tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136116122024-03-23T13:03:48.686-05:00The Cheese PartyA Highly (re)Productive Member of SocietyAmy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.comBlogger1875125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-18906581152217437032020-01-07T13:02:00.000-05:002020-01-07T13:02:26.422-05:00The New Normal: Day 1Hello, is this thing on? Are blogs even A Thing anymore? Who knows. I still read <a href="https://www.amalah.com/">Amy</a> and <a href="https://misszoot.com/">Kim</a> so I know they aren't officially dead...Yet.<br />
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So why today to dial up again? Well, life has taken a turn for the weird and somewhat unpleasant and I think perhaps this may be a good outlet for me. It's that or hard drugs, and since I have a kid home with me 24/7, the hard stuff isn't an option.<br />
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Yep, Fred now spends all of his time with me. He was essentially thrown out of school, but in the nicest way possible. For the near future, I am his end all be all. I was already most of the things, but now I get to be his teacher as well! Hopefully soon the school will be providing me with some curriculum, but until then my printer is pumping out worksheets by the dozen. At some point (hopefully this week but maybe next) we will meet with some therapeutic elementary school people and decide if that's a good place for him to land. Otherwise the next option is homeschooling with intensive outpatient therapy. In both cases, it's until he's deemed 'well enough' to return to a conventional classroom.<br />
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Why, you ask?<br />
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MENTAL ILLNESS<br />
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Yeah. It sucks enough for adults. Now multiply that amount of suck by at least 459,377,590 and we may possibly hit the range of suckitude when dealing with a mentally ill child. We don't have a definitive diagnosis because he's only 8, and most of the things he seems to be leaning towards are difficult to diagnose in children. Mood disorders and the like. He's awesome for a month, impulsive and violent for a month. Happy. Then not. And he's sizable for a boy of 8, so his impulsive behaviors are leading to more and more significant consequences. Sooooooo NO MORE (regular) SCHOOL FOR FRED.<br />
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Help?<br />
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-38706906526857961932016-10-07T13:05:00.001-05:002016-10-07T13:05:36.057-05:00Ten Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-56135478904370785862014-11-28T09:10:00.004-05:002014-11-28T09:10:50.811-05:00Turkey and Stuffing, 2014<div>
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This year we tried to get Dane and Finn in on the singing. That went over like a lead balloon.<div>
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For a trip down memory lane, visit <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2013/11/turkey-stuffing-2013.html">this post</a> where all of the old videos are linked! </div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-16979782240990410072014-10-31T15:30:00.001-05:002014-10-31T15:30:54.541-05:00Halloween, Past and Present<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2014</div>
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2013</div>
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2011</div>
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2010</div>
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<br />Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-54594432800861413772014-10-08T10:33:00.001-05:002014-10-08T10:33:13.423-05:00My Little Magoo Turned FIVE (10 Days Ago)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My littlest girl is not so little. As she tells me, being five automatically makes you a Big Kid, so now I'm not allowed to refer to her as one of the 'littles' anymore. She's charming and feisty and loyal and loving. She still picks her nose, but knows she shouldn't. She asked for makeup for her birthday. She still insists on being rocked and sung to at bedtime. She won't be in kindergarden until next year, and I think that she'll basically be ruling the entire school by the end of the first week. </div>
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<i>We love you Maggie!</i></div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-35480715861649837022014-09-04T13:20:00.003-05:002014-09-04T13:20:55.937-05:00Done, Done, Done and DONE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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All four of these silly kids are back in school!!!</div>
<br />Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-28939827606037603052014-08-22T15:26:00.000-05:002014-08-22T15:26:11.279-05:00My Lulu Belle is SEVEN!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-90723845098997393402014-08-16T08:03:00.001-05:002014-08-16T08:03:38.305-05:00Re-Entry FAILED<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We were on vacation last week, and nothing is going well this week. We had a wart removal, and an oozing ear hole, and a crazy camp schedule, and an over grown garden. Maybe next week will be better...Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-12153727901411617892014-07-30T14:28:00.000-05:002014-07-30T14:28:00.156-05:00The One Where Everybody DiedLast week was rough.<br />
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On Saturday, a relative of SOB's died from complications of a brain aneurysm. He was young, and it was sudden. Sam had just golfed in his first family golf tournament, and we were out celebrating with all of the men in my family when I got the call from SOB's sister. We quickly head home, but decided to wait and tell the kids later, since we had my big family reunion the next day and didn't want to dampen their moods.<br />
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The next afternoon we headed to the picnic, and when we got home we explained to the older kids what had happened. They were upset, but since they didn't know the deceased too well (he lived on the west coast, so we only saw him once or twice a year) they didn't take it too badly.<br />
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Around 9pm that night, the phone rang.<br />
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My grandfather, who has been on hospice care since my grandmother passed away in September of 2012, died during the evening. He had been doing pretty well for a while, but took a turn for the worse early last week. All of his sons were in town for the family reunion, so he got a chance to see them all, and he even managed to hang on until after the family picnic was over. We were all impressed.<br />
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When the kids woke up on Monday and I had to tell them that Grandpap D. died, only 12 hours after telling them about SOB's relative, it didn't go over so well. Sam was particularly upset, and Maggie just kept asking who was going to die next. We took the kids to the funeral home for the viewing on Tuesday, and they got to say their goodbyes. For the past 20 years he's been nearly deaf, so the kids always shouted when they spoke to him. It took a lot of reminders for them to keep from shouting at his body in the casket. Lucy, of course, had to touch him and tell everyone how cold he was. Sam cried a lot.<br />
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His history has some dark spots, as most do, but he was still my grandfather, my childrens' great-grandfather. It seemed that his kindness increased with each new generation of children. </div>
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On my last birthday, he gave me a card and he drew a picture of himself on the front. When I was little he used to take out his partial dentures out to entertain me, and he drew his smile with missing teeth. I put it with the last card I got from my grandma. </div>
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So far, this week has been better. Nobody has died. Let's hope it stays that way. </div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-36973682569658595692014-07-29T14:02:00.000-05:002014-07-29T14:02:18.026-05:00The Beanie Boo Infestation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Have you ever heard of a beanie boo? If not, read no further, and run for the hills. I don't want to be responsible for spreading this madness. </div>
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On Fred's last birthday, his godparents got him a little stuffed tiger with big, shiny green eyes. Fred was (and is) deeply invested in the PBS program <a href="http://pbskids.org/daniel/">Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood</a>, and they thought he would like it. However, since it wasn't Daniel himself, it was cast into the toy box without a second thought.</div>
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Fast forward a few months, and Lucy was invited to a birthday party. At the end of the soiree, all of the children were given a small plush toy with big, sparkly eyes as a party favor. Lucy's was a little giraffe, light pink with darker pink spots and purple hooves. This teeny toy came with a tag identifying it as a baby giraffe named Twigs. </div>
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As soon as she got home and showed Maggie, a light bulb went off over Magoo's head and she dug around in various toy boxes until she found Fred's discarded tiger. His tag had long since been removed, so she named him Tigey. Soon enough, Twigs and Tigey were inseparable. The girls set up a small ikea tent in their room which became their home. They got married. They ate meals with us. They took baths (because they got covered in syrup at mealtime) and Maggie even attempted to give Tigey a haircut, which resulted in me having to perform heart surgery on the tiny tiger.</div>
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Naturally, the boys got jealous and began demanding beanie boos of their own. So off to amazon I headed, where I purchased Fred a multicolored unicorn named Wishful and Sam a blue cheetah named Leona. We didn't even have them for 24 hours before Wishful became hopelessly lost. In a strange fit of maternal insanity, I went back to amazon and ordered Fred a replacement Wishful, along with a raccoon named Rocky, an elephant named Ellie, a zebra named Zig Zag and a chihuahua named Cancun, which was re-named Canon Ball by Maggie. Then, on a random trip to Michael's craft store, I saw a bin of turtles named Zippy on sale, and grabbed one in a total impulse buy move. </div>
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<i>Leona, Tigey, Rocky, Ellie, Twigs, Wishful, Canon Ball, Zippy and Zig Zag</i></div>
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This whole situation is, true facts, my own fault. I should have stopped after one per child, but I didn't, and now my life is consumed with beanie boo madness. Maggie NEVER puts her down. Even when she is using the toilet. Fred continues to lose his, and then throws hysterical fits until they are found. Sam just hoards his in his bedroom, which is infuriating to his sisters, because they think all of the beanie boos want to play together. And Lucy continues to try and give Twigs and Ellie baths and haircuts. All of our scissors are on lock down. Yesterday I had to confiscate all of them for a little decontamination from the steam cycle on our dryer. Luckily, everyone came out looking normal, and smelling much better.<br />
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Next week we will be living with relatives, and all of the kids are younger than Fred. If all NINE beanie boos make the trip with us, I'm predicting at least three won't make it home.<br />
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I can already hear the screaming.Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-34843011019190259882014-07-16T07:32:00.000-05:002014-07-16T07:32:26.981-05:00Summertime InsanitySo, yeah. I have/had this blog thing, but updating it has gotten a little, well, difficult. Summer should be for relaxing, but most years it seems even more hectic than the school year. Mostly because the schedule is so much more inconsistent. So far this year, we've had 1 week of art camp for 3 kids, 1 week of hockey camp for 1 kid, and 1 week of golf camp for 2 kids. We have another week of hockey camp coming up, a week of vacation, a week of gymnastics camp for the girls, and a week of lego camp for Sam. Plus I have 9 chickens to tend to and a garden full of tomato fungus, cabbage worms and japanese beetles.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;"><i>RIP Big Boi and Andre 300. Roosters who crow gotta go</i></span></div>
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It doesn't sound like much, but them I'm working like crazy, and occasionally trying to use the damn pool in the backyard! </div>
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Plus holidays...</div>
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And museum trips...</div>
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And legos, legos everywhere! </div>
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It's been fun, but very, very busy. Luckily, next summer I'm carting the kids off to France, and we won't be able to afford to do anything but relax! </div>
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-23731382796762986022014-06-24T12:56:00.000-05:002014-06-24T12:56:50.295-05:00What I Did On My Summer Vacation by Amy JoI know it seems silly to be recapping my summer vacation when the season only properly began a few days ago, but trust me we've already crammed an entire summer's worth of stuff in! At the time of my last posting,<a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2014/06/meet-you-future-second-and-third-graders.html"> the big children were just wrapping up school</a>. We got them home just in time to ditch the boys with their grandparents and whisk the girls away to Hilton Head for a few days. It was non-stop beach going, swimming, sandcastle building fun.<br />
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We got home early Tuesday afternoon, said hello to the boys, got cleaned up and headed out for a fun filled night at the <a href="http://trustarts.culturaldistrict.org/production/40095/acura-slash-els-presents-the-ben-folds-orchestral-experience">Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, featuring Ben Folds</a>. We were exhausted, but it was amazing!</div>
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We slept like a ton of bricks that night, got up Wednesday, and got straight to work. SOB was off the rest of the week, and we had many projects to tackle. We planted EIGHT MORE SHRUBS (we've been kind of on a shrub planting tear around here), we spread 8 yards of mulch inside the garden and around the new shrubs, we pulled up all of the carpeting in the basement and on the stairs leading there, then SOB fixed the sub floor down there in anticipation of our brand new carpet that was supposed to be installed yesterday but still isn't here, we bought new couches, we mowed and weed whacked many blades of grass, harvested many peas, cleaned out the entire garage, and SOB (with the help of my dad) built me an amazingly awesome new chicken coop out of reclaimed doors from this very house that we live in! </div>
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The little chickens aren't so little anymore, and keeping them in the garage was keeping the garage very filthy. Now they can all live happily outside! </div>
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(Related: do you know anyone who might want a few roosters?) </div>
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Oh, and I also shot a wedding all day Saturday, with the help of my lovely and talented new assistant, my sister-in-law Tori!</div>
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Then first thing Monday morning, I dropped three kids off at camp and headed to court for the very first time in my life! It was nerve-wracking, even though I knew the outcome mattered nil. I just had to make an appearance so that one of many bureaucratic boxes could be checked off. </div>
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Today Sam is off on an amazing adventure, and I'm all super mixed emotion-y about him growing up and having experience on his own, but that's another post for another day. I'm stuck here waiting (still) for the afore mentioned carpet to arrive and be installed for a little bit longer before camp pick up. If the sun stays out maybe we'll go swimming tonight. </div>
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Summer, you're pretty bitchin' so far.</div>
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-24546344828197676282014-06-13T08:51:00.000-05:002014-06-13T08:51:09.342-05:00Meet You Future Second and Third Graders!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-28999688370343780262014-06-08T18:13:00.000-05:002014-06-08T18:13:35.415-05:00The Sound of Music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today Sam and Lucy had their first ever piano recital. They began lessons in January, and they have an amazing teacher. She is fairly strict with them, but very kind and encouraging. She actually called Sam out at the end of the recital today because he kept insisting that he wasn't going to perform. Meanwhile, he knocked it out of the park. Lucy played her little heart out as well, and watching her watch the other students was enough to make me weepy. I'm so very proud of how hard they both worked to master their pieces, practicing several times a day for many, many weeks. Sam in particular was very nervous, and we had to bribe him with a soda to get him in the car, but once we got there he relaxed a bit. Plus he was totally distracted by the cute little girl sitting next to him. (Not Lucy)<br />
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It makes me so happy that my children love having music in their lives. Sam just signed up to play cello next year, so he's going to be working on TWO instruments! And Lucy just may be a little virtuoso in the making. In the time she's been working on her two recital pieces, she basically taught herself the next two songs in her book. I have to ask her to stop playing sometimes! Do I sometimes have to remind them (more than twice) to practice? Yes. Are there times when they don't want to? Yes. But we've gotten over this big hump and I think it's going to be smooth sailing from here on out. And that is music to my ears.<br />
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-55404580110977743712014-05-29T13:23:00.000-05:002014-05-29T13:23:00.677-05:00Hockey Tryouts 2.0<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYFubRWGFaS4zb7DIvXcwONonvF6wYED6VuBWX3FbTosevL6edkHtvKAvfuBlXhfiLmI78t4tantHZZZZGhAl7eZAuNubA0sJM0wR10-E6LDVbeLtCr6vjJm1AFyAxKBEGjuCoQ/s1600/photo-20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVYFubRWGFaS4zb7DIvXcwONonvF6wYED6VuBWX3FbTosevL6edkHtvKAvfuBlXhfiLmI78t4tantHZZZZGhAl7eZAuNubA0sJM0wR10-E6LDVbeLtCr6vjJm1AFyAxKBEGjuCoQ/s1600/photo-20.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
Remember <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2013/05/choke.html">last year when Sam had to tryout for hockey for the first time</a>, and I was a mess, but <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2013/05/choke-update.html">ultimately he made a team</a> and had a great season? Turns out, that crazy mother tryout anxiety doesn't go away just because you're pretty sure your kid is going to make the team. Sam had his tryouts for next season last Sunday. He will always be in the first session of tryouts because of our last name, and I saw more than one parent/child combo from later sessions there early to check out the drills, which is smart but annoying. We were both so much less nervous than last year, though, and I thought he had a pretty good showing at his session. There was a little too much talking on his part, I thought, but he performed the drills well and seemed to be paying attention most of the time. But the week between then and when we got his team placement email was excruciating.<br />
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Last year there were six teams, and they were ranked 1 though 6. Sam was on team 4 last year, and his big goal was to move up two spots, even though I bet he would have been happy with moving up one spot. Unfortunately, the organization decided to change things up this year and not tell us until after tryouts. This year they are having one elite team, and then the rest of the teams are sort of evened out, with a mixture of older and younger kids. All of the teams in our region are moving to this sort of system, and while I think it will be good for player development, it would have been nice to know this info ahead of time. The look on Sam's face when I tried to explain that he didn't really move up or down really bummed me out. Plus, he only has one friend from last year on his team, and I think he was really hoping that more of his old team mates would be on his new team. We had a really, <i>really</i> awesome group of kids and parents, and we all kind of wanted to stick together. But since they were all fairly skilled, they had to be split up to keep the teams evened out. BUT! We'll just have to bring that special awesomeness from our last team and spread it around to our new team.<br />
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No matter what, I think Sam's final season as a mite is going to be a great one!Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-52491336264026011482014-05-28T13:22:00.000-05:002014-05-28T13:23:16.616-05:00The Big Dig<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I mentioned a few weeks ago about how we expanded the garden...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSeuWKTI7bVuRJbu8RaC42hKc1zYw_Dva8coi8EWQgo1Fd6G8sINeJwk_bB9LsSidPSWSGVFhWcg4OKYBQfhO0ghA7GRrCsBrP2LgU9F6atafM_THqgNFOpNpcHEDqHyj_SyeSA/s1600/photo+2-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSeuWKTI7bVuRJbu8RaC42hKc1zYw_Dva8coi8EWQgo1Fd6G8sINeJwk_bB9LsSidPSWSGVFhWcg4OKYBQfhO0ghA7GRrCsBrP2LgU9F6atafM_THqgNFOpNpcHEDqHyj_SyeSA/s1600/photo+2-3.JPG" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
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I thought I'd provide a little visual evidence. As you can tell by the different colors of wood, the six boxes in the center were the original, and the five (soon to be six) boxes on the perimeter are new. It's a little hard to see, but behind the original six boxes ( heretofore known as O6, boi) is a long row that was put in last year. This year we also added two more rows along the far side. Plus, the fence, while still temporary, is much prettier and more pest resistant than last year. We've covered the grass in between the boxes and are planning to mulch all along those pathways to help keep mowing and weeds to a minimum. Everything looks great, but because of the cold spring we've had, all of the plants are puny. Most of the things I planted stayed the same size for weeks, and didn't start growing much until recently. <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2013/05/homesteading.html">At this time last year</a> my peas and beans were twice the size they are now. Luckily, I had a huge number of volunteer tomato and tomatillo plants, and those are doing great! I had to replace most of my pepper plants with store bought ones, because my seedlings were seriously weak. My cucumbers, too. At this rate, I doubt I'll be getting much in the way of produce until August.<br />
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If we have an early fall, I'm going to be so pissed.Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-82347461717767698882014-05-15T13:59:00.000-05:002014-05-15T13:59:57.033-05:00Wrapping UpIt's that time of year again when all things are coming to an end. Tomorrow is Fred's last day of toddler class, and Maggie is finished in a week. (Side note: Sam and Lucy have to go until June 13th and they are <i>PISSED</i> about this.) Hockey is finished except for tryouts on Sunday morning, and music class and ice skating classes are coming to an end as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBy8VTuLf5e0UZFEouu871BvcfOSFb0Xj_f9-owcG9tnEL6bBsqGTGSXU4jVjHNDsO6wwOFrr8mr7qx9TYHl0hXHfFbBFaWvfbPemtxGULEwWTrv4twHxdHvYwtdOrritTaCbv3Q/s1600/photo+2-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBy8VTuLf5e0UZFEouu871BvcfOSFb0Xj_f9-owcG9tnEL6bBsqGTGSXU4jVjHNDsO6wwOFrr8mr7qx9TYHl0hXHfFbBFaWvfbPemtxGULEwWTrv4twHxdHvYwtdOrritTaCbv3Q/s1600/photo+2-2.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Maggie will mostly miss the playground and her music teacher</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgN0YU-0ufs6D20N4EW0NJkmI5oV_AbhSJiemuieSJMbkkOwBdFAM5wHINXiZGg3HG66JqQsce2Njv7FquH6ldrgspcjkA1b3eEOnUo0lNRmpBFUzVrgtA_wGoNDs7K2GZ7v49w/s1600/photo+1-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgN0YU-0ufs6D20N4EW0NJkmI5oV_AbhSJiemuieSJMbkkOwBdFAM5wHINXiZGg3HG66JqQsce2Njv7FquH6ldrgspcjkA1b3eEOnUo0lNRmpBFUzVrgtA_wGoNDs7K2GZ7v49w/s1600/photo+1-2.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Lucy passed her level 2 ice skating test and declared herself ready for the olympics</i></div>
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Throughout the courses of these lessons and classes I have met some very nice people, and I was thinking about how to continue seeing them occasionally with them without being too weird. Because I only know them as Emily's Mom or Thalia's Mom, but they seem cool, so I want to try and maintain some sort of connection, but not come on too strong, you know? Mom dating. Luckily I have experience with these sorts of things! Some of my very best friendships were the direct result of stalking <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-friends.html">other</a> <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2010/10/cant-quite-find-home.html">moms</a> <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2012/09/gypsy-life-day-one-dozen.html">who</a> seemed <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2012/02/thirty-three.html">fun</a>. I gave out my number three times in the past few days, and scheduled one playground playdate, so hopefully by the fall I will have widened my circle a little more! </div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-14083735147312474012014-05-14T18:05:00.000-05:002014-05-14T18:05:41.681-05:00Field Trip Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJutHmntZZlxanoeG71wVF4G3SkeWyeOjlGcng3RtHOzuszOpk-69T3sZTIPfCMs5DHG5eawAtl3GcQah-i6G6YhlFWzMGHu1eFc82BLWdFtnuDJXW_L6z8EHnaBXNZvnNjI6lUw/s1600/photo-19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJutHmntZZlxanoeG71wVF4G3SkeWyeOjlGcng3RtHOzuszOpk-69T3sZTIPfCMs5DHG5eawAtl3GcQah-i6G6YhlFWzMGHu1eFc82BLWdFtnuDJXW_L6z8EHnaBXNZvnNjI6lUw/s1600/photo-19.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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My <strike>devilish</strike> darling son Sam has never been on a field trip before. Why, you ask? Well, last year on his first field trip attempt, he got into a skirmish before school even started and was sent home for the day. It was his rock bottom for the first grade. This year, when Lucy got to go on that same first grade field trip, he was livid. It kind of set off a domino effect of bad behavior which lasted several weeks, culminating in more than one trip to the principal's office, lots of punishments, and talking about things with initials and such. I've been super anxious about this, and specifically about today: second grade field trip day. Honestly, we both have been stressing about it. So much so that his father called before school this morning (which he does pretty much NEVER) to pep talk him and give him a double dose of daily parental positive vibes.<div>
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I'm happy to report that IT WORKED! Sam attended his field trip to the symphony, and his teacher reported that he was awesome, although he confessed to once pretending to pick his nose to make some boys around him chuckle. The symphony wasn't something he was particularly excited about, so I was a little more concerned that he would act out if he got bored, but he didn't! Plus, he's had a run of really great days at school. Last week I was literally sobbing and being totally dismal about his future, but today? Well, his dad's positivity talk must have rubbed off on me. </div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-10493078386631300162014-04-28T13:30:00.000-05:002014-04-28T13:30:44.591-05:00Urban Farm LivingIt isn't even May yet and already my garden is eating up most of my free time! Last year was great, but this year we decided to expand operations a little more. I was cramped, needing more beds in the plot, and more space to walk around. Last year we had six 4x4 foot beds and one 1.5x10 foot row. This year we've almost doubled that. And we added a chicken coop. Because we weren't crazy enough with our giant front yard garden.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqErGjmgf0phF9zkYYJpKdoYfPnk52imI6lta3BfVvqNEqQ2LoCS6zRbxGFYc33wvPHMYk_UOMlc4qUbiAXSIQfQOjnHh2pV5IT1lBNi1zERCrd1ayGo_L6psRr80VXFLW4Vosw/s1600/chickens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqErGjmgf0phF9zkYYJpKdoYfPnk52imI6lta3BfVvqNEqQ2LoCS6zRbxGFYc33wvPHMYk_UOMlc4qUbiAXSIQfQOjnHh2pV5IT1lBNi1zERCrd1ayGo_L6psRr80VXFLW4Vosw/s1600/chickens.jpg" height="640" width="456" /></a></div>
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These are some of our silkies. We currently have more chickens than we will ultimately want, but since we got them unsexed, we bought extra. We are only keeping ladies, and probably only about 5 of them. But there are more than that right now, so, yeah, we're going to be eating some really fresh chicken dinners some time this summer. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBkvTdMynj-NnaGnbHPiNEk4SQ6hPNCN2RcsgR0HUhSoPi0QZ6uQ5jQVfq4ttfrxl0SEkgCRXNo4s8AEqbZ6Npt5uw0U4LiBlOof3QZbyYN5TeMo23IIMlw6KCgwDnEakvOB2OQ/s1600/chicks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBkvTdMynj-NnaGnbHPiNEk4SQ6hPNCN2RcsgR0HUhSoPi0QZ6uQ5jQVfq4ttfrxl0SEkgCRXNo4s8AEqbZ6Npt5uw0U4LiBlOof3QZbyYN5TeMo23IIMlw6KCgwDnEakvOB2OQ/s1600/chicks.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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These are some of the second run of chicks we got to replace the fellas from the first run. Plus, somehow we ended up with all one breed in the first run, even though they were supposed to be assorted. The second run has three different breeds, so we will have a little more variety.</div>
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Speaking of variety, the vegetable varieties have increased dramatically this year. Since we'll have more room, I let each kid pick something new to try and grow. Sam chose brussel sprouts, Lucy chose purple cauliflower, Maggs chose watermelon, and Fred chose peppers. We already grow those, but he didn't really understand that. Plus we have five tomato varieties, tomatillos, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, pumpkins, two hot pepper varieties, two sweet pepper varieties, and blueberries. I saved seeds from all of last year's tomatoes, and luckily everything sprouted! If everything goes well, we should be getting fresh eggs sometime in August. It should make for a tasty summer! </div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-50348334564816144872014-04-17T11:06:00.001-05:002014-04-17T11:06:20.799-05:00Potty Training: The Final EpisodeWell, it's that time of life again. <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/search/label/it%27s%20potty%20time">Spring break equals potty training time in our house, apparently</a>. This time it's a little different, though, with an added dose of peer and parental pressure! Fred goes to a toddler pre-school class that meets 3 days a week. There are 5 kids in the class, all of whom turned 3 between January and March, with Fred being the lonely March baby. One of the children is potty trained fully, and another is 95% potty trained, so their teacher thought it a good idea for the parents of the non-potty trained kids to get on that shit over spring break. And on it we are!<br />
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Fred has been doing only <i>ok</i>. At home he gets to run around in his brand new star wars lego underpants, and when we go out I often put him in loose, athletic style pants for easy access. He'll pee on the potty all day long, and has had zero accidents at home and only one out in the world. But he waits each and every day until he gets a diaper on to do his pooping. Which STINKS, pun intended. He still has to rest for some time in the afternoon, and so I put him in a pull up. Plus he wears one to bed. And yesterday we had several errands to run which necessitated him being in the car for a longish time, so he got diapered then, and each time is when he chose to poop.<br />
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Except for this morning, when he pooped and peed his pants at the playground directly across from our house, not 10 minutes after he had used the potty at home.<br />
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He still has all of next week off, so I'm hoping we can get this worked out before he has to go back to school diaper-less. Otherwise, his teacher is going to be pissed.Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-77253090279641151322014-04-08T21:09:00.000-05:002014-04-08T21:09:37.082-05:00Love and Marriage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Nearly 12 years ago SOB and I got married. I pretty much knew when I was 17 that it was going down like that, but we were respectable and waited until we were 23 and 24. It was a fun day, but not without it's faults. At the time, I had a lot of anxiety, and the medication I was taking made me quite zombie-like. When I look back on our wedding photos, all I see is a girl with a blank, vaguely pleasant looking face on. Good, but not great. See below for an example, plus a photo of all of my lovely bridesmaids! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA2PXUVVHtxTWjPar39Sy8zPn94eLSndQijPtefcq3NX4vQQjqQj2vD3QNxEjAULwm5GNvQZHYjyBN_ql9Dsjy54_j6PN227o_KVPDNFEdlU6IlH_tANWAcWTJ6PO0EHmqS1k8Q/s1600/cwvDm9asA3Lw9asnAbl5etGTCw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA2PXUVVHtxTWjPar39Sy8zPn94eLSndQijPtefcq3NX4vQQjqQj2vD3QNxEjAULwm5GNvQZHYjyBN_ql9Dsjy54_j6PN227o_KVPDNFEdlU6IlH_tANWAcWTJ6PO0EHmqS1k8Q/s1600/cwvDm9asA3Lw9asnAbl5etGTCw.jpeg" height="317" width="400" /></a></div>
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Additionally, and this may ruffle a few feather so consider yourself warned, there was a large part of me that wasn't too thrilled with our catholic wedding ceremony. At the time I was recently graduated from a Jesuit university, but for years I had been having doubts about the faith in which I was raised. I just wasn't sure what I believed in anymore. I knew, however, that I believed in this relationship with SOB, and so it didn't matter to me where we got married. </div>
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As time went on, though, I really began to think more and more about catholicism, and religion in general. I spent the better part of a decade thinking about it. I spoke with clergy, the priest who married us in fact, about my ambivalence towards religion. I spoke with therapists. I spoke with friends. I spoke with family. I spoke with the man to whom I had committed my life. Finally, after many, many years of literal soul searching, I finally came to the realization that I was an atheist. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAB37YA1dk7ISzka8u340JIxl9LLV9AUu8iULonLX76BcKhb3gNGHkc2VLVdtw5gA58AGK-PkaJvEQdoIttscPz7l-wHVlQ-xOe5vdGbGpfsfAni1UR33-eV42nGD9KNh4yAwK7g/s1600/Amy&Steve+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAB37YA1dk7ISzka8u340JIxl9LLV9AUu8iULonLX76BcKhb3gNGHkc2VLVdtw5gA58AGK-PkaJvEQdoIttscPz7l-wHVlQ-xOe5vdGbGpfsfAni1UR33-eV42nGD9KNh4yAwK7g/s1600/Amy&Steve+017.jpg" height="456" width="640" /></a></div>
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SOB had kind of been there all along, just waiting for me to catch up. He never once tried to sway me to the "dark side", but there I ended up just the same. </div>
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A few months ago, by some serendipitous chance of fate, in the two minutes I get alone in the car I heard <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penn_Jillette">Penn Jillette</a> on the radio. He was talking about a crowd funding project that he had going on, and as soon as I got home I checked it out. Scrolling through the list of items, I noticed that one of the things up for grabs was to have Penn marry you, or renew your vows. Now you may or may not know this, but Mr. Jillette, besides from being an amazing magician, is also quite the outspoken atheist. Having watched his show Bullshit, having heard various interviews with him, and having read several of his books (two of which are titled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/God-No-Already-Atheist-Magical/dp/1451610378">God, No!</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Every-Day-Atheist-Holiday-Magical/dp/1469276925">Every Day Is An Atheist Holiday!</a>) we were fully aware of his godless slant, so to speak. We thought, what a perfect way to renew our vows and shed the shadow of the religious ceremony that had shrouded our union for more than a decade! 40 minutes later it was a done deal.</div>
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After a few months of planning and scheduling, the event finally went off this past weekend, and it was everything we could have ever hoped it would be. Thanks to his beautiful and gracious wife Emily, we have a short video of the ceremony. If you are sensitive to swearing or atheism in general, please don't watch. I won't be offend. You might be, though. </div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Open Sans', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><i>Once before, I have stood with you before family and friends; once again, I take your hand as my partner. I believe in this marriage more strongly than ever. We have evolved and transformed together. We have endured together, laughed together. We are raising a beautiful family together. It is with joy born of experience and trust that I commit myself once again to you. The best is yet to be.</i></span></div>
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<br />Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-43241160814947605192014-04-01T14:06:00.001-05:002014-04-01T14:06:56.089-05:00Second Time Around<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're going to Vegas! SOB got a retro 1970s tuxedo, I got a dress, I have a celebrity's wife's phone number, the chapel is reserved and it's going to be epic! </div>
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-63746517464576376402014-03-24T17:33:00.000-05:002014-03-24T17:33:42.102-05:00Mother Hen<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Over the weekend, I quelled my urge to have another baby by picking up eight adorable baby chicks. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">We have been planning all year to get chickens, and the stars aligned on Saturday morning. Right now they are residing in a kiddie pool in our garage, under some heat lamps, nesting comfortably in our old shredded documents. There is a coop to be built, but they won't be big enough for outdoor living for 4-5 weeks, so we have time. The county ordinance states that we can have 5 hens and no roosters, but we got unsexed chicks so I bought some extra to hedge our bets. Plus, we already have one babe who looks like he/she might not make it. The kids are standing vigil, but have already started planning where to bury him/her. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">(</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">Edited to add: he/she didn't. Super sad face.</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">) </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">They are so cute and fluffy, it's hard not to get a little attached. Fred has even been singing them lullabies! You go ahead and try not to get a little misty watching this! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px;">I had to cut off the cuteness </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">because the furnace kicked on, and since I was sitting nearby, it drowned out all of the extra cute names Fred had given the chicks.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Yes, I have to check their butts to make sure they aren't clogged up, and yes, we may have to deal with an unpleasant situation if and when some turn out to be roosters, but still? I heart them.</span></span>Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-45500631615421826602014-03-20T09:14:00.001-05:002014-03-20T09:14:38.801-05:00Signs and SignalsThe other day an email popped up in the inbox from some parenting website. In the past 8 years I've ended up on a lot of those, and usually I just dump them right into the trash, but they top article caught my eye. <a href="http://moms.popsugar.com/Signs-Asperger-Syndrome-27332056?utm_source=com_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=com_newsletter_v1_03182014&em_recid=4348798668&utm_content=placement_1_desc">10 Signs Your Child May Have Asperger's Syndrome</a>. I clicked on the link and started reading, and was saying 'yep' after each point in regards to my little Lulu.<br />
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1. Fixation on one activity? Just take a look around her room at all of the homemade musical instruments she made out of recycling and yarn for the answer to that one.<br />
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2. Little professor speech? HA! Just ask any adult who has ever spoken to her, or go and scroll through my Facebook posts and read her quotes that I've posted. <a href="http://cheeseparty.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-tale-of-two-valentines.html">Remember her Valentine's?</a> Her vocabulary is astounding, and includes several made up words that sound the part. Emphatic yes to this point.<br />
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3. Difficulty reading social cues? Lucy hugs every person she knows, even if it is painfully obvious that the person on the receiving end of the hug doesn't like it. We have been coaching her on this and kissing for years, and she still has troubles with it. Luckily, the kissing part is more under control, but she will tell people, 'I wish you were a part of my family so that I could kiss you on the lips.' So, yeah.<br />
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4. Need for routine? This one is killer for me, because with 4 kids and a husband with a wonky schedule, keeping a regular routine is tough. We try to keep bedtime regular, but when we screw that up she suffers dearly, and so does her teacher the next day. YES.<br />
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5. Emotional meltdowns? Lucy's tantrums are epic, and often sparked by something insignificant. Maggie wants to play house instead of vet. Sam took the red twisty straw and she got the yellow one. Fred touched her fluffy unicorn. I asked her to do homework. The fact that she's 6 1/2 makes these even more ludicrous. Yes, yes, yes.<br />
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6. Lack of empathy? This was the only one that wasn't an obvious yes. Lucy displays tons of empathy at times, but none at other times. It's a little perplexing to me.<br />
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7. Can't understand speech subtleties? Do you know how many times a day I have to ask her to look at my face and listen to how my words sound, so that I can try and clue her in on how I'm feeling about things? Dear jebus yes.<br />
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8. Unusual body language? Again, hahahahahaha! Lucy is constantly moving through space as though some weird, triply music is playing in her head. At piano, she moves like Stevie Wonder, even when she's only playing Twinkle Twinkle. The child was made for a career in interpretive dance.<br />
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9. Delayed motor development? This was the only hard no on this quiz. Lucy has always been pretty advanced with both gross and fine motor skills. Bike riding, ice skating, chopstick using, you name it!<br />
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10. Sensory sensitivities? Holy hell yes. Lucy has a horrible time participating in rug time at school because the texture of the rug is so appealing to her she can't concentrate on anything else. If her teacher puts her in a chair she's devastated because she wants to sit on the beloved rug. She's been keeping a cotton ball as a pet for weeks because she loves the way he feels. She eats many foods with glee, but has a hypersensitivity to garlic, and sobs if she sees red sauce on anything. So, again, yes.<br />
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While all of these signs point to YES, Lucy has been evaluated twice and received a big NO. Partly because she is still a little young for a diagnosis, and partly because she has days where she is pretty much, well, normal. She is on the cusp, I guess. We are taking Lucy for yet another evaluation this afternoon, where they will assess her quirky-ness and see if they can figure out ways to help her, this time with speech and language.<br />
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I struggle so much with the all of the unknown that surrounds her. I cry inside every time I see another kid cringe at her well meaning hug. I love watching her at the piano and listening to the songs she writes with names like 'life fire' or spying on her as she's totally absorbed at her easel. I don't want to change who she is. I only want to help make her voyage through this world a little easier.<br />
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Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13611612.post-17846404441967449952014-03-19T14:00:00.001-05:002014-03-19T14:01:13.194-05:00State of EmotionsMy firstborn takes after his mother in many ways. Obviously, he gets his charm, intelligence and good looks from me, but he has also inherited a flair for being overly emotional.<br />
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On Sunday afternoon I was upstairs working, and when I came down to check on the score of the hockey game Sam was watching, I found him sobbing on the couch. I asked what was wrong, and he couldn't even answer he was crying so hard. He pointed emphatically at the television and I panicked, thinking that maybe there had been some tragic news story that interrupted the game. Nope, he was simply crying because the Penguins lost to the Flyers (two days in a row) and he was despondent. </div>
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He is also prone to hyperbole. For example, each and every day is either the worst day ever or the best day ever. If he gets into trouble at school, he'll call himself the stupidest boy in the world, and if he scores a goal at hockey it's because he's the best player on his team.</div>
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Lately, piano has been vexing him. For the first two months they were playing simple pieces with the right and left hands playing the same thing. He's flying through his lessons (musical talent runs on my side of the family, by the way) and has started working on a piece where his left hand is playing something entirely different from his right hand. This is incredibly frustrating to him, and when he is in his lesson his teacher will hold onto some tissues so that she can catch the tears dripping off of his nose before they hit the keys. And while he claims to hate piano more than anything in the world, he'll often sit himself down and start playing without any prompting from me, so I know he can't hate it too much. </div>
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He finally got his hands working together but independently. I was so proud of him, and he was so proud of himself. I want to share this because I'm hoping, like the skating videos, that one day we'll have a fun little chronological order series of his talent developing. </div>
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<i>Lightly Row</i></div>
Amy Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192876795169234755noreply@blogger.com0