Hug Update....

Maybe the week of Halloween wasn't the best week to have "operation Hug therapy", since I have recieved 0 hugs from anyone but those who live in my house. Funny thing is the person who gave me the idea by saying that I was the "anti-hug" girl I actually saw this week, when I went to Columbus to see Switchfoot. She gave me NO hug....what's up with that?? I mean I didn't solicite a hug, which is just generally not going to happen. I'm not there yet, I am working on the actual hugging itself not the how to get a hug. I mean are their rules other than the ones I imposed. I mean are there "the general public just knows this" type of rules that I just don't know about since I'm not a hugger? Is there a certain stance, if so can I get a picture? Do I have to give the "I need a hug look"? Cause I don't generally need a hug persay, I just don't really want to be that person who gives off the ultra violet don't hug me vibe. Maybe it's just a non-hugger can't be turned into a hugger....could that be it? Kind of trying to put a square peg into a round hole? Time will tell.

*ETA: Hug update, 2 hugs from non-family members, 1 was a blog reader, the other I doubt reads my blog. The weekends not over...tomorrows church and there will be the true test!

Cosmos in Chaos

Bulletin board in Computer room, originally uploaded by Yoda0419.

I've taken Stacie's Challenge serious and done expose many parts of my home to the general public so show you what Cosmos in Chaos is all about. If you click on the photo, it'll take you to a whole set. Check out the challenge here. Anyone can play and this is a super easy challenge. Be sure to click on all the notes I put on my picture they promise to be amusing.

DANA CARVEY

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, originally uploaded by Luke S..

No lie he looks dead on Dana Carvey doesn't he? Wonder if he gets that alot?

Switchfoot - Stars

Switchfoot - Stars, originally uploaded by Luke S..

I meant to do it more like this. Ok so I'm a little obsessed. So sorry Connie, if you'd just read my blog you'd be aware of the concert, and you could have been like HEY I WANNA GO...and we could have rolled out together. Figured not a whole lot of 30 something women like myself is crazy enough to travel 1.5 hours away for a concert on a weeknight. Heck you only live once. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Switchfoot

Switchfoot
Originally uploaded by Luke S..

Oh my goodness what a teeny tiny nightmare. I hate it when systems switch things up and it takes you forever to figure out the new way of doing things, Blogger, google, Flickr are working together in harmony. And look finally am able to post this off the hook photo, from Flicker by Luke S. Dang I love technology....and Switchfoot.

Meant to Live for So much More

I think I love him. Now I know I love him. Ron doesn't mind, it's rockstar kind of love. Partied like a rockstar last night. Must crash pronto so no one gets hurt. I'm way to old for partying such as that. Switchfoot was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.....and I've seen my fair share, Billy Joel and Garth Brooks to name a few. Switchfoot by far the absolute best more tomorrow......ZZZZZZ.....

TOMORROW...24 HOURS...

May I suggest when carving a pumpkin you make the opening at the bottom. I can't claim the idea as my own I learned it from Martha Stewart. I don't care what you think about her she's freakin brilliant. I've been doing it that way for years.

Fun fall weekend. Was suppose to go camping but bailed since it rained all day on Friday and was cold and windy saturday, but today was beautiful, and more of the same for tomorrow....when I go to columbus to see.......


SWITCHFOOT!!!!
I can't wait I've not been this excited about a concert in ages. I hope Abby's as excited as I am. I just hope I don't cry, which I sometimes do when I get overly excited. So pray I hold it together and don't lose my dignity. Oh and that I get to meet the band!

15 Years and counting.....

Good thing I married a man who gets better looking with age. 15 years and he's way better looking than when we first met. Heck we both are better looking. I'm just fatter, and he loves me anyways. He's balder, but he'd look funny with hair. He's got a nice head to be bald.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY....um 2 days ago....my bad!


*hug report. No hugs recieved, other than my husband and my kid.

Hug Therapy

Ok so Abby (one of my best friends) says I give off this ultra violet "don't hug me vibe", that scares people. Fact is I'm not much of a hugger. According to Abby I need to be....a hugger. Quite the scary concept to me. So heres the thing, if you are reading this you have permission to give me a hug, when you see me.
Couple of rules:
1. If you are a co-worker, you may not hug me, cause that's just plain wierd.
2. If you are married to me, it's a hug and that's it....nothing more.
3. If you are my kid you can hug me anytime, no questions asked.

Free Hug Video

Ok so operation HUG THERAPY is in full effect.

*This can be canceled with no notice.

Mean Reds....

I had a major case of the mean reds today. It was brewing all weekend, but came on really bad today at work, ecspecially towards the end of the day when I'm all alone. Thankfully Abby was e-mailing me keeping me in check so I didn't fall apart and lose my mind, which I suppose would have been ok since after 5pm no ones around to see. I did hold it together and as soon as I got outside, and got some fresh air, they were gone. Not sure what all that means, but hopefully I don't need medicated.

Sometimes I get this overwhelming sense that God is preparing me for something really big. Like right now thinking about how big it could possilbly be is almost too overwhelming so I choose not to think about it. Theres so much knowledge tucked away inside this small (very small) brain of mine it's amazing I can even sleep at night. And it's not just all God stuff, it's Learning disability stuff, therapy for that stuff, memories of high school days, pop culture, music, scrapbooking, details about scrapbook celebrities lives I pick up from looking at layouts, end-time stuff, prophetic stuff, biblical stuff.....good Lord....Life insurance stuff, marital stuff, finanicial stuff, cub scout stuff, it goes on, and on.....nutrition stuff, dog stuff, cat stuff, seriously there are days when I think my head is going to explode. I went and heard some cool missionaries speak tonight, and was thinking the whole time wow this is great information, and prophetic and biblical, but wow I know too much, now I got this burden to tell people what I learned...yet could I ever do it justice and not look like a babbling idiot. God's doing something, not sure what, and why me....but here I am use me....whatever that looks like.

And then theres this....CUTE KIDS ALERT.....It was so cold yesterday but they had fun walking around Kings Island anyways.

2 Dogs?

I suppose having 2 dogs is better than having 1 dog? At least my husband is trying to convince me of that. Poor Maizy....she looks frightened doesn't she? She rarely is behind the gate alone with Kipper, cause Kipper thinks she is a chew toy.

Kippers not too terrible he's just a big dog. And to think I used to not like Maizy, now I do. I really prefer the kitty, but I'm trapped in the house with 2 dogs, and 2 boys....UGH....

And now I present to you Peter from Chronicles of Narnia, his clothes are a bit to big, but fighting that battle caused him to lose a bit of weight. LOL

Countdown....

TO SWITCHFOOT BABY!!!!!!! 10 DAYS! I totally can't wait. I've not looked forward to a concert so much in many years. Probably since....Billy Joel...which was a very long time ago. Seeing Bono on Oprah last weekend closely matches the excitment. That was flippin sweet. And to be able to share the excitment with my peeps was priceless. Connie is a big U2 fan just like me, so it was way cool that we got to watch Bono together. I think I may have scared Cyndi with my excitement, she's not known me for very long....now she knows. Hee Hee....I was over the top. As I will be when I see Switchfoot!

I had a meeting at school today to go over the OT/PT goals. Which was more interesting than the other academic related stuff. Appears he has weak trunk musles. Which you'd never know unless you knew what you were looking for. He tends to compensate pretty well for his weakness's which I guess anyone would. Weak trunk muscles relates to a weak pencil grasp which translates into handwriting difficulties among other things. So we have a whole list of things we can do at home. Love people who know what the heck they are doing, makes me feel like my kid is cared for.

Ron made it through his 6 weeks of small group....he came through unharmed and not divulging any of his dark secrets....ha....as if he had any. I'm proud of him for hanging in there, and I think he'd even do it again someday. In the meantime you'll find him hanging out with the Handiman crew at church, helping out low income folks fix things. Check him showing God's love in a practicle way. He's showing me up, better do some outreach!

Hi-Lo discoveries

So today was another DTMT, and I was wiped out. Still not totally recovered from the weekend, plus Daddy and Perry got home from a den meeting just before I did at 9:30...long night for everyone. So we skipped homework, every once in a while due to busy lives this is ok, besides he got an A on his spelling test last week after a few weeks of not doing so good, so it's all good. We took some time before bed to share "Hi-Lo", High point of your day....and Low point of your day. He shared the high point of his day today was going to Mrs. Copelands room and putting on his weighted vest, and then the low point this is when I decided "Hi-Lo" is a good idea.....he said the low point was when the kid on the bus who sits next to him keeps hitting him and hurting him, and he doesn't know how to make him quit cause no matter what he does he can't hurt him cause he's stronger......yikes.....so my kid appears to be being bullied. I don't know the full story since it's hard to get everything out of him. So send up some words for Perry, he's a small kid and I can see where bigger kids would mess with him. Had we not done Hi-Lo he may have never told me, and just delt with it. I sent the assistant principle an e-mail, lets hope he's not the one whose starting it.

Hung Over.....

And I only had one glass of wine all weekend. Which was on Friday night. I have a scraphangover, and well I should I did 14 pages and 1 card. Madness! Not to mention a HUGE case of "strange-bed syndrome", and I am beat down, tired. I think I've slept 4 hours in 2 days. Would have had much more sleep last night had it not been for some exstrenuious circumstances and the fire alarm going off at 6 am at the hotel we were staying at. My good heavens did that stir up a lot of drama among other things for those with an upset stomach (it wasn't me). Thanks to my friend Cyndi for making me evacuate the building, had there been a fire I would have felt safe and cared for. But since there was no fire I was delirious and annoyed staggering around the parking lot like a drunk....of which I was not. Thanks to Layni for going back into the non-burning building with me while others continued to stand outside and freeze. She then rechecked to make sure it was all clear, and I went back to bed....only to be awoke again a few short hours later by Layni's mother (BC) looking for the conference room key......arrrghhhh....and then again an hour later by housekeeping......DAMN IT PEOPLE I JUST WANT SOME SLEEP....so that's where I'm headed now....I leave you with a layout from the weekend.

Those Moments....

Ok it's the end of another DTMT, and I'm alive and full of energy. Why yes I am aware that it is almost midnight.....whatever I'm not tired. Ok heres a question to ponder. Why is my kid still awake for one.....for two....why is he talking to himself and then cracking up laughing? My first instinct is to yell "go to sleep".....but then I'd miss out on the free spirited cute laughter.....I'll just let him go he'll fall asleep eventually.

Music...

Man I love music. The right music can make or break your day! I was lucky enough to catch Austin City Limits saturday night and it was coldplay, it's the second time I've seen that one, last time being on Christmas Eve. The song with Michael Stipe and Chris Martin is priceless (the video above) that is an amazing song, that I'll probably have on repeat tomorrow. I love Chris Martin, not for his good looks, because he ain't all that handsome, but for the passion he appears to have for his music. He's not trying to look good, he's just enjoying what he's doing, and sings from his gut....Michael Stipe that's pretty much a given, everybody knows that....right?

Fun Day!

This is one of those shots that's just perfect. The lighting....everything. I love this picture from the Renessance Festival today. Thankfully we had free tickets. (I know the Mayor)....otherwise

We would not have gone. This is a people watchers paradise. Theres plenty of normal folks and way way more freaky folks. If my "do not draw attention" husband hadn't been with me I would have been taken pictures of freaky folks all day long. I did manage to take one picture of a stranger. When you zoom in on this one, you can see the layers of this womens outfit....and her crazy hat. Plus she was in need of some dental work. I do not think she worked there, but you never know. If you notice Perry is in the left hand corner of the photo.

Spelling....

So there was a bit of induced panic the other day. I was stressed and tired. It happens. Plus I've been a procrastinator this week. Majorly. So I waited too late to begin homework, plus I made him write too many words. Anyways we made it through the week, tomorrows friday, and he did a practice test and got them all right with very little help, so the agony we went through the other night is well worth it. Tis Hell no more. Lets just say we defeated hell with a little HG action. That's Holy Ghost for those of you just joining this party. Just means we pray....we are praying type people. Thus the reason Perry's got awesome teachers this year. Good kind caring people who seem to understand he's different and willing to work with that, and do whatevers necessary. I can't help but think about those parents who have a kid in Kindergarten or 1st grade, who have just figured out their kid has learning difficulties, and they are completely lost like I was. Fairfield really needs an advocate, just someone whose willing to point these people in the right direction. Some parents just give up way too easy. I'll pray for them, it's what I do.....

Because of procrastinating this week, it seems every dish in my house is dirty. So I should get to that.....domestic duties are never done!

It's Cold.....

And I sent my child to school with shorts and a t-shirt....and crocs. Is that bad? It was hot yesterday, now it's cold. I pay no attention to news reports or weather reports. Oh he did have on his rain coat too. I didn't know there was a school shooting at an amish school. I don't know, nor do I care about politics. Thanks mom, for the good laugh about what Hilary said....really sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut.

Ron's made it through week 4 of The Call small group, and he was actually more comfortable last night. And even said so, said that last night wasn't as deep as the week before. I think he's mistaken. Life stages is far less deeper than surrender. But maybe coming to terms with what stage you are at and where you'd like to be, has a whole lot to do with surrender. Yikes.....

I've had a couple folks mention they read my blog due to the mass e-mail I sent informing people of popcorn sales. Although they weren't able to leave comments without joining blogger and then could do so. I have it set up so that crazy people trying to sell me stuff can't leave anonymous comments. So if you wanna give me a shout, or leave me a comment send me an e-mail or call me.....ahhhhh the dreaded phone call.....I too rarely talk on the phone anymore, but theres some peoples whose voice I like to hear from time to time. I sure miss hanging with my friends and family, everyones lives are so busy it seems. But I love you all even if I don't get to see or talk to you. Send me an e-mail and let me know your thinking about me....I love that!

Charming....

Conversation had after midnight on Saturday after a YMCA lock-in......

"Mommy I can't wait until I go back to the "new" Y again so I can lock myself in a locker again because that was so fun!"
"Um lock yourself in a locker? You locked yourself in a locker? Do you think that's a safe thing to do?"
"Yes, it's fun...you get inside and you close the door, and you just breath and breath, and talk, and then a nice lady hears your voice and opens it and lets you out. That was so nice of her wasn't it?"
"Right....I'm thinking that's a bad game to play....."

So at the next lock-in when we can't find Perry we should probably check the lockers, he's probably in there breathing, and talking.

He's extremely lucky he's charming. Otherwise one might just leave him in that locker!

Hell.....

Wanna know what hell is? Hell is 13 words 3 times each by a child with ADD and his medication has worn off. Yep that's what I'd like to call hell. Unless I sit on top of him....meaning directly behind him looking over his shoulder....otherwise we'd be up till midnight as he daydreams in between letters. Praying for patience here...but dang I'm tired and annoyed. I asked politely if the man would do some of my laundry, since I'm on homework patrol. He didn't protest so that's cool. He certainly didn't volunteer for homework patrol. Which is for the best really since his patience is less than mine, and he'd let him spell words incorrectly and call it done.

Erwin did a talk a few weeks ago on Hell. Man that man is truely blessed with God's word. I've learned so much from listening to his podcast. I feel like I'm finally starting to "get it", but not completely I'm not completely there. I'm definately being molded into something far greater than I can imagine I'm sure. Why else would I have all this awesome knowledge in my head. Just so Life Insurance would seem insanely boring, because my head is filled with far more interesting things. Like how God desires a relationship with every human being, but he will not force himself on us, it's completely our choice. God will never override your will. It's completely our choice. I think that's pretty cool. I wouldn't think it was cool if I didn't choose God because well then I'd have to live with the consequences. Which the way I see it would be Hell....for real Hell. Which would = a room full of kids with ADD writing spelling words 3 times each for many many many hours. Thank you God for loving me enough to gently knock and wait for me to open the door. So that I might have patience for the small mind I am helping to form.
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
Rev. 3:20

Dog

Don't let his good looks fool you. He's freakin crazy! 

Growth

Very interesting to see growth in other peoples lives as well as your own. I am speaking of spiritual growth. So this is what week 3 of The Call is about life stages. Seeker....follower....owner....reproducer. This is where it got a bit boring for me, we've heard it a few times before this. Granted my church is primarily made up of folks who have been coming for 2 years or less, so just cause I've heard it don't mean everyones heard it. And when you here it again you could very well be at a different stage. What's interesting to me is the folks who embrace christianity as a mature adult, start off as a seeker and want to jump right on over to reproducer. Sometimes they can be a bit stuburn about it, you can't skip stages, you gotta go through the crap too....it's not a fast process, growing your faith takes some time trust me I know. All this labeling sounds very cult like I think.....however it's kind of nice to know where you are on the spiritual growth spectrum and where'd you like to be. Some may be perfectly happy to stay in the followers stage......some folks would like to stay a toddler too, and never be potty trained, but you gotta grow up sometime. Besides God calls us to be reproducers, which looks different for everyone. Ok when I look at it this way it's not so boring. Watching other people learn and grow and seeing God for the first time in different aspect and how he shows up in other peoples lives....sometimes they don't even realize it....so so so cool. That's the good stuff right there....not even boring. When you truly know what's going on and how God manifest himself, man that's way cool.

BORED...

Ok so I have a whole weekend where nothing is planned. No real plans other than a meeting for me on Sunday evening. So why do I feel so bored and depressed. Here I have a weekend I can just spend time at home and do nothing. What did I do? Moped around and took naps. I did absolutely nothing productive. I think a lot of it is that I am on a complete and total financial lock down. Any other weekend where I had nothing planned I would have taken that time and gone shopping. Well I'm in this Dave Ramsey total money makeover hell, and therefor I'm not allowed to spend any money. AS IN NO MONEY......yeah I'm pretty much dying. So when I had to run to Krogers to pick up a sponge for the sponge mop, I snagged me a Rachel Ray Magazine. I was excited about the opportunity for a quick trip to walmart to pick up a few things, so that I could sneak in a few things too, just to make it look like I was shopping. It felt good.....satified my needs.

Then at church...I'm bored too. This might be because God's getting ready to do something really big?? Preparing me, so I'm not overwhelmed. We're doing this Call thing, where everyone's reading a devotional written by leaders with in the church, then we have a message on Sunday and everyones in a small group during the week. To me it's a bit repetitive. As in all that stuff repeats a lot of what was in the chapter we just read. Guess they figure if you've heard something about it 3 times and had the opportunity to discuss it, maybe it'll eventually sink in. I guess maybe some of what Dave said in his message today about once you become a Christian who is now a "reproducer", you can get bored. Yep that's me, I'm bored. At a really bad time. I prayed for 5 years for my husband to attend church with me, and now he has for about 7 years. Then I prayed for God to really show up in his life, so that he could really understand how I feel sometimes, and not just be a warm body at church. Well now he's starting to get all this cool God stuff, now that his wife is a bored reproducer. See I've reverted to language your average Joe probably doesn't even understand, not only am I bored I've now officially become BORING. ugh.....Pray for me....pray for whatever big thing God's got planned he'll reveal even a little bit of it to me, so life will get interesting. Or I'm gonna become some crazy partying drunk....cause then life would definitely be interesting. LOL.....yeah right.

Life in Order....

Feels wierd that life may actually get on track. This whole getting out of debt thing of my husband and the "Dave Ramsey hell" it has placed me in feels not too bad. It's thursday, and I've not spent a single cent on food out at a resturant. I'd venture to say I may have lost weight, except for the 2 latte's I've had this week along with the blueberry muffins thank you Starbucks.

So small group for The Call night 2, was good. Ron appeared to be more comfortable, and seemed to be taking the challenge of being the first small group participant to not utter a word like a champ. He managed to only say his name during the entire session. Didn't seem wierd at all, since he wasn't the only one. He did engage in small talk before and after so he is socializing.....who knows by week six he'll be offering to have a word of prayer......if that happens it'll be because he got the holy ghost for sure! He had no answers for all the questions, something about "he can't come up with answers to questions about his feelings real quick like that." LOL....although he had all sorts of ideas on how to draw people out who aren't talking, afterwards....LOL. Which I already knew the strategies, since I've been an Alpha facilitator for 3 years and was a small group leader for 2 years. Sometimes "drawing people out" just isn't appropriate, they'll talk when the time is right. Why he's got all this advice when he's the one not talking is beyond me. Dude it's ok to not talk, trust me you are getting plenty by just listening.

Real Life....

Have I talked about how much God loves me lately?? Have I? I mean seriously that whole switchfoot thing well that was clearly a God divine appointment. And then I also mentioned, my self inflicted latte ban. Why would I do that to myself? When a 2 minute trip through starbucks drive-thru can happen every single day with barely any effort whatsoever, it's like some sort of cruel and unusual joke. So then Ron hands me todays mail. Which included an unmarked envelope from MN....I know no one in MN. But it felt bulky like I was recieving a credit card....big no no in the world of financial peace. I open it and it's none other than my 2 starbucks gift cards I got from reward points at my bank. THANK YOU GOD! He knew it was too hard for me. That's real life baby...you can't make that stuff up!

Funny....

Thought that God hooked up that Starbucks with the superfast drive-thru service, but after a week of being brainwashed by Dave Ramsey.....I'm convinced it's Satan! Ron and I both have been listening to Dave Ramsey's podcast. Normally he has a talk radio show in the evening for 3 hours. But with a podcast you can get a whole hour commercial free...woohoo...
Ron got his book Lord help me, so I think Ron's began the baby steps to financial freedom.....I'm doomed. Unless I can stick it out long enough to get debt free, then I'll be allowed a latte or two, I think. I can't live like a pauper forever right? So the mans very much on my nerves about money again. This time I think we might be on the same page. So the challenge initiated by myself for the week. Can we go a full week without purchasing any food from a resturant. Including STARBUCKS. Plenty of food in the house. Lunches will be packed this week. Yowza....anyone wanna play along. Come on it'll be fun. Not to mention rewarding. That just means more money saved for latte's at a later date.

So I was contemplating on going to the Switchfoot concert in Columbus at the end of October. It happens to be on a Monday which is a crazy day to travel to columbus to see a concert. But if you've been reading my blog for any length of time you'd know what a huge Switchfoot fan I am. So I keep going back and forth in my head "is it responsible?", "will I be neglecting my family?" Is it too crazy to attempt such nonsense? Well God shows up again, and this time I think it was for real because it was at church. Today's message was what are your wildest dreams? Now seeing switchfoot in concert is a wild dream but I wouldn't say it was my wildest, plus I'm thinking he was going for way more complex, more like what has God really created you for? And what are you doing to pursue what God has planned for you? Except I'm sort of a simple minded kind of girl, with simple obtainable dreams really. So at the end of the service, his message took a rather intense turn....and I got my answer. I'M GOING TO COLUMBUS BABY! So click on that, and if you have an hour check out the whole service. If you only have like 30 min fast forward to the message, it's a good one, but if you wanna just see the message from God to little ole me.....fast forward to 55 min. sit back and watch the magic. Close your eye and listen. But don't cry like I did.....it's late and your eyes will be all puffy in the AM. And if you aren't a switchfoot fan, that song.....man oh man....it's one of those songs that grabs you, speaks to your soul, gets you really thinking. I mean not just dang my life sucks kind of thinking, but am I really doing what God created me to do, and if I'm not what am I going to do about it?

I love you Starbucks!!

Ok so a few years ago I was doing a full on Starbucks boycott because they charge so much for coffee to be yummy. I was getting my coffee at Super America for 89 cents instead of 3.90 for a grande latte. Something happened, fall at Starbucks is what happened, and all the yummyness that goes with that. I started getting the occasional Pumpkin spice Latte last year....you can even go fat free and it's just magic, worth every cent! Well guess what happened? So we're doing that praying everyday "God what would the abundant life look like in my life?" A Starbucks with a drive-thru right by the exit where I get on to go to work.....that my friend is what the abundant life looks like. It's gotta be it, because a bad morning suddenly turns into a magical happy morning with a 2 minute trip thru the drive thru....it's gotta be a God thing what else could it be?

6 Weeks of Torture

Getting to know strangers 2 nights in a row is tiresome. Dragging my introverted husband along for the ride on day 2 is even more tiresome. Ron's first small group experience was this evening.....it was pretty much 1 full on hour of torture. He could very well be the first person in the history of small groups to pretty much say nothing. Ha! Now that's gonna be good. He answered the "ice breaker" question because he thought he had to, in which case he just tagged along to my response. After that he wasn't talking. Somehow I need to explain to him that you don't have to talk, it's not a requirement, and even if you don't talk you can very much get something out of the experience, by listening to what other people have to say. He didn't say afterwards "I don't ever want to do that again." He did however mention it could be a very long 6 weeks though. LOL.......So we're suppose to pray for God to reveal his purpose for our lives everyday for the next week. I'll let you know when I'm quitting my job!!! LOL......Not just yet things are finally getting interesting on the job front, I actually have important responsibilities for once and feel needed a teeny tiny bit. Cubeland isn't so bad right now....maybe Gods going to reveal my purpose in life insurance. That sounds just awful, I hope not. Hey God how about something a little more creative?? Oh forgot I'm not incharge.

Men!!

Why is it they can't get the organized side of parenting down? He did attempt to do homework with P tonight, I will give him that, but he is going to have more than 1 thing for homework. Besides it's all written down in his very bad 9 year old hand writing in his agenda. So I had to help finish up at 10 pm, when he's suppose to be in bed. UGH.....and I had to go search for a rock outside with a flashlight. Um we live in the suburbs not near a creek, and oddly enough even with a boy around theres no rocks in my yard. I had to look hard for a rock, but I found one.

So I now have one DTMT under my belt and it feels good. I feel accomplished and all the people at my Alpha table show'd up. Crazy how many folks have table where people don't show, or they'll leave at the break never to return. I've never had this happen....wait......last time around I did one week. But that was very strange circumstances. I love Alpha....good times!

Happy Grandparents day Geegaw!!!

Back in the day we loved to go TPing. I TP'd well into my 30's. It was like creating white beautiful art. We once did my mom's house in 24 rolls of TP, it was an amazing work of art! Geegaw was often a victim of our form of graffiti. Ecspecially once we were grown, and I know longer lived at home. Besides she always worked nights so she wasn't there to bust us. Now that I'm past 35, I strangely feel too old for TPing. Could be I don't really know anyone with big trees in their front yard. And many folks have big mean dogs or dogs in general who blow your cover. So now we go Flamingoing.......hee hee.....at least we did last night. Geegaw lives in a palacial single wide. She's as proud as Gretchen Wilson to call herself trailer trash. No singlewide is complete without a set of Flamingo's. So while Perry and I distracted Geegaw in the house, Ron "Flamingo'd" her yard. Perry sort of blew our cover, he didn't want to wait till morning for her discover them.....she loves them. I personally think it would be better with about 6 more!

Prepare yourself blog fans, it's that time again when we start......DO TOO MUCH TUESDAYS.....Ron is now joining in on the madness, and taking over as cub scout parent, at least for 10 weeks while I lead Alpha. So hold on to your seats it's gonna get crazy round here! 

Eye Doctors....

P and I went to the eye doctor this evening. I got me some Pure Vision contacts, they were kidding these mugs are clear, and everythings so crisp. Wow....I've been wearing my glass's for 2 weeks, because I was out of contacts. I had a pair, but I had wore them for a while, and figured I was pressing my luck. I'm a lazy contact wearer and someday I'll pay if I don't cut it out. I've gotten lectures on several occasions, that I'm damaging my eyes by not taking them out yada yada.....but this time....the man was in the room with me. So he heard so it's something he'll lecture about I'm sure...."um Jo are you going to take your contacts out before you go to bed?".....So I guess I'd better listen. Do you people have any idea how blind I am??? Perry's like a -2, me I'm like a -9, which is really bad. Those people who invented contacts I could kiss them, wonder if I'd be reading braile if I was this blind 100 years ago. Yikes.....Happy to be able to see thank you Pure Vision....you people are brilliant.
Ashton told me last week...."Aunt Jodi your eyes look bigger when you wear your glass's" Right.....had to inform her that, that's not a compliment. UGH.....

The Call

So we've answered The Call. Yes I said WE....crazy as it may sound. Now that Ron's on 1st shift suddenly he's a joiner. It'll be his first small group experience. He may even be forced to talk to strangers, as in people he just met and hasn't known for 10 years. So Dave has asked us to do 3 things for the next 6 weeks, 1. Go to church (got that), 2. Read a weekly devotional takes about 5 min, (I think I can spare that), 3. Join a small group. Thought this one was going to be tough for my introvert husband. But we went to the big group thing to find a group in our area, and it was fairly painless, seems it's a mix of ages, and we are actually the youngest. Which is different from the group I led for a number of years, I was the oldest. It'll be fun to be the youngins. So I've broken my rule, but it's for God so it's all good. Rule being only one night a week would be busy with running around. Now we are at 2 nights. Thursday nights is off limits, it's a good TV night so back off!

Major Friend Time.....

Abby and I kicked it today. We went to the Taft Museum, been a while and it was nice. May I recomend the new fangled self audio tour? Very cool, all sorts of info you'd never ever know about many of the pieces....loved it. Ate at the Tea Room at the museum, so classy and nice, and gourmet eating. Then Abby and I rolled out to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Had a blast hanging there. Then we hooked up with our other friend Weezer and went to Clifton, and had Indian Cuisine....yeah I don't like it. I'll try anything at least once, but unless I'm just having some Nan aka flatbread no thinks. I don't think I'm a big fan of curry or something, it was just yucky. Then we went and saw Little Miss Sunshine.....OMG......everyone must see this movie. It has got to be the funniest movie I've seen in years. It is pee in your pants tears rolling funny! The type you leave the theater saying "remember that? remember that?....yeah that was awesome!!!" Nice time hangin with my peeps.

FIRE DRILL....

I have to say how blessed I am that God completely has my back! I mean it's only the first full week of school and already I am amazed at the difference in Perry. It's all about a predictable routine and he's comfortable. One of my biggest concerns about school ever since 1st grade has been the fire drill. He would become incapacitated from the sound. He'd press his hands over his ears really really tight and pretty much keep them there for 2 days. He did this most of 1st grade until they started removing him before it would go off. They did that until the end of 2nd grade......Then this year we discussed in the IEP meeting what we were going to do about the fire drill. We decided to let him experience it maybe with some sound reduction headphones, which the district would need to obtain. Well the end of August was getting closer, and no headphones were found, on August 31st I e-mailed his special ed teacher letting her know we had discussed it and I thought he'd be fine, since he seemed to have matured, just to reassure him that'd it'd be over quick. And that I predicted there'd be a firedrill that day, since it's the last day of the month and they hadn't had one. The scenerio that unfolded was well thought out plan by a caring teacher....it's going to be a good year!
If you can't read the journalling on the page go HERE and you can read it better.

Messy House

Does not mean DISORGANIZED! Mom made reference today that I must be unorganized since my house it such a mess. Not the case. I'm organized where I need to be organized. Come home, fix dinner, do homework, do something creative, catch up on e-mails or blogs or whatever, put P to bed, gather clothing for the next day, have a glass of milk, and go to bed. Add a shower for the P-man every other night, and you got yourself a routine. I can't think of anything more organized than my life. One's house does not need to be cleaned unless someone you just met is coming over. Or your going to have a party. A clean house is overrated. Besides have you been to my mothers house lately? I rest my case!

Life Update.....

I've been a bad blogger. Terribly sorry. So it's almost 1 am on a Sunday night, what better time than the present to update my blog. The IEP meeting went really well. I was pleased with what we came up with. Initially I would have said the meeting was chaos. But generally that's what it seems when folks are brainstorming ideas. It should be called a brainstorming IEP meeting. It seems everyone has Perrys best interest in mind. They seem more serious about his situation than they have in the past. Maybe it's the addition of the LD diagnoses or maybe it's because he's now so far behind they are deciding to take a closer look. They are going to work with him on his expressive and receptive language, thank goodness, so hard to get him to talk sometimes, hopefully they can work on him expressing himself. Although Ron's not all that outspoken so it may be genetics, but I don't want him to be that shy to where he can't speak up for himself. So hopefully they can help with that. They are also adding OT, I think they got him into that because of his issues with the firedrills....some auditory issues. I may have Mrs. Landeen to thank for that or the psychologist, either way it's good to be getting services for the P-man.

Ashton and I had a blast playing in the rain this afternoon. Haven't done that in forever. We jumped in puddles and got soaking wet....fun fun fun!

PRAY

Ok I'm off to fight the good fight tomorrow morning. Please pray for supernatural powers to come upon me. Right now I'd be lying if I said I was confident. I put a lot on paper, so I won't have to talk much, which is a good thing since "my work tends to be poofy when I'm nervous."....LOL....thanks everyone for hanging in there and praying and having my back every step of this journey.

Bloggeratzzi

Geez who knew I had such a crazed fan base. Heres the thing with the "girl", it was a bit personal. That's all I'm saying. I had it all out there for the world to see, and Cyndi thought it was a bit personal, so I deleted it. So blame Cyndi for editing me. The one who was the subject matter will probably thank me. You can probably guess after a little thought and investigation. May I suggest the June archives. Oh and we're having a scary movie tea party this weekend, that's how we celebrate such things. Now simmer down psycho's!

Growing Up.....

I used to think he looked the same every year, but now he seems to be growing up. He may even be an inch taller than he was in kindergarten now. Oh you laugh, but it's true. I know my days coming when he officially graduate to size 6 pants. He can wear them now, but as in just now. I think I did see at least one kid his age yesterday who is actually smaller than him. He'll probably have some crazy growth spirt his junior year in High School.

I'm just glad he's not a girl. And I don't have girls. Oh the drama. Ok a little more about my kid and then onto the talk about the girl, who is not mine. He did great today his first day of 3rd grade. Got communication from one of his teachers today via e-mail said he adjusted well and seemed to do fine with the new routine. Cool. He seemed more open to talk about things after school however briefly, but he did and was happy and excited and not gloomy and moody. His assignment for the week was to introduce himself to 2 kids whose names he didn't know, ask them their name and remember it and tell me. Well he tried to pull a fast one on me. He said he met Kyle and his friend from cub scouts that boy who rides his bus....yeah the key here is a name......ok ok Jordan. Hello he doesn't count, you already knew him he went to summer camp with you. He said well theres Kyle he's from Miss OMalley's class from last.....wait wait wait....I didn't mean to say that. So he met 2 already friends....great....wasn't the object of the game. We'll give another try tomorrow.

Nevermind about the girl it's too tramatic.

Good-bye Summer

Yeah ok whatever summers almost over. I refuse to say good-bye to flavorice though, I seriously could eat like 10 a night. Can't we just squeeze one more week out of summer? Anyone else with me? Man Perry school is flippin hot! When we lived in North College Hill, that kind of nonsense was expected in the schools, since it's somewhat a poorer community, we thought the grass was greener in Fairfield, which I suppose it is, if your kid goes to the elementary school in the township. Yep Perry's in a rather old school. Heck my Uncle Dave went to West and he's in his late 50's!! That's one old school. Ok so meet the teacher night was well....HOT.....and I'm hopeful that the teachers seem to have the skills to mold his little mind, they gotta get in there first. Theres a whole lot of info in there, it's getting it out that's the hard part. Good luck to them! And holy cow she's got 25 kids, that's a lot considering he almost went to a school with 12 kids per class. She has a student teacher and P's special ed teacher is going to be in there too. So all sorts of help so that's good.

Ok I mentioned nothing about camping this past weekend. Loads of fun....dang hot....we were conditioning Ben and Perry for school since it's hot there too. LOL.....We camped near Ft. Ancient on the Little Miami....or is it the Great Miami? Well it was a river, and they swam in it. There was a whole lot of flesh eating bugs I have the bug bites to prove it. We had yummy food made in camper pie tins, and played cards till the wee hours. Hearts seems to be the game of choice. It was a ton of fun, one more camping trip for the season planned, and then we're done. 4 times this year not too shabby!

Let the Madness Begin.....

What a rollercoaster of a summer. School starts TOMORROW! I can't find the freakin first day of school shirt, where could it have gone in one week? I knew I should have saved it for the first day. Hard to believe just a few months ago there was the possibility of "P" going to a different school, many miles away. I know God has something different in store for him. This year could be different, this could be the year we find that magic something that can reach him. When it comes to learning he seems so sealed up, best way I can think of to describe it. He seems a little more eager to learn this year though. Not overly excited about going back to school like some kids. I think he thinks about all the things that cause him anxiety, which is a lot of things, many we are probably not even aware of. Well start sending up words, my IEP meeting is Friday morning. Theres so much I'd like to say. Hopefully the school counselor has looked over the evaluation from childrens and will already have some suggestions mapped out. I need to be organized and prepared. 2 things that are not normally in my nature. I do not want my kid to be one of those kids who are funnelled through the system just to get him moved to the next grade. I want him to be challenged and learn the way other kids do. I want him to discover what makes him unique and work extra hard on that so folks will take notice and say hey this kid is special...I see it, but I'm his mom. I know others see it, but someone who can make a difference needs to see it before we lose him in the sea of bad self esteem those days are coming.

Tired

Sure if I went to bed at a reasonable hour I wouldn't be so tired. But what's so fun about that anyways? I'm kind of ready for summer to be over, as horrible as that may sound, but this running to my moms everyday or Perry spending the night there 2-3 days a week is getting very old. It'll take a while to undo the damage Geegaw has done. Ha!!! Actually it's not too bad, he seems to be able to differentiate what is ok at home and what is ok at Geegaws.

Scene from this evening:

Perry's new chore, taking in the empty garbage can (thanks Julie). So if I don't make a big deal about his chores, he does them as if they are just part of life and no yelling at all. Love that. I was helping him with the garbage can (which is ginormous by the way), and he says..."you know what mommy, I love Garbage Trucks." "Oh yeah what do you love about them?", "they take our garbage." I have to wonder if he's like me, and can watch the simple art of mechanical things and be in awe, of something simple like a garbage truck. Sure you could drive on by and be like gross that's a yucky job, or you could be like dang who ever came up with that invention is brilliant. Call me crazy but I do that sometimes, enjoy the simple mechanical nature of everyday things, as if they are art. For instance I love a good crane. Or the rawness of a half built building. Or those cool rolling vehicles, that press out asphalt....dang those are cool. Or the super cool suckage of a carpet cleaner. Holy cow.......the ingeniousness that is the littermate....best birthday present ever. Now that you people thing I am off the hook crazy....I've got to pack for camping.

Never Easy!

I wish I could give other people what I have. Patience, discernment, understanding....for some reason I have it. Sometimes it's a gift sometimes I see it as a curse. I try to explain to other people and I can't seem to form the words to describe it, and I get puzzled looks. If it was up to my husband we'd avoid situtations that show that Perry's quite different than his peers. But my theory is if he doesn't see that others see him as different and the environment is somewhat controlled and safe for him, let him experience these things in his own way. Sure I hear the other parents whisper, or even talk loudly about the clueless kid who is looking rather unaware, and it hurts sometimes because they don't realize that's my kid they are talking about and it's ok if he's clueless, he's out there and thats all that matters to me. It gives other kids the oppurtunity to learn compassion, and to help kids like him and some of them do....not many, but some are helpful. Or it gives the dad who has volunteered the oppurtunity to use his obvious gift to pin point a kid whose got some major issues with focusing and help him feel included and remind him over and over again where he needs to be, never seeming to get tired of it and happy to help. These people all exist in the world. The whispering parent, the gifted volunteer, the compassionate peer, and the clueless little boy. Unfortunately it often seems like theres only one clueless little boy, and he happens to be mine.

Perry did the basketball clinic tonight. It was great Terry Nelson led it he's a former UC Bearcat from their Final Four days back in the early 90's. It was so so good for Perry, these christian based sporting activities are awesome. Terry was good at making most of the boys feel important and included including Perry. Who was sporting his super cool Bazooka Joe high tops, which all the little boys thought were super cool.

So Perry had some moments of frustration this evening. When he gets frustrated he squeezes his little lips together and gives a little growl....to me it's just what he does to other it may appear to be a bit odd...and he hits too forgot that part. Not hard just a slap on the arm from being frustrated, it's how he copes. Although this is annoying and frustrating to me in public....hello people don't get that. So we had some time after we got home to discuss these anger outbursts. We were in the car chatting. And we agreed on a "control your anger technique", I even included a little role play so he'd know when it was appropriate. Instead of hitting he's decided to take a deep breath. And if he's really, really, really (I think he included 5 really's here) angry he'll take 3 deep breaths. So cute, he even demo'd it for Geegaw......lets hope it works and he's able to follow through.

Busy Busy weekend!

A girl can never have too many stamps. Just ask my friend Connie....LOL....Just kidding, but her collection is actually much larger than mine. She is far more successful in her stamping endevors than I. Sometime folks even pay her to create things. Nutty, I know, I am not that successful, but I sure do like to buy me some rubber! Another fun and tiring year at Stampaway...I think it's as exhausting for us shoppers as it is for the folks working. You spend hours looking the place over sure not to miss anything cool. Then you make a mental note of where you need to go back to. I was quite proud of myself this year I spent far less than I have in years past, and I was way more choosey. I still got some stamps I love and found hard to resist. Heres my lute.....much of the rubber is in a grab bag, so it doesn't look like a lot. But theres $50 worth of rubber in there, paid only 10....ahhhh yes....the grab bag. My trades are seen here as well. Finally folks have caught on to the ATC's, makes life so much more fun. There was some snooty older women who didn't want to give up the pin trading, and refuse to trade for an ATC....claimed they were only trading for pins. Crazy young folks creating a new thing and not making pins. I'd venture to say they got very few pins. Times have changed. And heres the coolest buy of the weekend. This stamp although mounted on wood, makes me very very happy! Wonder if Audrey ever imagined her face as a rubber stamp would be a very hot thing?

Than last night I hung out with Connie, Julie, Jen and Abby, Julie and I mounted our rubber, Jen and Connie scrapped. Abby watched Jane Austin movies, and discussed them with Connie in great detail. I'd venture to say they are Jane Austin nerds....or shall I say enthusiasts....much like Star Trek has their Trekkies......ha ha ha....I'm not there yet, although I do love me some Pride and Predjudice. Except I do not share the love they have for Mr. Darcy, I do stand firm on my opinion too, no matter how dreamy he looks in his blue coat, in the rain professing his love. Fun weekend....hung with the fam today.

Middle Aged Fat Women Trend.....

You watch it's going to be a thing. Middle aged fat women in black crocs will start riding Razor Scooters. Oh you think I'm crazy? Tony Hawk can't be young forever, and I bet he has a fat wife! 

DOODLE PANTS

You got to love some doodle pants. Run they're at Target, I wouldn't suggest letting them wear them to school with the markers in them, but to make them original before they go to school is very fun. I draw the line at getting rude t-shirts about hating homework, and kids not listening. As if teachers don't have enough trouble with kids, now they have shirts that express the messages. I try to find the funny ones that express something cute and positive.....like "It seemed like a good idea at the time." or "Small but Mighty" or "It's my boyish charm" These pants are heaven for a kid who loves to draw. We had fun with them last night.






Oh the escape artist has returned thank goodness. Someone found her and took her to our vet this morning. Crazy dog!

Runaway...

Well Maizy's run off again. I come home after school shopping for P, and I sit down to eat some pizza and Ron says Maizy ran away....and I'm like WHY ARE YOU IN THE HOUSE SITTING DOWN EATING? He made some excuse like what was I suppose to do go look for her with Perry.....holy crap he's not a freakin toddler, even if he was going to walk or drive around the block Perry can't stay in the house by himself??? So he went looking was gone 20 min. Not long enough if the dog I actually like a little bit ain't back with him. So I cruised the neighborhood. Nothing! So Perry and I went around the block, me on my scooter him on his big wheel. Nothing.....argh....Perry's decided not to talk to daddy because he lost Maizy. I'm with him. It's an all out protest!

Excersize Awaits.....

So I have 2 legs why not take a walk? That's boring and requires me to stand up off my large ass. When your ass is as big as mine it's just more comfortable to sit on it. And we don't even want to discuss me on roller skates, good Lord what was I thinking? Wasn't pretty that's all I'm saying. I'm sure it gave people plenty to talk about on their way home. Whatever! That's why I got this sweet Razor Scooter Pro hook up. If I got a handle attached to those wheels well you better believe there is fun to be had. We are now a 2 scooter family, and if we can get Perry to actually scoot on his and not walk it like it's a dog I imagine we'll need another one. Wish I had something profound or witty to say, but I don't. Need to go get something started on some ATC's.....countdown to stampaway! 4 more days......I can smell the rubber already!

Hot Husband??

Yes that's what it appears to be. I know I know, all you women are gasping....."ah dag that man is fine!!" But you need to take a closer look. Yes that's right he's flipping me off. Why do grown men act like this? At a 6 year old birthday party no less.....UGH!

 

Week in Review

Trip to the family physician, always a waste of time if you aren't sick. Thankfully the new doctor doesn't deem (is that a word) it necessary to see her once a month in order to prescribe a controlled substance. Love that! I know if he needs it or not, trust me...he (I) needs it! So won't be seeing her until it's turkey time.....SWEET!

Had my review, something about increasing my productivity by 50%. I got a raise, I don't hate my job, that's all that matters. I learned from reading Dooce if you like being employeed do not discuss your job on your blog. So I won't....shall we celebrate me getting a raise though, nothing monumental, but maybe I can use it on the man to up my allowance for stampaway, very little rubber can be bought for $20. Any ideas on raising that a bit, or increasing it, in just one week would be most appreciated. As long as it doesn't involve me getting naked!

Visit to a new counselor. Specializes in Language Based Learning disabilities. I like him, I think he might be able to dig into Perry's little mind that can seem closed up tight at times. I also think he's going to be instrumental in helping me pull together a decent IEP, one that makes sense, and getting the teachers to communcate in a way that makes sense. He recongnizes we've been on quite the journey already. It really feels like a good fit.

Trip to boomerang bay after appointment, 2 hours of clorinated water....just hanging out with my boy, getting wet. Does a girls heart good to hear the words...."Mommy this is the best time ever." He doesn't have to be flying down some nutty slide getting a wedgey, or circling a giant drain to be content just hanging out in a shallow pool with strangers, and he's perfectly content. I just love his sweet face!

God is Good

How is it that one child can consume so much of my time? Other people have more than one kid and their time is consumed, what if I had other kids? I'd clearly be CRAZY! I am reading "It's so much Work to be Your Friend" by Rick Lavoie, I hope this guy is not a quack, and knows what he's talking about, much of what he says about kids with language based learning disabilities is dead on. I just read so dang slow it's taking me forever to get to the solutions. Spoke to a mentor in another district, she was extremely informative and helpful. I just need to either pray, I can either be assertive, or pray that an advocate or mentor will pop up who will have my back in the IEP meetings. I can't help but feel intimidated no matter how much I think I know.

I just don't know what it is that I want? He needs to be challenged more. The teachers need to teach using alternative methods, and not just be a talking head in the front of the class. These kids can't learn that way. I have an appointment with the counselor that works at Springer, he has a private practice so I scored an appointment with him. He's an expert on kids with Language based learning disabilities, hopefully he can be of assistance to me so the big ugly school district doesn't eat me alive and my kid doesn't get lost in the system of proficency tests, and getting money for being successful on those and the kids just become a test score.

So speaking to a mentor. New counselor, I feel like I'm on track....I deserve a much needed break.....good thing STAMPAWAY is next weekend.....yippeee....mucho uncut rubber awaits to be sniffed.

What happened?

Kipper is now 4.5 months old....he's so dang big, he could eat a toddler at this point. And he enjoy's peeing on your foot when he's excited......nice....my crocs have been clorox wiped so many times it's so wonder they have color. Who's idea was this anyways? 

I love Shoes!

I love Bazooka Joe High Top sneakers, that's what I love! You have to admit these are dang cute! Called the man from Walmart and said do you think kids would beat Perry up if he wore Bazooka Joe gym shoes? He's like um...yes....do not buy those. Hung up and put them directly in my cart. Hello they were $5! Got to the register....$3, the man can shut the hell up. Perry loves them, and I think he can hold his own if someone trys to woop up on him.....actually he'll be like his mama and be a trend setter.....WHO CALLED THE CROC PHENOMINON. Thank you! I bet Crocs are Oprahs "My favorite things show...." Who knows she might have Bazooka Joe Sneaker....it's even a brand, how cool is that?
SUESSICAL THE MUSICAL

We saw Suessical this weekend and it was awesome. Perry loved it, now I need the soundtrack. It was so colorful and lovely. Really funny, and incorporated a lot of Dr. Suess's books. The main character Horton is my favorite, and from my absolute favorite Suess book. Horton Hears a Who, and now I can't find mine. It was my favorite when I was a kid, grandma used to read it too me, along with if you put me in
the zoo...and the Sleep Book....But I remember Horton, because he said "A persons a person no matter how small", cause I was always the shortest. Ok this could be a first here on my blog.....

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Cyndi....Happy Birthday to you!!!! She's 35 today everyone wish her a happy birthday....dang she looks good for 35!

I should really consider going to bed now good Lord it's almost 2am.