So the kids were having "project day" and Zeke decided that they were going to do something related to Ancient Egypt, his favorite subject matter right now. They found their book on the people who built the pyramids and then they disappeared into the bathroom. Now I knew that this generally means some kind of makeup/dressup debacle, but it was so much better when they came out.
They both had green penciled around their eyes ("mom, kohl was black or green") Zeke had removed his shirt and they were both wearing towels safety pinned into kilt-style. then they proceeded to make big huge dangly earrings out of paper and taped them to their ears. :-) We ended up going to Belen's physical therapy looking like this. :-)
I love seeing history come alive for Zeke and Abish and I love watching him read until there's no more light to read with. The path we've chosen is definitely not the easiest, but I know it's right for us. I also know that any parent who wants to can do the same thing. No one knows how to make a child excited about something better than his/her parents.
Someone from our homeschool email group sent a link to a youtube video of a 20/20 clip about education in America's schools. I won't lkink to it here, because I wasn't impressed, but I'm sure you could do a search and find it if you really wanted to. It was supposed to be about how stupid America's students were and how awful our education system is. Chaos was rampant and drugs and violence were everywhere. Anyway, after I had been watching a while, it became clear it was just a thinly veiled pro-voucher piece that also had some very pointed remarks as to the harm that the National Teacher's Union is doing (which is rather surprising as the Union is a very strong lobby as I understand it and has a lot of pull with generally liberal media). I could be way off base here, but that was a blow I was not expecting to see. After it became clear that the piece had it's own way of solving the education problem, I had a hard time finishing it. Couldn't there be another way to fix the system than just using vouchers? They kept talking about the choices available to Eropean parents and all of the schools they could choose to put their children in. Forgive me, but I thought most Governments in Western Europe ran ALL of the schools, not just most of them. Giving parents a choice between s "state-run" public school and a "state-run" private school doesn't sound like a whole lot of choice to me.
Enough venting. somebody correct me if I'm wrong. I'd like to know your opinions.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
So finally, We got some extra memory and I can post photos! (I hope this works.)
These are the woolen things that I turned in for the fair. Nobody knew where to put them. They stuck the longies under "handmade boy's trousers" and the other in "baby other". I laughed. They are both handspun. The longies are some waste from spinderella plied with BFL (that's Blue-faced Leicester for the unitiated) and the other is some gray from a sheep on the Notlwonk Springs that I dyed with Kool-Aid.
I didn't want to post too many photos, so this will suffice for now. Look out for photos with Saori and my newest FO: a pair of lace knitted summer socks (I love them!).
Happy Labor Day!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
The doldrums...and birthdays!
Do you remember that movie? (I know, all of you purists will start ranting..."it's a book! It's a book") It was an old cartoon rendition of the Phantom Tollbooth. There was a song about the doldrums and how they just kind of slid around. That's what I feel like today: Kind of sulky that it's time to gear down for school, and really just wanting to *be*.
It's been to long since I lost wrote and I need to make a new goal not to write so much in each post. If I wrote more often I wouldn't have this problem. :-) Although, I have also given up with photos for now. Our computer is too full and won't load my photos right. In fact, I can't have more than two programs open at once, or it will give me a full disk error. It's such a pian, but one that hopefully will "shortly be remedied."
My baby is two today. We had a party for Buggy on Saturday where she choked on some watermelon. I mean really choked. It wasn't totally covering her airway all of the time, but she wasn't getting adequate air for several minutes. She turned blue once at the beginning, but she just couldn't cough hard enough to get it out. I started to get really nervous and HeaterBoy held her upside down and did everything you *can* do for someone who is choking and still getting some air through until I finally convinced him to let me call 911. Of coure, as soon as I had someone on the phone, she finally coughed it out-after a few well-placed fingersweeps by dad. After the excitment, she stayed really still in my arms for a while until she tried to get more watermelon.
I can't believe Buggy is doing so well. The day she was born was such a miraculous and spiritual day for me. It was such a peaceful Sunday morning. It went exactly as I had envisioned, with my small but very effective supporting team, and my amazing husband there to hold my hand as I experienced something so new and scary and wonderful and exciting and empowering and did I say scary? I had worked so hard that pregnancy to find trust in my body and my baby. I worked to reconnect with my spirit and make a safe place for my baby to be. I don't know if I'll ever forget how empowering and wonderful that day was. It has helped me to better mother. There is a quote that someone on one of my lists has in her siggy and it says "There is a secret in our society and it's not that childbirth is dangerous, it's that women are strong." I don't remember who said the quote, but I think about it every time I see it.
Buggy helped me to be a strong woman. She helped me to see that strength isn't originated in ourselves but in our God. We are strong. Mothers are given so many gifts just by virtue of motherhood and womanhood that it constantly amazes me. I am so grateful for Buggy and all that she has taught me. Also, the things that I have learned from God because I am blessed enough to take care of her.
I didn't want to write a ton about her "accident" as that anniversary isn't for five more weeks, but I do want to mention that after that happened, and she survived it, that we were left wondering how much longer she would be with us. Whether it would be months or years, nobody could tell us. The last two years have been such a lesson for all of us in patience, compassion, trust, faith and love that we could never have foreseen. Every day is a special gift and I don't know if I'll ever be non-neurotic enough to stop watching for her breathing, but I'm grateful for the time we have.
The five weeks I had with Buggy before her accident are so precious to me. She was so neurologically mature that she was truly smiling within one or two weeks. She spent so much time in awake, alert stage that I was amazed. She just wanted to take in the whole world. She loved getting to know her siblings. She allowed me to dress her up and tolerated it all. she had some colic at night, but we figure that they were headaches and not tummyaches. Even with the headaches, she was so easily consoled. I would just throw her in the sling and walk up and down 800 East. She nursed like a champ (my first easy nursing experience) and she even made tandem nursing not so ferocious.
I miss that girl. Although, she was so precocious, would she have been telling me about the spirit world before she forgot? :-) I grieve the future that every parent wants for their child. I also celebrate what she is able to do in *this* body at this time. I am realizing that dichotomy in emotions is possible. It's what makes us human. Buggy was supposed to come to us. She was supposed to be like she is. Who knows what that means for the future? I know my family can be eternal and I'm going to try as hard as I can to keep it that way. Earth life can be so temporary.
It's been to long since I lost wrote and I need to make a new goal not to write so much in each post. If I wrote more often I wouldn't have this problem. :-) Although, I have also given up with photos for now. Our computer is too full and won't load my photos right. In fact, I can't have more than two programs open at once, or it will give me a full disk error. It's such a pian, but one that hopefully will "shortly be remedied."
My baby is two today. We had a party for Buggy on Saturday where she choked on some watermelon. I mean really choked. It wasn't totally covering her airway all of the time, but she wasn't getting adequate air for several minutes. She turned blue once at the beginning, but she just couldn't cough hard enough to get it out. I started to get really nervous and HeaterBoy held her upside down and did everything you *can* do for someone who is choking and still getting some air through until I finally convinced him to let me call 911. Of coure, as soon as I had someone on the phone, she finally coughed it out-after a few well-placed fingersweeps by dad. After the excitment, she stayed really still in my arms for a while until she tried to get more watermelon.
I can't believe Buggy is doing so well. The day she was born was such a miraculous and spiritual day for me. It was such a peaceful Sunday morning. It went exactly as I had envisioned, with my small but very effective supporting team, and my amazing husband there to hold my hand as I experienced something so new and scary and wonderful and exciting and empowering and did I say scary? I had worked so hard that pregnancy to find trust in my body and my baby. I worked to reconnect with my spirit and make a safe place for my baby to be. I don't know if I'll ever forget how empowering and wonderful that day was. It has helped me to better mother. There is a quote that someone on one of my lists has in her siggy and it says "There is a secret in our society and it's not that childbirth is dangerous, it's that women are strong." I don't remember who said the quote, but I think about it every time I see it.
Buggy helped me to be a strong woman. She helped me to see that strength isn't originated in ourselves but in our God. We are strong. Mothers are given so many gifts just by virtue of motherhood and womanhood that it constantly amazes me. I am so grateful for Buggy and all that she has taught me. Also, the things that I have learned from God because I am blessed enough to take care of her.
I didn't want to write a ton about her "accident" as that anniversary isn't for five more weeks, but I do want to mention that after that happened, and she survived it, that we were left wondering how much longer she would be with us. Whether it would be months or years, nobody could tell us. The last two years have been such a lesson for all of us in patience, compassion, trust, faith and love that we could never have foreseen. Every day is a special gift and I don't know if I'll ever be non-neurotic enough to stop watching for her breathing, but I'm grateful for the time we have.
The five weeks I had with Buggy before her accident are so precious to me. She was so neurologically mature that she was truly smiling within one or two weeks. She spent so much time in awake, alert stage that I was amazed. She just wanted to take in the whole world. She loved getting to know her siblings. She allowed me to dress her up and tolerated it all. she had some colic at night, but we figure that they were headaches and not tummyaches. Even with the headaches, she was so easily consoled. I would just throw her in the sling and walk up and down 800 East. She nursed like a champ (my first easy nursing experience) and she even made tandem nursing not so ferocious.
I miss that girl. Although, she was so precocious, would she have been telling me about the spirit world before she forgot? :-) I grieve the future that every parent wants for their child. I also celebrate what she is able to do in *this* body at this time. I am realizing that dichotomy in emotions is possible. It's what makes us human. Buggy was supposed to come to us. She was supposed to be like she is. Who knows what that means for the future? I know my family can be eternal and I'm going to try as hard as I can to keep it that way. Earth life can be so temporary.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Aack! I'm, trying to upload my photos and it's just not working. I turnd in my knitting and got...
BLUE RIBBONS!
Nevermind that most of the contestants in Cache Valley get blue ribbons. It still felt good and I think I made about $6. I'm not sure, I haven't picked up my prize money yet. That's better than a kick in the pants. Especially considerng I spent about $40 at the fair that weekend. ;-) Wouldn't it be nice to make back what I spend? Maybe I'll knit and spin like crazy this year and attempt the feat.
We also sent Saori off this morning. This is part of my lack of posting this last two weeks. We have been going liek mad dogs, trying to get everything in. We still didn't make it to some places like the Great Salt Lake (I know, it's gross, but you have to go at least once while you're in Utah), Golden Spike, Hot Springs, Aquatic Center. But we made it to most of Belen's appointments and got some of her shoppig done, so it's good. Rapunzel was so very sad to see Saori leave, she refused to giver her a hug goodbye for quite some time. Buggy slept through most of the final picture taking. We (the grown-ups) were up until after 2:00 last night just talking, so I set two alarms to wake up and I *still* missed both of them. We were going to get her some salsa that she liekd at Lee's early, but it just didn't happen.
We were so glad that Saori came to stay with us and we hope that we can see her again someday. Maybe I'll send my sister to find her while she's gallivanting around with my parents next month. :-) She has becmome a new part of our family and we are all so grateful to have had the opportunity to have met her.
Once I can figure out my computer glitches (grrr), I'll post some pics of all of us at Aggie Ice Cream. And my blue ribbon stuff :-)
BLUE RIBBONS!
Nevermind that most of the contestants in Cache Valley get blue ribbons. It still felt good and I think I made about $6. I'm not sure, I haven't picked up my prize money yet. That's better than a kick in the pants. Especially considerng I spent about $40 at the fair that weekend. ;-) Wouldn't it be nice to make back what I spend? Maybe I'll knit and spin like crazy this year and attempt the feat.
We also sent Saori off this morning. This is part of my lack of posting this last two weeks. We have been going liek mad dogs, trying to get everything in. We still didn't make it to some places like the Great Salt Lake (I know, it's gross, but you have to go at least once while you're in Utah), Golden Spike, Hot Springs, Aquatic Center. But we made it to most of Belen's appointments and got some of her shoppig done, so it's good. Rapunzel was so very sad to see Saori leave, she refused to giver her a hug goodbye for quite some time. Buggy slept through most of the final picture taking. We (the grown-ups) were up until after 2:00 last night just talking, so I set two alarms to wake up and I *still* missed both of them. We were going to get her some salsa that she liekd at Lee's early, but it just didn't happen.
We were so glad that Saori came to stay with us and we hope that we can see her again someday. Maybe I'll send my sister to find her while she's gallivanting around with my parents next month. :-) She has becmome a new part of our family and we are all so grateful to have had the opportunity to have met her.
Once I can figure out my computer glitches (grrr), I'll post some pics of all of us at Aggie Ice Cream. And my blue ribbon stuff :-)
Friday, August 3, 2007
The beginning of the End
of Summer, that is. I can see things start to wind down. My nephew already started kindergarten last week. We went school shopping already for cool things like pencils and sharpeners and of course, the new color pack of Sharpies.
We are really excited to be hosting an exchange chaperone from Japan on Sunday. We will have her with us for two weeks. We don't have kids old enough to host a teenage in the program, so it will be one of the chaperones, which is great because she has kids the same age as ours. She'll be without them, but it should be lots of fun. The kids and I have been thinking of fun (preferably free) places to take her. Any suggestions? She may have been to SLC already, so I'm thinking more local. We're already reading a bunch about Japan to get ready and Frodo is having fun reading about the Samurais.
Finished Harry Potter. Kind of sad, it's an era for me. HeaterBoy had tons to say concerning her editing, or lack thereof, but she's a good storyteller.
We went to SLC twice this week for appointments with Buggy. A barium upper GI study showed that her stomach is fully 1/3 above her diaphragm. That could cause problems, but it's not right now. Her Nissen is still holding and that is good news. It's held for 22 months now and so it will probably be okay. Shes' eating tons by mouth this week, so I'm hopeful that it will continue. It's so much better to digest your food with the enzymes that are included in your saliva. It's made a difference in her rashes.
Our tomatoes are getting ready to redden up and I picked our first zucchini this week! It was so exciting. HeaterBoy was commissioned to make some ice cream for a party, and he might actually make money doing it. The Gardner's Market has been fun for us.
I have been working on a pair of socks, but I refuse to take a pictuere until they are complete. I will be taking some pics of some other things. A friend and I are going to enter some stuff in the couty Fair. I've never done it before, but I think it will be fun. I'm going to put in Buggy's Flirty Skirty and one of her longies. I spun the yarn for both. when I get them ready I will post here too.
We are really excited to be hosting an exchange chaperone from Japan on Sunday. We will have her with us for two weeks. We don't have kids old enough to host a teenage in the program, so it will be one of the chaperones, which is great because she has kids the same age as ours. She'll be without them, but it should be lots of fun. The kids and I have been thinking of fun (preferably free) places to take her. Any suggestions? She may have been to SLC already, so I'm thinking more local. We're already reading a bunch about Japan to get ready and Frodo is having fun reading about the Samurais.
Finished Harry Potter. Kind of sad, it's an era for me. HeaterBoy had tons to say concerning her editing, or lack thereof, but she's a good storyteller.
We went to SLC twice this week for appointments with Buggy. A barium upper GI study showed that her stomach is fully 1/3 above her diaphragm. That could cause problems, but it's not right now. Her Nissen is still holding and that is good news. It's held for 22 months now and so it will probably be okay. Shes' eating tons by mouth this week, so I'm hopeful that it will continue. It's so much better to digest your food with the enzymes that are included in your saliva. It's made a difference in her rashes.
Our tomatoes are getting ready to redden up and I picked our first zucchini this week! It was so exciting. HeaterBoy was commissioned to make some ice cream for a party, and he might actually make money doing it. The Gardner's Market has been fun for us.
I have been working on a pair of socks, but I refuse to take a pictuere until they are complete. I will be taking some pics of some other things. A friend and I are going to enter some stuff in the couty Fair. I've never done it before, but I think it will be fun. I'm going to put in Buggy's Flirty Skirty and one of her longies. I spun the yarn for both. when I get them ready I will post here too.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Oh, For goodness sake...
I was just making a comment on a friends blog (Good Luck JP!) and I realized it's been a while since I updated. Here I am trying to upload some pics. I've been trying to post a bio pic and it just keeps freezing up. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I'll try uploading photos to my post this time.
I just have to say, that I'm sorry that karatemommy had a rough time, but I'm glad she's back. It means I have friends at home. And Doreen is coming home early next week! I'm so excited. It's been so lonely to be out of the Villa and my best friends gone. My kids aren't even tan!
As a tangent to explain...All summer long, in the Villa, my kids were outside playing with their friends. They got *really* tan in the summer and I did too. Last weekend we went to Bear Lake and they weren't even as dark as my sister's kids! I was shocked. Mine are usually darker, but my sis just moved into a neighborhood where the kids run from yard to yard on their cul-de-sac and mine now live on a street with college students living on all sides of us. It's too hot to be outside unless there is real motivation and playing with siblings just isn't it.
So..to something totally different, a couple of weeks ago, B was being tested by her Speech Pthologists for her regualr eval and they asked her to identify one of four pictures on a page. They were objects that she knows the signs for and has repeated them back to me numerous times. She wouldn't do it. We waited for a long time and she just wouldn't do it. I chalked it up to age-appropriate beligerence and didn't worry. But her vision therapist has asked me to start working with her on some abstract shapes so that she can identify them and then we can test her acuity. Once again, she has never done it for me. Meanwhile, back at the ranch of the CommD feeding clinic, another speech path gave her a "voice box" which talks for her after she pushes a button. It has pictures of objects she likes and she pushes them when she wants what it shows on the pictures (for example, a button has a pic of some crackers and it says, "I want a snack." She has a couple of "favorites" (see previous example) and she won't touch the other buttons.
When the vision therapist came back to test my progress at getting B to obey, I started putting everything together and asked her if that could all be connectd. She was very convinced that it was and that B proobably has a vision processing problem and possibly (I think probably) a language processing problem as well. We won't know the extent of it or what exactly it affects for years. I asked pne of her speech teachers today if we were dealing with it appropriately, and she said that the only way processing problems are treated is by repetition, but it almost certainly would improve with what we are doing. Oh fun, I can't wait to see how this manifests as she gets older. How do we tell people who spend large amounts of time with her (primary teachers, for example) in a way that they can understand? I don't even think I can understand it to my own satisfaction. I guess we just keep doing what we are doing.
So this first pic if my beautiful B in june. The second one is the birthday one that I promised to post. It's me in my "birthyda outfit" from omi and the cute purse/knitting bag that she got for me. (of course, my appendage, aka Rapunzel, is with me).
Enjoy!
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