I made homemade bread yesterday, comfort food. Everyone in the family was comforted. I also made split ham and pea soup,comfort for some, grossness for others. It amazes me that despite the horror of the last week, we go on. What are we do do? There is comfort in small things, safety in the confines of our family.

My daughter is doing well, and will head back to school towards the middle of the week. Kids are amazing in their ability to bounce back. Parents just try to bounce back with the same ease.

It is getting fallish here, colors are starting to increase. There is nothing like Maine in the fall however. Maine colors are blinding they are so intense. I do wonder with all the rain if the North has suffered though if there are leaves left on the trees. I miss home,as we have not been for a visit in over a year. We are slated to travel home for Thanksgiving, but this all depends on the health of our daughter. It wouldn't be good to be 12 hours from her Doctor.

My Patriots lost to Denver yesterday. Kind of surprising and Sue if you are reading this congrats! The game was televised here in Pa which was a pleasant surprise. Penn State lost to Michigan, and that game was a nail biter. Blessings Readers, and have a great day. Maria

I left my last post unfinished. I apologize, but as my child's situation is still rather new, I am still raw and reeling.

This child will be fine. She is home, and I must say medical science is a marvel of advancement. They (doctors) performed a relatively new procedure on my child. In a situation like this they would place a shunt which would pump the fluid from her brain. Shunts malfunction at an alarming rate so she would have had many more surgeries in her future. Now they use a tiny telescope and actually puncture the membrane of the brain. The fluid drains naturally into the body and there is little need for repeated surgeries. Amazing huh? Just when you think you have lost faith in medical research and drug companies, they come and save your beautiful child.

Now a little preaching for you all. A small soap box only though I promise. I, like everyone usually complain about bills, spouses, and kids who don't behave. Guess what? It just ain't worth the wasted breath. You never know when something big is going to remind you that there is something bigger in life. Also I need to remind everyone who believes in a higher power to realize that he, it, or she, isn't a punishing power, he is a loving spirit. Crappy things happen to all and we cannot take on the attitude that we have sinned therefore are being punished. Humans are after all largely responsible for their own choices, the higher power blessed us with free will. Free will never abandons us, and there is always a choice to make. In my opinion the higher power I believe in isn't out to punish the human mass, but to guide and teach. But in true human fashion we as people always look to something to blame.

Okay enough said. Whisper a little prayer of well being for my daughter Dear Readers, and thanks for reading! Blessings! Maria

Suffice it to say that I have been through a small knot hole this week.

Dear readers, take it from me you need to hug your loved ones because you never know what will happen when you wake up on any given day.

Tuesday morning shortly after 8 am my 11 year old daughter passed out in Gym class. Initially we thought perhaps she had smacked her head when she passed out, because she had a squishy mass by her left ear. She woke up disoriented and vomiting.

We headed to the Doctors, he was very concerned and sent us to the hospital to get a cat scan of her head. By 12 noon that day we had the terrible news. She had increased pressure on her brain from fluid buildup. The fluid was built up due to a tumor blocking the flow. By 1 pm we were headed to Hershey Medical Center to see a pediatric neurosurgeon. By 8 pm our daughter was undergoing brain surgery. 12 Hours of sheer panic and hell. However we are lucky, the tumor is benign and growing in a place that will have little effect on

No personal anarchy noted today, at least none that has occurred to me yet.

Went to Lowe's to pick up an electric hot water heater with hubbie. I can understand why he gets numbed out when we are shopping, cause I was numbed out by the time I left Lowes. Hubster was in his glory. Surrounded by tools and hardware, he seemed as pleased as a Buddha whose belly had been rubbed. He confided that it was great to have the weekend off even if he was going to work getting his honey "do" list started. He seemed genuinely pleased to know he had a six pack of beer awaiting him in the frig, homemade chicken pie for supper and football tomorrow. I admit it seems nice to have him here as well.

We are installing an electric hot water heater, then electric baseboard heat units due to the severe increase in natural gas prices. The landlord said go ahead, so we are starting that. Gas prices have been worrying me, and I don't want the stress of huge heating bills this winter.

Tomorrow is football...............hopefully will do better with my fantasy team than last weekend. I am so competitive that I tend to lose my temper, instead of road rage I get sports rage. Weird considering I am rather of a lady in most respects.

it is pouring here this weekend and will continue until monday morning. Not a bad thing considering we have had drought conditions here. But the region is expecting at least 5 inches of rain. The kids are all stuck inside as most of the weekend events have been cancellled. But it doesn't seem like three kids in a small apartment. Thankgod the girls love to read! Boyo is watching television, which is the normal state of affairs for him. All in all it is shaping up to be a very soothing family weekend. Hope everyone else has a great weekend as well.

We tried last night to have a discussion with the 15 year old growling hanson. It seems she growls and snarls these days more than she smiles. That, my friend, is living with a teenage girl. This kid's tempermant has always leaned towards crabby but she was also funny and kind hearted. That is until she entered high school. Now she is mean,selfish and entirely embarrassed by her parents.

We don't mean to be embarrassing parental units, we just are right now. Another fact of life in teenageville. I don't want to live in that town any longer and I have two more to go.

In this family, we have always been open and frank about sex, boys, drugs, and birth control. We discuss those topics and prevailing rules and limitations like we are talking about the weather. We have condoms available, and the most common discussed issue is teenage pregnancy. You would think by now these little hanson termites would "get it". No darn babies! College yes, or maybe a job yes.

For some reason Hubster decided last night to reiterate all above discussed topics. I know why really and I can't say as i blame him. Although the growling teenage hanson is not emotionally ready for dating or sex, this child has become gorgeous. My husband certainly understands what will be lurking in the mind of teenage boys when this girl/woman hits the school halls this year.

The discussion started poorly and ended up with our daughter yelling that we were stupid and slamming out the door. Gads! What the hell were we thinking when we started encouraging our girls to be independent and speak their mind. Growly Girl certainly forgot about respect.

I expect failure as a parent, I expect to have many of my lectures to fall on deaf ears. I know these kids will make decisions based on a spur of the moment. I also know that I cannot rely on other parents to counsel their own kids on sex and pregnancy. I have to arm my own kids with knowledge and authority.

Probably the only recourse left for hubster and I, is to keep talking. We will continue to embarass the kids but hopefully in situations of need they will hear us talking, deep in the recesses of their immature brains