Receptive Language Delay: What Works for Me, 1st Grade

Every song I have heard on the radio this week has been a love song. Here I am missing my baby.

Maybe that will give me an incentive to keep up with my blog. A need for someone to talk to, someone to connect with.

In case you are on the edge of your seat wondering how the heck we all are...

Mandy got her license and her car. I am no longer a chauffeur. Not only do I have more free time, but her disposition has dramatically improved. She seeks me out and asks if she can help with chores and errands. I blinked my eyes and she became an adult. A thoughtful wonderful adult.

Lily is about six weeks into the first grade. She is doing well. Her receptive language delay is improving. Her behavior at school is fantastic. Her grades are average. She is still my little genius but she is has a bit of trouble demonstrating her genius on school work. It isn't for lack of trying she whole heatedly applies herself to school. We spend at least an hour usually two working on skills every night. She is steadily improving.

For all my receptive language delay friends, this is what is working for us currently. I have found that at six she physically improved, meaning her ability to process language is better than it was previously. Much of her delay now is caused by habit more than impairment. I work with her on improving her listening. I notice that she tends to tune people out especially when she is stressed or frustrated. She takes her cues from faces more than actual words and she talks over people so she doesn't have to listen.

What works for me... We play a game, I give her three funny things to do. Like - go to your room and punch your pillow, go to the garage and say the alphabet, go to the backyard and find an acorn. She has to listen to all three instructions and then do all three without any reminders. Then she gets to give me three instructions. She often forgets especially if one of the instructions takes time like saying the alphabet, but she is capable of remembering and I feel this game helps her to work that muscle. We get silly and have a lot of fun. There aren't any rewards or punishment we just make it fun, if she forgets I remind her or I pretend to forget to and we talk about it until she remembers.

Homework...Most of the other parents of first graders in my daughter's class spend about 15 minutes a night on homework and we spend at least an hour maybe two. However, we are doing more than they are. We go over things a lot. I make up work sheets that look like the ones she is doing. That way we can go over it together and then she is able to do her homework on her own. Sometimes she has trouble understanding instructions and so it takes me a little time and some ingenuity to explain things like fill in the blank. Lily prefers to pick her favorite word, than read the sentence several times with each of the choices and pick the one that works. She also likes to get done first, which is way more important to her than getting the write answer. I feel that by the end of the year she will be most improved, perhaps. She is on track. And we really enjoy the time we spend together doing homework, weird but true. I am grateful for the opportunity life has given me to be there for Lily.

That is my life in a nutshell. Add in a little volunteer work, a lot of paid work, a lot of dishes and that is it. Hasn't really seemed interesting enough to write about, but I miss you all.

Fort Wayne and Chicago

Our trip continued after Memphis to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Mandy and I were living there when I met Jeff. He was stationed in Italy at the time. We even got married in Fort Wayne. We visited a few friends, saw our old stomping grounds, spent a day at the zoo, etc.

The rest of the photos here are from the next stop on our road trip which was Chicago. It was raining the day we arrived and again the day we left, however to day we spent walking around seeing Chicago was absolutely gorgeous. I Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Looking through all of these shots brings back memories of the day. We had such a great trip. I enjoyed the time spent with my family. We were in a small car or small hotel room for about 10 days. It was fun.

I try not to think about the fact that Amanda is 18 and bound to leave home and spend less time with us eventually. Or the fact that Jeff will be deployed for six months. Did I tell you that he is also been chosen to go to the Senior NCO Academy in October? Which means he will be gone for October and November - come home - leave toward the end of December - not come home until early July. Plus he has to go away to get training for his deployment, I guess that will occur sometime between now and October. Been nice knowing you hun.

Seriously though we are going to be fine. I have a lot of great friends and a busy school year planned. I am on a ton of committees for school and the American Cancer Society. So hopefully I will see people and not become a hermit.

What all that has to do with Chicago and Fort Wayne, who knows. I think what I was going for is that our time together was tinged with the thought that we would soon be apart and we were all extra sweet and extra patient.

Memphis on the 4th of July

On our road trip to a wedding in Wisconsin we decided to make a few stops along the way, the first one being Memphis on the 4th of July. We arrived in the early afternoon, we stayed right downtown in a lovely hotel. It was across the street from the Peabody, but alas we didn't stay in the Peabody. We did walk threw the loby and wow!

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets. We discoverd a lovely theater which was showing the play Wicked. We tried to get tickets but they were sold out. They told us about a lottery to get tickets. We had to show up two hours before a show and sign up and 20 tickets be available if your name is pulled, well two per name pulled. The first time we tried our name wasn't pulled. There was a lady who was very upset because all the names pulled were people who were the last ones in line to sign up at the lottery. Upon closer inspection it appeared as if the upset screaming woman was correct. So, for the next show we came late to the lottery and we were the last ones to put our names in the mix. And yes, we were chosen, yeah.

Mandy and I got dressed up and saw the most amazing play, Wicked while we were passing through Memphis. I am going to go out and read the book now too. If you get the chance you should see this performance it was WICKED! Totally ok for kids to see too!




We noticed in Memphis that no one walks the streets during the day. But, about 5PM the streets are alive. We went down to the water front (Mississippi River) to see the fireworks. We waited about 30 minutes after they were scheduled to begin. The crowd was getting restless, and when I say restless I mean, starting fires in the crowd that were at least 12 feet high and throwing fire works at strangers in the crowd. It seemed less than fun to continue to stay so we started walking back to our hotel. Lily doesn't like crowds and neither do I for that matter and it was a scary crowd. As we walked back to our hotel we could hear the thunder of the cannons and sometimes we caught glimpses of fireworks from between the buildings. I regret not staying a little, but sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry especially with a little one.

We also sampled the ribs had some fun shopping. Memphis was fun, but I am not so sure I would want to go back with kids. I guess it would have been better if we did Graceland and the zoo - Aquarium stuff??

I Am 40 Now

My 40th birthday has come and gone. I was so busy with Mandy's graduation and company that I hardly had a moment to give that milestone a second thought. I didn't have the opportunity to ponder my life; am I happy, am I old, am I where I want to be, how can I improve? Probably better not to dwell.

I do know that I have never been happier. Every decade life seems to improve by leaps and bounds. Hope that continues.

This summer I am very busy with work. I work from home on the computer. When my job starts to take more than say 6 hours per day I have trouble spending time doing other things on the computer. I think 6 hours is my limit. I have also become addicted to facebook games and my poor dear blog has suffered. I miss all of you though. So hello, again.

For a while I was considering going back to college this fall and finally getting a degree. I decided to change my degree path yet again and go back to my original goal of becoming a high school math teacher. I was very excited, I applied and was excepted. However, these past few months I have been incredibly busy with work and life and I got to thinking. How in the world am I going to be able to fit school into my schedule. I was also thinking about Jeff's deployment and how that taxes me. I decided to cut back on as much as possible while he is gone in order that I might be half way civil to my kids. I have the worst habit of being horrible to the girls when I am overly stressed. My dear sweet girls are very stubborn and are ALWAYS fighting me and testing me on every thing every day. I strive for a balance of disciple, consistency, and my love of spoiling those dear sweet girls. I tend to fly off the handle at their ungratefulness when I am over my limits. They are ungrateful at times but I want to steer them toward being sweeter by example rather than by screaming criticisms. Strive is the best I can seem to accomplish at times.

I am rather proud to say that my girls are very kind, to people other than their mother. Ha. Both have been showing some good manners on occasion, enough to make me want to weep. I am near to giving up my dream of a degree entirely. Still there is just a glimmer of the dream left in me. Don't feel bad for me. I am the happiest person on earth. I have a lot, just at times I miss a sense of accomplishment. Not that raising two beautiful girls is not an accomplishment. But, the little girl in me still wants to rule the world. Weird but true.

So how are y'all doing? Enjoying the summer?

We are keeping busy with swim lessons and a lot of lazy afternoons in front of the tv while I do my work. I try to throw in some educational stuff for Lily to keep busy. But, honestly it is mostly tv. Trying to find a new path, a rhythm or schedule that is fun and keeps the tv to a minimum. Lucky for me Lily doesn't like tv very much and usually turns it off and goes off in the backyard to play. Yesterday, she cried for hours because she was on a trip to a hotel. She moved all her stuff to the garage. She said goodbye, that she would be away for three weeks. We kissed goodbye. Then when she found out she couldn't actually eat her dinner, take her bath, and sleep in our garage she was very upset. Upset doesn't actually cover how mad she was. She cried so much she fell asleep and then woke up two hours later, after a moment she remembered how upset she was with me, and started the crying again. I was ready to move into the garage myself. Poor Lily, no one understands her.

I think you are all caught up. Except about the family visit and graduation and Mandy. That will all have to wait for another day.

Busy, Busy Me

Mandy had her prom last Saturday. What a day. She had taken the day off from work but was asked to come in from 8am until noon to help in the flower department. So many people were getting bouteniers and corsages and they needed Mandy. So she got up early, her least favorite thing in the world and went in to work. I often worry that she is not helping around the house and therefore has entitlement issues and I have raised one of those people. It turns out she puts others first, except at home. I can live with that.

I put her hair up in rollers. I love fixing hair. I am not great at it but she was happy with the results. I did her make up once a few years ago and she hated it. Mandy almost never wears makeup so she had her friend come over to help.

I tried to get my work done, which is up to about six hours a day now, in the morning. Lily had some sort of virus and was throwing up. I spent the entire morning cleaning up puke and tending to Lily. I then planned on doing my work after Mandy left for the prom. However, Mandy's friend's mom came to the house along with her daughter and decided she couldn't figure out how to drive home and back again and invited herself to stay at our house until the girls came home from the Prom. I ended up not being able to do my work until Sunday. Which I usually have off. I emailed my boss and asked permission but she ended up not getting the email and gave me hell about it.

Mandy's date decided to come and pick up the girls first and then the other boy. Mandy's friend's mom was not going to be able to get a picture of her daughter's date. So I offered to drive behind the kids to the next house, where we took even more pictures. After the kids left we got the other mom and the three of us went to Wal-Mart where we printed out and shared all the pictures we had just taken. We got frames for our favorites and the girls came home to an album and framed pictures of thier night.

We moms then went out to have some coffee and visit. When they closed down the coffee house we went back to my house and watched what turned out to be everyone's favorite movie - Ever After! A very fun night, worth getting trouble for blowing off work. I really tried to get it done.

This entire week is going to be so busy too. Saturday is the Relay for Life. I am a team captain for the first time this year. It turns out that Mandy's senior trip is also this week so she will not be able to help out. My team is having a bake sale. This week I am baking and getting the sign ready etc. Wish me luck!

Thanks to everyone who has sponsored me. I will take lots of pictures and tell lots of stories. If you would like to help me raise money for the American Cancer Society by sponsoring me to walk all night long click here!

Bellingrath Gardens

Another fun family adventure we had this Christmas vacation is a trip to Bellingrath Gardens. We are attempting to change the way we interact as a family. Doing more adventures. Spending time together in healthy ways. Avoiding eating out, going to movies, and buying new things. Christmas vacation has been a blast. I can't remember the last time we spent this much time together as a family.

The Black Creek Trail: a family hike

On New Year's day we decided to take a hike on the black creek trail here in Mississippi. We have been trying to get out and enjoy our assignment here.

The Magic Kingdom

We knew that the Magic Kingdom was close by, but didn't know how to get there. The older girls asked at the front desk the night before and were told that we could walk about 5 minutes to the Polynesian Resort across the street and take the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. In the morning we all arrived in the lobby and asked for directions to walk to the Polynesian and the lady looked upset and asked why we were not utilizing their bus to Magic Kingdom. So we asked about the bus, and discovered that the bus takes us to a ticket and transportation hub where we could catch the monorail. We decided to walk. Her directions were vague and we ended up wandering around in the middle of the street looking like fools until we found the path. But, we eventually made it to the Magic Kingdom before 9 A.M. no less.

Upon arrival we split up with the big girls promising to meet up again in the Cinderella Castle at noon. The older girls were off to ride the big rides and enjoy spending time together. These two have been best friends for many years but most of that time it has been a long distance friendship due to the fact that both of them have dad's in the Air Force and have to move a lot. Not only did they get to spend the week in Disney World but the also got to spend time together as well. Jeff, Lily and I were off to Fantasy Land.

Our first ride was the Carousal we missed the ride by about a second and were first in line. However, after that group exited the ride, mechanics came out and we were forced to wait forever while they appeared to stand around and chat. Eventually they got the ride going a bit and the mechanic was able to stand on the back of a horse and screw something in the ceiling. More waiting, the bad thing about those lines is that when you are up front and people pack in behind you, there is no escape no matter how long it takes them to fix the ride. So the first hour at Disney World was spent watching a bunch of mechanics chit chat on the Carousel.

When we finally got to board the ride, there was a bum rush and Lily walking so slow meant we were not able to find two horses together. I rode one far away and Jeff stood with Lily. At least we were finally able to get off the ride. Next up was the Dumbo ride. Another long wait. I am not really fond of going in circles so Jeff took Lily on the ride. I used the bathroom, got water, walked around all of Fantasy land to find the tea cups ride. And then I just sat down and waited and waited.

On the way to the tea cups we found the scary Snow White ride and the Winnie the Pooh ride, Lily's favorite for the day was the Winnie the Pooh ride. We even went back and did the ride a second time, but it broke down while we were on the ride the second time. I think I have that effect on rides or something?

We had a blast on the tea cups and then Jeff saw the Indy cars and drug us on them. That was a blast. I let Lily drive, I think I still have whiplash. We continued our day in the playground, small world, etc. By lunch time Lily was very tired and cranky. We called the older girls at 11 and asked them if they wanted an early lunch. They agreed and we all hooked up and had a fabulous relatively inexpensive Disney lunch. At 11AM the lunch crowd was scarce and it was nice, cool and relaxing in the Pinocchio grato.

After lunch the big girls went off and did their thing. We decided to go back to the hotel for an afternoon swim and nap. The nicest thing about Shades of Green is that it is so close to the park we were able to take the afternoon off. Once we got back to the hotel our little Lily was her old self again. All day at Disney she was tired and grouchy, she walked so slowly and complained the whole way. At the hotel, she regained her energy and the bounce returned to her step. She ran ahead of us leading the way to our room. We all changed into our swim suits and the newly refreshed Lily swam and swam for at least an hour. Being of fair skin and it being so close to the equator in June midday I made us go back to the room after about an hour in the pool. We all had a good nap and were ready and on our way back to the Magic Kingdom by 5PM.

As we were leaving the Magic Kingdom at noon there were more people than I had ever seen in my life entering the park. It was scary and we were a little hesitant to return. Especially since Lily was so visibly unhappy there. But, we spent nearly $100 per person and wanted to try and get our money's worth so return we did. When we got back it was so hot and crowded Jeff and I began to bicker. We did Adventure land and it began to cool down a bit by 6:30PM. At one point I was standing in line for some ride and the sweat was dripping down my hair and landing on my shoulder in huge drops, the only respite from the heat were those fat drops of sweat. But, as the storm clouds rolled in it did begin to cool. While we were riding the Winnie the Pooh ride a second time, the one the broke mid way and we were stuck listening to someone make announcements not to exit the ride for our own safety. That along with Lily's mood seemed to be an omen and afterward we returned to our hotel.

We got on the Monorail back to the hotel and ended up having to wait all packed in for almost a half and hour. The other monorail loaded up and took off more than six times while we stood there and watched. At least there was A/C in there. When we finally got going the skies had opened up and it was raining in buckets. We decided it would be better to take the hotel bus back instead of walking from the Polynesian due to the major raining. We got off at the ticket and transportation stop and found the bus stop after running around in the rain enough to get soaked to the bone. It was hilarious and we were all laughing. More fun than the rides at Disney World. By the time we got back to our room the rain had stopped. We were told that this happens every afternoon in Orlando.

The older girls were in the room having room service and resting. They offered, or did we ask? to watch Lily while Jeff and I went out to dinner. That was a lot of fun. I sure you can tell from my story that I am not the most Disney loving girl in the world. Still I am glad I went, but I think it will be one of those once in a lifetime type events. Next up is our day of relaxation at the resort.

We're going to Disney World

We started our trip to Disney World last weekend by getting the house all ready, I always like to come home from a trip to a clean house. Jeff mowed the lawn and even climbed up on the roof to trim the trees that were brushing our shingles. Laundry, dishes, vacuum, floors, bathrooms; the list of chores never seemed to end. We left early Monday morning with a very clean house and yard.

We left the house wit a bag of treats and each of us had a very small duffel bag for our clothes. Our car is very small and we had to fit all of us our things and Mandy's friend and her things in our little car. We picked up Cassie at about the half way point and the girls were packed pretty tightly in the back seat, especially Mandy and her very long legs. She is 5'11" and about 90% of that is her legs. But, before we got to Cassie we stopped at a gas station about 5 miles from our house to get pop, I had to make my first pit stop. I guess I had too much coffee.

We arrived at our hotel in the late afternoon. The drive was monotonous and pretty uneventful. We stayed at the Shades of Green which is a resort next to the Polynesian Resort right on the Disney property near the Magic Kingdom. In fact we walked across the street from our hotel to the Polynesian to catch the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom. The thing is that you have to drive for miles through and around the Disney Property to find this hotel/resort. Once you actually find your spot it is pretty hard to leave and go elsewhere to eat. We therefore ate our meals at the resort even though there wasn't anything that Lily would eat and we paid $19 per person plus drinks. Poor Lily, they didn't have simple things like not fried or marinated meat, or fruit or veggies without a sauce, or plain rice or plain potatoes, everything was very good but not at all Lily friendly. Even though she has been allergy free for almost a year, now instead of worrying about her food allergies we are worrying about her pickiness. Well not really worrying so much as saying poor Lily as we enjoy our meal. I mean we give her food and if she choses not to eat, well that is her choice. I just have to also point out that our first night me and the older girls very much enjoyed the all you can eat buffet with crab legs, they were divine.

It was at first very awkward to sleep in a hotel room with all five of us. The room was very quiet, we could hear each other breath. We are used to sleeping with a fan running and so the quiet was very quiet. Somehow we all managed to fall asleep and make it through the night. Our room was enormous and luxurious. We were on the ground floor and our sliding glass door went out to a porch. On the porch we had a couple of chairs and a table and a view. That porch was my favorite part of the trip. Every morning I would get up first and take the first shower. After my shower I would have to walk ten minutes to get to the hotel lobby and buy my coffee. I would also pick up milk, juice, bananas for the family. Then I would come back to the room and take my coffee outside on the porch while the rest of the family took showers and ate their breakfast. I had a good hour and a half of reading with my coffee on the porch while the family got ready.

My view from the porch was amazing. There was a pond, surrounded by grass and beautifully landscaped bushes and plants. Behind the pond was a golf course which was full of slopping green grassing hills. Behind the golf course was a forest. The morning sky was as blue as can be and in the air was just the sounds of the birds saying good morning. Each morning different little animals would come and say hello. I saw a turkey, cranes, bunny rabbit, and many other birds. They would come right up to me and forage for food around my feet.

Tomorrow I will tell you about our first day, at the Magic Kingdom. I missed y'all.

Disney World in Pictures

Stories to follow.

Last Day of 11th Grade

Yesterday was Mandy's last day of the 11th grade. She only had one final exam left and was done with school a little before 10AM. Lily and I picked her up and swooped her off to a fun filled day. The three girls in the family off on an adventure.

We started at the bookstore. For some reason there are no bookstores in my immediate area, I have to drive about 45 minutes to find one. But, in the area of the bookstore is a lot of other cool things. We ended up seeing one of Lily's friends at the bookstore. We three had such a fun time, they have a little kids area with a train, yeah.

After the bookstore we went across the street to a Chick Fillet. I have never eaten there before, they also had a kids play area. Mandy and I brought our books and after eating we read while Lily played. Lily wouldn't eat the chicken. I was wise enough to get her fruit instead of waffle fries? and so she ate some of that. Mandy having a mouth full of braces enjoyed the chicken nuggets and small cut up pieces of fruit very much. I looked up to see Lily hitting another child. I haven't ever seen her hit another child before even when they deserved it, but she hits me a lot. I rushed in to the play area. At this place the play area was separated from the rest of the restaurant, meaning we parents were on the other side of a glass wall from our kids and weren't able to hear or be heard. The mom of the hit child got there before me, I guess her kid had hit my kid first and she was making him get out of there for a timeout. I got Lily out and put on her shoes and we went to apologize, both kids said sorry. We then left.

I really wanted to stop by some stores and get some new shorts for the girls. We only have a bit over a week until we are in Disney World and we need new shorts for that. We decided to try the outlet mall that is near where we were. But, by then my Lily was tired and cranky. Mandy hates shopping. And outlet prices suck, I thought this would be discount, um no. Back to Walmart and Old Navy for us. I ended up finding a couple of things for Mandy but that was it. By the time we left Lily was being horrid and I had to carry a screaming hitting child to the car. She is getting so big that it threw out my back something fierce.

Well that was our morning. The first day together of the last summer of Mandy's childhood. I will most likely say the same thing next year even though she turns 18 in February. Now if I can only teach her to drive so I don't have to drive her to work every stinking day.

Mandy and Jeff both have Monday off from work, which is nice as that is my birthday. I was thinking we could do something fun as a family, but Mandy says she is going to a friend's pool party. Perhaps in a way she already has one foot out the door. Have a good weekend friends.

Advice Requested

I am trying to make a difficult decision. Perhaps you would like to weigh in with your infinite wisdom. . .

Having been a stay at home mom for the past few years we have to watch our money, not like when I was a single mom but still. There are so many things I would love to have. Like a pool, minivan, trip to Lake Tahoe. In August Lily is starting school and I am trying to figure out what I will do with my free time.

Option one: I change my major and become a math teacher. There is a local college very close to my house, reasonable rates that offers a degree to become a high school or junior high school math teacher. This has really always been my dream. As a child I always thought I would become a math teacher. I often tutor in math and have had success and enjoyed it very much. There is a real need for math teachers and schools located near my home. However, the pay in Mississippi for teachers is under 30 K per year to start and after 30 years experience the max one can earn is 38 K. I might be able to earn more than that at McDonald's. There are plenty of secretary jobs where I could earn more than that and start immediately without having to pay out to finish college. I worked as a secretary in the sales department of a television station and was promoted to traffic manager before I was married. I was successful and enjoyed those positions, with that experience and references I think I could obtain a decent paying office job right away.

Option two: continue on my path to get a degree in computer information science paid for by a student loan. With this degree the entry level positions don't pay that much but with experience I can make quite a bit of money. Especially in the web design and development field that I love. It does take quite a while to work your way up to having the experience necessary to get a good job but I could eventually have a great paying job. And I really love computer programming. I also sometimes have trouble working well with others and this would be more of a job where I get time to myself without having to deal with people. I am not completely sure that I could handle dealing with junior high school students and other teachers all day everyday. Teachers really don't have the option of hiding in their cubicle when they are having a bad day.

Option three: Start working immediately and earning money in whatever I can find. Maybe someone needs a traffic manager or a secretary. I could earn a decent living and combined with Jeff's check we would be sitting pretty right away. No debt from finishing school. All the money would be extra and above what we need to live so I could have all the things I dream about without having to pay out for a year of college before I even start earning money. I can always finish college when the girls are older or continue to learn computer stuff on my own. I have always wanted a degree but I am not completely sure it will offer me anything other than debt. Seems that there are plenty of jobs available making good money without a degree and the jobs available for people with a degree you don't necessarily earn more money. Not that it is all about money, perhaps it is about happiness, I am already happily married, great kids, lovely home, money would just be a little added frosting.

I am not certain but I don't know that having extra spending money would actually make me happier. We are very comfortable now, just don't have the ability to spend as much as I would like. Long term I am not certain, maybe I would be just as happy being a secretary as being a teacher or a web designer. I did love being a secretary. Lots of gossip time, not a lot of stress, cute clothes...

I also think that going to school would mean that I could be home for the girls to see them off to school and to be here when they get home. I could volunteer at the school and meet the other moms etc. I worry that working full time would take me away from being here for the family because Jeff works so many hours and is out of town a lot it is nice for me to be flexible. Especially with Lily in kindergarten and being away from me for the first time. I might have to be available for when she gets sick etc.

So what do you think, fulfill my childhood dream and become a teacher, become a web designer and take an initial hit to the pocket book but be able to be involved with family while going to school and eventually be able to make a good living, or go for the money right away and start having more access to life's little pleasures right away.

Feels like we are playing the game of Life. Mandy loves that game we used to play it all the time. Jeff is sick of listening to me go back and forth and never make a decision. So I have to expand my audience.

A New Bed

Lily is nearly five and we finally moved her into a twin bed. I bought her a crib that converts into a toddler bed and then into a double bed when she was born. I converted it into a toddler bed and she has been sleeping in that for a couple of years now. But, the toddler bed is the same size as a crib, just missing one side and lower to the ground for easy access. Lily got too big.

She hates change so much that we put the move off as long as we could. Lately she has been sleeping on the floor more than in her toddler bed so I thought it might be time for the move. We talked about it for a week. We made a date to change the bed. At first she was very upset but settled into the idea over the course of the week.

The day before the big day we bought a new bedding set, Lily told me she wanted rainbow and we found a beautiful set with multicolored pinstripes. Lily loved it. The colors also look nice with her purple walls. Most of the time when I let Lily pick something it doesn't match what we have at all. This time it was a good match.

The move into the new bed went well. Lily loves to help me put things together. She is a professional with the tools. having been a Bob the Builder fan for many years. We took apart the old bed and put together the new bed. All is going well, she has slept in the new bed two nights in a row. Both times she was upside down and backwards, but at least she is in the bed. I did promise her she could sleep in her new bed forever and she never, ever had to change beds again. So I guess the crib/toddler bed/ double bed will have to be held onto for grandchildren or something. I don't think I could bear to part with it. Lily's room is not really big enough to handle a double bed with all of her things and still allow enough room to play.

And then there were three

Thanks for all your good wishes. Lily did pass her sickness on to Jeff and myself. So far Mandy is ok. Lily is not completely better yet but she is slowly making a comeback. She didn't get dehydrated the whole time, but she did lose some weight, not eating for five days will do that to a person. I should say she ate very little. The doctor tells us not to give her milk but that is all she wants. She keeps it down and it has calories and fat. Just don't tell on me.

What is worse than taking care of a sick little one. Trying to take care of a sick little one while you are sick yourself. Jeff was so sick he stayed home from work yesterday. He was laying on the couch with Lily watching cartoons and I went into the bedroom to lay down for a minute. Woke up about 7 hours later. Only woke up because I was gagging on my own puke. Sorry TMI?

After my little nap, I was feeling a bit better. I was able to take Mandy to work, pick up a few things at the store, clean up a little and then pick Mandy back up from work. Jeff seemed to be getting worse. He went to work today. Bet that was fun.

I know this stuff happens to everyone and I am a big baby. Tomorrow maybe I will tell you all about my flowers and how they were killed this year.

A Sickly Weekend

I heard a strange noise from Lily's room on Friday night, I was sound asleep and not sure what I had heard. I went to her room just to check. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully, I covered her with a blanket and left. I was a bit thirsty so I got a drink of water. Not really all the way awake. When I made it back to my bed, Jeff asked if I was ok and I said yes. Just as I laid my head back down on the pillow I heard the noise from Lily's room again. This time I was fully awake and this time I knew what it was.

Lily was getting sick. I rushed to her room. Her bed was covered in it, she had been laying in it. Poor girl. I scooped her up and gave her a bath. Jeff went to work cleaning her bed. I got her all cleaned up and was ready to put her back to bed when it started again. This time I got her a bowl and we avoided having to have another bath. Lily and I were up all night Friday, she didn't stop throwing up until after 7AM. We spent the night together in the living room. Me holding her upright in a chair. Finally we got a couple hours of sleep.

Saturday, she ate a cracker and drank some water and threw it up. We spent the day cuddled up together on the couch, she threw up a couple of times the last time being around 2:30 PM. I put her to bed that night exhasted and ready for a good night's sleep. Mandy was at the prom. Not long after I got settled in bed she started to throw up again. We didn't make it to her room on time again a bath was necessary. Jeff suggested that Lily come and sleep with me in my bed and he would sleep on the couch. We have a small bed. I had trouble going back to sleep. Mandy wasn't home yet and hadn't called as she was supposed to call and tell me where she was going after the dance and what time she would be home. She didn't answer her phone either. Plus I was worried Lily would throw up in my bed and I would sleep right threw it. The adreneline was flowing so much I could feel my heart beating. Mandy finally answered her phone and came home all safe and sound. I guess I slept a bit, no more throwing up.

Sunday Lily didn't throw up at all. She didn't eat or move much either. I got her to drink some water but not much. When she fell asleep on the couch I went to put her in her bed for the night and she was afraid. Afraid of throwing up again I suppose. I didn't think letting her cry was a good idea. So Lily and I slept on the couch. Today she doesn't want to eat or drink. I guess we are working on recovery a little at a time. I am going to try to get her about 5 minutes of sunshine this afternoon. Hopefully it might stimulate some hunger or thirst.

Lily is not a cuddle baby. She only really likes to be held for more than a quick hug and kiss, when she is sick. It is weird to have been cuddling her 24 hours a day for three days now. She doesn't like for me to be away from her at all, as in I have to be physically touching her or she gets upset. Poor girl. I hope she feels better soon. I am not sure what it is she has, a bug, food poison???

Easter Birthday Fun

Yesterday was Jeff's birthday in addition to being Easter. We incorporated the Easter and birthday activities into a day full of fun.

I woke up at around 5AM, so excited about all of the plans and work I had put into this day I could not go back to sleep. I got out of bed and made some coffee, Mandy was already in the shower as she had to be at work by 7AM. I hid the boiled eggs that Lily and I had dyed and covered in stickers the night before. Mandy came into the living room to check out her Easter Basket, she mumble her thanks and hid her spoils in her room.

I was certain that Lily would wake up as I was driving Mandy to work. I was worried I would miss her face as she saw her basket, miss her looking for and finding all the eggs. She did wake up while I was on the road, but Jeff kept her from the living room and the two of them patiently awaited my arrival before beginning the Easter morning fun.

Later I picked Mandy up from work and when we got home we had the present opening portion of Jeff's birthday party. Lily and I had baked him a cake and wrapped the presents together. Mandy had taken Jeff to see wrestling at the coliseum. Jeff enjoyed his presents, Lily was bad and had to take a nap. We had to sit and watch two DVDs about through hiking the Appalachian trail while we waited for dinner to cook. This is Jeff's favorite weekend pastime.

Next was the Easter dinner followed by the birthday cake, complete with candles and song. Jeff sometimes complains that all this hoopla about birthdays is weird but he seemed to enjoy his day.

Lily got her first Barbie doll for Easter. It was headless by the time she went to bed. This surprised me to no end because she has never before broken a toy, and baby dolls and stuffed animals are some of her favorite things. She loves her babies and takes them with her everywhere. The Barbie is the one with butterfly wings. She sees the commercial all the time and Tuesday at the playgroup she dresses up with the butterfly wings. I thought she would just love this Barbie, but she bashed its head on the side of the table until the head popped off. No more Barbie's for that child.

I know I talk about what a rough and stubborn and willful little four year old Lily is quite often. But, she is usually very sweet to her babies. She loves them and takes care of them. They come with her everywhere and she is always making sure they are dressed and have a toy to play with. I have never seen her just purposely destroy a toy before especially a doll. It was weird. Maybe she was a feminist in a previous life? Our latest attempt at behavior modification is going well. She is getting better at not hitting me when she is upset, not completely resolved but more of a once in a blue moon thing than a once an hour thing that it was.

Busy, Busy Me

I am finding that a nasty side effect to eating healthy foods is that I have a ton of happiness and energy. I don't seem to have time for sitting on the computer and blogging. Even yesterday on the way to the grocery store after voting when it started to pour down rain, instead of going home, we splashed our way through the puddles and enjoyed having the entire grocery store to ourselves. That is really not at all my personality.

Today as I arrived home after driving Mandy to work, the Domino's pizza delivery truck was driving past my house. I almost threw myself on the ground in front of his truck. I think I would prefer to feel bad, play on the computer all day, and eat really delicious food. I have no will power. Tonight we are having beef Don Buri, a Japanese stir fry with thinly sliced beef, onion, garlic, ginger, in a sweetened soy sauce and saki sauce. One of my all time favorite foods, it is great with tofu subbed for the beef as well, anyways, we are having it with BROWN RICE!

Lily has been working on gaining enough stars to buy a set of Diego Blocks. They have been sitting on top of the refrigerator forever. Every time we go out, if she is nice she gets a star when we get home. The blocks cost 20 stars. It took her about six months but today was the day she finally got her blocks. She is so happy. Earlier in the week she was grounded from the TV FOREVER, I was so mad. At least now she has a new toy to play with in our very quiet house. Maybe that is what is keeping me from my computer, no TV to entertain the little one while I type.

Mandy has decided to start dating a specific boy. Everyone say a prayer. They call it going out, we called it going together when I was growing up. We are going prom dress shopping next week during her spring break. I am also taking the entire family to Natchez, Mississippi to see pre-civil war era mansions in exchange for going to Disney World. I am very excited, this little town, which I had never heard of before is rich in the history of this area. Can't wait to learn all about it and then share it all with y'all. Oh, and I will get to see the Mississippi river. Luckily by then I will be off this stinkin' diet.

March and April seem to be the busiest months of my life. I guess we now know people, because we seem to have plans for almost everyday for the next two months. Lily's playgroups, Jeff's volunteer groups, it never seems to end. My white board calendar is positively full. Yeah!

Giving Blood

Yesterday, Mandy gave blood for the first time. She did it at school and was able to get some free junk food and get out of second period. After giving blood, she started to feel poorly. It got worse after lunch. Finally she called her work and told them that due to the fact that she gave blood and was feeling woozy, dizzy, nauseas...she wouldn't be able to work. They told her to get a dr.'s note. This really upsets me.

It is rather difficult to get a dr.'s note at one in the afternoon. It is also a waste of a dr.'s time for us to come in for a note when Mandy is not in need of medical assistance. Luckily we have free health care and luckily Jeff works at the hospital. Otherwise we would have to go to an emergency care place and wait for hours to see a dr and get a note. Paying a lot more out of our pocket than Mandy would earn in a day of work. I cannot believe that they do this to minimum wage employees. They certainly aren't paying Mandy health care.

I wonder if they do this to all their employees? Is it some sort of don't call in sick or we will fire you policy? Mandy doesn't get paid for her sick time. They are just short that night or have to call someone in. I wonder if the store manager knows this is happening or if the Winn Dixie corporate offices know about this or if it is something they all do to intimidate the employees. I wonder if this is only something they do to teens?

The momma bear in me wants to go down there and give these people a piece of my mind. I don't think that would be helpful for Mandy and her job. Maybe I should encourage her to find something else. I guess I should let it go, chalk it up to a learning experience. Teaching Mandy that working for $7 an hour in retail is not a way a person can earn a living in our country today. I feel so bad for the people working there that do so full time and depend on this job to pay rent.

Hopefully Mandy was able to save a life today. I did make her a dr.'s appointment for later int he week to test for anemia, since it runs in the family and donating blood was so hard on her. Glad I have medical insurance.

Grandma Dorothy

During our last move the boxes carrying all our loose pictures was destroyed. The movers were able to save the pictures but they are no longer separated into separate little boxes and envelopes. Instead every loose picture we own is in an enormous pile in a giant box. I should probably organize this mess...

I wanted to find a picture of my grandma and I knew the picture was in this box. I had to sort through thousands of pictures one at a time to find the exact picture I was looking for. It was a little surreal to look at a picture of me as a kid, then one of Mandy as a baby, Lily as a baby, Jeff as a kid; in no particular order. I eventually found the photo. It was a picture of my grandma, my mom, me, and Mandy. The photo was taken shortly after grandma and my dad had gone sky diving. Grandma was around 70 I believe and decided that she wanted to go sky diving for her birthday. My dad and grandma tried to talk me into doing it too. They thought if they had three generations jumping out of the plane all at once we might get a mention in the paper. I declined.

My grandma was a lot of fun. I say was because she passed away on Friday. It really hasn't hit me yet. I spent the weekend being extra nice to my girls and husband. Grandma was incredibly nice to me my entire life. I used to spend time with her at her house, just the two of us, and we would crochet, sew, knit, garden, cook. It was fun and peaceful. I wish that life hadn't taken me so far away and the I had gotten to know her better as an adult. Instead of just as Grandma.

The Birthday Party

My mom passed down a birthday tradition to me that I continue in our family. On your birthday you get to pick your dinner and we as a family sit down and eat your favorite meal together. Mandy picked pasta carbinara this year, with warm and buttery buns, she wanted a white cake, with vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce, and sprite. Lily and I decorated the house with black and white balloons and crept paper. It was a nice dinner, cake and presents.

Later, Mandy got the remote control and we all watched American Idol. Haven't seen it in many years. We had a blast. Loved the 70's theme. We all sang along and then between performances we somehow started singing other songs that get stuck in our head. We are all awful singers so it is funny for us to belt it all out. I had a really great time.

Mandy works most evenings, so all of us spending an evening together is rare. The last young man to sing was singing John Lennon's Imagine and it brought a tear to my eye. What in the world happened to Simon, is he not mean anymore? I kept waiting for a smarmy comments. I think that American Idol is like Survivor, a show that is so bad if you watch it alone, but so good if you watch it with fun people. They are shows that need smarmy comments and laughter. Now I am really looking forward to our summer trips. Too bad we didn't buy a mini van and we are going to all be crammed into our little Nissan Sentra. At least we will get good gas millage.