Into the great wide open

Getting a little creeped out....

2009-05-03T16:10:00.002-05:00

I am in the middle of a mystery. Someone sent me a piece of mail from a part of the US that I have never been to. What they sent wasn't creepy. However,I wasn't given a full name, they didn't give me a return address, and they had my full name and address on the envelope. Not sure what is going on....it is just a little unnerving. If any of you sent it to me, let me know. That way I can thank you and stop being a little creeped out.

One Ritalin for you, One Ritalin for me, One Ritalin for you...

2009-02-12T10:31:00.003-05:00

Today we have a meeting with C's school psychologist.Over the past month C has been having tests done to see if she has any type of learning disability. C is very bright but Math and attention have been a real struggle for her the past two years. She has stayed out going, but feels stupid. It has really been heart breaking and frustrating as a parent. She is this fairy like creature that flits here, there, everywhere, rarely remembering what you asked her to do,or finishing a project. She loves art, poetry, writing, and science. She is very gifted in all of those subjects. When she was about 6 or 7 years old she was very frustrated with us. She shut herself in her room for about an hour. When she re-emerged she said," I've been writing alot of poetry. I feel so free!" That is a classic snapshot of the child I have.
We have been very blessed that the psychologist picked to do the testing was none other than a very good friend of mine. She is one of just a handful of Nero-psychs in the state and she has been in this field for around 30years. C felt very at home with her. She felt so comfortable that she let down her guard and had no idea they were working on tests. She thought she was just spending the day with Miss B doing some cool mind games. Excellent!
We were also sure to prep C by telling her she was going to have lots of fun. And that Miss B was going to figure out how C's brain works best. Then she would give us ideas on how to help her study and organize. We were sure to emphasize that everyone is different, we all learn, study,and organize differently. She seemed to take it well and has been very positive throughout the whole thing.
So I am looking forward to this meeting today. B called me last night to give me a very summarized version of her report. The results show a math learning disability and ADD. I just laughed. This proves with out a shadow of a doubt that our baby was not switched at birth. (She is so smart. That the Other Half and I have joked ,to ourselves, that the hospital gave us the wrong child and we are NOT giving her back!)So we have G with his ADHD/Aspergers, C's ADD & Math disability, The Other Half's ADHD, and my ADD. Kinda makes you wonder what number 3 will have. It would probably feel left out if it were a "typical" child. :)

For My Coffee Loving Sisters and Brotheren

2009-02-05T14:20:00.003-05:00

Consumer Reports Picks the Best Cup o' Brew
Our top-rated Colombian coffee is also a CR Best Buy
By ConsumerReports.org

Folgers, Maxwell House, and Starbucks are America's best-selling ground coffees. But all three were iced by Eight O'Clock Colombian coffee in our taste tests. As for Starbucks, it didn't even place among the top regular coffees and trailed among decafs.

Our tests of 19 coffees also show that some of the best cost the least. At about $6 per pound, Eight O'Clock costs less than half the price of Gloria Jean's, Peet's, and other more expensive brands.

Like your joe without all the caffeine? Dunkin' Donuts and Millstone were the front runners among the decafs. But Folgers Gourmet Selection Lively Colombian came in close behind and costs up to $3 less per pound. But even the best decaffeinated coffees couldn't match the best regular brews in our taste tests.

What we tasted
Our coffee experts focused on 100 percent Colombian — a best-selling bean — for regular coffee. Most of our decaffeinated coffees are a blend of different beans.

What makes a great cup of Colombian? Lots of aroma and flavor, some floral notes and fruitiness, a touch of bitterness, and enough body to provide a feeling of fullness in the mouth. Woody, papery, or burnt tastes are off-notes.

Weeks of sipping and swirling confirmed that even 100 percent Colombian coffee and its Juan Valdez logo don't guarantee quality. Our trained testers unearthed other surprises:

Still so-so after all these years
Chock full o'Nuts and Maxwell House have pushed coffee that's "heavenly" and "good to the last drop" since 1932 and 1907, respectively. But off-notes, little complexity, and, for Chock full o' Nuts, variable quality put both behind Eight O'Clock.

When boutique isn't better
Midwest-based Caribou and Kickapoo beat an array of larger players among regular coffees. But Bucks County Coffee, from Langhorne, Penn., tasted only OK, and Peet's, from Berkeley, Calif., was burnt and bitter, despite costing $14 per pound. Peet's, Archer Farms, and Kickapoo also varied from batch to batch.

Caffeine differences
None of our decaffeinated coffees had more than 5 milligrams of caffeine per 6-ounce serving. But among regular coffees, Caribou and Bucks County had roughly four times the caffeine (195 milligrams) of some of the lowest-level brews. Medical experts say up to 600 milligrams per day is probably safe for most and can help keep you alert. But heart patients and women who are pregnant or nursing should stay below 200 milligrams, which might mean sidestepping those brands among the caffeinated coffees we tested.

How to choose
Several of our top coffees could save you $25 to $70 per year over pricier brands even if you drank just one 6-ounce cup per day. Here's what else to think about:

Consider how you take it
Coffees judged very good taste fine black. Milk and sugar can improve a mediocre coffee, but not even cream is likely to help the lowest-scoring decafs.

Choose a good coffeemaker
The best coffeemakers from our January report reached the 195º to 205º F required to get the best from the beans and avoid a weak or bitter brew. A top Michael Graves model costs just $40.

Consider grinding for fresher flavor
Even the best pre-ground coffee can't beat the best fresh-ground when it comes to taste. One top grinder from our January report, the Mr. Coffee IDS77, costs only $20.

Side Note: I have tried Peets coffee while in Sanfran and let me tell you it tastes burnt! My friends expressed the same sentiment. We were very disappointed.

And the Baby is......

2009-02-05T13:19:00.005-05:00

Wow,it has been awhile since I blogged! Things have been going quickly over here. The Other Half is away on business at least 2days a week now. I just get in go mode and get only the necessities done. I am trying to branch out from that, now that the kids and I have gotten our routine down.

The Other Half and I found out last week that we are having another boy! G was there with us and asked the Ultra Sound Tech where the girl was. Ha! I just started laughing and asked if she was sure. She pointed to his boy part and proved that she wasn't pulling my leg. The Other Half just laughed and said he couldn't believe it. We felt sure it was a girl. Plus we had already agreed on a name. Boy names on the other hand have proven very difficult for us to agree on. This could be one of those kids that has their name pulled out of a hat in the delivery room. I kid...I think....

C was none to happy about the news. I told her at school when I came to pick her up from tutoring. She, unfortunately, started to cry. Her friend Emily, who is in the same sibling boat, hugged her and told her they would start a Girls with Brothers club. By day 3 C had come around. She has grasped that she will never have to share a room and she will be 10years older than her brother, so she won't have to put up with alot of "stinky brother" activity. And in the mean time C has had her hand kicked by the baby, which melted her heart. She is always asking me if he is moving and if she can feel it. She really likes talking to my belly.

G has awesomely accepted the fact that he will be the big brother or a brother. He currently wants the baby to sleep in his room. He says he can't wait to snuggle the baby, teach it to give zurburts, and rock'n roll. I love his attitude thus far!
I do have to say being given another boy is intimidating. I'm not intimidated by all the boy stuff. Peeing outside, doing gross things for a laugh, the loudness, the physicalness, that is all fine. I've always had a large amount of guy friends so that doesn't and hasn't fazed me. However, having a son with highly functioning autism does give us an increased chance that this child could have autism. Our pediatrician said, regardless of sex, our chances increase 50% that this child could have autism. I don't worry about it often, but it does cross my mind. I pray for protection and guidance. For this next child we will be doing a delayed shot schedule. I'm a healthy eater, so I've continued to do that as well. I exercise too. Although I have to say, G tolerated his shots much better than C. I don't recall him having fever or getting sick after any of them. However later in pregnancy was hard health wise for he and I. I had to be on antibiotics for upper respiratory infection, then bronchitis, and several other things. He also had complications during and post delivery. So it is hard to say what triggered his autism. I figure all I can do is pray, and make logical discussions based on creditable sources for this little guy. Then one has to let the chips fall where they may.

Autism and Highly functioning Autism can be a real pain in the butt. It can take a toll on you and your family. It has at times done all of that to us. Having said that Autism can come with many gifting too. G has become very articulate with voicing his feelings. This comes from all the therapy and social stories he has had. He is a very loving guy. He reads and writes at a higher level than his Kindergarten grade. He loves music. He hears things in the music that I don't. He is teaching himself to play the drums well. He has been watching the praise and worship team ,at church, practice and preform for close to 3years. This past December, while they practiced for the Christmas program, some people heard someone playing bongos. They assumed because of how on time they were, that it was part of a track played with the musicians. The song stopped, but the bongos continued. The ladies looked around, and it was G playing. Everyone thought it was so cool they let him continue during practices. The musicians have also been sweet to let him sit and "play" drums. His play has turned very good.The musicians love telling me about what G did after practice, or showing me their phone videos of him singing and playing drums in time. G also likes writing his own songs. He spends hours in his room singing loudly,in key, and drumming his heart out. He has a gift, a love, a joy. Who knows if it would be as strong if he weren't who he is, if the Autism wasn't present. Who knows?
Because of these things we try not to be afraid.

Have You Signed up Yet?!

2008-12-30T16:01:00.002-05:00

You have to watch this! It is too good to pass up. I have to say I love comics, but I'm not ready to sport a costume and possibly fight a bad guy. I'm more of a 911 kinda girl myself.

And the Roof?

2008-12-30T11:05:00.003-05:00

I decided to take to my blog to get out some frustration. I am on day 3 of the flu. Much to my tired surprise, after getting fast food for the children last night, I looked up in our breakfast nook and found a leak. A Leak. When you feel like you've been hit by a train having more poo poured on your poo poo platter is beyond frustrating. I know it hasn't leaked in the breakfast area since before we moved in. I know this because I painted that ceiling my self and there wasn't any water damage on it. Fun fact about that part of the roof ,above the breakfast nook, it is the only part of the house that the bank had fixed after the hurricane. The front of the house leaks, the dinning room leaks, now the "fixed" portion leaks. We are frustrated. We would have insisted the bank fix the whole house, but only after we signed our contract and stood to loose ALOT of money, did we find out that our realtor had neglected some MAJOR details. The details she neglected were, in fancy legal terms, the bank would not fix things that were broken, including the roof, and they got to keep several thousands of dollars from us if we broke contract. So we were between a rock and a hard place. The Other Half and his parents were put at ease by our inspector who said the roof was crap, but could last another 2-5yrs and he thought they had fixed the leaks. He thought this because of how dry everything was in the attic. FYI we had enormous rains in May and June then nothing. He inspected in September. I pointed this out, but everyone else chose to go with his opinion. Now, he did agree that the "fixed" portion had been done poorly, but it didn't look like it would be problem. Well, here we are....

My in laws, during the inspection and after bringing to our attention our Realtors neglect, offered to loan us the money to fix the roof. (They thought due the craziness in the financial world they would be safer for us to get a loan through than a bank.) I'm not sure how much they thought it would be. I can say they are shocked at the initial estimates of $8,000. We will be getting some more estimates. However, we have a substantial roof and there will be MANY boards that will need replaced. Our neighbors, whose insurance is covering theirs because of the Storm, said that $8000 sounds about right. Ugh.

Please pray for us. I am contacting the selling agent to try to get the number of the roofers that she had "fix" the breakfast nook. I am praying she will be helpful and timely. The Other Half is away on business and didn't want to talk about it because he's stressed with what he is handling presently.

I wasn't sold on this house. But we has several people bidding against us for it. Our only prayer, in our two reasonable bids, was that if we were suppose to have please let us get it and if not show us where we need to be. So I know this must be the house we should be at. We have fun entertaining, our kids enjoy the space, heck, we enjoy the space! The fire place works great.... The house just leaks! I am worried about mold growth. I am nervous about paying back $8000+ . Especially when we are working to pay off most of our credit card dept by the end or middle of 2009.

I feel like I have peace about it, but that I'm fighting that peace? Do you know what I'm talking about? So I am praying for us to be guided through this. It's a little nerve wreaking with one income, a baby on the way, and an uncertain economy. I know the Other Half is very nervous. So please, pray for us that we will know what to do, who to work with, and when to do it.

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

2008-12-23T10:03:00.003-05:00

Yesterday it was a high of 7 degrees. I believe they said with wind chill it was past -10degrees. Crazy! For the past 2days our older windows have had ice patterns painted upon them. It was cool and disturbing at the same time. Today, at present, it says it is 18 degrees with a high of 35! This weather is crazy! I am thinking of buying some cheapy sleds as an add on gift under the tree. I got this crazy idea 2 days ago while out in the freezing weather. I really hope it snows on Christmas day. I just have this beautiful vision of the kids so happy they found the sleds under the tree because there is a foot of snow out side! They are so excited that they forgo breakfast just to get out in the white stuff! The reality is weather channel says rain tomorrow, Rain! Then cloudy and a high of 27 on Christmas, and rain on Friday. Yuck!
I see the weather channel possible reality, but I'm still hoping for a Christmas miracle!

The Guests are coming! The Guests are coming!

2008-12-22T16:32:00.004-05:00

Twas 3nights before Christmas and all threw the house people were scurrying to clean up the house! Why does the story not start that way? Probably because it isn't very catchy. Well we are scurrying about. We are spending tonight cleaning from top to bottom. The Other Half's folks and Bro come into town tomorrow. They will be staying with us until Friday! While we clean tonight the other half is going to try to hon his mad fire making skills. That way we can have a proper fire on Christmas eve and Christmas. Sounds cozy doesn't it?
I have to tell you we must be crazy. We really should be locked up. We have volunteered to host Christmas Eve at our house for my sister, her hub, my mom, and my fam. Then Christmas day is The Other Half's entire family.
In order for the kids to have fun on Christmas day, and stay out of the way, we are rushing to get the floor finished in the basement. It really is a must. They will have a play room therefore keeping them from running threw the kitchen in an attempt to go upstairs. Mayhem! So we are hoping we can get that project out of the way by Christmas eve afternoon.
I am really hoping that The Other Half's mom takes the lead in cooking on Christmas day. I have found I am a spastic perfectionist like my Grandmother. Which means I freak out in an effort to get EVERYTHING out on time, all the while alienating/scaring family members. It isn't pretty. We will see...
I have almost all my shopping done. Tomorrow the last of it should be finished. I just love shopping or making things for others for Christmas. It's one of my favorite things to do all year long!
Well I should get to work on the house...I wonder, if I procrastinate further do you think the house will clean itself? I better not wait and find out. I am off!

The Baby

2008-12-01T21:11:00.002-05:00

Side note, because I am procrastinating and all, I thought I wanted fish sticks today. Yes, I know, fish sticks. So I had fish sticks today. May I say, the baby hates them. Really hates them. The baby also hates pizza, chocolate, sugar, anything remotely spicy, no matter how remote, ham, so many things. It does like most cereal, yogurt,granola, flax seed, almonds, and lattes. A really healthy diet. I really hope I can add some variety some time soon. Like SOON! Ugh.....

Procrastinator!

2008-12-01T20:44:00.004-05:00

Procrastinator! Procrastinator! Yup, that's me. I should be doing some Christmas shopping online but instead I am blogging. My mind is going in every direction but the one or two it should be going in. I should be unpacking and/or cleaning the house, also. Yeah right! After two months straight of cleaning ,packing, painting, rehabbing, ect., I am burned out on house must do's. Although, seriously I should get on it.
Instead of Christmas shopping my mind keeps wandering. I have had so many stories inside of me that have wanted to come out for so long. So this month I am going to start organizing my thoughts. Then hopefully in the next year I will have made at least one of the idea's into a book, or something. It's been eating at me for several years. Now that I'm pregnant and will be nursing a baby for the next x-amount of months, what else do I have to do? Seriously. When the baby naps I can write. I'm not getting any younger. And if nothing comes of it except I purged the art that has been waiting to be birthed, then so be it. It needed to be done. Nothing lost.
I also think by letting the blogispher know what I'm up to will put a good burden ,or pressure, on myself to not procrastinate, too much. ;)

Give to Yourself and Help Someone in Need

2008-11-29T09:44:00.004-05:00

I have only tried the peppermint mocha and let me say it is delicious!! It tastes like a liquefied Andes mint. Yummy! I can only imagine that the other two are equally as scrumptious.
Now if none of these 3 make your mouth water, remember that on December 1st is world AIDS day. On that day Starbucks will donate 5cents from EVERY handcrafted beverage. So on the 1st treat yourself to a tall Chai, Caffe Latte, or a Vanilla Frap. You will feel a little less guilty and it will taste so much better because you are helping out the less fortunate.
Happy Start to the Holiday Season!!

Important Voter Info

2008-11-03T21:15:00.002-05:00

Vote 411 is a great site run by the League of Women Voters. It has state by state info on registering to vote, where your polling place is located, it shows you "your" ballot, and other great things. If you need any info on election day, this Vote411 has you covered. This site gives you absolutely no excuse to go to the poles uninformed. Remember, every vote really does count. So get out there and VOTE! :)

God Grant Me Patience

2008-11-02T20:48:00.007-05:00

Help! Someone Attacked Me With a Tac!

Yuck! I Smell Like Cat Pee! Help!

The Wallpaper that Knows no End!

One Room Down, how Many to go?!

Above are a few pictures of our new house. We have been working on it for a total of 4 days now. It feels like we are finally making progress. Since beginning this project we have found, not only did their cat and dog (I am assuming they had those animals from the different urine stenches that permeate the air) go potty every where, but one of their children crazy with tacs all over the house! All over! We spent 2days taking the boarder down in a child's room. It took us 2days, 3 people, chemicals, and a steamer to get that crap down. I promise they cemented it onto the wall! We spent today getting down some challenging wallpaper in the dinning room and kitchen. Washing walls, patching, and prepping for paint. Hopefully tomorrow we can start to paint several rooms and all ceilings. It is finally feels like we are making progress. Our bodies ache. Our goal is to start painting tomorrow, have laminate flooring in the first level by Tues, the latest wed, finish painting, and on Friday the carpet is being laid, then Saturday and Sunday the big move. Some time during the week we are fencing in the property and finishing off the Other Halfs office! Ugh!

Please pray for us. I am oh so tired. The unpregnant people in the family are too. All of our bodies are aching. But we can't wait to be in there and enjoy the new space.

Wordless Wednesday!!

2008-10-29T11:18:00.002-05:00

Optimus Prime!

Big News on the Road Less Taken!

2008-10-28T20:03:00.003-05:00

Big news on the Hippie Home front : 1) At 10 am tomorrow we sign papers on our new house!!!!!!! and 2) We are adding number 3 to our family!

After 3 years of trying to sell our house and buy another we are free! Free! Free! The house we have bought is in a great neighborhood, but a total rehab job. So, starting tomorrow, and for the next week and half, we will be rehabbing the new place and boxing up our old place. The blessing is we can still live in our old home while we get the new place habitable. I am hoping to post pictures of our before and afters. Give you updates on our progress, and such. I am excited and overwhelmed. Thank God we have so may handy friends that are going to help us with this project! It is quite the undertaking.

On top of the good news about our house, last Tuesday we were surprised with the news that we are expecting #3. We were really surprised! C will be 10 when the baby is born and G will be almost 7! Talk about spreading them out! LOL! Someone asked me, very seriously, if I still had

my old stroller, car seats, and such. I laughed and replied no. (For over 6months The other half and I had been talking vasectomy!) She replied, very seriously, that I probably should have kept them. LOL! I could only laugh. I gave those things away before G was 5yrs old,to people who needed them much more than I, at the time. I would have never thought I would space my kids out this far! We are both at peace and happy. The kids are over the moon! But I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. Not so much about the baby's health, as I worry about the economy, my Other Half's job, bigger house equals bigger payment + Baby..... But what is that saying, if he can bring you to he will bring you through it? I have been praying alot!

I hope all of you are doing well out there. Just remember the election is almost over! ;)

I am hoping to keep you posted about all progresses in the up coming weeks and I look forward to reading your blogs on my "breaks".

Wordless Wednesday!!

2008-10-15T12:05:00.004-05:00

This is G's 12 week old Labrador/Bluetick Coonhound puppy. This is the dress he picked out for her at Petsmart! G, Darbie (the pup), and I were at Petsmart yesterday. We came across a display of dog clothing. G brings us a grey dog shirt with skull and cross bones all over it. Very biker Dog. The shirt says," I get my good looks from my dad." I laughed and read it to him. I said is this the shirt you want to get? "Yes. I am her dad." Was his reply. I told him it looked to me that it might have been made more for a boy dog than a girl dog. I also pointed out that they only had smalls and mediums and she wears a large. But if he really wanted it for her, and couldn't find one he liked, we would buy it. He immediately finds this little dress. He smiles really big and says,"Here's a dress! She will look so pretty! She likes red and black, just like me!" I have know idea if those are Darbie's favorite colors, she and I haven't had that discussion yet. But I do know that we put that on her yesterday afternoon and she hasn't tried to chew on it or get it off yet! Trust me that fact that she hasn't chewed it is what has amazed me the most!

A boy and his dog......

Show me the Money!

2008-10-14T20:10:00.009-05:00

Don't Hate, Appreciate.

I am not rich. I'm not. I'm okay with it. Would I like to have all of my credit cards, house, cars, and such paid off? Sure. Would I like to live at a higher means? Sure, sign me up. Do I covet peoples lives who have more than me? Not really. I think it's great that we all aren't the same, monetarily or other wise. The "rich" pay higher taxes than I do. That sucks. Most of the very wealthy people I know give a large portion of money to various charities every year. I'm sure most of this is done in the good spirit of giving, but it doesn't hurt that they get a nice tax deducing for it! (Just for the record. I give to various charities as well. I give for two reasons: I love helping out and 2) I, just like you , can get a tax break for it.) The rich are constantly getting degraded by politicians. (FYI, Most politicians are rich. Most politicians are also in the back pocket of the evil rich people and their evil corporations!) I don't really want the responsibility and head ache that comes with being wealthier.

The point I'm trying to get to, and not sure if I'm doing a decent job, is What is with this whole, redistribution of wealth?! Who told Obama this is a good idea? Does his wealth get redistributed too? Why should we take the money from someone like, say, Bill Gates, who is very philanthropic, redistribute his money, that he made with his brilliant idea, and give to to someone like me, who didn't have the brilliant idea? That is completely unfair! It isn't unfair that Bill is loaded. He thought up Microsoft. He pursued an idea that he knew was amazing and ahead of its time. Why should he be penalized for that? He shouldn't loose because his idea was a winner!

I hope Americans haven't become so greedy that we've gone from the unbecoming keeping up with the Jones to wanting everything of the Jones! We Americans cannot go down that path.

They got hold of the whole wealth distribution idea in Russia over a century ago, and look how that turned out! The Khmer Rouge tried it in Cambodia. Greed has been what has always motivated Wealth distribution. It doesn't work ,because greed will always be a part of human nature. Succeeding and having more is also a part of human nature. In Russia and in Cambodia people were given food rations so everyone would be equal. People would complain about the ration because it was usually a very simple,basic, barely nutritious food. They were going hungry. Do you know what happened to anyone who complained, tried to get more food, or stole food from the fields? They were shot!

One thing we are taught from a young age is that life isn't fair. I just isn't. But if you want to be some body or do something, you need to work hard and make good choices. Wealth distribution has a Marxist history of helping no one. The people in power aren't going to have their wealth distributed. They will always have friends that they will protect from having theirs distributed, as well. It is a flawed idea. No one will benefit from it. It is greed motivated pure and simple. Maybe instead of wanting what the Jones have, we should tighten up our belts, save our money, pay off or debts, and then buy, with cash, the things that the Jones have that we like so much. Hard work never hurt anyone.

To Those in the Special Needs System

2008-10-14T14:31:00.004-05:00

As most of your know G has ADHD and Aspergers Autism. For us, that means that he has been in the public school systems special preschool for 3 of his 6years of life. He has been in group occupational and speech therapies for the same amount of time. This also means that I have met many parents who are emotionally drain and feel the "system" is a real pain in the neck and that it doesn't work. Now, I am not going to dispute any of that. Although we have been very blessed by not having many "bad" experiences.

Here are the things that I do know about the psychologist, OT (occupational Therapist), Speech Therapist, Special needs teachers, and Intake Care Specialist (kinda like a case worker) that we have met. They work tirelessly. Most are over burdened and underfunded. Most really want the best for the child they are helping. They didn't go into these fields because they don't like children! Their jobs are emotionally draining too. So please, If you are a parent of a child with special needs, and you have had one of the above that really worked hard for you and showed they cared, Tell them! Email them your child's progress. These guys have surprised me with all the children they remember and hope are doing well. So please, drop them a line. Update them on your child. Tell them what a great job they did. Just as we parents need encouragement, they do to. And with out these people going the extra mile,I know G's regular and scholastic life, just wouldn't be as full. So if you think about it, go the extra mile and write them a quick thank you. It will mean alot to them to know they've made an impact.

I Should Be Sleeping....

2008-10-11T22:34:00.005-05:00

Darbie Summer, Because Every Dog Needs A Full Name :)

I should be sleeping but I can't. Despite the killer cold I have there are 3things keeping sleep at bay. 1)The other half is at a gig 2)Our new puppy needs to be up longer so she will sleep longer and 3) We have sold our house and we sign on our new home on the last Monday of this month! Some would think I would be so happy about it that I should be able to sleep easy. But, No. This house is in a GREAT neighborhood. However this house is double the square footage I have currently and is a TOTAL rehab project. So what am I doing? I am so glad you asked! I am currently looking at decorating ideas and pricing miscellaneous things on line. I love the Internet. I can window shop at 11:40pm on a Saturday. Awesome!

I am feeling very blessed though. My father in law is under 60 and retired. He redoes homes and sells them occasionally for fun and out of boredom. So he has hopped on our project like white on rice! He is an excellent handyman and schedule maker. This has taken such a burden off of my OCD wannabe self, let me tell you! I don't have the time to be as anal retentive as would like to be, but my Pop in Law has the time! Next Thursday he rolls into town, with schedule, we will go over it, talk to some roofers, take measurements inside the house, price supplies, ect. Then after signing papers, on the last Monday of this month, We will all go over and clean what we can and start busting up the things that need busted! Oh, yeah and fence the yard. That is my personal first thing first. If that yard is not fenced in first, then the kids and dogs are going to drive us nuts while we try to get this place livable in under 2 weeks. Fun, fun!

We are also blessed that many friends keep bugging us as to how they can help. To those out there bugging me, I LOVE YOU! Thank you so much. You are Awesome. And to the rest of you that know me and are in the area, please stop by and explore our chaos!

So You Want Change, Do ya?

2008-10-10T14:35:00.005-05:00

The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal - that you can gather votes like box tops - is... the ultimate indignity to the democratic process. ~Adlai Stevenson, speech, Democratic National Convention, 18 August 1956

Can I just say I am so tired of hearing the phrase, "It's time for Change!". So many people have gotten caught up in this catchy slogan. Has anyone who is "for change" stopped to think about how ambiguous this phrase is? What is the right change for one is most likely not the right change for another.

I have to preface, I still haven't figure out who I will vote for. I am still sorting out all this political mumbo jumbo. The things I do know is that McCain doesn't seem to want the presidency bad enough to fight for it or to convince me why I should vote for him. Sarah Palin seems to be doing all the work! If I had jsut now tuned into the game I would think she was the one running for president!

Then we have Obama. I am slightly alarmed at the numbers of people who are showering him with names such as "Messiah"(Louis Farrakhan) and "Jesus", (Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen). It distresses me that his mentor ,Frank Marshall Davis, was a member of the CPUSA (Communist Party of America). I am bothered that today's CPUSA endorsed Obama. During his Senate run in 1996 the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) gave him their endorsement. In return ,Obama, as a state senator, showed up to eulogize Saul Mendelson, one of the “champions” of “Chicago’s democratic left” and a long-time socialist activist. According to the Chicago DSA newsletter. Then there was the New Black Panther Party posting a Pro Obama Ad MyBarackObama network. The Ad was taken down by Senator Obamas people. When it comes to radicals that Obama has hung out with, lets not forget his pastor.

I am not saying that Obama has coffee with Louis Farrakhan, that he is a card carrying Communist/Marxist/Socialist, or is a Black Panther. What I am saying is it concerns me that people who are prejudiced seem to really want him to win. And people who are Communist/Marxist/Socialist really want him to win. What is it about him that these people like?

My Grandma always said," Birds of a feather flock together." I have found that to be so true.

The Cross Roads of Life

2008-06-27T10:02:00.003-05:00

Among trying to sell our house and the kids being home for the summer, I am finding I am at an interesting place in my life. I am at that place of change. The kids are both in school this year. C full day, G half day. I think I would like to start back to school myself, finish out my French degree. I tried last year but they keep having trouble with my record. They have me down for a class I didn't take and a grade that I didn't get. They have fixed it 3times and 3times it has some how not been fixed. So I have to travel down there in the next month and try, once again, to rectify the situation. Uhhhhhh! Not looking forward to it. And to be honest I'm not as excited about going back to school as I use to be. Not sure why. I love learning. So I am trying to get that sorted out as well.

Then there is the matter of do we have another kid? Most of our friends are just now procreating. It is kinda cute to see their new little ones, but then my mind quickly goes to sleepless nights, endless poopy diapers, and crying. Then there is also that matter of freedom. Our current children are old enough to be with a sitter and we can go out to a movie or just a cup of coffee with some frequency. It's nice. Then there is that other half of me that is at peace with having 1 or 2 more. I think that is because I am at the age where I always thought I would start a family. So maybe it is more a state of mind in that respect. To be truthful, I was never really a kid person. Not that I dislike them. I just wasn't lining up to offer to babysit. So I am pondering that....

The kids and I are also "Church shopping". I don't dislike the church I go to, but I don't really have any friends that go to the same services I do. That might not seem like a big deal to some. I am not uber social. But having people there that you know kinda holds you accountable to go. The Other Half says going to church should be because I want to go for the pure joy of learning about God and should be motivated by that alone. That would be nice if that were true. Let’s be real, the kids get out the door so they can see friends and go to a cool class. The fact that they learn about God, while seeing friends and enjoying a cool class, are just icing on the cake for them. It also has to be said what motivates the Other Half to get out the door on Sundays is the fact that he plays in his church's worship team 2 or 3 Sundays out of the month. Other than that he doesn't go to his church. I am for whatever helps me get the kids out the door.

I have some friends that go to a church that seems cool enough. They have many arts programs for the kids and adults. The only thing that deters me from going is the fact that they don't have praise and worship and what if I don't like it there? Is that taken as an insult to my friends? There is another church near us that some other friends go to. It is where many people I use to know go to. It's fairly artsy. I have current friends there that would, unbeknownst to them, act as accountability for me. Plus my children LOVE their children. Do I go? I don't know. I should be praying about it. But I will admit it. I am only half heartedly praying about it, at this point. I would, ideally, like for The Other Half and I to go together. That would be accountability at it's simplest. But he wants a church that he can lead worship at, or at the very least, help with. And the 2 churches I have mentioned either don't have/or want worship, or they are so full of musicians that the church doesn't have a worship team deficit. So who knows.....

I think I am at that point in my life where everything I though would be isn't. Now I have to find out what are my new dreams and hopes? In some ways that’s ok. I have lived in the past too long. To be honest, my old hopes and dreams were very cold and sad. I always dreamed that I would be either an actress or doing something big in the fashion industry. Have a penthouse. Maybe be married or have a long term boyfriend, but probably neither. And start adopting children when I was 30. (I would still love to adopt.) I would travel around the world doing glamorous things and live a very cultured life. Some of that dream is good, quite a bit is very cold and lonely. I guess it is time for me to evolve further. It is time to grab new dreams and stretch myself more as a person. I just don't know what that means quit yet.

Oodles of Updates

2008-06-19T13:23:00.004-05:00

I was reading over my blog the other day, and realized that I don't follow up on things very often. So I thought I would take the time to update. Thank you all for the prayers for Talia. She is pictured above. She was born mid April and weight a little over 8lbs! She and my cousin are doing fine. My cousin is so in love!

G & C are doing well. They are on summer vaca and driving themselves and me nuts! But all is good. G is going to be in Kindergarten next year and C is also moving up a grade. G's diagnosis came back as Aspergers Autistic and ADHD. We weren't really surprised. We spent May taking different meetings at school and listening to different reports on his progress. Currently his pre-k team and I are fighting with the school so he will be where he NEEDS to be next year. I have had 3 people that work for his school tell me ,off the record, that I need to be very vocal and keep on the district all summer long. This is an interesting place for me to be in. I am not a very loud person. I am not , intentionally, a pain in the butt. But for G I will be. It seems that the district would like to put him in a class with lower functioning children for his school day. This goes against what his Team, 1 outside psychologist, 1district psychologist, and what we ,his parents, want. Unfortunately for the school district I know what my legal rights are. It would seem they want to to do that because it would be easier on them scheduling him and cheaper. The plan that everyone ,who knows G, would like would be Kindergarten with typicals and then taken out of class for his OT (occupational therapy) and Speech. He is such a mocking bird that if he isn't with typicals more often then not, he starts regressing rapidly. The longer he is around typicals the more "typical" he becomes. Everyone that has interacted with him believes that he has the potential to mainstream and live a very full life, if we can just get past this bureaucracy and get him to a class that challenges him. So, it looks like I will be spending the summer advocating. But G is so worth fighting for!

As for home updates. We listed the house on Monday. We had a guy come by today to video a virtual tour, to put on the Realtors website. Just a half hour ago the Realtor called and someone wants to see our house tomorrow morning at 10am!!!! Yippee! I really hope we sell this place fast. I would love to be moved before the kids start school. We would like to move in town where I can bike practically every where. It would be nice to have other children around for our kids too. Last time our house went in to contract it had been on the market less than 30days. So I am hopeful. Please pray. I am tired of trying to sell a house!

I wish I could say that we have big plans for the summer, but we don't. The kids are at a friends vacation bible school this week. They are lovin' that. We will probably drive out of state to visit the grandparents once of twice. Other than that trying to sell a house, taking G to therapy, and C to tutoring pretty much takes care of our week.

I hope all of you are having a good start to summer. Be careful as you are traveling. Most of all enjoy each other and have lots of fun!

The Goverment Wants Your Infants DNA

2008-06-04T19:32:00.003-05:00

I know it has been FOREVER since I have Blogged. Life has been crazy, but all for the good. However, I ran across something today that made me shudder! I just couldn't keep this kind of info to myself. It seems that Senators Hilary Clinton, Christopher Dodd- Dem, and Orrin Hatch- Rep, introduced a bill, that President Bush signed one month ago, that will start a US DNA data base. The bill says they can start taking DNA from infants at birth, immediately.

Some quick snippets are : One health care expert and prominent critic of DNA screening is Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care who has written a detailed analysis (PDF) of the new law in which she warns that it represents the first program of populationwide genetic testing.
Brase states that S.1858 and H.R. 3825, the House version of the bill, will:
Establish a national list of genetic conditions for which newborns and children are to be tested.
Establish protocols for the linking and sharing of genetic test results nationwide.
Build surveillance systems for tracking the health status and health outcomes of individuals diagnosed at birth with a genetic defect or trait.
Use the newborn screening program as an opportunity for government agencies to identify, list, and study "secondary conditions" of individuals and their families.
Subject citizens to genetic research without their knowledge or consent.

Senator Ron Paul has come out to say this is unethical and unconstitutional. The senate voted unanimously on it. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=main&bill=s110-1858#votes
The March of Dimes has come out in support of it. http://www.marchofdimes.com/aboutus/22684_28048.asp
These people support it but the real question is; How comfortable with it are you? And Why didn't they give us the option to opt in or opt out?

Now for some fun questions:
Why isn't the media going crazy over this?? This is fresh meat. Bush signed it!
Where is the ACLU when we really need them??

To get the full article just click on the title of my "article".

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-12T09:47:00.003-05:00

How C&G spent the blizzard of '08

Sorry so late, Updates!

2008-03-02T17:52:00.002-05:00

Let me start out by saying all of your prayers have been appreciated and have helped so much! My cousin was released from the hospital the day after my last blog! She is on the same heart meds as my 70 year old Grandmother, but she and Tallia are doing well!!!! The doctors decided to release her after her heart was able to behave for a 2days straight. The meds she currently is on shouldn't harm Tallia either. We are all so happy! Unfortunately, because of the heart condition, my cousin cannot go into labor. They have told her it will kill her. So at the end of March, I believe, they will do a C-section for Tallia. She will be a couple weeks early, but they have determined that she is very healthy and it shouldn't harm her at all. So ,for now, my cousin and her unborn daughter are enjoying lots of rest and relaxation. Thank God for modern medicine!!!

Now, the reason I haven't updated in a while was the morning after my cousin was released from the hospital The Other Half had ACL surgery. We were so naive to think he would be up and moving by the weekend, WRONG! He was having allot of fun trying to steady himself on crutches as he hobbled his was to the bathroom with me right at his heel ready to catch him at a moments notice. Well, I was going to try to catch him, anyway.... So for the last couple of weeks I have been nursemaid and mom. Exhausting! C has been great. She has been on her best behavior. G on the other hand.....After 4days he found out all daddy could do was yell at him from the couch when he was misbehaving. Man that kid is smart! He would continue being naughty until I came around a corner and then it was Stop! Drop! and Run! It was an adventure I will tell you that.

Even though he was laid up The Other Half managed to hobble to G's first big Psychologist meeting. It was our first meeting with the Doc so it was just grown ups. It was so nice to have him there. He remembered to mention things about G that I had grown accustomed to, but aren't "typical" behaviors. He also had things to say about how G is around him that is different from his time spent with me. So it was a good meeting. We both came out of the meeting feeling hopeful. I am feeling overwhelmingly hopeful that this woman will help point all of us in the right direction. Her testing will be done tomorrow afternoon and then March the 12th we will find out the results. We will know whether our son has high functioning Autism, like preliminary test have shown, or is just ADHD and slightly delayed. This will also help the school, and us, decide which schools in the district he should attend for Kindergarten and what programs are available to him. We are so scared to send him to Kindergarten next year, but these tests will help to ease some of that. It's yet another life line we have been given during his dimly lit journey. Thank God for it!

My highly injured Other Half also managed to shock me with a surprise birthday party last month! I was completely floored! I had no idea! It was so sweet. He managed to get about 8 of our friends to brave a snowstorm and eat Mexican with us for my bday. They all worked together to make it so special, it was so sweet. My friend Mimi came up with some party games, Other Half bought a round of Margaritas, and we all just chatted, sang If you Like Pina Coladas, then we made wishes. Mimi had collected milk weed pods over the summer and was trying to think of something to do with them. So she came up with this great idea that we would all take one, go out side of the restaurant, open them, blow the fluff out and wish as it flew into the snow flake filled air. The pictures she took turned out so cool! I will have to get them from her and post them. After that we finished the night with lots of hugs and car donuts in the snow covered parking lot!

To all of you out there, again, thank you soososososososos very much for your prayers on behalf of my cousin they are truly working.