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    Friday, November 13, 2009

    Connor's Notebook




    I found Connor's notebook and he has fan letters to Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes". He cracks me up!


    Connor's Notebook



    Calvin, Hi, It's your comic book fan! The name's Connor E.J.Stone.

    Listen, I know you lived. I have Hobbes and he misses you bad. He still lives.

    Have you heard about tomboys? They'r girls who like boy stuff. Hmmmm. Let's count, I know Natalie, Lulu, Tympany (Tim-fan-ee), wait a second, Tymphony, I just know is a tomboy.

    Those girl's are all tom boy's. It was awesome when you pretended to flush Rosalyn's notes down the toilet and....

    Sunday, November 8, 2009

    Disney

    Disney A_0539_1
    I had intended to blog about our R&R durring the trip....but that was downgraded to a bunch of tweets. Over the next few weeks, I'll be updating the blog with some pictures and such. Here are a few....

    Wednesday, October 28, 2009

    There are so many things that I want to remember so I'm going to write out some of them now before evrything is so overwhelming that I forget!

    The trip was a long drive but it was nice to be with Matt again!

    I have to admit. I've spent a lot of time reading about and planningvthis trip. After all, what else should I do for the 9 month wait?

    So day one, I amdit that I was excited. I've been waiting till my kids were old enough to take since before they were born! We had my trusty plan (with spontinaity built in-inside joke there). We got to the ticket area super early to avoid crowds. I didn't know how long getting Matts ticket would take. I had visions of swarms of people packing the park and wall to wall crowds in MY way. Turns out that it was no big deal. We had rock star parking. Right by the entrance! No crowds as we rode the monorail to the park. I was more excited than the kids at first. They didn't know what to expect and I was reliving my childhood dreams!

    We were right by the ropes to let us into the magic kingdom and did have to wait a few minutes but I vastly prefer that to being in the middle of a pushing mass of strangers! I took Becky's advice and got a double stroller for the kids. Connor only used it occassionally but it has been nice to have. We were able to ditch it several times and then pick up a new one later!

    Matt was sceptical when he saw my plan for the morning but he had to admit that I rock when he realized that we never ever waited more than 5 min to ride a ride. (Peter Pan was the only one!) every other ride was simply a matter of walking up to the gate!

    I didn't think the kids would get all the references to "classic" characters, but Maddie loved the Winnie the Pooh ride and it took Matt and I back down memory lane. She even wanted to ride it again!

    The kids loved the teacups but Matt decided to sit out the "happy-go-puky" as he calls it. The kids wanted me to go a lot faster than I expected!

    We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Maddie was nervous but excited. She rode with Matt but he didn't understand what she needed to not freak out. Actually, my sister Julie totally freaked out but Maddie just said "I don't think I want to do that again". Poor baby. Then Matt kept talking about how fast it was and how it was okay if she was scared. I was frustrated with him. That was freaking her out even more! It was okay though, maddie and I talked about how it was really exciting and cool. She decided that se wanted to go back and try it again. We had snagged fast passes so we figured we could see how she felt later.

    We stopped for lunch early at the resturaunt in Frontierland. (11:15)Heratige House? I'll have to look it up. We got in with no reservations and a short wait because they were not officially open yet. The food was really good. A bit more expensive than counterservice but very yummy. They saw our badges (we are celebrating Matt's 40th and Maddie's 5th while he is home on R&R) and brought out cake for them after lunch. The cast members go out of their way to make birthdays special. Telling them happy birthday, free parking, special deserts etc.

    Right before we left, out waiter brought a box out to Matt and said that it was from all the staff at the resturaunt as a thank you for his service. (connor's badge said that he was celebrating his dad returning from Iraq). It was really cool and Matt got all choked up. He never looks for attention or asks for appreciation. It was a nice statue of an eagle wrapped in an American flag. It was a cool special appreciation for him.

    We hit Adventureland and saw a parade and show smack dab in front of the castle after lunch and left by 1. We saw most of the park by 11!

    We were going to take a nap and come back later but we decided to relax by the pool and hang out and watch Monsters vrs Aliens.

    I am so glad we scheduled our trips to the parks in such a way that we can ditch and not feel like we missed anything!

    Since I am typing this on my phone my thumbs need a break!




    - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

    Saturday, October 24, 2009

    Vacation blog


    So I'm relaxing on the patio at our fantastic resort. I admit that I was a bit worried when we drove past a bunch of older run down motels but then we turned a corner and found this gated area filled with small brightly painted yellow cottages. They are actually upstairs and downstairs units. Kitchen dining livingroom and bedroom. Heck, the bathroom is bigger than BOTH of our bathrooms at home, put together!

    The food I packed stayed frozen thanks to the dry ice. So we have food to eat and can relax.

    The kids are running around under trees drapped in Spanish moss while they find geckos and look for cool sticks. Matts taking a nap since he drove the whole way.

    There is a car show nearby that we might go check out tonight. But overall this has been a great result!

    Last nights hotel (quality suites) was neither quality nor an actual suite. The while point of a suite is to have privacy! That was very disappointing but today is looking way up!

    I am so happy to have Matt home! The kids are just so happy to be able to run up and hug him at random points throughout the day. Tomorrow will be fun to see how excited they are as we visit the magic kingdom! They watched a few Disney movies in the car. Maddie was singing along with her Tinkerbelle movie. I'm almost more excited than they are!
    - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

    Wednesday, October 21, 2009

    You know your son is cool when....


    You know your son is cool when he is as awesome as my son.

    Ok, I'm not deluded. We need to get this boy into sports soon so his geekiness doesn't overpower the coolness that is Connor but I saw his BGI journal this morning and flipped through it.


    1. BGI is Bullies Gone Inc. No he isn't being bullied but he loves Calvin and Hobbies and he has gotten into a few fights on the schoolyard so he thought this was a good idea.


    2. BTW, when he got in a fight, the teacher made both boys jump up and down while in time out to burn off the extra energy. Apparently they were both so wound up they were not being careful and one accident led to another, which led to fighting...good idea! Although I would have used pushups!


    3. He opens his journal with a quote about battles, taken from a book.

    War is blood. In war we say, the bloods the terror, you never know when to strike, you must win the battles. Use frost beaks, ice talons, fire claws. Guardians win with wits, not might.

    Note: I didn't realize this was in the books he was reading, but I am guessing it's from the Guardians of Ga'hoole series about a group of owls.


    4. We had a fundraiser at school where the kids could earn prizes for selling cookie dough. I pointed out how much he had to sell to earn a $6 screaming monkey slingshot....so he made a list of the prizes that he would want. And then listed them in Pig Latin and "Irish" so nobody would understand the code.


    Irish is like pig latin, except instead of ending in "ay" you end in "er". He is actually really good at this! He is constantly talking to me in "Irish" or "Pig Lay-ten".


    V. Yes, I switched to Roman Numerals. He had asked me how Roman numerals work once and it turns out that he did understand the concept becuase everything is numbered in Roman numerals! Correctly, I might add.

    Freaking Awesome. or OSM! as Maddie would spell.


    VI. The list also includes the punnishments for breaking rules (to come later). Also listed in Pig Latin and "Irish". They involve things like time out, dodging paint, doing 300 pushups, getting tackled and writing. In my defense, I've never made him dodge paint...


    VII. The RULES! Written with large Roman Numeral Headings . Some of the rules are actually pretty good rules, no lying or stealing. Others are pretty bizzare. Here are a few.

    I. Every secret plan needs a code. The more complicated the better. (extra points if you know where that came from!)
    III. Never turn in homework late.
    IV . If homework is late, you will receive a mopping. (um, no clue on this one!)
    VII. Never go coo-coo.
    XI. No drinking soda.
    XII. You are allowed to do extra homework. (he is not refering to "real" homework, but the crazy stuff he makes up, like making more lists, codes and battle plans)
    XIII. Moppers also feed plants.
    XVI. Must complete work before earling a bugbe.


    I have to say that I love my boy. He surprises me sometimes but he is such a remarkable boy. He cracks me up with the way his mind works and I only hope that he is always creative and full of excitement ..... and not a just full blown geek in high school.

    Saturday, October 17, 2009

    Blackmail?

    I told my babysitter (Nikki H.) that these were going to be posted as blackmail but honestly, it's not blackmail at all. She was so sweet and cute that I just can't stop myself.



    And a closeup....



    I dig those armwarmers!

    I came home from a cool party at Sarah's and found her out on the couch. That being said, it was late, the kids were in bed, and the house was clean. So I am okay with her sleeping on the couch.

    I should have looked closer though. Apparently she did the dishes!(I think a bigger tip is in store for next time!)

    This morning, the kids piled into bed with me and I did the post-babysitter grill session. What did she do? Dis you like her? Did anything happen?

    They were bouncing up and down telling me about all the games she played with them and how she was so nice and she should come back again.

    So this is not blackmail. It's public kudos for a job well done! Let me know if you need her number! She does a great job!

    As a side note, her older sister was good too and my kids loved Kim because she makes yarn animals and can draw anything!




    Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

    Thursday, October 15, 2009

    "Obama Money" mmm mmmm mmmm

    I listen to Rush Limbaugh.  You may not like the guy and I admit that he is a bit self absorbed, but the info he puts out is definitely food for thought.   And he calls it right a lot.

    I can't find the clips anywhere but from Rush's show, so don't jump down my throat. Rush is playing an audio clip from WJR from Detroit.

    This is from an event in Detroit where they are giving out applications for stimulus funds to help pay for mortgages or help people who are homeless.  I'm not going to go into the details of how the funds are allotted becuase the point is this news station in Detroit decided to ask these people where they think the money came from.........



    As a side note:  approx. 3,500 people will be recieving funds.  Over 65,000 applied.  Many of which had the same understanding of government funds.

    Wednesday, October 14, 2009

    Grown up temper tantrums and demands....


    Sakhile township, Standerton, South Africa, residents protested against their poor living conditions Tuesday. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, wounding several demonstrators demanding better sanitation, electricity and housing. (Associated Press)

    Would ya'll like to explain to me how ripping out a stop sign and rioting is going to IMPROVE your living conditions?

    This is just an example of what happens when people think that someone OWES them. Someone should GIVE them better housing. Someone should just take care of them becuase it's not FAIR that they don't have a better life.


    That guy on the right looks just a little too happy. M'thinks he protests too much....life can't be all that bad if you are that happy to be destroying where you live....

    Friday, October 9, 2009

    Congratulations to Pres. Obama.

    Congratulations to Pres. Obama on the notable achievement of being nominated and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Congratulations on this achievement, but I have to ask, while receiving this award is a great pat on the back to you, what did you actually DO to receive this?

    What notable change did you wrought in the world stage that actually brought greater peace and stability to the world?

    Maybe I'm mistaken, but I've only seen a lack of achievement from you so far. I have to say that I would appreciate you doing your job and serving the people of this nation, instead of traveling the globe in your "America is evil and It will all change now that I am here" speeches.

    I don't agree with you on HOW or WHAT change should occur, but I"m really disappointed that you were given an award for work that you haven't actually done yet!


    I don't want to burst your bubble but while the Nobel Peace Prize carries a lot of positive attention on the world stage, the dirty secret is that it's not really a great award after all.

    Consider this, this accolade is often granted on the basis of unquantifiable contemporary opinion, usually after some political event.

    The nominees are presented to the committee from biased sources...so Mr. Obama will share the honor with celebrities such as Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini. Unfortunately, others who have left a marked impression on the world with efforts towards peace are not included....Mahatma Gandhi, Corazon Aquino, Pope John XXIII, Pope John Paul II, Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, Steve Biko, Raphael Lemkin, and Irena Sendler.

    So maybe this award isn't such a notable achievement after all. You didn't actually DO anything to earn it, just talk, just words. And instead of sharing a legacy with those who actually DID things, you will have to hope that you can do something to live up to the lofty impression you have created for yourself.

    Teaching our kids to be fat.....

    I might be a bit overly protective of my kids, but I honestly think this is RIDICULOUS.

    My 4 year old daughter started pointing out Pizza Hut and KFC recently. I was really suprised because we don't typically eat fast food. It's more of a special exception, rather than the rule. I treat is as a last ditch resort, because I don't want my kids growing up overweight and unhealthy.

    (That's not to say I'm opposed to junk. I made cake for breakfast today. Admittedly it was a whole wheat, oatmeal raisin overnight cake, but that's a completely different issue)

    It turns out that the SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER has been teaching the kids a song to "learn shapes".


    The lyrics:
    A Pizza Hut a Pizza Hut
    Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
    A Pizza hut a Pizza Hut
    Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
    McDonald’s McDonald’s
    Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut
    McDonald’s McDonald’s
    Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut


    WHAT THE HECK! Our children are being indoctrinated and ‘Dumbed-Down‘ with songs about fast food franchises. Singing ‘McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken’ in our public schools sends a grossly consumerist message to our children. Sure it’s a fun idea to sing about things that kids are "familiar with" (one the reason that one of the teachers gave me for the use of this song), but do we really need to brainwash our kids and create positive association with fast food?

    Not only does our country have a serious problem with obesity, but the majority of people don't get the basic amount of fruits and veg. that we need for a healthy life. Does it seem like a good idea to indoctrinate 4 year olds with unhealthy lifestyles? Really?

    I've always rejected the idea of being an ad for a company. I don't buy tshirts that scream the name of the brand or carry a bag with a logo. I remove the dealer logos on my car. So why would I want my child to be chanting the name of a company? Not just any company, but one that I don't patronize on a regular basis?

    This is not a rant to ban McDonalds. I admit that it is a service that I appreciate and use. But I should not have to worry about my child recieving a message that I don't agree with at school. Namely, go eat fast food!

    I made it through elementary school music classes without learning jingles for fast food. We sang everything from classic nursery rhymes to southern spirituals, to patriotic music and fun silly songs.....not a burger or pizza in the bunch.



    So what do you think? Do you think that I'm overreacting or justified in my irritation?

    If you have to listen to the song, check out this video, but be forwarned....it's obnoxious and annoying.


    Monday, October 5, 2009

    Happy Halloween....

    Matt sent this card to me years ago and I still pull it out as part of my Halloween decor....


    img013
    img014

    Tuesday, September 22, 2009

    My Scientific Fix-It Girl

    Scientist Maddie

    Maddie decided that she was a science fix-it girl and wore her handy dandy goggles as she fixed everything with a pair of chopsticks.  Although I honestly think the sound effects were fixing more than the chopsticks!

    Sunday, September 6, 2009

    Obama's School Speech....

    In an interview with Education Secretary Arne Duncan that was released this morning, she discussed Obama's upcoming speech to US school children.

    There has been a huge outcry at the fact that the Obama administration overstepped parents, schools and state rights when he planned this out...more on that later.

    But in this interview, Arne was asked, "What ideas, broadly speaking, do you expect him to talk about?" Instead of ANSWERING the questions, the response was, "What's so fun about working for the president is this is so personal for him. He did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. His father wasn't around much. There were times when his family was on welfare.
    And here he is, the president of our country, the leader of the free world, because he received a great education and worked so hard."

    Thanks for gushing, but GET TO THE POINT. This entire administration is really good at avoiding answers....

    An interesting point that was made at the end was this gem....

    "The idea of schools being open five days a week, six hours a day, nine months of the year just doesn't work for families in our country anymore.
    Families are working one and two and three jobs now to make ends meet. Schools are safe havens. We want to make sure those are open longer hours, after school, weekends, throughout the summer."


    So now it's the government's job to care for children so parents are free to work harder? Wow....I see the socialist ideology just oozing out here....

    Sorry HOMES ARE SAFE HAVENS, not schools. Schools are not day care, having school teach longer hours only pulls children away from home longer. We hare having a hard enough time instilling family values. Children need to be in a HOME, not a state run institution. With the governments logic, that would lead to parents having no valid reason NOT to work full time...after all, they arent' needed to care for children at home. The state can raise them. So the parents can work longer and harder to serve our beloved leader....oh wait, sorry about that. That's North Korea.


    So I've been thinking about this speech for a couple weeks, since it was announced. I object on several grounds but the socialist lesson plans that were originally distibuted bothered me a lot. The administration has since changed it and made a huge deal about how they don't understand why people were all flustered and upset. They have since put out what Obama will be talking about in an effort to show everyone that the Right Wing Freaks are overreacting.

    But I suspect something much sinister. They refused to put out information initially and posted lesson plans that asked kids why and how they could obey the president blah blah blah....no details, just mantra designed to instill as sense of obedience to the Almighty President Obama.

    Now that there is an outcry, I have a feeling that the teleprompters will be spitting out much milder rhetoric than originally planned.

    After all, a group of people who will push a political point at a freaking funeral are not about to show restraint in a school...

    Saturday, September 5, 2009

    Trapeze Baby!

    My baby, the one I agonized about letting go to public preschool, the one I think is so tiny and small....I let her fly on the Trapeze today.

    That's right. I let her fly on the trapeze.

    She has talked about it for years, but always in the "one day when I'm a big kid, I want to fly"

    Today, she was antsy and begging to go on the practice bar. She was pretty confident and fooled around for a min before asking to get down.

    So I was a bit suprised when she asked if she could fly on the "big bar". She asked several times throughout class, so I got permission for her to try it out at the end of class. (I'm not paying big bucks for a 4 year old to try trapeze and have her refuse to go up more than once)

    She made it 1/2 way up before she got scared of the height. But it's a ONE WAY ladder. Once you go up, you go ALL the way up. It's too dangerous to climb down for a little kid. So up we went. She was pretty nervous until she got to the top.

    "She looked down." (brownie points if you know what movie that line is from.)
    AND THEN she freaked out. Tears and sobbing. I felt HORRIBLE. Did I push her into this? I know she WANTED to go, but still. My baby is terrified!

    But then she grabbed the bar and swung out. She stopped crying until the guy on lines jerked her to a stop (jerk!) and scared her again. But when she let go and bounced in the net, she was fine. She flipped out with considerable help and made all my worries disappear when she said,
    "So next time I go, I'm not going to cry. That was FUN!"

    My rockin' cool baby girl. At bedtime she told me. "I was scared of being too high, but now I know my belt is on so I will be safe. It was fun. My favoritest part was when I bounced in the net! I was swinging front and back and front and back and that was AWESOME!" (in reality, she only had 1/2 a swing but still...in her mind she flew more.

    So now I REALLY NEED a DAYTIME class. I will go broke if I have to pay for me, my son AND my daughter when I fly....unless someone wants to sponsor us? Volunteers?

    Here is the full length video...


    Here is a short clip if  you don't want to watch the whole thing....
    Just be aware that she is crying in the video....I feel bad enough about letting her cry, but dang it, you have to come down even if you are scared.  You can't stay up forever.

    Friday, August 21, 2009

    Why I can't get decent pictures of my kids.

    I have had family members comment that I really need to send them some updated pictures of my kids.

    I'm a photographer, right? This should be easy. After all, other people PAY me to do this.

    Why I can't get a decent picture of my kids

    For some reason, all the tricks I use with other kids just don't cut it when I try them with mine.

    Sigh. I'll post the ACTUAL pictures later.

    Sunday, August 16, 2009

    Maddie at the park

    I love the fact that my daughter is so full of spunk. She is enthusiastic and excited about pretty much everything! When I see her thrilled to be at a park, or hamming for the camera, I am just in love with her all over again.

    I am so glad that I get to be a mom to such wonderful kids. I haven't forgotten about the boy though....He will get some more pictures this week...even if I have to sit on him to get him to hold still!


    maddy
    And as a bonus, here is a video of Maddie dancing to the drum line we found while indulging in retail therapy at IKEA. She was so funny when she realize I was watching her!

    video

    A shift...

    I remember life before Cell phones, microwaves and GPS. I grew up with a black and white tv set in the basement.

    I had a cabbage patch record player as a kid. I remember when walkmans came out. Not CD players. Cassette Tapes. There were no ipods, you want a playlist? Get the tape deck out and wait for the radio to play the song you want...and hope they don't talk before the song is done.

    Nobody had cell phones. You couldn't call someone while they were out, you had to wait till they came home. Heck, when I got married, we didn't have an answering machine for 2 years. And phones had cords on them.

    TVs had antennas, no remotes and a knob that clicked as you changed the channel...all 12 of them. They were big and bulky too. Just like our first game system. No cool graphics or fancy games. We had a cassette loaded game of Pong. our computer had games too. Text based games. A line of type came up and you typed in your directions.

    I'm NOT that old. Sometimes though, I'm amazed at how technology has changed our lives and how fast the changes come.

    I admit that I've been hesitant to jump into somethings. I didn't NEED a cell phone when they first became popular. Now I don't know how I would deal without it. I've been blogging for years now, but I didn't really get the point of Twitter. Facebook was just a random thing out there, but I didn't get it either.

    And now, I blog, Twitter, and FB almost daily…pretty much at the same time.

    Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read.

    Those who know us, know that we are big readers. Both of us grew up in families that love to read. We have boxes and boxes of books stacked in the garage because we can't fit them all in the house. We have to rotate the books. Our favorite date when we were poor, starving privates was to go to the bookstore, cuddle on the couch and read. Then put the books back since we had no money to buy them!

    Thanks to my nifty iPhone, I no longer forget where I put my books. I've been downloading books onto my phone so that I have couple dozen avalible all the time. Heaven! now if I can just figure out how to download them from the library.....

    I make regular runs to the library. When they call, they don't just say, "The book you requested is in.", they say, "The book that Connor asked for is in." While Connor is a huge video game fan, he is also a big reader. When he gets into a book, he will stay up till midnight to finish it! I've seen him read all day long for 3 days in a row because the book is just "so exciting!".

    Maddie however, is still at the "learning to read" stage. Sometimes she will sit down and read a book or two, but she can't read well enough to get to the point where she gets really engrossed in the book. She's getting there though!

    She always asks to read at bedtime, usually she will try to read for a minute and then put the book down and go to sleep. But the other day, I walked in and was shocked to see her still reading. But no. She had fallen asleep with a book in her hands! I guess she is well on her way to joining the Stone Reading Addiction.


    book girl

    Lately, I've noticed the kids like to hang out on Connor's loftbed reading books together. More often than not, Maddie will convince Connor to read to her. This morning, they decided Maddie's bed was more comfortable. I think it's a perfect Sunday morning when the kids cuddle up in bed and read!

    book kids

    Thursday, July 23, 2009

    Cake Wreck Wanna-be

    For the uninitiated, there is a hillarious blog dedicated to the professional cakes that have gone terribly, horribly wrong.

    I'm refering to cakewrecks.blogspot.com I've been following this blog for a while now and while it has gained some pretty fantastic media attention, if you have not have heard of it....go look at it. Right now. It really is funny.

    Today, I saw a wreck that has bugged me for a while but never bad enough to submit...until today.

    Here is the letter I sent and the so-called-cake.


    I hope you like this one! I haven't seen this on your site yet, but the mounds of frosting weren't enought to convince me to send this to you....until today.

    I saw this at the local All-Mart *names changed to protect the not-so innocent*. They LOVE to make CCCs with 2 cupcakes and LOTS of frosting. I'm tempted to buy one just to see if there really is, in fact cake underneath the glop of frosting, but I can't stomach the thought of that much gritty sugary dye...so I'll have to hope it counts as a cake wreck since I can't verify the presence of actual cake.

    So there I was, walking past the enormous display of "puppies" when I saw this beauty. I'm sure the other customers thought I was nuts as I laughed hysterically and whipped out my iphone to take a picture.
    cake wreck#2
    cake wrecks
    Anyway, the nuclear-test-orange frosting was the first thing that caught my eye...but then I saw the eyes...the falling out of the head eyes... I think it's a bit scary, don't you think? and what's with the huge pile of orange poo? Eeewww.

    (I really hope she decides this is worthy of cake wreck status...)

    Wednesday, July 15, 2009

    A few screws loose.

    I haven't been very motivated to blog lately, but this is too long to twitter and I might eventually find some embarassing pictures to share...so I'm blogging.

    Years and years ago, when I was still in the Army, I was fortunate enough to have braces put on, with the promise of correcting my horrific teeth. I am genetically blessed with the lack of wisdom teeth, but those genes also forgot to give me lateral inscisors. (the teeth right next to your front teeth) The missing teeth and lack of wisdom teeth meant that my upper jaw never grew as large as my bottom one. My teeth didn't line up at all and I couldn't bite through things like, a hamburger with lettuce. So the Army got to work.

    I had my braces maintained by a civilian orthodontist (that hired me after I got out of the military, but that's another story) and in the summer of 2001, I had my upper jaw operated on. They moved my upper jaw forward 7 mm and used surgical pins and plates to reattach my face. Then I was wired shut for 8 weeks while I healed. (Note, when on a liquid diet do not let your husband and sister try to blend a steak. It does NOT work!)

    So I told you all that so I can tell you this.

    I've been plagued with pretty serious headaches for a few weeks now. I've had numerous sinus infections over the last 2 years and never thought anything of it. Over the 4th of July, the headaches got so bad that I finally went to the Dr. The walk in clinic left a lot to be desired. The PA insisted that it was a migraine, even though I was missing key symptoms (sensitivity to light/sound, nausia).

    I decided to talk to my denstist after the pain spread down into my jaw. I thought that if it was a tooth abscess it might cause pain that led to my headaches. He was concerned about the possibility that there was an infection, but he couldnt' get a good view of my sinuses because of all the metal hardware in my head! So he put me on massive doses of antibiotics and said to call back in a week if I wasn't feeling better.

    The antibiotics helped (even though they messed up my stomach!) but as soon as they were done, the pain came back. A call to the dentist lead to an immediate consult with a local oral surgeon. I didn't realize he wasn't TRICARE approved, so I ended up shelling out $75 to find out I needed a CT scan to get a better view of the pins. He suggested that they may have come unscrewed or become infected.

    I just wanted to cry. I can't get an approval for a CT scan without a proper referal, but this guy wasn't TRICARE and the next appointment with MY dr wasn't for a few weeks. I needed to get transfered to a Oral Surgeon that was approved my TRICARE (military health insurance), but I can't do that without a referal from my primary care doctor!

    I took a chance and went to Darnell and begged for a CT by promising that I'd have found a referal to the Oral/Maxofacial Surgery clinic by the time the CT appointment was set (2 weeks away!)

    I took another chance and went to the OMFclinic without a referal. The OIC was Maj Perez and he listened to my situation. Turned out that the surgeon who originally did my jaw was an old friend of his! He didn't even make me wait to get an appointment. Within a few minutes, he had me getting a CT scan and less than 45 min later, I was looking at the inside of my skull on a screen with the Chief of Surgery and a few other Drs. They decided that the hardware in the right side of my head was infected, possibly abscessed and draining into my sinus cavity.

    They explained that the solution was to have another surgery to remove the infected hardware and set me up with all my presurgery paperwork, created a new record for me and set a date.

    So the 28th, I'm having my head cut open and a few loose screws removed (go ahead and crack jokes, I know it's funny!) Please just pray for me that this next round of antibiotics helps to keep the infection down till surgery and that I heal quickly.

    Tuesday, July 14, 2009

    You need to watch this.

    Friday, July 3, 2009

    Wasting time with my iphone...proving once and for all that I am a dork

    What can I say? I'm a dork. And this is a bad video of me. But I have to admit that if I can play this in 10 min, anyone can do it!

    Monday, June 8, 2009

    Letter from a 4 year old to her dad in Iraq

    Maddie letter to Matt June 09

    Sunday, June 7, 2009

    Mwahahahaha!

    Creative Puns for Smart Minds
    1. The roundest knight at King Arthur’s Round Table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
    2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
    3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
    4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated in an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.
    5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
    6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it’ll still be stationery.
    7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
    8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
    9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
    10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
    11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
    12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
    13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, “You stay here, I’ll go on a head.”
    14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
    15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said, “Keep off the Grass.”
    16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, “No change yet.”
    17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
    19. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
    20. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
    21 A backward poet writes inverse.
    22. In a democracy, it’s your vote that counts. In feudalism, it’s your count that votes.
    23. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
    24. Don’t join dangerous cults, practice safe sects!

    Sunday, May 17, 2009

    My little girl

    I am so proud of my little girl. She is such a sweet child and is growing up so fast. I'm constantly amazed at her imagination and joy in life.
    web_May09_0251_1

    The other day I caught her reading, unprompted, out loud...alone. I was so filled with pride. My baby is reading...and I didnt' have to force her to sit still to do it! Our entire family is made of readers...we have more books than pretty much anything else, so I'm glad that she is at that magical stage where she "gets it".

    So when she was asked to read a scripture on baptism at church on Sunday, I was excited. I looked for a scripture that she would 1-really understand and 2-be able to read! We settled on this one....after church I recorded her reading it. The first one is full of silliness and a bit hard to understand, so watch the second one if you want a "good version". I have to admit that the one at church was pretty funny. She would look at her paper, lean way in and say ONE word, then lean back and look at the paper...lean way in and say another word! By the time she finished the scripture, the 3 and 4 year olds were all repeating after her! Super cute!



    take 2-not so silly

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    Dana
    I'm the mother of 2 and habitually busy person overall. The newest addition to my already busy schedule it the start of my Photography business, "Photos of the Heart". After years of looking for the thing that makes me happy, I found what I want to do as a job. But that still comes second to being wife to a wonderful husband and the mother to 2 wonderful children. Madeline and Connor are the joys of my life and I consider motherhood to my my primary job. But if you know me, you know that I love to fly on the trapeze, do contortion, yoga, Body Flow as well as, sew, craft, scrapbook, read, organize (although I'm not so great at that!). I've been known to repaint a room or remodel a house on the spur of the moment. I love trying new things and enjoying life. I also love chocolote. It's my biggest flaw. This love affair with chocolote will end eventually....but for now, I'm addicted!
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