Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all my family & friends!

Yes, I said it. MERRY CHRISTMAS! I am a Christian and as such, celebrate Christmas in a religious sense. I don't think poorly of others who have different beliefs, but I think lumping everything together under Happy Holidays is a bit ridiculous.
Anyway, my 2 week Christmas break started at about 2:15 today. The AMMP, Geek Boy, Brainiac & DeeDee still have school through Friday. Guess who's doing last-minute shopping & wrapping tomorrow by herself? (That's okay, it's what I prefer.)
But for now I'm listening to the Jazz Holidays station on Pandora radio & waiting for everyone to get home. A group from our church is going caroling tonight around town & then having potluck treats after we're done.
Christmas Eve we have the Candlelight Service, and our family will be providing some of the music. Our church choir will be singing as well. Christmas Day will be spent opening presents in our pjs, listening to music while drinking hot chocolate, watching movies & having a yummy dinner of roast beef, baked potatoes, glazed carrots, rolls & pie.
We are planning to visit my family in ND during the 2nd half of the break. Hubby & the kids go back to school on Jan. 3rd & I go back to work on the 4th.
Enjoy the time you have with family & friends, and I'll see you back here in 2012!

I Got a Job & family update

Well, I finally got hired as a machine operator for the Schwan's ice cream plant in Marshall. I started 3 weeks ago. I've been working 3 - 4 days a week, so it's not full time. But it's better than not working at all! Right now I'm hired through a temp agency, in about 3 months I can apply to become a permanent employee. In a week or so I should get insurance through the temp agency, so we'll finally have medical & dental for the family again. If I am hired through Schwan's they have better, lower cost insurance so that's a definite plus.
In other news, the AMMP, Geek Boy & the Brainiac had their first concert. It went well! School is going well for the AMMP & all 3 kids. DeeDee just got glasses for reading, she was getting headaches from eye strain. Hopefully she remembers to bring them home with her at the end of the day. (She has gym class last period so she wouldn't wear them for that time.)
That's it for now, thanks for reading!

I need a J-O-B!

Hello there! Just a quick update - everything is pretty much settled into the house now. Last week I applied for a couple of jobs in the neighboring town, but I haven't heard anything yet. I can't remember if I've said anything about the AMMP's job not providing health insurance. For complicated reasons, they have a Health Savings Account instead. If we were to buy insurance for our family, the monthly premium would be $720/month! The HSA has $7000 in it, so obviously that's not going to be enough to cover it. However, we can use it like a flex plan for Dr. visits, prescriptions, eyeglasses, etc. The jobs I applied for will have full benefits after 30 days, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep me (and my family) in your thoughts & prayers. Besides the benefits, we really need for me to have a full time job so that the AMMP's paychecks don't have to be spread so thin.
On a completely different note, it's Homecoming Week at our school. The kids have really been getting into it. Geek Boy is even going to the Homecoming dance! Friday is a burger feed at the school, pep fest & Homecoming parade (including the marching band). I can't wait to see what the AMMP has been able to accomplish with the band!
That's about it for now ... more updates to come!

Getting our house in order ... literally

Hello there everyone! We've all been here together in one house, with all of our belongings, for almost 2 weeks. Last week was a short one for me, as I went back to North Dakota for a HS Alumni band concert to honor our band director, who unfortunately passed away last spring after battling cancer. It was an amazing experience!
The AMMP & the kids got a lot of boxes brought into the house while I was away & even got a few unpacked. However, most of the unpacking & organizing is my job. And I really don't mind that, seeing as that way I'll actually know where stuff is. So when AMMP or one of the kids says "Where's this or where's that?" I'll actually have a general idea.
This house is smaller than the last one (4 bedrooms down to 3), and our girls, who are now sharing a room, need to do some major downsizing of their belongings. I even got rid of a few kitchen items (GASP) - because anyone who knows me knows how much I like love freak out over kitchen gadgets.
We finally got a washing machine this week (long story, but for 4 yrs we only owned a dryer). So now of course I have to do everyone's laundry. First of all let me mention that I pretty much loathe doing laundry. Luckily our children are old enough to fold & put away their own clothes so I just have to wash & dry them. Secondly, I have to haul the stupid, smelly laundry from the 2nd story where the bedrooms are down to the basement where the machines are. Repeat in reverse when laundry is done, ad naseum. Yesterday I was actually out of breath from going up & down steps most of the day. The important thing is yay, clean laundry again! And once I catch up (hopefully this weekend) Geek Boy will once again be in charge of his own laundry. The Brainiac & DeeDee are in training.
My amazing wonderful Mother-in-Law (no joke folks, she's awesome & we get along great) is coming here this weekend to bring us a slightly used couch she found at a thrift store & help us arrange the living room. I'm so relieved, because we've had boxes & tv stands, a computer desk & chairs along one wall since we moved in. Now it will finally be dealt with!
We got our phone & internet hooked up last week & will get our tv service hooked up on Sunday (but probably not in time for the football game, much to the AMMP & Geek Boy's chagrin). Well, that's it for now - stability in the house means a more stable me, and I know my whole family would say a big AMEN to that!

Almost Together Again!

Hello there to my followers! Quick update here, we found a house to rent in the town where the AMMP is teaching. The landlords are so awesome, hubby & the kids moved in on the 22nd & they aren't charging us rent until September! The AMMP & all the kiddos are adjusting well to the new school. They've all made friends & are doing pretty well in their classes. We even went to a church service & met our new pastors. They are very interested in having the AMMP get their church choir going again. Anyway, I have been furiously packing, sorting & cleaning for the past month or so. The rest of my family, plus AMMP's awesome aunt will be heading back here this weekend so we can get everything loaded into the moving truck & down to the new house. I can't wait to be with my family again - and be able to rest knowing that I won't have to wake up the next day & do more cleaning or packing! Peace to you all, I will post again when we have internet in the new abode!

NEW JOB!!!!!!

The Absent Minded Music Professor finally got a job! He's now the 5 -12 band director in a small town in southwest MN. Now we're in that chaotic in-between stage ... trying to pack as much of our stuff as we can, but we don't even have a house down there yet. However, the kids are registered for their new school & it seems to be a great situation! Please pray for us to find a house soon, thanks!

Stabilization ... finally!

Sorry for the delay between posts, but Music Momma has been busy trying to get things back to normal. A week & a half ago the AMMP returned from his big bathroom renovation adventure. Thank you God, now I do not have to be the only adult dealing with those 3 adorable amazing annoying young people who live in our house, but think they should have to do little or nothing to have the privilege of being fed & having a roof over their heads. Don't get me wrong, I love our children. I really do, but summer vacation has already been here for about 6 weeks. Now they have plenty of time to do all that nothing.
Anyway, my meds are definitely working. I've also been back to work for 2 weeks now & most importantly - NO MORE NIGHT SHIFT EVERY 4 WEEKS!!!! I have trying to get that change approved by my employer for 2 1/2 yrs. Unfortunately it took a hospitalization for that to happen, but no matter the circumstances at least it's done.
The AMMP started rehearsing the music for our community's summer musical, and our other music project is also going well. Our community stage band had it's first gig over the weekend. Not bad for only being together about 2 months! We had a few rough spots, but that's to be expected. Our next performance is in about 2 weeks & we will be much better prepared & have more songs ready by then. And Our son Geek Boy? He totally rocked his bass guitar playing. The kid is so solid you could hit him with a truck & not knock him over. Everyone did a great job & we are definitely looking forward to the rest of the summer.
Our girls, The Brainiac & DeeDee are involved in the children's play for the third summer. Brainiac plays what else - a headmistress & DeeDee is a fairy with a broken wing who keeps attempting to fly anyway. DeeDee will be attending summer bible camp next week, for the first time without her sister. She is very excited! She also started playing the clarinet & is taking lessons from her dad.
Nothing new on the job front for the AMMP, but there are some plans in the works. When we figure them out I will share what I can.

I AM TIRED OF IT!

I'm in one of those moods ... you know the ones where you just want to crawl into bed & never come out? Yeah one of those.

Item # 1: The AMMP has been remodeling his mom's bathroom for almost 2 weeks. I came home with the kids a week ago to a house big enough for all of us, with a functioning bathroom & comfortable beds. Plus they had dental appointments, and the bill is going to be outrageous. So I've been doing the married-but-single-parent thing, which totally sucks. And the whole time of course we have all missed each other ALOT, but the situation can't be helped. He has to finish the bathroom because it's the only one she has.

Item # 2: The summer community stage band I'm supposed to be helping with, as in playing in & promoting? Now I'm in charge of running rehearsals because the AMMP & the other guy who are capable of doing that are out of town. Possibly until the week of our first gig, which is in 2 weeks. And other people in the band can't make it to rehearsals all at the same time because they are out of town or working. GAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Item # 3: The AMMP is also the music director for the summer musical for community theater. He now owes Geek Boy $24 for express shipping so we could send him the music, which he forgot to take with him. He brought tools, 3 boxes plus a brief case of job hunting stuff plus our wireless printer so he can continue to look for jobs, but not his scores for the musical.

Item # 4: This is probably the one that hurt the most. We found out yesterday that the AMMP didn't get hired back for his old job in the town where we live, where we've been living for 2 years since he lost his job due to job cutbacks. The person who took his job retired, so my husband reapplied. They didn't even call him for an interview. He was sent a generic rejection letter like everyone else. The only school that's called him for an interview so far is almost 400 miles away, 20 miles away from the school district that put my husband & son through hell the entire 2 years we lived there. I'm not even sure how we can afford to move again, since the AMMP has been on unemployment for 2 years. It cost us $1000 for the moving truck & gas 4 years ago, not to mention deposits for rent & utilities. 

Item #5: If the AMMP doesn't get a job, then what will happen? Maybe he can fall back on his other music skills which entail arranging & composing music for brass ensembles (especially in regard to church music) & bands. Or he could get a contractor's license. He obviously has mad skills doing household things like plumbing, wiring, drywalling, installing tubs, showers, toilets & sinks, plus carpentry. Luckily I have a job with insurance & benefits, so that's not a huge concern right now. Just keep us in your thoughts & prayers, ok? I'll keep you posted.

Road Trip to MIL's house

TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2011

Road Trip to MIL's house

Hey there people – Music Momma is still on FMLA from work, at least for this week. I definitely do not feel ready to go back yet, I still have swiss cheese brain, so my  concentration is shot. I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t be standing on my feet operating tools in a factory setting for 10 hours a day.  I’m going to call the docs at the hospital sometime this week to ask for an extension of 2 more weeks.

We took the kids to the dentist yesterday. Each of the girls has a cavity, DeeDee’s is pretty small on a back molar. Brainiac’s takes up half of one back molar & she may need a root canal. However, Geek Boy has 9 cavities & a wisdom tooth that needs to be pulled. YIKES! I told him no more pop, energy drinks or premade sweet teas and he needs to start brushing & flossing his darn teeth! We take them back next Monday for the fillings.

The AMMP, Brainiac, DeeDee & I are visiting my Mother-in-Law at least until Sunday. Geek Boy is at home, staying with a family friend so he can work. AMMP is renovating his mom’s bathroom, the girls will be swimming in her above ground pool as much as possible & I will hopefully catch up on sleep & computer projects. Depending on how long this bathroom project takes, we could be here for a while. We’re just taking things as they come for now.

Yesterday on the 6 ½ hour trip down here I slept a majority of the time. When we got here around 11 pm, I got the hide-a-bed pulled out, sheets on, took my Tylenol 3 & went to sleep within 30 minutes. Due to those circumstances, when DeeDee woke me up at 5:30 this morning to tell me her air mattress was deflated I was awake. DeeDee is lying in bed with Daddy. Up until a little while ago she was asking every 10 minutes what time it was, I finally answered “Too early to go swimming, go back to sleep!” She finally dozed off. I think we’ll have her make a little bed with the couch cushions tonight so we don’t have that problem again.

Our 16 yr. old nephew (and my only Godchild) will be coming here tonight to help the AMMP with the bathroom project. He’s such a good kid & an awesome helper! I can’t wait to see him, it’s been about 4 months since we’ve seen any of the AMMP’s  family.

weekly update #2

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011

weekly update #2

Sorry to those of you who have been trying to follow my blog, this week has been a little off kind of nuts way crazy due to me still trying to get used to my new meds.
Anyway, the local community stage band that the AMMP, I & Geek Boy are a part of haskind of maybe completely taken over our lives this week. I arranged one piece of music so it was usable by our group & went to a local HS to borrow some music.
Today the handbell choir from our church will be playing at another church in our town. We also  have 2 graduation open houses to attend. Tomorrow the church choir will sing for the last time until fall & we have a potluck for the choir members.
Monday afternoon the kids have dental checkups, then we are heading out of town to my Mother-in-law's for almost a week! Yay! I am not being facetious about that at all, my MIL takes care of us & will not allow me to over-exert myself. After we come back, it's back home for 4 days, then 5 days at my parents' house in ND for a visit.

weekly update #1

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2011

weekly update #1

Hey all - I just decide to do an end of the week update, either on Friday or Saturday as my schedule allows. It's been a week since I came home from the hospital, and things for the most part have been good. The first anti-psychotic med was horrible(You can read about that here http://musicmamasbigolballofcrazy.blogspot.com/newmeds ).
I started taking a different anti-psychotic med on Monday, and so far it seems to be doing what it's supposed to do. My energy levels are very low, so I can't do much. I may go out on an errand or 2 with the AMMP, but that's about it.
Speaking of the AMMP, he has been amazing through all of the stuff this week. One morning after the kids were gone, he set up our living room like a massage parlor, with a roaring fire in the wood-burning fireplace, candles, classical music & gave me a massage. He also bought me a single red rose. He's been building fires all week because cold weather has been aggravating my arthritic joints and we don't want to turn the furnace on. Plus, it makes the house smell amazing! I hope everyone has a good & safe Memorial Day Weekend!

New Meds

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2011

Hey there everyone! Just an update on how things have been going since I came back from the mental health unit. While I was there, I was put back on my mood stabilizer. The doctor also added an anti-psychotic med for the anxiety I've experienced since I was in junior High. The first 5 days I took the anti-psychotic I was okay, but the last 2 days on that med I started becoming alarmingly hyper sensitive to everything, especially touch, certain sounds & light. I also became more & more agitated. I had the AMMP read the prescription drug info sheet from the pharmacy & he determined that these 2 drugs have been shown to have strong adverse interactions with each other. I was so agitated on Sunday evening that he though he might need to have me admitted again. I called my doctor the next day & I was switched to a different anti-psychotic med. So far no jitters or increased agitation and last night I slept solidly from 11 pm to 8:30 am. I still have swiss cheese brain, but I hope that will decrease when my body gets used to being on my meds again. I'm still having some troubles staying on a set daily routine, but that will come. I had my FMLA extended for an additional 2 weeks so I can fully recover. Luckily I have Short-Term Disability through my employer, so that will provide us with some income.

Our pastor came for a visit today, it was nice to see him & give him an update on what's been happening. I also had a discussion with our parish nurse about County resources for therapy, support groups, etc. I'm on the prayer list at our church, so we know there are a lot of people giving support.
I went to the chiropractor today for the first time in over 2 years. My body was so tense that my chiropractor had to adjust everything from the top of my neck down to my hips. I feel so much more relaxed! I also made an appointment for Thurs. to have a massage therapist come into our home for an hour long session.
That's all for tonight, time for Music Momma & the AMMP to hit the sack & get ready to face a brand new day tomorrow!

Explaining recent events

So recently I ended up in the mental health unit of  a hospital about 2 hours away from where we live. What led up to The Craziest this time (okay, the only other time it was this bad was when I was diagnosed almost 8 yrs ago) was the Stress, which I explained in my first post, titled About Us. The other major factor was the fact that I had not been taking my meds. So I ended up on the 3rd floor, otherwise known as The Big Ol' House of Crazy.  What this forced medical leave allowed me to do was get away from The Stress & take a deep look at how badly things had gotten and what I need to do to keep things on track. Number 1: Take my meds. Number 2: No more alcohol (because it has adverse affects with my meds). Number 3: See my therapist on a regular basis. Also while I was in The Big Ol' House of Crazy, my psych doc had me write an Advanced Directive in case things even get close to as bad as earlier this week & write down the warning signs of my manic/hypo-manic side of the Bipolar Disorder so the AMMP & I can try to recognize it before it happens. My last assignment was to list my strengths & weaknesses. Surprisingly, the no alcohol has been more difficult than I thought, so I've been taking half of my nightly anti-anxiety pill in the afternoon & the other half before bedtime so I can fall asleep at a decent time.

About Us

May 23rd 2011
About Music Mama's Family

I am Music Mama. I attended college for music education right after high school, but due to mostly financial reasons, I didn't finish my degree. I've been married to a public school music teacher for almost 18 yrs. I'll call him the Absent-Minded Music Professor, or AMMP for short. He's also the music director/coordinator for our church. We have 3 amazingly talented & intelligent children. The oldest is our 17 yr old son, Geek Boy. Our middle child is an 11 yr. old girl, The Brainiac. Our youngest is a 9 yr. old girl, I'll call her DeeDee because she reminds me of the sister in the Dexter's Lab cartoon. AMMP's main instruments (although he plays all the band instruments) are french horn & guitar, Geek Boy's are french horn & bass guitar, The Brainiac plays french horn (are you seeing a pattern here?) & piano, DeeDee so far only plays piano because she's not old enough to be in band yet, but she wants to play clarinet. Music Mama plays trombone. We all sing as well.
That's the music background ... now to The Crazy. Music Mama has a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, with a touch of  Anxiety, mild ADD & mild OCD on the side. Geek Boy has a diagnosis of ADD & Anxiety. AMMP has high blood pressure & a genetic predisposition for heart disease & sinus problems. All 3 of us take medications for our conditions. Music Mama, Geek Boy & The Brainiac also have seasonal pollen allergies, for which we take prescription  & OTC meds. DeeDee has mild ADD, just enough to make it difficult for her to focus in school or listen to directions, but not enough to medicate (which is just fine with us).
To further complicate The Crazy, AMMP has been unemployed for the last 2 yrs due to circumstances out of his control & not related to his job performance in any way. The person who filled his job is now retiring & AMMP has reapplied for his job as a band director. Please wish us luck! Music Mama works in a factory & Geek Boy works at a grocery store. We live in a little town in extreme northern MN (in what my kids call "Almost Canada"), population approx 1500. One last thing ... if you know my family & I personally, please don't mention us by name in comments. We have the nicknames for a reason. Thank you!