My Heart Aches For Bryan

Doesn't he look like he's having a great time in that picture?  It was taken the weekend before last.  At times, he seems to be in a great mood, but at other times, we can tell that something is bothering him.  Ana has felt that he holds in his emotions a lot, but he'll also act out, even though that's not necessarily what he's wanting to do, but that's the only way he has of showing it.  He doesn't mean to hurt anyone.  When he acts out, we would punish him by putting him in a time out.  He would scream and cry and throw a big fit almost the whole time he was in one.  Sometimes he would be there for 30 minutes until he calmed down.

Yesterday he was home with Ana since its her day off.  It was a pretty long weekend with him, even though we were both home on Sunday.  At one point, he said something to Peyton (Ana's daughter that's 3) and it hurt her feelings.  Instead of putting Bryan in the usual time out, she told him to go to his room and talk to his bears about what's bothering him.  She told him that he can tell them anything and to express his feelings to them.  I think this was a good idea and will help him express his feelings.

What comes next really hurts me.  Every time I think about it, it makes me cry because my heart aches for him. What's done is done, and I can only do so much to help him understand and to support and comfort him.

Basically, Bryan told his bears that he feels that his mommy doesn't love him anymore because she left him and that she doesn't want him and that he is mad and doesn't like her anymore.  He said he wanted his daddy and cried.

After hearing that, Ana talked to Maddox (her 5 year old) and asked him to talk to Bryan, kid-to-kid.  Maddox told Bryan that he misses his Papi (his dad), but knows that he loves him even though he can't see him and he knows Bryan loves his mommy and that she loves him, and that we all love him too and want him to play and be happy.  Bryan said he's mad at her, and Maddox said "I know, but we all love you".

After that, Bryan came downstairs and said "Hannah?" (that's what he calls her)
Ana: "Yes?"
Bryan: "I'm mad"
Ana: "I know"
Bryan: "But not at you"
Ana: "okay....I know I am only Hannah but I can love you and fix your booboo like a mommy and that won't change"
Bryan: "I know but I am so mad"
Ana: "well I get tired when I am mad I would rather be happy and play instead"
Bryan: "Me too"
Ana: "your mommy is tucked in your heart always and forever, don't forget that."
Bryan: "Okay, can I have some chocolate milk?"

I'm glad he opened up some, but I'm sad to hear that he feels that way.

Problems With....The Beast

So I have a 2004 GMC Sierra 2500 4x4 that I bought from my dad in 2007.  I haven't had any major problems with it...until now.  And yes, it got the nickname of The Beast.

So I brought it in today for the 100,000mi tune-up since it has over 107,000 miles on it.  The check engine light was on and Auto Zone said it was low fuel pressure.  The good news is that the dealership said it was the gas cap and can put a new one on...no biggie right?

Well, then lately I've felt a vibration in the front end and sometimes could feel bumps even though I was on a smooth road.  I guess the front left hub is bad and is about to fall off.  So that's gonna cost about $500 to fix.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the water pump is leaking really bad.  Of course now that winter is almost here, I can't have that through these Chicago winters, so that'll be another $500.

So with the tune-up and all of this other work, my bill will be about $1500.

Let's just hope that's all that's wrong with it and I'll get many more years out of that truck.  Its been good to me so far.

Red Lobster's Cheddar Biscuits

This is a recipe I found from an app on my phone.  I LOVE these things when I go to Red Lobster, and now I've tweaked the recipe a little more and got them almost perfect.

-Preheat oven to 400 F

-In a large mixing bowl, combine (work the dough, but not too much):
  - 2 1/2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
  - 3/4 cup Cold Whole (or 2%) Milk
  - 4 TBS Cold Butter (1/2 stick)
  - 1/4 TSP Garlic Powder (I probably do a little more)
  - 1/4 TSP Garlic Salt (This wasn't in the original recipe, but I add it do the batter mix)
  - 1 cup (heaping) Grated Cheddar Cheese

-Drop dough on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 1/4 cup in size (ice cream scoop)

-Melt 2 TBS butter in microwave, then add some parsley flakes and about 1/2 TSP of Garlic Salt to butter

-Brush the melted butter mixture on top of the dough, but save some to repeat after cooking

-I usually add more parsley and garlic salt to the top of the biscuits before I cook them

-Bake for about 16 minutes until the tops are light brown

-Add more of the melted butter mixture on the tops & serve

I can usually get about 15 biscuits from one batch.

Recent Events

I decided to start some of this blog over again.  I deleted some of the old posts and am making a fresh start.  I have a lot of things to talk about.  A lot of you probably know most of the events, but some of you might not.

First of all, my divorce is still going on.  We're hopefully almost done (like within weeks).  Its been a roller coaster, that's for sure.  The good news is that I got residential custody of my son!!!  Melissa has already moved out of state and Bryan is living with me now.  I'm still in the townhome, but probably only for a few more months unless the bank does a miracle and accepts a loan modification.

I had to give up Champ, which I REALLY miss him.  It wasn't fair for him to be stuck in the cage as much as he was.  He's a big, athletic dog, he needed room to run.  He was in the cage for about 10 hours during the day, then again overnight.  The good news is that he went to a friend who has a big yard for him to run around and who also has some other dogs so he has playmates.

Bryan is now almost 4 1/2.  He's about 44.25" tall and weighs 62 Lbs!!!  Talk about being built for football!  He's been adjusting to the changes pretty well.  He'll act out and not listen sometimes, but what kid doesn't?  He is learning to a lot on his own now.  He'll get dressed in the mornings, get his shoes on, get his coat on (sometimes zipper it up too), eats with his mouth closed, is learning how to hold a fork the right way and more I'm probably forgetting.

Now for the biggest change....I'm living with someone!  Her name is Ana, and she has 3 kids.  Marce is 19, Maddox is 5 and Peyton is 3.  They're all with me, along with Bryan.  Talk about a house full!  She is amazing and treats me very well.  We have a great time together and are always laughing and smiling.

At work, that's been another roller coaster.  Back at the end of August, Packaged Concrete, Inc. sold the company to Quikrete.  Of course there's an adjustment period.  We've had some people leave (retire) and there's always rumors floating around about what's going to happen next.  I'm busier now and doing the job that I did before plus the job of someone that left.  Things usually slow down in the winter though, so that'll help me catch a breather.  I still do the IT Administration for this plant, although its not quite the same and I don't have the same authority I had before.  I'm also still working for PPCGeeks and his network of sites.

Other than all of that, things have been pretty normal I guess.  I can't wait to take a vacation though, that's for sure.  I've had to use most of my time off this year to meet with lawyers or be in court.