Cubs Win! Cubs Win!

Ok...so it isn't a really big deal except for the fact that they SWEPT the Dodgers! WOOHOO!!! This makes me very happy for oh so many reasons. Some ok and rational reasons and others slightly more immature but fun nonetheless! First of all you must realize that my dad is quite possibly the worlds biggest Cubs fan. Growing up in my house you watched the Cubs for baseball, the Bears (or Da Bears!) for football and the Bulls for basketball. Why? Well when both of your parents are Chicagoans its just the way it goes! I remember Princess Bear being a little one (around a year) and my dad propping her on his knee and him explaining the game play by play to her. It really isn't a choice in this house! Now I will admit on here (although never to my father) that I rarely watch a Cubs game through and through anymore. I just can't do it for some reason. I flip back and forth and tune in when things are particularly good or bad (because that's what we do as Cubs Fans!). In all honestly my game to watch is football...more action...maybe its the ADHD in me (just kidding!). Now if you take me to Wrigley its a whole different story. I LOVE watching a live game. Honestly there is nothing like hearing the crack of the bat! There is also something completely magical about Wrigley Field. Please don't scoff. Its true. Now to feel this maybe you need to be a Chicago (city) fan at heart as a well as a Cubs fan but there is no other Stadium like it. The Ivy covered walls....the aforementioned crack of the bat. I do love going to a game. Princess Bear as part of her wardrobe always has at least one Cubs shirt (in the pink and white girls motif) and then a couple of traditional Bears items (the cheerleading outfit is a must!) Here are a few pics from the football season 2 years ago.










(Sorry...tried to do this as a slide show but there was a problem w/ the HTML)


Now on to why I'm so darn happy about the Cubs sweeping the Dodgers? I hate the Dodgers. Do I have a good reason for this? Nope! Not at all! They are my ex fiancees favorite team...thats it. As I said not rational or mature but fun! There is some (little) bit of satisfaction knowing that he has been home swearing at the TV as my beloved Cubbies sweep their butts! Especially since last nights game was a pull it out of the air how lucky are we kind of win! I hate most things about California and personally want the whole darn state to fall into the ocean (after my cousin gets out first!). This is just one more thing to smile about!

This morning I had Princess Bear singing GO Cubs go! on the way to school (while wearing her pink & white Cubs windbreaker!). It was so cute! I'll have to try to get video of it! Here is the "official" 2008 version


and here is a great video of Wrigley and Chicago.

Man do I love that city! I miss it something fierce! The shopping, the restaurants, the shopping, the art, the tattoo shops, the shopping. There is always something to do there! Did I mention the shopping?

Well, know that you've been taken hostage by my love for Chicago, sports and my dislike of all things California I'll release you to go on your merry little way!

Such a busy little bee!

Well, school is wrapping up for Princess Bear (PB) in just a few days (tomorrow is the last full day and then she has 1 hour on Friday). I met with PB's occupational therapist this morning to go over PB's summer home program. Her OT is the most amazing woman ever and has been such a help to PB in the last 2 years. She is such a wealth of information. Marty (the OT) knows my plan is to homeschool PB this summer so instead of just a sheet of suggestions I came home with a packet and some materials to use over the summer! I've also been getting files ready. I have worksheets coming out my ears and I'm not done yet.

We've also had some problems with PB's sensory "issues" lately. Especially in public (big surprise if you know anything about sensory integration disorder). Marty is going to do a full sensory profile on PB next fall but gave me lots of ideas on how to work through things until then.

Other than that I'm still working on the house. I cleaned up about 1/2 my area of the basement yesterday. UGH! So much "stuff"! I have a few boxes of fabric & two sewing machines. My sister and I are planning on taking some classes this summer as neither one of us knows the first thing about sewing! I just want to learn so I can make PB some incredible outfits (think ebay without spending a fortune!). I also started reading the Hollow last night. It is the 2nd in a Nora Roberts trilogy. Nora Roberts is most definitely in my top 5 of favorite "trash" authors to read. I'm beginning to realize how much I need to work on patience. The 3rd book in the trilogy doesn't come out until December. UGH! I want it now!!!! I really should wait until the books are all on the shelves instead of torturing myself!

Oh...I don't know if I've mentioned my daughters favorite activity...she renames things from her favorite show (which is Caillou). I thought it was just for our cat whose name is Fluffy (Yes unoriginal but it works!). Since Caillou came full blast into our lives my poor cat has been going through an identity crisis because PB insists on calling him Gilbert (the name of Caillou's cat). Well, she has a favorite teacher at school and I just thought his name is Mr. Hinkle (He isn't one of her teachers but he does visit the classroom). As we were watching Caillou yesterday I realized with a start that there is a Mr. Hinkle in there. Yep....PB strikes again! The teachers name is really Mr. Anton but PB has renamed him! Such a precocious little girl! Needless to say she keeps me on my toes!

Ahh.....summertime!

Ok...so this weekend is the "unofficial" start of summer. Now my question is when exactly was that thought last fun for you?!!!? In all honesty summer is just one more of those things that loses its allure as we age. So darn unfair!

Frankly, I'm a week out from my daughter getting out of school for the summer and I'm already in panic mode. Having a child has definitely made me a fan of year round school! I think I would enjoy my time with her so much more a few weeks at a time rather than a three month chunk! Please don't doubt that I love my child but my child is a posterchild for ADHD. She has energy that I can't even begin to fathom let alone figure out how to productively reign in for three months so she has fun and uses that little brain of hers for good! I mean one can just get tired watching the child! I remember a few years ago we were trying to figure out why Princess Bear (PB) kept on getting a bluish tint about her lip. She was 2 or 3 at the time and frankly cyanosis wasn't a happy thought. We had a pulse ox monitor at home and would hook her up when the bluish-ness appeared. For the most part her numbers were in range. The pediatrician then started talking heart or lung disease but I digress...not the story I was going with here. One night we did hook PB up to the Pulse ox and the numbers weren't in range...actually almost scarily out of range so off we go to the local ER. Now even in spite of what apparently is going on PB hasn't even thought of slowing down. We're in the ER and she is striped down to her Stride Rite tennies and a diaper. Is the child wanting to be held or resting? Heavens no! She is wondering around the room. Up and down off of the gurney. Then deciding that a short walk is in order (You know you've spent too much time in the ER when the staff knows you!) No one was phased by PB out for a little jaunt! The resident came in to ask some questions and watched PB for awhile. She then looks at me and says "She's just fascinating to watch". Ok....now if that isn't the most PC way of saying "Dang your kid is really off the hook" I don't know what is!

Now can you understand why the next 3 months are striking a bit of fear in my heart? Oh well, I'm strong and I will survive!

On to other fun things...this past weekend has been a case study in no matter how hard I try I will just never quite measure up or make my family happy. I was given a command performance to babysit my nephew for this past Friday night. I really don't mind since I adore the little guy but being asked is a nice approach. Anyway, PB and I arrive and get the down low from my sister. Now let me say that Tyler is my sisters first child, my sister is a definite type A personality and is raising him by the book. She and my bil go to obscene lengths to follow his schedule. I did mention that since he was going to be asleep when the left he might not do well should he awaken. After 4 trips from the basement to the top floor I finally said enough with this noise....this kid isn't going back to sleep and brought him down the the basement. He was a seriously unhappy kiddo. He was tired and mommy and daddy weren't there. Didn't matter that the beloved Aunt Sarah was (& I really am the beloved Aunt Sarah!). He cried and screamed for 45 minutes (he has a bad case of separation anxiety that has been getting worse). Somehow without losing my ever loving mind I got him through the crying jag and no one including myself and PB were any worse for the wear. I then put him in his bumbo chair and let him watch some Kipper with PB (Friday night was PB introduction to TV on Demand and PBS Sprout...to say she's in love is an understatement!). At one point during the screaming I considered calling my sister but decided to let her enjoy her dinner. I guess as a single mom who has absolutely NO life (I can count on one hand how many movies I've seen in the theater and how many nights I've had out with friends since having my daughter and still have a few fingers left!) that I can have a lot of empathy for a mom wanting to enjoy a dinner out. I decided that there was no point in calling my sister just so the precious schedule could be followed. I thought it was a better thing for her to enjoy a dinner out. Honestly its not like a schedule can be ruined in one night anyway. Well my sister came home and saw Tyler awake and just lost it. I explained that I did the best I could to get him back to sleep but it wasn't happening and that I decided to let her enjoy her dinner anyway. Instead of a thanks I really appreciate the opportunity to get out I got a guilt trip on how the rest of their evening was ruined and she obviously could never go to dinner again. AAAUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Can someone just shoot me know?!!? I tried talking to her a little later as well as yesterday afternoon only to get the cold response of "I don't want to talk about it" Ok...did I really do anything that wrong?!!?

Then we were supposed to go there for a cookout yesterday but since PB was running a fever of 98.9 we were asked to stay home. I wasn't this crazy as a first time parent but my mom keeps on saying it was because there were other agendas involved. Perhaps but who knows!

PB and I had a low key day today. We made a double batch of Bath bubble jello jelly and did some serious one on one time. Candyland Bingo abounds! My child hasn't quite gotten the whole good sport thing. After mommy won a couple of rounds she decided to play by herself. The child cracks me up to be sure!

Anyhoo~ I'm gearing up as summer is now upon us. I'm trying to get back into using my control journal and becoming more organized. I was also looking through my copy of Saving Dinner and deciding if I could try that at home. PB has made a lot of progress since her days of only eating hot dogs, mac n cheese and yogurt but I don't want to push it! I tried creamed tuna over toast tonight. You should have seen the look on her face. The first dozen or so bites went down fine and then it was just like "Mommy please! No more!" Never a dull moment to be sure!

Princess Bear's Tiger Prize

Ok...this is going to be very quick....basically just a picture share! I'll try to post more soon! Remember when I wrote about Princess Bear (PB) going to the dentist last week? When we were leaving they asked me to sign PB up for the Tiger Drawing (A mommy & 2 cubs). Not thinking too much of it I signed her up and we went on our merry little way. Well we got a call a few days ago that Princess Bear indeed won the Tiger Family so we went to pick them up today. The staff gave her an adoption certificate and took her pictures...it was so cute! Of course PB had to take the Tigers to share with her friends at school. The Mommy tigers is HUGE and it was pouring today (as in streets flooding!). Here are a few pics of PB and Tabby, Tigger and Toby.









This is PB in her car seat holding the tigers (Yes there really is a child in this picture!!!


Well, I'm going to attempt to get PB to take a nap because we have to babysit my nephew tonight.

PB IEP update

Ok...I must apologize for the lack of writing. I'm a pretty late night person and was doing most of my blogging then when Princess Bear (PB) was asleep. It worked out well all the way around. Now my mom is on a kick that I have to be in my room at X time so that has effectively ended my nighttime blogging for the most part. I'll try to do it during the day or if I can miraculously get PB down for a nap then naptime! Anyhoo~ on for the updates.

I know I mentioned PB upcoming IEP meeting. (For those of you who don't know an IEP is Individualized Education Plan). Basically we have an IEP meeting at the end of the school year to review PB's performance and come up with a game plan for the upcoming school year. PB is finishing her last of two years in a special education preschool room. To say that we have been incredibly blessed to have an incredible teacher and wonderful aides working with PB is truly an understatement! She has grown and blossomed so much in two years it is truly mind blowing. When she started school she was basically non-verbal and today has a vocabulary pushing 300 words! Not to say that we're at home plate yet but I've seen what my child is capable of and I'm so hopeful for the future! My dream for PB was to have her in an integrated classroom as soon as possible. When PB returned to school this fall she had made so much progress over the summer that her teacher and Speech and Occupational therapist were already talking about an integrated kindergarten situation! I was so excited! Then as we drew closer and closer to the IEP meeting I began getting more and more nervous. PB is almost like a third aid in her classroom. She really loves and thrives being a helper for the class (many of the children have physical disabilities and are in different adaptive equipment so she loves to help her peers). The class room she is in has a max of 10 students. The small environment was incredible for her! PB needs help keeping on task and concentrating and that is so much easier in a small group. She also doesn't feel like she is "in trouble" when redirected. The teachers can work at a slower pace which is nice. Well, in an integrated room there would be 18 students and 3 adults. I started worrying about PB not being able to be the big helper...something she really loves and is a great incentive for her. Also that she tends to be a bit of a clown and I thought if she felt lost in the crowd that she might act out more to get some attention. I talked to her teacher and occupation therapist about this in March and they both felt very strongly that PB be given the opportunity to be in an integrated room. I know that I'm a nervous Nelly but this is my only kiddo and as time goes on it becomes apparent that the situation won't change anytime soon if at all. So on Monday my mom and I are at the IEP and I'm still beyond nervous. Then we're all gathered and the kindergarten teacher hadn't even been told about the meeting....oops! She gets in there and PB's current teacher and therapist start reviewing this year. All in all pretty darn good. The main thing is to work on getting PB to concentrate! She's made huge progress in all areas so I'm the proud mommy. Then everyone starts setting goals for the next year. First one out of the gate...to be able to count from 1-20. Ok...that would be great except for the fact that one of the goals for this year was to have PB count from 1-10 and that goal still hasn't been accomplished. For some odd reason PB wants to leave out 4, 5,6 every time! In my mind we should get that done before adding more numbers to the mix! I just don't want to think we're setting her up to fail. The teachers explain that if she only gets to 12 that's great and if she gets to 20 is even better so I agree (reluctantly) to the goal. I don't get too involved with the OT & PT goals. I completely and totally trust her OT and consider her the one of the biggest blessings and cheerleaders we've had since PB started school. PT I don't like much but think she knows her stuff so I'm not worried there. Then we get to the Speech Therapist. PB is also still receiving speech at Easter Seals once a week because her delay is so prevalent. Miss Deb (from Easter Seals) who adores PB more than life itself is very adamant that PB must get oral stimulation at school. The school Speech therapist sees no reason for it and won't include it in the IEP. NOT HAPPY! Thankfully she is pregnant and not going to be back in the fall! Yes, doing the happy dance! Then we get to PE. PB loves going to PE. She is a very active kiddo and desperately needs that time to burn off extra energy. Now one of PB's biggest issues is that she cannot regulate her body temperature at all. When it is hot out or she exerts herself too much she can overheat very easily. That can lead to seizures. She's been in adaptive PE for the past 2 years and that is held in the Air conditioned part of the building and she is very closely monitored. For next year she can't receive Adaptive PE (I was told that would be no problem) so I'm really ready to launch at this point. (We'd already been promised AC in her room). Everyone in the room is trying to come up with some workable solution. I refuse to let them cancel PE altogether....she needs to move! The "regular" PE teacher is also evidently a really hard a-s and wouldn't let PB out of PE even if she was overheating unless it is a) written in the IEP and b) has a detailed note from her Dr. (no problem there!) The solution we finally come up with is that for PE there must be a one on one assistant working with PB. I'm not totally comfortable with this but it seems to be the only option for right now. Keep your fingers crossed!

PB has met her teacher for next year a few times and was allowed to visit for an hour today. I'm going to observe a bit next week. My baby is growing up too fast!!!!

Well its getting to be time to get PB ready for bed so I'm off for now!!!

Oh! I'm seeking some good, easy and economical dinner solutions so if you have any please feel free to drop a line!!! Thanks!

Man...I am not a day person!

Well to say that it hit the fan here over the weekend would be putting things mildly!!! My parents went on a kick about our bedrooms and decimated Princess Bears (PB) room. As in 7 garbage bags donated to the Women's Pregnancy Center and 3 bags of garbage (I'm talking the big green lawn bags too!). Kiernan is still refusing to let my mom in her room! Kind of funny if you think about it!!! On the plus side of things its really nice to be able to clean PB's room is 0.5 seconds. The downside is that we were forced to give away some things that we really didn't want to and my mom totally flips if anything is out of place. Kind of difficult when you have a very active 4 year old running amouk! I'm making progress in the basement and my room.

Other than that things are very low key here. I'm seriously bummed that Jason Taylor didn't win DWTS and now the Miami Dolphins are giving him a very hard time. Not cool.

The happy news for the day is that PB is a very happy camper. When she went to the dentist last week we registered her for a mom and 2 baby stuffed tiger collection. The office called this morning to say that Kiernan won. They want to take her pictures with the tigers and post them in the office. I'm taking her on friday since its playday outside at school and she can't attend. I'll try to post a picture. We also had her IEP...more on that later!

Hiya!

Hey there! Sorry its been a crazy week and quite frankly I'm in a bit of a funk and not too motivated so I haven't felt like writing. I've been doing a lot of cleaning, spending lots of time with Princess Bear (PB) and generally just muddling through.

PB is truly trying to see how quickly she can turn me gray!!! Now I must preface this story with the fact that swearing has always been "accepted" in my household. My sister and I could swear like sailors thanks to our mom by the time we started grade school. We were also warned that if we used those words around other kids their moms wouldn't let us come play with them. Ok no biggie. Well, I've tried to not expose PB to much swearing but I occassionally slip up and then there is my parents...they try but it just doesn't happen. Anyway, PB and I were on the way through the garage to the car this morning so I could take her to school. PB stumbled on the same step that I took my bad fall on a few months ago. Without thinking PB lets out a "Damn It!" and keeps on going and a second later that is followed up by "Crap!". Now I can see the humor in this especially having seen my darling daughter actually perform this darling little "skit" of life. Then there is the side of me that is panicking because at four she understandly has no filter and will eventually let one of these loose in school. Just shoot me now please!

Other notables...ok either the wishes to the g-ds at CBS or the alternative voodoo dolls worked....the Unit has been renewed for the fall!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! More Max Martini please!!! Now I'm slightly bummed b/c its on Sunday nights but short of football season I can adapt. Most definitely doing the happy dance. I love the show as a whole and I really love me some Max Martini!!! :) Now as I just mentioned Sunday night football for those who don't know it I'm a HUGE NFL fan. I'm a die hard Chicago Bears fan and please don't ever try to contact me on a Sunday. Its Church, breakfast with the family and we go right into the Fox pregame show (I also love Howie Long). Anyway, after the Bears had such an incredible season a couple of years ago things have been a very rapid descent into disappointment. I thought that the draft might hold some good options for us but I'm truly beginning to think that Lovie Smith has taken leave of all of his good senses. Top that to the fact that Urlacher is holding out for more money and we're over 3 months away from preseason and things are already looking bad....my daughter might learn some new swear words!

I'm gearing up for PB's birthday party. We're doing a Strawberry Shortcake theme. One of the yahoo groups I'm in has a person that loves doing graphics and she did some invitations, tic tac toe boards, party hats and sucker cards for me. SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!! Now the real planning has to start. Now I have a BS in Recreation, Park and Tourism Admin and worked as a Special Events coordinator for several years. Since I don't get to do that anymore I tend to go all out for PB birthday and Christmas. Now I need to figure out some SSC themed games and food.

PB also had her first dentist visit yesterday. She handled it like a champ! I was so proud of her! She was so excited about it...she was grinning as I walked her into school this morning saying "I'm going to show the kids my teeth!" The kid really is cute (now if I could just forget our trip to Target this evening it'd be a wonderful day!)

Well that would be the update here. I'm still worried about PB's IEP meeting on Monday. I'm so not ready for my baby to start kindergarten. My dad is also going to attempt to go to my therapist appointment this week. I'm trying not to expect too much but I figure its a step in the right directions!

Well I'm off... more cleaning, more reading...maybe sleep?

P.S. Want a nice quick inspirational read? Check out "A Dozen Ways to Sunday" by Montel Williams! I love that man & am so bummed that his show is done :(