New Venture

Well hello!

I thought I would give a quick update.  My friend, Kate, and I have started a blog together.  I would love for you to check it out!

http://weallfalldownblog.wordpress.com/

I Made it!

I am absolutely shocked that it is already the end of September. I am also shocked that I survived the summer- it was iffy there for a while. I guess the mere fact that it took me this long to write about our summer is an indication of how much we had going on. It turns out running a law firm with your husband and having 3 kids home for the summer is hard. True, I had a nanny here in the mornings (who was great by the way), but working at home with little ones downstairs can be challenging. One bonus- summer school! I know that every mother's dream is to have her children in summer school...well, that is probably not true, but I am not "every mother." It really was a good way for them to stay in the school routine though. However because of budget cuts (did you know we are in a recession?), summer school was only in the month of July and only Monday-Thursday from 9-12. As a funny side note, Timothy went Mon-Thur, but Madeline only went on Tuesdays and Thursdays. When I found out that Madeline was only going two days a week I mistakenly thought she would be thrilled, oh but no, Madeline was totally ticked that Timothy got to go more than her. She definitely let her teachers and bus driver (and really anyone else who would halfway listen) know that it was not fair that she only could go two days. Oh Madeline...I guess it is a good thing that she still wants to go to school at all.

Anyway, we were able to go camping on two weekends. My friend Karen and I took the girls and her son once and Josh took the girls along with my cousin another weekend. To say that Madeline and Sadie love camping would be an understatement. I really can not adequately describe just how dirty Sadie was able to get. The girl is a dirt magnet to begin with, but to bring her to a campsite complete with dirt, mud, sticks, a river and marshmallows is asking for it. She was in heaven! It, of course, would not be a Pond camping trip without a little drama (and I do mean a little for once). When I took them, Sadie got into something and starting breaking out in hives, so I got to make a trip to the nearest Walgreens (oh, the benefits of camping nearby- hardcore campers please do not scoff). However, when Josh took them we forgot to pack a pacifier for Sadie (yes, I know she is 2 1/2, but she only uses them to sleep and I will do anything to get that child to sleep- ANYTHING). Josh kept her up late and thought it would probably not be a big deal. He hoped that she would pass out after having played all day in the river and such, but not so. She kept telling him that she just needed to call me and ask me to bring it to her (she is a bit of a momma's girl). Finally, he broke down and ventured out to buy one. Apparently when he made it back and went into the tent to give it to her she said, "See Papa, you had my paci" and went immediately to sleep.

We also made it to the coast a few times, which is fun (most of the time). Again, another opportunity for Sadie to get dirty. Timothy also has a fondness for stuffing as much sand in his mouth as possible. I really can not overstate how much sand he consumes. You may be thinking that we should just keep a better eye on him (hey, I would if I were you), but he is able to feast on the sand while literally strapped to us. He just randomly drops to his knees and buries his face while you are using all your might to pull him up. Heaven forbid you actually look the other way to gaze at the beauty of the coast or watch one of the girls playing- you are really asking for it then. Let's just say that beach diapers are in a category all of their own. Despite the drama, it was still nice to change it up a bit. Plus I seriously love the Oregon coast. You very rarely go without a fleece on and the water is so cold that you don't want to get in. This may sound strange, but I am so pale and so scarred by swimming in the muddy, murky, tar-filled, jellyfish infested Texas Gulf Coast (I am sure all of it is not that way, but it is where I grew up) that the beach has never been my favorite place to be. Just thinking of the beech growing up sends shivers down my spine. I still pray daily that I do not get skin cancer from all the sunburns I got as a child. That is a whole different story though.

So far, the summer is sounding pretty good, and don't get me wrong, there were some good times tucked in there. I guess the tough part was August. Pretty much the whole month. You see, while already having to make some pretty hard decisions concerning Timothy we were hit with the possibility of him having cancer or some other blood disease. Thankfully, all is well and the blood tests that showed all of the bad stuff was later negated by further testing. Nevertheless, it was quite overwhelming. Then, there was the whole someone suing me thing. Another event that was dropped because of it being completely ridiculous and unfounded (I have a few opinions on how easy it is to actually sue someone for no real reason and just how much Americans like to get something for nothing. This could go on, so I will just save that for another time). Even though it was crazy, I still liked seeing Josh in action for me. Luckily, I usually just get to help him work for other people, but this was a whole new experience. It turns out he is a really good attorney! So, if you need someone to represent you just give us a call. His main focus is DUI's, but he does other fun stuff as well (wills, trusts, personal injury- that kind of thing). You should check out our website- www.joshuapondlaw.com Well, enough shameless self-promotion (well spousal promotion) for today (seriously though, he is a good lawyer). :-)

So, there you go. That was our summer. I am still trying to recover. Here are a few more random pics from the summer. Warning- they are mostly of Sadie. Timothy rarely stands still and Madeline is SO over having her picture taken (most of the time- you never know what each day brings).

Madeline on a hiking trip in the gorge.

Do I really need to explain?

More hiking pics- it was gorgeous.

My friend Karen asked Sadie to smile at the camera. This was her pose, complete with a loud grunt.

Josh and Sadie on Mt. Hood- they stopped by on their way home from camping.

Sadie at a lavender farm- a fun spot we stopped by with my in-laws.

This was at our neighborhood 4th of July Parade.

She really loves sticks!

Just a cute pic- Timothy was actually still (I am sure he was in his high chair or something).

Poofed Out!

I was going upstairs with Madeline yesterday to put her to bed and she said, “Whew! I am really poofed out!” It is so hard to not laugh because she is trying so hard to be grown up and I don’t want to always correct her, so I just said, “I bet” and left it there.

I do sympathize with her though. Last weekend really poofed me out. On Friday my super sweet and responsible nanny was driving my car when someone hit her (by her I mean my sa-weet minivan). The other people have insurance and no one is disputing anything, it is really just another thing I have to coordinate and deal with- so sad. On Saturday though, Josh and I were being super great parents and decided to take the kids swimming at our local rec center. Taking our crew anywhere is not for the faint at heart, much less swimming. We really did have a good time though. Madeline loves the water- always has. Timothy is pretty amusing when he swims. He LOVES to put his head underwater. Sounds fairly normal, but when you look around and see the little guy constantly putting his head underwater (quite forcefully I might add) for about 20 seconds, then pulling it out gasping for breath only to repeat the process again and again- well, you get the picture. He really does like being in the swimming pool and Josh and I just take turns being man-handled and stared at by others. Sadie had a blast too. The rec center has a really fun slide, which Sadie very hesitantly ventured onto only to realize how magnificent it was. I think she went on it about 20 times. So, all in all, it was a lot of fun. That is, until we went to leave. Someone decided that they would benefit from taking our possessions. Meaning, our phones and my watch were stolen. Usually we do not bring this stuff in with us, but I guess we both were distracted and did not think about it. I have never had anything like that happen, so this is a whole new adventure for me. In the scheme of life having those things stolen is not a big deal, but it has been really tough. The watch was a gift from Josh when he passed the bar (we always joked that I would get the graduation gift once the whole school thing was over, and I did) and the phone was really one of my favorite things. Sounds silly, but I had an iPhone and I had everything on it. It was a 3Gs, so it had a little video recorder and it took good pictures. Call me sentimental, but I really love to watch the little videos I take of the kids- it makes me smile. Even though I know it is only stuff and it is not the end of the world, I am just totally bummed out. I feel like someone is walking around with a piece of my life. I don’t want them to be able to watch videos of my kids or look at my address book. I don’t like that I had to go and change passwords for everything I could think of or that I now have to start over on a new phone. Why can’t we all just be nice to each other?

Tina Fey

I heard Tina Fey read this on NPR and I thought it was hilarious. Then, I saw that a friend of mine (www.landofozfam.blogspot.com) posted this on her blog. I could not resist. Though it is a tad crass, it is funny and pretty much says it all. If you have a daughter or plan to or have a friend who does..., you will enjoy this.

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First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her
When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.

What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short – a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.

“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.

(source: http://blogs.babble.com/famecrawler/2011/04/16/tina-feys-prayer-for-a-daughter-a-must-read-for-any-parent-or-those-who-have-had-one/)

My daughters would NEVER do any of the above. NEVER...

Time is tickin' away, tick tick tickin' away...

Well folks, it has been too long. Time has just gotten away from me and now it is the middle of May. How in the world did that happen? So, what have we been up to? Oh, nothing much, just Timothy in Kindergarten, Madeline trudging through third grade in a new school, Sadie

embracing being two, me running two half-marathons and hmmm… oh yeah, Josh started a law firm. To make a long story short it was his only option that would not only provide for his family (us- not his other family- they are on their own), but would also enable him to practice law the way he envisions it should be. The law firm is off to a great start; we really have been amazed at God’s provision. I was trying to continue to work in real estate and help Josh run the business side of things and it became quite obvious that I could not adequately do both. So, now I am working full-time with Josh. I love doing administrative work (I am serious!) and especially love working with Josh. You know, he is really pretty funny. I am also learning to work in the whole criminal law scene.

It is unlike anything I have ever done. Well, I did work for a seminary for a few years and there are criminals in the Bible- does that count?

Since I have not posted in a bit, I thought I should probably give updates with pics of my offspring. I guess I will start with the eldest and the one with the most amusing stories. Luckily for us things have been pretty even with Madeline this school year. She is in a great classroom where she is able to get a lot of attention and structure. She is blossoming into quite a little lady. I wish I had some pictures to show some of her latest fashions. I guess I will just have to tell you what she wore for Easter. A cute multi-colored striped cotton summer dress, pink and white snow leopard furry vest, rainbow Hello Kitty socks and rhinestone high-heeled shoes. When she showed me her outfit she said, “Don’t these shoes make me look SO grown up?”

Timothy has really helped with my prayer life and running speed. We just keep thinking that surely he cannot get more destructive or surely he will calm down. Not so much. He just keeps growing taller which means he can reach more- this is where my running comes in. I am getting really good at sprinting to catch or prevent something from flying across the room. I think my prayer life has grown so much by having him around- I don’t think I need to expound on this. He did do something super sweet last week. I was gone for a few days and when I came back he was so happy to see me that he kept looking at me and smiling and coming over to sit on my lap (for more than 5 seconds). This, to me, is progress.

Sadie, oh Sadie… I think she is going to give me just as many stories as Madeline. She is such a strong-willed little lady. She is also very funny and smart. I believe she will most definitely help me grow even more as a mother (just when I thought we were going to have an easy one). Right now she is in ballet and absolutely loves it. She talks about going everyday and will even show us some of her moves. Well, the other day I took her and the teacher came out at the end to give us a report. She said that the girls had had a rough time listening today, so she had to start a rewards system. She gave the girls stamps every time they listened well. She said that some got 3, some 2, some1 and even 0 stamps. Well, all of the little girls start pouring out and showing their moms how many stamps they got and Sadie ran to me and showed me her arm- 1 stamp. That’s my girl! I did see the Mom with the little girl who did not get any stamps, I have noticed her before because of how much she looks and acts like Madeline when she was 3. Poor woman. To show you how much I have grown, I could honestly care less how many stamps Sadie got, she is super adorable to me and I now know that my quality as a parent is not measured by stamps.

May I See Your ID Please?

Another exciting doctor visit for Timothy! This one was with his Developmental Pediatrician who we only see about every 6-8 months. She is the one who keeps track of the long-term issues with Timothy. Well, I think she is great, but extremely blunt and most definitely does not candy coat anything. The first few times we saw her I left shell-shocked and feeling like the worst mom in history. Now, I really appreciate how she gets to the point even though I don’t really like the point. Where am I going with this? Well, among many other things she wants us to be thinking about is getting Timothy some type of ID bracelet in case he runs away or we somehow loose him. This is way more than I can stand to think about, but I understand the idea of being proactive. That being said I am now left to figure out what type of bracelet to get him. They have a really neat one with GPS, but I really don’t want to go that high-tech quite yet. Timothy has an amazing ability to destroy things, so it needs to be really tough. What I am thinking of now is buying in bulk those plastic (sorry environmentalists) bracelets like you get at a concert or waterpark that lock. You can put your own logo on them- what a bonus! Before I do that though I thought I would see if anyone else has ideas. What do you think?

Thanks for your help!!!

It has been too long…

With school starting I thought I would have a lot of extra time. Time to nap, watch endless amounts of girly shows, read, and (most importantly) bake. Well, that is not the case. I have somehow gotten busier than before. While I am not chasing after Timothy or finding things for Madeline to do quite as much, I am now realizing how much I neglected during the summer. It is crazy how much work gets ignored when you are running around like a crazy person trying to survive the “break!” All this to say, I have not blogged in a while and I really need to. The problem with me is I have a very tiny memory for cute stories and the like (there are other problems with me, but can we please focus on one at a time?). My brain has a hard time remembering what it is supposed to be doing now, much less what has already happened. I prefer to live in my little world where the past is the past- it was great and happy, but it is gone now. Josh makes fun of me because I somehow forget just how hard certain situations have been or that some of them even existed. Oh well, I like my happy place! Now I just have to remember some of the last few weeks. Here are the main events:

1. Josh passed the Bar!!!!!!!!!!!! Need I go on? Here is a pic of him getting sworn in this afternoon- it is now completely official. Now he can sue anyone (in Oregon)!

2. In Timothy’s class they had to section off the room because he kept escaping (how much does that make me feel better?It is not just me!).

3. Sadie has started Kindergym (a much cheaper version of “Little Gym” classes done through our Parks and Rec department) where she is a maniac! The child has no fear. One of her favorite activities is the balance beam where yesterday she jumped continually across it. She is a tad scary, but hugely cute. Her sense of humor is really blossoming (what do you expect from a child with Josh and my genes put together? She better be funny!). The other day she climbed up next to Josh while he was feeding Timothy. When Josh looked over she was in Madeline’s sunglasses and simply said, “Coooooool.” I know I am partial, but that is really cute. Oh, and Sadie has decided to not call Josh "Papa" anymore. This morning she told him, "No Papa! Father!" So, I guess he has a new name.

4. Madeline has been doing really well in school. Everyday we get a report card for the day. This also includes her behavior on the bus. Well, last week when Madeline came home the bus driver told me to make sure I read her card, she had a tough afternoon on the bus. So, I excitedly took a peak and it said, “Loud talking out and criticizing my driving!” What exactly am I supposed to say to that? The loud talking I expect and truly have no other words to ask her to stop. I have pretty much given up and expect her to be a tour guide one day for partially deaf people. I decided instead to focus on the “criticizing my driving” part. I asked Madeline if she knew how to drive, she responded no. Then I asked if she has ever driven a bus, she said no. So, why then do you feel you need to criticize or instruct the driver? “I don’t know…..” She says. Well, I asked her to please leave the driver alone and then reminded her the following morning. When she got home the next afternoon apparently the same thing happened. So I talked to her again, but then emailed her teacher and asked her to remind Madeline. Her teacher (who I love by the way) said that they would have a bus training session the next day. When Madeline came home I got a good report. When I asked her about the day she very excitedly talked about the bus training game they played. She retold the story at dinner and Josh asked why they needed to do this (I guess I forgot to tell him about the issue) and she said, “Well Papa, you see some of the kids have been having troubles on the bus and my teacher felt they needed some practice (said in a very sad and compassionate tone). I guess like me (said in a very quick and quiet voice).” Oh Madeline, I wish I could be privy to your thoughts sometimes.

Well, that about does it for now. I am sure I will remember more, so I guess I will just need to write it down sooner next time.

735, 755, 1145, 350

No, these are not lottery numbers or lucky numbers (well, not to everyone at least). These are the times a bus stops in front of our house every weekday. School has started! I guess that is old news, but I am still excited. I, for some reason, had these dreams of school starting and life magically becoming easier. Though I am most definitely enjoying the extra time to work, I am now reminded of just how much I was not able to accomplish this summer. I am on a marathon now trying to catch up with lofty hopes of one day getting ahead. Not to worry, this is just a dream- I will not get my hopes us.

Well, Madeline is in a new school and loves it! I was so concerned about her transition and the drama that would ensue, but it turns out I am seemingly the one most affected by it all. I am a mess! I miss her old school and want to go back! I don’t like having to learn all the new rules and regulations. I picked her up the other day and was completely traumatized. What is happening to me? I used to love change and everything about it, but now I completely thrown off by any hint of it. Our fridge broke last week and I told Josh that I was sad- not because of the money (though that is the actual worst part), but because I liked our old one and simply did not want to change it. Anyway, Madeline has jumped right in and is doing great. She is in a smaller more specialized classroom that seems like it will be a good fit. There are 6 students at this point and 3 teachers- can you believe it?! I get a note home each day to let me know how her day went. Well, the other day the note said, “Madeline had a good day today! She is having a hard time staying in her seat during independent work time though- She likes to ‘pop-up’ and help others.” This is not unusual for Madeline, sitting still has never been her strong suit, but the fact that they can not keep her situated when there are 3 teachers in the room goes to show you how much fun her past teachers must have had. I mentioned this to Madeline’s teacher from last year and I think it made him feel a lot better.

Timothy is another story. I don’t know how much he actually likes school (seeing as he does not talk and such), but I do know that he adores the bus. Having it come everyday is like a dream come true! He patiently (and by patiently I mean the complete opposite- he goes berserk) waits every morning and can hardly contain his excitement when it rounds the corner. I think, more than anything, he likes the routine, but it sure is cute seeing him get so excited every morning. That is, until this morning. I am doing everything I can to keep him from hurting himself, myself and/or the house while waiting for the bus to come. Finally it came 10 minutes late and I walk with/get dragged by him to the bus only to be told that they do not have a car seat for him today. His usual bus needed work done and this one was not equipped (his normall bus has them built in the seat where you can just pull out the center and viola- a car seat)! She said that it was not in his file and suggested that I just put him in a seat belt. After I controlled the urge to say all sorts of sarcastic comments I calmly mentioned that there is absolutely no possible way

he would stay in his seat and he can even get out of a 5-point-harness when he so desires. I mean, he is not quite 30 pounds (which is hard to believe- I think he is made completely of muscle because when he jumps, hits or head butts you it feels like more than 30 pounds), so it is illegal to not have him in a seat. Well, I just had to change my plans for the morning and take him to school. So what if Sadie did not get to really eat breakfast? Who cares if I had an enormous list of things to do that did not include spending 40 minutes carting Timothy to school (the school is not close)? Ahhh…the joys of being a mom! They really do need to have a book or some type of disclosures you have to sign before mommy-hood commences.

Red, Orange, Yellow, Blue...

Some of you may not be too impressed by what I am about to say, but being the mom of two special needs kids before #3 came along, my viewpoint is skewed. Last week I was walking around outside with Sadie (19 months old) and asked her to pick the yellow flower (thinking she would just pick one or I was going to point at the yellow flower). She proceeded to point at the yellow flower say, “Yellow” and then pick it. Coincidence? No, she then picked out the white and purple flowers. She has since replicated this new talent and I am completely impressed. I keep underestimating her and then being surprised when she does something so genius! Oh typical children…

This made me think, of course, of what we went through to teach Madeline colors. Seeing as how we spent a little while teaching her English we did not push things like colors or shapes. Why would we? Well, once she was headed to pre-school I figured it was time to really start working. You probably already know this, but Madeline has a bit of a strong-willed personality. Mix that with the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome and you can get in some interesting situations. I remember time and time again I would say the colors of things and then ask her what color something was. Inevitably she would tell me every single color she knew except the actual color. I am not exaggerating! I would point to a pink flower and ask, “What color is this?” (this is after going over it) and she would say in her shaky dramatic voice, “Yellow? Green? Blue? Orange?...” Every color but pink. I laugh now, but at the time it was very frustrating. Thankfully she now knows her colors, but this trait has moved onto bigger and better things. For example, any time I ask her which direction we need to turn or tell her to tie her left shoe, etc she will say or do the opposite. I would say 90% of the time this is true. Even if she were just guessing she would have better odds (I am not taking her to Vegas- that is for sure)! Now, I am sure that there is a perfectly logical explanation for this and I should probably ask her doctor, but for now I just laugh to myself and understand that at some point she will get it- it is really not that big of a deal.

As for Sadie, I guess I need to start really working with her- who knows what she can learn? I certainly don’t.

29 days- can we make it?

Well, summer school is over and we still have 29 long days until school begins. Can we do it? Today my nanny was not able to make it to work- so much fun. I was lucky enough to have a friend help me for a few hours because I had an appointment. I did, however, get to bring all 3 kids in search of Nature Camp for Madeline. Apparently, I signed her up for one that is 25 minutes from our house. She has done nature camps in the past and the facility is only about 10 minutes away, but not this week. To make matters worse I showed up on time (crazy, I know) to the place we thought it was only to be turned away and rerouted. By the time I made it back home (9:45) I had to immediately leave for an appointment then go get her (it ended at 12:00). It is already a short camp, but the hour of driving makes it even that much more fun. I should get a lot done this week for sure!

Speaking of school, Madeline graciously gave me yet another funny story. During the few weeks of summer school the bus picked up both Madeline and Timothy. This is normal for Timothy, but not for Madeline. You see, the Special Ed bus comes right to the door- what service! Timothy gets so excited he can hardly stand it and basically runs out to the bus where I strap him into the 5-point harness that is built into some of the seats. According to the bus drivers on the way home it is considered a good day if Timothy only gets out of his seat once. She had to pull over on the highway once to get him back in. I guess they don’t fasten it tight enough despite my continuous pleas. Anyway, Madeline was happy to wait out front for the bus and even thought it was cool to be dropped off. On the first day though, Madeline came into the house and asked, “Why does my bus have seatbelts?” Goodness, how do I answer this without sounding degrading? I think I said something like, “Well, these are newer buses and they just happen to have seatbelts.” Luckily she bought it. I did not have the heart to tell her that she will now ride the Special Ed buses. Since she will be going to a new school next year that is across town she will again be on the short bus. I joke about how lucky I am to have 2 kids on the bus with the tented windows! This means that each and everyday I will have 4 buses stopping at my house! I think the neighborhood kids might come and wait by our house assuming that the bus stop has moved. I guess there are perks to having such special little ones; sometimes I just have to think outside of the bus, I mean, box.

This is an old pic, but I thought it would show what it is like to keep Timothy from running like a mad man- maybe I should do this rather than chase him like a crazy woman to the bus. I guess a little extra exercise is not a bad thing... Oh, and that is my brother Benny (I guess he did not feel like chasing Timothy anymore).

Well, I don’t mean to brag, but we actually made a trip- to Texas no less- without any drama. From start to finish everything went really well. Seriously, nothing crazy happened. There were plenty of opportunities for disaster. I mean the plane rides alone can offer drama and mishap. We had a layover each way, which was actually nice- gave Sadie a chance to run around. Madeline had the exciting opportunity to go to Dallas with two of her cousins and my mom. This was the first time she was away from me and home at the same time. I shuddered every time I thought of it and started praying for my mom about a year ago. My mom showed that she is a strong and daring woman- way to go mom! Madeline was, for the most part, well behaved and listened to my mom (a few threats were made, but that is pretty normal). While they were in Dallas Sadie and I drove to Austin to visit some of Josh’s siblings. Sadie did really well on the drive and we had a great time! I can really go on and on about what a great time we had and how much fun it was to hang out with my entire family- it is not often that we are all together at the same time. I love my family, but am happy to be back in Portland. It always helps me remember how much I love where I live. Now I just need to convince them all to move on up and start enjoying the weather and scenery. They are all convinced (except my youngest brother) that we are all a bunch of liberal hippies. While I am flattered that they think of me that way I do remind them that we live in the suburbs.

All in all I am glad the girls and I had a chance to visit the Lone Star State in all its glory. Now, I am back to mild weather and very little humidity. I laugh when people complain about the mosquitoes and told my friend that unless you get swarmed by them while on your way to and from the car you do not have a problem. Now, here is a good photo to show you where I grew up- try not to be jealous!

We have the bed!!!!!

The new bed has arrived! We can hardly believe it!!! Timothy loves the bed and we do too. It fits like a glove in Madeline and Timothy’s small room. Hey, we are going for simple, so their room definitely fits the bill. He now loves to go in the bed and we have not heard him protest at all during nap or bedtime. There is plenty of room for him to sleep and play. I put the crib mattress in the bed with him to help with the transition and he has not even ripped it up yet- well, the custom cover has probably helped with that. One big change is that the bed is twin size, so I had to figure out a way to put on a mattress protector and sheet that he would not destroy on the first day. So, Lila and I headed to Bed, Bath & Beyond where we found a mattress protector that completely covers the mattress and zips up- nice... Then we bought a twin sheet in a lovely shade of blue (we are going for the whole- calming color- thing). Since he has an insatiable desire to rip sheets off (especially fitted sheets for some reason) We had to find a way to secure the sheet. With the help of Timothy’s OT we engineered a solution that will hopefully last more than a week or two. We went to Joann’s where we bought the strongest elastic possible. Then I sewed the elastic to make a large X on the bottom. It is quite a pain to put the sheet on, but it works. Now we will wish, hope, think, pray, plan and dream that it will be the perfect solution for all of us!

Here are some fun videos to see the difference in bed’s:

As soon as he gets in he likes to sleep in that corner- he really loves the pressure it offers. The whole sensory thing is interesting.

A little note about the bed- one of my blog readers did a lot of research after reading one of my pitiful stories. She was so super super nice and found a few options she thought might work. Her top pick was this bed which we bought from http://noahsworldllc.com/ . They were incredibly helpful, I would highly recommend them! Thanks Christy!

I guess I am a real woman now...

I am sad to say that my excuses of pregnancy and hormonal challenges have lost their effectiveness. What am I talking about you ask? Well, I have been writing off my frequent crying as a temporary nuisance. Historically, I am not a crier. I always said that I didn’t have anything against it, but secretly I did. I thought it was a tad weak and just annoying. I even made fun of someone in high school that cried at the movie Armageddon (not nice poking fun, but pretty rude stuff- I am still ashamed) (hey, it was a Bruce Willis movie for crying out loud- she was really crying loudly). It all started when I was pregnant with Sadie (I had a brief bout while on fertility drugs, but quickly got over it- thank God). I wasn’t crying everyday or having emotional breakdowns, but the occasional tear would escape when, say, an Olympics commercial would come on or someone would die in a movie. Naturally I blamed it on the crazy hormones whelming up within me (why is that necessary to grow a baby?) and just knew that it would go away once the redhead vacated the premises. Hey, I even gave allowances for post-partumness. Sadly though, I can no longer blame it on Sadie. She is 19 months old (I can, however, blame the pooch on my stomach on her- something the other two did not cause).

What is happening now is insane! I had no idea it was this easy to cry. I am not a blubbering crazy woman or anything, but my eyes fill with water way too often. I tear up at things like stories people tell me (happy or sad), a song at church-(well, pretty much everything at church-), good news, bad news, stupid little mistakes (like, burning dinner or running out of cereal when that is all I want in the world), seeing someone pulled over or stalled on the highway... It is ridiculous!!! I can no longer claim to be an emotionless creature. How sad (I am not tearing up, I promise)… Is this how life is for others? Will I be like this forever? God help me! Maybe I should start taking some testoserone or something. Shoot, I don’t want chest hair. Maybe I am just learning to deal with life in a new way. I am most definitely more understanding of others emotions and would rather cry than yell at someone. Crying can make people feel sorry for you while yelling definitely does not.

I still do not officially say I am a crier, but my guess is that will change. What is the actual amount of crying necessary to make one a crier?

How many years are you in school?

School is out (at least for a little while)! The last week of school was a bit tough for Madeline. Change is always hard on kids and especially hard on a little lady who suffers from some intense anxiety. Consequently we do a lot of talking about what is going on which means Madeline is going to say some pretty great things. On the way to school one morning she asked why she was going to summer school. I told her that some kids need a little extra school in the summer to keep them from forgetting all that they learned over the last year. She said, “Is it to help me catch up?” I told her that was part of it. So, she said, “because I am already good at second grade- I did it twice.” Oh Madeline… Then the following morning while she was getting ready she went even farther. She said, “I know I already did second grade twice, but can I do it again?” “No” I calmly said. “Well, why did I only do first grade once?” she asked. This made me pause, how do I make this sound affirming? “Well, usually kids only do each grade once, but we thought you might need a little extra time in second grade.” “Oh” she said, “well, maybe I can do it again too.” Dear God! She needs to get out of school at some point!!!! It really is hilarious how she is trying to put this all together.

So far, two weeks into the summer things are going well. True, the first week she went to Bible camp in the mornings and played at a friend’s house all afternoon on Tues/Wed/Thur. This last week my mother-in-law, Lila, took on the task of entertaining Madeline- hey I can do this kind of summer. We will see how it goes.

This is before the first day of the second run of second grade- does that sound right?

Teacher Gifts

You know the saying, “What do you get the person who has everything?” My predicament is, “What do I get the teacher who had Madeline for 2 years?” To say that he is a saint is an understatement. This year alone has been incredibly trying and by incredibly I mean mind-boggling. Well, I have been thinking about this for a while now and finally figured it out! He had Madeline for a total of 20 months, so I got him 20 containers of alcohol! I kept joking throughout the year that she drives me to drink, etc, so I thought it was a fitting gift. I know he likes beer so I went to a super cool Beer store in Portland where I politely asked the guru to please pick out whatever is good, because I have no knowledge of this particular area. So the guy took me around the store and helped me choose (by helped I mean he did it) 18 different kinds of beer. For the other two months I decided that I should ramp it up a notch. You see, January was a rough month so I thought he deserved more than a beer for that particular portion. I found a great Russian vodka from St. Petersburg (considering Madeline is from St. Petersburg, I thought it was a tad funny). Lastly this month- since this is the end of his tenure with Madeline I gave him a bottle of Champagne. What can I say? If I can’t have a sense of humor about it all you would probably find me curled up in the fetal position in a dark alley. Well, this is not where it ends. I tied a little note to the top of each bottle saying one of the reasons he “earned” it. Here is what I came up with:

1. January 2010- enough said (this was tied to the bottle of vodka- it really was a hard month).

2. For painting Madeline’s nails to help her stop sucking on her fingers. Hey, we tried!

3. For all of the extended bathroom breaks.

4. For all of the visual schedules.

5. For all of the secret signals.

6. For trying everything- literally.

7. For all the long emails.

8. For all the bad words I know you wanted to say, but didn’t.

9. For all the calls.

10. For Madeline’s desk- I don’t know where to begin or end.

11. Transitions (this was tied to a bottle of beer with an eight ball on it- you never knew how they would go from day to day)

12. For all of the outbursts.

13. For all of the really really really sharpened pencils.

14. For all of the teacher questionnaires.

15. For all of the behavior plans.

16. For the days I forgot to give her her meds.

17. For all the times Madeline went MIA/Rogue

18. For listening intently and still not having any idea what she is talking about.

19. For all the IEP meetings.

20. June 2010! (this was tied to the bottle of champagne)

I know that these are not all self-explanatory, but you get the idea.

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It was a fun gift to make- I must say. I love using that 1/1000^th of my brain that is actually creative and can sometimes come up with stuff like that. It is rare, but can happen. The best part was his reaction. Either he is a really good actor or he really liked it. Apparently, when his wife saw it she asked, “is this from Madeline’s parents?” If that does not tell you how much of an impact on his life she has been I don’t know what will. It was nice to actually be honest about how trying these last two years were, but to also hear how much he loves Madeline and really cares about her success is wonderful.