Me: Sometimes I wonder about our kids’ intelligence. It’s like they’re super smart most of the time but sometimes they just do the most retarded things!
Shaun: I know what you mean. I bet our parents said the same thing about us when we were little.
Me: They probably still do.
It’s been a really rough couple of weeks. There have been amazing highs and amazing “omg.wtf.” moments. Today my brain rebelled against all the lack of control and the OCD is upon me. I’ve already vacuumed the floor, rearranged the kids books, hauled laundry from the hamper to the laundry room, and added 3″ to the hoodie I’m working on crocheting.
Things my doctor said I could do: crochet.
I’ve also sorted several large piles of papers and found where our daughter has been hiding her homework and notes from school. I also uncovered a stash of dirty, soaking wet underwear from our oldest.
Now, I’m trying to form all my lists and post-it notes from the past 2 weeks onto one page in nice categories. Maybe I’ll feel a little better? I hope so. I’m hoping this will cut down on the crazy and I can do the productive things that will actually make a difference.
Then, maybe, I can write about the highs and lows of this bipolar last couple of weeks. I don’t know if anyone will want to read it, but hey, at least it will be out and not rattling around in my brain. Hey thanks, blog world – you get to be my therapist!
I’m 10 days post op. All the bruising has faded (I looked like I’d been hit in the stomach with a steel donut) but I got a nasty infection in my belly button. The antibiotics are making me loopy and sick. Since the surgery, we’ve spent maybe $200 on medicine. It sucks and what sucks worse is that the nurse who was covering the on-call line was a total ass hat and brushed off my symptoms when I called for more meds. So, a day later, I’m back in the hospital with an infection, my pulse is at 120 and my temperature is dropping. The doctor at the ER took one look at my tummy and pronounced it infected. I got ANOTHER EKG and told to drink plenty of water and to expect squirt poops from the antibiotics. Seriously, I’m fighting for the world record of most EKGs in 14 days. The memo must have gone out that mitral valve prolapse is a serious medical condition (um, haven’t I been saying this for 10 years?) and I must be triaged directly back into the innards of the ER to have sticky things stuck all over me and all the monitors turned on. I’m not dying, I just have puss.
Since I’ve been on bedrest, I’ve watched about 1000 episodes of Project Runway and The Rachel Zoe Project. This is COMPLETELY unlike me. I do love fashion design and style but I hate the editing of reality shows. It’s always “so and so is a bitch and we don’t like her” that’s totally blown out of proportion by the production company. I just want to see what they come up with and how they do it. I tried watching America’s Next Top Model but I couldn’t stand it. It went way over my maximum threshold for flakiness. I can barely stand Heidi Klum on Project Runway. You can almost see the teleprompter reflected in her eyes.
My mom stayed with me all last week and took care of the kiddos so I had some time on my hands. It’s odd the way children and dogs react to a new “pack leader” even if it’s temporary. The kids out-performed each other with excellent behavior. They don’t even try to show off for me, which is kind of nice in itself. I’m just “Mom.” Nothing special about plain ole Mom, she’s just Mom. LOL
The dogs, on the other hand, did not take it so well. They have these weird dominance fights about twice a year so apparently, with Grandmommy in charge it was time to redo the pecking order. German Shepherd breeds (all of the pups are GSD mixes) are so interesting in the way they vie for dominance. Grandmommy has only had little dogs and never more than one at a time, so she didn’t know that when the dominance play starts – make sure YOU come out on top. Every time this happens they try and challenge me as pack leader and it’s super important to make it clear that they aren’t going to budge me.
So, dominance play is in session and the blood is shed over position. Our GSD/Lab, Abbie, always makes sure she comes out on top. She’s not as big as Nola, but she fights dirty and she’s strong. Abbie has two cuts over one eye. Nola, the great Dane, tried to fight both Abbie and Cali, the collie mix, but was quickly put in her place. She has two cuts over one eye and one cut under it. Oh well, the tube of antibiotic eye cream for the dogs expires this month, so I may was well use it up. Cali walked away scot free and smelling like an angel even though she started half the fights. She’s little but she’s a scrappy bitch. Now that I’m up and moving, things have settled down with our little wolf pack with the pecking order being absolutely the same as it was last time.
Last week’s score: Dogs – 1, Grandmommy – 0.
On the other side, Mom did great with the kids. They made play-do pumpkins and dried them to hang up. They made velvet art posters. They played on the computer and went to the pet store to look at the fish. Mom’s always great with pre-school aged kids and it was so nice to not have to worry about anything. Mom thinks of EVERYTHING.
I finished some crochet projects so I need to take pictures and put them up. I finished the uniform skirt for A, finished a bamboo scarf for Shaun, and repaired a ton of clothing that has been waiting on me. I made Shaun take me to Wal-Mart to get some more of the Caron Simply Soft Eco yarn. Hobby Lobby had like two choices from that line so I ended up getting some off brand made by Hobby Lobby and it SUCKS. It’s too waxy and your fingers feel so weird after using it. The Eco yarn is amazing and hey, it’s made out of plastic bottles. I got some yarn off of etsy, and I’m still wondering if I like it or not. The alpaca/soysilk blend is very nice, but the organic cotton is not what I expected. I’ll have to work with it before I make a decision.
So what’s life like without a uterus? Exactly the same as with one, so far, but at least I’m not bleeding! I think it will take some time to realize fully that I will never have another period and I will never get pregnant. It’s actually kind of comforting knowing that. Absolutely Not is an answer I’m satisfied with because my mind doesn’t have to analyze it. Shaun and I ceremonially threw away all the tampons and pads so now I’m just waiting to heal up. 
It’s going to be well worth it!
I finally figured out how to use RSS feeds and it’s great stuff! My brain is so off right now. Thank God for Google making everything easier.
The pre-op appt with my primary care doctor went fine yesterday. My pulse was high (105) which is normal for me. My BP was so low the machine couldn’t read it, which is normal for me. I weighed in at 129 lbs which is NOT NORMAL for me. That’s about 10 lbs heavier than normal. My EKG was fine and just showed the high pulse – which was normal for me. So, the only thing that was worrisome is my weight and that’s probably from the endo and the fibroma that the ultrasound tech inflamed. Dr. H said she’d send all her recommendations to the surgeon and said that I may need to spend some extra time on IV antibiotics just so we don’t have to worry about endocarditis. My mom had endocarditis last year and that was SCARY.
This morning I walked out of the bedroom – in freaking huge amounts of pain – in search of coffee before the kids got up. All the kids were up though – and both boys immediately said “Alyssa is stealing food and it’s all under the couch.” She had eaten 3 peanut and granola bars, a box of raisins, and hidden several other granola bars and snacks under the couch. She not only had the evidence all over her and caked in her teeth, but told me that she did not do it – that it was Ethan who did it all. LJ said “that’s a lie. She was trying to force Ethan to eat some raisins.” I checked E out and he had minty fresh toothpaste breath and so did LJ. Grrrrr….
None of us got much sleep last night due to the storms and power outages so everyone was cranky this morning. E just got sent back to bed for throwing the mother of all tantrums, of all things, so I’m thinking I’m going to take a nap too. It was so adorable last night. I walked in with the flashlight to check on the babies and Alyssa had shot straight up out of bed. She says in her little pumpkin voice “Mommy, I’m scared of lightning.” She came out to the couch and laid down in between me and Shaun and went right to sleep. She had her head on Daddy’s lap and her feet snuggled up to Mommy and apparently that’s all it takes to make lightning irrelevant. I held the flashlight in between my knees and kept crocheting. I finished another washcloth and have been working on some dish towels to match. When the power came back on, we were able to get A back to bed and I was able to go to bed too.
So, this morning I had to go meet with the school because they were offering food as rewards in her classroom and had basically told me I couldn’t regulate what she ate there. I was going to let it go yesterday, but she’s not acting with her brain right now. This is pure instinct. I spoke with the school vice principal and it went so well. Not only can I regulate her diet, I can VERY specifically regulate it. We have an IEP (individual education plan) set up for Monday so that the school psychologist, the counselor, the principal and vice principal and her teachers all agree – in writing – to meet certain goals. I also let the vp know that I didn’t think the teachers and lunch room manager had taken me seriously when I talked to them last week. She HAS to be watched at all times. We are under a 24/7 safety plan with her because she self-harms. If she can’t stuff her face, she pulls out hair and cuts herself. She lies like she breathes and people fall all over themselves to give her things.
They see an adorable little 5 year old. They don’t see how scared she is that she’s going to be rejected, hurt, beaten, sexually abused, and starved. They don’t see that she’s had to build up these defenses just to survive and that we’re working every single day to build trust and reassurance that she’s safe. So, the vice principal understood and I told her that I have all the documentation they need to keep the school covered to follow what I’m asking for. That we need to make sure that she knows that school isn’t a different “life” than home – that school and home co-exist and the rules don’t change. They need to make sure that every word and action she sees (she is hyper-vigilant about observing people) reinforces the therapy plan that’s in place. Right now, they’re thinking we’re way too strict. Most people do. They don’t realize the safety the kids get from knowing the steadfast rules and routines. I have letters from therapists and psychologists, letters from doctors from Emory, years of reports and information, safety plans… we’re trained to be strict because that’s what the kids need.
We weren’t able to get E into a public pre-K (that I approved of) this year so he’s on a waiting list at the same school Alyssa is going to. Until then, I’m the pre-k teacher! It’s a good thing I bought the curriculum last year when A was having so many troubles in pre-K that we had to take her out. He’s so angry that he’s not going to school this year so it may be hit and miss with getting him to sit down for a structured “class time. “ I have yet to be successful at it but I’ll keep trying. He already knows all the stuff anyways, he just plays dumb to see if people are paying attention.
Oh well, in 8 days, it will be Mom’s problem to play pre-K teacher and taxi driver. She raised me and my siblings successfully so she’ll fit right in to the role. She told me last time she watched the kids “they don’t listen very well.” That’s crazily funny because they listen 100x better than normal kids – even better than my nephew who lives in her house. It’s just they aren’t military brats like we were. From the moment of birth, we knew you not only accepted the routine and chain of command, but thought it was the most natural thing on earth.
It will be interesting and fun to watch. I’ll have to charge up the video camera and see how she handles it. She still thinks I’m nuts for adopting three kids – but then again, if you mention her 3 kids, she gets this terrified look on her face and says “I never planned that.” It’s great fun because she’s so incredibly good at being a mom – she just has no patience for being challenged as alpha female and she’s probably the most stubborn woman on the planet. I was informed (yes, informed) yesterday that I was going to bring the kids to church after Amber’s birthday party because they were having a puppet show. I asked if it was going to be one of those creepy “sin and you go to HELL” puppet shows and she said she didn’t know, she just wanted her grandbabies there. She wants to show them off but she’s too stubborn to admit that she’s super-proud of them. It’s so damn cute!
I had my OB/GYN appt yesterday and it went so unbelievably well! I thought I’d have to talk the doctor into a hysterectomy instead of trying the months of things that were such a failure in my mom and sister. I literally don’t think I’d survive hormone treatments, an ablation, or all that other stuff that led up to my family’s hysterectomies. So I went to the same doctor and gave him the run-down of health problems related to bleeding and he did the exam.
He totally agreed that a hysterectomy would be the best idea and that it be done as soon as possible. He said it felt like an adenoma in the uterine wall that was causing all the pain and bleeding. ThankyouJesus! He asked what my pregnancy plans were and I gave him the wtf look. I’ve got three kids and I totally don’t ovulate. He laughed and said that’s probably good because a pregnancy for me would most likely be “not low risk.” I’d be on my back or in the hospital for the entire 10 months, the migraines and heart issues would probably get worse, and the medication I’m on can cause birth defects. Let’s see… um, no baby maker sounds good to me.
I really like this doctor – he’s funny and sweet and really gives a damn. He also dealt with my sister successfully and is therefore a saint. There were a few really funny moments yesterday. He did the breast exam and said “aw, a rubber ducky!” I told him that my chest was the bath toy section of tattoos and I thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head. “W-w-what?” I had to show him the other boob (he would have gotten there anyways) with the scuba diving turtle. While he was doing the “down there” exam he said “my stomach says burrrrrrrito.” LOL! It’s nearly impossible to laugh when you’re getting a cervical swab though so I just grinned.
My sister is the master of inappropriate comments and I was with Amber during all her baby stuff and all the uterine crap afterwards, so Dr. B knew I’m ok with random shit. He asked Amber if she really was comfortable with a hysterectomy and she told him “all my uterus does is bleed, cause pain, and produce bastard children. “ See, I didn’t know this when he asked me the same thing and I said “it’s like 5 lbs of worthless flesh. When can you go get it?” Although, I’ll never have reason to tell him to reach on up there and grab the kid by the fro and get him OUT so he’s going to have an easier time with me.
We went through all the health stuff and he pronounced me a healthy 28 year old female, other than the problems with the heart and brain and uterus… lol. I can’t wait to not have the uterus problem. I feel trapped by the stupid body and once it’s able to actually heal instead of getting caught up from bleeding only to bleed again, I’ll feel so much better.
My sister and mom are so happy for me. Shaun is too, but he’s worried about logistics. He’s a PM, so that’s his natural state. My dad said “no more grandbabies from my daughters…” I was like, Dad, I know where to get grandbabies! There’s like 100million in foster care. (Although, I told the doctor I bought my kids at Wal-Mart. It’s my standard answer for “where did they come from?” Wal-Mart.)
So, surgery is August 20th. Before then, I need to get this house spotless and the kids’ schedules down pat so that the family doesn’t get totally manipulated by my youngsters. I also need to coordinate who is going to help out on what days during what time. I need to get my laptop configured and all my TV shows onto a flash drive so I won’t be totally bored during the hospital stay. My cell is a wireless tether so I’ll have internet but cell coverage is spotty in the hospital. I’m pretty sure I can unplug for a couple of days… but that may just make me crazy.
Today is open house and kiddos start school on Monday. Most of A’s uniforms are washed, so I just need to get those separated into outfits. All the school supplies are bought and packed up in backpacks and ready to go. E’s the only one that will be home with me during the day, so most of the help I’ll need during the day will be with him and transporting the kiddos to and from school and making meals. I may need to call the vet and ask for some puppy sedatives for Nola and Abbie. Either that or duct tape a pillow to my tummy to ward off Nola hugs and just let Abbie do her over-protective “don’t come near my mommy” thing.
I’d better log off and start cleaning. I’m going to sweep then give each kid a wet magic eraser and let em go at the floors. They’re closer than I am. 
I called my dad and he said “that’s what you get for using that fucked up carpet.”
He means this stuff. We put in Legato tiles before the kids moved in for two reasons – I’m allergic to carpet padding and this stuff is really really nice. We did both kids rooms for less than $500 and it’s PLUSH. Also, if it stains, you just jerk it up and put down a new tile. With 3 large dogs, 3 kids, and 2 cats – this is very useful. Poop and barf are daily events in our house. (This is also why all our furniture is leather and the rest of the house is done in laminate wood flooring.)
However, it also means that it only took me 10 minutes to repair the entire room – all by myself. Once Dad calmed me down, I talked to the girl child about money. If she’s going to tear stuff up, I’m not going to have any money to buy her pretty clothes or cool toys. I let her know that if she keeps tearing up the house, I will take her existing toys down to the kids’ only second-hand store and sell them until I had enough to pay for repairs. On one income, we don’t have enough to cover her tantrums.
She seemed sobered up by that, so we went out to do our errands. We were going to take Dad to lunch but he was covered up at work and this migraine was already starting. It’s one of those “everything touching my skin hurts” kinds so I’m not laying down for now. Once the pain meds kick in, I may be able to.
We did, however, stop and see Dad at his shop. Even with his hands covered in grease he saw what I had and snatched it up. I made him a clock out of an obsolete Bigfoot hard drive and a hammered metal picture frame. As I’m yelling “don’t scratch the drive!” he’s showing his buddies at work. I told the kids to stay put (they don’t know shop etiquette yet) and caught up to him as he’s telling the other mechanics “look what Cyndi made – it’s a hard drive!” I didn’t even get to get a picture of it before he ran off with it!
We hugged and he informed me that he would start taking apart his old hard drives for me to make stuff out of. Two weeks ago, I had to practically STEAL the hard drives from him to make this batch of clocks. We had the “if it’s got less memory than a flash stick, is it considered ‘good’” conversation. He even gave me two nice torque drivers to take apart the ones from last time. He apparently approves of their new functionality.
Bigfoot drives come in two discs, so the other one is on Shaun’s workbench. I accidentally scratched it while adding some detailing, so I’m going to have to figure out what to do with it. I’m thinking I’ll lightly sand all of it in a swirl pattern to give it a brushed metal look, then coat it with acrylic sealant. I really hope it works because the metal detailing on it is beautiful. If need be, though, I’ll paint it. The shape is nice enough to keep, even if I ruined the face.
The AC guy should be here soon. If the central air did die, we’re just going to put in a couple of window units until our next tax return. Dad has one he said he’d give me and we can afford another window unit. The main part of our house is only 1100 square feet, so that should keep us from melting until we have a more secure income.
There was a conversation on Etsy about a week ago that is sticking with me. It was about whether to give stuff to family or to make them go through the business. I was on the 100% free for family side but it shocked me how many people said “if I were a retail store, I wouldn’t give them anything. Why should I now?” I just think that’s sad. I know a lot of families aren’t as close as my immediate clan is, and I can understand that some people’s families are little more than genetically bonded. I just know that if I didn’t have my family, I would be up shit creek without a paddle. We support each other and if any single one of us is doing without, the rest of us are there chipping in. It’s like a commune except for the whole living under one roof part – we have 4 roofs in a 15 mile radius. We did only have two, but then Mom’s family decided to leave paradise to join the commune. We do huge family gatherings every other Sunday and two days from now, even Dad’s mom is coming. My family is the reason that me and my sister can stay at home with our kids. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. To me, if Mom and Dad asked for everything I’ve ever made, I’d give it to them and call it a fair trade.
Family isn’t about whose blood you have. It’s about who you care about. ~ South Park
One of my ongoing projects is to get all the family photos in digital format and optimized. I just do it bit by bit and hopefully soon it will start to come together.
Here are some pictures of my wedding to Shaun 10 years ago. I love my dress. First it was my aunt’s, then my mom’s, then mine, then a friend of mine’s. My aunt made the veil and Shaun’s grandmother made the flowers.
In the window of the church. The dress is ivory satin and ivory lace.
Me and my mom. She’s a tall one! I’m wearing 3 inch heels.
Me and Shaun. The church is set back in a sort of woodsy area but is right next to a highway. The entire time we did the photos, people were rolling their windows down and yelling either “congrats!” or “DON’T DO IT!”
Me and my Dad. I’m an inch shorter than him in real life, so this was quite the experience. He still had hair too!
The wedding “party.”
Shaun and I have been married for 10 years today! It’s pretty damn amazing… unless you’re one of the ones who has been there since we met. It’s always been kinda supernatural for us – not what I’d call soul mates – but instant friends. It’s like we had a gravity towards each other and worked better as partners than as “one soul in two bodies.”
I dreamed last night of a high school reunion planning meeting. I’m not one of the organizers, but I see the updates on facebook all the time so it must have been rolling around in my subconscious. It was me and three girls watching a team of football players finish up their game. We were talking about how none of us turned out the way we had expected in school. That our lives were different than we had planned. Then this one girl, who used to dance in school, came flashing by, holding her hands in a certain way to show off her manicure. I thought to myself that some people did not evolve with the rest of us…
People make caricatures of the people they are around in their brain. They are more 2 dimensional than reality and are often false indicators. It’s easier to attribute certain broad traits to someone in our own brain, which is why at times we are surprised when the person – who is not 2D – acts out of character.
I’m not saying that Shaun and I have complete 3D maps. We don’t at all. We just don’t mind being surprised. It doesn’t happen often anymore but it does happen. We have assumptions about what the other is thinking and sometimes we have to hash it out to get to the same place.
We have different personalities and different ideas. At times we frustrate the hell out of each other. We also compliment each other’s personality. I’m quick to anger and then after the emotion dies down, I can be very analytical about something. Shaun is very slow to anger and will put up with almost anything until you push him over the edge, then he’s mad and it takes him time to calm down. Shaun is a casual social person. I’m a formal social person. He’d rather beer and a couch in someone’s home and I’d rather a cocktail on neutral territory (where I didn’t have to clean up.) Shaun likes an overhead view of problems and issues, and I like details that seem meaningless and unrelated.
We’re a nice fit. We love each other. But best of all, we’re partners.
I need to find a better picture but we’ve got the kids’ psychiatrist appt this morning. Busy, busy!
I can’t believe we’re less than 3 weeks away from school starting. May and June were crazy months and thank goodness we’ve been able to have a quiet July. My goal in July was to bore the crap out of the kids so that they’d be excited to go back to school. I don’t think it’s worked yet… they seem happy to sleep in until 9 am, hang out in pj’s, and watch PBS.
I found out yesterday that the charter school Alyssa will be going to did get their pre-K charter. I called up and they had lost Ethan’s paperwork (not surprising since his name dramatically changed with the adoption) but they did go ahead and put him on the waiting list. It would be the best possible thing for him to be able to go to pre-K there. Otherwise, I’m going to homeschool him during pre-K. He’s one of those kids that does not do well in a normal school environment. He’s not quite ADHD like LJ is but if there are other kids around who are not focused, then he won’t settle. His brain works a lot like mine – he absorbs info, files it away as irrelevant at the moment, gets bored, then creates trouble. So, I’ll file his paperwork with them today so that hopefully he’ll get in soon.
For Alyssa to get admission, I had to register her under her old name during the last school year. There are only a certain number of spots available and it’s further broken down by the child’s primary language. It’s a dual-immersion English/Spanish school and they also teach Mandarin Chinese. Hopefully it will challenge her enough to keep her out of trouble. Pre-K for her was like a lesson in futility. She already knew EVERYTHING they were teaching the other kids (she’s on a 1st grade level) and decided that meant everyone else was stupid and she was therefore in charge. With some kids, they do that and get this air of bravado and adults think “he’s going through that arrogant stage.” With her, she really does believe that we’re all here to serve her and suggesting otherwise does not compute. Of course, she is smart and beautiful which means people DO line up to give her things. She had talked her teachers into giving her 3 lunches a day, THREE!, letting her roll around in the dirt during recess, taunting other children, and basically acting like we will not let her act at home. It’s all ok with them because she’s cute and smart and gives you those big green puppy dog eyes. All this does is reinforce the thought that she’s a superior being stuck in a smaller body. Or something.
There’s a reason my kids act like civilized human beings. I don’t fall for the BS and I have no fear of saying no. I don’t use fear or intimidation to keep them in line, they just know the expectations and they know I’m not going to back off of them. This does mean we talk a lot about the meaning of words like upset, disappointed, unhappy, discussion, responsibility, and who is in charge. We can actually eat a meal in a sit-down restaurant with the kids.
LJ will be going to the school across the street from us. He didn’t get accepted into the charter school, and that’s probably for the best. He didn’t walk or talk until he was 5 and he’s still behind in language and social skills. Because he was non-verbal, his test scores showed that he was mentally retarded and he was held back a grade and stuck in special ed. There’s nothing wrong with that because he did need to learn the basics but he has made so many strides since then that you’d never guess he wasn’t always “normal.” He was in a regular class last year and recieved speech therapy and social skills therapy several times a week. This year, he’ll still receive services, but they’ll be integrated into the class so he doesn’t get singled out or pulled away from class.
I really hope he gets a young, active teacher this year. Last year we had all sorts of trouble with his teacher. He needs someone interactive – not someone who hovers and scowls. Doing that puts him on defense and he retreats into his fantasy world. Then everyone who wants to play ball during recess is stealing his stuff and every time someone bumps into him in line means they’re deliberately trying to knock him down and get him into trouble. This causes meltdowns and tantrums. Then he’s scared to go back to class because he knows that’s not a “good reaction” so he does stuff to get sent out of class. Things like picking his nose until it bled so he could go to the nurse’s. Making himself throw up. Stomping on another kid’s foot.
When we figured out what was happening, we started playing games at home during homework. When learning was a happy thing and he felt safe doing it he immediately started getting better. He was making 30’s and 40’s before we started and after he was getting 90’s and 100’s. Still, we couldn’t convince the teacher that he’s not a bad kid – he’s a scared kid. She didn’t see anything wrong with her methods and would tell me “I have 20 kids in that classroom!” 20? Really? That’s all… huh. That’s a TINY class.
Anyways, I have to register all three for school today since their names, birth certificates, and social security numbers have all changed. So I need to get them all ready to go while I fill out the paperwork here. Thank God that it’s all online and all I have to do is print it out.
I also need to run to the post office. We made a sale on Etsy! Yay! I also had a book mooched on BookMooch, so I need to send it out. After all that, we’ll be back home and do lunch, then they get naptime and I get to list some more lace on Etsy. If I get a chance, I need to go out in the garage and get a coat of primer on the keys. Shaun’s going to do the metallic paint for me since he’s got a steadier hand and has more experience with oil-based enamels than I do. I also need to clean the bird cage, our bathroom, and my workstation.
The kids are up and the boys are already in trouble, so it sounds like time for breakfast! Have a happy Tuesday, everyone!
I’m working on a keyboard mod right now that’s inspired by the 77 Chevrolet Nova and the song “Your Mama Don’t Dance.”
The keyboard started life as a plain ole HP block-style board. The lines on it (and the gray primer) remind me of my family’s old Novas. We had 3 at one time.
The red one we grew up with – it was a 77 4 door Nova with a 380 stroker in it. It reminds me of summertime in GA where you have to have all the windows rolled down and go 60 miles an hour just so your ass doesn’t stick to the seat. The seats were red vinyl and the roof was black vinyl. The roof used to be white, but Dad had it dyed. I learned to drive in that car. It’s one of those cars that cops will pull you over just to check it out. You just looked like you were going fast.
When my brother got to driving age, Dad pitched in to help him buy a silver one – identical to the red one but it only had a 305 in it. About a year later, I bought Shaun a ‘79 Nova hatchback for his birthday. It was brown with orange pinstripes and had a 305.
The red Nova had the words “Kim’s Toy” decaled on the back window. Dad built race cars but Mom stole them. Dad always loved cars but Mom loved the Nova. She also loved Dr. Hook. I actually didn’t know until today that Poison remade “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” I looked it up on YouTube because I’ve been reliving the good ole days while painting the keyboard and saw that Dr. Hook only had one of the top videos. Craziness.
I’m hoping to sell it when I’m done, but once Dad sees it he may comandeer it. I’m excited about it! It’s two toned – dark cherry metallic and brushed platinum and Shaun has almost talked me into hand painting the keys. I’ll have a few days to decide. The primer is curing right now and the two coats of paint will go on tomorrow. After that, it needs a gloss clear coat (probably three layers) and several days to dry out really well. Then, once I’ve figured out what to do with the keys and painted them I can start reassembling the board with its components. After I’ve given it a test drive, I’ll add the detailing.
It’s gonna be beautiful!
|
SocialVibe