Tangled up

Mythbusters

2011-12-14T21:16:00.001-05:00

I was looking for something to crochet for my husband just for fun and decided on a Jamie Hyneman Mythbusters "action figure." Of course, when he was completed, our 6 year old decided it was his and my husband never got to touch it. Such is life. A friend saw a photo on my Facebook page and asked me to make her one, and make an Adam Savage to go along with it. I mentioned offhand that it made me want to make the Mythbusters logo as well so she asked me to go for it! Here they are in their completion. I'm tempted to do a whole series of Mythbusters characters; Kari, Tory,and Grant.

I started each doll with a "magic circle" of 6 sc, increased over a couple rows, then decreased for the neck and rapidly increased for the body, leaving holes for the arms. The hardest part for me was the feet. I went back and forth across the top of the doot for a few rows, then around the whole thing again for the sided if the shoes, inserted a pipe cleaner around the inside of the shoe, then decreased every stitch around and sewed closed. I added the arms at the armholes, but didn't stuff them so I could cross them when they were finished. Then I embroidered the facial features. I sure hope she likes the finished product!

Poor little Prince Charming

2011-11-08T08:10:00.001-05:00

At the end of October, I called the Dr to get an appointment for the Little Prince. He was coughing like crazy and it had let up for a few days then started in again. Our Dr was out of town till sometime in November, I don't remember the date. I waited a bit to see if it cleared up on its own again. Unfortunately it didn't so I was forced tp take him to a walk-in clinic. I would have been nervous about it, since the staff doesn't know my son or anything about him, but one of the Drs was my pediatrician when I was a kid. Great man. We were lucky enough to get him. He prescribed an antibiotic called azithromycin with a warning that asthmatics could have a reaction to it. After being on it for 2 days, the asthma was worse than it's been in about 4 years. I took him off the antibiotic and back to the clinic the next day. We had to give him breathing treatments every half hour or so for several hours to get him to breathe! He was panicked. We even dosed him with half a benedryl. I took him back to the clinic where he was put on a different antibiotic by a different person and sent for a chest xray to check for pneumonia. The xray was clear, thank God. The coughing didn't let up, though. I brought him back to the clinic a week later and saw my old pediatrician again. He put him on a different antibiotic again, plus some phenergan cough syrup with codeine. I peeked at the paperwork. Under the diagnosis section he wrote "asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia." Darn. He wants to see him again tomorrow to determine if another chest xray is needed. Yesterday was the best day we've had in weeks. The nights are still bad, but I think he's finally getting better.

A Personal Facebook Flame

2011-10-25T08:16:00.003-04:00

A friend on Facebook posted something that made me extremely irate. She was all upset that the girl in front of her in line at the store was dressed in designer jeans, had new acrylic nails, and fresh highlights in her hair...then paid for her Red Bull with a bridge card.

I felt the need to remind her that we don't know her situation; maybe she had the designer clothes before her husband lost his job and forced them to go for state assistance, or maybe she does hair and nails for a living and had the stuff to do herself already. Maybe it was all a gift from her sister! It escalated from there, her telling me that I was going to get offended no matter what she said, me telling her I only get offended when offensive things are said, like that. Then other people needed to chime in with experiences they've had with other customers and bridge cards!

Their thoughts?
1. if she can afford the luxuries, she should pay for her own red bull.
2."When my tax money is paying for her food I at least expect someone to not be better dressed than I am" (yes a direct quote! Unbelievable!)
3. it upsets people that others that need assistance live higher on "THEIR" tax money

My thoughts?
1. None of our business.
2. Maybe she can't afford the luxuries anymore and that's why she's on assistance...she's certainly not going to sell her clothes for food money if the state is paying for it and if she had them before, it's none of our business.
2. the state obviously doesn't have an issue paying for red bull or they wouldn't.
3. it isn't your personal tax money paying for others' food choices, you are not being billed for her red bull, stop acting like it!
4. "I expect to be better dressed than people on assistance"? ok not a direct quote anymore, but that was the general idea. It is the most egotistical thing I've ever heard! As I said before, we don't know this girl's story. We shouldn't make assumptions.

Also: personally bashing me (or anyone) on a public forum is rude, inconsiderate, childish, and uncalled for. I bowed out of the conversation at this point, when they proceeded to "HOLLA" at each other and become even more unbearable. Sorry, I stopped speaking teeny-bopper 20 years ago. Grow up, stop being judgmental, and don't assume you're always right.

Garfield cartoon

2011-08-01T14:27:00.001-04:00

Too cute to keep to myself!

Little prince charming

2011-07-29T15:09:00.001-04:00

I have really enjoyed my time home with the little prince. I'm sure going to miss him when he goes back to school. He'll be 6 in a few more weeks.

I cut his hair a few days ago. He can't sit still, though, so he ended up with a buzz cut. He doesn't like it, but that's ok. Neither do I. It will be easier to take care of his seborrhea, now that I can see it under his hair!

Me, an author?

2011-05-25T15:31:00.006-04:00

I'm a photographer. I love taking pictures of people, landscapes, animals, just about anything. but in between shoots I craft. I crochet, I bead, I started to learn to sew, and am learning to knit. A friend recently told me that while the photography business (New Memories Photography) is slow I should think of writing a pattern book for crochet. I laughed at the idea, but she saw through me. "You're thinking about it aren't you?" she asked. I couldn't deny she was right. I had already wondered, in the 3 seconds since her statement, whether I should go for a theme, such as cancer awareness projects, or if I should stick to a book of hats and scarves...I have so many ideas for different roads I can take this down that I can't start any kind of book or focus on any other project! I think what I am going to do is finish the legwarmers and flower pillow I'm making for the flower child (my niece, Abi), and I'm going to finish the sock monkey throw for little Prince Charming (my son), oh, then I have a baby blanket to finish knitting in the next 6 weeks or so, unless I decide to give it to the newborn as a Christmas gift, in which case I can set it aside and work on it later...do you see my problem with focus? It's a definite issue that needs to be addressed. No, fixed. It needs to be fixed. Focus, Kendra. Ok, so I believe that after the wedding I'm shooting on Saturday, the Relay for Life event on June 10-11, and getting into a summertime routine with my family, I may have enough of a focus to start, well, enough focus to come up with a plan. If my other projects are finished and I haven't started any new ones. That's a big "if."

Cancer Quilt Project

2011-05-06T12:59:00.000-04:00

For a Relay for Life Auction, I'm going to put together a cancer "quilt." It will actually be an afghan, but I like the alliteration :D

I need my knitter and crocheter friends to work up 6" squares using any stitch, any pattern, any color you wish. If you'd like to make a square in honor of someone, there are specific colors for specific types of cancer found here

If you're drawing a blank as to a pattern to make your square, you can find ideas here

Any questions, please ask! The most important thing is that the squares have to be 6 inches, so they fit together properly without ruffling or puckering. I will collect the squares and sew them together and organize the auction. If you live too far away to meet me, I'll PM you my address so you can mail them. I'll be sure to update progress, share pictures, and announce what we got for it when it's all over and done.

If you don't crochet or knit, pass the info on to someone who does. Let's help raise money to fight cancer and raise awareness!

Friend visit

2011-04-30T20:50:00.003-04:00

Today a first happened. A neighbor boy that we know from the bus stop came over to play with Jordan. At first he asked if a hat he found on the playground belonged to my little prince. But when the little prince asked him to come inside and watch Garfield with him he said sure! After just a few minutes he said he had to go home and ask for permission to come over. He was sure his parents would approve so assured us he'd be back in a few minutes. A few minutes later, he came back and played with little Prince Charming for an hour. Then he told us he had to be home, but he'd come back if he could. A few minutes later, he was knocking on the door again! He stayed for a couple more hours, I made extra food just in case he was there so he had a corn dog and french fries with us, politely thanked me and put his plate in the sink. After a while they got a bit rowdy, but not too rough. The neighbor boy accidentally locked himself in the bedroom while they were playing the three little pigs. With a shotgun. I've never heard the story that way, but it's all good! :-)

With all the problems we've had with socialization and sharing and communicating, this was a huge step.

After bath time tonight, I gave the little prince a breathing treatment (he has an upper respiratory infection that's irritating his asthma) and he fell immediately asleep! The only problem with his behavior today was new as well. "I told you..." to whatever he says. He's ordering us around! He's always been wonderful about asking politely for something but now he's trying to order us around. Hopefully he doesn't try that anymore.

Busy week and a good boy

2011-04-24T11:16:00.002-04:00

We've had a wonderful weekend. The little prince has been very well behaved, doing what he's asked when he's asked, even going to bed withttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhouhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift a fuss. We bought him an Easter present of little plastic bowling pins and bowling balls to say "thank you for being so good" and he really seems to like them. What he likes best is making us set up the pins for him even though he's perfectly capable of doing it himself. :-)

I have a rather busy week ahead. A possible boudoir photography shoot tomorrow, running to Kalamazoo to get photo paper, receiving a photography order from a shoot last week, Relay for Life Team captain meeting, receiving final payment and pickup of photos taken this weekend. Still working on the cancer quilt project, and have a couple orders for autism awareness bags that I need to start. I'm knitting a baby blanket for a friend, but since I'm new at knitting it's coming along very slowly. Hopefully it will be done before she has the baby!

crocheting for a cause

2011-04-19T09:18:00.004-04:00

I've been crocheting a cancer "quilt" for a while now. the idea is to get all my crocheter/knitter friends to participate with making 6 inch squares and I'll sew them all together and see how big we can make it. I have enough squares between what I've done and what's been turned in to me to make a throw blanket. I'm impressed with the response I've received so far. I have others pledging to send squares by my deadline of May 31. The quilt will be auctioned off at the local Relay for Life event. I'm hoping it brings in enough money to make all the time and energy worthwhile. I don't know though, because I live in a small community, but it's a worthy cause...it could go either way.

I recently took a break from the cancer quilt project to create an Autism Awareness tote bag. It amazed me that there are no free patterns out there for autism awareness. I decided rather than buy a pattern (which in itself was hard enough to find) I'd create my own. This is the result.

more progress

2011-04-16T09:24:00.002-04:00

I love seeing how much progress m little prince makes. He's started using not only complete sentences, but putting more than one together and making conversation. I'm in pretty close contact with his special ed teacher. He started writing at school and while he doesn't like to do it, maybe because it requires sitting still, he wrote 2 whole sentences at school a couple weeks ago and I nearly cried with pride.

bad start to a good day (hopefully)

2011-01-19T10:08:00.003-05:00

Yesterday my little prince had no school because of road conditions. I receive a text from the webmaster of the public school's site and also a call from the school itself. When I got the call I turned off my alarm so I could sleep in. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn it back on for today. So today i wake up at 8:43 (the bus comes around 8:10, class starts at 8:45) and hurried to get the little guy ready fro school. I actually debated a minute on it because he's been coughing and the weather doesn't help his asthma. He got his antibiotic, cough syrup, and a breathing treatment this morning. So I get him together and out the door to find the car was covered with a layer of ice. Hard, dry, stubborn ice. I didn't comb my hair or bother to put on socks, let alone shower(!) in order to get the little man out the door as quickly as possible, but now I have to scrape hard, stubborn, dry ice off the car. I finally get moving and about a quarter mile down the road, the defroster heats up. I take him to class and get back home in time to get ready for work. so my diet is completely shot, I had a frozen breakfast sandwich as I was running around getting things together.

Teacher meeting

2011-01-11T12:46:00.003-05:00

I met with the Little Prince's teacher today. He told me that Jordan was having issues focusing his attention on his classwork and instead wants to run around the room and climb on tables, etc. It was the same conversation we had at conference time. I asked again what I could do to help but was told "just keep doing what you're doing" as if that's an answer! I signed a paper saying it was ok to have an occupational therapist observe little prince charming. I don't know what good that will do, but the sp. ed. teacher thought she should have a peek at him so I signed it. I told the teacher that I didn't like how he kept saying Jordan "can't" do something unless someone is there prompting him. I prefer "won't." I also reminded him that my personal goal is to have Jordan fit in with the rest of his class and I thought his attitude was kind of a cop out. Not my original words, but I believe he grasped the sentiment. He had told me that the gap in Jordan's behavior vs. classmates' behavior was going to continue to grow and I told him I was told last year that after a couple years he would be right where he was supposed to be. He told me I was lied to. I still choose not to believe this. I think that if the teacher believes this he isn't trying as hard as he should to get Jordan's behavior up to grade level, or even appropriate age level. He said Jordan functions as a 3 year old. And "there's a reason 3 year-olds don't go to school." The Sp.Ed. teacher was very helpful though. She gave me specific goals she wants on the next IEP and ideas to reach those goals.

maturity

2011-01-05T14:04:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how much the little prince grew up over Christmas break. All of a sudden he decides not to give me a hug and kiss when the bus gets to the bus stop. He yelled "goodbye mom" as he ran away from me! I alternate between being proud and petulant.

Head of Transportation

2010-10-15T08:41:00.004-04:00

I sent out that letter I wrote about transportation issues. There have been 5 incidences in 5 weeks. I was going to send the letter to the principal and head of transportation but didn't have an email for the principal so only the head of transportation was blessed with my golden pen (so to speak). Yesterday as I waited at the bus stop for the little prince to come home, playing with my new HTC Evowho do I see walking in front of the bus stop but the head of transportation! I didn't approach him, but after a minute or so he came up to me saying he told Jordan he'd be waiting for him at the bus stop today. That's about the time the bus came. The kids got off and here came my little prince! I spoke with Mackie, the trans. head, for about a half hour about the different incidences that have happened to my poor, sweet boy. The man was absolutely livid that he wasn't even told about some of them before my email. He stood there and told me to take his cell phone number down and made me call it to make sure I got it right! He told me that the driver that dropped Jordan off at the wrong stop was reprimanded and that he agreed with me, that Jordan was lost. He's always said and stood by that he's never lost a Kindergartener. He always comforted us with his talk of policies and procedures. I teasingly told him he'd have to rewrite his Kindergarten orientation speech for next year!

Mackie was just as appalled at the fact these things were happening as I am. He was mad at the teacher who put him on the bus without at bus tag, he was mad at the secretary for telling me he couldn't ride (he said the only thing she was authorized to say about transportation was to give his number), he was mad at the driver for letting him off at the wrong stop, and he was mad at his staff for not reporting these incidences. He was not even aware that Jordan was let off at the wrong stop until the principal called him on it. It sounded like she read him the riot act, too. He told me he even argued with her a bit and said it was impossible for that to have happened. He checked into the incidence where Jordan got off the bus at the wrong school and told me that the principal had to put him on a different bus to get to school because his had already left!

I mentioned in my letter that Jordan has auditory processing difficulties but that if his staff were doing their job properly it wouldn't be an issue. He told me that he can't know these things if he isn't told and practically asked to be present at the next IEP meeting!

I am absolutely disgusted with the way things are going with transportation. I think that Mackie has been deluded into thinking he runs a well-oiled machine because his staff simply doesn't report things to him. Maybe they figure if it gets resolved, there's no reason to involve him.

He and I both disagree.

random thoughts

2010-10-13T10:19:00.002-04:00

Worked out today using the weights for the first time in a while. I'm a bit shaky so I thought I'd make some protein-filled breakfast. I had one egg left so mixed some cubed ham with it, fried it in butter and put it on a toasted bagel with cheese. it's always a bit dry so I added some sauce. What kind of sauce to add? Hm, there's ranch dressing, why not. Why not? Because ham and ranch don't go well together you silly dingbat. Whoever heard of a ham and ranch sandwich? Nobody! Because they taste terrible together.

So here I am with my ham and ranch breakfast sandwich and coffee shaking over my keyboard as I type nonsense in a blog. Had a workout buddy today. haven't had one of those in a while. Thanks Mary! Do you have a blog somewhere I can follow? Even if not, you're welcome to follow mine.

I was a bit later than usual getting to the gym today because my little prince's friends from upstairs missed the bus and I lent our car seats so they could be driven to school. I picked up the living room a bit while waiting for them to come back.

I got a call yesterday from a friend wanting a blanket for her granddaughter for Christmas. She was promised one and never got it from someone else. Just when I thought I was getting caught up on orders! At least it's something I like to do.

lost 4 times in 5 weeks

2010-10-11T13:37:00.002-04:00

I wrote a letter today. After stewing about it all weekend, I wrote a letter. I haven't sent it to anyone except my sister/friend/sidekick for editing, but it will get sent out. Maybe to a lot of people.

It's frustrating beyond belief that the same people can lose the same child so many times in such a short time. I wonder what kind of response I'll get.

Transportation is going to give me an ulcer.

2010-09-09T07:02:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was unimaginable. I put my little prince on the bus for the first time. He got on and didn't look back. I was bored all day long. I cleaned and scrubbed and tidied and wondered what the heck I'd have left to do today if i kept it up. Finally it's time to go get him off the bus. Kids came off, he wasn't one of them. I called to the driver. He had the backpack with him, but no little prince. He hollered for him. He mentioned that (duh) he must've gotten on the bus because he had the backpack. He thought for a moment and said that he thought my little prince got off at another stop. he asked if he was a little blond boy. I affirmed and started panicking. The driver offered to take me to the previous stop and I thought it would be quicker than to walk the half city block or so back to my own vehicle. So he drove me to the previous stop where we saw my little prince charming playing at the park on a slide. I almost collapsed from relief. The bus pulled up and opened it's doors and the driver called out his name. He looked up and came running back onto the bus. He almost walked past me but I tugged on his shirt. He turned and looked at me and said "oh hi mom" like there was nothing in the world wrong. He hugged me and said "I'm happy to see you" and I told him that he had no idea how happy I was to see him too!

First day of Kindergarten

2010-09-07T20:49:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning, made my little prince breakfast (which he refused to eat), and took him to school. I didn't have a drop off procedure written out or told to me so I followed the line of cars waiting in front of his school, parked, and took him inside to his teacher's room where he was greeted with a hug from his new teacher and encouraged to find a place to sit down at their tables. I told the little prince to give me a hug and said goodbye but he held onto my leg and said "no, don't go" and I nearly went to pieces. I also encouraged him to find a place to sit so he did and I left the room without looking back. I didn't hear him yell or cry or in anyway notice I'd left. I asked his teacher who I should talk to about transportation as I thought since a bus stopped at our apartment complex, it would stand to reason my little guy would ride it to school. He sent me to the office where I asked who to contact. I was told that they could give me the number for transportation, but that we were "within walking distance" so the bus didn't go from our place to the school. I said no problem, I can bring him and pick him up, I just needed to know. I craved to go back to his classroom and check on how he was doing, but I didn't let myself. I started walking down the hall and when I saw all those kids putting papers and backpacks in their lockers I started crying! I was angry at myself. "Stop being ridiculous!" I screamed in my head. I pulled myself together and stepped between the double doors that opened up to the outside. One of the little prince's teachers was out there and asked me how I was. "Fine," I squeaked. I squeaked? Oh no. There came the tears. A woman in front of me turned, wiping her eyes, and said she was glad that she wasn't the only one.

When I came back at noon to pick him up from his half day, I followed the written pickup procedure. I was nearly the only one. The procedure clearly states not to start a second line but that's what others did. I was stuck in my car by the curb in 90° weather with the top down getting sunburned for 20 minutes before I got up to the doors. The 2nd line was moving much more quickly than the first line. I believe maybe the teachers were trying to clear it out for us by the curb but it only encourages them to continue doing it. By the time I got up there by the door, the teacher was no longer in sight. I went into the building and his room was dark. I wondered where my little guy was so I went outside and asked another teacher where I should look. she said that sometimes students were sent to the office if the teacher had to go to a meeting or something and they hadn't been picked up yet. I saw his teacher on my way to the office so I asked him where I should look for him. He told me he may be on the bus if he got in the wrong line. I mentioned that he didn't have a bus tag! His teacher said that his name was on the bus list. It annoyed me to think that this grown man tried to pawn off responsibility to my boy for getting on a bus when he's only 5 years old! Actually, he won't even be 5 till Friday. The teacher ran out to the bus which hadn't left yet and got him off the bus to ride home with me. Boy was my little prince upset. He wanted to ride the bus! But who knows where he would have ended up? Sure, Kindergarteners aren't let off the bus without a parent to pick them up but without a bus tag, the driver can't know he's a kindergartener. And if my little prince got talking to anotehr child, he may have just got off the bus with them, who knows where! I called transportation when I got home and asked them if he could ride the bus since there was one that stopped here. I gave his name and the name of the complex where we live and his grade and school. The lady that answered the phone said that he would be on the bus starting tomorrow, that she was making up a bus tag to give to the driver to tie to the little prince's backpack. So there we have that! He gets on the bus tomorrow and I have to trust that there are procedures in place to make sure he gets to where he needs to go!

It's so incredibly difficult for me to trust someone I don't know with the care of my child. I feel like no one knows him or understands him like I do and that I'm sure he'll have problems communicating with anyone else. I'm certain that he's going to lose his lunch money, or say he doesn't have any, or something. Then he'll make a wrong turn in the hallway and go to somewhere he doesn't know and not know how to get back to his room and with his communication difficulties he won't be able to tell them he needs to go to Mr. K's room. Let it go, Kendra. Let it go.

Kindergarten

2010-08-24T11:02:00.002-04:00

My Little Prince Charming is going to Kindergarten in a couple weeks. I still have a few things to pick up for him to take to school, but he is excited about it. I told him he'd be starting school soon and I told him his new teacher's name. He said "ok, let's go, where's my backpack?" lol! My grandma recently went into a nursing home for a couple weeks of rehab so she can walk again and she's going crazy not being able to get anything for him. Every week when she went grocery shopping she'd pick up a toy or clothes, or both, for him. She wants to buy him a new outfit for school. Hopefully she'll get out to do that before school starts, but if not, I can pick something up for her to give him.

Spring cleaning

2010-08-13T12:37:00.001-04:00

I think I must be the only one who gets the spring cleaning bug in late summer or early autumn. Most of my friends speak of spring cleaning in March or April but I never get started before August. I wonder why that is?

H-E-R-O

2010-08-08T17:01:00.001-04:00

Last week was VBS at my parent's church so I sent my little prince for a couple days. Only a couple days because the nights were late for him and he was cranky all the next day so I just kept him home. We'll try again. Their theme was Heroes. There was a song they sang that went "H-E-R-O God is my hero" and Jordan was saying the "H-E-R-O" part yesterday. I said "that spells hero" and Jordan replies "yeah, that's my dad!"

It was so cute I almost cried.

What's so funny?

2010-06-24T10:14:00.002-04:00

I wondered what the heck was so funny about me driving down the road till I got to a corner and looked both ways to turn. As some other random man in a truck was laughing at me, I saw a toy pistol poking out of the window from the back seat! My little Prince Charming was aiming at people from the car!

Kindergarten

2010-06-11T10:35:00.001-04:00

My little prince is enrolled in Kindergarten for the 2010-2011 school year! It's full day this year and he'll be going to the elementary school I went to! Of course, none of the teachers I had are there anymore and instead of being 1-5 it's now k-2, but I believe the librarian is the same one!

I had his IEP this week. The staff seems great! They had ideas they tossed out for new goals for the school year and although a couple of them won't be coming back in the fall they still participated as if they were. they encouraged me to send Jordan on play dates and socialize him over the summer. He doesn't have friends that we see outside of the classroom so I'm thinking about sending him to VBS when it comes around and maybe spend some time at his cousin's if she's still around. She and her mom might be vacationing out of state for a good portion of the summer :(

Kindergarten and princesses

2010-04-20T08:17:00.001-04:00

I get to register my little prince for kindergarten today! Right after I get my allergy shot I get to load up the documentation and take him to a nearby school to get his hearing and vision checked. Since his birthday is after Sept 1 they'll also do a readiness screening on him. I know he knows all the shapes and colors and numbers and whatever else they mentioned they'd be checking, but I'm nervous that he won't show them he knows it and they'll tell me he can't go till next year! Tell me it's unreasonable!

He's on antibiotics for an ear infection and bronchitis and had a couple little accidents yesterday because of them so instead of going through his entire supply of underpants I put him in one of his daddy's T-shirts to make it easier to use the bathroom and still stay covered. He loved it! It came all the way down to the floor so he twirled around and said "look at me, I'm Cinderella!" I laughed. I texted my sil who told me her daughter probably made him play princesses with her at some point. I asked him about it and he said "ok, I"m a princess" and gave me a big cheesy grin. We're just waiting for him to make his cousin play spiderman or something now!

Kindergarten

2010-04-14T09:17:00.001-04:00

I went to Kindergarten orientation last night. I found out there are a ton of forms to be completed, along wtih records to be copied, etc. This year the district is going to full day kindergarten. They didn't mention that till someone asked about it as people were starting to leave! It was kind of annoying. So I have a lot of papers to fill out before next Tuesday. I can't believe the load of stuff they want my 5 year old (when school starts) to know before even entering K! They want him to fasten his own clothes, tie his own shoes, write his name, know his colors, know his shapes, count to 10, count 5 objects...now some of this is basic stuff, really and I know that, but I have been trying to get him to write his name (he can spell it) and I'm really not making any progress. He may not be going to the school that's only a half mile or so away either. The speech therapist works at a different school so he may be bussed over there instead. Oh, we got to hear the head of transportation talk about how he never loses kindergartners! It was a funny speech with an example of how one was misplaced last year for an hour because the kid switched name tags with someone else and got put on the wrong bus!

I'm just really excited for next year to start and this year isn't even over yet!

spring break

2010-04-12T11:20:00.001-04:00

Today is the last day of spring break for my little prince. I'll miss him when he goes back to school tomorrow but I can't pretend not to be at least a little relieved lol! I'll be glad not to hear pop goes the weasel every five minutes. Well, I'd probably miss that too.

He went up to the sprint store with me today to see if they could fix my phone. It's got the vapors ;-) I just backed up my files on the computer because I want to see if I can reset it to fix the problem, but don't want to lose my contacts.

My little prince

2010-03-13T09:11:00.001-05:00

I don't even have the words to describe how proud I am. Not for any big thing, or anything "special" but just because God chose me to be that little guy's caregiver. He's been talking more and using more words and putting sentences together. Lately he's been driving us crazy with "what are you doing?" every 30 seconds! Even if we haven't changed what we're doing, he still continues to ask again and again. Today he told me "I hurt my knee" which is a big difference from "Ow, that hurts" and then trying to get him to tell me where it hurts. He still doesn't know how to tell me what happened. He'll just keep continue telling me that his knee hurts.

2010-03-01T17:26:00.001-05:00

My poor little prince charming missed school yet again today. I'm so frustrated with sickness hitting him all the time! Today I took him to the dr. and he was put on a codeine cough syrup! He's 4 years old. I was told to not give him a bit more than was prescribed. He also had a low grade fever at the dr but not at home. I wonder if it's just a deviation in the thermometers.

Proud mommy

2010-02-21T19:30:00.001-05:00

My little prince wanted a bedtime story so I chose a book we've been working on reading together for a while. It's a story about how Eeyore loses his tail and finds it again. It's a short board book with few words. He can read almost the whole thing to me now! I'm so proud! He's even recognizing words on different pages. I mean, he hasn't memorized the story and just knows he's supposed to say certain words, I mean that he sees "good" on one page, then recognizes it on another even if he doesn't know any of the other words. I love watching him learn!

rambles

2010-02-20T08:09:00.003-05:00

Weight loss journeys suck. Not so much the loss of weight part, but the yo-yo part and the gaining back permanently part. I'm tired of it and I'm ready to make some changes that count!

Photography business is going pretty good at this time. I've had 2 shoots already this month and another one coming in today in a few hours. I need to finish cleaning out the studio area before then.

My little prince charming sat wonderfully still for his school picture for me and it came out perfect, except for the crazy hair:But the smile is beautiful! It's rarely seen in photos. The very next day after I took this photo, I got an envelope in his backpack announcing that picture day is coming up! I laughed so hard at that. I like the background they use and I want a class picture so I'm going to get the smallest package they have and hopefully it even looks as good or better than the one I took.

Snow day

2010-02-11T10:52:00.001-05:00

My little prince had his very first snow day yesterday! He loved being home and playing with me all morning, but by mid-afternoon I was beat and just wanted to be left alone! Boy, can he play hard!

served me right...

2010-01-22T07:50:00.002-05:00

So I decided to cheat a little on my "new healthy lifestyle" and have some of my rich, creamy, potato soup for breakfast. I know that if I eat starchy foods I need protein to go with them or else I'm hungry for more and more and more, so I made some smoky links too. I made the soup a bit hotter than usual so I could eat my smoky links without worrying about it getting cold. I had eaten one smoky link while the soup was finishing it's heat cycle in the microwave. I carried my soup alone to the computer then came back for my coffee and sausage. I sat everything down on the desk and when I sat down I knocked the bowl of boiling hot soup right into my lap (and on my hand where I tried to keep it from falling off the desk). I screamed and jumped and ended up throwing soup all over the bedroom. My poor husband was still asleep and came running to see what was wrong, to find me stripping off my jeans while still screaming. I have a pink hip/thigh and a red palm. I had to take my wedding rings off to make my hand more comfortable. I hate doing that. Then I had to clean up the incredible mess in the bedroom! I'm a bit uncomfortable right now, but I guess this is what I get for having such a rich breakfast!

life happens

2010-01-09T08:24:00.003-05:00

I'm having a terrible time keeping my apartment clean. DH prefers to sleep on the floor of the living room because the bed hurts his back now and I prefer to sleep with DH so I've been out there too. Since he works 2nd shift he's up later and sleeps later. Since he's been suffering from insomnia, he's up all night and sleeps all day. On his days off I don't even bother waking him so he may not get up till 4pm! His work days I wake him at 2. When he's gone I spend time cleaning and tidying the living room which takes all my free time in the evenings and sometimes there's so much to do I can't tell I've tried to do anything! In the mornings I'm gone in order not to wake him so I can't do anything then. I'm beginning to feel listless. I have craft projects to do so I'm occupied, but being occupied in a trash heap isn't very satisfying.

My dear little prince doesn't want to do anything but watch his movies. I can't even get him to draw pictures WHILE watching his movies. He's turning into a vegetable and I'm going to have to unplug the dvd player or hide all his movies and ride out the tears and tantrums (and let me tell you he can have good ones!).

I've also started counting calories and am trying to exercise more. I signed up at sparkpeoplea couple years ago and it worked so I signed back on a couple weeks ago to keep myself accountable and it's working again. That's a good thing.

Back to school

2010-01-05T08:42:00.001-05:00

After almost 3 weeks of winter break, my little prince is back in school. I saw many improvements over the break concerning his attitude and speech/language development. He's using longer sentences now, and initiating conversations. Hopefully he'll pick up socially while in class as well.

Christmas (rambling)

2009-12-30T19:10:00.002-05:00

Christmas is losing it's appeal for me a little more every year. I think it's become more of an obligation to go out and choose gifts for people than the fun adventure it used to be. I see one set of aunt/uncle about twice a year except by accident and it's difficult to choose a gift that would mean something to them. Everyone else in my family has everything they want or need and if they don't they are fortunate enough to be able to go out and get it!

My little prince charming's Christmas was a happy one though. He got lots of clothes, which he needs, but also a book (he's a big reader too), cars, and the best gift of all, a scooter from my grandma. I think maybe tomorrow I'm going to pack it up in the car and let him show her how well he does on it. It'll be fun this spring to see him outside on it.

I did have fun making gifts this year. I made everything for everybody! My one brother didn't get anything yet and I'll order him an audio book online when I can, but everyone else got crocheted stuff. My parents each got a blanket, my niece got a skirt, my nephew got fingerless gloves, one set of aunt/uncle got hats, the other set got slipper socks, my grandma got slippers. My other brother and sis-in-law don't exchange gifts with us, we just buy for each other's kids, but he wants me to make him a blanket too because he claims his wife takes the one he likes to nap under on the couch! lol I'm trying to get a black bear pattern for him. I think he'd like that.

H1N1

2009-12-07T16:05:00.001-05:00

My little Prince was sneezing all night and woke up coughing his head off this morning. I called him in to school right before he threw up snot all over the kitchen floor. Then his school called me a couple hours later and told me that today is the day the scheduled vaccinations for H1N1 were and that I had to bring him in if I wanted him to get it because this was a one shot deal. I got him there and waited a few minutes before they filled out his paperwork and told me he'd get the shot rather than the nasal spray so I was glad I was there for him. I had to hold him on my lap while they injected his leg. By the time he whimpered the nurse was all done with him! I was proud of him-no crying! He's still coughing his head off though. I've given him warm tea, vapor rub on his chest, cough syrup, antibiotics, and albuterol but no relief in sight! I don't know what to do next!

Field Trip Day

2009-12-01T13:03:00.001-05:00

My little prince's class went on a field trip to a puppet show today. I have never seen such intricate marionettes. Jack Frost tossed a snowball on his nose and balanced it there, a yeti walked a tightrope, there was a trapeze artist marionette also! There were a couple more as well. I had just as much fun watching as the kids did. Afterward we rode on a carousel. It was a lot of fun.

Decorating for Christmas

2009-11-30T14:18:00.002-05:00

I got down my boxes of Christmas decorations today. That's as far as it's gotten, down from the shelf in the closet, but I have plans to decorate the apartment today. I don't have a lot to do, we don't have a tree or lights. I've spotted a couple things from Halloween that I didn't put away that need to be taken care of as well. I'm thinking about having a family come in for Christmas pictures so I can advertise them. I'd give them a free 8 x 10 just for posing. I'm going to have a coupon printed in our local newspaper tomorrow. I wonder if anyone I know will notice it.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T14:55:00.004-05:00

For some reason, this year my family decided not to tell me that Thanksgiving dinner was going to be a half hour later than usual. doesn't matter, I guess. I had a good time visiting Grandma before hand. A couple cousins came from up north to visit and were planning on getting out of our way before dinner but grandma insisted they stay. It was nice to see them again. Grandma bought each of us grandkids and great-grandkids a gift. I got a bag of gummi bears and so did one of my brothers. Our other brother got a package of snickers and my son got a package of construction equipment. He loved it! My niece got a jumprope. My darling husband was home sick. Poor guy. I hope he feels better today.

sickness

2009-11-18T11:55:00.003-05:00

So it seems illness has struck our family once again. My little prince was on antibiotics for a week and off school for a couple days as well. He's much better now, but the King of the Castle seems to have the flu! Of course he won't admit it. I've been lucky so far, but I don't holdout much hope. Not that it matters, when the Queen of the castle gets sick the world doesn't stop. The dishes don't wash themselves and neither does the laundry.

fever

2009-11-08T20:10:00.001-05:00

My little prince was sent home from school with what they said was a 100 temp with orders not to bring him in the next day. I checked his temp that day and all the next and got no reading over 98.1. I even bought a new thermometer. Nope. The next day he goes back to school before te weekend. Then wakes up in the middle of the night with a 101 temp! I've been fighting it all weekend. It varied from normal up to 103.9 at one point! He's only had 99 a couple times to day so I'll check him again in the morning and hopefully send him to school instead of the doctor!

Head Start volunteer

2009-10-21T12:21:00.001-04:00

I stayed in the classroom with my little prince today! It was kinda cute how possessive he was of me at first, holding my hand and taking me around the classroom, showing me where the books were and where he sits. A couple of little girls latched onto me soon after and he didn't mind. He mostly plays by himself there. He got upset when another boy took away the magnifying glass he was getting out for me. He was holding one and took another and I don't know if the other boy didn't think he should have two or just wanted the one Jordan took, but tried to take it away from him. That was the only problem he had all day. Well, there was the time we were lining up in the hall to go for a walk and Jordan pushed another kid down. the other kid got too close apparently! I was told that I was the first parent to volunteer in the class! It's been a month since school started and I'm the first! I couldn't believe it. I'm planning on going back tomorrow since my brother isn't allowed to leave the house when he's sick (transplant patient and all) and I take him walking every morning, normally (him being blind). I got to see a tornado drill. The principal was not impressed, though it was the first. I also got to see one of the speech therapists give my little prince a Battelle. That's a test that measures progress. I had to answer some of her questions anyway so she was glad I was there. He (according to the test) has several skills that aren't expected till age 5. That always makes a mother feel good!

School picture shoot fiasco

2009-10-17T13:56:00.004-04:00

I had a school picture shoot Friday. I wasn't very hopeful that it would be a money maker. Still, it will get our name out there. A couple weeks ago we had a school picture shoot that took us about 2-3 hours to complete. The had about 50 students, plus staff. This new one had 5 staff and 4 students. No kidding. We got there at 9:00 to set up and started pictures about 10. We were there for 1-1/2 to 2 hours! for 9 effing people! My little prince has been having troubles with his asthma for the past couple weeks so I gave him a treatment before we left, timing it so that we would get back home just in time for the next dosage. It did NOT go as planned. Most of the staff went smoothly till the last one. She decided to finish grading a paper before coming down. We waited 5 minutes before we saw her, then she was on her way to the office to turn something in, telling us she's on her way (as she goes in the opposite direction). Took her 5 more minutes. Then she had to go to the bathroom and brush her hair (as she tells us she's "coming"). Another 5 minutes. At this time, the little prince started showing his first signs of discomfort. No emergency. Then the first student came down. While this one was being shot, the second came down and filled out his form. Wonderful! Things are getting better, right? No. He left after filling out his paper and did not come back. I had to ask one of the staff for him...after waiting 10 more minutes. He comes down, gets shot, sends the next student down. This one takes no time at all either. The little prince is quite uncomfortable now, wheezing and coughing and whining. Only 1 more student to go, but she is nowhere in sight. We waited 5 more minutes before I left our setup and told one of the staff that if there were any more students they better get down there RIGHT NOW because my son is having an asthma attack and I'm about to pack up. She tells me there is just one more and I replied that she better get down there then because I'm taking my son home. Someone went to get her out of the bathroom where she was brushing her hair. We got her shot and we packed up and came home. After all that hassle, I'm still sure we're not going to make any money at it. Oh, and while we were starting to get packed up, the director came down and asked me if the senior asked about senior pictures. I said no he hadn't. She then proceeds to tell me that he wanted some outdoor pictures taken! I told her that he'll have to call me because my son is having an asthma attack and I'm leaving. The incredible woman actually tells me that he didn't sound bad to her. I was infuriated. The gall! She actually tells me that my son doesn't sound bad...meaning, "my senior student's portraits are more important than the health of your child." BS! I can't believe it. I'm already planning on what to say to her if she asks us to come back next year. I've come up with several new and creative ways to say no.

Train ride

2009-10-11T10:04:00.003-04:00

Last night we took our little prince on a train ride. He was excited about it all day long and kept crying because we weren't leaving to go see the train yet! We got there way too early, but there was a little museum in the depot and we got to look at the train they restored from 1911 (in pictures of course), souvenirs, and a model train set they had upstairs. We walked around outside and looked at the big train and watched them hook up the engine. Oh, the little prince was so upset when they moved the engine, he thought it was leaving without us! We rode about an hour, maybe an hour and a half round trip. When we got to our stop they had a "haunted train car" that we could walk through. It had people in makeup looking dead or like zombies, lots of fog from a machine, strobe lights everywhere, and machetes and such hanging from the ceiling. Our little guy didn't seemed fazed one iota by it. He walked through, looking at everything, and walked out the other end of the car without so much as a gasp or whimper. I was impressed. It could have scared a full grown adult but not him! He got his face painted, a little bag of candy, and a balloon! He was so excited we were only a few miles from home before he fell asleep! We promised him that since he liked it so much, we'd go back sometime. Maybe for Christmas. He was so worn out from the excitement he even told us he was ready to go home!

?

2009-10-04T10:15:00.003-04:00

How do I delete a post?

The shoot that never was

2009-09-29T16:04:00.002-04:00

I got a call today from an unrecognized number, so I answered my phone as my business phone rather than my personal one. Good thing, I thought, as it was a call for the studio. I was asked several questions about packages and prices and photo sizes. A few minutes later I got another call from the same number asking for an appointment. Wonderful! I set up the time, cleaned like a banshee (cursing under my breath that the apartment manager hasn't got the carpet cleaners here yet when I called to have her do it 2 months ago), and got the camera and backdrops, etc. set up. Just a few minutes before the appointed time came, I got another call asking for directions. A minute later another call saying that she was in the building and couldn't find me. Not unusual, our apartment building has an unmarked door at the end of the entryway through which the apartments themselves lie. This happens all the time. I walked out to meet them and brought them in to my home. I was first asked if I did this all the time. I replied that yes I did. Then I was asked if I had any cute backdrops. I told them no i didn't, but that I took really cute pictures. I asked if it was going to be a problem and was told, much to my chagrin that yes it "kinda" was. I apologized and thought that perhaps I should have mentioned the plain colored backgrounds in our conversation. I was told that they were just going to go to WALMART for their photos. I audibly gasped. I tried to tell them that I take really cute pictures, but they were more interested in the background than their daughters sweet little face. They actually left! I didn't even get the opportunity to turn on my camera! I am hurt, frustrated, and angry. But after a rapid text conversation with my bestie, and a gigantic bowl of Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic, I am no longer breathing fire. Darn, I forgot to ask her where she heard of me and how she got my number.

IEP...again

2009-09-29T08:25:00.001-04:00

I went to the Little Prince's school yesterday to add a special teacher to his classroom to help evaluate him so they can better meet his needs as far as his speech is concerned. It didn't take much time at all, I just had to sign a few papers saying I agreed with them. The regular speech therapist said that she quickly learned not to interrupt play time! she's going to rearrange her schedule to suit him because he was so unproductive for being upset that it just wasn't worth it.

Head Start

2009-09-24T17:41:00.001-04:00

My little prince just finished off his 2nd week of Head Start and I'm so very proud I'm almost bursting! He's growing up into such a big boy I could cry, and I probably will.

4th Birthday!

2009-09-11T08:10:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it! 4 years old. It doesn't seem possible. Wasn't he just born like a year ago? Or was it that long?

We had a good day. I made Chocolate Chip Pancakes for breakfast, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese for lunch, and gave him pizza and chocolate pudding for supper. We visited my grandma, one of his favorite people in the world, and invited him to his birthday party tonight. And we got a very important phone call! Head Start called and told me that since the GSRP program still wasn't approved for funding they bumped him into Head Start because of his IEP for speech therapy. Today is our home visit to give him one last assessment, then a quick lunch before dropping him off at my parents house and on our way to parent orientation, which is supposed to take around 1 to 1-1/2 hours! i have no idea what could take that long. Then a quick trip to the store to pick up a birthday present and ice cream and back home to make frosting for the chocolate cake that the little prince specifically asked for, and his party.

I asked Little Prince Charming how old he was today and he said "3." I smiled and said "no-o-o" and he smiled back and said very excitedly "4!" People have been thinking he was 4 for ages now. He's a tall guy, like his daddy. He always asks for my coffee in the morning and this morning I gave him his own cup. Sort of. It was a few drops of coffee, enough to cover the bottom of the mug, some caramel sundae syrup, and some sugar free french vanilla coffee mate. The rest was water. I don't know if he is going to drink it or not but he sure was excited to get it!

My sil sent me a text last night. As long as both our kids are going to morning school, she wants to take the free time to exercise. I think that sounds wonderful! I've been slowly whittling away the ounces with steady control of my diet. I'd rather slowly whittle away pounds.

I'm off to start my day. *cue Mighty Mouse music*

Good Times

2009-09-09T01:36:00.001-04:00

This was the first night of AWANA this year. My little prince was sang to for his birthday coming up on Thursday and i wasn't there to see it. It sounds like he had a lot of fun and I'm glad. I came home, finished watching a movie, crocheted a bit more on my afghan, and cleaned the living room. I have a photo shoot I'm looking forward to doing tomorrow. Yesterday I took pics of all my backdrops and am going to catalog them in a book to show people when they come in. As of right now I only have solid colors, but am hoping to change that soon.

I was approached via phone to advertise in the local auditorium's program for a country singer coming to do a show. I don't have the funds right now but told him to call back in November, when the deadline is, and I'd hopefully be able to do so.

The same day I was called by one of the Christian Schools in the area wanting us to come in and do school pictures. I'm excited about that too.

Reading readiness!

2009-09-06T11:30:00.001-04:00

I have a feeling my little prince is going to be an avid reader like his mommy! Yesterday we were taking a walk around our apartment complex and he kept saying "sigh see" over and over and wouldn't move. I told him I didn't know what he was trying to say so he got off his bike and pointed at a sign and said it again. I feel so proud that he was asking what the sign said! I told him about the handicapped sign and how only people who were handicapped could park there. Then I showed him how the parking space had the same picture as the sign.

The week in review

2009-09-03T08:15:00.002-04:00

Tuesday night was the Awana fun fair/registration/kickoff. I stupidly forgot to bring my camera. I just can't imagine how I get anything done at all with this memory of mine. I thought mommy brain would fade but it doesn't! I was approached by one of the staff and asked if i would be their official photographer on their special nights like crazy hair and flashlight night. I enthusiastically accepted. I always took pictures of the awards night anyway for my own little prince so why not for everyone else? Besides it will get my name out there a bit more. I also have my 15 year class reunion coming up this weekend. I still can't make myself believe that it's been 15 years since I've graduated high school. I just shot a note to the coordinator about being their official photographer in exchange for my passage to the reunion. Things are so tight lately that I can't breathe. I know I'm not helping matters much though. I sell Avon as well and in return for my sil's products she's going to touch up my hair! She's definitely getting the better deal there! lol But it needs to be done. I also took the cash I got for a shoot yesterday and passed it on to a friend in need. I thought it over and decided that she needed it worse than I did and if my dh was going to be upset about it I'd deal with that because I think I'm right to give it to her. it was just a loan anyway, She's supposed to pay me back today. DH wasn't upset about it. He said he didn't mind me giving her a loan once.

Impatiently waiting

2009-08-30T18:48:00.002-04:00

I really want to get the book club book started but I have to wait for it to get returned. I should have asked when it was due back. I don't even have anything here to read that I haven't read already, well, maybe a Steven King or two, but I haven't been interested in him for a while. I've spent most of the day on my butt cuddling a sick little boy with a nasty cold coming on. Almost done with my sewing project. This one I'm doing completely by hand. It was kind of intimidating until I started it. I just figured I'd baste it together while my husband reupholstered the recliner we picked up off reuse it, but I couldn't seem to stop!

GRITS choice

2009-08-27T15:14:00.002-04:00

My Sister's Keeper is the next book club book. It is different from what we've read so far...in several ways. It's fiction, but not fantastic. It's drama, but not mystery. I'm looking forward to our local library getting it back so I can begin it. I even reserved a copy on tape for my brother who joined us this meeting. He keeps saying I dragged him along and that he's not going back but I'm not going to let him punk us out. We had 2 more members join us as well. Three of the others did not come, but I and my trusty sidekick were the two loyal who came. I sent a text to my cousin asking her straight out to make me a moderator for our yahoo group so I can add our meetings to the calendar and send out invitations. I haven't heard back yet but I hope she agrees.

I've been learning to sew and I have discovered that I love it! I've been begging old clothes to modify and rework to find out what my limitations are. My trusty sidekick/big sis/bff gave me this truly awesome dress that was falling apart at the seams. I have it torn up and cut up already with what I consider to be a really great idea for it. I sure hope it works out since I don't have a pattern and am just a beginner. Of course it may take a while for me to work it up because my dh has taken over my sewing machine doing re-upholstery work. He's pretty good. He recovered my piano bench, made cushions for a folding canvas chair that was falling apart, fashioned a backpack for our son, and made a pillow just for fun before beginning the large job on a recliner we were offered on the reuse it group. The large downside is that I can't see my living room floor anymore.

"E-X-I-T, exit!"

2009-08-26T18:05:00.001-04:00

My little prince isn't yet 4 but knows the word on the sign above doors! We're working on writing and recognizing his name since I can see that he knows his letters well enough to recognize words. If his preschool doesn't start this year I'm going to try the homeschool thing with him and see how that goes. Since it's preschool it' won't matter much if it doesn't work, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he learns.

weekend

2009-08-23T09:21:00.001-04:00

My sil sent me a text the other day asking what I was doing this weekend. I was free and told her so, so she asked if I wanted a photo opp. Well of course! So dh and I drove an hour and a half to a church reunion of her parent's and took pictures of the people there. We weren't sure how many people would be there. We were told anywhere between 50 and 200. I expected 50 and hoped for 200. I was right. But, we made a few dollars there and got our name out. It was fun, though it lasted the entire day for us. The actual event was only a few hours long, but we left early and stopped on the way home to get a few things. Today will be a day of printing and creating.

I did it!

2009-08-20T14:12:00.002-04:00

I finally completed the Little Prince's shirt and shorts duo I've been learning to sew. I've found I rather enjoy it. Something to do with watching a piece come together is satisfying.

2009-08-15T19:24:00.001-04:00

Shot some pictures at the local depot today. Had a great time!

preschool delay

2009-08-12T18:28:00.001-04:00

Due to lack of funding, my little prince's preschool may be starting late, or not at all. They're waiting for funding approval before they start, but they say that it may not occur at all. I'm sad about that.

Family Reunion

2009-08-02T10:55:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the family reunion for my husband's side of the family. Unfortunately he was nursing a migraine so couldn't go. It wasn't held very far from home so I drove myself and the little prince. Google maps is available on my phone so I used it to get there, having never driven in the area myself and having never visited the cousin's home. Google maps is usually found to be reliable, but the version on my phone has a lot to be desired. I used it once before to get to a friend's house and it had me looking on the wrong side of the road. This time, not only was I looking on the wrong side of the road, I was traveling 1.7 miles down the road to find it when the house is standing next to the corner trading post at the intersection! After passing the place 3 times, my cousin steps out into the road and waves her arms as I approached town again. I almost ran out of gas. That's not to mention the return trip where I turned right instead of left and ended up in another city entirely. A 25 minute trip took me 1.25 hours. But at least there was a gas station there! Gas was also 7 cents cheaper there than in my hometown.

So visiting with family was great. There weren't very many attenders and I feel bad that the table was almost groaning out loud with the weight of the food that was prepared for the occasion. (I had forgotten my potato salad at home, but didn't feel bad about it when I saw the spread!) I snapped pictures of everybody doing everything. It was also a celebration for one member's birthday so there was cake and ice cream. I think the highlight was when my little Prince decided to overbalance while trying to put a stick into the tube that fountain water was bubbling out of in the backyard pond and fell in face first. Luckily 1) the area he was in was only 1.5 ft deep, 2) Cousin K was standing next to him when he fell and snatched him up right quick, and 3) it didn't bother little Prince Charming one iota. In fact, he almost fell in 2 more times before the end of the day. He had to wear our cousin's tshirt until his own clothes were dry.

Spa Day

2009-07-29T18:16:00.002-04:00

My darling SIL has been having medical problems and has not been up to getting her home tidy and clean. She asked me to help her out so I showed up next morning with rubber gloves in hand (not really). I spent a couple days there doing laundry, dusting, cleaning, tidying...and got services from her salon in return! I got my hair dyed and a pedicure (for the first time!) The hair came out a little more orange than I expected. I was hoping for a bright, vibrant red. I go back on Friday to have her check it again because the back is darker than the front for some odd reason.

book club

2009-07-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

I sat for 2 hours at my book club meeting talking about anything but books! It was fun. We did actually choose another book and decide to make the meetings monthly, regardless of where we are in the book. We didn't talk about the last book we read, which none of us really seemed to enjoy. Only a couple of us actually muddled through the whole thing! I personally think that we should drop the pretense of a book club and just sit and chat over coffee. It seems that my friend and I are the ones picking the books for the most part and we do that with each other anyway, we don't need to babysit the others! ;-) Nah, it's not really babysitting. we are just more constantly in contact with each other. I think I'll go post on the GRITS group about not discussing the book! That seems to me to be something we should do! lol

My sweet little prince!

2009-07-21T08:01:00.001-04:00

Last night, I was trying to coerce and cajole the little prince into eating the sandwich I made him. He ate about 2 bites and wanted candy. I told him absolutely not until you finish your sandwich. Of course, this triggered an immediate temper tantrum. He ran into his room screaming. About a minute later he came out slowly, head hanging. He looked up at me and said "hi mama." I said "Hi Jordan" back to him. He asked me "how are you, mama?" I told him "I'm fine, Jordan, how are you?" He said "Okay. Mama, I'm sorry. I eat my sandwich." Then he picked up the sandwich and ate the whole thing! That's probably the sweetest conversation I had with him since he said "I love you" to me without prompting!

PartyLite

2009-07-19T08:17:00.003-04:00

I had a partylite party yesterday, or at least I attempted to. I'm on facebook and invited nearly everyone local. I probably invited about 100 people. Some of them have been to my parties before. This time however, only 2 people confirmed, and even they did not come. I was so disappointed! I had made taco fixin's for everybody. I also set out a veggie and dip tray. I have candles that I want to order, but it will cost my consultant $15 if she places an order below $100 then she'd be losing money. I don't want that to happen. I'm going to try to get some orders for her to at least cover the cost of placing the order so she can break even.

he reads!

2009-07-15T07:50:00.001-04:00

I was reading to my little prince a few days ago and he was looking at another book. Not unusual at all, but this time he was talking. Usually he semi-listens. i started listening to what he was saying and he was "reading" the book! It was a book about going to the beach, only ending up in all the wrong places. He was saying "is this the beach? noooooooo" and those words are on most pages! I thought that was so great I almost cried from joy!

dh's work schedule

2009-06-28T16:54:00.002-04:00

My DH had his schedule changed again. Instead of working Tuesday through Saturday, he's now working Sunday through Thursday. Still a wacky shift, but he'll make more money because he's working Sundays now. It's still time and a half for him even though it's part of his normal shift. I was just getting used to his shift and now he changes it to something weirder!

Preschool approved!

2009-06-17T19:20:00.001-04:00

My little prince has been approved for preschool! We go in to enroll him in the morning! I'm so excited and I know this will be good for him!

Speech Therapy

2009-05-28T12:31:00.001-04:00

I went to Jordan's IEP this week and got a few tips from the speech therapist to assist his communicating. We're to use pictures as clues for him to use to help us understand. We haven't started yet but we'll see how that goes. The therapist said that she would make sure that he got accepted in Head start this year because she thinks it would be good for him. I"m glad to have her on our side!

What a great day!

2009-05-19T18:02:00.002-04:00

This morning the little prince and I went for a walk with my brother like we normally do. Our friend and her youngest son came with us. They met us there. They walked there, actually. After walking her daughter to school across town. then they walked a mile with us! Nearing the end of the mile, her little one was complaining about his legs getting tired and wanting to go home. i traded his place holding her hand with Little Prince Charming's place in the stroller. He didn't like it much, but he was glad to rest. My little prince held onto my friend's hand and walked right along with us. I was so proud. I usually tell people I can't let him go because I'll never see him again! He's a runner. After our walk, we took my brother to pay his phone bill, and to pay his son's dental bill. While we were out, we went to the dollar store to get a couple birthday cards. My little prince was so good all morning, I told him we'd come back this afternoon and get him a present. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do that. We're having car trouble and my husband took our running vehicle to work and I didn't think about that happening when I made the promise. So I hope to take him tomorrow instead. This afternoon, we went outside to play. I got out my chalk and traced his Mickey Mouse on our patio. Then he had to get ALL of his Mickey's for me to trace. After that, we brought out his tricycle and I started working with him again on how to ride it. It's been 2 years I've been trying to teach him to push with one foot at a time and apparently today I used the right word combination because he figured it out! He took off riding that thing like crazy! He still has a little trouble steering while pedaling, but it's only his first day! I told him maybe later he could try it with his bike too. He liked that idea. Unfortunately we got hot and cranky and I don't think I'll let him go back outside tonight. Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful though!

always something

2009-05-13T13:20:00.001-04:00

I got to our speech therapy appointment a mile down the road from the apartment and as I'm pulling into the parking space, smoke starts pouring from under the hood.

Speech evaluation

2009-05-13T13:17:00.001-04:00

My little Prince had his formal speech evaluation today. She commented on his manners and how well he behaved. He was pretty good after a bit. At first, he was a bit too curious in his new surroundings to be still, but after Mr. Potato Head came out to play he calmed right down! She showed him pictures and asked him what they were doing and he didn't answer her. She asked which picture showed someone sleeping and he didn't point. We're going to set up an IEP for him and she said with speech therapy he'd get more points to enter into Head Start. Good for us!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T09:39:00.001-04:00

Interesting how holidays come about sometimes. As a thank you for attending her mother's funeral, a woman passed out carnations to the attendees. Everyone thought it was such a great memorial to her mother that it ended up becoming a holiday!

My mother's day weekend started out wonderfully! My husband ended up getting the day off work yesterday and we just bummed around the house, talking and being together until evening when we took a family bike ride! it was Jordan's bedtime wen we got back, but he still needed his bath, especially after trudging through a baseball field partway through. If the weather is good later on we'll go again!

I also got some new photography props. I got one of those metal washtubs for babies to take their bath photos in and some rubber ducks to go with it. Now I just need some babies to shoot!

AWANA awards night

2009-04-29T16:18:00.002-04:00

I was so proud of my little man. At all his awards ceremonies, he has come running to me and refuses to go back to his class. This time he walked by me on his way to the front of the church (we had the final awards in the sanctuary rather than in the gym), looked at me and said "hi mama" and kept going! Throughout the ceremony, he would run to me and say hi mom and run back, but at least he ran back! I would always have to sit with him and I was really nervous this time because I was taking pictures. He got all kinds of awards, he got patches for his uniform vest, a participation ribbon, and an award for completing the book. I even got an award for bringing him! I'm so happy this worked out, I was afraid it wouldn't since he was so young.

I heard from preschool again. They canceled the meeting we had scheduled because the ISD did the evaluations they were going to do when they came to the apartment. I'm a little confused by this because I asked if we should keep the meeting and was told yes because different evaluations would be done!

I'm boiling eggs to pickle for potato salad later and the kitchen is so very warm! I was going to make bread also but didn't leave myself any eggs for it!

Alphabet Photography

2009-04-23T14:13:00.001-04:00

While I was surfing around on Facebook today I discovered a site dedicated to Alphabet Photography. I love the idea and think I might try something similar when I go to the park with my little Prince Charming this weekend, providing he is feeling better that is. He's awfully clingy today and isn't eating much. Just thought I'd share the creative idea with you!

Another sick day

2009-04-22T11:12:00.002-04:00

Poor Little prince Charming woke up at midnight covered head to toe in his own sick. I had to wash jammies, sheets, pillow, and a couple stuffed animals. Oh, and a throw rug. poor little man is laying down in front of the tv watching Bunnytown and eating crackers. He doesn't want to eat anything, just drink apple juice. Hopefully this doesn't last long.

Moms can't call in

2009-04-21T11:02:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately, when a mommy gets the flu, she still has to do her mommy job. What is very fortunate is that my little Prince Charming lived up to his nickname! He put away all his toys, threw the garbage in the trash can, put plates in the sink, I just can't believe what a blessing he is and he's only 3-1/2! I lost 5 pounds with this bout of sickness, which is good and bad. Good that the numbers on the scale went down, but bad in the method it occurred! I finally got around to putting in a load of laundry, which never got put away, and turning on the dishwasher. I'm feeling better enough today to have gone for my walk with my brother and even got the kitchen mostly cleaned up. I spent a half hour or so on it which is really unusual as I can get it done in 15 minutes or less most days. I guess things pile up after a few days! I'm taking a rest now because I'm worn out already and my stomach is getting upset again. So much to do, but I have to take it easy or have a relapse!

I've been talking with my sil who is a cosmetologist about getting together sometime this summer for glamour shots. I'm doing a promo shoot Thursday to advertise for them. I think it will be a lot of work, but fun!

afternoon at the park

2009-04-16T20:38:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately Little Prince Charming didn't get to play. He was still working on his picnic lunch when his friend had to use the bathroom and apparently, our town has the only park in the world without a public restroom! It was 7:00 anyway so we took the kids home. He didn't complain one tiny bit. i told him maybe we'd go back tomorrow afternoon. It's supposed to be nice again.

Preschool!

2009-04-15T14:42:00.001-04:00

Well, I got my little Prince Charming all registered for preschool and now have to wait to see if he's approved. We may make too much to be approved, but there's a different program that 's geared more for special needs that the home visitor thought we might qualify for. I'll hear back on Friday!

asthma and a sinus infection

2009-04-11T10:28:00.001-04:00

sinus infections aren't a big deal for most people, but couple that with asthma in a 3 year old who doesn't know how to be still and it's a life and death situation! Such is the way my weekend has gone. My sweet little prince had the sniffles for a couple days and I waited to see if it would clear up on its own. I decided halfway through Thursday that if he wasn't any better Friday morning I was calling his ped. He started coughing Friday morning so I called and they got him in that morning, thankfully! He was on antibiotics all day and still got worse. I think maybe they had to catch up. Last night he woke up hollering in the middle of the night so I gave him his rx cough med since he was due for a dose anyway. I also gave him a breathing treatment to stave off an attack. he pretty much passed out afterward. This rx cough med is really good. It takes care of his cough completely. He spiked a fever of 101.1 yesterday and again this morning. poor little guy just wants to lay around watching movies and darn it I'm going to let him! So much for shopping for his Easter presents today. :-(

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-04T15:30:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I left my camera at home. Me-a photographer! I didn't get any pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt, but my little Prince Charming didn't do much to take pictures of anyway! He mostly just wanted to play on the swingset while the other kids collected eggs. I'm glad he's not greedy.

2009-04-02T21:05:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how big my little boy is getting! We haven't had many good spring days here in Michigan so it was a rare treat to get outside and play. Little Prince Charming loves his bike, but can't seem to understand how to pedal. I have done everything I can think of to help him. He tries to push down on both pedals lkike he's trying to stand up instead of one at a time. But he sure was proud to be outside on his big boy bike that Great Meemaw got him for Christmas.

Preschool registration

2009-04-02T19:28:00.001-04:00

I registered my sweet little Prince Charming for preschool today. He's not yet 4 so I don't know if they'll let him in or not, as they take 4 year olds first. He got a referral for hearing and speech. I figured he'd get one on speech, but thought his hearing was ok. The tester said that if he had a cold then fluid behind the ear would show that reading. He had one a couple weeks ago and she said that it could still affect his hearing.

getting antsy

2009-03-28T08:15:00.001-04:00

I'm looking forward to the days where I can take Jordan to the park and shoot pictures to my little heart's content! I was also hoping this winter to get some cool snow pix with my newest camera, but the snow didn't cooperate. So I have no new nature/landscape pictures to update the website. I have a few people interested in becoming models for my portfolio so when I can get them in that will be fun. In a few more weeks we should have the money to get the new studio remodeled too so we can start moving in! I'm getting excited about that.

patiently waiting for spring

2009-03-27T16:34:00.001-04:00

I love the summer, so the other months are sometimes frustrating for me. Winter because it's the opposite of summer, spring because it takes so long to turn into summer, and fall because it's the end of summer! It just doesn't seem like this year we're even going to get a spring. That makes it even more frustrating!

preschool

2009-03-26T19:41:00.001-04:00

I can't believe my little prince is already old enough to be thinking about registering him in preschool! Next week registration for the 09-10 school year starts! I don't know if he can get in or not but I'm going to try!

being artistic

2009-03-24T16:27:00.000-04:00

This was not one of my favorite pictures, so I decided to play with it a bit. I like the overall effect!

Easter Musical

2009-03-20T19:32:00.001-04:00

I'm really impressed with this year's Easter musical from church. I'm having a lot of fun with it, though I'm getting teased about not being able to sing and walk at the same time! It's called The Easter Song and it's free admission at the Sturgis Wesleyan church, 907 N. Nottawa Friday April 10th and Saturday, April 11. We have some very powerful songs and the message is strong too!

Engagement anniversary

2009-03-17T09:30:00.002-04:00

It's been 10 years since I got engaged to my wonderful husband. He came to my apartment just off campus of Western Michigan University after i had spent a day student teaching and gave me an Easter Egg! One of those plastic pull apart kinds that you get out of a machine for a quarter. He told me he was at the store and picked one up just for fun and thought I would like what was inside it. I opened it to find a wedding set! I sat there staring at it in awe, not saying a word and thinking to myself that this was a little nicer than what you normally got in an Easter Egg and that you normally only got one prize...what an idiot! lol We drove to see my parents and showed them the ring. I still have the egg in my sock drawer! I'm such a sentimental fool!

asthma and fda rant

2009-03-15T09:27:00.003-04:00

I'm a pretty laid back person for the most part. I don't let much bother me. I do have my pet peeves that are ridiculously insignificant, but overall I'm a passive person. There is one thing that has recently set me apart from all others on my "angry" meter.

My poor little Prince charming got himself a cold. We found out a little over a year ago that he also had asthma. His first asthma attack was a nasty one led on by his cold and cough. He was given breathing treatments every 15 minutes for an hour and then sent home with a prescription and orders for more every 4-6 hours for the next 24. Since we moved away from out animals, he hasn't been as sick and hasn't had nearly as many asthma attacks. Well, with this recent cold, he used up the last of his cough syrup so I went to get more. The kind we usually get him wasn't on the shelf so I asked the pharmacist. She told me that the FDA decided that the risks outweighed the benefits for cough and cold med for under 6yo and that they should fight it off with their immune system. I kept my cool at the time so I didn't go off on the pharmacist because it wasn't her fault-she didn't give the order! But I explained to her that an unfortunate "side effect" of my little Prince's cough was an asthma attack! If I can keep the cough controlled, then the asthma doesn't kick in. But the FDA says I can't keep his cough under control anymore. I got him the cough syrup she recommended and it didn't do any good for him at all. I used it for several days as directed and it didn't help a thing. So I did what any insanely rageful mother with a sick baby would do: I went back to the pharmacy and got the children's version that said "under 4 yo do not use" figured almost 3-1/2 is close enough and cut the dosage down to 1/2 tsp. He had one more really good (or really bad?) asthma attack that made me certain he was going to end up in the ER last night. I gave him another breathing treatment and he passed out for 13 hours with only on spell of waking and coughing in between. It was treated with more medicine and another breathing treatment and this morning he's his wonderful playful little self. I'm almost 100% certain that the med I got him was the same stuff we used before, only with the label changed.

note to self:

2009-03-12T15:53:00.001-04:00

washing a load of clothes with an entire box of dryer sheets is wasteful, but makes for the most incredibly soft clothes ever!

Poor sick boy

2009-03-12T10:59:00.001-04:00

I have a feeling I'm not going to get much done today as my Little Prince is coughing like a freight train and wanting me to read to him. I'm kinda proud he enjoys Little House in the Big Woods. We have just one more chapter to go before we're finished. He's vegging out in front of the tv now watching Mickey's Christmas on dvd. I should probably go put things away and try to dust a bit before he gets too needy for me to be away from him.

Weekend finally!

2009-03-09T13:22:00.002-04:00

I know to the rest of the world, the weekend starts on Saturday, but Monday is our favorite day here because it's my husband's one day off. he's been working 6 days a week for the past several weeks and I cherish our day off together. Today we have to go get my allergy shot up at the allergist's and we have a lot to do for the studio. We shot pictures for a church photo directory this week and last and we have to put everything together. We are going to visit the shut ins on Friday and get them added to the directory as well. I had so much fun shooting all those portraits! I had a couple people interested in purchasing their portrait for their family as well!

Building

2009-03-07T18:32:00.001-05:00

I think we may have found the building we want for our studio! It's in a higher traffic area than the one we were originally looking at and the rent is cheaper. We have to pay for our own utilities and taxes and garbage disposal service, but the owner said he'd work with us on that. I'm getting excited about this business actually taking off!

building

2009-03-04T20:13:00.001-05:00

It seems we're getting close to getting a building for the photo studio! I hope we get something by the end of the month.

Disney on Ice

2009-03-01T07:28:00.002-05:00

My sister in law asked me a while back if I wanted to take the little prince to see Disney on Ice with her and her daughter and I jumped at the chance since the tickets were so inexpensive. We drove to see them a few days ago and I can't believe the amount of fun Jordan had! There was one point near the beginning that I thought he was going to climb down on the ice to see Mickey. We were only a few rows up from the top so if I hadn't been paying attention he just may have made it. We stopped at McDonald's on the way up and let the kids play for a few minutes.

The skating was magnificent, the costuming was outstanding, and we had so much fun we all fell asleep on the way home (except my sil who was driving!). I'm glad I was able to do this for him.

Chutes and Ladders with ADD?

2009-02-25T10:58:00.001-05:00

How frustrating! I've suspected for some time that my little prince charming has ADD or something similar. He bought a game of Chutes and Ladders with his AWANA bucks last night so this morning I decided to teach him to play. He honestly can't stay still long enough to spin and move his piece! We've tried twice so far and failed both times. The first time he was more interested in flinging game pieces. The second time he wouldn't participate but to spin the spinner. I ended up playing both pieces and it's no fun alone! lol

Long weekend

2009-02-24T12:18:00.001-05:00

It was nice to have a long weekend with my husband. We mostly lounged around the apartment but at least we got to spend some time together. It was nice to have 4 days with him home!

Where does he get this??

2009-02-23T18:14:00.001-05:00

I can't believe my Little Prince Charming just told me to "shut up" when I told him to stop jumping on the bed! I'm heartbroken! We don't talk like that in our household so I have to wonder where he's picking it up. I told him if he says it again he loses his Harry Potter privileges. He didn't like that at all, and I don't think it's nearly harsh enough, but he is only 3 years old.

Cuteness

2009-02-21T16:35:00.001-05:00

My Little Prince Charming brought me one of his stuffed Mickeys. I cradled him like a baby and sang Rock-a-Bye Baby to him. I gave him back and whispered "he's asleep now" so my adorable little prince whispers "ok" back and takes him from me. he holds him like a baby and lays him down in a chair! What a good daddy he's going to be!