My Mom

Having my mom around is very therapeutic. When I saw her this summer it was under some pretty stressful circumstances. (Dad's illness and passing).

I can feel a piece of my heart relax and I swear it grows when she's around.

Last night I gave my mom a perm and a haircut. I have been privlidged to do this since I was a teenager. I REALLY enjoy having my mom "captive" - all to myself for several hours. It also makes me feel really good to know that mom will have a bit of spring in her step and a quick smile on her face because she feels better about how she looks.

One thing my husband mentioned was that I get really giggly when my mom is around. We do tend to stay up late and it's easy to get giggly around mom.

Have I mentioned how much I love my mom?

Bamboozled

Ok... tonight I got bamboozled in a good way. I was under the assumption that I was heading out with a friend Annette and another friend for ice-cream to celebrate our recent birthdays.....

I walk in to our friend's house and much to my surprise they say surprise to me. I'm so dang literal that I'm still concerned about our friend's supposed hurt leg it takes my brain more than a few beats to understand that what I walked into was a surprise birthday party for me.

The last time I had a birthday party was the first and only time I had a birthday party when I turned 12. This time was MUCH better and a lot more fun. Gooey Yummy chocolate cake.... card games, stories and wonderful friends.... my husband home from his trip... what more could a girl want?

Thank You Annette. You're super sneaky. You have the ultimate "poker face" because I TOTALLY had NO CLUE!!!

Happy Birthday To ME!!

Facebook dilemma

I recently joined the ranks of Facebook. I never thought I would. I thought I would never have a facebook, myspace or twitter account. I thought they were pointless.... then again... I thought online blogging was pointless. Here I am still nearly 2 years later. I caved and joined facebook simply so I could follow the changes in family size some friends of ours were going through.

Our friends were blessed with the ability to adopt their first child. A beautiful little boy. I was frustrated at the slow rate at which my husband followed their story so I decided to take action... I would join Facebook so I could follow them at my pace (a bit more obsessive than my husband's casual one).

At first the only friends on my list were these friends and my husband. Then I noticed several people asking to be added as my friend (various family members). I thought... wow.... this facebook thing can be pretty cool. I can keep tabs on friends and family without having to necessarily contact them directly. (by reading their occasional posts about themselves on their walls)

I don't have nearly the volume of friends that most people on there seem to have. I'm fine with that. Actually I'm pretty amazed that I have as many as I do. I've felt pretty secluded the past 10 years. (the twins are 9 1/2 years old now)

Here's some of my delimma.... as I see familiar people on facebook I think to myself... "do I send them a friend request?" "Do they remember me?" "Do they care about me enough to say yes?" "Do I care about them that much anymore to want them on my friend list?" The questions go on and on..

I have noticed something interesting though. Everyone I have in my friend list is someone I have met since meeting my husband. With an exception of 1 former roommate and a few of my family members that is.

I have often wondered what people from my teen years are doing now. Friends from church, school.. friends I use to hang out with on weekends... friends who have moved far away..... friends who stayed where I last saw them.... There are several on facebook. I've looked them up. They're there.

The BIG delimma... Do I send them a friend invite or just keep going forward with my life not looking back?

I don't know why there is such a huge division between then and now. Why is it such a big deal? I think - perhaps - it has something to do with WHO I was then and WHO I am now.

I've always dealt with anxiety. I had NO CLUE I had an anxiety/panic attack disorder until a few years into my marriage. Now that I know what it is I'm dealing with I can deal with anxiety situations better. I feel that I like myself better now. I am more in control (to some extent). I still freak out from time to time. At least now I know why and that I'm allowed to feel freaked out and that it will calm down shortly.

The people from my past.... from Arizona basically... knew me before I understood what was giving me so much trouble. I acted strange at times and no one knew why (not even me). I never went to church dances.. never dated.. WANTED to but never did. Don't know how much of not ever being asked out was due to my anxiety and how much had to do with my height. I hit 6' in high school. (FYI I'm 6'1" now). I had one guy (taller than me by a couple of inches) once tell me I was intimidating. I personally don't get that one. My anxiety made me so shy and stand-offish that I don't see how anyone could be intimidated by me.

So... the delimma..... to invite my PAST into my present? I don't know what to do.

WOOT!

If you're looking for some gadget for Christmas but don't want to spend full retail price.. head over to woot.com and see what their deal of the day is. They sell ONE item a day. LOTS of it but only ONE item per day. Several items are refurbished so steer clear if that is not your cup-o-T others are brand new. Tuesdays are 2for days... you get 2 for the price of 1.

Every so often they have a woot-off. This is when they sell off all the leftovers. They put an item up for sale and it stays up for sale until they sell all they have on hand. Then they put the next item up for sale until it's gone. They can get stuck on one item for hours or blow through an item in just a minute.

If you're lucky you can catch their brown mystery bag. You spend an insainly small amount and get "who knows what" inside. You might be buying some tiny headphones and a backscratcher or a 49" LCD TV for about the price of shipping only. It has happened (not to me though).

There are 4 other woot sites. Wine.woot! - yes, they sell wine. Kids.woot! - they sell an item related to children/babies. Shirt.woot! - they have one style of t-shirt on sale for the day. And, lastly they have sellout.woot! - this site typically sells items similar to regular woot! but still another item.

Only thing we've bought from them was a little short range FM transmitter. This way my hubby can play music from his computer and have all the radio's around the house pick it up. This is great for Sunday's when we want calm music streaming everywhere. It also works well for when we want fun music everywhere.

Awesome News

I just met this morning with the special needs coordinator at my kid's school. Recently Dragon Girl was retested to see where she is in her abilities. WHAT A SHOCKER!!! Yes, there are some areas where she is a tiny bit behind. They score by age level. She was tested at 9 years 7 months old. A small handful of the items they tested she was a tad behind by as much as 6 months delayed. No biggie. MOST of the items tested she scored a full year ahead (as a 10 1/2 year old). There were several in the 11 1/2 year old range and one way out at a SENIOR in HIGH SCHOOL!!! Just shy of a 17 year old!!!

When she was in 1st grade her teacher kept PUSHING me to put her on meds to MAKE her pay attention better. Basically the teacher didn't want to deal with anyone slightly "difficult". I am SOOOO glad we just let Dragon Girl have TIME. When she got her special learning time I was told she didn't fit in there either. Most of those kids were really behind. Her only area she needed help in was fluency (the speed at which she does things - read, write etc...). She was VERY slow. Dragon Girl has sped up a LOT since she first started school.

I also believe that her not having to be hospitalized with pneumonia in over 2 years has helped a TON. Her ped. always told me that each time she was hospitalized she would fall behind in her brain development a bit. Most likely from the oxygen deprivation. She's been fighting to get caught up from several bouts of pneumonia as well as being born so premature.

I'm just soooo EXCITED about this news! Who knows.... maybe in the near future she'll get pulled out not because she needs help but because she's getting bored and needs a challenge..... It could happen.

Just for a good Laugh

Have you forgot how to Laugh?

Do you need a reminder?

WATCH THIS!