THAT day

9 years ago I was driving my son to school after a dentist appointment. We were listening to the radio when the announcer announced someone with really bad direction had flown a small aircraft into the World Trade Center. WOW that is crazy I thought. We kept driving. A few minutes later the announcer came back on and said - it happened again - another plane had hit the other tower and it was a commerical aircraft carrier. WOW that is even crazier. Phil asked me what it meant. I had no idea but I assured him (with the confidence that every mother has in moments like this) that everything would be all right and he was safe.

I got him to school and walked in and told the secretary something crazy was going on and she needed to find a radio. I explained what we had heard on the radio. At that moment all of her phone lines started ringing with concerned parents. I hugged Phil good bye and said I would see him after school. I remember calling Scott on my way home and telling him he needed to find a way to get some news. This was 9 years ago before constant, instantious internet news coverage.

I went home and turned on the TV. My sister called (or maybe I called her) we sat watching the TV trying to figure out what was going on. We were 60 miles away from each other and it was one time in our life that I truly felt close to her. Our parents were on the way to DC on vacation. They were driving. My cell rang and it was mom. Amie called Dad on her cell. One most of my vivid memories is my sister yelling "OH MY GOD it is going down" as the first building fell. We watched in horror connected by that phone at what was happening before eyes. We begged them to come home. Finally they realized this was major. They were driving and only had our accounts and the radio to go by. They did turn around and head for KC.

The other day I was talking to Phil about what he remembered. He recounted what happened as the school day continued. I remember fighting the urge to go get him and bring him home (that safe haven every parent feels about their house for their child). As Phil and I talked the other day it hit me. For his generation, this is the first "I remember where I was when...." they will have. He was the about the same age I was when I had my first one of those moments,John Lennon being shot. Somehow, now that memory doesn't compare to his first of those memories.

I remember that day, 9 years ago wondering about the world my child was growing up in. 9 months later we adopted Andrew. He doesn't remember a world where you don't have to take your shoes off at the airport, or packing all your liquids in your checked bags. This is the first year I have exposed him to what happened that day. I wanted him to maintain his belief that the world is inherently good as long as possible.

I pray for Phil, his generation has VERY few of the "I remember where I was..." moments. I hope for all of us there is never another day that causes such fear. But like my friend Allan said... If you give into the fear, you let them win.

On the move

Well it appears we are moving. No, not back to Kansas. (sad) Not back to Albuquerque either. We are moving about 6 miles from here. We will be downsizing BIG time. Fine by me. When we rented this house we anticipated that Phil would be moving to California at some point and we wanted him to have his own space. Well, obviously that is not happening.

So it is time to move. Our new house will be about the size of our house in Lawrence. Smaller backyard. Not sure what we will do with the pool or the trampoline. (getting rid of the trampoline will be hard. It was one of the last things my mom gave Drew - sentimental)

But the people who own it planted about 100 rose bushes. The owner hopes they are still surviving. He is concerned the current tenants have not taken care of things like they should have. That is why he likes us. We have taken care of our current house like it was ours. The owner has agreed to the dog and the cat. Not sure how Cavity will like the move. He is a pretty stubborn cat.

Not sure if the official move date is November 1 or December 1. I am hopeful it is November. Scott's mom is to come out for Thanksgiving and I would prefer to be in the new house so she doesn't have to navigate stairs or deal with everything being in boxes and my stress level during a move. Just have to see what happens.

bicyclists have families too

Scott has been gone for a couple weeks working in Albuquerque. He got home late last Thursday night and couldn't wait to get on his bike Friday morning and go for a long ride.

He came home pretty shaken up. While riding a white dully pulling a trailer actually slowed down and hit him in the back of the head with the side mirror. Then the truck kept trying to hit Scott with the side of the truck. Scott was finally forced into a ditch to get away from the 5 people in the truck. This is not the first time Scott has had a run in with a car. Not quite a year ago many will remember he was hit by a car and broke his collar bone. He is still recovering from that and the subsequent surgery.

Don't people realize that cyclists have families.People who love them - wives, kids, moms, dads, sisters, brothers. The roads are not owned by the cars. There are bike lanes for a reason. Sure there are some cyclists who do not obey the rules of the road but most cyclists are curtious, obey the rules. they bike for a variety of reasons, better for their health and enviroment, one car family. It this economy many cyclists can't afford gas for cars and choose to ride a bike as away to save money.

I cringe every time Scott goes out to ride. I always pause for a second and wonder if he will come back in once piece. Please remember that cyclists are motorists too but they don't have the 3000 pounds of metal surrounding them - the cars do.

back again

The past few weeks have been HELL. I have been in pure survival mode. The docs tried Drew on a new med. It was causing rages every couple hours. It was crazy. Even he didn't understand. We couldn't get school work done. It was taking 2 hours to do 14 math problems. I was so ready to chuck everything in and send him back to school and make it their problem. I hated being around my son and I hated myself for it. How could I not like being around my son. He was saying totally hateful things and I didn't know where to turn.

Monday I called his neurologist and told them we had to take him off the Depakote because it was going to be me or him. They got me an emergency appt for Tuesday afternoon. I didn't give him his Depakote on Tuesday because Scott was out of town and I knew I could't take it.

When we got to the appt. Dr. Rainia came to the waiting room personally to get him. We went into a conference room with 2 med students. We reviewed Drew's history and Dr. Rainia noted that all the meds we tried had had the opposite effect. Respirdal caused depression (it is a anti depressent) Abilify was to improve the Tourette's - it made it worse.

He went on to explain to the med students that with kids like Drew who had the opposite effect on meds that they had to think outside the box. He explained to all of us that by accident he had discovered a drug for Parkinson's and Restless leg Syndrome that worked in about 50% of kids. Was I willing to try. HELL YES!!!! I knew I couldn't take anymore of what had been going on.

Drew took his first dose Tuesday night. Wed he got up and got dressed, did 3 hours worth of school work without fight. Went on a play date and there were no arguments the whole time. CAme home ate dinner, took his bath, never balked or fought back when told no. NO rages . he was amazing. took another dose last night. same thing today. Did his work (it was a short day because of getting ready to camping this weekend) didn't get upset when he made a mistake on his spelling test. He caught hte mistake and corrected it. He didn't get upset when he only got a 99 because he forgot the E on "have" in his dictation. he even took out the recycling with out being asked!!!! He even told me he loved me. I haven't heard that in a long time.

He has been pretty hyper but I am not sure if that is because now that his mind is clear so much is racing that he can't keep up or because we haven't started the daytime dose - that starts tomorrow in addition to the night time dose.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But if this works, I will be eternally grateful. The past 2 days have been amazing. I hope they keep up. I will keep you posted.

change of plans

Well the trip to Disneyland is out. With the questions about my health right now Scott was not too excited about me taking Drew for 6 days with no back up. Plus the money we save on that mini trip can be applied to the BIG trip in December. In some ways I am actually relieved that we are not going. Drew was all right with it after I promised that SOMETIME in the future we would take a big trip with Phil and Betsy. He just doesn't know when.

On the health front, we see the neurologist tomorrow morning to hopefully get some answers about all of this. The eyesight is improving. It will never be what it was but hopefully it will continue to improve.

I get so frustrated. There are so many things I want to do with Drew but I can't. I feel like he is getting short changed. I feel all right in the morning but by afternoon it is all I can do to move and stay awake. Tried to get in the pool with the guys on Saturday. The water was too cold and I spent 5 hours trying to get warm and waiting for my muscles to "unseize"

I refuse to have a "pity party" This was the hand I was dealt and I will deal with it. I know I am getting ahead of my self because we don't have a diagnosis yet. I am hopeful that what ever this is there will be a treatment and I can get my life back and have the engery to do the things with Drew and go back to being the wife and mom that I used to be and that Scott, Drew and phil deserve.

so I slowed to a stop

OK I was on a roll getting back into the swing of blogging. I got stuck. Life goes on here. I have been working hard on getting the first couple weeks of lesson plans done for Andrew. I am trying a new approach to teaching this year. Last year we got off track quite a bit. This year, I have written plans and I have showed him that there is a little box next to each thing to be done. Once we finish a lesson he can check it off. when all the checks are done then we are done for the day. Hopefully this will help. I have added much more writing this year. He hates to be forced to write. But there are somethings that just have to be done.

On a much more exciting note. I made our plane reservations for both the Orlando trip as well as the trip to Anaheim in September.

The trip in September was to orginally be a family trip but Scott can't go. I tried to find someone to go with me. I offered to buy their park ticket and hotel if they paid for the plane and their food. But I had no takers. So I decided to fly and it will just be Drew and I. I think we will have fun. We are staying HERE. They have a great pool so I am sure some time will be spent there. I do wonder how many times I will be forced to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, Jungle Cruise, and Haunted Mansion. We both love the Toy Story Ride. Drew will actually be taking a class on California history while we are there. It is taught by Disney cast members - that should be fun.

Plans for the trip in December are coming along. Been making payments and plane reservations. We are staying at the Bay Lake Towers for that trip. We have a 2 bedroom Villa. All 3 kids will share one room (2 queen size beds) and Scott and I will have the master (kind size bed). It has a kitchen, living room, washer and dryer ( like I use those). Making all the meal reservations has been a challenge. Who knows where we want to eat 6 months out but with the Disney Dining plans there is no choice. I managed to get everything I wanted. I went back to change some stuff yesterday and some restaurants are already booked and have no availability. "Doing Disney" takes planning. I have decided I will do some blogs over the next few weeks that pertain to doing disney the right way and sites that help me plan. When we lived in Kansas - our travel agent would call me when people had Disney questions because I knew it better than she did.

So back to FTPD

C

I am on a roll.

It is hot here. And when it is hot a person wants to swim. But to swim requires going to a pool. I hate pools. too many kids who are unsupervised, who pee in the water (or worse) to me it is too stressful. so instead we brought the pool to us.

Here it is

Just what every one needs: and 18 foot across byt 4 foot deep pool. Did you know that is 7600 gallons of water? Not looking forward to my next water bill. But Drew loves it and I am hoping it makes the summer smoother.

back in the saddle

We are home from a wonderful 2 week vacation in Kansas. Saw lots of good friends and had lots of fun. My lost the site in my right eye. They say it is temporary but it is still disturbing to go from 20/40 to 20/180 in my eye. When I look thru it I feel like I am looking thru a windshield that has mud thrown on it. They orginally thought it was caused by MS but my MRI was clear. I see my doc on Monday and hopefully we will figure this out.

It appears the trip to Disney is on for December/January. We (Betsy and me) can hardly wait. Drew doesn't know yet and Scott and Phil just humor us. We are eating at Cinderella's Castle one morning. I managed an 8 AM reservation. They are hard to come by so that was a real coup for me. More on the trip as time goes on.

Did I mention we have a dog now? We have a Chiweenie named Skippy. He is part Chihuahua and part Dachshund. He is a real love. He is named for the main character in a series of children's books called "Skippy Jon Jones" Drew loves him to pieces. Skippy is really attached to me because he sees me as his rescuer.

FTPD

C

Where have I been?

Where o where has Cathy been? That seems to be the question. Currently we are in Kansas on an extended vacation. i have spent a good deal of time in doc offices but more on that later.

things in Sac are fine. I have gone back to school full time but that seems to be on hold.

Drew is doing awesome.We are on break from Home school. We will start back up mid July. He has new therapists as the MIND center cut its budget.

Scott is riding all the time. Spent Father's day riding 85 miles up to Nevada city. I went and picked him up and spent the day watching the Nevada city Classic.

I am thrilled my class reunion is over. It amazes me how some people never change. I am surprised they don't drown with their noses so far up in the air. Several people have already stepped up to do the 30th.

the best part of the reunion was seeing my best friend from high school that I hadn't see in 23 years. Scott said he didn't think we would ever stop hugging.

we are going to spend the 4th of july at 3 different parties. looking forward to seeing lots of old friends from Lawrence.

Well, now everyone is up to speed. I promise to be a better blogger.

21 years ago

21 years ago right now I was watching the moon rise from a room in the maternity ward at Stormont Vail in Topeka Kansas. Little did I know a few hours later one of my most precious gifts would be given to me.

does not compute

Drew and I had his Cub Pack meeting last night. Bit news he acheived his Tiger Rank and got his Tiger badge. Now for the humor of the evening

The Cub Master mentioned several times during the evening that is family was taking off today for Disneyland. Drew looked at me and asked when we would be returning to Disneyland. I told him that we would be going in September for a Homeschool conference. Andrew looked at me and said 'Mom Homeschool and Disneyland don't belong in the same sentence." Hard to argue but we are going anyway.

I usually think

Yes I think (as scary as that is) but what I was going to say was during the day I think of all sorts of wonderful things to blog about. Problem is I am not at my computer at the time so by the time I get to my computer I draw a blank and blog about nothing. I think there was a TV show about nothing at one time. Wish my blog could be that popular.

On Tuesday,April 13 my oldest friend is coming to visit. We have been friends since 5th grade. not saying how many years that is but if you read my older posts you can figure it out. planning on doing very little. Just sitting out back and drinking margaritas, eating salsa and talking. We are going to San Francisco for a day but that is it. I love company that is easy. They don't want to be entertained they just want to be. The obligatory trip to Squeeze Inn is on the list. She wants to check out a couple bead shops. Like I said easy. I have very few friends that are like that. Lori is one. The others would be Kim and Anna. Most people you feel like you have to entertain. With them I know they are coming to see me. That is what makes it easy.

chaos reigns

A little chaotic around here tonight. Andrew is entertaining his first sleep over guest. His friend Jake is here. Talk about abounding energy. They are currently playing on the trampoline. I guess as long as there is no blood or crying things are good. I love the sounds of children laughing. Don't you? So innocent and playful. I remember those days.

some days

Some days you just need to sigh, say WTF and find the Xanax followed by a Cosmo Chaser

Am I on a roll? 2 days in a row!!!!!

do you know why I love being a SAHHSM (Stay At Home Home SChool MOM)? Mornings like this one. It was kind of cold and drizzly and we woke up abut 730 or so. Scott and Drew talked for awhile and when I rolled out of bed Drew decided he wanted waffles for breakfast. Fine by me. I pulled out the waffle maker, mixed up some batter and we had home made waffles on a rainy Thursday morning. There is no rushing to get up, get dressed, get breakfast, make lunches, run out the door in different directions. We had a nice leisurely morning. School starts about 10. Done by 1 or so. Then off for an afternoon of fun.

I actually have 2 Tastefully Simple Parties booked. Hopefully a third on the horizon. If you don't live around Sacramento I can always arrange the worlds simplest catalog party. Tastefully Simple makes it easy to have a catalog party anywhere in the country and the new summer line is amazing. Questions - let me know.

been very neglectful

Yes I know. everyday I log into follow everyone else but don't seem to find time to update my own blog.

Where to start?

Scott came through surgery fine. 3 more weeks and he should be able to drive as well a get back on his bike. He is walking everyday and is very happy to be maintaining weight. He is still working from home and appears to be happy doing so. I love it most days.

Phil and Betsy are still dating. Phil told me the other day he had been named to the Greek National Honor Society. Not bad. He is doing better and better every semester.

Drew has offically been diagnosed with Autism. Not a shock but still felt like a kick in the ASS when the told us. They have said it is EXTREMELY high functioning autism but still autism just the same. He is doing remarkably well being homeschooled. We all like it. He is finally reading. I love Hooked on Phonics. It is a god send. We start Math U See after Spring Break and I am hoping Andrew is as successful at that.

I am starting to sell Tastefully Simple. I went to a party a few weeks ago and fell in love with the products. Every time I mentioned to a friend that I was having a TS party they all said "make sure you invite me" or "send me the link I need to order some stuff" That got me to thinking. Why shouldn't I profit from this?

I love being a SAHM. But I never have felt like I have contributed enough. I know I contribute by parenting the kids, taking care of bills, cleaning house, supporting Scott, etc but I always feel like I should be contributing monetarily. Infact while I was typing this TS called and gave me my consultant number so my site will be up and running shortly.

My dad was here last weekend and we had a wonderful visit. Like he says great to see them come - great to see them leave.

Oh the big news it that we are planning a trip back to Disney World for December/Jan of this coming year!!!

I promise to pay more attention to my blog and update soon.

Time Marches On......

South moves north, North moves south
A star is born, a star burns out.
the only thing that stays the same is everything
changes, everything changes.

It has been a couple weeks since I have had time to blog. I miss it but time marches on.

We have finally found a medicine that works for Drew and it works wonderfully. We are not having the emotional frustrated outbursts. He is able to do his school, work stay on task etc. I know every kid is different and we have tried several medications before putting him on Abilify. If things continue at this rate we will be working with the docs to get an ADHD drug in addition to the Abilify. We met with the Elk Grove School District and listened to what they offered to do for Drew. We are declining their offer. We have met with South Sutter and they didn't even blink in offering Andrew services to help him succeed. He is in a homeschool co op and doing well. I love the Co op. It gives me some time to be with other moms and Drew a chance to be with kids and socialize. He won the Pine Wood Dreby last weekend. HE won the Tiger Division, had the fastest car of the day as well as breaking a 2 year track record!!!!! Pretty amazing.

Scott has to have surgery to repair his shoulder in a couple weeks. While I am not relishing another recovery period I want him well and not in pain. The past 18 months have been really hard on him physically as well as emotionally hard on all of us. I am blessed to have wonderful friends to step in and help.

Phil made the Dean's list. That was a shock but a pleasant shock. He is liking his classes, working hard and has a wonderful girlfriend.

See things are changing but staying the same. Time just marches on....

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God;
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise;
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.

psalm 100

I have taken much grief over the years because I have always been a "jail house" singer. Can't find the key and behind a few bars. But I LOVE to sing. It brings me such joy. My mom had a beautiful voice and I always wanted to sing like her. But I couldn't when my kids were young I loved singing to them. It didn't matter what I sounded like. I was their mommy and it was special. Over time I was asked to stop singing by them and too them. It was the most horrid feeling in the world. It was not a gift that God chose to grant to me. He has given me a great many other gifts and for that I am grateful.

My husband takes every opportunity to tell me how horrible my singing is. I have cried myself to sleep wishing God had given me the voice of an angel. But it was not in His plan. He gave me the gift of theatre - and I love to act. I have participated many times in the skits the Quest team does at church. And the director loves my ability. God gave me the gift of humor. On many occasions friends have called and said I am sad can you cheer me up. I gladly do so. God has given me the gift of organization. And I at every opportunity step up and help organize events for church, school, community.

tonight was the annual meeting at church. People noticed I sang with enthusiasm. Shannon asked me again to join the choir. I told her Scott would not let me because I could not sing. He had explained my lack of talent to her before. Shannon and several members of the choir encouraged me to come and sing anyway. Against my better judgment I accepted. Julie told me if it was too bad they would adapt to my voice and no one would know the difference. What mattered was that I came and enjoyed doing something I have loved. I am scared, I am nervous, what if I am so bad they ask me to stop coming? Hopefully my husband will be supportive encourage me as I have encouraged him in all of his hopes dreams and goals.

What I lack in tune I certainly make up for in enthusiasm and isn't that what truly matters when praising God?

and it starts again!

I knew this day would come. I lived thru years of torment while Phil was in Scouts. It was a great experience for him and a wonderful way for Scott and Phil to bond when Scott came into our lives. I on the other hand could never set foot into a Scout meeting and live a very fulfilled life. Tonight, I entered round 2 of Scouts. I knew it would happen. and I would NEVER deny Andrew the opportunity that Scouting provides. I promise to smile thru all of the Pine Wood Derbys, I will duly hit all my friends up to buy popcorn from Andrew. In return I will have to buy what everyone else's munchkin sells with a happy heart and a lighter wallet. I Promise to look into finding the glue to put patches on the uniforms because I don't want tales of my past sewing misfortunes to haunt Andrew (or me ) for the rest of my natural life.

On the camping note however I will do so will with a smile on my face and my massuse's phone number on speed dial. I am currently checking into what latest camping gear offers. you have to understand in my first go around with scouts I had a 3 room tent, with an oversized queen blow up mattress that my sheets would fit. I had my pillows from home. The tent was big enough to hold 2 folding chairs with cup holders. I got rid of it years ago. My friend Joan and I would head for the nearest mall on the yearly canoe trips. I will go camping again but only with updated versions of my previous camping life. Scott and I had been married a month and almost divorced over an ill fated canoe trip. I swear the paddle could save itself as I was going under. it was every paddle for itself.

I will do it with a smile as I did the first time. I promise.

plagerism. Thanks Elaine

find something to believe in. Believe in a higher power, believe in karma, believe in your partner, believe in the regeneration of life, believe in mercy, or believe in anything else. But I do hope you find something to believe in. It'll provide you strength when you're not certain you have it. Second, a smile can go a long way.

This is from my friend Elaine's blog. this was advice she gave her son in her monthly letter to him. Elaine is an extremely eloquent writer and these are certainly words to live by. (for the record her older sister and my sister were best friends when they were young and I used to babysit them. ) Who knew that little moppet could teach me so much as an adult.

I love your blog Elaine and miss it when you don't post. You are a remarkable mom and human.

Oh here is the link to her blog.

Why?

Why is it the United States people are more concerned about who got screwed in the fight to host the Tonight Show than they are with their fellow humans who are fighting for their lives and existence in Haiti?

quiet

THe house is strangely quiet and feels very large and empty right now. It is amazing how the presence of one person home on break or their returning to college can change the feel of things so much.

off again

Well tomorrow we are headed back to Disney for another mini trip. Phil has never been to Disneyland so we thought we would head down for a couple days. Last trip for a while. Scott has a couple business trips coming up and Phil will be back in March with fraternity bros. Dad will be here in MArch as well. Nothing on the horizon for me until June when we head back to Kansas for our class reunion.

Another year coming to a close

I said i was going to attempt 170 post in the past year. I managed 86. not the number I had hoped for but it is an improvement from last year. Things were a little hectic this year with Scott's second surgery, then the car thing.

Looking back I am ready to not only close the door on this year but this decade. It plain and simply sucked donkey D****.. I am looking forward. Who knows what the future holds?

This coming year - I am making plans to go to Disney with my oldest friend from grade school. I have always wanted a girls weekend at Disney and I can't think of a better person to do it with. I have our class reunion this summer. Number 25. WOW!!!!! Phil turns 21 in May. that makes me feel just as old as going to my 25th reunion.

My goal for posts this year is 100. I think it might be more doable than 170. so I will set the goal low and feel great when I surpass it.

May your New Year be filled with all you wish for - health, happiness and love. What more is there?

new yarn

Christmas Morning in Pictures

Please see this blog

I rarely refer you to another blog but please read this and understand why we need healthcare reform

Connor and Helen Grow Up

Cathy

Polar Express

I feel like time is slipping away. It is the first time I have felt that with Phil. I am becoming aware that Christmas on Christmas may end in the next couple years and I am trying to savor every minute of this Christmas. Next year we have plans for a family vacation Christmas but I have a sneaking suspicion some one new may be joining us. (all I am going to say on that) I actually found myself crying yesterday to "slipping through my fingers" from Mama Mia.

So this Christmas I resolved to make it memorable. I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Polar Express thru one of the home school groups for the 4 of us.(there are 14000 tickets available every year and they sell out in less than 6 hours) We had lunch, toured the California State Railroad Museum, the took a train ride to the North Pole. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening.Let's get this party started

The engineer asking for directions.

My handsome boy

The chefs handing out cookies

Hot! Hot!Ooh, we got it!Hot! Hot!Hey, we got it!Hot! Hot!
Say, we got it!Hot chocolate!

Just love this picture

What can I see?

We still believe.

Listening for the magic

This is where the magic is.

Officially Happy

Phil arrived today. We all went to the airport to pick him up. As we were waiting for Phil to get his bag Drew looked at Scott and I and said "We are a family again."

What more is there to say?

just when I think he can't surprise me

Every once in a while Scott really surprises me. Today was one of those times.

I am not a big comedy fan. Can't stand most stand up comidians. There is one exception to the rule. BILL ENGVALL! That man can make me laugh so hard I fall out of bed.

He knew I would NEVER EVER spend the money to go see him so for Christmas he bought us floor seats for his show. Feb 27 can't get here fast enough.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND

Everybody's fine

If you happen to go to see the movie "Everybody's Fine", keep your eye out for a train scene. Scott's aunt Jayne Houdyshell has a small part. She is currently starring on Broadway with John Stamos in Bye Bye Birdie.

Christmas dinner

Shock of all shocks - I have most of Christmas dinner planned and I have 25 days to go. It will be a departure from our normal calorie laden heavy cream and butter meal. I hear my arteries unclogging as I type. I have invited our priest and his wife, Father Ray and Deb to Christmas dinner. Their kids and grandson were with them for Thanksgiving so they were going to be alone for Christmas. Can't have that so I invited them to ours.

Scott wanted something lighter than our normal fair. He wanted an Italian flair. Italian flair for Standing Rib Roast? OK let me think about it....

Gotta love Facebook. I saw my friend Judi was online. I knew her from High School and she currently lives in Italy. I asked her what there traditional Christmas dinner was. She told me on Christmas Eve they would be having Lumache. UMMMM Don't think so. Snails have never passed these lips and never will. Next suggestion.

We came up with:

Polenta with marinated mozzarella
Prosciutto with Brie and Cantelope
Butternut Squash soup with sour cream
Standing Rib Roast
Zuchinni (something) it is browned in olive oil and salt and then sour cream in added at the last minute for a nice sauce
fresh green beans

Something decadent and chocolate for dessert. Maybe mini chocolate lava cakes. or Creme brule?

Now Drew won't touch any of it so for him....Is McDonalds open on Christmas day?

shopping

I have come to the conclusion this year if I can't get it online with Free shipping it isn't going under my tree. Amazon will be my best friend by the time I am done.

Be Thankful

Be thankful for those who you share the day with. They love you.

Say a prayer for those who are alone. Say a prayer for those in harms way.

Be safe.

I know my family is thankful I am not in charge of the gravy this year.

I am thankful for my family, my friends. I am thankful for the blessing that have been granted to us.

Every day

Every day God shows me why He chose the path for me that He did and for that I am grateful.

halloween at the orginal mouse house

She really does make wishes come true

Waiting for a parade

Drew and Max on Air Guitar

fighting Darth Maul

Meeting Drew Hero

Drew and Jack before the Halloween party

OK Update time

OK I have been MIA for a while. Just haven't had the motivation to say much. Shocking for those that know and impressive for those that don't.

We spent several days at Disneyland. Great time but we agree that Disney World is much much better. Even Scott who really has had no opinion on my Disney obsession felt that in the future a weekend trip for a fix to DL was fine but he would prefer to take the time and money and spend a week (10 days in my opnion) in Florida. We are kind of looking at that option for next Christmas. HAve to see how money pans out. Pictures from Disneyland soon.

We still love the church we found in July. They are the best most genuine people I have come across in a long long time. We have truly found a home.

I have been dyeing yarn like a crazy woman. I have 2 craft fairs coming up in the next couple weeks. Don't have nearly enough yarn but I am supplementing with some other stuff. Hoping to make several hundred dollars to pay for Christmas.

Home schooling is gettng better. We are finally getting a routine and Drew is working really hard. He struggles with Math but we are finding ways around that. We do lots of unit projects. Right now we have one on Dinosaurs, one on forest animals. We do English every day. We are also working on a health unit.

I have Christmas projects in various stages of completeness. ML's is done except for snipping threads and having it blocked. Sues needs to be sewn together, Jane's needs to be finished and blocked and I need to be knitting like a fiend on Phil's. Drew also wants a scarf done. ACK! Once the yarn is dyed I will be knitting like a fiend. Knitter's elbow here I come again.

Phil will be here December 16 for about a month. Can't wait to see my kid. Haven't seen him since June. That is a long long time.

OK you are now up to date. I promise to be better about this. I have realized I will not make my goal for posts for the year. But there is always a new year tomorrow.

Trees

Last Monday and Tuesday we had a very bad storm. 60 MPH winds 3 inches of rain. It doesn't rain much here so while 3 inches may sound like nothing to you in Sacramento that 3 inches put us at 442% of normal precip for the year. So it was significant. We lost a tree so it also did lots of neighbors but here are some pics from the storm damage.

Neighbors yard

Our lost tree - the roots

The tree from our yard

Our tree laying in the neighbors drive way.

balancing check book

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate keeping a check book balanced? to me it is the most annoying thing in the world and I can NEVER get it correct. I find when I try to keep it balanced I obsess over ever detail.

I know what the register says I should have and i know what the bank says i should have but the two are never in agreement. Then I spend HOURS trying to figure out what is wrong. To me that is a waste of time. I wish the bank would buy the excuse - I still have checks left so I should have money left but since NO ONE uses checks anymore that excuse/joke has gone by the way side.

As you know I never make New Years Resolutions because every day is the start of a new year. My daily resolve right now is to keep this stupid check book semi current.

But you know thinking about who really uses checks any way? I maybe write 3 checks a month so maybe I just won't worry about it and assume as long as my Visa Debit card goes thru all is good

A dream for a little guy.

If Drew looks happy it is because all he talked about was getting to meet Levi Leipheimer at the Gran Fondo. And Levi made my little guys day. Unfortunately Scott was not able to ride due to broken collar bone from being hit by a car last week. But he wore his number anyway.

I don't get it

I just don't get it. Joe Wilson, Serena Williams, Kayne West. What ever happened to common courtesy and civility? The past week has brought up a side of people that wouldn't have been tolerated 10 years ago.

There is a time and place and correct way for disagreeing or stating your opinion or protesting something that you feel is incorrect or an injustice or plain wrong. Calling the President a liar in the Congressional Chambers during a joint session of congress, threatening a line judge for what one feels is an incorrect call or stealing the spotlight from a young talent because you are an egotistical asshole are not the aforementioned correct time or places.

Joe Wilson says he won't apologize again for his actions - hey Joe, you have to apologize in the first place to say you won't apologize again. Saying the Republican leaders say I have to apologize so I guess I will say I am sorry does not an apology make.

Serena, you have yet to issue an apology. Threatening to ram a F####ng ball down someones throat isn't exactly a class act.

And Kayne - what you put on your blog - try again - and then leave it up. Take your medicne and negative comments like a man. Not some punk who is now running from the media. you wanted attenion well you got it. Now deal with it.

These are just three incidents in recent weeks that made me wonder when did it become OK to act like this and why do the rest of us allow it. All of these "celebrities" need to be held accountable for their actions.

Kids see Joe Wilson and think it is OK to disrespect those in authority. Young athletes see what Serena did and think it is OK to call out and threaten a referee because they don't like a call
against them.

Then there is Kayne. What he did was so wrong. He has been called a racist and that he hates white people. I don't think that is it. I could be wrong. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, for now. But to steal a young lady's thunder on what should have been one of the happiest moments in her young life is a totally classless act.

Society needs to tell these people that their actions are out of line and will not be tolerated. That as humans we each expect to be treated a certain way. Only when we stop allowing others to be treat people this way will there be true change in human kind.

no respect

I am a democrat. I will admit it. I am proud of it. I know there are many republicans out there and they are proud of it as well. Same for the libertarians, etc.

I have watched the health care debate over the past few weeks. Something has really bugged me.

I did not like the last president. But I never disrespected him or the office he achieved.

Why do so many people think it is OK to disrespect the current president just because they don't like him? OK, don't like the man that is fine. Disagree with his policies, fine by me. I have heard the president called a socialist, a racist, and worse just because a person doesn't like him or his policies. I know it happened with past presidents but never to the extent is has happened lately.

For me the final straw came tonight during the presidents speech to congress on health care. I wanna know something.

WHO THE HELL HAD THE AUDACITY TO CALL THE PRESIDENT A LIAR IN THE CONGRESSIONAL CHAMBER?

WHO EVER YOU ARE I HOPE YOUR MOTHER IS ASHAMED OF HOW SHE BROUGHT YOU UP. Disagree all you want but show the man and the office the respect they are due. Maybe someday you will be in position to be the person with the most power but I doubt it. Because I know no one who can respect someone who has no respect for themselves and that is what the person who called the president a liar is - someone who truly has no respect for themselves.

looking forward to tomorrow

My family tree is a little off kilter. My grandfather was 16 years younger than his sisters. So the branches are kind of lopsided. My generation of cousins (second cousins) are actually around my dads age or a little younger. Their kids (my third cousins?) are my age - very strange. But I digress...

Tomorrow we are going to Tracy to see my cousin Jane - actually my dad's cousin. I haven't seen her in over 23 years. She lives in Tracy - about an hour south of here - with her husband Pete and their kids who are all in their 20's and 30's. I have never met them. They have kids Drew's age. So we are going to spend the afternoon, BBQ and swim.

My extended family used to be close. We all lived in the same general area and would always get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Parties were notorious. While no one was alcoholic everyone loved to get together over food and booze at the old Cork club in Topeka - which was over the Gage Bowl Bowling alley. I remember sitting next to my grandmother stealing sips of her Mai Tai, or strawberry daquiri while the grown ups talked and laughed and argued (we should have been italian)

I am sorry my boys never will have that experience. It taught me much about family and love. I will post pictures later.

had actual text books

Today we finally had Drew's textbooks. What a difference that made. Less meds made it more difficult but I will take more difficult over what I have been dealing with any day. We did English (listening, speaking, writing skills review) Math (basic review of time, money, add, shapes, estimation) We have been doing a unit on maps. I had found a book at a school store that was by Weekly Reader. It is a great book for beginning map skills. Today was in intro to NSEW.

I couldn't imagine being a teacher in a regular classroom that had several kids with ADHD. Keeping Drew on task was a monumental effort. We did make it thru the day with out tears or fights. Candy Corn works wonders for bribes.

Looking at his Math book I can see he has done much of it in Kindergarten so maybe parts of this wll be easy and he will feel some success. He can do time and shapes already. He has a real problem with money.

Tomorrow we tackle what a sentence is. And what a Family is as well as the beginning math (need to go look at that one still) Friday we will tackle some science as well.

play day

This morning Drew and I went to park day with a bunch of home schoolers. Drew was in heaven because out of the 25-30 kids there 6 of them were 7 year old boys!!!!! What a gift for him. For 2 hours he played romped, got dirty, never once fought or cried just played and played and played. He had a great time. It is a Monday morning thing from now on.

For me it was great because I got to meet other HS moms from all walks of life - some very artsy and folksy, and some just like me. I got the inside scoop on activites for us, upcoming South Sutter sponsered things, things that I missed the dead line for like Montrey Aquarium HS days. I learned about ART BEAST.

It kind of reminds me of the ARt Center back in Lawrence. Miriam would be very much at home there. Maybe she needs to ask Linda about travel money to check it out. HINT HINT!!!!!

I think we are going to Reno Balloon Festival in a couple weeks.

We will be headed to Levi'sGRANFONDO This one is for Scott. He will ride in his first "non race" event in years. It will be exactly 51 weeks to the day of his colon perforating and getting sepsis. What a way to celebrate life again.

I have contacted the ES to get us signed up for a day at Sutter Fort. Not sure how I will do but we will spend the day living like they did when this area was founded making butter, blacksmithing etc. It is a family activity so we ALL will be dressing in period costumes and having roles for the day. Haven't mentioned it to SCott yet because we don't have a day set.

We will be going to the railroad museum and going on the Polar Express

I am beginning to understand the whole unschool thing and learning as a process but still part of me believes in tradtional subjects as a basis for life. I used to think unschooling was being lazy and just not wanting to teach your kids. I was wrong. It is about embracing life and learning as you go. I will still stick to a tradtional basis but will be throwing in lots of unschooling so we can experience life as we go.

phatfiber

I am trying really hard to be good. Scott says my craft looks like it is about to pop at the seams but..... There is one more(at least) craft I want to try my hand at. Needle felting.

Phat Fiber as an amazing give away that I am hoping to win. if I dont I am going to have to break down and get some roving to try my hand at this.

So if you are a crafty check out the give away - she ususally has one a day on some great yarn, roving etc. Do me a favor and DON'T enter this one I really want to win.

after much discussion

As you know we put Drew on Ritalin this past week for ADHD. The side effects have been horrenduous. I WANT MY LITTLE BOY BACK!!!!!

Last night was the worst. He was having massive anxeity attacks and there was no calming him down. My heart was breaking. His doctor was out of town and the on call doc was no help. I had been thinking for a couple weeks that Drew's personality had been changing and I was questioning the "wisdom" of all the doctors. After yesterday and Scott and I talking long into the night we have decided there has to be a better well to help Andrew. I am calling both his peditriican and his Neurologist tomorrow and telling them we are weaning him off all meds. In a couple months AFTER all meds are out of his system we will re assess what we feel is the right course of treatment - if any for Drew. We think the Ritalin was the culprit for the anxeity attacks but we think it was in conjunction with other meds.

We are taking control of this and not the docs. Some of the drugs have not been tested on kids - they are what is called off label. So we have no idea what they are doing to him. I am wondering if the twitching is a side effect of one or a combo of the drugs.

I know we may be in for a rough couple weeks but for Drew we have to do what we were meant to do as his parents. We have to do what we feel is best and right now it is to get him off all the poisons and let his body figure out what it needs.

the ADHD adventure

This week we started the ADHD adventure with Drew. Been there done that with Phil many years ago. I can honestly say in some ways Drew is worse than Phil. I think it is mainly due to personality in general. Phil is/was pretty laid back. Drew can be pretty intense and gets frustrated more easily than Phil ever did.

The MIND center wanted me to take Drew off his meds for a few days so Drew's reg doc could see the Tourette's in full glory. Boy, did I get a talking to by his Doc. I was informed if the MIND center wanted me to do such as that again I was to call Dr. Hacker and HE would make the decision as to what he wanted me to do. 3 days without Respirdol and Prozac makes for a very long YEAR.

Dr. Hacker has started Drew on Ritalin. We are on Day 2. I am to call Monday with a report. I am going to report we need a higher dose in the AM and a Dose Midday as well. Right now it seems to be holding for about 2 hours then I can almost tell the minute it wears off. Scott and I are also talking about adding a DIET MT. Dew to Drew's morning routine. NOW NOW before I get all the comments about this. Let me explain.

Caffine is a stimulant like Ritalin. It has been proven to help ADHD kids. In fact there are studies out there about how college kids who were never DX'd with ADHD until later in life learned on their own to "self medicate" with Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper. I know it works. Phil after medical problems brought on by ADHD drugs switched to Mt Dew and had very good success. My dad, who never was offically DX'd with ADHD (it wasn't around when he was a kid) took my advice and started drinking a Dr. Pepper before a bridge game and he and his wife can see a marked difference.

I will post updates as this journey progresses as well. Man lots of new journies this year. Thinking maybe I need a blog dedicated to Drew/Homeschool/ADHD.

AS always
Faith Trust and Pixie Dust.

Time to live

Most people who have read this blog understand why we chose to home school. As I have started to work with Drew I have come to see more and more the constraints of a traditional school. There is no place for REAL self expression. No place to be yourself. A kid is expected to conform and learn exactly what is taught to them and not question how or what. This has begun to bother me more and more. I remember my favorite teacher in elementary school created places in the class room where we could escape and read or just veg.

Drew is already asking more questions about the why of things. Sometimes they can be difficult to answer but we go into my "annex" - Scott's office - and search on line to find out why. Somethings are easier to find than others but we are making it.

While I believe in a traditional approach to teaching Drew at home, I am beginning to see where the unschooling approach has a place as well.

Auntie Mame had the best philosophy "LIVE!!!!!!LIFE IS A BANQUET AND MOST POOR SUCKERS ARE STARVING TO DEATH" While I am Drew's mom I can also be his Auntie Mame as well. I want to show him all that education can be. I will give him a notebook and tell him to write all the words he doesn't know and we will discuss them together. I want to show him the injustice in the world and help him find a way to fight it. Going on this HS journey with Drew I have realized there is so much potential to show him how to live. The world is for living. I haven't done enough living so today I start.

So dear reader how are you going to LIVE today? Or are you slowly going to starve to death?

Faith Trust and Pixie Dust
Cathy

got off track

So last week was an iffy week in the HS world. We started off on a great note. Then things went South. Way South. Drew's Tourette's was in full swing. Even with the meds. Waiting to hear from the docs. We did finish our unit on sharks. YEA!!!! We did spend Friday at Discovery Kingdom. That was a great day. Still had some major twitching and Drew is showing some new tics. He is becoming aware of them and is becoming frustrated he can't control what is going on.

I haven't worried too much about not being in school full swing since it technically doesn't start until Monday. Still doing daily reviews. Only thing I don't like about South Sutter is that they don't order books until school officially starts. So that means we don't get curriculum for a couple weeks and I am having to supplement until then. Lately been working on vowels. He can recite them and sorta gets the difference but we shall see what this week brings.

I am looking to start writing articles on homeschooling. I have found that while there is lots of info out there not much pertains to those starting out. All the articles assume the reader has knowledge of how it all works. Guess what most don't. Everything I have learned has been by trial and error or by lots of research or time on the phone. I want to start sharing what I have learned and help those just starting out not fall in to the same pitfalls I have or just share the home schooling adventure with others. The budget issues in CA are forcing more and more families to HS and I would like to be a source they can turn to for easy reading and to know there are people out there who understand their journey as well. Our journey has been difficult but I have tried to deal with it in a humerous way that I would like to share.

Phil starts school in a week. He is back in the fraternity house. Not sure if I mentioned the alum board bougt a new house. The old KAT house. I guess the guys love it. I like the fact he is not living in a fire trap anymore. He is not happy about having a roommate. First time in 20 years he has had to share a room with someone. This could get interesting. He is glad to be out of Mike's house. Away from Hunter. I am glad they had the summer to build some sort of a relationship. I think now that Phil is out of there it will continue to grow. But Phil did see why I left Mike all those years ago.

I realized over the past few months I havne't been ending my posts like days of old so....
Faith Trust and Pixie Dust to all my readers

Cathy

Six Flags

While I don't ever think Drew will be totally finished studying sharks I am. We still have shows to watch on the DVR so I am sure we will return time and time again. It is Shark Week at Six Flags so where to go to celebrate our unit on sharks? A day at Six Flags seems in order. It also helps that I won tickets to feed the seals. That helped to convince Scott we needed to take this day trip. We have season passes so technically we can go when we want but this is only the second visit of the season. Drew is excited to feed the seals. I will post pics after we get back.

On the other hand I forgot that we were to be at a family cookout with church tomorrow night - we may stop in when we get back to town.

I have almost finished my Clapotis. Look at the pictures lower in teh post to get the full effect. I am just sick tho. I had been saving this really incredible yarn to make the Clapotis with. it was 50.00 for the skein. I am almost finished maybe 40 decrease rows and I ran out of yarn. so I have to buy a whole new skein to finish it. Oh well have an idea for another project to use the remaining second skein. I will be teaching this class in September. Hopefully it will get a good response.

ME

Week 2 of Homeschool

Well we made it thru week one of our home school excurision with only a few butt heads and foot stomping - more so on my part than Drews.

We have entered week 2 and Drew is discovering the benefits of this more and more. Yesterday he had gotten up ungodly early and was exhausted when the timer went off to start school at 9. We attempted to work on some stuff and he finally looked at me and said " I just can't do it. I need more sleep." At first I thought it was a ploy to watch more TV so I told him he could go lay on the couch BUT he had to turn off the TV. To my surprise he did and was asleep within 5 minutes. He woke up about 90 minutes later and said OK ready for school. He did all is work no problems and was in a much better mood. HE actually told me it was an advantage to HS because he couldn't do that at WildHawk. Because you know you have to do what the teacher says and they don't have nap time at school. But sometimes mom, ya just gotta get some sleep.

Drew has a facsination with SHARKS anything shark. So Sunday Scott programed the DVR to record a bunch of shows from Shark Week on Discovery. Drew was very surprised when I told him his science yesterday was watching TV. We went up stairs and watched a shark show together. He didn't believe TV counted as school and wanted me to double check wiht his Educational Specialist because he thought he was breaking the rules.

Today we are going to the Post office to pick up a box of books I ordered from a dicount book place. THere are some more workbooks to get us thru until his textbooks get here as well as lots of hard cover reading books. To me it will be like Christmas opening this box.

I am learning lots about Drew as we go thru this journey together. He is a hands on learner. I tried for 10 minutes to get him to draw on the face of a clock different times to no avail but when i handed him a clock wiht moveable hands he got every time I gave him correct. He hates to write things down. Holding a pencil is hard for him so I am already learning to be inventive.

Today we are making slime, and watching a shark show, and who knows where the wind might take us....

first day of school

Yes it is only the end of July but Drew decided he was ready to start school. Nice thing about homeschool we could start today. Scott and I scrambled around and got the class room set up. I got some work sheets put together. ( I was chastised this morning because there was nothing in the plans about sharks or science)

Drew worked hard, did find out I was not going to cut him slack. We did have a couple meltdowns - drew not me. We managed to cover language arts, math, handwriting and social studies. That was in a 2 hour period with 20 mintues of playing out side, a snack, and 2 water breaks.

Our actually books for the year won't be here until around September 1. Our ES will put in the order as soon as Drew's account is funded somewhere around August 17. I do have some other books on order, workbooks, reading books etc to help fill the time.

I am going to the old school this afternoon to officially withdraw Drew from the school. I am also sending a letter to the district telling them why we are withdrawing him. The lack of help with getting a 504, lack of willingness to work with Drew's disabilities - which we are finding out are different than we originally thought. Both good and bad. Another reason we are pulling him is the lack of funding for schools. His class this year if he was in main stream school would be about 25. There is no way for a teacher to give the kids the attention they need to grow and succeed. We are working with a couple home school groups for social interaction as well as swimming and sports.

I know that HS will be a challenge but it is one that I am willing to invest in for Drew's future.

all thumbs give away

I love this idea. How do people come up with these ideas? Check out this give a way at All thumbs.

I have always wanted a personal shopper and this one seems to be with in my budget.

Drewism

Many days Drew says something and I think I need to blog about it and then later I can't remember what he said or how he said it that made it funny but here is what he said today.

We have always told Drew that stupid is a "bad word" and you shouldn't use it.

Tonight we were watching the local news and they were discussing the fact that the Govenor had furologhed all state employees 3 days a month BUT the departments were bringing in Contract workers to supplement on furlogh days.

Scott said: That is just stupid.

Drew said: You shouldn't said stupid, It is a bad word.

Scott: When we are talking about the government stupid is the only word that fits.

Drew: Say pathetic because that is the word that should be used when talking about the government. Because, dad the government is just pathetic.

Luke Yoder

This is a friend of a friend son. It shows how fast life can change on a dime. Please pray or send positive energy for recovery and healing.

http://lukeyoder.wordpress.com/

two post day

I have to tell you about this awesome give away I found this morning. I have mentioned PhatFiber before but this is one of my fave stores they promote.

Silversunalpacas on ETSY is one of my all time fave shops EVER!!!! The fibers there are a must have. I drool over every thing and wish I had the talent to do some of the stuff they do. MAybe some day - I am dyeing yarn this weekend - but I digress. This weekend only they have a special code that gives you 20% off your purchase (phat7) Not only that if you order a drop spindle kit it comes with 8 oz of fiber instead of 4. The 20% off doesn't apply but it is such an awesome deal who cares?

Check out this give away on Phat Fibers website. If you win I want one month of the fiber as a finders fee.

New Church

AFter being back at St. Margaret's in Lawrence while we were on vacation I knew we had to get back to an Episcopal Church in Sacramento. While the church we were attending was all right we (I) never felt a connection to the people. Plus the sermons were too far to the right for me.

There is a little Episcopal church abotu 2 miles from the house that I had been wanting to try for a while. Scott finally agreed and we attended 3 weeks ago for the first time. Last Sundya was a church wide breakfast(best zuchunni fritters ever) and I learned why the church was so small. Sad story of betrayal. Anyway the church is trying to restart.

Me being Me I immediately got involved. I worked the firework stand on the 4th, helped with VBS this past week and will be helping with the rummage sale in August. For VBS I helped with snack and was also the official photographer. I took almost 1000 pics in 5 days.

Yesterday I was paid a compliment. One woman who is very involved in the church looked at me and said "It feels like you have been here forever and fit in so well" It made me feel like we had found new home.

Scott is out on a bike ride this morning with church members. They are wanting him to start a men's bible study like the one at St. Margaret's. I think that would be a good thing for him to do. LEt him get involved and feel useful in the church as well.

win 250.00 visa card

My friends at All Thumbs are at it again. They have a 250.00 visa gift card from Capri sun they are giving a way. Check out their site for details