A Decade of Max

Max was born 10 years ago on September 28, 1999. I was excited because everyone told me the second child comes faster. NOT!!...I had Jack after 16 hours of labor. Max came after 18 hours of labor. AND he was born at 12:01 AM......his birthday was changed from the anticipated 27th to the 28th. How smart he was to wait. It is easy to remember 8/28 (Jack) and 9/28 (Max).

Max has had medical issues from the start. When I was pregnant, the doctors did some test and the measurements did not add up. They said it was normal for that to happen. I went back and they did more in depth test and they still were not pleased. They felt that Max might have Down Syndrome. After working with special needs kids, I knew what we would be facing. I wanted to do an amnio so we would know and be able to have the specialist on hand in delivery, if needed. The amnio came back normal.

Max was born.......healthy cry.........the crying did not stop for 2 years.

Max was very sick. He had collic, severe reflux, chronic ear infections, colds, sinus infections, 5ths disease, all sorts of viruses, flu, rashes, strep, etc. (he is even sick in the picture above)

Because of all his illnesses and not being able to breathe well, Max did not and does not sleep well. From age 2 until 7, he would have night terrors. He would sleep walk and talk. He still has sleep issues but they are much better since the surgeries.

2 years ago, he got a staff infection. It came back 3 times.

He started allergy shots 1 year ago. He is allergic to grass, trees, pollen, mold, mildew, dust....everything in the air! When he plays in grass, he gets a rash. When he is in old houses or buildings, he gets very sick. He is about to have his 6th surgery on his ears and nose. His ear drum is collapsing and thinning. He has lost some hearing in his right ear. (hopefully surgery will fix that)

I can't believe that Max has lived this kind of life and he is not a horrible kid!

Max makes the best of each situation. He sings, dances, laughs, makes us laugh, smiles, entertains himself, etc.

Thank you God for Max. Thank you God for giving him life and working in his life. Thank you for the many healings, watching over him in surgeries and fevers and breathing difficulties.

Thank you God for not answering my prayer when I was pregnant and giving me twins!!!

I think I would have become and addict of some sort if I had to deal with twins during Max's first 2 years!!! :)

Squirrels in the Military

I am not at all saying our military is not the best in the world!! They are!! I am so thankful for the lives and sacrifices that have been given for my freedom!

BUT, if they need extra help and great aim??? Then they should draft my squirrels!

My house is surrounded by the horrible rodent, the squirrel. We have a large Oak in the front of the house and a large Pecan tree in the back of the house. When we go out to the car, we must dodge acorns that have been thrown at us as hard as possible!!

When we are walking the dog in the back yard, relaxing or playing, we are bombarded by huge pecans thrown at great force!!

I have done an experiment. I stand and wait. The pecans start falling from the tree near me. Next they are hitting me on the back and on top of my head. I move this way and that.......I am still being hit by the pecans (or acorns out front).

These crazy squirrels wait and aim and POW!!! They get their mark!

I wish they ate mosquitoes. Then there might be a reason for those ugly demons!!

Dog People

I am now an owner of a dog. It is Max's dog but I am training her.

I do not understand dog people. When I walk the dog around the neighborhood, I can see them coming!! They are smiling at me and the dog like they have never seen such a thing...Then they have to ask the questions....and tell me about their dog.

One lady was very offended when she asked me to come look at her dog in the back yard and I said "no, I need to finish my walk and get back home". Why would I want to see her dog?

At the vet today, I watched as these people picked up their dogs, kissed their faces and talked in a whiney baby voice..............AND EVEN smiled while talking about squeezing the anal glands and how one was not as full as the other. I must have had the disgusted look on my face because that was what I was thinking DISGUSTING...The vet workers laughed at me. I had just told them I was a first time dog owner.

Dog people are like Kid people........I like my kids and I tolerate my animals....I don't want to be with other kids or animals!!!

Yes, I know...horrible thing for a teacher to say.

BUT, if I am teaching them or they are playing NICE and BEHAVED with my kids....then I will be happy to have THOSE kids around.....

I probably won't ever want other animals around!!

Classic MAZ

Ok, if you began reading when I began the blog.....you know why I call this blog Classic MAZ.

In short, it is because of the crazy things that I do or that happen to me.......and from the SNL skit "classic peg" starring Justin Timberlake.

Here is another Classic MAZ story:

I have been sick for about 3 weeks. I have mucho chest congestion. If I talk too much, I start coughing and it turns into UGLY cough. I end up coughing up a huge clot of snot.

(oh, come on....most of you should be used to my sinus stories by now)

Friday, I went to get my car inspected. It was a very rainy day and I felt like death. BUT it was a good day because my car radio was working and it has not worked since last winter. I sat in the inspection line for about an hour. I enjoyed my time to sing and bop to Pink, U2, Lady GaGa, No Doubt, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake.. and oh yea....GNR!!! (that is Guns and Roses for you non rockers!)

I just finished "Sweet Child of Mine" when it was my turn to pull up for inspection. I got a little tickle in my throat. I started coughing. I pulled up to the lady and rolled down my window. The cough sounded horrible. I knew I would be fine because you don't have to speak to these people. They just tell you what to do.........and you do it...........if you know how to work your car.............

She asked me to turn off my lights. I turned the 'switch'. She said "all the way off". I turned the 'switch" again and she kept staring at me. "I have auto lights. How do I turn them.....cough cough cough.........SPLAT"

My gum got in the way of the coughing. I felt the phlegm coming and before I could grab a kleenex.....the snot came out WITH my gum.....slid through my hand and landed on my steering wheel.

"......oh, you have auto lights....don't worry about it" she stared at me like I was the nastiest person she had ever seen. She finished my inspection and handed me the paper. She stretched way out to get it to me.....she wasn't taking a chance of getting hit by another snot ball!!

.......................claaasssic MAAAAZ

Summer trips

We went on a few trips with the Ziegenhorns this summer. It was a nice time to talk, tell stories of childhood, laugh and enjoy each other's company.

Unfortunately the first trip was a funeral.

It was in Oklahoma. We had never been there. We stopped at the memorial of the Oklahoma City bombing.

We also visited some indian mounds, trail of tears, the dam and taco bell...

The boys and I tortured my mother-in-law by using "dam" to describe many things: "look at the dam bridge, dam water, dam parking lot, etc....

We went to Kentucky to eat at a restaurant, whose name completely escapes me. We went to the lake, the dam (dams are interesting) and a few antique shops. Behind the restaurant, they had gift shops and odd animals!

We went to Shiloh for a day trip. It was very interesting. We got to see a demonstration of shooting a canyon and hear the history of its function and importance in the Civil War. We saw more indian mounds and the Tn River.

Vicki

Max has wanted a dog more than anything for several years. He knows better than to ask for one because I don't like animals. They smell, they shed, you have to feed them, you have to scoop poo or walk them, they are needy.....

AND THEY ALWAYS WANT TO BE WITH ME!!

Jack has a cat and she is fine. She knows to leave me alone. She knows to

leave the room just by the way I look at her. Jack takes care of all her needs and I usually don't have to be involved.

I am realizing (the past 2 years) that the world was not created for ME and everything is not all about ME.....hard lesson for ME!

We got Max a dog for his birthday, which isn't until September 28th.

We happened upon a rescue dog FOR FREE! She had already been "fixed", had shots, etc...

Max planned on naming his dog Bailey, but when he saw her, he named her Vicki....odd name for an animal and I have no idea how he got the name!!

We have had the dog 3 weeks and she has demolished all her toys except one. She demolished a brand new crate the second day we had her. She chewed her new leash in half on the 3rd day we had her. She demolished the brand new "cushion" in her first crate. She recently demolished the plastic tray in the bottom of her 2nd new crate.

It took me a week to train her to go "potty" while on a leash. She was used to running with 4 other dogs on a bunch of land!!

Jack's cat is NOT HAPPY. It took the last 3 weeks for her to sit in the same room as Vicki. At least once a day, she sneaks up on the sleeping dog and smacks the fire out of her head about 5 times and then runs out of the room.

I found out this dog is high-energy, so I now have

to run/walk her EVERY day....I hate exercise.

The worst thing about walking her: she haunches and does the weird walk while leaving turds all the way down the street!! EVERY time! Then I have to walk the rest of the way with warm, steamy poo in a plastic bag!!

All that said.....she is getting used to her kennel (w/o a bottom). She is a nice, calm dog when we are home. She sleeps through storms (huge blessing). She now potties on command and obeys simple commands. She doesn't stink!! And the shedding isn't noticeable!

I do have to walk her because she ran away from Max into traffic one day....MAJOR TRAUMA for Max. AND she tripped him another day and gave him road rash. That same day, Jack was standing too close to the outside cable when she darted for her ball and the cable (leash) burned his leg (blisters, scabs and all).

Max is learning how to not treat her like a human so we can have a well behaved, well adjusted dog!! It has only been 3 weeks and things are going great.....and I have lost 7 pounds!!

Annual Autumn intruder!

Jeff got his job in August of 2006. In the first week of this new job he went to Philly for 8 weeks. One night, while he was gone, he actually got to talk to us on the phone (very rare). I was looking out the back door (window) while I was talking to him.....looking out into the dark, past the porch light.

Suddenly my focus changed and I noticed a huge intricate spider web created across the doorway (outside). My focus changed again, and I saw the ugliest creepiest scariest spider. It was weaving its web FAST!! At the time, we rarely used our back door. SOOO we did not use the back door for days. I noticed each day a new room, floor, garden, pool and play room was being added to the web! My dad came over at night (it disappeared during the day) and sprayed the spider with bug spray until it fell. He stomped it! WOO HOO!!

Fall of 2007, the intruder was back! My neighbor killed it for me.

Fall of 2008, the intruder was back! My dad came, sprayed and killed it for me.

This year....of course Jeff is gone each time.....we are using our door A LOT. We have a dog and we take it out the back door many times all day long. I just happened to be on the phone with Jeff one night, looking out the back door window.....and my focused changed.........huge intruder uglier than all the others. This one creeped me out the most because I could have easily opened the door to take the dog out and walked right into it!!! UUUUGGGGHHH

It took two attempts to get rid of it..sprayed 2 seperate times but each time I lost sight of it when it fell. I REALLY check before going in and out the door now!!

I have a 12 year old???

Jack Stanley Ziegenhorn was born on August 28, 1997. He was born on my dad's birthday and they share the middle name, Stanley. We knew Jeff would be gone for both of the boys' birthdays so we celebrated before he left, we celegrated on the 28th and then again the next weekend with the in-laws. Mucho Celebrationo!

Jeff's mom and dad gave him a fish tank, fish, frogs and 2 fiddler crabs. The crabs are now in their own container because they murdered the frogs and left their shredded bodies in the gravel. Very cool!

The boys chose not to have a party so they could have better presents. SOOO we ate at Taco Bell with my mom and dad, I made a chocolate cake before Jeff left town, we ate at Taco Bell on Jack's actual birthday, and we ate at Taco Bell with my in-laws and saw the G.I Joe movie......

We gave Jack a cool teen chair for his room, a DS game and a small lego set.

(can anyone guess Jack's favorite place to eat?)
The night of the 28th we took Granddad to Corky's. I have been taking him there for his birthday present since 1986. Even the year Jack was born....we just went on the 27th!

Master Gardner

Max's science this year will be Botany. I decided to start a small flower garden in the back yard (over the summer) to prepare us for this fall and things we will be learning. Our yard floods EVERY time it rains. I will eventually get big pots or plastic pools and grow my "container" gardens... But seeing as how I do not work, I found things that do not cost money. We have many concrete blocks so I dug an area and neatly leveled the blocks to outline a rectangle area in a patch that does not flood. I had already shoveled out the grass... 2 DAYS TOIL. I chose 2 different packs of sunflower seeds and some wild flower seeds. I planted each and every sunflower seed as directed on the package and then flung the wildflower seeds.

THEN...

I watched the birds dig and eat all my sunflower seeds.

ALL except 2..............

and they must have eaten all the wildflower seeds

except 1..........

I'M BA ACK

ok, you are right, I did not wait til October....but if I had... I would have wasted more time catching you guys up on all my "stuff". So much has happened in August! Here is a list of topics ahead:

*Jeff's in Philly, gone 25 days already

*Jack turned 12 (8/28) and got a fish tank with fish, frogs and crabs

*Max got a dog for his birthday (coming 9/28....the birthday, not the dog....dog is here)

*Life lessons for me due to the dog.....I dislike animals (and I live in a zoo now)

*My sinus issues (you know you love to hear about my snot)

*spiritual growth (1 step forward, 2 steps back, repeat)

*return of the fall "ugliestcreepiestscariest spider in the world"

*trip to Shiloh

*trip to Kentucky

*soccer

*scouts

*infamous neighbor

*new school year

Well, this should be a year's worth of blogging/posting.....plus the stuff that happens between now and then!!

thanks for reading!!