Hope

Yesterday was Cam's IEP amendment meeting, and it went REALLY well. I had actually run into his teacher at church on Saturday, and talked about a few concerns I had (a little girl, who is Cam's bestest buddy flipped him off in pictures he took when he took his digital camera for show and tell, Cam INSISTING on taking a certain thing to school, telling me that his teacher said he HAD to have it, and I had NO idea about any of it...) So I felt somewhat prepared for our little meeting.
And just for your information, the teacher had a good talking to with Cam's friend about flipping people off, and we all just LAUGHED over Cam's insisting that he HAD to take an optional item to school. (I didn't believe him, so I made him get a teacher's note...which he DID get!)

Anyway, the news is that he will be getting speech services, but they will focus on his language/grammar skills. (My son says a lot, but he gets his pronouns and tenses mixed up.) Then his teacher told me that even though he's the youngest in DACC (the ages range from 1st grade to 3rd grade) he's picking up the things the OLDER kids are learning. If they're working on a new word, he's learning it. If they're working on addition, he's watching and picking it up. In no way is he in the same range as his peers, but he is advancing faster than expected. And THAT makes me happy and full of hope!

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

He was a great man, who influenced me for good many times.

There were 2 times when I was directly in his presence, and both times I felt the confirmation that he is truly a prophet of God. The first time he was teeny tiny (I was on the top balcony of the Conference center) and I remember the silence that filled that hall when he entered. I then remember the sweet feeling that brought me to tears. Then, in his sweet way, he took his cane and motioned for us to stop standing for him and to sit. We all giggled.

I love him, and will miss him, but I also know that he's very happy with his sweetheart tonight! What a sweet scene that must be!

He died around 7:00 pm surrounded by his family at the age of 97. I love you, President Hinckley!

Free For All Friday Makes it's Comeback! ;)

It's time for Free-For-All Friday!

If you want to ask me a question -- and anything goes -- here's your chance. You can ask about whatever you wish, no holds barred. I'll either answer honestly, or I'll tell you that I won't answer.

Answering the Questions that You WANT to Know

mattsmom said...
What is the grossest thing you have ever eaten?

P.S. it is still "freakin'" "cold".

mattsmom:

The grossest thing I can THINK of that I've eaten is calamari. Yes, I know it's a delicacy, but to me, BLECH!! :P

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Elena Manwaring said...
Did you have a job when you were a teen?

Elena:

My main job as a teen was an on-call babysitter. I also worked for a little while in a day-care center. I thought that it was the PERFECT job....until it didn't make me as much money as I had hoped. So when I was a month away from graduating from high school, I got a job as a short-order cook at Kmart. Eventually I worked my way up to putting away clothes, but then I left for college, and ended up just never getting scheduled again. Do you think that means I still work there?? ;)

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Melzie said...
1. Do you think that if they cancel all 3 recess' because of the "freakin' cold," schools should be closed also?

2. If you won a "all you can grab in 30 minutes" shopping spree, what store would you pick to do it in?

Melzie:

1. That's a good question. Cam's had school lately where they've cancelled the recesses, but he's still been in school. So I guess from the stand-point of a frazzled parent, no, the schools should stay open at any cost!! (I know as a teacher you have a different take...)

2. Thirty minutes is a LONG time....I guess if I could choose, I'm such a redneck for saying this, but I'd pick Walmart. They've got some NICE stuff now!! I would be set!!

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One Scrappy Gal said...
Do you have anything exciting planned for this weekend? Besides staying warm?

Scrappy:

This weekend all I really have planned is church stuff. I'm singing in the choir, and we're performing Saturday night AND Sunday morning. We've only been practicing for a few weeks, but we sound so good. (Yes, I know how that sounds, but it's true!) Other than that, we'll probably call my mother-in-law tomorrow for her birthday (Happy birthday!) and do as little as possible while still staying warm...which I think we're having a heat-wave...today's high is supposed to be in the 20s!

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Darci said...
Who do you get your personality traits from?? Mom or Dad?? Or an alien??

Darci:

I'm pretty sure I'm a personality clone of my mother (although, I've been told I look like my dad.) My mom and I are just SO close that we can finish one another's sentences...really!! We can giggle over the same dumb joke, and not have to explain it. She's helped mold me into the crazy, fun-loving, happy person I am....and I'm so glad she did!

So COLD!

I'm sure there are some who have more to complain about than I do, but sheesh, it's so cold here! Snow squeaks when you walk on it. The dry, cold air instantly gives me a cough. My hands, which normally are very warm, freeze within seconds of being outside. It's just DANG cold!!

Yesterday with the cold temperatures and a windchill, school was cancelled. (Which disappointed Cam to NO end!) Without the windchill the morning temperature was -16...WITH the windchill?? -36!! That's just too dang cold!

I've decided that the name for this little symbol ("-") is not "negative," but "freakin'." And any number put after that symbol is hereby called "cold." Let me use these in a sentence for you.

The sentence "Yesterday the morning temperature was -16." is read as: "Yesterday the morning temperature was "freakin'" "cold"!"

I had to crank up the heater 3 times yesterday...just to keep the apartment semi-livable! Last night, it was set at over 70 degrees!! Waking up this morning was nice, but my basement/laundry room/garage is WAY cold!! There's no heat that I can get down there.

For a while now we've had a little leakage from our washing machine (I think...) and there's a constant puddle on the floor. Yesterday when I went to do my laundry, there was no longer a puddle, but an ice skating rink. It all FROZE!! If I wasn't such a wuss when it comes to skating, I might try it in my own basement!!

Good Bye Slowness

Today is a happy day in the house. No longer will I have to wait 3 or more minutes to visit my friends on the computer. Now in mere SECONDS I can visit all of you!!

Thank you, Qwest man!! :D

I Just Don't Get It

Last spring, before school got out, we requested that Cameron be tested for in school speech therapy. (He's been getting community speech therapy for YEARS, and we figured the more the better.) And they said they'd get RIGHT on it.

Fast forward to Tuesday. I get a call from Cameron's teacher. She tells me that the speech therapist has FINALLY finished Cameron's testing and we need to set up a meeting for adding an amendment to his IEP.

NEARLY EIGHT MONTHS!! What is that speech therapist doing, asking him ONE word per session?? Sheesh!!

But I guess I shouldn't complain, I mean, it's done, and I'm pretty sure if there's an amendment meeting, then it's a sign that he's going to be GETTING the therapy. But taking 8 months?? Seems a LITTLE ridiculous to me.

On top of this frustration, we had to reschedule the initial meeting, because Mrs. Principal (whom I despise) couldn't make it at that time. Uh, did we REALLY need her there?? All I've EVER had from her is frustration.

The first time I had EVER met the woman, she showed up 30 minutes late to the meeting, in the middle of our conversation (on which EVERYONE was in agreement) and insisted that we do something else, because she only heard PART of the conversation.

Thanks, but NO thanks, woman. I know what my son needs, and it isn't you!!

To Dream

Have you ever had a dream so real and vivid that you wake up and are disoriented?? I've done that MULTIPLE times this week, and I don't know if I can fix it or not.

The bad thing about my weird, vivid, and down right psycho dreams is that they just keep getting worse and worse.

I know I can blame it on my pregnancy, but I just don't feel that it's fair to blame EVERYTHING on that....maybe I'm just weird. *sigh*

Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to do some furniture shopping at our local garden center, after which, I'm going to buy a prom dress for more money than I have, in a size that isn't mine, JUST so I can try it on.

Free For All Friday

It's time for Free-For-All Friday!
If you want to ask me a question -- and anything goes -- here's your chance. You can ask about whatever you wish, no holds barred. I'll either answer honestly, or I'll tell you that I won't answer.

Answers

Elena Manwaring said...
WHOA! Is it Friday already??? ANd not only Friday, but how did it get to be Jan. 11 so soon?

Elena:

I know, where has the time gone?? I think time just zooms when you are a busy mama.

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One Scrappy Gal said...
Are you all set to do your taxes?

Scrappy:

*spitting* Uh, not yet. We don't get Steve's information from HIS job until the end of the month, and I haven't heard anything from my student loan people or any other people I need information from. *SIGH* But I will get working on it next month.

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Melzie said...
If you could pick the most fantastic place to live out the rest of your life, where would you go? Money isn't a factor- because, well-- money sucks. ;)

Melzie:

Wouldn't it be great to live in Italy? I'm not saying one of the BIG cities, one of the little villages or places like that. I would love to go there, but who knows if I could really live THAT far away from my family for that long. (And yes, money SUCKS!)

What Did I Do, Officer??

Tonight I drove Steve to get some dinner at a restaurant on our city's busy street. After going through the drive-thru, we looked into the road and saw in the turn lane an ENGINE!! (No, I'm NOT kidding, it was a full-blown-ENGINE!) I pulled out and tried to avoid the dang thing, and continued on, talking with Steve about what I had done that day.

As we were talking I saw the flashing blue and red lights in my rear-view mirror. *SIGH* I pulled on to a side-street, rolled down the window, and waited for the cop to tell me what I'd done wrong. (Steve was saying, "It's not OUR engine...our car is running....")

The officer asked for my license and registration and proof of insurance. I pulled out my license (which took me a minute to find, since in wintertime I don't believe in purses....it's all piled into my coat pocket....) while Steve looked for the registration and proof of insurance. The officer asked us if that was indeed an engine and we said it was, but luckily it WASN'T ours, since OUR car was running so nicely. Then he told me that whether our turn signals worked or not, he didn't notice me using them. I honestly told him that I didn't use them, and he commended me on my honesty, and just let me go with a warning, and a friendly reminder to use my blinkers.

Gotta love small town cops!! :)

Ring Ring

Guess who was on the phone for the majority of the day??

So guess who got VERY little accomplished....

And guess who had a WONDERFUL day chatting with friends and family!! :D

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On another random note, we have been given several nice things. For the last week, we've had a WONDERFUL fridge with a SEPARATE freezer. I can have ice cream again, and I have!! ;)

But because of the "new" fridge, our old one is sitting in the middle of our TEENY kitchen...taking up much needed space!! *sigh* I hope we can get rid of it SOON!!

We've also been given a junker/work car that we'll let my little brother drive until he leaves on his mission in April. We've YET to get it licensed, but that is on the list of things to DO this week.

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Okay, ONE more random note, I had my doctor's appointment today, and didn't have an ultrasound like I've had at every previous appointment. We did get to hear the heartbeat, and while the doctor was trying to hear it, the baby was moving like CRAZY!! (But I didn't feel a THING, until I was sitting after dinner...THEN I could!) All is well, and my BIG ultrasound for finding out the sex is scheduled for February 4th. So don't forget to vote for what you THINK we're having!! So far the votes are pretty close!! :)

Free-For-All Friday

It's time for Free-For-All Friday!

If you want to ask me a question -- and anything goes -- here's your chance. You can ask about whatever you wish, no holds barred. I'll either answer honestly, or I'll tell you that I won't answer.

So You THINK You Want to Know?

One Scrappy Gal said...
What are some of the goals you are hoping to achieve in 2008?

Are you as sick of all the presidential hoopla as I am?

Scrappy:

The only goal I have for 2008 is to lighten my debt load, and to have a baby!! ;)

And YES, I HATE the whole thing, I can't wait until it's over!! :P

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Elena Manwaring said...
What's for dinner tonight? And what scent is burning right now?

Elena:

Dinner tonight was courtesy of the Temple!! (Mmmmmmm....mmmm!!) I had chicken pieces, with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, a scone (that I couldn't finish), and a piece of coconut cream pie! *wiping the drool from my mouth*

Earlier today I had Cinco De Mayo burning, but I THINK it was making me nauseous, so now I've got Cozy Fireplace going. Sadly, I had a TON of scents that I ordered from my little launch party, but someone said that they needed to buy some bars, so I sold 6 of my YUMMIEST scents! :(

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AmberL said...
Is it still Friday?

Amber:

It's a good thing I love you!! ;)

Hi, My name is Dawnyel, and I'm a Junkie....

....an America's Next Top Model junkie.

All week I've been watching a FULL OUT marathon of all NINE seasons of the show. It's going 24/7, and I just can't stop sometimes!!

Sadly, I've seen most of the seasons all the way through, missing one or two shows here and there, so I pretty much know when a season starts WHO will win, but I like to see her transformation and HOW she gets to the top.

My husband thinks it's dumb. He tells me that it promotes poor self-esteem. But come on, I'm NOT comparing myself to any of these girls, I just like to watch and think about how young and stupid I used to be.....

*SIGH*

Is there an anonymous group I can report to??