Christmas Eve Eve

All is quiet, everyone is asleep. All the presents are bought & wrapped, cookies made, house & tree decorated. Not much to do tomorrow except plan christmas meal, shop, enjoy the day and the kids. We're keeping it pretty low key this year, not terribly extravagant on the gifts, sticking close to home. Very peaceful a real change from years past and I'm looking forward to it.

Have several Nick stories to post, will do so soon.

Today...

What a busy day...

• Did four loads of laundry, folded and put away.
• K took Nate to the Lego store to use a gift certificate from LAST Christmas. He bought a small Star Wars ship, a small Mars Mission ship, a large grey baseplate, and a small pick-a-brick. Took him nearly an hour to pick it all out. He's a careful shopper when he's using his own or gift money.
  
• I took M.E. to REI to look for a jacket. Ended up with a North Face furry fleece. "Everyone" has North Face. Nick crawled in a tent and wouldn't come out. He was also kept escaping every time I turned my back, fortunately, he's not quiet and I could find him pretty quickly.
• Baked cornbread and pumpkin muffins.
• Made sweet potato casserole and squash delight casserole.
• Made Shrimp & Hot Root Soup and the Abbots Special Abbey Trifle from the Redwall cookbook. The custard for the trifle didn't set up. Not sure what went wrong. The custard had some solid chunks in it that I pushed through the strainer. Oh well, we have vanilla & raspberry soup in a lady finger bowl.
• Baked pumpkin and apple pies, they look great.
• Not sure how I'll transport all of this. But, I sure won't have to do too much cooking tomorrow.
• Nick, after watching a Bob-the-Builder episode where Loft falls off a bridge, kept racing into the kitchen with his toy shopping cart. Tipping it over saying "Oh no, what a mess." Coming up to me, telling me "Heavy, help, what to do?" And then I'd help him turn it upright. After about the 20th time M.E. was fed up and would upright it before he could. Nick would give her an evil, eye race out of the kitchen and then come back in again, until she was tired of it.
• Just turned out the lights on two readers, was told I was so mean because their books are so good.

Still Chuckling

The period of time after Nick's birth was one of my lowest, I didn't know what he would be capable of and would I love him enough. But, I was sure things were going to be alright and wished my future self could come and reassure me. Today, Nick's teacher told me about something Nick did that would make a good story for the future me to tell to the past me.

Today was the Thanksgiving lunch at Nick's school. As soon as she saw me, Nick's teacher said "I have to tell you what your son did today." "Oh, oh," I said. She replied, "Oh, it's a good story, you will really laugh."

Lately, Nick become much more interactive with others, to the point of ordering us to do what he wants. He's also, been engaging in more pretend and imaginative play.

Apparently, he walked over to his teacher with a broom in one hand and a play microphone in the other. He told his teacher, "Sing, Dog Out." Which means "Sing, 'Who let the dogs out.'" So she did, while he accompanied her pretending to play the guitar using the broom. And wouldn't let her stop for nearly 10 minutes. Boy, do I wish we had a video.

Something else to like about Nick's school

The Michael's near Nick's school has a better selection of yarn than either of the two near us.

I know, I'm a bit shallow and more than little obsessed.

Hooray! Me!!

Sometimes, I think that having as much therapy as Nick has has made him a bit of a praise junky and when he can't get it from someone else he'll praise himself. 

Nick has made great strides with fine motor lately, especially holding a fork & spoon. The other night he had a bowl of cereal after dinner. He ate a few spoonfuls without spilling and suddenly put his hands up in the air and said "Hooray! Me!" He continued to eat a few more spoonfuls and repeat the "Hooray! Me!" several more times. By the end we were all joining in.

What I've been up to

Knitting, knitting, knitting, in preparation for a couple of craft fairs.

Bernat Alpaca blend

Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (I think)

Made from Debbie Mumm Traditions

Jaegar Luxury Tweed (alpaca/lambswool) in Sea Sky

A felted bag out of Paton's Merino. This is a version of the Ella scarf bag using a mosaic knit pattern.

I need to write up patterns for the cable scarves and put them on my Etsy site.

Daisy & Nick

Daisy, the dog, and Nick have a relationship that can best be explained as sibling rivalry. They seem to tussle over toys just like sibs do. The other day, Nick commandeered one of my laundry baskets and was pretending to be a turtle.
Daisy came in with a toy. And before she knew what happened, a small arm shot out from under the laundry basket and snatched away her toy.
Where'd it go? She could smell it, and hear Nick's giggles.
Ah, there it is..
It's just Nick. This went on for several more rounds until Daisy ran off with her toy.

Carving Pumpkins

Not only did the big kids carve their pumpkins all by themselves, Nick was able to help with the scooping out of the pumpkin. He wasn't thrilled with the texture of the "guts" but he had a lot of fun scooping up the seeds. 

Halloween

Too tired to write much, but here are some pictures from Halloween...

Everyone impatient to Trick or Treat 

M.E.'s Pumpkin

Nate's Pumpkin on the left, Nick's on the right.

M.E.'s pumpkin all lit up. 'Cary to quote Nick

Rascal

Nick is a thumb and finger sucker. We've been working on getting him to stop, with little success. When told to take his hand out of his mouth, he used to take his hand out. Lately, when reminded he will put BOTH hands in his mouth, and adds a saucy grin!

Blustery Day

Today is a beautiful, if slightly cold fall day. More typical of November here than October. But, November is just around the corner. Yikes! The good news is this blasted campaign will be over. The bad news is then Christmas is just weeks away.

Going Back to Work

When M.E. was born, I became a stay-at-home mom. In my mind, I was sure I'd return to work when my youngest was in school full time, which in Georgia is kindergarten. Nick's not in kindergarten but he is kindergarten age. Now, Nick has been in school more or less full time for the past 2 plus years, so I could have started before this.

But, this fall has brought home the advantages and value of having one parent at home. Nick was out for a week probably with shigella. Nate for a week with his foot and then now another couple of days. We don't have a lot of family close by.

So far, I've applied for a few positions listed in our local newspaper, but haven't been looking very actively. Also, I'm not really sure what I want to do. I was product manager for a biotechnology instrumentation company. There aren't a lot of those types of companies here.

These are all excuses, I know. Oh well, maybe a fabulous job will fall into my lap. Or we'll win the lottery, of course, we don't play.

Halloween Party

Every year the kids' Uncle B hosts a ginormous Halloween party at his farm. There are hay rides, a corn maze, a treasure hunt, horses, and of course pumpkins.

Eww, pumpkin guts.

Nate's handy work!

What happened to M.E.'s face?

Nick showing off his bad haircut and the pumpkin he likes. (At least we didn't pay for it)

Happy Birthday Honey!

It's K's birthday. Won't tell you how old he is. But his present was all 6 years of "Hogan's Heroes" and german chocolate cake.

One Man Band

This is from this summer, I can't figure out how to turn upright, it so here it is anyway.

'Ni 'Ni

Tonight I helped serve at the middle school youth group mystery dinner. The kids are given a menu with 16 items such as "butcher's helper(knife)", "Golden rod (carrots). The kids each chose 4 items per course for 4 courses. Some kids had a knife to eat corn with or a toothpick to eat jello with. They all had a blast.

We came home to K, Nate & Nick watching Star Wars Episode 1. Nick said "Ni Ni, sleep" so, he hugged everyone and I took him up and put him to bed. He is so sweet and he likes his sleep.

A fun day, Nate is recovering, a little bored since I kept him home today to recover some more.

Splinter

Nate had his surgery today to remove the piece of wood. Here is the result. He's now home and happily building Legos

CTTD #1

That's Cute Things They Do. Last week Nick rediscovered the viewmaster. He was walking around looking into it bumping into walls. Of course, he has to share.

Update Post #4: Nate Turned 10

Last week Nate turned 10. We celebrated as a family with a trip to Chuck E Cheese. But Nick was disappointed that the presents weren't for him.

Fortunately big brother let him help unwrap...
He's getting really good at unwrapping presents.
Nate's fav, now he only has 110 pages to go.
Cookie cake! Unfortunately, mom forgot to buy candles

Over the weekend Nate & a few buddies played Lazer Tag and of course, there were more presents.
And a cake, this time with candles.

A Dog's Life

Catch Up Post #3: We Celebrated Our 16th Anniversary

Hard to believe it's been 16 years. We went to McCormick & Schmick's for dinner. K is a traditional kind of guy so he likes to pick a present out of the material for each year. This year there is no traditional gift but holloware is the "modern" material. This year is was a Michael Aram platter from the Twisted Vine Collection. 

What did I get for K? I cleaned the house, believe me it's pretty rare for the house to be clean.

The Wizard of Has (Oz)

One of Nicky's birthday presents was the Wizard of Ha's a Veggie Tales version of the Wizard of Oz. And he's been watching it over and over...and so have all of us. But it made us realize that the older kids have never seen the original Wizard of Oz movie. They know the rough story and most of the pop culture references.

The reason they haven't seen it is that I can't stand the movie. When I was little, it scared me to death. I couldn't sit still and watch it instead ran around the room. Especially in the scenes where the Wicked Witch of the West steals Toto and those in her castle. For some reason, my mother was frustrated and aggravated with the running around. So year after year we'd watch the stupid movie when it came on tv, I was scared and she was irritated.

It makes me wonder how many things I do as parent just because that's what everyone does that aren't the best ideas

What we did today

Today we set out for Stone Mountain and the Highland Games. Nate was fascinated by the caber toss. M.E. by the fiddlers. But both were disappointed that the blacksmith wasn't there. So, after a while we went over to Stone Mountain Crossroads Village to see the blacksmith there. Nate thought it was cool, Nicky thought it was too loud. Learned that a cobalt alloy is now being used on plough blades. And Kim & I had cokes, Nicky HiC, Nate dippin dotes and M.E. was cold. I should have better pictures, but I keep forgetting to take them.

Catch Up Post #2: Nate hurt his foot

The day after Nick's birthday, Nate was playing outside with friends. A game that involved "fighting with sticks." We're not quite sure how it happened but somehow Nate ended up with several pieces of wood in his foot. The entry was between his 3rd & 4th toes. The first trip to the ER involved X-ray and ultrasound. Wood doesn't show up on X-ray very well, hence the ultrasound. Which doesn't seem to be the most reliable method for determining what's in there either.

The second trip to the ER involved IV antibiotics after infection set in.

This is how it looks today, a month afterwards. We've consulted a surgeon who thinks there is sill at least one piece still in his foot. The spot near his toes is a migration of the initial puncture wound and the spot further back may be a hematoma or a granuloma(?) of the foreign body (piece of wood).

Surgery is scheduled for Thursday.

Nicky to Nick

Another transition in the past year has been from Nicky to Nick. It started with the OT at school requesting that Nicky be taught to write "Nick" since the letters K and Y have diagonal strokes which are difficult to execute. His teachers started calling him "Nick" and we've sort of picked up on it. Nick seems a bit more grown up especially for my big six year old. (she says somewhat wistfully).

Catch Up Post #1: Nicky Turned 6!

Last Month Nicky Turned 6!

Obviously, Lightning McQueen and Woody are still among his favorites (we should have bought stock in Disney)

What an amazing year it's been:

• Nicky finally put it all together and started walking independently.
  
• He can now climb up and down stairs holding onto the hand rail and occasionally uses reciprocal steps.
  
• He is putting together two, three and longer sentences. Some are just words and some are combinations of words and signs.
  
• He can reliably recognize all of the letters and tell you the sound it makes.
• He can write NICK.
• He can count to 5 and recognize some numbers.
• He is starting to use pronouns correctly, although I do miss "carry you".
• He still loves music but is starting to be a critic of family members' singing.
• He knows how to operate the DVD player and can turn on the tv with a remote.
• He can operate the mouse to play computer games.
• He knows animal signs for a vast number of animals and can make the animal's sound.
• He's getting very good at bossing everyone around and ignoring us when he doesn't want to do something.
• He can throw and kick a ball.
• He's just such a love and a blessing.

Catching UP

O.K., so I've totally dropped the ball on the 31 for 21. But, I'm really really really going to try to catch up. I figure if I write two posts per day for the next 14 days I can catch up. Yeah right.

Why I Knit

Most everyone who knows me knows that I knit. Constantly or almost constantly. I've been knitting since I was 18. Mom taught me the summer before college. I knit a lot in college for relaxation and to create things. I knit several "boyfriend sweaters" for the same boyfriend and of course we didn't marry. (The only thing I've knit for my hubby is a pair of cashmere socks that shrunk in the wash). Mostly I followed patterns. After graduation I kept on knitting. About that time I discovered Barbara Walker's treasuries and started making sampler afgahns out of acrylic yarn. In retrospect, most are pretty hideous. But, that's the yarn I could afford.

Went to grad school and knit some. I was too busy in life and my next job to knit much. When I was expecting my first I knit her a sweater and then another after she was born. Lots of friends had lots of babies, so I knit lots of baby sweaters.

After Nicky was born life was chaos. But about that time knitting became very popular and the yarns that were available, oh my the yarns that were available. Started knitting scarves with novelty yarns (eyelash yarn - ugh). Then felted bags, then socks (the ill-fated cashmere ones). I started designing my own bags and socks and sweaters. Now, I rarely follow a pattern and have published a few.

It's interesting how my knitting has evolved from being very product oriented to process oriented. I've gone from being monogamous to having multiple projects in the works at all times. Gone from relying on a pattern and not always understanding what went wrong when it didn't work to designing and viewing patterns as a starting place not a bible.

Anyway, the reasons I knit:

• Maintain sanity
  
• Have something that is not undone five minutes after it's finished
  
• Have something to do at boring meetings
  
• Have wonderful gifts to give (or not)
  
• Play with color and pattern
  
• Drive my husband crazy with projects left lying around all over the place
  

There are many more but the first is the most important.

Start of 31 for 21

Tried to post every day in October last year in honor of Nation Down Syndrome month and didn't succeed. Maybe this year will be different.

October 1 is a special day for us because Nicky came home from the hospital after 13 days in the NICU on October 1st, 2002. So, now it's been six years!

School Days

Everyday, after he gets off the bus, I ask Nicky how school was and if anything happened. Usually, he says "bus" since the bus ride seems to be the highlight of the day. Today, he made the sign for Police Officer (the letter C held to your chest). It's career week and the father of another student, a police officer came to visit his classroom. Guess he made a good impression. A nurse also visited but she obviously didn't make as big of an impression.

Nicky can also pick out his name from a list of four names, write an N and an i, and tell you all the letters in his name!

First Day of School Pics

Only about a month late, first day of school pictures.

Nick & Dad waiting for the bus

M.E. & N at the door, a traditional shot

N at school, I took this one to annoy him

M.E. at the bus stop another chance to bug my kids

Letters vs. Numbers

Nicky can recognize all the letters, tell you what sound they make and even tell you some words that start with that letter. He knows that putting letters together makes words and can even recognize a few sight words. But, for some reason numbers are really tough. He can count to ten but if you show him a number he can't make the connection between the number and the word for it. I find it both fascinating and frustrating and for the same reason. He can obviously make a connection between an abstract concept of a written letter and the sound it makes. And the connection between a group of letters and a word and what the word means. But he does not apply the same numbers. With my older kids learning letters and numbers happened simultaneously, why not Nick? Something more to ponder and research.

In the Land of Pooh

Unfortunately, not AA Milne's cute cuddly character but the other kind. Nick's lower GI issues continue. The good news is he's getting lots of practice using the potty. The bad news is he doesn't always make it. This too shall pass..

I love Nick's school

I don't know what the future will bring for Nicky's education, but right now I just love his school. He's in an inclusion pre-K class, something I didn't think would be possible a few years ago. Tonight was curriculum night. Nicky has been sick since the weekend so he hasn't been in school. All his teachers wanted to know how he was doing and said what a delight he's been so far. I had so much anxiety about this placement and in the first two weeks has done well. He's been writing the letters N, I & K. He's learned their routines and is starting to use the potty regularly. And they are ok with the pull-ups.

Sigh

Warning: this a a feeling sorry for myself post...

My next door neighbor is having a party for all the rising kindergartners and it's driving the dog nuts. But, it's not the dog that's bugging me (or at least not most of it), rather that Nicky should be going to K this year and would be if he were a typical kid. Meanwhile, I've cleaned three pairs of poopy underwear in the past hour. So much for potty training which means he'll likely be moved either to the self-contained Pre-K class or back down to the Inclusion Preschool class he was in last year. Sigh. Now, it really wouldn't be moving back just staying in place. Sigh, sigh, sigh.

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Sometimes, I look at my friends with typical kids about Nicky's age and am so envious of how independent their kids are and how dependent Nicky is. But, we've seen so much growth in the past year. Walking is a huge part of it, no longer having to carry Nicky has made life easier, we even go places without the stroller and he walks. He can feed himself and drink from an open cup. He's working on dressing himself. He's speaking more and understandable to others outside the family. He definitely can make his needs and wants known. If taken to the potty regularly, he's generally dry. BM training is not happening at all at the moment. Unfortunate, since he has between 1 and 3 per day it's a problem. It'll come in time, but I'm still hoping for an instant miracle.

Connections

Nicky's current movie favorites are the Ice Age movies. This afternoon he was watching the movie. I went to unload the dishwasher and he'd disappeared. He came downstairs a few minutes later with his stuffed elephant. He is now watching the movie copying Manny's actions. I just love it when he makes these sort of connections.

Seven Days From Now...

Is the first day of school! Yay! Boo! Never thought I'd say this when the older two were younger but the summer is much too short. Only 11 weeks, it goes much too quickly. Is time speeding up? Or just old age?

Most of what I wanted to happen this summer has. But Nicky still isn't potty trained. He's supposed to be trained for the program he's enrolled in this year. At this point, he's mostly dry if put on the potty at regular intervals. But, he doesn't initiate anything, so I guess I'm the one who's trained.

Still hoping for a miracle.

Why?

Why is it that I obsess about what could have been, or might have been or should have been, instead of what is? Especially since what is is pretty darn good?

And awfully darn cute?

Sorry for the long absence from posting, the end of school and start of summer has just been crazy. Back to semi-regular posting soon.

Encounter

A few weeks ago, I took Nate to urgent care for an ear infection. Nicky came along. While we were sitting in the waiting area, a woman sat down across from us. Somewhat hard to understand, she asked if Nicky had Down Syndrome. I replied that he had.

Then she said: "I had Reye's Syndrome when I was 6 years old. I almost died. Now I can walk and talk. I'm a miracle baby!"

Writing, it doesn't sound all that remarkable, but this woman's joy in her accomplishments and life was so contagious I just had to share. I hope my own miracle baby has as much joy in his life as she did.

You're Weird...

There is a restaurant in our village with a large grassy area in front. After eating their dinners the kids play while their parents finish up or enjoy another glass of wine. Sometimes, I'll send Nicky out with M.E. and others I go with him. He's walking but still looks a little like frankenstein. Last weekend, I went out with him while K stayed behind to pay up.

As we were walking out a little girl, about the same age, ran out of the restaurant next door. She saw Nicky and started running circles around him taunting "you're weird" in a sing song voice. It hurt and made me angry. I know, if something similar had happened to M.E. or Nate the incident would have been laughed off and forgotten. But because Nicky is different it stings and I can still hear "you're weird" running through my head. Also, because 99.9% of our interactions are positive this one sticks out even more.

Milestones!

Nicky is officially walking! He's been taking independent steps since before Christmas but now he's doing it on his own and walking long distances without holding on to things. We went to the orthotist today and he was casted for AFOs (or was that SMOs). He didn't like the process one bit, he doesn't like anyone messing with his feet and the casting process is exothermic which he found more than slightly uncomfortable.

The other milestone is figuring out the computer mouse. He can now start up his favorite programs from the icons and click where he wants. His favorites are Dr. Seus's ABC and Cat in the Hat. I'm looking for suggestions for other programs he might enjoy. The kids received a new computer for Christmas and it doesn't run any of the programs I have from the older kids. It's an Intel based iMac.

Nate's First Place Tech Fair Project

Nate won first place in our state technology fair for third grade, multimedia. Here is his project, originally in powerpoint, now turned into a movie.

Considering I was a chem major..

I should be able to pass this thing. Although, I did need help from M.E. on one thing.

I've always suspected that...

Walking to school with Nate the other morning he said:

"Two boys, a husband, a girl and a dog, you have a tough life. You know you're our slave don't you?"

Rip, Thunk

Nicky loves to take his shoes and socks off, will do it anywhere, anytime, he's given the chance.

We were driving over to M.E.'s school for a dinner and an open house. It's a short drive, less than 10 minutes. About halfway there I hear rip, thunk, rip thunk from behind me.

"Nate, did Nicky take off his shoes?"

"Yep"

"Nicky, don't you dare take off your socks."

After a minute of silence...

"Na, na, na..."

"Nate, did Nicky take off his socks?"

"Yep, and he's saying na na na boo boo."

Sure enough, in the rearview mirror, I see that Nicky has his thumbs in his ears, waggling his fingers singing "na, na, na"

I did the only thing I could, laughed.

I wish I had a Crystal Ball

We had Nicky's IEP meeting this week to set new goals and decide his placement for next year. His current teacher was somewhat bemused (or more like what the h---?) with his previous goals. Oh well, I think his new goals are more understandable and measurable.

His placement for next year will be in an inclusion pre-Kindergarten class. The other options are to keep him in the preschool class he's in or a self contained Kindergarten class. They pre-K curriculum is language based with an emphasis on pre-reading. I worry that we are selling him short and that he should be doing a Kindergarten curriculum next year. But, pre-reading is where he is, he recognizes most of his letters, is starting to associate sounds with them, can count to 5 more or less. Because of when his birthday is he will be in school until he is almost 22, so a few extra years at the beginning may be the best thing. But, we don't know for sure.

Also, they are not seeing any of the behavior issues we saw last year, with difficulty transitioning and refusing to work with or for therapists. We also decided against a full psych evaluation at this time, having him keep the developmental delay label. There are pluses to having him evaluated now but he also doesn't test well more by refusing to perform than by not having the ability.

Things I never expected to say to my daughter

Don't point your epee at that boy just because he threw snowballs at you.

I couldn't handle a special needs child...

I don't know how many times I've heard that phrase. Usually followed by some sort of praise or comment about how strong I/we are. But, that's not the case.

When I was pregnant with Nicky, the AFP indicated possibility that he had Down Syndrome. Throughout the pregnancy I prayed he didn't have Down Syndrome since I was sure that I couldn't handle it.

When Nicky was first born (at at times since then) I've been totally overwhelmed by the thought of the future and was sure I couldn't handle it. While he was still in the hospital I joined several Down Syndrome news groups, mailing lists and online forums. The information and new words were overwhelming, IFSP, OT, PT, IEP, hypothyroidism, hear defect, Hirshsprung's... the list goes on and on. Before leaving the hospital we were referred to early intervention, a program that provides therapy in home to children under the age of three with birth defects, and delays. we were also given paper work to apply for Medicaid for Nicky.

Once Nicky was home we realized that caring for a baby with Down Syndrome isn't all that different than a typical one. He was a little more floppy, we were worried about weight gain and he had a few more doctor's appointments. But day to day it was the same. I learned I could handle a child with special needs at home.

When Nicky was a month old we had our first visit from EI. A caseworker came with a nurse and a special educator. They complemented us on Nicky, how cute he was, all the things a new mother loves to hear. They suggested because of his tone we should have an evaluation by a physical therapist. She came a few weeks later and we started into the whirl of therapy, by the time Nicky was three he had 4 therapy appointments a week. But, along the way I learned that I could handle therapy and a child with special needs.

Turning three means a transition from EI to the school system as the provider of therapy and education for a child with a disability. For about a year before hand I was very apprehensive about the transition. The terms were sometimes different and the process was slightly different but the end result was the same, a group of therapists and teachers working towards Nicky reaching his full potential. Afterwards, I realized that my apprehension for Nicky's transition from EI to the school system was very similar to the transition of my older kids from preschool to kindergarten. And I learned I could handle a Nicky and the school.

Nicky's future as a teenager or an adult with a disability do overwhelm me at times. But, I realize that by that time I will be the parent of a adult with a disability not the parent of a preschooler. And I will be able to handle him and whatever come.

Anne's Excellent Goodwill Adventure

Cate's post on cleaning reminded me of my own adventure cleaning before Christmas.

It all started when I went into the junk heap basement store room looking for Christmas decorations and couldn't even reach them. A fit of recycling, tossing out, trips to Goodwill ensued. Not sure why we had saved every box from every electronic, computer, peripheral we have bought, but we did. Out they went.

The 6 boxes of stuff that were moved unopened from California containing hubby's bachelor kitchen equipment were dispatched to Goodwill.

Turns out the kitchen boxes contained dishes that my MIL had collected week by week with a grocery store coupon. Could I possibly check with Goodwill and see if they still have them?

Over to the drop off location. The truck has been sent on.

Over to the nearby store. Meet a very nice lady named Peggy who called the central office and see where the truck ended up. Go home and find a box with 10 diner plates.

Call Peggy again, still no news.

Go back to the store the next morning. Good news the truck ended up there! Buy back the dinner plates, bread plates, and cups & saucer. No bowls, though.

Tell hubby couldn't find bowls. He says "oh yeah Mom never bought bowls." 

I'm not sure what the moral should be? Never get rid of anything? or Ask hubby first?

Oh the storeroom still contains an old furnace we kept when we replaced when the A/C died a month after we bought the house, since we might some day build a vacation home and need it. Ditto the oven & cook top from when we remodeled the kitchen.

Space Cadet

Last week, I had to cancel a dentist appointment because Nicky had strep. I called and rescheduled it the same day. I could have sworn that the receptionist said Wednesday the 23. But it turns out that it was Wednesday the 30th. That I didn't called to confirm yesterday should have been a clue. Oops, showed up today and was told it's next week.

Scary Things you Don't Want to be Told

"Here, hold this fire extinguisher in case the wiring starts to spark while I flip the light switch."

"That hump in the floor should go away after I put the header in and take the jacks down."

Yes, hubby is redoing the basement, including replacing headers, sure hope he knows what he's doing.

Snow!

Yesterday we had a somewhat unusual occurrence, although it's happened twice within the week. That is snow.

Neighborhood kids at the top of the hill.

 Nate sledding

Nicky looking out at the white stuff. He kept expecting Frosty.

Our back yard, blanketed.