My Three Girls

Summer fun

2009-07-24T10:00:00.002-04:00

Hey there!! Long time, no see.

We've been having an eventful summer. The girls got out of school around the middle of June, and all 5 of us got on a plane out to California. The girls stayed with our in-laws, and Jeff and I had our 1st vacation with no kids in almost 6 years. We went to Vegas...it was awesome. So much fun. We were able to see Ka' and Penn & Teller. We can't wait to go back.

The girls had a fabulous time with Jeff's parents. Their cousin Ariel was there, too, for the majority of the time, so they had a bunch of girly fun. Played dress-up, got in the spa, played with dolls and Barbies, and generally ran amok for 4 days straight. Needless to say, my worry that they would miss us while we were gone (as this was the longest we'd ever been away from them) were unfounded. I doubt they noticed we weren't there. In fact, I think we got a passing "Hi mom, hi dad!" after we came in the door. They were too busy.

Emma got her ears pierced with Auntie M & Aunt Kammie. I'd been asking her for 3 years if she wanted to get them done, but she kept telling me no thanks, because she knew it would hurt. Ok fine. But, as soon as mom's gone, and her aunts suggest it, SURE! LOL

As soon as we got back to Michigan, Emma started PEAK. It's a day camp that runs for 6 weeks during the summer. They have water days, do arts & crafts, go on field trips. Just the thing a kid like Emma needs. Not to mention the fact that most of the kids go to her school and she needs to make some new friends. Her best friend is switching schools next fall and making friends can be hard for her.

Sarah & Katie are doing well, having fun running around like banshees at home. Katie's doing really well with the potty training. Sarah we're still working on. Hoping to have her almost 100% trained before school starts. They're getting along pretty well, with only a few screaming matches a day. Otherwise they're like peas in a pod, best friends, partners in crime, the whole thing.

Jeff is doing well. Traveling for work. He just got back from Ithaca, NY. He & a co-worker did a presentation @ a conference at Cornell for a software product they use. I got a nifty Ivy League school sweatshirt. Yeah, you're jealous.

We also went to visit our friends in Tennessee for the 4th. Fun drive, all 14 hours of it. But it's worth it because they're our oldest friends, and our kids actually get along pretty well. We're the "Brady Bunch": they have 3 boys, we have 3 girls. The logistics are going to start getting a wee bit uncomfortable, as our two oldest are only 2 days apart, and they call each other their "boyfriend/girlfriend" when they're apart. Ahem They're 9 1/2. Oh boy, not looking forward to the teenage years.

This coming semester is Jeff's last. It's going to be hell, not looking forward to it, but then it'll be done and he'll have a degree that he's been working towards for 5 1/2 years. I'm so very very proud of him. Between going to school and working full-time, not to mention getting a promotion in between there and having to travel constantly for work. he's done extremely well. He'll be graduating with honors, which is hard enough for some people to accomplish without all the responsibilities that he has.

That's pretty much the rundown of what's been going on with us. Not a whole lot of excitement, but then again, I'm not sure I want a ton of excitement.

Another swoon post

2009-06-01T12:16:00.000-04:00

Official "New Moon" trailer. Hoo boy.

2 Updates in a row!

2009-05-28T13:31:00.002-04:00

Today was Sarah's Kindergarden Transition IEP. It went really well. It was at Vowles, since that's where she'll be going next year, so we had her preschool team meeting up with her elementary school team. Her PT will stay the same, since she services both the school system and the Gratiot-Isabella RESD. Her Special Ed. teacher was there, as well.

First, we went through all of Sarah's strengths, and how she was doing on her goals since we last met. We only met 6 months ago, but she's made a lot of progress since then, which I was really excited to hear. Then each of the therapists went over their goals for her for the next year. They all sound really good to me, nothing too far fetched, but not too easy either. She'll be getting a lot of extra OT, since her Special Ed. teacher focuses a lot of fine motor. She'll be getting 20-30 minutes of ST, 4-6x a month. As for PT, I think it was around 30 minutes, 2x a week. But, she'll also be having 2 recesses a day, not to mention P.E., which she'll probably have with her special ed class, as she's still really small. It was suggested that I bring her to the playground at the school sometime during the summer to allow her to get used to it, as it's a bit bigger and not quite as contained as the one @ her current school.

Speaking of containment, I also warned everyone about her tendency to run off. That's still my biggest concern with her, as she's ninja-like in her stealthness. She almost seems to wait until you're NOT looking and then go the opposite direction. I told them we're still planning on getting some sort of device to keep track of her. I'm hoping to have that in place by the time school starts.

I also told them that she's not potty trained yet, but I hope to have her well on her way by the time school starts. Katie's already doing really well, and I know that Sarah won't want to let her be better at something. :D

All in all, it was a really good meeting. I'm fortunate that her team really gets Sarah and I haven't had to fight for much in regards to therapies or accommodations. We also put transportation on the IEP, even though I'm not 100% sure she'll be riding the bus. But, it's easier to put it on there and not have to use it rather than having to schedule a meeting to put it on there later. The OT seemed really excited to work with Sarah, and the PT already knows her, but the ST seemed a little daunted by the fact that she's so small and is a runner, haha. I know Sarah will have them all wrapped around her little finger by the end of the first week of school.

Update from our neck of the woods

2009-05-27T21:34:00.003-04:00

We've had quite the goings-on around here lately, so here's a wrap-up.

I flew to San Diego a couple weeks ago to attend my sister's college graduation. It was the 1st time in almost 2 years that Jeff's been alone with the kids for longer than 12 hours. He did fabulous, which makes me think I should leave him alone more often. :D

I had a really nice time seeing a lot of my dad's family. I hadn't seen any of my younger siblings in 2 years, and I hadn't seen my dad or step-mom since my mom's funeral. I was able to spend some time at the beach, which I miss, terribly. Did a little shopping and generally had a wonderful time.

Both Jeff & I finished the spring semester about a week before that, which we were both happy about. I ended up getting A's in all 3 of my classes, finishing my math class with an 102% on my final exam. I was quite pleased with myself. Jeff also got straight A's, solidifying the fact that he'll be graduating in December with honors! Woo hoo!!

The girls are all doing great. After having some struggles making friends in the beginning of the year, Emma's made a really good friend in a girl named Paige. She's in 4th grade, which means she'll be leaving this school at the end of the year (the schools here are K-4, and then 5-6) but I know she'll keep in touch, and I'm sure we'll be having sleepovers & playdates all summer.

Sarah is having a blast in school, with the last 2 weeks of preschool wrapping up. She's headed to K next year, which I know she'll do great in. We've have K Round-Up, and last night we went to a Parent meeting at the school, where we toured all the classrooms. She didn't want to leave! We have her transition IEP tomorrow morning, where everything for her placement will get finalized. I'm pretty sure her therapy times won't change much, and I think the agreement was that her and another little boy will share an aid, who will travel to the different classrooms with them.

Katie is doing great! Since I got back from California, we've been working on the potty training. She's had a few mishaps, but overall she's caught on really well! I decided that I couldn't handle training 2 kids at once, and Katie, although she was really hesitant to use the potty chair a month ago, started initiating it on her own, so I decided to start with Katie. I know once Katie has it down pat, that Sarah will want to emulate her and she'll be along shortly. :D Katie's biggest hurdle was she really liked the design on her pull-ups and didn't want to wear anything else. But, I convinced her with some new Minnie Mouse undies. Now, she only wears the pull-ups at nap and bedtime. I can't yet have my "ritualistic burning of the changing table pad" yet, but it's close! Unfortunately, I don't think Sarah will be able to go to the speech camp this summer (funding is non-existent) so we'll have the whole summer to work on it! I'd love to send both girls to school in the fall completely pull-up free.

Katie is still my little talker. The things that come out of her mouth have me in stitches at times. Another blogger I follow said that kids at this age are so literal. I can definitely see it with Katie. She picked up Sarah's pants from the floor of the bathroom and asked,"What's this mom?". I told her,"Those are Sarah's jeans." She said,"No, it's a flower." Apparently she had been talking about the design on her jeans, not the jeans themselves.

As for us, Jeff and I are looking forward to traveling to CA in 2 weeks to visit his family. The girls will get some quality time with Nana & Papa, and Jeff & I will be taking a well-deserved vacation to Vegas for 4 days. This will be the 1st trip without kids in almost 6 years. I can hardly wait. But first we have to get through the last couple weeks of school, and Jeff has his final ACSA exam to take. Oh, and then there's the little thing of actually flying with 3 kids cross country, which is always fun. But, they're older now, and hopefully will be a little easier. And please let there be NO exploding diapers @ 35,000 feet.

Pardon me while I swoon

2009-05-21T10:46:00.003-04:00

Can I just say, I'm glad poor Taylor Lautner doesn't have to wear that gawd-awful long wig. Ok, back to swooning...

2009-05-13T12:31:00.002-04:00

I don't do this often, but I try to remember, haha.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:08:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous mothers out there!! I hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Mine started out by waking up to raucous little girly voices telling each other, loudly, to be quiet. They brought me lovely yellow flowers, a beautiful card, and, the staple of all decent holidays, donuts and coffee. It was perfect.

I sort of had my Mother's Day gift yesterday, when Jeff stayed home with all 3 girls and a friend and I went out to the outlet mall and had a "girly shopping day". It was great. No kids, no real time limit, just us & miles of shopping.

Jeff & the girls had fun, too. They went to McDonald's for lunch (which is braver than I am when I'm by myself with them), Emma had a Tennis Fun day, and there were no "Lord of the Flies" moments, so yay! :) I always knew he could do it.

But, this being Mother's Day and all, I did reflect on my mom. It's funny, the littlest things remind me of her. A few weeks ago we finally finished going through all the boxes that had come with her from California, and then stayed in a storage unit for a year. They sat in our garage for almost another year before we got through them all. I laughed a lot going through those boxes, laughed at the way my mom thought, and the way she did things. She had 2 complete sets of the same exact comforter set, with shams. I actually asked out loud,"Ok mom, what was the deal with this?" I also found another box full of linens and towels, which, whenever she moved, she would put into a big plastic bag and THEN put into the box. I always thought that was a bit of overkill, but she was like that. When I opened the bag, the smell hit me. After 2 years in a bag & box, they still smelled like her. Smelled like her fabric softener. And that smell brought tears to my eyes. Even after I washed and dried them, I used one this morning, and it still had that smell.

I'm also finding that I'm having very similar issues with Emma that I remember having with my mom. Specifically her room. Emma is a slight packrat, keeping everything she writes on, draws on, or puts a sticker on. So today I put the proverbial foot down and stormed into her room with a trash bag and a mission. I came out 2 hours later with a sore back, a slightly miffed daughter, and a very full trash bag. I also found about 15 toys of Sarah & Katie's that apparently had made their way into Emma's room, where we thought they had gone to the Island of Lost Toys. I remember my mom getting so mad at me when my room would get so bad that she couldn't see the floor. I'm trying to avoid that with Emma.

I still try to make sure that Mom is a part of my life. I have her earrings and necklace that I wear frequently. Every time I have something important to do, or it's a big day for the kids, I wear them. If it was an event that I probably would have called her to tell her about, I wear them. I still get the urge to call her, even now, almost 2 years later. I still have her email in my computer address book, and her old cell number on my phone.

In a few weeks, we'll be traveling to California as a family for the first time since Mom died. This will be the first chance I'll have had to go visit her. I remember distinctly, when my Grandpa died, how mom had said that she had never visited either her mom or brother. I remember driving by the cemetery and having her point out the general direction where they were buried, but we never went. The first time she went was the first time I did, at Grandpa's funeral. That day will be hard, just like today was, just like some days are. Most are better, some are not. But, she will always be with me, and I will never forget.

Party Time

2009-04-26T08:57:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was Sarah's birthday party at McDonald's. Yeah I know, not the most original, but with it being April here, the weather is unstable, so an outdoor party wasn't an option. Plus, Jeff has ix-nayed home parties for awhile. It's just too stressful. So, McDonald's it was. Which was fine. They provided the food, cake & ice cream, along with a huge inside play area for the kids to run amuck on. Sarah had 2 friends that came from her preschool class, and we had 2 of Emma's friends, and her friend's little brother. Everyone seemed to have a good time. In fact, we had to postpone opening up presents until we got home due to the fact that we couldn't pry Sarah off the play structure. This is why I don't go to this place without backup. There have been instances where I'm standing on the outside, yelling at the girls to come out, knowing I can't fit myself in there to get them. Not a fun experience. Talk about feeling like a crappy parent.

But, I digress. The kids all had fun, and that was the point. Emma got invited to her friend's house for a few hours, and then we invited that friend over to spend the night. This particular friend has ADHD. I also know, via her grandmother, that this girl doesn't take her meds on the weekends. I will the first to admit that I don't know much about ADD or ADHD. That being said, I was unprepared for the onslaught of energy that this little girl has. She's a very sweet girl, but very determined when she puts her mind to something. Like incessantly chasing our cat. LOL But, she's Emma's friend, and for that I'm grateful. This is first real girl friend Emma's had. They have fun together, and that's all that matters. She and Emma were up until 11pm last night, and then up way too early this morning. I guess I should get used to that, since this will most likely not be the only time this friend stays over. The only sad part is this friend is in 4th grade, and that means she won't be going to this school next year (the elementary schools are separated into four K-4 schools, & two 5-6 schools). But, I'm hoping that they'll be able to stay friends. Emma needs to have some consistency.

I've been pondering some things, and I'm conflicted as to what to think of them. I find it interesting that I'm majoring in Special Education, and suddenly we have multiple children interacting in our lives that would fall in that category. First, Sarah, obviously. And Emma, too, since she has an IEP for her speech. Then, Emma's friend's little brother was recently diagnosed with Autism. And now Emma's other friend, with ADHD. I'm vacillating between thinking it's just a numbers game, where more kids are being labeled with something (even though I hate labels) so it's inevitable that we'd come across more kids with special needs, and thinking it is some sort of cosmic preparation for the job that I'll have once I graduate. Either way, I'm grateful for the opportunity to get experience with multiple children with multiple needs. That was my biggest fear with Sarah starting K next year: that she wouldn't have teachers who would understand her needs. And honestly, that's MY biggest fear about becoming a teacher. I'm worried that I won't be able to fulfill the needs of all my future students. I know I won't always have the right answer or know exactly what to do, but I don't want to be blindsided with a child and not having any idea how to help them. So, I'm thankful for the chance to get experience in whatever way I can.

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Sarah!

2009-04-20T14:26:00.002-04:00

My dearest Sarah,
It’s hard for me to believe that you are already five years old. Time moves too quickly these days, and I feel like I’m missing so much.
From the moment you were born, I knew you were unique. It’s hard for me to remember those days, as, like most of us on this journey, I was scared in the beginning. You started surprising us from birth. We didn’t know about your “little something extra” beforehand, but I look back and am thankful, because it allowed your daddy & I to get to know you, as the tiny (well, maybe not, as you were almost 9 lbs!) human being you were. We had 10 days of just enjoying you, and weren’t preoccupied with therapies, doctors, and milestones. And when we were told, we didn’t mourn long. Your daddy, being the strong person he is, helped us all to realize that this didn’t change who you were, or what you meant to us. As if to prove the point that you weren’t about to let a diagnosis bring you down, you rolled over from tummy to back 4 days later, at exactly 14 days old. That was sooner than your big sister! You have never been content with the labels that society wants to put on you. You have always blazed your own path, while the rest of us fight through the bush to get to where you are, so we can join you on your journey, rather than force you to follow ours. Your path is beautiful, unassuming, and filled with all the wonders of the world.
It boggles my mind that you will be starting Kindergarden next fall. Little Sarah, who still wears size 3T clothes and is barely 36 inches tall, going to the big time!! I’m scared and proud, all at the same time. I can’t imagine you riding the big bus with your sister, carrying a backpack as big as you are, and sitting at a desk, with your feet dangling in the air. I know you will make friends, and I know you will shatter the preconceptions of anyone foolish enough to belittle your potential. You will wrap your teachers around your fingers and you will continue to learn and grow.
I know your little sister will miss you, as she does now when you go to school. She wants to be anywhere you are, as your best friend and partner in crime. Your big sister is one of your biggest cheerleaders and is always there to play a game of tag.
You have taught me so much in the last five years. I have learned to slow down and enjoy every milestone, especially when they are fought for with such tenacity. I’ve learned to realize that every word is precious, especially when those words have taken years to say. You’ve helped me sing when the mood strikes, dance with my whole heart, and love unconditionally. I could not imagine my life without you, my sweetheart girl. Thank you for allowing me to your mom.

Love,
Mommy

This has been a week

2009-04-04T18:35:00.004-04:00

You know, there are times during your life when you wonder if the universe isn't playing some cosmic, karmic joke on you. This would be one of those times for me.

For those that follow me on Twitter or Facebook, probably already know about this, but for those that don't, Sarah got seriously injured this week. I like the way Jeff put it: Sarah picked a fight with a 15 lb. TV and lost. She & Katie had a TV in their room that was up on a TV stand on the wall. It was pretty secure. Apparently not secure enough for Sarah. She, Emma & Katie were playing in their room earlier this week while I was puttering around doing housework. All of a sudden, I hear this huge crash from their room. I rushed in there, to find the TV on the floor (it had been up about 6 feet) and Sarah just starting to realize she'd been hurt and screaming. I saw that she had blood on her mouth, so I rushed her into the bathroom to rinse out her mouth. The blood didn't stop. I saw that she had a huge laceration on her lip that would need stitches. I grabbed a washcloth and put some pressure on it, while yelling at Emma to get my phone. I looked into her mouth while I was calling Jeff, and I noticed that one of her bottom teeth was missing.

I got ahold of Jeff and told him what happened, and he said he'd meet us at the ER. But, it took me a bit to get the girls in the car, with Emma & Katie at least having shoes, so he actually just met us at home and rode with us, holding the washcloth to Sarah's mouth the whole way. By this time, Sarah was completely calm, just a bit perturbed at the fact that she had a piece of cloth pressed on her face.

I rushed her in, and they got us into a room fairly quickly, but then the waiting started. The ER wasn't that busy, but apparently everyone was taking their sweet time. We didn't really think about it until later, but the fact that Sarah pulled a TV onto her face and was still bleeding 25 minutes later, didn't seem to phase anyone that maybe she needed some pain meds or perhaps they should hurry their butts up. I think that was my fault though, I didn't push, because I know Sarah has a high pain tolerance, and while she might not have been complaining, I KNOW she was in some sort of pain. While we were waiting for someone to make a decision, Jeff pointed out to me that the top part of her mouth was also injured. I looked and saw that she was missing one of her top front teeth, and that one of the other ones was loose. I don't know why this revelation hit closer to home, but I immediately started crying. I just kept thinking, this kid has enough problems, and is most likely going to Kindergarden next year, and will be missing at least 3 teeth, possibly more. Maybe I should paint a sign that says "MAKE FUN OF ME" and send her to school with it. I know that's petty, and we've been fortunate that we haven't had any instances of prejudice when it comes to Sarah, but I know that window of innocence is slowly shrinking.

The doctor finally came in and said they wanted to do a cat scan to make sure she hadn't fractured any facial bones. I told them that they were probably going to have to sedate her for that, since I knew she wouldn't lay still. The on-call doc said that she was fairly certain everything would be fine. Because there was a Dora sticker on the outside of the machine and kids usually focused on that and didn't mind the loud noises and being strapped down. Right. As soon as they tried to move her bed to take her to the x-ray room, she started freaking out. I had to carry her, and once we got in the room, she become "Koala Sarah" and was crawling up my head. We attempted to hold her down and even used the large velcro straps they have, but the radiologist couldn't get a decent picture without her moving. So, back to the ER room we went, and waited some more. Finally, someone else came in with the radiologist and said that they were going to attempt the cat scan again, without sedation, but with an extra set of hands. I asked why they didn't just sedate her and they said something to the effect of that they didn't want to have to sedate her more than once. That gave me the impression that they were anticipating doing some sort of procedure that required sedation later on. I was ok with that. We all went into the x-ray room again, and a nurse wrapped Sarah up like a burrito and between her, Jeff & I managed to somewhat hold her still. Poor baby was freaking out. The radiologist thought he was able to get some decent pictures, and so back we went to the room.

Thankfully, during this time, a co-worker of Jeff's had come and volunteered to watch Emma & Katie out in the waiting room. I will forever be grateful to Kevin for that. :D We also noticed that one of Emma's friends from school was in another room, so I went over to talk with her family. Turns out she had been vomiting and was showing signs of dehydration, so she was just in to get an IV of fluids. Emma went in after awhile to say hi and visit. After the debacle of the cat scan, Jeff volunteered to stay with Sarah, so I could take Katie home for awhile. Emma decided to stay and visit with her friend. Jeff said he'd call when they decided anything.

After about 2 hours, he called and said that they'd decided to just put a few stitches in her lip, and gave us a referral to an oral surgeon to see the following day. I couldn't believe that's all they were going to do for her. I came up right about the time they were putting in the stitches, which they only did a few, and said they were leaving the end open to allow it to drain. Shortly after we were discharged. We went home and, no joke, within 30 minutes, Sarah had pulled out the stitches. Of course. I called the ER and the nurse said that should be fine, it would just take the lip a little longer to heal.

She seemed to do fine that night, and we gave her some Tylenol to help her sleep. We went to the oral surgeon the next afternoon, and he took a quick x-ray of her top jaw, to make sure the top front tooth hadn't been jammed in there, because we couldn't find it. We found her bottom tooth that had been knocked clean out, but weren't able to find any other. He said there didn't seem to be anything jammed in her gums, which was good. He also said that, because her permanent teeth were so high up in her jaw, there didn't look like there was any damage to those either.

So now it's a waiting game. She seems to be doing ok; we have her on a soft food diet for a few days, but now she's able to eat almost everything. I asked the oral surgeon if the loose tooth would firm up or fall out, and he said the odds were pretty even for either. Her gums seem to be healing well and she's taking it all in stride. Needless to say, there is no more TV in their room.

After all that, you'd think that karma would have let us be for a bit. But no. Today we decided, since the weather wasn't rainy or snowy, that we'd take a drive over to Midland and hang out at the mall. About a month ago, we had gone to the Novi mall, and had a small emergency: Sarah ran off. She has a tendency to do this and if we don't deadbolt the sliding glass door, she will go out back. Not normally a problem, but our backyard isn't completely fenced in. So, there we were, having gotten to the mall not 20 minutes before, and the girls wanted to play in the little jungle gym they have. It's not huge, with only one entrance, and both Jeff & I were watching all the kids. Still, sneaky, silent, ninja Sarah, was able to get past us. I noticed within seconds that she wasn't there, but I went into the enclosure to make sure she wasn't hiding. An older gentleman noticed me and asked if I was missing a little girl. I said yes, and he said his wife had her, and she'd been running down the mall. So, I took off, but couldn't find her. I saw a woman pointing me down the mall, but I still couldn't see anyone with her. She said Sarah had gone into a shoe store. I ran in there and grabbed her, my heart racing, and slowly walked back to the play area. Jeff met me about halfway there, she'd gone about 10 stores down. We decided to leave immediately. We just couldn't believe that, even with both of us being very diligent, she could have slipped past us. She could get a job as a spy, she's that good. And quick, too.

So, now I will be looking into getting some sort of electronic monitoring device. Sarah has a problem with impulse control. She doesn't think about things before she does it. I'm hoping that she'll grow out of this, but I'm not betting that will happen before Jeff or I have a heart attack, or something bad happens. She has enough things happen as it is, we don't need to be tempting fate.

Random things

2009-03-09T22:37:00.004-04:00

Hello there, once again I've neglected this thing. I figured no one wanted to be bothered with my repetitive "go to work/school, clean, eat, sleep, wipe butts" routine that has been my life for the last 2 months.

I'm once again a single mom for a few days. Jeff's in Chicago, at some Apple thing, being brilliant. So, after the girls went to bed tonight, I decided to try & catch up on the 1st couple of episodes of a new show, "Dollhouse". It's by the same person who did Buffy & Angel, Joss Whedon. He also does a webshow called "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", starting Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day. It's awesome. So, yeah "Dollhouse", very cool show. But, honestly, it took all my will power not to skip to the end of the episode to see if it had his signature production company plug. Those of you who used to watch Buffy know what I mean. And, it was there. I was so psyched.

The show itself looks really cool, I've only seen the 1st episode, but I have 3 more on my DVR. I think I know what I'll be doing for the next 2 nights. :D

Toothless

2009-02-15T22:03:00.002-05:00

Apparently this family loses teeth in groups.

A few weeks ago, I had noticed that Sarah had a loose front tooth. I kinda panicked as I thought she was too young to start loosing teeth. But, I had to remind myself that she'll be 5 in April, and she just looks younger than she is. Also, Emma lost her first tooth the month after she turned 5, so it wasn't terribly early. Based on how wiggly it was, I gave it less than a month before it was out.

So, last Thursday, when we're all home from school/work, I'm making dinner (or rather standing in the kitchen wishing desperately for inspiration to hit me in the face regarding what to make for dinner) and Sarah comes to me, and her mouth is bleeding a little. So, I look and it's her tooth; not out completely, but a lot more wiggly than it had been. I gave her a towel to chew on, to help it come out, as I couldn't pull it out myself. About 10 minutes later, she comes back to me, towel in hand, and no tooth in her mouth. I ask her where it was, and she said "Idunknow, mommy". Oy. So, I check the towel-no tooth. I check her mouth-no tooth. I had Emma look all over the living room-no tooth. So, Sarah lost her first tooth, and them promptly swallowed it. Given her high pain tolerance I probably could have pulled it and she would have been fine. So, needless to say I've been checking her diapers, but no tooth so far. Unfortunately, she diapers have recently returned to their prior "consistency" and I probably missed it. But, no fear, the tooth fairy was notified, and left Sarah $2.

Not to be outdone though, Emma had some loose teeth of her own. She actually had 3. She hasn't lost any teeth (naturally, although she had 1 pulled about 2 years ago) in over 2 years, so it was time.

Yesterday, being Valentine's Day, and 4/5 of us being sick, I didn't want to cook, but we couldn't go out. So, Jeff, being the wonderful husband he is, and seeing as how he was feeling more human than he had in days, volunteered to go pick up food from Lonestar Steakhouse. I hadn't known that they did take-out. I was giddy. Their rolls and honey butter are to die for. But, I digress. So, he and Emma went to pick up our food. They brought it home and we all sat at the table. The girls ate very nicely, and we were having our first sit down dinner in almost a week. Then, suddenly, Emma gasps, and pulls what I think is bread out of her mouth. She shows it to me, and I see it's one of her teeth. So, the tooth fairy came last night for her, too (even though she's already in on the "secret"). I'm expecting the other 2 loose teeth to fall out within a couple months at the very latest.

Sick & tired of being sick & tired

2009-02-15T21:35:00.003-05:00

You'd think the plague had hit our house with the amount of snot, mucous, and general ickiness we've had here.

Last week Jeff started feeling bad, on Monday evening. He called in sick on Tuesday with a bad fever & all over achiness. I figured he had the flu, but also knowing Jeff, I figured he would kick it in about 24 hours. That's generally how things go with him. His immune system is phenomenal. When Tuesday evening came around and he wasn't better, I started to think that this wasn't a run-of-the-mill illness. The girls were ok for the most part. Emma had a cough, but seemed ok. She was coughing through the night and ended up throwing up early Wednesday morning. So, she stayed home. The other girls were ok, until the evening, when they started with their own coughs. I decided to keep them home on Thursday, and stayed home myself. By then, Jeff's symptoms had changed some. The fever was still there, but not terrible. The achiness was less, but now he had chest & nasal congestion and a very sore throat. He was thinking flu/strep throat. I knew he had the flu, but I was iffy on the strep. I know post nasal drip can cause a very sore throat. We all went to the Urgent Care to get the official diagnosis, and took the little girls with so we could get them checked out, too. They were fine, just a little upper respiratory infection, and we were told to treat them symptomatically. Jeff finally got labeled with the flu, but no strep. He was told to pretty much be in quarantine until Monday. I don't think he's ever missed 4 straight days of work due to illness. Like, ever.

By Friday morning, the girls no longer had fevers, but Emma was back to coughing up a lung along with having a fever. So she had to miss her class Valentine's Day party, which she was thoroughly bummed about. But, I promised her that I would take her Valentines to her teacher after work.

At bedtime we'd been giving the girls some cough/fever medicine to help them sleep, but apparently it wasn't working for Katie. She woke up Friday night and Saturday night with pretty high fevers. Friday night she ended up in bed with us for a few hours, but I eventually put her back after the meds kicked in. Saturday night I went grocery shopping late, after the girls went to bed. I got home around 11pm, and after all the groceries were put away, I went to check on the girls. Katie was, surprisingly, still awake. She was quiet, but awake. I went to go give her a hug and she was burning up. She had a temp of 102. So, she got some Motrin, along with a drink, and I stayed by her to put a cool washcloth on her forehead. Katie, when she's delirious with fever, is wryly hilarious. She was laying there, perfectly content, but she kept saying things like "Emma's asleep", and "Sarah bit me, look Mommy, she bit my finger"- all perfectly calm and matter-of-fact. She also took issue with the fact that Oreo (the cat) was walking in her room. She kept telling her to get out. "I want Oreo out of here, Mommy." It was funny.

She finally fell asleep about 1am, poor girl. But, she was running amok with her sisters this morning, so it just looks like a flukie thing.

I know I will probably jinx myself by saying this, but so far, I haven't succumb to whatever germs attacked my family this week. I think it was some higher power that basically said,"If your family is to survive this week, someone has to be able to take care of everything." But, Jeff is leaving later this week for another business trip, so I know that will probably be the time when I get bombarded with it all. Karma hates me.

I'm so rone-ry

2009-02-02T22:45:00.002-05:00

*Just for clarification, that last word in the title rhymes with "lonely".

So, Jeff's gone for a few days. I know it's nothing compared to the ghastly 6 month deployments back when he was in the Navy, but it still sucks having him gone. Especially on my birthday. All the girls are asleep in bed, and I'm sitting in the living room on my laptop listening to music. That's usually what I do when he's gone and I don't have children awake & running rampant throughout the house. I stay up way too late, listen to music, and play on the computer.

I had my aerobic kickboxing class tonight. My Jaime Pressly look-alike instructor so very nicely pointed out the fact that it was my birthday and had the entire class sing to me. She made up for it by not telling the entire class how old I was. Heh

The girls went to Emma's friend's house while I was at class. They have 3 boys, so she gets her "girl-fix" when they're over, lol. Of course, it takes a crow-bar to pry Sarah & Katie away from the house, cause it's apparently more fun than our house. Either that or they know that they're headed for bed as soon as we get home. LOL But they must have played hard while they were there because they both fell asleep with little to no arguments. I'm lovin' it.

So, here's to being 31...as my friend Deanna put it, "It's not as traumatic as 30." Hear, hear.

Happy Birthday to me

2009-02-02T14:02:00.002-05:00

Today's my 31st birthday. Groundhog day. Yes, I get a lot of the jokes. No, they're not funny anymore now than they were when I was 12. :P

We celebrated my birthday on Saturday because Jeff's leaving for Apple training in Ohio this week. So, I got to sleep in, got breakfast & coffee in bed (Jeff actually COOKED! Real food!) and hung out for most of the morning. Then we were off to Wal-mart to price out new tires for the van. Not fun, but unfortunately a necessity in the feet of snow and ice. I got a little tired of having to drive like an old lady in order to avoid hitting other cars. Plus, we've had the van for 4 1/2 years, and it still had the factory tires on it. It was time. We got a fairly decent deal (compared to what I had been quoted elsewhere) and was able to get a little bit of shopping done while we waited. Thankfully it only took a little over an hour. I suggested we go test them out by doing donuts in a parking lot somewhere, but Jeff didn't think that was such a great idea. Wimp. :P
We went out to lunch (BK, not my first choice, but I was with my family, didn't matter where we ate), then came home and put the little ones down for a nap. I then went out & finished the grocery shopping alone (just me & the produce), and afterwards came home & made my famous tacos with rice. Jeff didn't want me to have to cook on my birthday, but I love tacos, so I was perfectly fine with it. Although going to Lonestar for a steak & their oh-so-yummy rolls with honey butter was tempting.
Jeff suggested since we couldn't find a sitter to watch the girls so we could go see a movie, that I just go & see the one I wanted with Emma. So, I asked her if she wanted to see "Twilight" with me. She said yes. Unfortunately, it wasn't playing anywhere near us so we had to drive 45 miles to a "Birdcage" type theater (for those not from Sac, that means a theater showing movies that have been out forever for about 1/2 the normal price; of course Birdcage is now demolished...). Emma was excited, since I told her it had the same guy who played Cedric Diggory from HP4 in it. It takes a great amount of obsession to drive 45 miles to see a movie in a crappy theater, but I'm not apologizing, lol. Emma, unfortunately, was SO excited, that her stomach couldn't handle it, and about 15 minutes before the end of the movie announced to me that she had to throw up. Joy. But, we made it to somewhere safe for her to puke (i.e. not the middle of the theater) and then we stood in the back to watch the rest of the movie in case there was a double feature of stomach ickies. I kid you not, for those of you who've read "New Moon", I had a total sense of deja vu as we were leaving, because I had to ask the concession lady for an empty popcorn bucket and told Emma to try not to puke in Jeff's truck. I was actually laughing to myself as we walked out to the car. Yeah I know, only I would find that funny. But, thankfully it was only a reaction to ODing on popcorn, Dots, rootbeer & excitement, and only happened once.
So I had a great faux-birthday!! I also got a new book that I hope to start reading soon. It's called "Blood Orange". Completely different than what I've been reading lately, which should be interesting. So, now I'm off to waste time on my birthday!! :)

Google Name Meme

2009-01-28T12:51:00.002-05:00

I saw this on Renee's blog and thought it looked fun.

Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search.
Amanda needs to pee. (Actually, no, already took care of that thanks.)

Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search.
Amanda looks like she is pouting. (Not often, but no one's perfect.)

Type in "[your name] says" in Google search.
Amanda says: As crazy as it sounds, we lie to make it seem like we're not Little Miss B*tch. (Lie about what, I wonder?)

Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search.
Amanda wants a hug 'n kiss. (Sure, who wouldn't?)

Type in "[your name] does" in Google search.
Amanda does badass hair (Snort..hahahaha, no)

Type in "[your name] hates" in Google search.
Amanda hates feet (Not all feet, just the smelly ones.)

Type in "[your name] asks" in Google search.
Amanda asks "What would Google do?" (Well, yeah, DUH, I'm using Google for this Meme)

Type in "[your name] likes " in Google search
Amanda likes to distract herself with silliness. (Anything to get out of actually having to do anything productive.)

Type in "[your name] eats " in Google search.
Amanda eats pandas. (Sorry, no, I'm allergic to bamboo.)

Type in "[your name] wears " in Google search.
Amanda wears Betty's blouse (Who is this Betty and why do I have her clothing??)

Type in "[your name] was arrested for" in Google Search.
Amanda was arrested for possession of crack, prostitution, and a bar fight (Um, wow, I have no recollection of this at all.)

Type in "[your name] goes" in Google search.
Amanda goes west. (Actually, I went east. I don't go west very often, too expensive.)

Warning: Geek Alert

2009-01-27T13:26:00.001-05:00

Ok, I'm totally geeking out about the fact that Stephenie Meyer is my friend on MySpace. Yeah, I know I'm one of about 135,000, but HEY! It's still cool!

**You'd think I wasn't turning 31 next week...

Family Update

2009-01-27T10:13:00.004-05:00

Life has slowly been chugging along for us. We're back into the routine of school/work/kids etc. I'm now working 4 mornings a week, which was an adjustment, but I've found it actually makes things easier. I'm able to get home after picking up the kids from daycare at the latest by 1pm. I then feed them lunch and put them down for a nap (no guarantees that they'll actually sleep, though) and after that I'm able to be a lot more productive. The morning routine of getting all 5 of us fed, dressed, and out the door by 8:10am is actually a lot easier than I had envisioned. I only work 4 days a week, so I have all of Friday off.

Jeff is back in school, as well. He's teaching again this semester and taking his final class for his minor. It's Metalworking, which I thought sounded fun. Not so much after he told me he needed steel-toe boots, safety goggles, and pants that weren't easily flammable. Oy. He's also going to a few training sessions for Apple. He's preparing to take the ASCA Certification test soon, and I know he'll do fabulous!

Emma is doing wonderful. She's officially out of the Resource Room at school, and in the classroom full-time. She's still seeing the school Social Worker, but it's looking like the issues she was having in the 1st semester are slowly being resolved. We got her 2nd quarter report card last week, and she's doing great. She got a majority of 3's (her school grades from 1-4, 4 being the highest), a couple 2's, and a couple 4's. From the progress reports from her teacher, it looks like her being in the classroom full-time now is really being beneficial to her academically, as well as socially. She rarely comes home from school saying she's had a bad day. She's making great strides in reading and spelling, and is testing her skills by e-mailing with family.

Sarah is still as chipper as ever. She recently got new glasses, which are slightly different than her last few pairs. These don't have the cable temples, so they fit a little looser. I was worried that this might take some getting used to, and that she might start yanking them off frequently again. But, she adjusted to them nicely, and really notices when she's not wearing them. A for school, she's doing fantastic. She did a few things over Winter break that her teachers had been working with her on, so I sent a note in the first day back after the new year. Things like counting to 10, as well as identifying more shapes, and being on the road to being potty trained. There's a small possibility that we might go ahead and send her to Kindergarten next fall, but I'm still not sure about it. There are a few more people I want to talk to about possible placements for her, and I don't want to send her just because she's old enough. Legally, I can have her stay in preschool another year, but I'm not sure what's best for her yet.

Katie is going great. She and Sarah are still the best of friends, even though Katie keeps trying to be the boss. Too many times during the day I'll hear something to the effect of, "NO, Sawah, sit down!" Or "That's bad, Sawah!" Talk about a chip off the ol' block. This child is "Mini-me" and mimics everything I do...not always a good thing.

My birthday is next week, which is always interesting. I'll be 31. Jeff is going to another Apple training for most of the week, starting on Monday, so we're celebrating my birthday on Saturday. Yay! I get to sleep in! :)

This shall henceforth be known as the "Macbook Air incident"

2009-01-18T09:42:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, my MacBook Air started having disk errors, saying that my hard drive was failing. Which, in and of itself, sucks. Especially since we've had these types of things happen to us before, and we've lost LOTS of stuff (pictures, files, etc.) But, we've learned our lesson, and now we have an external HD to back up our main home computer. Up until Christmas, my laptop didn't have an external backup, but Jeff thankfully amended this by getting me one for Christmas. So, all of my email, contacts, websites, files were saved.

But, since the closest Apple store is 2 hours away, getting it fixed required the whole fam to pack up in the car and drive there. They didn't have the part on hand, so they had to send it off. Meaning I was laptop-less all this last week. Which wasn't terrible, just inconvenient. I use a program called 1Password for most sites and programs I use, and since I don't have it on the main Mac downstairs, that meant I couldn't log into a lot of things all week. Thank goodness I hadn't yet done it to my email, cause that would have sucked.

I was fully expecting it to take another few days for my laptop to get back to the store. I had asked if they couldn't just send it directly to my house instead of making me drive all the way back, but they said that it affected quality control, and that they tested everything once it was returned, to make sure everything was completely repaired. I couldn't really argue with that, so I said ok.

They called me yesterday afternoon to let me know it was ready to be picked up. I mentally ran through the days that I might be able to go, and decided Monday would be the best day, since I didn't have school or work, and neither did the kids. I wasn't looking forward to driving out there alone with all the kids, but it seemed the best time. Jeff had other plans, and suggested maybe doing it after dinner last night. The kids would be fed, and hopefully fall asleep early. Plus, he'd said that the snow wasn't going to let up all week, so I'd be driving in my van that needs new tires in not so fun conditions. Again, I agreed that was probably not the best idea. So, we had dinner early, packed the kiddos into the truck, and started on our way.

Normally the girls are pretty happy in the truck; they love riding in it and listening to XM Kids on the satellite radio. Most of the time they fall asleep, allowing Jeff & I to have a little bit of quiet time. This trip? Not so much.

Katie had been whining since we left the house, and I silently wondered if she wasn't feeling well. But, I tried my best to make everyone happy and comfortable as best I could. The weather was atrocious-snow blowing sideways across the freeway, and the traffic was a lot slower than usual. What would normally take us only about 2 hours, was taking closer to 3. About 45 miles from our destination, Katie's stomach had had enough. She proceeded to throw up all over herself and her car-seat. And, by Karmic coincidence, we were NOWHERE near an exit. Both Jeff & Emma have sensitive noses to unappealing smells, so we rolled the windows down slightly to allow for some ventilation. Yeah, we rolled the windows down, in Michigan, in the winter, when it was snowing. But, it was either that or risk there being 2 more people puking in the truck. We had to drive for 10 miles before an exit came up. Poor Katie was so brave, she didn't even cry the entire time. I felt so bad for her; she was a mess.

I would hazard a guess that the temp outside was about 5-6 degrees, without the wind chill. I had to completely strip Katie down (thank goodness I'd brought her & Sarah each another set of clothes), clean her off, and set her in the drivers seat, all while the door was open. Then I had to clean up her seat as much as possible. My small stash of baby wipes was barely enough to get the job done. But, the truck still smelled a bit funky. Jeff to the rescue with a brand new "New Car smell" air freshener. Once everyone was back in their respective seats, we continued on to the Apple store. We only had an hour before it closed, and Jeff was determined to not have this trip be in vain. So we trudged on. We got there about 15 minutes before the store closed, and while he and the girls waited in the truck, I ran inside the mall to go get my computer. It was fixed, I got my paperwork for the repair, and I was heading back out to the truck within 5 minutes. Jeff pulled around, and as I was putting my stuff inside, he said,"Sarah leaked through her pull-up, she needs a change, too." Oy, when it rains, it pours.

So after another set of clothing was changed, we were on our way back home. The kids finally fell asleep about an hour later, and we had about 45 minutes of peace & quiet. I think I should write Apple and use this incident as a reason why Michigan needs another Apple store closer to where I live. Considering how many products we buy from them, it seems only fair.

Slight Snafu

2009-01-16T14:04:00.002-05:00

So, Jeff just called me and let me know that I need to be taking 6 credits in order to keep working at the college...fabulous. I was quite happy with only taking 1 class, but if it means my job's on the line, I guess I'll suck it up.

So now I'm taking Aerobic Kickboxing for the whole semester and Bowling for the 2nd half. Awesome, now I don't have to pay my daycare lady more money to watch the kids while I go work out at the campus gym...now I get to pay the COLLEGE.

Update

2009-01-16T13:09:00.003-05:00

Well, after starving Sarah all morning in preparation for her being sedated, we get to the docs to find out they had no plans to sedate her. Ugh. So, the poor thing was famished for nothing. I was really worried about whether or not she would sit still for them to get decent pics, and I didn't want to have to go down to Lansing in order for them to IV sedate her. But, with Daddy's help, she did fantastic. They were able to get a good look at her PDA. The cardio said that although her PDA is at a weird angle, he's pretty sure that it's extremely tiny, which means it's shrunk since last check. Which is awesome. He also said that because he couldn't hear it with a stethoscope, that it's considered a "silent" PDA, which doesn't warrant any surgery. Woo Hoo!! He said that they would most likely have to make the hole larger in order to get in there during the heart cath, so we'll just check up on it again in a few years. Phew. I'm very glad that she doesn't have to go through surgery. :)

We then went out with Daddy for a celebratory Burger King lunch, lol. I also decided to be brave (translation: braving the freezing temps) and go get Sarah's new glasses. I had to chuckle at one of the light-up signs on the way home; you know, the ones that show the temp and time, etc. It said it was 77 degrees. I don't know if it was wishful thinking or if it was so cold the machinery has malfunctioned. Either way, it made me laugh.

Prayers for Sarah

2009-01-16T08:43:00.003-05:00

Sarah has her annual cardiologist appt this morning. "Annual" really means it's been 2 years. She has a small PDA (Patent ductus arteriosus) that has been present since birth. But it's never caused her any problems, she's never been on meds for it. Sometimes they close on their own, which is why we didn't do anything about it 2 years ago. But, if it's still there, we will go ahead and get the catheterization done. It's not open heart, it's a short procedure where they go into a vein through the groin area and close the hole with a small mesh object. Since kids with DS sometimes have issues with being under general anesthesia, she'll probably stay overnight for observation. This wouldn't be so bad, but the only hospital who does this procedure is in Grand Rapids. So it's a bit of a drive.

Because this morning's procedure requires her being under oral sedation, she can't eat anything, which is pissing her off. I had to surreptitiously give Katie some breakfast so I didn't have 2 extremely ornery kids on my hands. But, Sarah is persistent, and tried to sneak some cold pizza from the fridge. I am however giving her some clear liquids, but it isn't helping.

While this PDA hasn't really affected her life, it might cause problems as she gets older if left open. So, some prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated this morning. :)

Jeff's Revelation about women (Possibly NSFC-Not Safe For Children)

2009-01-13T08:39:00.002-05:00

Quote from my husband this morning:

"I used to think that women hit their sexual peak at around age 30, now I'm convinced women hit their sexual peak after reading "Twilight".

Rofl

Cleansing

2009-01-12T14:53:00.004-05:00

I've started the process of selling some of my mom's things on eBay. This is an extremely cathartic process for me. I've kept a lot of the things she left me, but even she told me that she knew I didn't like ALL the stuff she had, and to keep only what I wanted. I've kept a lot of her Depression glass, but there's just too much.

Most of it will be Depression glass, Asian art & figurines, plus some shabby chic style things. I only have a couple things on there now, as I'm slowly dipping my toes into this "selling on the Internet" business. Buying stuff off the web I'm used to, selling, not so much.

Where to Begin? Part 2

2009-01-11T21:57:00.002-05:00

When I left you the other day, I was whining about my mountain of mommy guilt re: my daughter's social skills. Aside from those particular issues, Emma's had a great year so far in her new school. I love her teacher and I know she has made significant progress. It kinda makes me wonder how well she would be doing if we'd moved her to this school right after Kindergarten. But, again, just heap that onto the guilt mountain.

Another new change is that now Emma is riding the bus to and from school everyday. This is new only that it's an actual "yellow school bus" rather than the local transportation that she took to her old school in Kindergarten. She's been really excited about this since we told her at the beginning of last summer. Her new school starts 45 minutes after her old school, and she doesn't catch the bus until 8am, which is nice for us all, because we really aren't morning people. A few months ago, the high school had their Homecoming week. Due to where we live (right across from the high school) our street was part of the Homecoming parade route. I kept waiting for a notice or call from her bus people to let me know how they were going to change the route on the day of the parade. I didn't get anything until the morning of the parade, after Emma had already left for school. So while I knew what the deal was, Emma didn't.

After getting to the new drop-off spot for that day, I waited...and waited. Fifteen minutes after her normal time to be dropped off, I saw the bus coming up behind my car, where I was sitting with the 2 other kids. I didn't have a chance to get out of the car, and the bus didn't stop. So I scurried and tried to catch up with the bus, hoping it would notice that I was following it and stop, to allow Emma to get off. It didn't. So, instead of following it around, I went to where I KNEW another stop was, got out and waited for it to show up with the other parents. The bus got there, no Emma. I was immediately freaking out.

There's a rule for the elementary schools that no child under the age of 10 can be let off a public school bus without a parent/guardian visible. So, since September, I've had to wait on my front porch every afternoon, so the bus driver can see that I'm home, and let Emma off. There's a waiver I can sign which will allow her to get off the bus without that, but Jeff & I aren't comfortable with that. It's a huge pain in the butt, but I can deal with it for another year until she's 10.

So, when Emma wasn't on the bus, I panicked. The bus driver, which was a sub, and didn't know the original route well to begin with, couldn't tell me which stop Emma had gotten off at. I was now livid as well as panicked, which doesn't go well together. Some kids on the bus told the driver and myself that Emma had gotten off at the stop previous to where I had been waiting originally. I had no idea where that was, not to mention the fact that there was a Homecoming parade going on at that moment right where Emma had gotten off the bus. I had no idea where she could have gone, nor did I know, since we'd only been at our new house for a few months, if she would know which way was home.

The bus driver was sure that she had gotten off at a stop with a ton of other kids who were going to a daycare. She gave me the address of the daycare and I went to go find her. Thankfully, another mom who'd been waiting with me volunteered to go searching for her with me. We went to the address: no daycare. No one was even home. I'm starting to hyperventilate at this point. The lady with me started walking towards the parade route and I searched all the streets in between. I went as close as I could to our street, parked and got out and started walking towards our house. That's when I saw Emma standing in our driveway, watching the parade with none other than her 3rd grade teacher. Talk about a stroke of luck.

What had happened was, since she didn't know anything was going to be different, when the sub driver told everyone who normally got off on our street to get off at a stop she wasn't familiar with, she listened and got off the bus. When she realized she wasn't in the right spot, she was super smart and started looking for our house. Ironically, after getting there and finding that I wasn't there, she saw her teacher setting up with her kids to watch the parade, and sought her out to ask for help.

What really pissed me off was the bus driver seemed to have no idea that what she'd done was simply idiotic. Firstly, she was a sub. Why the hell do you give a sub the job of dealing with an altered route when it's their first time for that route? Second, Emma is under 10, meaning legally, according to THEIR rules, she needs to have a parent/guardian visible before they let her off the bus. The sub didn't ASK the adult at the stop whether Emma was with her, she just assumed. And Emma, not knowing that there was anything different, was just doing what the bus driver told her.

This almost made me want to take her off the bus entirely. But, seeing as how I value my sanity, I decided against it. She enjoys it, it makes her feel a little more grown-up, and I don't have to drive to and from the school twice a day. We haven't had any other issues with the bus, so I suppose it was probably just bad timing.

Where to begin? Part 1

2009-01-10T22:27:00.004-05:00

Do you ever get the feeling that if you sit down and actually try to do something, you know that most likely you'll get interrupted, and never finish it or not finish it the way you want to?

Yeah, that would be me and this blog at the moment.

While my life has been boring for the most part, there have been a few things I wanted to blog about. But, when I had free time, most likely I would convince myself that I could be doing something else instead of blogging.

I guess I should probably start back a few months.

Way back last school year, at Emma's old school, I had asked at one of her IEP meetings to have her evaluated for a learning disability. While she had made some progress in the Resource Room (for reading and spelling) during 2nd grade, she just wasn't progressing at a rate that I felt was ok. Plus, she was starting to regress in other areas where she had been really strong (math). They told me at the time that they were pretty sure that they wouldn't be able to get to it before the end of the school year. I was ok with that, since I'd already known that she would be going to a different school this year, due to us moving and me not being able to drive 15 miles to and from her school that was in the middle of nowhere twice a day.

So, she switched schools and I waited for her to be evaluated. But, during the summer she had gone to speech camp for 6 weeks, and had made great progress in that area, and they had also worked on some language and reading with her, as well. Which was fabulous of them, considering it wasn't really their job.

About 6 weeks into the school year, we have her bi-annual IEP. The school psychologist tells us that they don't believe she has a learning disability, and her teacher confirms that, while she's not 100% caught up to her peers, she's within the average range for her abilities. I thought, great! This is wonderful. Her 3rd grade teacher (whom, I LOVE) is an ex-Resource Room teacher (she taught in there for 15 years) and so I trusted her opinion implicitly. She also told me that she didn't think that Emma really qualified for Resource Room help anymore. I had to pause at that one, because I couldn't believe my good luck!

Then they dropped the bombshell on me. While they don't think Emma has an LD, they did want her to start seeing the school social worker. They had noticed (and I confirmed this has been an issue since Kindergarten) that Emma seems to have trouble maintaining good peer relationships. She gets easily offended and is often reduced to tears at school. She would come home and tell me how so & so wasn't her friend anymore because of something they'd done or said. It seems she had a hard time distinguishing between innocent schoolyard squabbles and real issues. I've always felt bad for her in regards to friends, because, even from an early age, she couldn't really keep friends. Her best friends when we lived in San Diego were kids of friends we went to church with, and when we moved 2000 miles away, we only kept in contact with 1 of those families. That family we only see once a year. When we moved here, we didn't know ANYONE. All of the people Jeff worked with had kids who were much older. I started Emma in preschool, but it didn't seem like any of the kids really wanted to be close friends with her. Trust me, I tried almost everything. We had parties and playdates and parent coffees. I tried to go to almost every school function they had. Then, there was the insult to the injury when I put her in a school where none of her friends from preschool were going. She easily made friends in Kindergarten, one of which, Adam, is still her friend to this day. But, it seemed every year that the few friends she made that were really important to her, either moved or switched schools.

Last year, her best friend was Adam. Adam had a few other friends who didn't always want to play with Emma, since she was a girl. Which is ironic since there was another girl who was ok to play with, but not Emma. (Insert angry mom rant over unequal gender treatment by little children in public schools.) Adam's mom is probably my closest friend here, and so we got our kids together frequently (she has 3 boys, so she got her "girl-fix" when I came over, lol).

I have tried SO hard to make sure that the transition to this new school would be easy for Emma. I even put her on a soccer team last spring that had all girls that would be going to her new school. I was hoping she would make friends that would carry over to her class. But it seemed like nothing worked.

Emma is a VERY social child. She's not withdrawn, she's not shy, but the social worker just doesn't think she can relate on a peer level to kids her own age. This makes sense, since she'd constantly been around kids who were younger than her (i.e. her sisters, and the siblings of friends). When they started talking about that at the IEP, I lost it. Academic delays you can fix, but I knew enough about social development to know that it's VERY hard to catch up in that regard. I immediately had flashes of her going through school as the social outcast because she couldn't relate to any of her peers. And I was mad, too. She's SO bright and smart and funny and loves life. How could these kids not see that and want to be her friends? And of course, I felt guilty. Jeff & I were the ones who dragged her across the country, away from her only friends and our whole family. I blamed myself for not doing enough to make sure she had good social outlets. But, I thought, what else could I have done? I put her in sports and school and did all I could with being so far away from any help from family and having just had a child with special needs.

One bad thing about not growing up with the same kids: it seems like all the families have enough friends and whenever someone new comes into play, they don't have room.

Emma DID make a really good friend over the summer during speech camp. Ironically it was a girl who she'd gone to preschool with, but who goes to a different school. She's had a couple play dates since the summer, but she lives about 30 miles away, so those are few and far between.

So far, she's been seeing the social worker about 1-2 times a week. I don't know if it's making any difference. Emma still comes home from school on occasion and tells me she had a bad day because someone wasn't nice to her or so & so didn't want to play with her. It's hard to make her understand that no one can get along with everyone all the time. I know part of it is probably school related, and I know that some of it is from the stress that we've been under for awhile. Our household is far from stress-free and I know she internalizes it. Add that to my mountain of guilt please. But, how to fix it? That's the million dollar question. I only wish I had the answer.

Random post

2008-12-25T21:04:00.003-05:00

I did it.

I blinked.

People warned me not to, but I did it anyways.

And now, my oldest, my first born, has grown up.

She just turned a couple weeks ago, and I decided to measure her feet.

She can now officially wear...women's size shoes.

As per her foot measurement, she could wear a 5, in women's shoes.

I don't remember exactly when I made that leap, but I vaguely recall going shoe shopping with my mom, and deciding to try on a pair of 3 inch heels, in a size 5. They fit...and my mom was appalled. I think I might have been 9 or 10, but don't quote me on that.

But Emma's too young for that! There's no WAY she could be old enough. Ugh...I'm getting old.

But I suppose there's a silver lining to this: if her feet are this big at this age, I'm hoping that means she'll be tall. :)

Shhh...

2008-12-24T17:30:00.004-05:00

I'm not going to tell you that Sarah has gone potty in the big potty about 50% of the time the last 4 days. I'm not going to say that she's the one who's initiating this, and I'm not going to say how happy I am. You didn't hear this from me. :)

Oh blog, I have not forsaken thee...

2008-12-18T14:17:00.003-05:00

This poor blog has taken the proverbial back seat for the last month or so. I have numerous things that I want to blog about, but most of them are going to require vast amounts of uninterrupted time and energy, neither of which I have at the moment.

Just a few notable anecdotes:

* Jeff & I both got through our finals/last papers with our sanity (mostly) intact. We just got our grades: 2 A's for me, an A & a B for Jeff. I'm so very proud of him!!! This has been the hardest semester to date for him and he did fantastic!

*Emma turned 9 last week. Instead of a birthday party, she decided she wanted to go to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple days. So we leave for there next Monday, which is Jeff's birthday. So we'll be celebrating 2 birthdays at once. This is Jeff's 30th, so it's a big deal. :)

*The little girls are doing great, aside from neither of them being able to take a nap due to their constant playing when they're supposed to be sleeping. In fact, I just had to put them in separate rooms and lay down with each of them in order to get them to sleep this afternoon. They were both exhausted, but were playing too much to notice. It only took 5 minutes each for them to fall asleep.

There are lots of other things going on, but this will have to suffice for right now.

Kitty Funny

2008-12-04T20:40:00.001-05:00

more animals

Am I ready for this?

2008-11-20T08:05:00.002-05:00

Last night we were discussing what to do for Emma's birthday that's coming up in a few weeks. Her, Jeff, and I were running ideas around, when Jeff had the idea of Emma going to visit her Nana & Papa for a few days. She loved that idea, since it's been a year since she's seen them.

Nana & Papa are in California...We're in Michigan. This presents a problem.

This trip would entail Emma, my soon-to-be-but-not-yet 9 year old, to fly...on a plane..by herself.

...breathe...

She's old enough (heck, I flew by myself numerous times from the time I was 5, but that was from Sacramento to Burbank & back), and I know she enjoys flying, so it's not like she'd be having a panic attack at 20,000 feet. She doesn't even require (by the airlines) that it be a direct flight, she can have a connection! (I don't want her to though.) We're trying to work out the details, and I know she's excited. She loves her Nana & Papa, and the chance to have them all to her herself for 4 whole days?? It's enough to send her over the edge. We'll see how Mommy & Daddy fair.

For the love of a dog

2008-11-18T09:17:00.004-05:00

For Emma's 1st birthday, back in 2000, we bought her the "Blue's Clues Big Musical Movie" DVD. She. Loved. It. She watched it all the time. It became a staple on our long trips to see family in CA. Once she got a little older, it became less of a favorite, and usually was left, forgotten, in our DVD case in favor of the current flavor of Barbie movie (which I still haven't forgiven Mattel for). After Sarah was born, she had her own favorite movies, like Signing Time and Muppets and Veggietales. Blue's Clues came out every once in awhile, but it wasn't mesmerizing for her like it had been for Emma.
Well we officially have another Blue's Clues fanatic in the house. And she goes by the name of Katie. I kid you not, this is what I heard in my house this morning:

Katie (in the kitchen waiting for a drink, hears the opening strains of the Blue's Clues DVD in the living room): "Gasp" BLUES CLUES MOMMY, BLUES CLUES!!! ::squeal:: (as she's running pellmell into the living room, almost hitting the wall as she turns the corner) IT'S BLUES CLUES!!!! YAY!!!!!

Cue complete silence for the first 20 minutes of the DVD.

I call that Heaven.

I know most people wonder how much use they'll get out of the toys and games and movies they buy for their children. Eight years later, this DVD is still bringing joy to the children of the Wilson household. I'd call that money well spent.

This pretty much sums it up

2008-11-16T02:44:00.005-05:00

I haven't written much since the Election. I didn't want to gloat, but let's just suffice it to say that I was happy with the way the election turned out.

I was NOT happy with what happened in my home state of California and the passing of Prop 8. I was talking to someone I work with and I equated the ban of gay marriage with black people not being able to marry white people 45 years ago. It's the same thing: black people weren't equal, so therefore they weren't allowed to have equal rights. Gay people are not seen as equal. This is appalling. What's the "straight" divorce rate nowadays? Over 50%. When was the last time you heard about a gay couple who beat their kids? I know many gay people who have adopted children or who've had surrogates. Since having those kids doesn't come in the "natural" way that it does for straight people, you can bet that those families actually WANTED those kids, and fought to get them.

This article in Newsweek pretty much sums it up.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/169157

It's appalling that people hide behind the religious aspect of it. Whatever happened to "love the sinner, hate the sin"? I don't personally believe that being gay is a sin, but you know what I mean.

I actually heard someone on TV say that they believe that only marriage between a man & a woman before the eyes of God was an actual marriage. Well, I guess that means Jeff & I aren't really married. We were married by a city official, in my mom's backyard. Not in a church, not by a clergy. It's not like gay people want to be married by the Pope, in the Vatican. They want the things that all (straight) married people get: health coverage, life insurance, THE RIGHT TO SEE THEIR LOVED ONE IN THE HOSPITAL.

Times change, the biases and prejudices of old need to be gone. The world has bigger things going wrong with it than gay people wanting to be married.

Rock the vote

2008-11-03T21:16:00.005-05:00

Tomorrow is a huge day for our country. We, the people, of the United States of America, have the awesome job of picking the leaders of our country.

This in and of itself is awesome: the fact we get to CHOOSE. Let alone who we vote for, the fact that we are able to voice our opinions in a democratic process.

There are countries in the world where the only form of voice its citizens have are protests, or they are forced to suffer in silence, for fear of retribution.

In countries where democracy is a new concept, there are people who travel from hundreds of miles away, standing in lines for hours, just to be a part of the democratic process. To know that your voice is heard, regardless of the outcome. Because before, you didn't have a voice.

I think, as a country, we have become lax, frustrated and downright ambivalent about voting. I hear so many excuses: I live in a Republican/Democratic state so my vote is useless; I have to work; I have school; I don't like waiting in line; it's too far; I don't like any of the candidates; I forgot; I don't have time.

If your voting place is any closer than the next county, if you have shoes to wear to vote in, if you're not having to vote by scratching an X on a piece of scrap paper and putting it into a shoebox, then you have it better than a lot of people in the world.

Ditch the excuses. Go out tomorrow, in rain, snow or blazing sun, and perform your civic duty. Or quit bitching.

Consider yourself motivated.

21 Things about Sarah

2008-10-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

I'm taking a cue from a few of the blogs that I read.

Sarah:
1. is 4 1/2.
2. has 2 sisters, one older, one younger.
3. was named after her 2 grandmas.
4. has worn glasses since she was 1 year old.
5. loses those glasses at least once a day.
6. loves the Doodlebops, Backyardigans, and Signing Time.
7. has platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, both of which she got from her father.
8. once ate a whole container of strawberries, by herself, in one sitting.
9. loves chips and salsa.
10. does not have the palmar crease on her hand, but has it on her foot.
11. has a bad habit of eating her hair.
12. loves to ride the bus to school.
13. gives the best hugs.
14. can fold herself in half.
15. is still in diapers (but we're working on it!)
16. calls soda "pop" even though we don't (talk about a child of her environment).
17. is the biggest Daddy's girl.
18. calls everyone by their appropriate names (Mommy, Daddy, Emma) except Katie. She calls her "baby".
19. LOVES music, anything musical.
20. is seriously stubborn.
21. has taught me more than I could ever have imagined.

Calm after the storm

2008-10-28T09:13:00.005-04:00

Life has been a whirlwind the last month or so. Between school for 4/5 of us, work for Jeff & I, and general madness, it's been hard to keep up.

I've been completely remiss in my plan to blog every day for the month of October. There have been some days where I just didn't have a brain cell left to think about what to blog.

A few anecdotes from the last few weeks:

* we got the girls' costumes: Emma's a witch, Sarah's a pirate, and Katie's a cowgirl.
* Jeff signed up for his spring classes; he only has 2 more after that, and he's all set to graduate next December.
* Emma got through her first MEAP (Michigan Standardized Test) and I think they're now starting the LD evaluation
* we had an incident with the bus and Emma, I'm still following up with that, it'll be a later blog
* Emma seems to be doing very well in school; she's making great progress in reading
* Sarah continues to be the "little teacher" in class
* Katie is still doing wonderfully; she's loving daycare and doesn't cry every time we pull up to the house!
* I've been having an existential crisis over what to do with the rest of my life, education-wise

That pretty much sums up our lives for the last few weeks or so. We have some cool things coming up, including our annual get-together with our best friends from Tennessee. It's their turn to drive up here for Thanksgiving. Not to mention the election next week!! :) The girls all have the day off, which is NOT going to make it easy to go and vote. But, we'll make it work. Never too early to learn about civic duty. :)

Political Post-Open at your own risk

2008-10-21T11:35:00.003-04:00

I have (mostly) avoided politics on this blog, as I have many friends who have many different political views. I am friends with people who are die-hard Republicans and equally die-hard Democrats. Because I am a tolerant person, I don't hold grudges against people who have varying views from me, because I know there is more to life than constantly arguing about things we can't always change.

That being said, THIS pissed me off to no end.

I would LOVE to see the entire program, but I can't find it. If anyone can, please feel free to e-mail me with a link. This woman is intolerance and bigotry at it's absolute worst. WHO THE HELL EVER SAID THAT AMERICA WAS A CHRISTIAN ONLY NATION?? Last time I checked, we were a "freedom of religion" country. Who the hell cares if a family member of a politician is atheist? I am LIVID. If you're not Christian (or Jewish, although those are few and far between) then you're apparently not qualified to hold public office. When was the last time you heard of a Buddhist or Hindu running for office? You don't, because it doesn't happen very often. And as for atheists, there's only 1 currently in public office, that I know of. NEWSFLASH: Christianity is NOT the only religion in the world. It might be the most populous, but guess what's next on the list? Islam!! And after that, it's "Non-religious".

I do not consider myself religious in any sense of the word. I haven't been to church on a regular basis in 5 years. Do I believe in God? Yes. I consider myself spiritual. I don't "look down" on people who have deep religious beliefs. In fact, I think I might even be jealous of that at times. Nor do I shun people who I know have little to no religious beliefs. Religion does not a good person make. Nor does a lack of it.

Flame on.

Go CMU!!!

2008-10-13T16:36:00.003-04:00

The weekend just got away from me. I meant to post something on Saturday & Sunday, but I blinked and all of a sudden it was Monday morning.

So, Friday night, after giving myself an aneurysm about getting my English paper in on time (which I did, with 21 minutes to spare thankyouverymuch), I didn't even want to think, let alone blog. Saturday was Central Michigan University's Homecoming. Although we have season tickets for the whole fam, we decided to get a sitter, cause as much as we love our kids, we needed a mini-break from responsibility, lol. So, the girls had fun ~~torturing~~ ~~breaking in~~ bonding with a new sitter (FYI: it involved 2 non-napping girls, a closed room and poop, I'll end it there), and we had fun hanging out with people from Jeff's work and enjoying the oh-so-fabulous and very unusually warm weather. It's mid October, in Michigan, and it was 78 degrees people!! Absolutely gorgeous!

Anyhow, the tail-gating was fun, the game was great (even though our star QB and one of his favorite WR's got slightly injured; they're both ok), and it was a lot less-stressful than our last game, which ended up being decided by a botched field goal that hit the upright with 3 seconds left. I lost about 10 years on my life with that one. We beat Temple University 24-14 (I think, don't quote me on that). Oh! And I got a not-so-great picture of our Grand Marshall for Homecoming, Amy Roloff!! She and her family star in "Little People, Big World" on TV, and she's a CMU alumni, which is pretty cool.

So, all in all, we had a great time, and next comes WMU next weekend!! :) So far we're on track for another MAC Championship!! Fire up Chips!!

College stuff

2008-10-10T21:21:00.002-04:00

I wish I had something cool for today's "31 for 21" post, but I have a paper due for my English class in less than 2 1/2 hours, and my brain is mush. Maybe something tomorrow....

Chatting Time

2008-10-09T20:59:00.007-04:00

Last night I had a pretty cool experience: I was in a chat room with none other than the "one and only" Rachel Coleman. One of the creators of "Signing Time", which is the one show that my 2 little ones can always agree on watching. Of course, there were about 20 other people in there, too. But, I digress. And I don't care what you say Rachel, Miss "I'm just me", lol; the fact is you're a freakin' super hero at our house, and I'm sure at thousands of others, as well.

The proof is here & here.

Oh, and here, too.

I recently started following Rachel on Twitter and she reciprocated (another point for the cool mom). So, when she Twittered about the weekly Signing Time chat that was just starting, I decided to join. It was hilarious, and not always G rated, lol. There were a few people I knew online: Kei, Pam, and Erin. Aaron, her husband, even joined us. A fun time was had by all.

So, Rachel, I know you want us all to think that you're just a normal mom, but I can see the red cape poking out from the orange sweater from where I stand. :) And Happy Birthday!!!

Special Exposure Wednesday

2008-10-08T11:54:00.006-04:00

When I took this picture, I thought it was going to be a fabulous pic of the 3 of them. Then I actually uploaded it to my computer and got a look at Sarah's face. LOL

A Tough Decision

2008-10-07T22:24:00.003-04:00

So, after numerous hours of wracking my brain and stressing about too many unknown factors, I've come to the decision that I just can't make this trip to North Carolina. I'm bummed beyond belief, but my car is acting up, my kids are starting to act sick, and as much as I'd like to spend time with my family, the trip there and back by myself would probably stress me out way more than the trip is worth.

I still need a vacation...

Return of the bathroom posts

2008-10-06T22:01:00.005-04:00

The last time I mentioned my bathroom (the one that reeked of cat pee, if you'll remember) we had a new floor, courtesy of a friend of Jeff's. The original idea was the peel and stick vinyl floor tiles. That ended up not happening, as time was against me. So Jerry came in and within 6 hours, had put in beautiful ceramic tile. So, we had a floor, which was great, but the walls were still covered in gawd awful pastel Hawaiian print wallpaper. So, I ripped it off. (See previous posts about my lack of forethought on home improvement projects) That worked for about 75% of the wallpaper, while the rest was stuck on with industrial strength adhesive. I was reduced to spraying the walls with water, letting it soak in, and then using a putty knife to try and scrape off the adhesive. This was tearing the crap out of the drywall and driving me insane. So, this weekend, Jeff had had enough and said "Family trip to Home Depot, this bathroom is getting finished." So off we went, for primer, paint, and supplies. I also found this wallpaper remover, Dif, that helped me get the majority of the adhesive off. I immediately went to work. I used the Dif, and then on Sunday morning, prepared to paint. I taped off everything, and put on 1 coat of primer. I then put on 2 coats of "Raindrop", a subtle lavender color voted by a majority (I was out-voted 2-1, I wanted "Sweet Blue", which was a bit darker). It's hard to take pictures of a room that is less than 9x7 feet, and have them be color accurate. But, I can do some contrast pictures, to give you an idea.

Plus, here are some pics of the ceramic tile floor.

It's still not fully finished (I have to put the 75 pound mirror back on the wall, plus, I still need new baseboards) but it's fully functional, without looking like people were showering in the middle of a construction project.

ETA: I don't know why the pictures aren't showing up, but it's late and I'm new to Flickr, so if anyone could e-mail with how to have them show up on here, that would be awesome!

Grains of Gratitude

2008-10-05T18:25:00.003-04:00

I've never done a "Grains of Gratitude" before, but I think today I need to. I haven't had an existential moment or anything, nor have we been involved in any accident to be thankful for our safety. I was told awhile back by someone that I might get some benefit from a "Gratitude Journal". I haven't done that yet, but this is a start.

I'm grateful for:

* my family, and their health.
* my husband, who is my biggest cheerleader and best friend.
* a home to call my own.
* the ability to go to college, even if it is going to take me forever to finish.
* being able to go visit family this week, even if it requires a really long drive.

I think I'm going to try to make this a regular post on Sundays. :D

Two down, two to go ('nother TMI post)

2008-10-04T11:21:00.003-04:00

Poop samples, that is. I was able to scrape (literally, as they gave me 2 wooden popsicle sticks) enough out of a particularly nasty diaper yesterday to get 2 of the 4 vials I need. I'm hoping I can get the other 2 sometime this weekend, and maybe I'll be able to take Sarah to the hospital to get her blood drawn very early Monday morning before school. I want this all done and taken care of before we make the ~~pilgrimage~~ drive to NC the middle of next week. And then maybe, just maybe, I'll have some results by the time I get back. Wouldn't that be nice.

"Sucker"

2008-10-03T20:00:00.001-04:00

I need to have that tattooed to my forehead.

Trying to get Emma ready for school in the morning is an exercise in futility. I beg, bargain, and threaten her into getting ready. We even set hr clothes out the night before in an effort to expedite the "getting ready" process. But between eating breakfast, brushing hair & teeth, getting her backpack ready, socks/shoes, coat, and getting out the door, I'm exhausted by the time she walks (usually late) out the door to the bus stop.

I'm thinking this is karma catching up with me because I recall doing the same thing to my mother. While my mom only had me, and I have 2 other kids, my mom worked full-time, and had to be out the door roughly the same time as me, so I suppose it's pretty equally frustrating.

I have tried numerous tricks to help Emma be able to do all this stuff on her own: she has an alarm clock, which we use; we set out her clothes the night before; I try to get her to make her own breakfast (she's almost 9, and cereal doesn't require heat, lol). I make her lunch if need be, so it really shouldn't be that hard to get ready. But, every morning, I find myself getting her backpack together, untying the knots in her shoelaces, putting her coat, socks, and shoes all by her to she can get to the easily. I'm practically pushing her out the door so she doesn't miss her bus.

The problem is that there is no real incentive for me to punish her if she is procrastinating. If she's late and misses her bus, then it punishes me, lol. Because then I'd have to get all the kids ready and in the car so I could drive her to school Which wouldn't be terrible, but Sarah's bus comes 45 minutes after Emma's. And Emma's school doesn't like it when you drop kids off more than 20 minutes early and I wouldn't be able to drop her off and then get back home in time to get Sarah on the bus. And if Sarah misses the bus, then I'd have to drive HER to school, too. And I can't just drop her off. We all have to find a parking spot, get out and walk into a huge building. Of course, this requires that we're all dressed in something other than our pj's, which defeats the purpose of having Emma ride the bus! You can see how this one little thing snowballs into a bunch of hassle for the entire family.

Gimme the poop (TMI post, not for the squeamish)

2008-10-02T09:04:00.006-04:00

After procrastinating for way too long, I finally was able to get Sarah in to see the Pediatric Gastroenterologist (from hereto referred as the Pedi GI). This poor kid, in her entire 4 1/2 years of life, has probably had less than 10 solid BM's. I'm not joking. Ask anyone who has babysat her, and had to endure a poopy diaper, it's like liquid. It's practically the consistency of newborn poop. And it goes everywhere. Katie has days where hers are like that, too. But, she also has pretty normal poop, for a 2 year old.
Sarah's been tested for celiac, but her last test was over a year ago, and I knew she was due for one. I've tried limiting the amount of juice she gets, that didn't work. I contemplated putting her on a gluten free diet, just to test it out, but then thought that if she DID get tested for it, that would skew her results. A lot of different scientific names have been thrown my way by the medical people I know: C-diff, celiac, acidophilus, intestinal bacteria.
Needless to say, that trying to potty train a kid who has these types of BM's is not happening. And I want at least 1 kid out of diapers by the end of the year and at the rate we're going, it was looking like it was going to be Katie. Although I think Jeff and our bank account would throw me a party if I got both of them out of diapers by then. But, I'm not going to get ahead of myself.
So, the appointment yesterday wasn't groundbreaking, but at least it was something. He gave me 2 lab orders, one for a blood draw and 4 vials. For poop. And a wooden stick. Not kidding. I have to collect Sarah's poop and put it in 4 different containers. I've done this before, but at the time, she had rotovirus and her poop was the consistency of soggy green alfalfa. (I told you this was going to be TMI) So it was easier to scoop up with a wooden stick. How I'm supposed to do that with liquid, I guess I'll find out.
I'm hoping, praying, BEGGING that some answers will come out of this. This poor kid just wants to poop normally. Or at least she would if she knew any different, since this IS her normal right now.

National Down Syndrome Awareness Month

2008-10-01T19:34:00.001-04:00

October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. I am going to accept the "31 for 21" blogging challenge. Simply put, I'm going to try to blog everyday for the entire month of October. Get it? 31 for 21, as in Trisomy 21. :)

This has been going on for a couple years, but this is the first year I'm going to attempt it.

ETA: I started this post waaaay before October 1st, and then got slammed with life in general. So, I'm a little late, but I'm going to try to do this!! :)

An abundance of time

2008-09-16T20:23:00.003-04:00

This is something I never seem to have, until today. Apparently after complaining all summer about how it was so hard to get anything done when all the kids were home, today, with 2 of the 3 girls home sick, is when I have updated this blog about 5 times. Not to mention actually getting some housework done, as well. Who'da thunk it?

So here I am again, with another amusing anecdote. This morning when I called Sarah's school to let them know that ugly green snot monster had overtaken her, I got into polite conversation with one of the Para's in her class. She told me all about how Sarah's speech had become very intelligible (relatively speaking) and seemed to have purpose. She's been making all sorts of word approximations, and responding appropriately to questions and actions (i.e. actually saying "Thank you" after being helped or given something). She's apparently become so adept at it that on Friday, when her new student Speech teacher came to meet her during class, Sarah decided that she just wasn't going to talk. She only used sign the ENTIRE CLASS. That takes determination. And a bit of an attitude.

I'm just so proud of her. She's getting glowing reports from school about how she is the "little teacher" and seeing how she's 1 of only 2 class veterans (all of the other kids are new to this class) she's become a little mentor for the new kids. I really think that if she keeps up this pace, that she'll be more than ready to try out the all day Kindergarten Readiness class next year.

Signing Time fiends

2008-09-16T15:56:00.004-04:00

That would aptly describe my 2 little ones. ST holds their attention like no other DVD we own, and it's usually the only one they specifically ask for (either in sign or words).
I felt the need to expound on my Twitter from a few minutes ago. Sarah had woken up from her nap right about the time I'd finished straightening up/vacuuming the basement playroom. She wanted a snack and ST, so I happily obliged since I wanted to get a bit more housework done before Emma got home from school. I heard Katie talking in her room, after waking up from her nap, so I opened to the door to let her out. I said, "Morning Katie!"even though it's 4pm, lol. She still looked a bit groggy, but she heard ST on in the living room, gasped, and ran full out down the hall, yelling, "Bye Mom!!" She then said hello to Sarah (which is more than I got) and now they're happily sharing their bowl of plain tortilla chips and watching Rachel, Alex & Leah. Sarah chose "My Favorite Things" to watch, which is funny, cause I would have to guess that is her FAVORITE ST of all time. It's the one that has all the colors and veggies and fruits. "Leah's Farm" is probably a very close second.
The new volumes of Baby Signing Time are coming out next month (I think) and you can bet that those plus Volumes 10-13 of regular Signing Time will be on their Christmas lists.

Get out yer eye patches

2008-09-16T10:19:00.005-04:00

Friday, September 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Aside from the obvious fact that it's freakin' cool there IS such a thing, I also find it ironic that I found out about this the day after I decided to have Sarah be a pirate for Halloween. I'm sure no one but me will find that interesting. But, we have an affinity for pirate stuff - the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney has always been our favorite and we have a Jolly Roger decal on our van, no joke.

And I MIGHT just have to order this, just because it's awesome.

http://www.cafepress.com/talklikeapirate.12901607

:D

Sicky day

2008-09-16T09:47:00.003-04:00

Both little girls have come down with their first school year sniffles. Green snot and raspy breathing FTL. So Sarah stayed home from school this morning, and we're all still in our pj's watching some "Backyardigans". (I could watch that show without kids around, it's such a cool show.) I'm debating whether to call in sick to work since I think my daycare provider would have a fit if I showed up with 2 sick kids, even for an hour & a half. The girls still have plenty of energy, in fact, they're rolling all over the floor with each other as I type this.

Ok, problem solved, I just called in. The person I would be working with is comfortable with working alone for that hour and a half. Still doesn't make me happy I have to miss work, but hey, what are you going to do? Both girls are definitely getting naps and meds today. Clear snot is fine, green snot is not.

Thankfully Emma has escaped the first of the year sniffles so far. I may have to spend today Lysol-ing the whole house so make sure that stays that way. Especially with Jeff gone, I can't afford to get sick. Purell and constant hand washing for all. :)

Ok, it's official...

2008-09-15T23:55:00.002-04:00

Katie is definitely going to be a cowgirl for Halloween. I just bought the cutest pair of girls' pink cowboy boots on eBay...for $2.50! Seriously, I just couldn't pass them up. :D

Thoughts of Halloween

2008-09-15T15:55:00.004-04:00

Over the weekend, Sarah had drug out a plain white dishtowel from the drawer and I decided to tie it around her head. Jeff and I instantly told her to say,"Arrrrr" like a pirate. Which she did, and it sounded so cute! Voila, we have her Halloween costume. We're thinking of having Katie be a cowgirl (they each have pink cowgirl hats). And Emma swears she wants to be "Katara" from "Avatar: The Last Airbender". Oy.

BTW: what is it with little girl's costumes looking like they belong in a saloon?

http://www.brandsonsale.com/ca-012968.html

Seriously? I may not be a teeny-bopper,nor an old fuddy-duddy, but please. This is ridiculous.

Wonderful way to start the morning

2008-09-15T07:30:00.004-04:00

I woke up this morning and checked my e-mail. My English professor sent us back our first in-class writing essay. This is one where we're given an article to read beforehand and then have to answer questions we're not given until class time, in essay form. I didn't think I did very well at all, but she said that it was the best one she'd read and gave me an A! Guess I'm not doing so bad with English even after being out of school for 12 years. :)

Lord give me strength

2008-09-14T22:01:00.004-04:00

It's 10pm, all of the children are asleep...finally. It's day 1 of Jeff being gone. I know I've done this plenty of times before...don't know why this trip is starting out so hard. Could be the flood watch we were under for most of the day, and the non-stop 60 hour rainstorm, or the fact that my house is a disaster and I don't have time to clean it. Things sticking to my feet bug me to no end. I have officially squandered my daily use of the words,"No", "Stop", "Don't", "Get off", and "Time-out". It's times like these that make me really pissed that Jeff gets to go on these fabulous trips and I get to stay home and change poopy diapers. Yes, I know that's irrational and selfish, but I don't care.

And yes, I know Jeff reads this blog, but I also know he feels guilty about this, too.

Blog? What blog?

2008-09-13T20:16:00.003-04:00

Yeah, so I haven't updated in a bit. Might have something to do with me working and going to school. I'm still trying to get into the swing of things. The kids have fallen back into their routines: Emma is loving school, Sarah's the queen of her classroom and bus, and Katie isn't crying every time I pull up to the daycare.

Life hasn't been all that exciting so I haven't felt the "need" to blog. But, maybe I'll have some good stories in the next few weeks. Jeff's going out of town starting tomorrow, which always brings it's own fun, Emma's in swim lessons instead of soccer, and between Sarah and Katie being my "twin dynamos", well I'm sure I'll have something to blog about soon.

ETA: I apparently spoke too soon: just tonight Sarah snuck into our bathroom and stole a box of my tampons. She proceeded to empty half of the box and open them. Oy vey.

A new school year begins

2008-09-04T21:22:00.003-04:00

Emma started 3rd grade on Tuesday. Ack! I can't believe how grown up she's getting. I actually did take a few pictures before we rushed out the door the first day, but I haven't had time to download them to my computer. She only had a halfday the first day, but full days the last 2.

Today was her first day on the school bus. She rode the ICTC public bus during Kindergarten to Morey but the last 2 years we've carpooled. Morey doesn't have a typical "yellow bus" so this was her first real trip on a school bus. I walked her to the bus stop and we were met there by a couple boys from her school. She was very excited. Thankfully her school doesn't start until 8:40am, which means she doesn't have to catch the bus until 8am, which translates to more sleep for us all. :D

Sarah started school yesterday. Katie and I took her to school, but I had class and work immediately afterward so she took the bus to daycare. But she caught the bus this morning, and was very excited, too. I told her the bus was coming soon and she got her coat and backpack on and practically paced in front of the door. Once the bus showed up she bolted out front, with me barely holding on to her hand. This is old hat to her, lol. She knows the bus driver and the aid, and has "graduated" to a different seat. She no longer has to sit directly behind the driver, she gets to sit a couple of rows back. She has to take off her backpack and coat in order to be comfortable, and then she climbs up into the seat and helps the aid put on her 5 point seat belt. This child LOVES school. Just like Emma. :)

Tonight was Emma's Open House. It was meant only for parents (which I didn't know until the last minute), so Jeff & I did "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to see who would go.

I'm kidding.

I ended up going because Jeff had about 500 pages to read for his class.

Plus he knows I take better notes. :D

It was nice. I'd met Emma's teacher the first day, and I knew a little bit about her (she'd been a Special Ed/Resource Room teacher for 16 years) but I'm SO glad Emma's in her class. This woman just seems awesome. Sarah's teacher's daughter also goes to this school (also in 3rd grade, but a different class), as well as her niece who IS in Emma's class. Both girls had been on Emma's spring soccer team, which is why I specifically put her on that team, so she could meet some girls who would be going to her new school (the decision to switch schools had been made right after we signed the purchase agreement on the house). I'm really really hoping Emma's able to make some good friends, who actually call and want to spend time outside of school with her. In the 3 years Emma went to Morey, she had maybe 3 invitations to go to someone's house (birthday parties not included, but I could count those on 1 hand as well). And while I understand that people have busy lives, try explaining that to a sad elementary school student whose friends don't want to spend time with her. Add to that the fact that Emma's best friend for 2 of those 3 years was a boy, who played with other boys, who didn't want to play with a girl. She was ostracized from the girls because she played with the boys, but the boys didn't want her to play with them.

Playground politics aside, I'm really hoping for a fantastic year for both girls. I saw Sarah's teacher tonight, as well. She was just gushing over how much Sarah has blossomed over the summer. She's still the "little teacher" and now she has some younger classmates who apparently look up to her. She loves the routine and loves being at school. I finally voiced to her my idea of having Sarah go to the Kindergarten Readiness Preschool next year at the Human Growth and Development Lab. I'm 90% sure I want her to have an extra year of preschool, even though technically she's eligible to go next fall. I've been toying with the idea of having Sarah go to the all day K Readiness and have Katie go to the 3 year old program. We'd have to pay for Katie, but I think we'd get a multi-child discount or something. But, that's not really something I have to deal with for a few months at least. I don't foresee Sarah being in a self-contained classroom in school, so I think a year with typical peers (but still getting all her therapies) will help prepare her for public school.

Anyhow, I'm just glad the school year has started, as the girls have been antsy (to say the least) for the last month since Speech Camp ended. I hope the girls will always have this love for school. :D

First week down

2008-09-01T10:46:00.004-04:00

Wow, I am almost too exhausted to be awake. This week kicked my butt. It isn't really school or work that's been hard: it's been childcare. Emma doesn't start school until tomorrow, so I needed someone to watch her all last week while I was gone. Sarah & Katie's sitter didn't have room, so I was scrambling last Sunday night, calling everyone I knew. I ended up doing a combo of 2 people. Emma had fun at both places, so it worked out. Now I have a new dilemma: Emma starts school tomorrow, but only has a half day. WTH is with that?? What's the point? :sigh: Anyhow, I'm probably going to have to skip work, which I've already talked about with my supervisor. The person I would be working with is cool with being by herself, working both desks. I hate doing it, but I also hate having to keep calling on favors from people I know.

I'm still working on getting the front bathroom ready to paint. I've been taking down the awful wallpaper for a couple weeks now. 80% of it came down with no issues, just removed the top layer and sprayed the brown paper bag looking underlayer with water and gently scraped off using a putty knife. But some of it looks like it was glued to the wall with something other than the regular adhesive. And it's not been fun trying to get it all off. So my plan to have it done by the time school started isn't going to be realized but hey, what can you do? I took down the gigantic and extremely heavy mirror in order to get the wallpaper off underneath. I may have to rethink putting that thing back up there. Or I may end up framing it in wood. I think it would make it look a lot nicer. Once everything is finished I'll finally take some pics to post. When the bathroom doesn't look like it's a warzone.

SAHM no more

2008-08-25T21:00:00.001-04:00

Well, maybe that's a bit melodramatic, but technically it's the truth.

The fall semester started today and I also started my part-time job on campus. Of course, this also starts my 3 1/2 month stress-ball known as "what to do with the children". This is probably why it took me almost 12 years to start college again. And of course, I waited until we had 3 kids to try this. I know, not the brightest of ideas, but hey, you take what you can. I was able to get childcare for the little ones, but she couldn't watch Emma. So, I spent all weekend frantically looking for someone to watch Emma. I finally found someone, but it required driving across town and then racing back to campus before my first class this morning.

One other thing I had sort of forgotten about until this morning (oops) was now that Jeff has his own vehicle, that means he also has the only CMU parking pass. So, on my way after dropping Emma off, I was searching through my purse for quarters and scouring the parking lots for open metered spaces. I finally found a space, but only found enough change for 90 minutes. Between my class and work, I would need 3 hours.

I parked for class and made it there just in time. This is my Fundamentals of Interpretive Reading (aka public speaking). It seems like it's going to be an interesting class. We have to do 4 in class monologues and 5 papers. There's a twin bed in the front of the class. That seriously made me do a double-take.

After class, I went back to my meter and saw I only had 30 minutes left-and was due to go to work in 20 minutes. I ran through the options in my head: leave the car there and walk the 1/2 mile to work, and have to walk back afterwards OR park in the commuter lot and take my chances with getting a ticket. I decided to take my chances with the parking police. If I had known what the fees were for each, I would take hiked and stayed at the meter: $25 fee for no parking pass, only $10 for an over-meter fee. Cause yeah, I got my first ticket...ever. And of course, I was at work for 2 1/2 hours, and got the ticket only 10 minutes before my shift ended.

Wonderful.

I think that officially inoculated me into the whole "college experience".

Luckily my next and only other class is in the evenings, when they aren't prowling the parking lots looking for suckers. It's English 101, which also is part of my Competency Requirements. We're reading 2 non-fiction books for this class, which is nice. They're both about the Iraq war, one written by an Army soldier which is a collection of his blog posts while he was deployed. The other is by a journalist written in the Green Zone of Baghdad. We have 5 papers for this class. So I will be writing a LOT this semester, which is fine by me. I need all the help I can get with that. Cause most of the things I put down on paper doesn't make much sense except to me.

And a few other people who have a twisted sense of humor.

So, that's how my semester is going to go: school/work/school/kids/hubby/home. We'll see how this first week goes.

You Tube

2008-08-21T22:43:00.003-04:00

Video's up. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuAucIgWUsc

Out of the mouth of babes

2008-08-21T09:04:00.006-04:00

Our last morning at Great Wolf Lodge, as we were walking up to breakfast, I could hear Katie yelling something that I couldn't quite understand. It sounded like it ended in "Mom", so I asked her to repeat it.

"Ni Hao Mom!"

I blinked.

"What did you say?"

"Ni Hao Mom"

Ummmm this kid is 2. And she's telling me hello in Chinese??

I know there's a show on TV called "Ni Hao Kai-lan" that the kids occasionally watch, but I know this hotel didn't have that channel, so it had been at least 3 days since she'd seen it, possibly longer.

She kept repeating it all morning, saying hello to everyone in sight, in Chinese. My Kids, lol.

The last great hurrah

2008-08-19T22:13:00.005-04:00

Of the summer, that is.

Since the last few months (ok, who am I kidding, the last YEAR has been super hectic/stressful/pick your choice of adjective) have been busy, we decided we needed a family vacation that didn't involve weddings, funerals, or illness. We needed something relatively cheap, close, and extremely family friendly. The Great Wolf Lodge fit the bill.

It's a very nice hotel that has an indoor waterpark, an outdoor pool, a mini golf course and an arcade. Plus it's only 2 1/2 hours away. So we packed up our swimsuits and waterwings and headed out for a 3 day vacation.

We took a lot of video, which Jeff is working on editing, so hopefully it'll be up soon.

The kids had a blast! Whenever we walked inside the waterpark, we basically didn't see Emma for the next hour or so, lol. She would come back and ask if either Jeff or I wanted to go on one of the big slides with her. We took turns playing with the little ones in the kiddie area. Katie was in her new-found element. Apparently this child is a waterbaby. She was absolutely wild about the little slides and would go up and down, and up and down...for ever. She would also walk to these white tiles that were in the ground which had the depth of the water on them, jump along them (there were about 6 all in a line), pretend to jump off at the end and then put her arms up, like she was jumping off the balance beam. ROFL You think we've been watching too much Olympics?

Sarah was content to sit on the sidelines and play in the water. She was relishing in having daddy all to herself, with both sisters occupied. She was also being very friendly, talking to everyone within reach. She would go down the slides with Katie every once in awhile, but when she did attempt it, she would mostly just sit at the top of the slide and block everyone's path.

Emma was my little phantom child, showing up every once in awhile, to tell us what she'd been doing, to introduce us to a new friend. The hotel also had this interactive game called MagiQuest. It's a medieval role playing game that has the child going on quests for different items that were scattered around the hotel using a computer-chipped wand. Emma had a blast running around searching for the items she needed. It's a very long game so she didn't get to complete it, but she gets to keep the wand, so when/if we go back, she can play again.

Emma and I also were able to go get a manicure together. Well, she was in the kiddie spa area, and I was in the other area, but we did it at the same time! The kiddie area has an ice cream parlor type of atmosphere, which was cool. Emma got sugary sweet smelling hand lotion and pinky sparkly nail polish. This was the first manicure I've had in ages, so it was nice to just relax and be pampered for a bit.

Jeff was able to get away and work out for a little bit. That's his version of stress relief. I wish I had his determination. LOL

All in all it was a nice vacation. We were all sad to leave, but we know we'll go back sometime in the future.

Buddy Walk

2008-08-12T14:52:00.007-04:00

Only about a year ago, our area of Michigan didn't have a local support group for families who had loved ones with Down syndrome. But, a wonderful woman, Sheryl, and her husband, Joby, decided that they wanted to start one of their own. I'm so very glad they did, because we have been able to meet a wonderful group of children and adults with Down syndrome from our area.
The Central Michigan Down Syndrome Society is having our 1st annual Buddy Walk on September 21st. The Buddy Walk isn't new, it was started about 13 years ago, with the idea of spreading awareness about Down syndrome. I believe there were over 250 walks around the country last year. Our team name this year is "Sarah's Superstars". Our goal is to raise $250 for our local group, to make packets for new parents, provide support, and encourage awareness and acceptance for people with Down syndrome in central Michigan.

You can click on the "ChipIn" icon in the sidebar. People are also welcome to come join us at the Buddy Walk. It's Sunday, September 21st at Chipp-A-Waters park in Mount Pleasant, MI. Everyone's welcome!!

Feeling like Fall

2008-08-12T12:05:00.001-04:00

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. Spring is a close second. I think it's partly because of the weather at those times of year. It's not at either extreme: too hot or too cold. Even after growing up in the valley of northern California, with it's extreme heat, I'm a temperate person at heart. I don't do extremes well. Which begs the question: why did we move to Michigan, which has the opposite problem? But, I digress.

Fall also brings memories of the start of school. I LOVED school as a child. It was the start of something new; new clothes, new backpack, new books, new teachers, new friends. Even now, as I am frantically trying to prepare 4 people for the start of school in just a few weeks, I'm looking forward to it.

I woke up this morning, and the day felt like fall. I know it isn't, I know that it's only the 12th of August, nowhere near fall. Maybe it's because the weather isn't so hot today. Not having A/C in this house yet has made me more aware of the daily changes in the weather. I feel like if I went outside, I might need a light sweater, although I doubt that's the case. It all started this morning, while getting dressed. I looked in my dresser, and decided against shorts or capris. I put on jeans, which I probably haven't worn in months, due to how hot it has been. And weirder still, a 3/4 length sleeve shirt; not a tank top, not a short sleeve shirt. It was like I was unconsciously aware that I wouldn't feel comfortable in anything else.

But the idea that fall is coming, even if it isn't here already, brings sadness, too. I feel like we've been so busy, like we are every summer, but this one even more so, that we've missed summer. Jeff working horrible hours trying to turn the IT world on its ear, Emma and Sarah in speech camp everyday, moving into this house, unpacking, housework, cooking, etc. And now that at least some of that is finished (Jeff's big announcement was over a week ago, Speech camp ended at the end of July) it's time to start looking toward fall and the start of school. I feel like I want to put a stop to it & say,"Wait! What happened to summer? I missed it, that's not fair." I suppose that's life when you're a busy family.

Not that fall will be any less busy. I'm starting a new part-time job and taking classes again. Jeff's got a new project, too. He's going to be teaching an IT class that he is creating from the ground up. I think Emma wants to do soccer again, and I'm debating putting Sarah and Katie into dance or Kinder-Music. We always seem to be busy at all times of the year. But, if we weren't, I suppose life would be boring. :)

On this day in...

2008-08-10T18:57:00.003-04:00

So Renee over at Life with my Special K's gave this website where you can see what the #1 song on any day in pretty much the last 100 years was. It's pretty cool.

My birthday: "Stayin' Alive" by The Bee Gees

Jeff's birthday: "Le Freak" by Chic
(snort)

Our Anniversary: "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy & Faith Evans
(Not a very romantic song, lol)

Emma's birthday: "Smooth" by Rob Thomas
(The same as Kassidy's! :) I wasn't feeling so "smooth" either.)

Sarah's birthday: "Yeah!" by Usher & Lil Jon
(Jeff loves this song)

Katie's birthday: "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire

My mom's birthday: "I'm Walking Behind You" by Eddie Fisher

Jeff's mom's birthday: "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean

You can check it out here. It's fun!

Prayers for Emma Hope

2008-08-04T08:50:00.003-04:00

This little girl is having major heart surgery this morning, even as we speak. Her parents lovingly adopted her and a little boy, both with Down syndrome, from Ukraine. This little girl is 5 years old but barely weighs more than Katie. She was given up on, she's been living with this heart defect her entire life. Doctors here in the US have told her parents that this surgery shouldn't be done, as it was unlikely that she would recover from it. But they persevered and found a doctor who gave them hope.

Just pray that this sweet little girl is able to continue her 2nd chance at life.

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-08-01T14:02:00.006-04:00

Today would have been your 55th birthday. I hope you like the flowers that I had sent today. I wish I could be there in person to bring them to you, but that will have to wait until I'm able to make a trip out there.

I miss you so much, and so does Emma. She talks about you all the time. She even uses the furniture you gave us as part of her conversations. Such as,"Mom, the babies are climbing on Grammy's table." :)

You are always on my mind and often in my dreams. I'm so happy that you are no longer in pain. I won't lie and say that I'm not still bitter over the fact that you left us too soon. There are so many times I wish I could call you on the phone and ask your advice, or just to talk to see how you're doing. The girls are growing up so fast and it seems like they're changing everyday.

I know you're watching over us. Happy birthday mommy.

This is why I don't see doctors

2008-07-27T21:12:00.003-04:00

Have you ever heard someone try to explain why it's been 25 years since they saw a doctor? I have heard the line,"I feel fine, it's only when you see a doctor that they find something wrong with you."

Yeah, I can relate.

First a bit of background: When we lived in San Diego, we had no family nearby, just a few close friends from church/the Navy. I had no problems taking Emma to see the doctor whenever she needed it. Me, on the other hand, not so much. This included dentists and doctors. The few times I had to go, I ended up having to take Emma with me, which was hard (little did I know only having 1 was easy, I now have to juggle 3). There were a few times Jeff was able to get off work, or one of my neighbors could help me out. But, those times were few and far between. I did manage to get a few things accomplished while in San Diego: I got my two top wisdom teeth removed, I had a couple moles removed, and I did manage to have my yearly "women's appt". But that was about it.

Fast forward to us being in Michigan. I'm pregnant, there's snow, and Jeff is still working ungodly hours. We STILL don't have family close by and the friends are even fewer. Getting to the OB each month while pregnant was enough to send me into the nuthouse with a clingy 4 year old on my leg. I KNOW I need to see a dentist cause it's been a year since my last cleaning...then it was 2...then 3, and then I was pregnant again, so I can't go, cause they'll want x-rays.

**Let me butt in by saying, I KNOW my excuses are lame, but they seemed rational to me at the time.**

So, here it is, 2 years after the birth of my last child, and I am just NOW seeing a dentist. Forgive me Mr. Dentist, it's been 5 years since my last ~~confession~~ visit. Oy.

6 CAVITIES PEOPLE!!!! I about died. My perfect record of having NO cavities for my entire life...GONE!!! I even went through 18 months of braces, when the orthodontist told my mom, "She'll probably have at least 1 cavity after these come off." But, NO!! I didn't. I thwarted ye olde tooth decay with my mighty brushing. And mouthwashing...and flossing...not so much flossing.

See, this is where my downfall was. I HATE flossing, with a vengeance. I still have my 2 bottom wisdom teeth, and they have been making a mockery of my 18 months worth of braces for the past 13 years since I got them off. They also have been making flossing a serious hazard. The space between my teeth is so small, I break most floss that I try to shimmy in between them. And, as with most hygiene regimens, once you're a mom, they kinda fall to the wayside. Cause, seriously? I can't even pee in private anymore, so finding the time to floss after the morning rush or before I collapse into bed at night is SO not possible.

So, here I am, preparing to endure 2 sessions of fillings (that's 3 cavities each, in case you're wondering), and after that, getting 2 wisdom teeth pulled. My Fall is going to suck, big time.

There's 1 other side effect to not having had much experience with dental work: I'm scared to death of needles aimed at my mouth. Need blood? Sure! A flu shot in the arm? No problem! But, needles coming towards my mouth with the intent of sticking into my gums has me doing the "all-over-body-shivers". I might need a mild sedative to get through this. Or a shot of vodka.

So moms aren't invincible

2008-07-25T11:04:00.004-04:00

Big surprise, eh? Yeah, it was to me, too. I woke up yesterday morning with serious upper back pain. Like, it hurt to move/talk/breathe type of back pain. It was right between my right shoulder blade & my spine. Right where I couldn't really stretch it out to try to alleviate it.

I'm not usually one to run to the doctor for every little thing (well, not when it comes to ME), but I really wasn't able to do anything productive. I tried heating it and stretching some more, but no luck. I was thankfully able to get an appt with my Internist yesterday afternoon. She massaged and stretched and manipulated my neck. She also checked my make sure it wasn't my gall bladder. Apparently gall bladder issues can sometimes present themselves as upper back pains. But, that didn't seem to be the issue. She also said that she herself holds her stress in the same place, but on the opposite side. She asked if I had been experiencing stress. I had to suppress a snort, thinking, I have 3 kids and a husband who's been on 4 weeklong trips since the beginning of May, AM I EXPERIENCING STRESS??? I politely said, I might be, a little.

So, the diagnosis: strained and inflamed back muscles. Which might be from ~~dragging~~ carrying 2 little 30 lb. girls who think the "flop-n-drop" is the new Olympic sport and are going for the gold. I was given a Rx for a muscle relaxer and told to take some anti-inflammatory drugs. I picked up the Rx after dinner, took 1 plus 2 Advil, and waited...I didn't see any real relief until this morning, but I feel 100x better now.

Oh, and it was suggested I get a massage. Oh yeah, this is why I like this doctor. She tells me, in her professional opinion, that I need a massage, to help my condition. I definitely see some therapy in my future.

Preschool already??

2008-07-21T14:33:00.003-04:00

I just put in Katie's application for preschool...for NEXT fall. Yes, apparently these things have to be done a year in advance, especially if you want to get into the Human Growth and Development Lab preschool at CMU. This is the same preschool where Emma went the year before Kindergarden. This doesn't automatically get her a spot, we won't know until next April or May if she got in. There's always a waiting list. There's also the not-so-fun aspect that it's freaking expensive preschool. $1,150 a year. BUT, that includes the fall semester, the spring semester, and a 6 week long summer semester. So, she would go from the end of August to the middle of June, with a few weeks off for Christmas, Spring break, and at the end of May. Not too bad. I was hoping that this would also be where Sarah went the year before she goes to Kindergarden, which would be the same year Katie would start. But, that's something that will have to be discussed with Sarah's preschool team closer to the middle of this coming year.

It's hard to think that my youngest will be old enough to go to school here pretty soon. The day that all 3 kids are out the door to school will be both sad and triumphant, lol.

On our own again

2008-07-18T12:20:00.003-04:00

Jeff left early this morning for a business trip in Salt Lake. I feel so bad for him because we both got such a lousy night's sleep, but I was lucky enough to get to sleep in a bit after he left.

A quick recap of the last few days: We had fun during our 1 night "stay-cation" at the hotel. As soon as the girls got out of speech camp, we went home, finished packing up our overnight bag, and checked in. We immediately changed and went to the pool. The indoor pool was heated, so it wasn't completely refreshing, but it was better than nothing. Plus it started raining outside (go figure) so it would have doubly sucked if it had been an outdoor pool.

The girls had fun, although Sarah kept wanting to go into the spa, which was a lot hotter than she was accustomed to. Whenever we go to Nana & Papa's (who have a spa) they cool the water down to about 98 degrees, but I'm betting this spa was at least 103-WAY hotter than I was comfortable with. Sarah is still kinda iffy when it comes to water in general, but Katie was a fish. She absolutely loved it. She didn't mind if her head got dunked (although after reading about dry drowning, I was a bit nervous and kept checking on her after she went to sleep) and was happy as a clam jumping off the edge of the pool into my arms. We put Emma's pink water-wings on her and while she doesn't have the coordination to keep herself upright (her body keeps wanting to float on it's back) she WAS confident enough to jump towards me from the steps of the pool when I wasn't looking.

Emma is slowly getting more comfortable with swimming. I REALLY need to get her into swim lessons. I think with her being my first, I've been a bit too protective and was perfectly happy doing everything for her and not really noticing if she didn't know how to do something when her peers probably did (such as riding a 2-wheeler and knowing how to tie her shoes). I think I've been so focused on her school work and speech & the little ones, that I've kinda neglected that part of Emma's upbringing. Either that or I just assumed she'd learn how to do things on her own. I don't remember going to swim lessons as a kid, I just remember knowing how to swim. But, I was at the beach every summer, and had family who could take me all the time because I was the only child/grandchild that was around until I was 8. *This is the part when I get all pouty over the fact that we have no family nearby.*

Anyhow, the girls had fun, and it was a nice reprieve from the heat of our house.

Speaking of the heat, it is really affecting how Sarah & Katie sleep. Last night was just awful. We tried to get everyone to sleep in the basement (which is probably about 10 degrees cooler than the main level) but no one would settle down. So we put the little ones in their room on the floor with a box fan blowing right on them. Jeff went in their and tried to get them to fall asleep, but it took awhile. Then at around 2:45am, they took turns waking up and being restless. So, Jeff and I took turns trying to get them settled back down to make sure they didn't wake the other one up. We opened all the doors to let the cooler air flow through the house, but all that did was open the door for the girls to get up and walk around the house. They were each found asleep in the living room, at the side of our bed, at the door of the pantry after getting into it, in Emma's room, under their bed, and IN our bed. Needless to say, none of us got much sleep. Except Emma, who sleeps through anything.

I tried to put the little ones down for a nap this morning, to try and help them catch up on their rest, but it took almost 90 minutes for them to settle down. By that time, it was close to the time for Sarah to go to camp. I decided to let her sleep instead. So hopefully they'll both wake up refreshed and ready to give me a run for my money. :D

Quick post

2008-07-16T16:03:00.004-04:00

We are retreating to an air conditioned ~~bunker~~ hotel somewhere nearby due to the constant bombardment of heat. The children are wilting as we speak. We are hoping that a night in a room where the inside temp is LESS than the outside temp will help to refresh us. That, and a dip in a pool that isn't inflatable.

Will update tomorrow when I won't be sweating buckets.

Alas, forsoothe...

2008-07-14T11:02:00.003-04:00

or whatever it is, lol. So, I didn't get the part. The final cast list was posted this morning, but you know what? I'm not too disappointed. This was my first try-out in 12 years, and there will be more. I know why I wasn't cast, but that knowledge will help me in my next audition.

The call-back went ok. I realized after I saw the first few people up on stage that I had forgotten a key component to this part: the accent. This is a BROOKLYN Jewish family, and I really hadn't been practicing my accent. I did it ok on the first read, but the 2nd one was LONG and it required a lot of changing emotions, so I was focusing on that. The 2 women who got the parts had AWESOME accents. So, like I said, I'm not bitter. This is a learning experience and I'll know what to do next time.

Plus, now that I don't have this to occupy my evenings for the next 2 months, I will probably be able to go to an IRL with some people from one of the Down syndrome boards I go to. And I'm also picking my fall classes this week, so now I can easily figure out my schedule. :D

Busy bees

2008-07-11T10:49:00.003-04:00

That's apparently our motto for this weekend. We have way more stuff to do than we ever do normally, and it's kind of surprising.

Today: I have my call-backs at the same time Emma has a birthday bowling party to go to. DH to the rescue, and have fun putting the littlest ones to bed, hehe.
Tomorrow: driving to a local lake for a day of boating/food/fun with a group of people from Jeff's work. I needed to make an emergency trip to Kohl's last night to find a bathing suit that covered up my "doughy-ness".
Sunday: taking Emma to her friend's house for a playdate in the morning, and then we have our monthly Central Michigan Ds group meeting at a park.

We're never this busy. And poor DH is going out of town next Friday, so he won't have another weekend to himself (well, with us, too) for 2 weeks. I suppose when you live in a climate where people generally hibernate during the winter, you try to get in as much socializing and outings as you can while the weather's good. The way I see it, if I can get the house clean before we have all these engagements and then we LEAVE the house, we won't be home to get it dirty. Works for me.

Call-backs

2008-07-10T09:38:00.003-04:00

The audition last night went pretty well. I was the only one there trying out for either of the 2 older female roles, so I went first. Surprisingly I wasn't nervous, which was odd. But it got my portion over with quickly. Although the person I was reading with said they had quite a few the previous night.

Anyhow, the director said the call-back list would be on the door of the theater this morning, and call-backs were Friday night. So, where was I first thing this morning after dropping Emma off at speech camp? Of course, I was sitting in my car outside the theater, hoping no one would recognize me being a total loser and waiting for the list to go up. I saw the director go in, put up the list, lock the doors and leave. And because I didn't want to look desperate, I waited until he was out of sight before going up there. I was on the list. :D But so were about 30 other people, for only 7 parts. My odds aren't great, but hey, at least I got called back. That's pretty cool.

Broadway is calling

2008-07-09T12:39:00.003-04:00

Well, the Broadway Theater here in town, that is. Those of you who know me pretty well know that when I was younger I was really into theater/drama/performing in general. I was in plays since I was around 9, I played 2 instruments starting in 7th grade, I was in choir at church, and a songleader my senior year in high school. I was also a weekly performer in Sacramento's Rocky Horror Picture Show for about 2 years....back when I was skinny.

Anyhoo, I was reading the local paper last week and saw that they were holding auditions for Neil Simon's play "Brighton Beach Memoirs". I'd only heard of the play, and only vaguely remember the sequel movie "Biloxi Blues". So, I decided to try out. They were held last night (but I couldn't go) and will be held again tonight. I've tried in vain to get ahold of the entire script so I can prepare a little bit, but I suppose if it's that hard to get ahold of, that probably means no one else will have been able to either. Making the playing field even. Aside from the fact that it's been over 10 years since I performed on stage, and WELL over that since I actually had to audition for something. There's also the tiny little detail that I'm really not the age for any of the parts in the play. There are 4 female parts, 2 of which are teenagers (NOT likely) and the other 2 are a little older than me (38 & 40). But, I figured if I did well enough at the audition, anything can be done with make-up, so making me look a little older won't be that hard. For crying out loud, I played Auntie Em in my elementary school's performance of "The Wizard of Oz" when I was 12.

But, I've read a little bit about this play, and it seems like it would be a lot of fun. It's set during the Great Depression in Brooklyn. It's about a Jewish family (HELLO, my maiden name is Yiddish) and mainly centers around the narrator, Eugene, who is 15. The part I am thinking I would be interested in is his aunt, Blanche. She's a widow, with 2 teenage daughters, and they are all living with Eugene's family.

So, I have no delusions that I might actually get a part, but I figured, this theater does plays 4 times a year, so I might as well get back into the swing of auditions. Plus, they have a kids theater program, too. And people keep telling me I need to get Emma into drama. So wish me luck!!

YouTube

2008-07-07T09:37:00.005-04:00

We have recently come into the digital age in the Wilson household with the purchase of a digital video camera. Now it won't take 5 hours or an act of Congress to get videos of the fam onto the computer for the rest of our family far away to be able to see the kiddos. We went a little crazy this weekend, and put up 2 new videos. One from the 4th of July and one of Sarah doing some Signing Time. Here's a link to where you can find them all, yes it's on YouTube. :)

http://www.youtube.com/jmwolf

*Edited to add: the videos that are listed on the bottom of the page are Jeff's favorites.

Surgery day for Kennedy

2008-07-02T18:43:00.003-04:00

I haven't had a chance to post today, but Kennedy had her spine surgery today. According to her mom's updates, she's now out of surgery & in the ICU. Things are looking good and the doctor's said everything went well! Here's a link to her mom's blog: Life with My Special K's

Bathroom Update #4...I think

2008-07-01T15:43:00.003-04:00

Yay!! Toilet is now disengaged from my floor!! To quote Jeff as we were able to successfully remove the stubborn bolt,"Those Home Depot guys are freaking geniuses." ROFL

I took off the rest of the luan flooring this afternoon, but my goal to have at least 1 coat of the Kilz on before the girls got home from camp was not realized. That flooring took a lot out of me. But, I am determined to work on it again once the girls go to bed. If I can get the 2 coats I want on there before tomorrow morning, then I can head to Home Depot to get the new luan flooring and install it tomorrow afternoon! See? There is a method to my madness.

The bathroom gods are against me

2008-06-30T10:06:00.003-04:00

Ok, this bathroom is becoming a major thorn in my side. I have (almost) all the supplies I need, I just need to get the floor into a state where I can start. That involves unhooking the toilet and getting it out of the way for the time being. I knew what to do but a toilet is a huge porcelain PITA (pain in the a$$) and I didn't want to risk breaking it and having "new toilet" be part of my bathroom remodeling expenses. So I waited to request Jeff's help in moving it this weekend.

Well, the toilet has decided it doesn't WANT to be moved and is staying put. There seems to be something wrong with one of the nut/bolt thingies that secure the toilet to the floor. The top nut can be moved, but the ENTIRE nut/bolt/nut system is moving together, meaning nothing is coming off. And since the other nut is on the UNDERSIDE of the toilet, which we can't get to, we're at a loss as to how we're going to keep that one secure in order to get the top nut off. This whole thing makes my brain hurt....

And once again I have a time limit. Not like I wanted to still be doing this 2 weeks after I started. I wanted it done within 4 days, which was feasible at the time. But houses are fickle things. And I have 3 little distractions who don't like me working on the bathroom while they're at home/awake. But now that Emma & Sarah are at speech camp (Emma all day, Sarah in the afternoon) and Katie is now taking naps in the afternoon, I have almost 2 1/2 hours in order to work on it!! But, this still requires that the stupid toilet be detached from it's current position. So, it's another trip to Home Depot for me. I think they're gonna know me by name soon.

Central Michigan Down syndrome Society

2008-06-27T11:42:00.005-04:00

When Sarah was first born, and we found out about her little something extra, we looked around for some local support. We didn't find much. So, I went online and found a wonderful group of people that I have looked to in times of stress and celebrated with in times of great joy. We have been fortunate to meet up with some of them over the last 4 years, but there's still nothing that beats having a local group that you can talk to & meet up with on a regular basis.

Last year, on Mother's Day, we went out to Bob Evans (a Marie Calendar's type of restaurant). While we were having breakfast, a family walked by & stopped in front of our table. The mom started talking to Sarah, and commented on how cute she was. Generally when people do that, it's because they have some sort of Down syndrome connection. And as soon as I saw the little baby in the infant seat, I saw the connection. We didn't exchange information, it was a nice little meeting where we shared something in common.

Fast forward about 6 months. I get a letter in the mail from a woman who was starting up a local Ds group and wanted to know if we would join. I jumped at the chance and called her right away. What do you know, it was the same family from Bob Evans. Their little girl was named Elizabeth and they had just gotten through heart surgery. We set up a recurring meeting at McDonald's for once a month. She decided, since this town is pretty small, and there aren't many kids with Ds, to include kids with other special needs. Sarah's little friend from preschool, Morgan, who has agenesis of the corpus callosum started joining us as well.

Our little support group is growing in numbers and in activities. We have an official website and a date for a Buddy Walk. So if anyone is in the central Michigan area, you are welcome to join!!

Prayers for Kennedy

2008-06-27T11:17:00.003-04:00

On the sidebar, you might notice a new button. It's for a sweet little girl named Kennedy. Kennedy is only about a month younger than Sarah, but has been through so much in her short 4 years. She has a little something extra, like Sarah, but her family has been tested with some medical challenges that we haven't. Last year, right before her 3rd birthday, Kennedy was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia). Kids with Ds have a much higher rate than the average population to get diagnosed with leukemia. But, the up side is that kids with Ds also have a much higher remission/success rate. The chemo schedule for AML is rigorous (this is the same form of leukemia that Chelsea was diagnosed with). It is 6-9 months of chemo, between 4-6 rounds, with each round lasting about 1 month from admission to release. Then there's the side effects of chemo: hair loss, NO immune system, pain, nausea, general fatigue. So many of our online friends have had to deal with this.

After she got through that with flying colors (she's still in remission!!! Yay!!), she had another surprise for her family. See, another medical issue that many kids with Ds have to face is AAI (Atlantoaxial Instability). It is a problem in the upper part of the spine where the neck vertebras aren't formed correctly. Kids with Ds have to be screened starting at age 3 to make sure they don't have this otherwise they could be seriously injured or even paralyzed if they have a bad fall. Sarah was tested last year and so far everything looks good, but she will be getting more x-rays done soon. Kennedy was also diagnosed with an even more serious version of AAI called AOI (atlanto-occipital instability). To borrow the way Leah described it, Kennedy's head is merely resting on top of her spine. She is flying to Philly today to have a spine fusion surgery. This will be a long recovery time for her & her family. To make things a tad more complicated, Kennedy's dad is serving this country in the US Army, and left in December for his 2nd tour in Afghanistan. He will be flying to Philly to be with his family during this time, and will be able to stay with them during Kennedy's recovery.

Did I mention Kennedy has 2 brother's and 1 sister? This whole family could definitely use prayers for strength and courage through this tough time.

Bathroom update

2008-06-23T13:15:00.002-04:00

For those of you that were interested, no I didn't get the bathroom finished by Saturday. And as luck would have it, the weather decided it wanted to rain on Saturday afternoon (according to the forecasts) so we moved the party to a local park that have covered areas, as our backyard has no shelter. As it would happen, it started pouring as soon as we were getting ready to leave.

Anyhoo, the carpet and old linoleum are out, but there was one more layer before getting to the subfloor and that has proven harder to rip up. But, I have a plan and all the supplies to get it finished, so hopefully I'll be able to post pics of my new bathroom floor sometime this week. And just the floor cause the rest of the bathroom is still ugly.

Channeling my mother

2008-06-18T12:48:00.002-04:00

Ask anyone who knew my mother and one of the first things they would say about is she loved to home repair/home decorating/gardening. If you called her on any given day, she probably could be found painting/staining/installing/planting something. I have already determined that I did not inherit my mother's artistic gene, however, it seems I've been blessed (and depending on who you talk to, including my husband, that might be stretching it) with the "fixer-upper" gene. Over the last 2 weeks, I've embarked on more "fixer-upper" projects than I have in the past 2 years. It all started with me finding 4 rolls of contact paper in my mother's things. I immediately thought of my kitchen and the nasty old paper that was in there, along with the shelves that had nothing and were merely nasty themselves. Over the course of about 6 hours, I put contact paper on almost every shelf in my kitchen & pantry. And then proceeded to rearrange said shelves.
My new project is somewhat ambitious, and my husband has already expressed doubt that I will get it done. When we moved in, it seems that the previous owners had a cat, that was allowed to use the carpet in the main bathroom as a litter box. First of all, putting carpet in a bathroom seems like an extremely idiotic idea in the first place, but I digress. It smelled....BAAAAAAAAD. Poor Emma wouldn't even brush her teeth in there & the smell hit you as soon as you walked in the front door. It was awful. I got lots of advice on how to get rid of it, but they all required that the bathroom be well aerated. Which it isn't, as it doesn't have a window or good air flow. So spraying anything on there that required we allow it do dry was not going to happen.
We have a birthday party here this Saturday and I didn't want to have to make all the guest use the 1/2 bath by the back door. So, I decided to rip up all the carpet, padding & anything else that was under there, and put new flooring down. It already smells better and I haven't even put anything on the subfloor yet. The people who put this carpet in were morons. They put carpet over linoleum because they were too lazy to rip up the old flooring. So now I have a decision to make: be an equal moron and just put new vinyl flooring over the old stuff, or bust my hump & try to rip out the old stuff that's probably been there for 25 years. Did I mention we're having a party here Saturday? There is this product called Kilz that is a sealant of some sort that I was told would block out the smell of cat pee that soaked into the subfloor (which is most certainly likely). I think it's time to go visit our friendly neighborhood experts at Ye Olde Home Depot. It's times like these that I wish my mom were here so I could call her & ask her advice. But, all I have now is WWMD (What would Mom do).

Snot much fun

2008-06-16T14:18:00.002-04:00

Being sick, that is. Poor Sarah & Katie. They each have a sinus infection and conjunctivitis. Which are fancy words for a lot of snot & goop all over the face. Katie woke up this morning, wandered into our room (how, I don't know, since I THOUGHT their door had been shut), I pulled her into bed with me and we fitfully slept for about another hour. I hadn't even looked at her when she came in, I did the "eyes still half closed" thing. When we all woke up a bit more, Jeff noticed that her poor eyes were crusted shut. She had wandered into our room pretty much blind. Poor kid. I immediately made a double appointment for them both as soon as I could. They each had a low degree temp of 99.6, and weighed in at 28 & 23 lbs. My little twins, lol. They even get sick together. So now we're on a regimen of oral antibiotics and eye drops for the next week. Fun fun.

Library Fun

2008-06-13T16:17:00.003-04:00

When I was growing up, I went to the library alot....I mean a LOT. Especially in the summer when I was visiting my dad. My aunt would take me at least twice a week: for story time, to get new books, rent movies, the whole 9 yards. I grew up loving books. There are books that are engrained in my memory of childhood: The Boxcar Children, Nate the Great, Corduroy, anything by Beverly Cleary.
I have been remiss when it comes to helping my children have that love of the library. I'll admit before today, it had been at LEAST a year since I took them there. But, even though I haven't pushed it, my kids have still developed a love of books. Emma loves books, and so does Sarah. Katie's learning. :D
So we went this morning, and we had a good time. We got books, a couple DVD's, and audio books to tide us over for the next week or so. I've been a bit short on decent books for me to read lately, so I decided to take a crack at some books that I was supposed to read in high school, but, well, they bored me to tears at the time. I'm not proud of it, but hey, I was 17. And lover of books that I was, I didn't like being TOLD to read something for the sake of a teacher just so I could get a good grade. And now I'm in college doing the same thing, rofl.
Anyhow, so I got "Brave New World" and "1984". I'm about 1/3 of the way through "Brave New World". It's hard to believe it was written in the 1930's, seeing how forward it is regarding what amounts to extreme promiscuity and drug use. I need to think of more books I should have paid more attention to in high school and take a 2nd look at them.

Booty Camp

2008-06-09T10:05:00.003-04:00

In case you hadn't gathered based on how old my 2 younger kids are, but I have 2 in diapers at the moment. Sarah is on her way, and I think just needs a little push to be completely free of diapers, but Katie is still aways from that. She's cognizant of the fact that she goes pee & poop and even tells me, but she doesn't like the potty chair. And I'm not gonna push her. She'll get it in her own time. After all, she DID only turn 2 yesterday (and no I didn't post anything, I'm a bad mom, but I'm a single mom for the week, so I didn't have a ton of time).

Sarah is very sporadic when it comes to the potty. She has on a few occasions told me in advance that she needs to go, and will actually go. But other times she acts completely oblivious to it. I don't like the fact that it seems like I don't have the time to focus on making sure she gets trained, but with DH being gone all day (and sometimes for a week for work), having just moved into a new house and still trying to unpack, plus having a younger child always underfoot, it's been beyond difficult trying to have a schedule to go have potty time. So, when I saw this on the Today Show this morning, I immediately told Jeff about it.

www.bootycampmom.com

This woman says that, with parent involvement, she can potty train your child in 1 day. She does these camps 2 days a week, maybe 2-3 times a month, in groups of 4-5. The methods she uses are a little controversial (a LOT of salty snacks & sweet drinks, which help the body have to pee more frequently) but it helps the child get into a routine of knowing what it feels like. She also teaches the child that it is THEIR responsibility to take care of their potty needs. If they have an accident, she has them clean it up (with help and in a very positive attitude). There have been articles written for NADS (National Association for Down syndrome) and she's been doing this for over 4 years. She claims to have a 98% success rate.

The only catch is she's in Chicago. But, that's only about a 5 hour drive. It's totally worth it to me. If I could have Sarah potty trained by the start of school next fall, that would be a miracle, for us as a family & for our pocketbook.

What Sarah & Katie were doing

2008-05-19T11:17:00.002-04:00

while Emma was learning how to ride her bike.

We brought out the slide/swing set that Katie got for her birthday last year, and they had a blast. Enjoy!!

I love to ride my bicycle

2008-05-19T10:04:00.002-04:00

"The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard." ~Sloan Wilson

Score another point for buying our own house! At the age of 8 years 5 1/2 months, Emma has learned to ride a 2-wheel bike. She's had a bike since she was 5, but living where we did, on the corner of a busy street, with no real usable lawn, getting her to be able to ride it very often was hard.

Now her bike with the training wheels was way too small. So, Saturday, while out yardsale-ing, we saw a bigger 2-wheel bike that was in really nice condition, for $16. We couldn't pass it up. After a trip to the store for a new helmet, and after putting the younger 2 to bed, we set out to teach Emma how to ride.

The first hurdle was teaching her how shift her weight when she starts falling to one side. She had the pedaling down (and trust me, riding a bike on thick grass is no easy feat) and was doing well with the steering, but turning without falling over was still an issue. By the end of the night, she was able to go in a straight line without falling over, and with me only holding on long enough to get her started.

Yesterday morning we tried again, and within about 30 minutes, Emma was doing circles around our lawn & driveway, again with me only helping her to get going for a second. After I went inside to make the kiddos some lunch, Emma stayed outside and I watched her from the window. She could now get started all on her own & did about 30 revolutions in a row!! I'm so very proud of her! After not having ridden a bike period for almost a year, she picked it up really well.

Now she wants to make these long treks out to the park and has it in her brain that she'll be able to ride her bike to school next fall. Hate to break it to you kid, but your school is too far away. :( But, we have a nice big high school right across the street that has a sidewalk all the way around it, so I have a feeling we'll be making a lot of family walks around there this summer.

Brownie points for who can guess where the title of this post is from. :D

My Little Helper

2008-04-30T22:32:00.002-04:00

Sarah LOVES to help me clean, as long as it's something she wants to do, and isn't forced. LOL She helps me empty out the dishwasher, put laundry into the dryer, and make the beds. Today she decided to take it upon herself to clean our upstairs coffee table.

The pics are a little blurry because they were taken with my cell phone, but she was very intent on cleaning. :)

Katie the Plumber

2008-04-28T11:18:00.002-04:00

Feel bad for my children, as 2 of the 3 of them, have no butt. This is proof.

They can't keep their pants up to save their lives. I need to invest in belts & suspenders.

Bad blogger

2008-04-28T10:19:00.002-04:00

I have been most remiss in updating my blog as of late. I have valid excuses, but that's just what they are. Quick run-down of what's been going on lately: Sarah's birthday last weekend, job interview the previous Friday (a job I got, TYVM), preparing for finals this week, trying not to freak out over signing home-ownership papers this Thursday, packing, cleaning, etc.

First Sarah's birthday. Because we're moving soon, we decided not to have a big party just yet. We're going to wait until after we're all settled into the new house. But, she did have a small little celebration in her class. I made muffins to bring in, and the kids sang "Happy Birthday" and she had a lot of fun. Katie had a blast, too, showing off her signs and generally causing havoc as she SO wanted to be part of the class. Here are a few pics from the party, taken on a cell phone, cause I forgot the big camera (D'OH):

She had a fun time, and I'm sure we'll have most of these same kids over for her big party in a few weeks. :D

On to the job interview. It was for a student position at CMU. Since I am technically a student, I can get a student job, which is nice, since they have to be flexible to my class schedule and they pay more than minimum wage. Down side is, it's not a ton of hours to start with, but I'm ok with that since I'm slowly weaning the kids (and me) into me not being a full-time SAHM. The main purpose for me going back to school is for me to get a degree and ultimately, work full-time as a teacher. It'll take a few years, but most likely will be reality around the time Katie is either in preschool or K. Anyhow, I got offered the job, and it starts in the Fall semester. It's in the same set of buildings that Jeff works in, so that will be nice. It's also right across the street from where I'll most likely be taking the bulk of my classes, so I won't have to walk very far.

As for the house, we're scheduled to close on it this Thursday. I've been slowly packing up non-essential items and getting rid of a lot of stuff. My plan was to have a yard sale before we moved, but I'm thinking about having it the weekend after we move. Most of our stuff will be at the new place already, which will make it a little easier. I also still have to make time to go out to the storage unit & get Emma's new bed and a few other things.

School is almost over, and Jeff & I are oh-so-very happy about that. We each have 2 finals this week. My last one will be finished about an hour before we close on the house. I'm officially a "Degree-seeking student" now, which is exciting. Since my grades in high school & the 2 semesters I went to a JC weren't all that stellar, I had to kinda prove myself to CMU that I was serious. I guess I did, since they changed my status without me asking them to. :D This means I'll be able to meet with an advisor and figure out which classes I'm going to take. It's pretty cool!

That pretty much sums up how our life's been going lately. Hopefully it won't be another month before I post again. But, I wouldn't doubt it either. :P

America's Favorite Mom

2008-04-08T16:11:00.002-04:00

The folks over at Teleflora are having this contest, to see who is America's Favorite Mom. It's going to be a show on TV hosted by Donny & Marie Osmond. There are 15 finalists right now, including Rachel Coleman of "Signing Time"!
I know most of my family knows, but Signing Time has been a huge part of our family's life. It has helped both Sarah & Katie be able to communicate when they had no other means to. Sarah especially, since her speech is very delayed. Rachel is a warm, loving person, who has helped so many families with "Signing Time".
We were fortunate enough to be able to see her perform and meet her in person last year.

So, if you can spare moment, please go vote for her. The link to the page on my sidebar. There you can find code to add this add this same button to YOUR blog. :D

At the Park

2008-04-07T11:03:00.004-04:00

We had really nice weather over the weekend, so we took advantage of it and went to the park for awhile yesterday. The kids had a blast and completely wore themselves out.

Here's a link to some pictures.

http://gallery.mac.com/wilso4jm#100180

We have too much crap

2008-03-29T15:42:00.002-04:00

This is a revelation, I know. A house of 5 people, 3 of which are under 9, and we *gasp* have a lot of stuff. Most of the time, I am able to hide this fact by excellent use of drawers, closets, and strategically placed furniture. Every house has a junk drawer. We have a junk drawer, a junk desk, and a junk closet. And I would be perfectly content to leave things as they are, if it weren't for one thing: we're moving...in a month. Now, seeing as how I enjoy my sanity and it is slowly slipping away from me day by day, I choose NOT to have it completely swept away by trying to pack up 4 1/2 years worth of stuff in one weekend, ironically enough 2 days after I have my last of three finals. That might see me curled up in a fetal position, whispering,"Just burn it all, and collect the insurance."
So, I have been packing up things here & there, mostly in Emma's room, due to the fact that THAT room has the highest concentration of crap in the entire house. I swore to myself that I was going to get rid of at least 1/3 of the stuff that she has in her room. Garage sale, Salvation Army, trash can, I don't care how it leaves our house, it's going to be GONE. At first Emma was reluctant but I have pulled out the old stand-by,"If you get rid of stuff you don't NEED, you have more room for stuff you WANT." Yes, that works on 30 year olds as well as 8 year olds. And she earns an allowance now, so she can buy whatever she can afford. Which, on $3 a week, isn't much. Which is a good thing.
A couple weeks ago, I packed away 90% of her books, leaving out only a handful for her & the littler ones. I went through Sarah & Katie's closet last weekend, and combined with a little bit more in Emma's room today, and now I have a big pile of stuff for a garage sale. Along with 3 garbage bags full of trash.
Why not just hire a moving company to come do all this hard, back-breaking work for me, you ask? Because I'm cheap, people. We're not rich, by any stretch of the imagination, and moving costs moo-lah. Even when you're only moving 1/2 mile down the road. So, our plan is to pack all the little stuff up ourselves, and then get someone to either help us, or just have them move all the big stuff. We have a whole month, due to the end of our lease not being until May 31st, to be out of this place. So, we're supposed to close on the new house on May 1st, which will hopefully give up plenty of time to move in, get this place cleaned up & ready so we can be out by the 31st. Never mind that Jeff is leaving for a week in the middle of that. At least finals will be over, and the weather will be nice. So, anyone up for a road trip to help us move?? :D

Too Many Friends

2008-03-28T10:11:00.003-04:00

I have way too many online friends. :) Not that that's a bad thing, but when I'm trying to keep up with everyone's blogs and read them each day, it just takes up too much of my already limited time. So, Jeff turned me on to this RSS reader, which checks the blogs & other websites I put on there for new stuff and then brings it all into 1 window. SUCH a time saver, because I don't always have time to click each blog I have on my favorites individually, and I sometimes go weeks without checking some. The one we use is "NetNewsWire" but I know there are a wealth of RSS feed programs out there.
I already have a bunch of blogs on there (as well as MSNBC.com cause I love the news but don't get time to actually watch it, lol). Unfortunately places like Facebook & MySpace don't have RSS feeds or even Atom. But if you have a blog, please link to it in a comment (unless you don't want it "out there" in cyber space, then feel free to send me an email) so I can put you on my RSS feed. And, if you feel comfortable, I'm also trying to update MY blog to link to all the blogs I read. Let me know if it's ok to put you on that, as well. I CAN put Facebook & MySpace pages on that. :)

Update on Emma

2008-03-27T16:34:00.003-04:00

I was reading back through a couple months of post and I haven't really done an update on what's been going on with Miss Emma. Today we had her 3rd quarter parent/teacher conference, so what better time??
Emma is doing just great. She making great strides in school and I am very confident that she will do great next year at her new school. She's been in the Resource room for reading/spelling since the beginning of the school year, and she's making progress. Her ST & her Resource room teacher still think that her delay in reading/spelling is directly correlated to her speech. She's already met almost all her goals for speech this year and her progress in the resource room is coming along accordingly. I am 95% sure we want to put Emma in the CMU speech camp this summer. At first, I was a little hesitant because I told her that she was going to PEAK again this summer, hopefully with kids from her new school, so she could meet some new people. But, after attending a seminar about the speech camp for Sarah, I really think that 6 weeks of 6 hours of speech therapy will GREATLY help Emma. So, we're going to try to send both of them. Sarah's will only be 1/2 day. Emma will be able to meet new friends during spring soccer as I'm putting her new school as her home school, so she'll be grouped with kids from there, including Sarah's preschool teacher's daughter, who will ALSO be going to Emma's new school next year. Her name's Emily, and they know each other from soccer last year. I'm hoping that will be enough. I know that moving to a new school and leaving all her friends behind will be tough, but at the same time, we need to do what's best for Emma academically. I would REALLY like to get Emma out of the Resource room next year. She is SO very bright and has a fantastic imagination. She's just having a little problem with a few things.
As for school, her report card looks awesome! There are a lot of new things introduced in 2nd grade, and she's not getting as much time in the classroom (due to resource room pull-outs twice a day, every day of the week) so she's struggling a little bit with the new content, but she's working very hard. She knows she doesn't HAVE to make up everything that she misses due to being in the RR, but she wants to.
Last year about this time, there was talk that Emma might have a Learning Disability. I asked both her RR teacher & her classroom teacher and they don't think she does. They really think that the speech is what's affecting her reading & spelling, and once that either continues to improve or is resolved (which after 6 years, I hope would be soon, but it might be something she struggles with for a while still) the reading and spelling will fall into place. They are noticing that as she's making improvements in speech, there are noticeable improvements in her reading/spelling. Which makes me happy, but I'm still wishing she could get over this hurdle.
In my Special Ed class, we watched a movie about Learning disabilities, and a psychologist had come up with a comprehensive format to pinpoint a child's exact learning disability. I asked them about this, and they said the school psychologist has something similar, so I asked her to set something up to get Emma tested. Not that I WANT her to have an LD, but at the same time, I want to make sure Emma has the best learning environment possible. If she needs extra support, and isn't getting it because her educators don't know about something, she's not getting the best we can offer her. If nothing at all, her getting tested will show that she DOESN'T have one and we'll know for sure, and can continue on the course we're following.

Ah Croup...

2008-03-24T08:57:00.003-04:00

I genuinely feel for those parents whose children get croup on a regular basis. Before a month or so ago, none of my children had ever had it. The "stridor" that they described could have sounded like a train whistle for all I knew. Well, when Sarah woke up in the middle of the night about 2 months ago, struggling to breath and sounding like she'd swallowed something furry, Jeff & I freaked out. I'd like to say I was calm and collected, but no. I was scared that she was going to die due to lack of oxygen. So, off to the ER at midnight we went.
Last night (or was it very early this morning....I can't remember), Jeff shakes me awake & says something to the effect of,"Sarah's crying, I think something's wrong." I go upstairs, and before I even get to the top, I hear the familiar sound of something furry trying to escape from Sarah's throat. She's on the floor, right before her bedroom door, freaking out cause she can't breath really well. Having been a fairly decent parent, and reading up on croup after the last incident, I knew first to try either a steamy bathroom or really cold air. So, I started up the scalding shower water to steam up the bathroom and we sat there for about 10 minutes. Then Jeff got the lucky job of standing outside on our deck (in Michigan, in March, you get the idea) with Sarah wrapped up in a blanket for about 10 minutes. Her stridor wasn't completely gone, but she was breathing a lot better. We decided against an ER trip, and brought her down to our room. She slept pretty fitfully, and still wasn't breathing completely normal, but it was a lot better than before.
This morning, she's doing fine. Has the funky breathing only every once in awhile. Kept her home from school just to be on the safe side. I think she might also be spiking a little fever, so there's no sense in exposing her classmates to this. Poor kid. She always gets the weird stuff at an age when you'd think she'd be beyond it. Case in point: last year around this time, both Katie & Sarah got their first ear infections. Sarah was THREE and Katie was ONE. Who ever hears about 3 years olds getting their FIRST ear infection? That's generally something you deal with when they're infants. This croup thing is the same thing. She didn't have a history, so where is this coming from? Just add that to the long list of health questions I have pertaining to Sarah. This kid is a medical enigma, no explanations for anything. Just thanking my lucky stars that croup isn't contagious.

World Down syndrome Day

2008-03-21T09:03:00.003-04:00

Today is World Down syndrome Awareness Day. A day to spread the word to the world that Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21, is not a disease, it's not an affliction that people "suffer" from, it's not something to be feared. In our history we as a society have never liked embracing differences. From the color of people's hair or skin, to which hand they use, we always have used labels to lump people into groups. Today is a day to spread the joy and unconditional love that comes with that extra chromosome.

Does it look like they are suffering?

The love between sisters

Happy World Down syndrome Day!!