Oh yeah...

...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Papa And His Grandkids

Apparently...

...I decided to take a two day break from blogging. I was just busy. Sunday was my gandmother's 80th birthday party at the Phillip's Old Colony House in Dorchester, Sunday night I went over to my parents house to visit with my aunt who was here from California, and yesterday I was at the schools touring with "Big Ryan" of Big Ryan's Tall Tales. He did 5 shows for the kindergartens and first and second grades, so I left my house at 8:30 or so and didn't get home until 3:00. Julia was fine for the most part and enjoyed watching Ryan, so that was good.

Anyway, like I said, this weekend was my grandmother's 80th birthday celebration. It was very nice and of course, I took pictures!

Emily looking quite beautiful.

That's my grandmother, aka Nana right there (with the red hair...it' a family thing!) and my Aunt's friend Donald playing the violin in the background there.

Papa (my father) holding Jack. They kind of look alike I think.

The cutest almost 7 year old ever.

My parental units!

No, she doesn't LOVE the camera. Why do you ask?

Ryun The Cable Guy

Aunty Anne's Pretzels

Last night, while at the mall, I decided to run down to Aunty Anne's and get a pretzel. While I was waiting for the "I so don't want to be here and my life sucks" kid behind the counter to get my order together, I picked up a napkin and glanced down at the slogan which read, "Aunty Anne's Pretzels: Any Fresher And You'd Slap It."

Um, I am not one of those that is all freaky about people slapping their kids as a disciplinary measure (I personally don't believe in it but, to each his own and all that), but this? I am sorry, there is just something inherently wrong with advocating for slapping your kid or whatver for being fresh, and it is advocating for it if you ask me.

In this day and age, I am suprised that the company hasn't gotten their asses sued over it.

What the hell were those advertising people thinking?

Friday Night At The Mall: Observations & Commentary

Going to the mall on a Friday night certainly isn't what it used to be. Sadly, it's become a haven for aliens posing as teenagers, who have nothing better to do than smoke, run, yell, and perform all other kinds of obnoxious and "get a room" kind of behaviors (please, someone for the Love of God tell me I didn't look and act like that as a teenager).

Two things I have learned from this:

1. Unless some sort of emergency arises, do not go to the mall on a Friday night.

2. I am old.

That is all.

Tonight...

...is the 9th Annual Halloween Party here at the homestead and let me tell you people, I am looking forward to it!

Ryun wanted to do a "Redneck Theme" this year but I couldn't think of a costume that I liked so we scratched the idea. Emily overheard us discussing this though and she said, "Mom, why don't you just paint your neck red, you know, red neck." So, while theme is not redneck I have taken her up on her fantastic (and hello easy)costume idea and had Ryun pick me up a red scarf which I will wear around my neck. Ryun? He is going with is original costume idea and dressing as Larry the Cable Guy of Blue Collar Comedy fame. He tried on his costume the other night and, let us just say, he really looks the part.

Below: two pictures I found online of Larry.




Coming VERY late tonight or sometime tomorrow: pictures of Ryun in costume.

Oh and for the record, he taught Julia how to say "Git R Done" and I'll be damned if she doesn't sound just like Larry.

Katherine's serious...

...but cute school picture!

Emily's MCAS Results

Reading: Proficient
Mathematics: Proficient

What does this mean?

Students at this level demonstrate a solid understanding of challenging subject matter and solve a wide variety of problems.

So yay!

Julia

Earlier today, Julia and I went back to Braintree to have the leads taken off. She did very well, except for when I had to hold the facecloth over her eyes so the oily stuff wouldn't drip in to her eyes.

I am hoping we get the results early next week so we can finally put all of this medical crap behind us.

Here is a picture of her this morning , looking all cute.

Milestones

I had intended to elaborate a little more on the entry a few days ago, announcing the 5th anniversary of my foray in to blogging, but I have just been straight out busy and am not finding the time until now.

I was thinking actually, about how different my life is now than it was 5 short years ago. I can't beleive how much time changes things, how much it has changed me personally.

While I tend not to get overly personal here, blogging has become a fantastic outlet for me, even if it is just to share my everyday life, with the occassional rant or bitch session thrown in for good measure. Aside from all that, five years of blogging= a lot of history. Think about it: Emily was just 4 when I started, Katherine 2, and Julia? At that point she wasn't even a thought. Ryun and I were married for just three years, we lived in a different town. I'm not going to lie: occasionally, I go back and read my own archives. It helps me remember the good and the bad and it gives me a measureable way of looking at how far I have come. My blogs have been similar to my scrapbooks: personal journals of rememberance, created and designed by me.

Five years is a short time in the "real world", but in "blogworld" five years is a HUGE milestone...one that I am proud to reach and one that I hope to surpass by many, many more years.

Names

Does anyone else have a problem with calling someone, whom you have called "Mr_____ or "Mrs._____" forever, by their first name?

Case in point: I am chairing the Cultural Enrichment Committee for the PTA. I have been talking back and forth with the principal of Emily's school (who, coincidently was my principal in elementary school) and he is insistng that I call him by his first name, and it feels... strange.

Maybe it has something to do with calling him by his first name confirms the fact that I am, well, not his student anymore. Calling him "Mr. Morris" somehow, makes me feel younger.

Ideas? Anyone? Bueller?

I just found out that the theme for this year's annual town Christmas Parade is "Christmas Movies Are Coming To Town." Emily's troop always takes part in this parade and on a couple of occasions, has won the award for best float etc.

As her leader, I am partially responsible for coming up with a great idea for the girls to do this year. We have a HUGE ramp truck at our disposal (my co-leader's husband works for an autobody shop) and 25 gilrs (assuming all participate) to dress the part. We do have some money to spend on costumes/truck decorating (some but not a ton).

So, I am passing the baton to you, my esteemed readers. Anyone out there have an ideas?

The theme again is, "Christmas Movies Are Coming To Town."

Have at it.

Instead of bitching on my blog...

...I need to get out there and do something about this.

Well, maybe not instead of bitching about it but in addtion to. I don't actually have any real feeling that my "getting out there" will work, but hey, it might make me feel good.

The Board of Education must need to take the MCAS to prove themsleves smart, since apparently they think that the way to get students to actually pass the damn test is to raise the minimum score required to graduate.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

Take Home Chef

Have y'all ever watched it on TLC?

I caught my first episode ever the other night and I am already addicted.

Here's the scoop: This hot blonde Australian dude (Curtis) accosts you while you are out food shopping (accosts you in the most friendly of manners). He then offers to pay for your groceries and take you home to cook for you.

Seriously, does it get any better than that?

The episode I watched the other night was one in which the menu was homemade Chinese food. Now I am not usually a big fan of Chinese food but this homemade stuff looked good. He made Orange Chicken and Fried Rice, with some veggies mixed in as well. It looked to die for.

I have never really liked "cooking shows"...I just found them boring. Curtis though makes these complicated recipes look, well, easy and has a great personality to boot. Watching Take Home Chef is going to be a regular thing for me, especially since Ryun is stopping at the local cable office to pick up a DVR today! YAY!

Happy Day

In the rush and business of this past weekend, I completely forgot to note to very important anniversaries:

October 21: Mom and Dad celebrated 33 years of marriage! WOO HOO!

October 22: My 5 year Blogiversary! That's a long time in Blogworld. Here's to 5 more!

Cheers!

EEG Take 2

As mentioned, today was the set up for Julia's ambulatory EEG. It went amazingly well, at least in comparison to the last couple of times we have been through this. To put it in perspective: it took my sister and I to hold her down so the tech could get the leads on the first time...today, she just sat there and all except two of the leads (the ones on her forhead) went on with very little fuss from her. She just sat there and let the tech do her thing. It was a much better experience than it has been in the past. She will be "connected" for 72 hours. She is actually being recorded visually while she is sleeping (with this big, clunky video thing) but during the normal hours of the day, she can run around and play as usual.

We go back Thursday to have it all disconnected and hopefully, will get results sometime next week.

EEG

Today is the day I take Julia in for her ambulatory EEG. I called today to find out exactly how long we would need to have this for and found out it was only for 72 hours. When we went in for her original EEG back over the summer, I thought I had heard the doctor say something about it being indefinite and I was horrified. I had planned on going in there today and telling them that I would be back in one week to have it removed but decided to just call and check.

Anyway, the weekend went well. I don't think I was at the computer for more than five minutes all weekend so I came back on today and had 74 emails...60 of which were junk.

My Lia show went well...although I am hoping to get a couple of outside orders which I will probably do since I have the catalogs out there!

Anyway, I will be back later after the appointment or whatever.

Busy Day Ahead...

Soccer...

Housecleaning...

My Lia Sophia Starter show tonight at 7...

Back later or perhaps Sunday!

Emily's Appointment

Yesterday, Emily had a regular appointment with her neurologist. He is based out of Children's in Boston but one a month makes the trip to Cape Cod Hospital to run the neurology clinic there. It's nice not having to drive in town all of the time, and it's also nice because he has late appointments in Cape Cod so I don't have to dismiss her from school.

Her appointment was at 4:30, which we made it just in time for (thanks to the Bourne Bridge work being done). I originally thought about heading over the Sagamore but remembered all of the construction that is going on there to get rid of the rotary. I guess it wouldn't have mattered either way.

Anyway, on to her appointment. As per usual, she passed the strength and coordination testing with flying colors(this is standard I guess since he does it at every appointment even though it has never been a concern). When he asked about seizures I told him that she hasn't had any and obviously, he was pleased to hear that.

On a whim, I decided to mention Emily's difficulty with short term memory, organization, impulsiveness etc. Things have gotten increasingly worse in that regard, despite all of my best efforts (constant reminders, the keytags I made and various other techniques) .

I am glad I did.

As a quick aside, everytime I mention something to the doctor regarding Emily I always second guess myself ("Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?" kind of thing) and everytime, well maybe 99% of the time, my concerns turn out to be legitimate or at least with good cause and possible "science" to back it up.

You see, I had forgotten that the abnormalities found in Emily's MRI were in the prefrontal lobes of her brain. This part of the brain is the part that controls all of these so called "executive functions" like attention and memory, organizational skills, and behavior. It's really becoming quite obvious that there is some sort of dysfunction going on here, related directly to the MRI abnormalities. This just isn't normal, or even borderline normal.

So, her doctor again reccomended neuro-psych testing. I had been in touch with his secretary a few times about this and to make a long story short...the waiting list to go to the Children's Neuro-Psych Department was a year and the one doctor outside of Children's that his secretary recommended did not accept our insurance. He gave me the name and number of a place in Newton called, "The Children's Evaluation Center" which has 8-10 neuro-psychs on staff, and is only scheduling out as far as December at last check(he just referred someone there a few weeks ago apparently). With 8-10 on staff, there is a good chance that someone will accept our insurance (we have BCBS by the way, but they option out the mental health coverage to Value Options, which some places don't accept). I just called and left a message on the "new appointment" line and according the the message, should hear back from someone within three to four business days.

Interestingly enough, he asked me why she didn't have an Individual Education Plan. Funny thing is, I didn't know she would be eligible for one. According to the law though, she might be.

Neurological Impairment - The capacity of the nervous system is limited or impaired with difficulties exhibited in one or more of the following areas: the use of memory, the control and use of cognitive functioning, sensory and motor skills, speech, language, organizational skills, information processing, affect, social skills, or basic life functions. The term includes students who have received a traumatic brain injury.

I don't think there will even be a question of eligibility given the MRI report, the obvious problems she has been experiencing with memory and organization, and the neuro-psych test results(whatever they may be).

I recently checked a book out from the library called, "Negotiating the Special Education Maze" in which I was thinking more along the lines of Julia going to the public preschool and how that all worked but I think I will read it now with Emily in mind. I am anxious to see what an IEP for a child like her would entail exactly(more concrete problems are obvious (if you have trouble with math, you get extra math help for example) but what do you get if you have problems with memory, attention and organization)? I am assuming it would be somewhere along the line of more teacher involvement in the sense of actually checking Emily's bag for what should be in it, reminding her to put things where they need to be etc. This of course, is all covered under her 504, but an IEP has many more legal and enforceable rules that need to be followed. There could be more to it (her specific plan I mean) but until it is written, I don't know what we will include.

So, I guess that's where we are right now. In the meantime, while we are waiting for all of this to actually get underway(the neuro-psych testing, the school assessment if her testing indicates that she needs an IEP etc.) I plan on having one on one meeting with her teacher to let her know what is going on and see if there is anything we can do right now to help Emily out on our own, without the "legal you have to follow this plan" stuff in place.

If you are interested in reading any more about the various tests, assessments, and other things I have talked about here, click on any of the following links:

Unraveling the Neuropsychological Assessment

Executive Dysfunction

School Psychology

The Frontal Lobe

Me At Seven Years Or So

Yours truly at the age of about 7, I think. Our team was called the "Pearly Whites" because we were sponsored by a dentist, LOL.

I can see how Katherine looks like me in this picture, although my red hair just throws me for a loop with the whole "resemblence" thing.

Old Family Photo

This a picture of my maternal grandparents. My grandfather (Papa) was meeting his daughter, my mother, for the first time, at 8 months old. He was stationed in Korea when she was born.

Isn't that a great shot?

Losing Weight?

So, Julia's size 24 months clothes are too big. She's swimming in them.

This has been going on for a while but I just kept thinking it was the different brand name, or that I bought this at that store and things fit differently at different stores etc.

Today I decided to weigh her. Apparently, the shape of her body is just changing because she weighed just about 25 lbs (24 lbs, 15 oz) at her last checkup in July and she tipped the scales at 27 lbs today. Still, all readers with two year olds (well she's 27 months to be more exact) is she tiny or is it just me? She certainly looks healthy enough, if not just a bit on the thin side but with her low tone, it's kind of misleading. She feels like if a strong wind came through she might just tip right over when in reality, she probably just feels that way.

Songs That Get Me Teary Eyed Everytime I Hear Them

"I Loved Her First" By Heartland. Click here to listen.

It makes me cry for a couple of reasons...one should be obvious. I can so see the father-daughter dances in the future. For some reason, I see this as being the song that Ryun and Emily dance to specifically. It also reminds me of my relationship with my own father who is just the best father like, ever.

"Remember When" by Alan Jackson. Click here to listen.

You know that dance they do at weddings? "If you've been married for a day, step off of the floor. Married less than five years, step off the floor etc." Someday, I want Ryun and I to be the last ones left on the floor, with this amazing song playing in the background.

"My Wish" by Rascal Flatts. Click here to listen.

I just love this song. It reminds of everything I hope will come true in my own life, and in the lives of those I love.

"In My Daughter's Eyes" by Martina McBride. Click here to listen.

Listen to it. You'll know why.

"That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick and the gang. Click here to listen.

This song has special meaning to me for many reasons. First and formost probably, would be that it was the song that Ryun and I danced to for our last dance of our wedding night. Next, when my best friend in all of the world moved out of our neighborhood when I was a kid, this song was playing on the radio as they pulled out of their driveway. FYI...we are still friends today, 29 years after we first met as kids. It also reminds me of one of the best family vacations ever as a child. My parents took us all to California to visit my aunt. One of the things we did was go in to a professional recording studio and make a tape of all of us singing. This was the song we chose. We called ourselves "The Carver Connection." We were so cool.

The next two songs are strictly just because they are beautiful. Tear jerkingly beautiful.

Josh Groban's version of "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring." Click here to listen.

Josh Groban's version of "O Holy Night." Click here to listen.

Conversations like these...

...are one of those little, seemingly insignificant things that remind me just why I love being a part of this family.

Ryun: "Emily, move your leg please" (her leg was resting across his under the table at dinner tonight).

Emily: "No."

Ryun: ( in a joking type manner) "Let me put it this way, move your leg or it's gonna end up in a cast."

Me: "Ryun!" ( I have this thing with joking about inflicting bodily harm...I just don't think it's funny and realistically, in today's world, imagine if she went to school and said this out loud? Yeah, enough said).

Ryun:(being the wiseass that he is) "OK, a splint."

Me: (louder and more firmly) "RYUN!"

Emily: "For the love of God Dad, why don't you just say badly bruised?"

Oh no, she's not just like her father.

Not at all.

You know what they say about the apple...

Tired

Well, it's official. Emily and Katherine now have their own rooms. We decided not too long ago that we would ditch the playroom concept and separate Emily and Katherine. They were both for it which made the decision pretty easy.

Ryun and I, as well as Emily and Katherine spent literally the entire day up there. We went up at about 10 and didn't come down for dinner until about 6:30. We organized, sorted, threw away, saved, and put away more toys than I even knew they had. We rearranged and relocated furniture, vaccumed, dusted, and cleaned the bathroom.

While we were doing all of this, Julia played in her bedroom with a few toys that we passedf rom Emily and Katherine on to her, and spent some time downstairs watching Barney. She was quite the little trooper through the whole thing and didn't really seem to mind too much that we were all so involved and paying little attention to her. When we were all done with dinner, I sat down with her on the couch and read her a story.

Anyway, I am tired. It's only 8:30 and I think I am going to head in to bed to read.

Quote

"It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids...the most terrifying day of your life is the day the first is born...your life as you know it is gone, never, ever to return. But they learn to walk and the learn to talk and you want to be with them and they turn in to the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life."

~Bob Harris Lost In Translation~

Quote

"Things never turn out exactly the way you planned. Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next you're gone, but the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a house like a lot of other houses, a yard like alot of other yards, a street like a lot of other streets and the thing is, after all these years, I still look back in wonder."

~Kevin Arnold, The Wonder Years~

Ahh...

I just spent two days, two whole days, scrapbooking. Life is good people, life is good.

Emily

Below you will find what has taken up a big chunk of my time over the past couple of days. We have finally been in contact with a neuro-psych recommended by Emily's neurologist who asked me to write a complete profile of Emily, including medical history and a description of our concerns etc.


Birth History:

Emily was 8 lbs 5 oz at birth. My pregnancy with Emily was un-complicated and delivery was vaginal at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, MA. Apgar scores were 9 at one minute and 10 at five minutes. Emily was admitted to the normal newborn nursery and discharged with me.

Past Medical History:

Emily receives her primary medical care from Dr. Neal Bornstein in Lakeville, MA. Emily has met and/or exceeded all expected developmental milestones. Emily was diagnosed with Epilepsy in July of 2004 and is followed by neurologist Dr. David Coulter at Children's Hospital in Boston. Emily experiences generalized tonic clonic seizures, although she has been seizure free for two years. An EEG was conducted in July of 2004 which was abnormal and showed seizure activity in many areas of her brain. An MRI was also done and the results of the scan were abnormal showing what Dr. Coulter described as a “Neuron Migration Disorder.” The results looked similar to a child with Tuberous Sclerosis so genetic testing was conducted. Analysis of Emily's TSC I and TSC II genes showed one or more DNA sequences that were of unknown clinical significance. As a result of her abnormal test results, Dr. Coulter has diagnosed her with a ”Tuberous Sclerosis-like” condition. Emily takes 125 mgs of Lamictal for seizure control and mood stabilization. Emily was also diagnosed with ADHD-inattentive type in March of 2005 by Dr. Coulter. Emily is also seen by Asthma and Allergy Specialist Dr. Donald Accetta in taunton, MA. She is allergic to Birch and Oak trees, grass, ragweed, mites, cats and dogs. She had a very small reaction to peanuts and soy when skin testing was done. Emily also has an allergy to the antibiotic, ”Rocephin.”

Family History of Note:

Emily has two younger sisters, Katherine, age 6 and in first grade and Julia, age 27 months.

Katherine is an asthmatic and is treated with a QVAR inhaler. She also has an Albuterol inhaler for emergency use only. Katherine was diagnosed at the age of three with Ketotic Hypoglycemia and is treated for this by having three meals and three snacks per day. She appears to be outgrowing this condition. Presently, Katherine has no other medical, educational or other concerns. Katherine recieves primary medical care form Dr. Neal Bornstein in Lakeville, MA and is followed by Dr. Donald Accetta for treatment of Ashtma. In the past, she has been followed by endocrinolgist Dr. Stuart Brink for consultation regarding Ketotic Hypoglycemia.

Julia has been receiving both Early Intervention and supplemental outside services for Physical , Speech and Occupational Therapy for about 15 months. At present, Julia' s gross motor delay is about 7-8 months, speech is at about 3-4 months and continued Occupational Therapy is helping her overcome sensory issues regarding food textures. Due to Emily's history, genetic testing for Tuberous Sclerosis as well as an MRI and EEG were conducted for Julia. Genetic and MRI testing came back negative for abnormalities. Julia's EEG (which was sleep deprived and lasted for about 20 minutes) came back abnormal, showing a single mid-line parietal spike. Julia was admitted to Children's Hospital for a two day, overnight EEG, the results of which were normal. However, she will be having an ambulatory EEG beginning on October 23rd. Julia's only diagnosis currently is Hypotonia (low muscle tone). Julia receives her primary medical care from Dr. Neil Bornstein in Lakeville, MA and is followed by developmental pediatrician Dr, Joann Bier at Children's Hospital in Boston.

Emily's Education History:

Emily does well academically however, due to poor time management and organizational skills, as well as some difficulties with short term memory and impulsivity, she has been on a “504 plan” since March of 2005. Her 504 Plan calls for preferential seating, frequent verbal ques when transitioning from one activity to the next, reminders to stay focused and on task, and reminders to bring important books/homework/papers home.

Social and Sensory:

Emily is a very caring and considerate child. She is sensitive to the needs of her peers and in most cases, has appropriate behavior in social situations. She does need to be reminded once in a while about “personal space boundaries” as she is occasionally overly “touchy feely” with others. Emily is very in tune with her surroundings. She is highly aware of changes in lighting, temperature etc. If these things displease her, she may react negatively.

Other Concerns:

Emily has some concerns with organizational and attentional issues, as noted in the education portion of this report. She has poor organizational and planning skills, difficultly with sustained attention and concentration, and has trouble breaking large tasks in to manageable chunks. Emily also displays on occasion inability to think before she acts. She shows emotion without restraint most of the time. Emily has a difficult time waiting for things and is usually looking for the immediate but small payoff in some situations. Emily has poor short term memory and forgets routine things like homework, after school activities and other daily responsibilities. Emily reacts intensely in either a positive or negative display of emotion in most situations. In fits of rage she has destroyed property, lied, and hurt others (hit her sister etc).

Strengths:

Emily has the ability to detect essential details in situations. She has an extensive vocabulary and is an avid reader. She has a very creative imagination and can create stories and express them verbally with no problem. Emily appreciates obviously silly and absurd humor and is quite humorous herself at times. Emily is very caring about family, friends and even strangers. Emily is a very helpful child and thrives on the positive feedback she gets when she has done well.

Future Hopes:

We hope that Emily will keep her enthusiasm for learning and discovering new things. We hope that through testing and perhaps continued behavioral therapy at home or otherwise, Emily will be provided with the opportunity to improve on her areas of need, and continue to enhance and employ her many strengths and positive attributes.

Whew.

You know as much as I have said that I don't understand how Emily operates, I have to say, I sure do "know" her.

Julia...

...continues to amaze me everyday with her progress, especially in regard to speech/language. She has been saying "I want_____" and "I need_____"(most of the time the I need is finished by adding the word "help" but she has occasionally inserted something else, like the name of a toy).

Her newest and favorite word combination is "No, why?" which she says basically every time we ask her to either do or stop doing something. She also says "I love you too" which used to just be "love you", which she would say in response to someone saying it to her.

My favorite though? Last night when she was up at 10:30(sleeping has been a difficult thing lately...we are going through the "I really, really need a nap but I am not gonna take one" stage which either leads to falling asleep at dinner and waking up in the later hours of the evening or EXTREME crankiness before normal bedtime), Ryun was going to try and bring her in to bed with him(I was up watching ER). She was not happy about this and told him as much by saying, "I want Mama now Daddy."

The absolute funniest thing she ever said was when Ryun and I were being all silly and cute and he threw a pillow at my leg and Julia said clear as day, "Nice shot, Daddy."

That was funny.

We are still working on offering her choices in an attempt to develop her language a bit more. As Vida from EI said, "She has the speech but the language is still developing." Usually, she just repeats the last thing you say which was evident yesterday when Vida was here and she asked Julia (in this order) "Do you want to blow the bubbles or eat the bubbles?" Julia said, "Eat bubbles." I am guessing the object of that was to get her to make the right choice (blowing bubbles) but then I was curious as to whether or not she even knew that it was wrong to eat bubbles. Either way though, she does the same thing when we offer her juice or milk, cookies or crackers etc. She just repeats the last thing you said, everytime. So, we will keep introducing choices and as she always does, she will catch on.

There's another thing that has been concerning me with her but I still am not sure if I am being paranoid or if it is an actual issue. I have noticed this type of thing on many occasions but the most recent time is still fresh in my mind so I will share that.

The other day we went to a MOMS Club event at the library (actually it was our monthly meeting). There were toys all around, crafts to make, cookies to eat and many, many kids to play with. No matter what I did, I couldn't get her to join in on all the fun. She was at my leg the entire time and the only time she would even consider going over was when all of the other kids went over to listen to one of the MOMS read a Halloween story. All of the other kids were over in the corner and the toys were across the other side of the room so she went to the toys then, when no one else was around. I don't think I would be as concerned if she was just over playing while the other kids were there, even if she wasn't neccesarily playing with the kids, just you know, near them. This is not the first time this type of thing has happened (there was the time we were at the Girl Scouts office and she was in the little play area and another little kid came over to play and Julia back away in to the corner and shortly after started crying fearfully). There have been other times too. I know she is on the shy side but this just seems extreme.

I have a gut feeling about this of course, because I always do but we will see what happens.

Shameful Confession #302

You know that song by Nick Lachey, "What's Left Of Me"?

I am guessing probably not.

Yeah, I love it.

I know. I know.

Sorry...

I am such a slacker. I have had nothing to say like, at all. I have been crazy busy too, which doesn't help my cause much. I haven't even had time to think about what I could write if I did manage to find the time.

Anyway, I will be back when the mood strikes..or time allows...whichever happens first.

Edaville Pictures

Julia loved her Merry Go Round ride with Daddy.

I love this shot of Emily looking out over "Cranberry Valley." I photoshopped some random kid out of this photo too. Didn't I do a good job?

Nine or fifteen? You decide.

Katherine looking as adorable as ever.

Again with the looking like a teenager. Sheesh, what is she trying to do to me?

Emily and Katherine, waiting ever so patiently in the train line.

Me and my girls...well two of them anyway.

Julia was very tired, which I think is evident in this picture of her and I. Isn't that a great shot though?

Julia wanted to make sure she wasn't missing anything going on behind her on the train ride. LOL.

Emily ponders the meaning of life and Katherine looks like she's in pain.

Emily and Katherine, looking out at one of the ponds that supplies the cranberry bogs.

This wasn't Julia's first time on the Edaville train, but it was her first time actually enjoying it.

I love this shot of Ryun and her. She is so Daddy's girl.

Cranberry Festival 06

These are the pictures I took of the actually cranberry harvesting going on at Edaville's Cranberry Festival this year.





Pretty, huh?

FYI

Blogger sucks.

That is all, for now.

Busy...

...scrapped this morning here at mi casa.

...dinner tonight at the 'rents.

...banking, food shopping, soccer and cleaning the upstairs on the books for tomorrow.

... soccer, Edaville Sunday for the Cranberry Festival.

...rearranging the upstairs bedrooms on Monday.

I will try and pop in here sometime in between all of that!

Laundry Woes

I am so sick of actually staying caught up with laundry, folding and putting the clothes in drawers, only to have the kids completely destroy the nice little folded piles I have set up. So I came up with this fanatstic idea:

I put complete outfits together...including socks and underwear in 1 gallon size zip lock bags, and put those in their drawers instead. My thinking is that the bags are see-through and they won't have to tear apart their drawers looking for the shirt that matches those pants etc.

I mean if I am actually going to stay on track when it comes to laundry, I'd at least like it to stay organized.

Am I freakin' brilliant or what?

You Know What They Say About Timing

No, you don't? Well, they, whoever "they" are, say that timing is everything.

This month marks the 5th anniversary of my foray in to the world of blogging.

How fitting that my blogfather has decided to return to the blogosphere.

YAY!

Funny Stuff, Man

This is why I love reading Eric's blog so much.

I think Jim from The Parkway Restop said it best:

"Eric can write beautifully about "nothing" better than anyone."

Whoever thought a blog entry about changing a filter could be so entertaining?

LOST

YAY! I finally got my fix.

Anyone else watch the season premiere?

WOW.

Hey look...

...one of my favorite blogger's shares a birthday with me! Cool!

Missing LDL

Last night, I worked at the PTA table at the LDL School Open House. This was where Katherine went to kindergarten.

I had the chance to catch up with Mrs. L, the principal, and she asked how Katherine was doing. I told her about how much Katherine seems to love first grade and how this year has gotten off to such a much better start than last (no sending her on the bus in tears, no daily phone calls from Nurse Jamie etc). You all know how impressed I have been with the school principals knowing my kids names and it's not because they have been in trouble. Well, Mrs. L even remembered who Katherine had for a teacher last year and told me to make sure I popped in to her classroom and told her how well Katherine was doing. Now that's impressive.

There were a couple of other mothers there who volunteered to work the table at the LDL for the same reasons I did: I miss having a student there.

You walk in to the school and you just feel good about sending your child there, without having talked to anyone or even really looked at anything. It's just a feeling that's present as soon as you step through the door.

When we were leaving, Mrs. L cemented that feeling by saying this:

"Come back and visit anytime. Remember, this was your first home."

Idiot

Can someone pleasetell me how the superintendent thought he was going to get away with this?

I mean if it was meant as a joke that's fine (the humor is kind of this is kind of lost on me but it's the intent that matters, not whether or not I actually found it funny) but did he really think, in this day and age, when people are offended by every little itty bitty thing, there wouldn't be someone up on the high horse saying that they were offended?

How did someone so dumb climb the ranks and actually end up head honcho of a school system?

Happy Birthday...

...to me!

Interesting facts: I was born on 10/4, at 10:41 am in rooom 104. Isn't that cool?

Similar to that, Julia was born on 7/22 at 9:22, weighing 9lbs, 2.2 oz. She almost made it with the height as well, coming in at 21 3/4 inches...almost but not quite!

Anyway, Happy Birthday to me!

My Husband The Hero

Last night, while coming back downstairs from getting clothes for the kids to wear today, I saw a mouse on the stairs. I wasn't even really sure if it was a mouse at first because the damn thing was so small, it looked like it could have been a very large bug. Upon closer inspection, which involved me leaning over the edge of the stairs looking down, I noticed the thing had fur, and promptly yelled, "Ryun, there's mouse on the stairs!"

He came over and couldn't see it at first. He changed his angle a bit, at which point the mouse decided it would be fun to run around like a mad man on the stair he was on. So Emily's shoes are no more than five inches from where Ryun's hand is. I am thinking he is going to grab the shoe and beat the thing in to oblivion. Oh no, not my husband. He put his hand in to a "karate chop" position and beat the thing to death (well,ok almost to death) with his bare hand. Me? I probably would have had a hard time hitting it with the shoe. I can kill things like ants or spiders. Anything that makes the "crunch" or "squish" sound...no thanks.

One of the many reasons I thank God for Ryun everyday.

Slinging Shit... Or More Accurately, Pitching Poop

So the standard method of dirty diaper disposal here is to tie it up in a plastic shopping bag and bring it directly to the trash. The other day, I happened to glance out on to the deck and saw Ryun winding up like a pitcher would, and literally pitching the poop over to the barrels out by the garage.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the next day, he's out on the deck, laughing hysterically at himself. I went out to see what all of the commotion was about and he says this (pausing to laugh intermittently)"I was throwing the diaper out and it went right through the basketball hoop." More laughing ensued.

I think he may be taking this sports obsession a wee bit too far. What do you think?

If I see him out there next time standing like a QB ready to hike the ball...I might just have to get him professional help.

Julia's Latest

"I need help."

"I want (fill in the blank)."

My personal favorite?

"I said NO!"

Yeah.

More confirmation that yes, she is in fact two.

Ellis Family Read-A-Thon

Click here to get an update on the progress of The Ellis Family Read-A-Thon!

I'm off...

...to go get my license renewed. Oh what fun!

Back later...

Cindy Brady Reincarnated

Julia's hair has just a slighter reddish tinge to it but still, the resemblence is kind of there.