropriate fluids in them before they go off the lot. He claims that all their vehicles are checked out by a mechanic and I asked him how they "overlooked" the rusted out radiator. He didnt have an answer for that.

After much crying he REFUSED to take the van back (I am not surprised)but said to get an estimate on all the repairs and then we would "talk".

This was ALL THE WEEK BEFORE MAKILYS HEART CATH....like I had the time or patience to deal with ANY OF THIS.

So we took the van to get looked at. For the leaking coolant problem and to fix the brake lights that werent working (did I mention that?) it was $325 and the guy was SUPER nice and fixed it the cheapest way he knew how.

We picked the van up today and left soon after to take Makily to Orlando to see the Neurologist. We stopped about half way there to get a snack and when we did the "add coolant" light came on.

I wanted to scream.

Allen got out and the coolant was leaking like a faucet onto the pavement. When he opened the hood it was steaming and spurting water.

At this point I said many profanities. I sounded alot like a sailor and for that God I am sorry.

After about 15 minutes of Allen and I exchanging words, we decided we would have it towed back to the shop in Ocala and have my brother in law come pick us up.

I go to get Makily out of the van, as it's blazing hot and figured we would go inside to cool off, her cheeks are already getting red.

Are you ready?

I unstrap her car seat straps, and

HER SHIRT WAS DRENCHED AND HER G TUBE WAS LEAKING AGAIN.

For those of you who have been following Makily's Caringbridge Page for the last week or so know the significance of this.

I almost WENT CRAZY right then and there. I mean seriously the timing is just uncanny. Our van is blowing up half way to Orlando and now my kid's tummy is leaking like a faucet again.

SOMEONE SHOOT ME NOW.

We go inside the rest area and it's HOT in there. So my poor kid is hot as heck and finally just zonks out. Here she is:



After all was said and done, it was just another hose that needed repair. It is done and the van seems to be running okay for now.

I sent an email to the car lot with an estimate of all the repairs. We will see what they say. If they do not provide us with some kind of compensation I plan on plastering their name and how they sold us a lemon ALL OVER the internet, along with the video documentation we have and everything else.

What's sad is when we initially went to look at the van, I explained to the sales man that we had a special needs child with a wheelchair, which is why we were looking for something roomier. I told him we drive back and forth to Orlando to see her specialists. We are also going to start fostering soon and so we need something VERY safe and reliable.

So knowing this they sold us a van that has all these problems. I just don't understand how people do these things and then sleep at night.

Before you ask I searched lemon laws in Florida. Unfortunately there is ONLY a lemon law for people that buy NEW vehicles. So is you buy something used, you are basically screwed.

Stuff about me for ANDREA! LOVE YOU GIRL!

I was tagged by my friend Andrea (Luke's Mommy) to do this...here are the rules!

The Rules:1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (**if you’re a non-blogger, you can email them!)4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.


My eight random facts and/or habits:

1. I am a terrible driver. I drive over curbs a lot to the point that Allen used to called me "curby". I have ran into my own vehicle...in my own driveway....more than once. Then yelled at Allen for it. He shouldn't have parked behind me! LOLOL I recently hit a bucket in Orlando on I-4. In my defense though it was either the bucket or another car...I chose the bucket. It tore the mirror off the passenger side of the truck (scared said passenger to death too). This was easily repaired!

2. I am not the best housekeeper. Okay, let me rephrase that. I suck at housekeeping. I am getting better in my old age (30). Once I have thoroughly cleaned something though, if you come behind me and mess it up, expect the "wrath of Trish". (at least if you live in my house...that means you Allen!)

3. I know I have mentioned this before in an older blog but I will expand on it more here. I enjoy watching TV on mute. I am not sure why, usually I like it better with the closed captioning on. It drives Allen insane. Sometimes I don't even realize I have done it until Allen says "OMG PLEASE TURN THE SOUND ON, I wanna watch TV, not read it!!"

4. My favorite time of day to go to Walmart is at midnight. There are less people there and the parking isnt so awful. It is annoying though that they are restocking and waxing the floors so you can't get to certain things. I remember in my single days going to Walmart in my pj's...(Kristy remember the phone cord computer line thingie......"i have to check your receipt ma'am!" LOL)

5. I do believe I have a flashing sign on my head that says "talk to me, tell me your life story". This happens to me a lot. A pure stranger will come up and start telling me all about their family, kids, husband, friends etc etc. Most of the time I stand there politely and listen because I have no idea what to do in that situation!

6. I leave the TV on all night. It became a habit long ago and I can't fall asleep without it most nights. I love Nick at Night and watch Roseanne, Fresh Prince and the Cosby's while I drift off to sleep. I used to watch Golden Girls EVERY NIGHT but they don't come on anymore! I love all those 80's and 90's shows.

7. I don't answer my front door for anyone unless I know them or it's the UPS or mail lady. Many reasons for this. One of which is because Makily and I are here alone at times and you never know what psycho is running around ringing door bells.

Another is I can't STAND door to door sales people. Drives me CRAZY. It irritates me that they come to my home where I am usually busy doing something, then to top that off they take up my time and force me to listen to some sales pitch for something that is overpriced and that I can't afford. I don't have the heart to slam the door in their face so I stand there and listen which aggravates me.

At one time I also had a terrible problem with a lady that was a certain religion that would NOT leave me alone. I had advised her that we were Christians and had our own home church but she would not listen. This was around the time when Makily was very little and I was VERY crazy. She always rang the bell RIGHT as I had gotten Makily to sleep and woke her up...or she came when I was in the middle of a tube feed that I had been working on for an hour. Even after explaining our circumstances she still kept coming.

8. When Allen is out of town for work, I have a hard time sleeping by myself (although when he is home he snores like a frieght train). It's gotten harder since we moved Makily into her own room. I find myself sleeping on the floor in her room more often then I sleep in my bed.