So I wrote this blog yesterday, and as I'm finishing the last few words ~ POOF! The whole thing disappears with a missed keystroke! ARRGGGGHHHHH! I didn't have the time or the inclination to do it all over again so I decided to wait until today.

We skipped exercising Tuesday because Aaron was exhausted (the lack of sleep finally caught up with him from his double shift), but we did go yesterday evening. It's the first time though that I didn't feel any better after having done it. It probably had to do with the fact that I hadn't taken my Ritalin for the midday OR the afternoon! Zachary and I had gone shopping with my Mom and we were gone for 4 hours! I didn't bring any with me because I had no idea that we'd be gone that long. And then when we got home I took a nap and by the time I woke up it was too late to take my last dose. I was trying to keep it on schedule so I wouldn't mess it up with the last dose, but if I take it too late then I can't sleep.

My Mom took Zachary school clothes shopping at Beall's and we found 3 shirts, which was really nice of her to pay for. Then we ended up going to lunch and then to Wal-Mart. I was exhausted by the time we hauled all the groceries upstairs and got them put away. I dropped on the couch, clipped a note to my blanket to tell Aaron not to wake me until 5, and passed out. Well, being the loving husband he is, he let me sleep past 5:30. Unfortunately it was too late to take my meds by then. 🙁 But I appreciated the gesture anyhow.

I wanted to thank all of you who responded to my last blog about manic rages. There was a lot of good advice in those comments and I took them to heart. When I had originally been diagnosed years ago with Major Depressive Disorder he did read a book I got him, but we haven't read a book regarding Bipolar Disorder together. I think it would be good for us to read it together and discuss each of the topics pertaining to my situation and how it affects me and the family.

I read an article online about something called the Orange Rhino Challenge ~ and have decided to implement it. It's about not yelling at your kids at all, but choosing to use creative methods and calmness and kindness to handle all the situations that come along. I also challenged Aaron to it (and he can't resist a challenge, it's like a game to him and he's very competitive) and he's on board. It's going to be much harder for him than me though. He's usually the one that yells. To begin with we're going to try to make it through a week of this. To remind each other when we see each other start to lose our cool we yell out some kind of animal and it makes us remember what we promised. It's also kind of funny and it works. So far so good. Aaron had only one slip yesterday ~ and I yelled "OCTOPUS!" and then he burst out laughing. So the yelling was avoided. 🙂

When I woke up this morning it was like a hurricane outside! The trees were bending over and swaying strongly in the winds, and the rain was like a deluge. Luckily the worst of it only lasted about a 1/2 hour and since then it's not windy and the rain is just a soft one. But during the beginning I was really concerned some of the trees would snap. It's a good thing the wind was blowing away from the house so that if one did go it would have gone the other way.

So today's my husband's 33rd birthday, and I have to work. I'm not thrilled with this. I won't get home until about 9:30 in the evening. But he's taking tomorrow off to spend with us, which will be nice. There's just one problem ~ Zach and I were going to go get his birthday gift tomorrow! Now how do I get rid of him long enough to do that? If he sees where I'm going he'll know exactly what the gift is, and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Maybe I'll leave him at his Dad's and then Zach and I can go…

Speaking of his Dad, I just got off the phone with him. I set it up so that Saturday night Zach will spend the night with them. That way Aaron and I have time to spend alone together walking on the beach or going to dinner or just hanging out with friends for the night. It will give us some time to reconnect and have a little fun without having to worry about taking care of Zachary. I'll miss him while he's at his grandpa's ~ but I always do when he's not home.

I got a really good night's sleep last night, and I feel good this morning. Even though we're going to be stuck in the house today because of the weather we'll find stuff to do. I think we're going to have lunch and then play on the Wii some afterwards. I've got some minor chores to do and then a little later I'll take a nap and set my phone alarm to wake me in time to get ready for work.

I wish you all a good Thursday.