Goddess Is A Star

My daughter and I headed to the circus that came to town a few weeks ago. They were putting up the big tent and we strolled along and watched.

When I saw this star I asked her to stand in the center so I could take a picture of my “little star”.

Little Scene Stealer - July 17, 2008

My kids are both so amazing for different reasons. My son, is more like me. He is loyal, sensitive and quiet. He feels things deeply and you don’t really know what is going on behind his eyes. You have to really pull information from him because he is very shy and uncertain in his abilities. We are so similar that it is frigtening. Then there is my daughter….

She is a total scene stealer, extremely funny, very personable, knows how to wrap people around her finger for her own evil doing by knowing just what the other person does or doesn’t want to hear depending on her desired effect. 

Handsome And The Reading Train

Down at the station early in the morning, See the little Puffer Bellies all in a row. See the engine driver pull the little handle, Chug, chug, toot, toot, Off they go.

This was a big blow up train that my sister got him for his 1st birthday. It was a ball pit too.  I wish I had kept if longer than I did. We got rid of it probably around the time that my son would have really gotten much joy out of it. It took up a lot of dining room area. Just before my daughter was born I took it down to make room for the pack and play and bassinet. I really wish I had held onto it and put it up the next year. Handsome spent so much time crawling through the train or just sitting and looking through his picture books.

My Niece and My Baby - July 2008

During my son’s 2nd year, my niece came to spend some time with me in the summer. I loved having her here and my son had a playmate. She was my favorite baby when she was born and I love her as if I birthed her myself. She is very loving, sensitive, sweet and affectionate, a real lovely addition to our small family for a few weeks in the year. It was nice having a girl to spoil too. Not that I could do much with her financially but I took her to lots of farms, parks, we went to the library a lot. We read together or she read to us. I brushed her hair after she showered and just enjoyed making her summer as special as I could in hopes that she would want to come back. I remember spending summers with my cousin Carol and her daughters. It made me feel so grown up to visit away from home for so long and I usually got to do things that I wouldn’t normally do at home.

My Week In Photos Aug 25 - Aug 31, 2008

August 26th – I took the kids to the botanical gardens. We go about 4 times a year. It was pretty sad to see so many of the flowers dying, just means that summer is ending. It was still beautiful and I took some amazing pictures.

August 27th – I went to the park with Sheress and the kids. We got there early and had the park mostly to ourselves except for some pita (pain in the ass) kid who decided to purposely spill his Red Bull drink all over the tunnels. Who gives their 11 year old Red Bull anyway? There is just as much sugar and caffeine if not more than soda.  My son and Sheress son aren’t as close as I would want them to be but I am still holding out hope that they turn out to be good friends.

August 28th – I took the kids to Borders. I really needed to get my new Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer. It really is the best. I let the kids pick out a book each every time we go. My son always picks from the Bargain bins (I love that). Border does have some awesome Bargain bins. I do a lot of my Christmas shopping through them for the kids on my list.  With 18 kids under the age of 18 to buy for you really need to spend wisely.

The book he picked was an Elmo book and had finger puppets. I have been the audience to many finger puppet shows this weekend as you can imagine.

August 29th – We spent some time at the library where we checked out a small book shelf worth. I Read all of them 3 times and played some games with the kids.  My son has been wanting to open up a manicure kit I have in my bedroom because he thinks the gloves are like boxing gloves. Wii and boxing are his favorite things at the moment. I told him the hot pink gloves are for my hands but he wore them and punched his Power Ranger punching bag for about 10 minutes. Whatever keeps him busy for a while is fine with me.

August 30th – We did some food shopping in the morning and then we got the car washed at the $5.00 car wash in town. This was their second trip through it and my daughter was a little nervous.  To read more or to see a small video head on over here.

August 31st – Today when I walked onto the deck there was a small white butterfly on it’s back. I put it on the table and took some pictures of it walking around. Goddess asked to hold it. She was so gentle and sweet with it made me think about getting her a pet for about 2 seconds. I loved watching her face as she told me it was tickling her or that she was not going to drop it. She must have held it for about 15 minutes before putting it down. She asked about it all day. I hope it eventually got its strength back and moved on.

Love’s like a butterfly as soft and gentle as a sigh – Dolly Parton

Amateur Movie Review - War

I had high hopes for this movie. I didn't really feel that I would be at all interested but I thought my husband would love it and figured Jason Stratham would keep me very interested.

He didn't and Jason couldn't save this movie at all.

We were a little confused on the plot at times.
We understood that Jason plays an Jack Crawford an FBI agent who is seeking revenge on some dude named Rogue who killed Jack's partner, wife and daughter. We also got that Jack knows it was this dude Rogue because of some titanium bullet that Rogue uses. I guess the problem was this Rogue dude starts this War between to groups the Triads and Yakuzas in San Francisco. Why? We don't know but what we do eventually find out is that all of this has something to do with a particular someone getting plastic surgery and coming back as someone else to avenge his kin. He eventually kills the person who was avenging him yada, yada, yada...you get the picture? No? Us either.

Ummm... sounds good right? Wrong. We both hated it.

Chotskies gives this film a C-

My Amateur Transporter Review is here.

The only reason I didn't give it a D was because Jason Stratham was in it and I just find him so hot!

Amateur Movie Review - The Orphanage

Last night my husband and I watched The Orphanage against my better judgement.

My sister-in-law spoke very highly of this movie so when finding nothing else, I borrowed it from my library for my husband to watch.

Certain that I wasn't going to want to watch due to disturbing images and it being a horror movie with children (my least favorite) I got my computer and sat down with Webkinz and Picnik to edit some photos.

According to Rotten Tomatoes website - Consensus: When it seems like every horror movie nowadays is a remake or a grisly exercise in sadism, The Orphanage is a breath of fresh air for critics and audiences alike, seamlessly blending in a poignant tale of loss with the scares and blood.

Personally, I would prefer the blood. This movie about a mother, Laura whose adopted son Simon disappears. Laura now lives in the orphanage that she lived in as a child. Laura is determined to fix up the abandoned house and open it as a refuge for ill children. But from the moment she returns, the past begins to haunt her. It isn't long before she begins to see the children who she used to play with as a seven-year-old. And when Simon goes missing one afternoon, she's convinced that they have taken him hostage. What follows is a murky descent into Laura's mind, where she doesn't know what is real and what is a figment of her tortured imagination.

My sister-in-law's quote to me was "you will like this movie. It is about a mother's love for her child." Ok...well that is true..it was about that

But.....

Spoiler alert - spoiler alert - spoiler alert

Laura finds Simon dead in the house. While holding her dead son, she takes her own life by taking pills. She dies, her son stands, asks her to stay and take care of all of them while all the other dead orphans laugh and surround her while she plays Peter Pan's Wendy to a bunch of "Lost Boys."

Maybe this is art. Maybe this is an excellent made, thinking horror movie. But to me, it is a sad, horrific movie about a women who takes her own life while holding her dead son.

I couldn't watch this movie without seeing my son and myself. I cried at the end because of the mother's grief and the dead of the boy. What kind of horror movie makes you cry????
Chotskies gives this a B- for movie goers but for me personally it gets a big fat F!!!

Remember Me - Amateur Movie Review

What I Can Tell You:

Rob Pattinson was in this movie and I was going to see it regardless of anything. I wanted to see if he could be someone other than Edward for me. The movie was very well done. It is a story of redemption, love, loss, and past pain.

I cried about four times during this movie. The movie has 3 different storylines. Tyler and his family, Tyler and Ally and Ally and her Father.

I think that if you are thinking this is a "Twilight fan" movie you are very mistaken. It is worth a watch. You will feel for the characters. It is a very deep, moving story of two families who have gone through loss and are dealing with it the best way they can. Each of them in their own way.

My favorite relationship is of Tyler and his sister Caroline. Tyler is a big brother, protector, father figure in Caroline's life while she appreciates him and acknowledges his faults but respects him.

Without giving away the ending, the last 10 minutes are done wonderfully. Edited without shoving the inevitable down our throats to make old wounds rip open to bleed again.  In the end, we all just want to be remembered.

Great movie.

Life Update and Randomness - July 1, 2008

Because 5 just isn’t enough, I have added another blog to my list.

This one is called Memories Through Photography and it can be found here.

I have spent the last 4 days working with my husband on getting his company organized on Quickbooks which has been interesting and exhausting. Most of the work has to happen once the kids go to sleep. You know, around the time you really want to put your feet up and veg out for the night. Nope, not us..we are busy burning the midnight oil and then being kept awake by one or both of the children.

The boy’s stomach problem came to a head this morning when he finally decided to chuck up his dinner. He has been complaining since Friday but last night after he played all day (the park, the pool and Wii) and went to bed complaining we figured it was selective pain because of the attention he had gotten on Friday.

I was on 4 hours of broken sleep from the night before so when I finally went to bed only to be woken 20 minutes after I feel asleep to him complaining again I felt very contrived. There was some moaning and complaining but it seemed very weak and fake.

After telling him to go back to sleep 35 times last night I ended up with a case of the Mommy Guilt's (see here)when he proceeded to do that cough. You know that cough, the one that tells you if you don’t act soon by sitting them up they just might choke. Well, there was coughing, then choking, the chucking, then tears (his not mine).

Poor kid was only sick when he was 22 months old. He was very confused and tired and I was feeling like shit for telling him to go to sleep the whole night while he tossed and turned. 

Also, I am so excited to be able to participate in an upcoming product review. More on that as I get the details.

My blog needs some beautification. Summer is in full effect so hopefully beach and lake pictures are coming. My old header seems so cold to me right now. I feel a change a coming.

Handsome Update - Speech and Special Instructions - April 7, 2006

So the kid that is in speech therapy and special instruction according to an evaluation by professionals is currently…

Well wait..let me catch you up…

Handsome will be 3 in May and last summer while talking to some people; they told me (because they know everything) that I should have him evaluated because there were some things that should be “red flags” to me that could indicate a potential learning disability. I thought they were no-it-all kooks and went home. After sitting on it for a day I thought that perhaps these well-meaning folks were onto something. Maybe as his mom I wasn’t seeing any problems because to me he is absolutely perfect. But…what if I ended up being a reason that Jesse didn’t live up to his full potential. I decided to have him evaluation against my better judgement. So three strangers come to my home last June and try to get Handsome to do tricks for them. He knew his alphabet, knew his body parts, knew his shapes and colors but refused to perform with these strangers. I was told upon a 20 minute evaluation that he would be eligible for speech and special instruction. We started Special Instruction with a women who basically didn’t know what to do with Handsome and would come and talk to me most of the time. I was about to change her when she actually pulled herself out and gave me someone in her place. I adore the person who does Special Instruction with Handsome. It is a glorified 45 minute playdate but he and I really look forward to it.

Handsome speech instruction started last October and really knows what Handsome likes and doesn’t like. I have seen Handsome’s speech progress over the last few months but I cannot contribute this to his speech therapist. I think he would have been doing this anyway.

Before these sessions began Handsome knew all his letter, his shapes, and his colors with words and jargon here and there. Like he could not say milk it was “ilk” but hey most kids have some pronouncation problems when they are hello like 2 years old. Give me a break..

He was re-evaluation by the Board of Education because upon turning 3 he would be considered a pre-schooler and would not be eligible for Early Intervention past August 31st of this year. I sat with 11 strangers two weeks ago who by looking at a 30 page report (information gathered from 20 minute interviews with some more strangers at an evaluation facility) on Handsome were about to tell me what Handsome would benefit from. The night before the meeting I sat down with the report and made notes in the margin where there was a change, a discrepancy or where I felt something was taken out of context.

I walked into the meeting said “hello” and before taking my coat off handed the group 8 pictures of my son taken this month. I told them “This is my son, you can pass the pictures around. You only know him from this report and I want you to see the person you are about to talk about.” They were pleasant and told me that they wished more parents brought pictures. After listening to them discuss my son, and that they thought he would benefit from 5 days a week at a facility and 3 hours a day with speech, special instruction and occupational therapy. They mentioned a school bus that would pick up my son and bring him home afterwards. I had done my homework and knew all about the program and the bus.

I told them that I was not ready to place Handsome in a program yet and that I would definitely not be putting him on a bus to go 45 minutes from home. They talked about the safety of the bus and the program. I told them that I had all the information I needed at this time but that as Handsome’s only advocate in the meeting. I would like the extension that would take his current services to August 31st and then I would consider the program after that time. I told them that since the report was written 2 months prior there were so many changes and went over a few with them. I also discussed some things that I thought were out of context or discrepancies (and there were quite a few).

Basically the way it was left was that we would keep the current services Handsome receives until August 31st. After that I will either end services or meet with the group again to discuss what I want for Handsome. Basically I think that none of this can hurt him but I will not be putting him on a bus, or into a 5 day program. He is only going to be 3 and God damn it he is doing wonderful and a full day of school will be starting soon enough.

So the kid who according to the Board of Education needs services currently..
Knows his alphabet on sight, knows his shapes, knows his colors, says about 350 words (some more clearly than others but this gets better everyday). He says “please” when he wants something, “thank you” when he is given something and bless you when someone sneezes. He says “I love you” and “a hug” when he wants a hug.

He also spells:
Blue, X-ray, Read, Book and Home on his own. He draws lines, circles and faces. Ok the faces are cyclops but really the only thing missing is the other eye. Hell they even have hair and a hat!

He is not an angel, he has some occassional tantrums like most kids his age but I think he is perfect just the way he is..

I can’t wait until August when I can go back to the BOE and tell them that I have decided against continuing his services. I can hope!

Aug 28, 2008 - Siblings

Blood On Blood, One on one,  We’d still be standing when all was said and done

Blood on blood, One on one, and I’ll be here for you till Kingdom come

Blood on blood-Bon Jovi

I love this picture. At the end of our Botanical Garden trip they asked me to take their picture against this tree. I love how they both made a face and I adore their pose. What I love the most is that this picture really shows how similar they are.

As the years go by and they make friends outside of each other, I hope they will remember how very similar they are. My wish is that they always look to be in each other’s life long after they HAVE to be.

Walking At Sunset

Oh sing of summer and a sunset
And sing for us, so that we may remember
The day writes the words right across the sky
They all go all the way up to the top of the night

A few nights a week I have been taking the kids for a walk around the block right before it gets dark. They love it and I love spending the time with the as we explore our neighborhood.

Handsome rides his scooter and The Goddess pushes her baby dolls in a carriage or shopping cart. Me, I just look for cars and stop the boy from wiping out.

Amateur Movie Review - Bridge To Terabithia

The other night I watched Bridge to Terabithia with my husband. I liked it and would watch it again and he hated it. As the credits rolled his words were "that sucked!"

Not knowing anything about the movie I sat down to watch a movie starring a kid that I absolutely love, Josh Hutcherson he was in one of my kids favorite movies Zathura. He is a good actor and adorable Also in the movie was AnnaSophia Robb who was in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which I had just watched with my kids right before.

The movie had an awesome theme with it's friendship and imagination can conquer all so I was a little surprised with the turn it took. I know there was a lesson here but why are there deaths in kid movies? Why would a kid die in a kid movie?

While watching I made a mental note about picking up the DVD for my kids next time I was at the store but that will have to wait.