Gems, Canonization, Chanel Lipstick, Urban Exploring and Webkinz..Five Things Meme

I was tagged by Niksmom at Maternal Instincts...Flying By the Seat of My Pants.
I am way behind on tags. I don't think I will be able to catch up so I am starting fresh. Please don't be upset if you tagged me and I never accomplished the tag. Some are more appealing to me than others and once I start procrastinating...well, you know how it goes.

Five things found in your bag: An adorable note I found where Maizie was figuring out how many gems she had left to find. I put it in my purse and enjoy looking at it when I am bored.Above: A canonization card for Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto. They were said to have seen an angel three times and Mary six times. I picked this up somewhere and loved the picture. Below: Maizie's I.D. bracelet that needs to be updated again. I have got to get that done!

Above: My lovely tube of Chanel lipstick. Color is Santa Barbara. Melissa gave me this in return for some portraits I took of Alex.

Below: Saf-T-Pops sucker put in my purse by Maizie. She gets these at Pizza Hut and always wants to save them for later. They sit in my purse and get all nasty and then I throw them out.

Five favorite things in your room.

A family portrait Maizie drew spontaneously at about age four. Guess who is in the middle.

My "Surrender" rock that I bought myself when Maizie was placed into foster care at age three months due to an adoption reversal risk. It reminds me that God is in control.

My Bunnykins mug. I had this since I was a child. I was always fascinated with the image. Inside the mug I keep a picture of my Grandfather, his brother and their German Shepherd.

Need I even explain? I love Joe and this apple was a gift I gave him when we were dating back in 1992.

My antique Alice in Wonderland books given to me by my Mom.

Five things you have always wanted to do.
*Go on an artist's retreat somewhere warm and beautiful.

*Urban Exploring On a grander scale than I have done in the past.

*Visit Africa

* Spend at least one full hour watching an animal of interest at the zoo.

* Go to Israel with Joe.

Five things you are currently into.
*Playing Webkinz with Maizie

*Lost

*Planning a Weekend Away

*Reorganizing/Decorating House

*Photography

Five people you’d like to tag.Meljo, Pregnantly Plump, Gathering Up the Pebbles, Is This What You Do All Day?, Autism Blog

Frontline "The Medicated Child"

Tuesday, January 8th Frontline on PBS is discussing the issue of medicating children with behavioral issues. The show is titled "The Medicated Child". As we all know this is a very controversial subject. Hopefully the show portrays a balanced look at this important issue.

Joe and I have always struggled over the issue of using medication to help Maizie. It has been our experience that medications have helped Maizie in many ways. With her medications her ability to focus is improved, her moods are more balanced and she struggles less with impulsiveness, aggressiveness and assist her with sleeping through the night. And of course the biggest benefit is the slowing of her seizures.

I do not agree that medications are an "easy" way to parent. The outlook that lazy parents medicate their kids so they don't have to deal with them is beyond ridiculous. There is nothing easy about using medications to help your child.

I think it takes a strong, educated and well balanced parent to make the tough choice concerning whether or not to use medication to help their child. Medication alone will not help struggling children. Medication is not for every child with behavioral difficulties. The decision should always be made very carefully.

Darwin's Morning Poo Disaster, Friends and Sarah Silverman on the Baby Monitor

Today began simple enough. Maizie woke me up at seven wanting me to dress a barbie followed by Christian saying how his belly hurt because he was so hungry. It is not easy dressing a barbie before you are fully awake. Finding Christian something he will willingly eat is even more difficult.

I let Stella out of her crate and we both stumble downstairs. Stella can't quite go down the stairs normally yet. Her belly bounces off of each step. She looks so funny.

My pajamas are drenched from my nightly night sweats. Lovely! Too much information I know. This is the only annoying hormonal thing I notice after my surgery, night sweats. I throw on a my sweatshirt over my wet pajamas and head outside into the freezing cold with Darwin and Stella. Okay, it is not freezing yet but it was especially cold considering I went outside in my nasty pajamas, like a moron. Not to mention I did not have socks on, just flip flops. I do this to myself every year. I hate winter and usually put off getting out our winter coats until I absolutely have to.

Anyway, Darwin is doing his "morning duty" and all is going well until he scoots over about a foot while going and steps right into another pile of his poo. I pick up the poo all the time so he managed to step into the one pile he made late last night. I can tell he notices and he looks at his foot with his wild eyed dog stare. Darwin is a dog known for his clean feet and his ability to jump over poo piles and avoid them at all cost. So when he stepped right into a big pile he freaked. I looked down in horror as Darwin's toes squeezed together, further pushing the dog crap through the tops of his toes and between his nails. What to do? Stella was prancing around picking up sticks and pulling on the leash while Darwin begins hopping on three feet waving his poopy foot around. I pull him over to the outdoor faucet and turn it on. Darwin hates water. He lunges away and I pull his leg back to the faucet. After much wrestling I manage to get his foot under the faucet. The poo splashes all over my pajama pants as Darwin shakes his foot like a horse kicking something from behind. I want to scream but act casual. I would hate to have my freaky neighbors see me like this.

Once inside the house Maizie and Christian begin with their endless requests. But I have bigger fish to fry. I have to get Darwin into the kitchen without him touching anything. Obviously this is not possible. I tell him to stay which to my surprise he does. I sprint to the bathroom and get the baby wipes. Lucky for me Darwin sits calmly as I meticulously clean his paw and toe nails with the baby wipes. I consider his calm behavior a miracle and thank God. Where would I be without baby wipes? These are the best things in the world. I will keep them on hand for the rest of my life. So handy!

Finally, Darwin is clean and I realize I need to tend to my own pajama nightmare. Gross. At moments like this I wonder why on earth I have two dogs. Like Mindy said today, "I don't know how or why you do it? I would never... ever have a dog in my house!" Yeah. Yeah. As little Christian would say, "Whatever."
Once I feed the kids and get a few chores done I sit down to play a game of Sorry with Christian and Maizie. Oh, how I do not like that game. It takes forever! Christian handled his pawns being repeatedly returned to their 'home' spot very well. This is a huge improvement from his past crying melt downs every time a game does not go to his advantage. That's four year olds for ya.

Mid morning I get a text from Mindy asking what I am up to. Well, if she had answered my text message yesterday she would have known! I bring this up to her...via text and she sends back a reply that she never got the text message. Argh. My phone must really suck or people are avoiding me. I suddenly feel paranoid. I need a new phone.

Mindy and Maralyn come over and the kids all play upstairs in Maizie's room. Yeah! Adult conversation. Mindy immediately comments that my house smells like I was cleaning. Yup. I was scrubbing every inch of the kitchen after my morning poo adventure. I tell Mindy I was cleaning just to impress her and she nods knowingly. Mindy and I have been diligently working to watch all of The L Word together. We are way behind. At first I was not enjoying the show at all but like most soap opera like shows, it grew on me.

Janeen and Brian invited us over tonight for dinner. Well, I had called them asking if they were going anywhere for dinner tonight. In other words, "Can we go with you to dinner if you are going out?" Janeen, being the wonderful momma that she is was making dinner. A few minutes later she called me back and invited me and Maizie over for some home cooking. She mashed the potatoes herself. I hardly ever do that. What great friends.
After dinner the baby monitor lit up and we all heard a voice coming from it. Brian went over, picked it up and we all proceeded to listen intently. Brian had a look of total fascination. Sometimes baby monitors pick up noises from the neighbors or ghosts or some weird stuff like that. After watching Brian holding the monitor to his ear for what seemed like a very long time I realize the voice is not an unknown voice. It is the voice of Sarah Silverman from my cell phone ringer! I bust out laughing and tell Brian it is my cell phone not the baby monitor. He laughs...just a little...and I find the whole thing funny enough I am still kinda laughing about it tonight. I love technology. But, did I mention I hate my cell phone and want a new one in a real bad way? Hint. Hint.

If you want to hear the cell phone ring click HERE and scroll down to 'I Don't Have a Cell Phone'.

Silly Slap Happy Clip, Christmas and Gifts

If you scan down a bit...on the right side bar there is a video from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Joe and I watch this show every week. We love it. This particular scene kept us laughing so hard my belly hurt. I don't know what it was about the continued slapping? I was tearing up. Possibly we are just hard up for fun but this show always delivers the laughs. Granted, it is not for those individuals who are easily offended.On another note...I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done! I know. I know. I am a bit crazy when it comes to early shopping. I start in the Spring and by November I have everyone except a certain few done.

Of course there is the last minute purchase for Maizie. She always comes up with some wish for Santa that she just can't stop writing on her Christmas list. This year it seems to be the Holiday Barbie. It may change though so I am not going to be running to buy it any time soon. I don't even know what the heck it is but I guess I will be in search of it.

Last year it was the Little Mermaid Barbie. We spent like thirty bucks on this dumb barbie that Maizie insisted could swim in the water. After many long and anguished conversations we broke down, removed the batteries and allowed her to take it in the tub. Ariel has never sang since. Maizie cried for what seemed like hours once she realized we were right and the barbie really would break if it went in the water. Maizie will repeat this lesson to us and Christian using her real serious, teacherly tone. It goes like this, "Christian...you can't put some toys in the tub! If the toy has batteries it will never work again." Christian's reply is, "Whatever."

Once Christmas passed and Maizie's wish for the Singing Ariel Barbie had been satisfied I got a call from my friend Susie. Guess what?! She found this great Singing Ariel Barbie on sale at Sears for just five bucks! (or something close to that) You mean to tell me I spent almost thirty bucks on an annoying Ariel barbie that was broken within a day and she bought the same one for five bucks?! Well.....duh. That is just the way the holiday works.

I remember my Dad going out on Christmas Eve to search for a stuffed kangaroo for my little sister Melissa's gift. Out of the blue she began repeating, "kanga". She sang about it and talked endlessly about her longing for her kanga. I think my dad was gone for hours looking for the darn thing. To this day however we all talk fondly of this gift that my dad searched for at the last minute.

I am sure everyone can think of similar stories. I don't think it is so much the gift as it is knowing that the person you love is searching for this special thing....just for you. What gift have you searched high and low for to give to a special person in your life? Is there a gift you remember appreciating more than any other?

I have so many I would not know where to begin. My Dad made me an ant farm once. We worked on it together and for me that is an awesome memory. Of course the poor ants were not so thrilled. I released them all in the middle of the winter. I don't even remember why.

My Mom searched for days for my favorite children's book I just happened to mention, called The Family Minus. I tell ya, I cried like a baby when I opened that gift. It was not so much the book as it was the memory of her reading me that particular book. Of course it was touching that she was listening to me blabbing on and on about some children's book one day and then surprised me with it for Christmas! Every now and then I take out that book and read it. I love it. I like to think it is the very same book I had as a child.

Please tell me your favorite gift story!

Myth Crashed, Picking Up "Packages" and Levi's Big *****

I should be in bed but our Myth T.V. crashed...it crashed real bad and I am in major withdrawal from missing all my shows. When it crashes it sends out an alarm sound. What is that about? Maizie says Daddy needs to call the cable guy and the Myth T.V. guy to get it fixed. She never gives Joe any credit for building the Myth or anything. It cracks me up. But, hey....if we don't get our Myth rebuilt soon I will freak out. Just watch me Joe. I mean it. Maizie and I will go on strike. She wants her Hi-5 fix. We want our Myth T.V.
Luckily, The Sarah Silverman Program is on right now. At least I can see a show I love before crashing. If you don't watch it...you should. Oh....that's right...I forgot...most of my friends and family don't really watch television! I totally forgot. Sorry. Go back to doing whatever it is you do that is better than watching a rerun of Silverman. (picture me rolling my eyes...knowing that you really do watch t.v. Lots and lots of it. I really don't have time to watch though.)

Maizie and I went to Mindy's yesterday to hang. Okay...I will say this again Mindy. Get your dog Levi neutered soon. Your pug's noogies are so big they are a danger to you and your children! Call the vet, make the appointment and we can all sleep better tonight. Levi will still love you! See you tomorrow...or when you read this it will be today all ready. I am confused. Better text and remind me when we are supposed to come over. As I write this Joe is telling me that we will have to look up what time Always Sunny In Philadelphia is on so we can watch the premiere tomorrow. Argh. Are you kidding me? If it's not recorded...if I can't skip commercials...well, what is the point? Watching the shows will take up too much time. I don't like being tied down to a schedule.

Today was gorgeous...just like yesterday. Maizie and I went to the dog park. There were no bags yesterday so everyone was standing around awkwardly watching their dogs go poo poo and hoping no one else saw them do nothing to clean it up. We all rely on the big trash can full of bags. Most of us are too lazy or forgetful to bring our own bags. So...today the park was a little more filled with "packages" than normal. Luckily, Joe remembered some friends that were saving plastic bags. They had more than they could ever use. I called them up and they were willing to part with them. Maizie and I took the bags to the dog park and worked together to clean up abandoned piles of poo. We are so amazing...I know. Maizie would point and I would gather it up. Yuck! Our good deed for the day. At one point I noticed Stella, Darwin and a fellow doggie friend Ned sniffing frantically in one spot. I ran over knowing at any minute Darwin would do the full body roll in whatever messy joy they had discovered. I moved the dogs away and saw this little tiny dead gray mouse. I yelled for Maizie to come over and see it. She was equally impressed. It was respectfully buried in a bag of poo. Poor little mouse.

Maizie and I went to bible study today. It was nice to get back to seeing everyone. Maizie was so excited to go. She made a card for Nancy who works with the kids there. It said something like this, "I want you to know that I have a Dolly Parton plate." It was so cute. I wanted to take a picture of it but forgot.

Tonight Joe and I watched Reno 911 The Movie. We really enjoyed it. I had heard so many bad things about it so I did not expect much. It was on a long wait forever from Net Flix. That is always a pain. I guess you have to like the show to enjoy the movie.

I really need to go to bed because I have been feeling really sore. It is hard getting back into staying awake and moving.

Sigh.