If Mama Ain't Happy...

Mama is moving (again)

Please come and visit me over here, where I have been dabbling for awhile. Some posts are already over there, and I'm trying to migrate the rest. I've been having some hosting issues (with 404 messages to the people who are trying to find me, which really seems unfair) and some posting issues (with things ending up on Posterous and not posting to TypePad as anticipated), so I decided to consolidate. My Posterous space will give you one stop shopping to much of my blog posting as well as my Flickr photos.

Making our own luck

Yesterday was supposed to be the first day of school, but the various power outages across the county thanks to Irene messed with the schedule. So the kids got an extra day of sleeping in and hanging out before getting back into the routine.

 

Many other counties did start on time, and Amalah wrote a bit about Noah's leap into kindergarten and the accomodations he's getting. She reminded me, and probably a lot of other readers, of how lucky we are to have services and support for our children. I don't think Amalah just got lucky, though. "Luck" implies that something just happened, that it was handed to her. She fought and she worked and she sometimes had to struggle to try to figure out what her son needed and how to give that to him. She made her own luck.

 

My struggles were not so monumental. My county is already known for its resources for special needs kids. Our elementary school, the one we have just because of geography, is highly rated for counseling and special education support. That was pure dumb luck. Hoss' teacher from last year moved up a grade this year, and Hoss was lucky enough to be in his class again. In reality, I was lucky enough to have a principal who didn't want to mess with what worked last year and made sure that we could keep Hoss and Mr. G together. I'm lucky to have a staff at the school who understands my son and loves him on his own merits, regardless of the ADHD and the bipolar disorder. I couldn't control that, I just got a gift. I am lucky that my county has a program for the kids who need that extra help that a comprehensive school can't provide, otherwise Princess would be either in a private institution or in and out of hospitals because she is still learning how to navigate the fact that her brain and body not are cooperating with her wants and needs.

 

We make our own luck when we can, and we accept any lucky breaks that come our way, I guess. Here's hoping for more four leaf clover all around.

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Foursquare and Cupcakes and Yarn

So a few days before Mother's Day (yes, I'm writing about Mother's Day now even though it's like, two weeks later), Hoss says to me "Hey Mother's Day is coming up. Ya want some money? To buy...lots of yarn or something?"

 

He's a charmer, isn't he? It really was kind of sweet, actually. The utmost outpouring of love from my children isn't breakfast in bed or flowers, it's letting me get my knit on. The booklet that Little Joe made in school, one of those acrostic things that spell out MOTHER, had "The yarn lover" as "T" (and had "More than 15 friends on 4square" as the M). I let Hubby keep his regular weekly tee time on Mother's Day, since I was perfectly happy to just lounge around all morning being a slackass, and I don't need him around the house for that to happen. I had baked cupcakes and frosted them the day before (yes, I made stuff for the Mother's Day party), which Little Joe helped decorate. And by "helped" I mean he told me all of the elaborate designs he wanted me to put on them, followed by me reminding him that I only have a limited amount of space and talent and him being happy that I used the colors he liked to write "MOM." Then this past weekend, when I was at the grocery to prepare for Little Joe's First Communion party and I asked if there was anything else I needed for the party, he asked if I was making cupcakes. I'd already gotten a cake, so I didn't make any cupcakes, but it got me started about what my children associate with their image of Mommy.

 

They think it's funny that I'm the Mayor of their elementary school, and they remind me to check in places on Foursquare. Hoss thought it was hilarious when I got a special badge on April 16 (Foursquare Day- 4/4^2). They ask about my badges all the time. I'm Mayor of the yarn store, too. This comes as no surprise because to them Mommy= yarn addict. None of them have any desire to learn to knit or crochet but they still like to weigh in on what I'm making even if it isn't for them. And they can't quite wrap their heads around a party when I don't make cupcakes. Birthday? Mom will make Wimpy Kid cupcakes. Father's Day? Golf cupcakes. Fourth of July? Flag cupcakes. Random cookout? Smiley faces or emoticon designs.

 

So as far as my kids are concerned, if a bakery opens up adjoining the yarn shop, I will just check in and be completely in my element.

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Out my front door

This week at Aiming Low, the photo challenge is "Out my front door." I took this picture while standing in the doorway watching a January snowstorm. I used my  Canon PowerShot that Hubby gave me for Christmas.

Here is the same hydrangea bush two months later (taken with my BlackBerry camera).

Stop by in another two months to check out my hydrangea! (That sounds vaguely dirty.)

Ernest Borgnine better watch his back

I was having a conversation yesterday with a couple co-workers about celebrities. I don't remember how the topic strayed to celebrity deaths (or, more specifically, celebrities who are still alive but you forget that they are). T said she always is surprised when she sees Christopher Plummer interviewed, since she constantly thinks he's been dead for ages. We talked of those older Hollywood types who, when you hear that they've passed you think "Huh. I thought (s)he died years ago!"

 

"I remember being shocked when Ernest Borgnine passed a couple summers ago," I said. "I thought he'd already died." When T and L registered shock, I corrected myself.

 

"No, not Ernest Borgnine. I mean Karl Malden. Ernest Borgnine is still alive and speaking inappropriately in interviews. Karl Malden died when I was in Disneyworld in 2009."

 

We talked about celebrities who seem to go in and out of decent health, and I mentioned Elizabeth Taylor. Then this morning I heard the news.

 

Holy shit, I killed Elizabeth Taylor.

 

(Please note: I am actually quite sad that Liz Taylor died, and I hadn't realized that she was back in the hospital the past few weeks. I am in no way trying to minimize the loss of such an iconic piece of Hollywood's history. I just feel like I somehow tempted fate by speaking of her in such a cavalier way less than 18 hours ago.)

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Ten years

He started out stubborn, refusing to turn from his breech position so I could be induced before he had a chance to flip back. The doctor wouldn't cancel any appointements that day, since it wasn't medically necessary that I have the baby that day, but had an opening for surgery within the half hour. I was prepped and ready in twenty minutes. Sometimes he's a challenge and sometimes he's a joy. Everyone comments on his sense of humor, his flair for sarcasm and puns. He's growing up before my eyes, and settling down in ways I only dreamed of a few years ago. It's not all smooth sailing, and he will be facing some social/emotional challenge for all of his life. But today we celebrate what a marvel he is.

 

He's the picture of a typical fourth grader, with his track pants and his hoodie and his Phineas and Ferb hightops.  But Hoss is anything but typical. Happy birthday, dude. To borrow one of your own phrases, "If I loved you any less, I'd still love you the same."

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Pay no attention to the woman with the needles

So, I'm trying my hand at being a knitwear/accessory designer. I tried to load this pattern on Ravelry, but I failed miserably. The reason I started designing my own knitting stuff is because I don't do a good job of following directions, I guess, so I probably just didn't do the right steps in order to post to the site. Aaaanyway, here is the pattern for the backpack I made for Princess earlier this month, and I also have a dude's version that Hoss requested.

Download Funky Felted Backpack

BB2G World Tour- Matinee Performance

I has an IEP meeting today for Princess. It was actually pretty much what I expected it to be- she scored in the average, high average or above average in just about every educational assessment. I say "just about" because my darling daughter's brain just doesn't want to retrieve information in a timely manner. Her processing score were in the low-critical range for language, reading and math fluency. For the timed tests, she got the answers correct, but got there slowly. In other words, she's got all her data stored, but can retrieve it in a timeframe that is appropriate.

 

Why is this a good thing? Because it means she qualifies for help. She is learning, and she is retaining what she learns. She just needs some help keeping up with the timing necessary sometimes to express her knowlege and get the work done. She can probably be in her regular middle school classes for this, with the necessary resources being available in-house.

 

The other report in the meeting was the report of the psychological and behavioral evaluations. Those weren't "good" results, per se, but they weren't a surprise. She's got years of documented anxiety and depression in line with the results from this latest batch of tests, which indicates that she qualifies for a designation as "emotional disability." Again, not such a good thing on the surface, but a diagnosis means the county provides services to her. She can get the help she needs, and chances are good that she can get it in our neighborhood school once she finishes with the transitional program she's enrolled in currently. Observations give some justification for a qualification for Asperger's as well, although the written assessments filled out by me and my husband do not back up that diagnosis. Since the treatment for stuff on the autism spectrum tends to be more behavioral therapy/socialization exercise, I'm totally OK with going forward with it. If we find something that improves her socialization and her ability to feel good about getting through the day with her peers, I don't give a flying frog what syndrome we say we are treating.

 

So, Hooray for Special Education! Let's face it, neurotypical is just so...mundane.

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Bringing Happy Back World Tour

We're working on finding the happy in the crappy. It's Monday, which we all know is icky because the Carpenters said so in the 70s. It's cold outside (since it's, y'know, winter in the mid-Atlantic USA).

 

But...

 

I totally forgot that we had our new employee in our department starting today, and that we had a welcome lunch for him! So, instead of ramen noodles from the vending machine I got to have pizza and salad! And my cube mate brought it bagels! It's a yummy, cold Monday for Mama.

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The Band is Bringing the Happy Back

One of Aunt Becky's Merry Pranksters over at BBT (www.bandbacktogether.com) reminded us all of a fantastic idea. In the oasis of suckitude in which we are all too often mire, we need to cling to the small victories. So we have the Bringing the Happy Back Tour of 2011.

 

 My first two items are these:

•  Princess missed the bus yesterday, not entirely through her own fault. As a result, I had to scramble to get the boys out the door earlier than they normally would need to be moving. That isn't so good. Here's what is good- they moved. They hurried through gathering their backpacks and they didn't fight me on getting in the car, and all of us ended up in our respective locations without anyone being late.
• It snowed a bit overnight, which delayed the kids' school system by two hours. Although it put a bit of cramp in my morning, it also made some pretty views in my front yard.

This positive thinking thing isn't easy for me, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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