Inchie's 2011

My year started with inchies. Little one inch pieces of art. They were loads of fun most weeks, quite a challenge other weeks. Made me think of some abstract words in a new light.
Here are my last four inchies for the year. The challenges were all colors, blue,red, yellow,and green. Still deciding what to do with the inchies now that I'm done. And deciding if I will do 2012 inchies, I probably will since they were fun :)


when I was a kid I must have been a little bit of a hippie, I used to beg my mom to get a blue Christmas tree. As an adult I know why  she never would.





Here's the red one, not sure what I was doing, but It's finished




Yellow, couldn't get the pic to load right-side-up



So, this green inchie looked so nice when I finished, unfortunately, Grace's cat is a wild thing that stole it off the table while it was wet, I would say he smeared it, but I'm going to go with he "personalized" it



Christmas Break

Christmas is just a few days away!! Grace is finished with finals and the semester. Grades will be out soon. Good or bad I know Grace did her best, that's all I can ask for.
Thankfully there weren't any projects to work on, books or chapters to read over the break. Just relaxing and enjoying the holidays.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Still Here

I'm still here, just haven't posted in a while. Seems like a rough time of year for me to keep up. This is always a hard time for Grace, as the weather gets colder she seems to experience more pain. Sounds like arthritis to me, she doesn't see her next doctor ( muscle specialist) until January. This means she misses more school than her normal and she is frantically trying to play 'catch up'. Most classes aren't too difficult, especially since she doesn't have a math class. But there is chemistry, which seems to be 1/2 algebra.
As the semester comes to an end next week She is gearing up for finals. At her school, students can earn finals passes which allow them to skip finals in classes that accept the passes. She thinks the only class she will have to take a final in is, of course, chemistry. They also have benchmark tests in each class so it feels like 2 weeks of tests, tests, tests!!!
But Christmas is just around the corner, I love this time of year. The decorations, cooking, even the shopping isn't too bad. For some reason her school district isn't out of school until Dec. 22nd. Which isn't giving us much time before Christmas day. Should be nice for the 2 weeks after Christmas though.
I haven't forgotten my inchies either, I just need to sit down and finish them all.  Hopefully soon :)

 Merry Christmas!!!

No Name?

There are so many kids in high school that just don't do their homework. Of course their grades show it too. But what doesn't make sense is how many do their homework, get an "A" on it, yet don't have enough sense to put their name on their paper. This is from a math class that Grace is a T.A. in. From the first of school till now none of these papers have a name on them. The board is actually bigger than the pic. Crazy kids!!

Inchie Monday: Amusement

Happy Monday. This week's inchie challenge is "amusement". I am amused by so many different things, but my most favorite thing to do when I have insomnia or sick on the couch is watch my favorite sitcom. The original classic ones are the best, I Love Lucy. I could watch everyday if it were on. Getting harder to find it, good thing for us is we have almost all of the episodes on DVD.



Thanksgiving Week

For some reason theres no school the week of Thanksgiving. It's a nice break, when I was a kid we got Wed-Fri off the week of Thanksgiving and we thought that was great.
Unfortunatly there is always homework involved. Grace was assigned the play "Death of a Salesman" for reading, about a month ago. She decided to wait until this week to read it since it was small and she didn't want to forget the details when tested next week.
She said she didn't like the play. I decided to see if it was as bad as she was claiming or if she was just being a grumpy teen. It's a small book,easily read in a few hours. I have to say I agree with Grace on this one. Not sure what all the excitement is about it. Maybe the old movie is better, but honestly I don't know why the state has it on their reading list.
 So, if you haven't read it, don't bother unless you're getting graded on it. It's a snooze. One more day of Thanksgiving vacation. Christmas will be here soon, then two weeks vacation :)

Inchie Mondy:: Pretend

Not many Inchie Monday challenges left, this week's challenge was "pretend".
After teaching preschool for so many years I naturally think like a four year old. One of my favorite art projects for the kids was puppets. You remember a brown lunch bag and a bunch of "stuff' always ended up with wonderful puppets to pretend with. Here's my inchie bag puppet. Much easier with a lunch bag than just an inch of space.



Inchie Monday : Daring

Can't believe I actually have my inchie ready for a Monday! This week's word was "daring". I didn't have to think long to come up with my idea.
 Grace and her bestie, Kayla, are often on "an adventure" as they call them. I'm never too sure what they're up to, but I'm glad we live in the country where it doesn't involve harassing other people. usually they manage to tie ropes to Grace's chair, find something for Kayla to sit or stand on and off Grace goes towing Kayla around as fast as she can.
The last video I saw of their "adventure" involved a hill of dirt and so much laughing it was hard to tell what they were doing. Not sure if this qualifies as "daring" or 'crazy".

Happy Monday

Parking

We've all seen this sign. I search for it everytime we go somewhere. I also am always complaining about how difficult it is to find an empty parking space near this sign. This spring we bought a van with a lift on the side, which means we have to find parking spaces with the wider space on the side. One day last week we actually drove from one town to another to get groceries because I couldn't find parking. I know when you don't use these parking spaces it feels like there are too many saved for handicap parking, but trust me they're hard to come by.
My point is that if anyone knows how rare these spaces are I do. I also know the laws attach a hefty fine if you get caught parking in handicap parking space illegally.
So, Saturday my sister and I went shopping, Grace wasn't with us, but I was driving the wheelchair van. The first place we stopped at I happily found a parking space and was actually half way out of the van when I realized I was in a handicap space!! I couldn't believe that I, queen of parking police, was trying to park there. I moved the van and we had a good laugh about it. The next store we went to I headed straight for another handicap space! I managed to catch myself before I pulled into the space. We had another laugh at my expense. I have to wonder something...............how many times have I run to the grocery store without Grace, and parked in a handicap space without realizing what I was doing? How many people that really needed that space drove away or risked injury parking in a regular space?
I'm sure I will still be the queen of all complainers when I can't find a space, just think I'll be a little more aware of where I park when I don't have Grace with me.
 So if you see me parked in a space leave me a note asking    "Are you sure you should be parked here  :) " Because I never know what I'm doing.

Pain & Patience

Wanted to give an update on Grace. She is still having pain in her hips and back.
Her insurance wouldn't OK a referral to a pain management specialist, said she had to see her orthopedic surgeon and muscle doctors. Yesterday was her appointment with the ortho doctor. We were both nervous that somehow her rods, pins or screws were causing the pain, but thankfully everything looked perfect to his team of doctors. He examined her hips where the pain was the worst yesterday, and he didn't think it was in her bones. He agreed that the new wheelchair seat, which we're still waiting on, would probably help, and that the muscle doctor is the next place to visit for help. I just got an appointment for next week, they squeezed her in, usually you have to wait months to get into his office.
That's it, still missing too much school, but she's managing to get caught up, just hard to learn when you're not there to hear the lectures. Good thing she knows how to self teach. It's just hard to concentrate when you're in pain. Breaks my heart to see her suffer ):

Halloween

This last Monday was Halloween, not many kids at the high school dressed in costumes. But, of course Grace couldn't wait. She had several ideas the past month or so as to what to wear. She thought of zombies, bumblebee, some character from a video game( can't remember which one). She finally decided on a character from one of her favorite movies The Nightmare Before Christmas. She wanted to be Sally. I think sally is kind of a put together rag doll type person, sort of a female Frankenstein. It wasn't too hard to make her costume, just some fusible webbing and scrap fabric on an old skirt and t-shirt. She loved her costume and was even more thrilled when a few people actually knew who she was.

Inchies X4

Once again I'm playing catch up with my inchie art. You wouldn't think making just an inch of art every week wold be such a hard task to get to. I think some participants have given it up, but I'm determined to get my entire year done. Except for house cleaning and dieting I usually follow through with commitments, and honestly this is a fun one. Some of the words are just difficult to be inspired by. Anyway, here goes;
This week's topic is "graffiti", I would love to be a graffiti artist, but I just don't have that type of talent, probably a good thing, I really don't think an old gal such as myself needs to be tagging railroad cars or government building, although it would be tempting. So, here's my graffiti. Tipi is my artist nickname, so I decided to use it.

Not sure which order the weeks I missed were in but they were for the words 'dream" and "encourage".

I even managed to get a week ahead with this "life" inchie. Maybe this time I will keep up. But don't hold your breath :)

 



Who's the Student?

Well, Grace has been at school the last two days, she's almost caught up, just has to finish an essay for English. She's still very uncomfortable, but I think she's resigned herself to believe this for now, is her cross to bear. Thank you for your continued prayers.
I just have to share something that I always chuckle at. It never fails, whenever there is a paper or project due at school, someone will ask me if I've finished my paper! It's crazy I always tell them no, but Grace has hers.  My sister even asked me something about my teacher the other day. It's so funny that since I'm there all the time it's just natural to think I'm the student. Now I know everyone does know better. Just funny how our minds work. Off to do my homework LOL.

Too Much Pain

Not much to post about school the last couple of weeks, Grace has missed a lot of school due to pain. Her back seems to hurt every day ,all day unless she is in bed. We had her chair looked at and she needs a new seat cushion for it. the gel in it has worn out and could be causing the pain. Also went to her doctor for some pain meds, which have horrible side effects. She now has the choice of either being in constant pain or limited pain and severe dizziness and nausea. So far the dizzy/sickness wins over pain. I also need to make appointments to see her muscle Dr and ortho Dr for check ups.
Friday she actually got up, took meds and went to school at lunch, only to decide that she was either too high or dizzy or ready to "puke". So we didn't go to classes. I talked with a couple of her teachers who are very understanding and caring about her situation. I don't think it will take her too long to catch up on her school work. We had her best friend spend the night Friday, and tried to do some things Saturday. I could see that Grace wasn't feeling her best at times. I think having some company was good medicine though. Today was a horrible day. Grace wasn't sure if she has a bug or the pain meds made her sick. She mostly slept, watched TV and took a bath. I helped a little with some school work and she's listening to music and trying to go to sleep with plans of going to school again tomorrow.
I think we'll skip the meds in the morning, try some salon pas on her back and pray for the best. Please keep her in your prayers. For her pain, seat cushion to get here soon, ability to catch up at school, and for her attitude to remain positive. She's a tough cookie, I love you Grace !!

Spider Buddies

This week in kindergarten it was spider week. You name it they did it. Grace is only there for a short time in the mornings, but she managed to get involved in some of the fun. Here she is with a couple spider buddies wearing their new spider hats. There's probably not much the kindergartners don't know about spiders, from what their bodies look like to what juices they suck out of their prey. yummyyy!



Rough Week

So far this has been a rough week for Grace. Aside from being in more physical pain than usual she's also in emotional pain. A young man that was one of my pre-schoolers with her passed away this weekend. He was a year ahead of her and she probably walked by him several times a day at school. She is so sad.
I remember him as an adorable four year old always ready to run outside and play. I think one of Grace's favorite memories of him comes from a rough time in her life. When she was in seventh grade she had back surgery and was out of school for a few months. The first day she returned to school for a short visit he was the first person that approached her and asked how she was doing. I know he surprised her. He wasn't someone that usually asked her those kinds of things, but he showed her another side of him. the side that had compassion for others.
It's always hard when anyone dies, I think especially when it's a young person. Grace is having a rough time accepting that he's gone. She's sad and angry that it was him and not someone that has already lived a long life.
It's hard to find the right thing to say to her, I don't have the answers that she wants, don't know that anyone does.
Please pray for all the kids in our community and especially the family of this young man. He will be forever missed.

Inchie Monday: Curiosity

I'm actually posting an Inchie on Monday! Ok now I have to say I'm posting two inchies, as I missed last week.
This week is "curiosity" well of course we all know curiosity killed the cat, there was no way I could do anything but a cat with a young cat in our house. He is into EVERYTHING!!

Last week's inchie was "destination" I have struggled with this one, the only destination I ever think of is heaven. Now I don't struggle with it being heaven, I just struggle with trying to interpret something that I honestly don't think any of us can comprehend. I decided to just make something sparkly and call it heaven.



Secret Language?

Hi all, oh just a sec while I drag my trusty soap box out and climb on.
Grace had a chemistry test today, and for a minute it seemed like she had the wrong one. I don't understand why tests have to be worded in an entirely different language than the subject is taught in. I know neither the book nor the teacher used any of the terms that were on the test.
Now she was absent one day, you don't suppose they had the "secret chemistry language" lesson that day do you? It may be a conspiracy. One just to confuse Grace and ruin her grades. I think it worked! But only this time......we're on to you!!!

Kindergarten or High School

Grace's mornings are spent in a kindergarten class. She works in the class her first two periods.
I'm amazed at what a different world we enter when we get back to high school. In kindergarten everyone loves their teacher, in high school? There are some teachers the kids enjoy, but it's not a kindergarten love. Those kindergartners can't wait to get to school, high school? Not so much.
 If there's an event or special activity in kindergarten everyone is excited and participates, high school? Nope!
In kindergarten if your best friend looks at you wrong you don't notice. in high school........well everyone knows the evil they've done to you, yes everyone! But then again kindergartners don't have facebook, twitter, etc..
I think one of the biggest differences is language. The other day a kindergartner corrected his teacher because she said "shoot" apparently that's not a nice word to use. Oh honey wait till you get to high school. I can almost guarantee you wont hear shoot very often, but the alternative isn't any nicer. High school language is appalling, even in classrooms. I don't know if teachers have become immune to it or if it's just that nothing would get taught if they stopped every time they heard a 'shoot' word.
So, seems there are a few differences between kindergartners and high schoolers.
Maybe the high school teachers should sing little rhyming songs and break out some little chairs to sit in. I can just imagine the groans we'd hear if the teacher announced that Grace was going to be the student of the week, she'd get to sit next to the teacher all week and share all about herself. Hmmmm bet she'd want to say.................."shoot"

Inchie x3

Ok I'm all caught up on inchies, I missed a couple of weeks, but am back at it again. The first week I missed was "Kiss" I honestly wanted to use a Hershey Kiss, even had a bag in the house well...........I waited too long and "someone" ate them all. The only thing left was the little Kisses tab. Please excuse the wet glue on this one. I need batteries for my camera and can't take a new one w/ dry glue.

My next inchie must be a flashback from the disco era, I promise there were no drugs involved. Just thoughts of "sparkly" eyes. Perfect for a"sparkle." inchie, I just know my friends had these eyes. As for me...............uh  no, only sky blue eye shadow :)

This week's inchie is "wisdom" oh so many directions a person can take this word. I instantly thought of the wise old owl from one of my favorite children' books, Katy No Pocket . This little guy looks nothing like the owl in the book. I'm just hoping he's a wise owl because he's a little silly and will need some wisdom when the bully owls catch a glimpse of him. Hey, I think I feel a new children's book developing :)

Black and Gold

Homecoming week is nearing it's end. Today was black and gold day (school colors). Tonight is the always fun powderpuff game. Juniors vs. seniors, and guys as cheerleaders! Hope to get some pics to post.
Here's a quick picture of Grace and her oldest friend, Hailee. They don't have any classes together this year and it's a rare occassion that they even run intyo each other at school, which is crazy since it's not a big school. Go Juniors!!!!!!



Twin Day

Tuesday's dress up theme was "Twins." Grace had plans for dressing the same as her friend, but it didn't came together in time. Of course once they were at school they thought of what they could have worn.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 were in her chemistry class and posed for a quick picture.

HILLBILLIES

It's homecoming week, which involves a different theme for dressing up each day, making floats, a parade, football game, dance, and the best; no school Friday.
Now my Girls (Grace and her BFF Kayla) aren't into the whole whoop-dee-do. I did manage to convince them to dress up so I could have a pic for this blog, I also thought they might have some fun with it. Now I know they had fun, but not as much as I did helping them get ready this morning. I have no idea how the themes were picked this year but today was "hillbilly" day.
Here are the two smallest hillbillies in our house. I think Kayla better stay in school, she looks too much like the Wendy's mascot, I can almost hear her ask "Do you want a frosty with that order?"

And of course the hillbilly drink of choice Mountain Dew. Grace's too, see she's a natural.

Learning much?

Next week will be the six week mark at school. Don't know where the first six weeks have gone or if much if anything has been learned. As for me? Well, I have probably learned a little in Chemistry, at least something about the periodic table, and I've read A Farewell to Arms although I wish I hadn't as it was a snooze. If that book is a good representation of Hemmingway I'll just pass on the rest. Probably didn't help that the teacher "sold" it to the girls in the class as " the book that, The Notebook was based on."  Don't think he ever read The Notebook.
I have learned some other important ( well, not to me) info. I know who likes who and why so and so isn't talking to so and so. Some days I wonder............is gossiping  natural? I know we all do it in some form. Not sure if girls are worse than guys, they seem to be pretty even, they just use different body language. Well, back to the gossip mill. Happy Thursday

What the.........??

So I walk out to the van right before lunch only to  discover.........THIS!!



Grace and her friend went out to the van about an hour earlier and came back with a bag of chips. I didn't think much about it. I always keep an extra key in Grace's bag just in case I lock mine in the car. Pretty smart on my part? I'm not so sure. Well, looks as if they were so excited about the chips or whichever guy was walking by, to remember to take the key out of the lock!!

Thankfully it was still there when I got out to it. I think key privileges have been revoked. But I must say that Kayla did remember to lock the door she always forgets to lock. Crazy kids.

Study or not?

So, most Fridays include a test of some type in at least one class. This Friday Grace has two. She had one earlier this week in English, didn't study and got an A. Although I'm proud of the A, I think it gives her a false confidence in other subjects. English seems to come naturally to Grace, I don't mean that she doesn't work hard, because I've seen her struggle to come up with the perfect topic for a paper, or the correct sentence structure and she can rewrite something 20 times before she's satisfied with it. She just usually tests well in English.
But if it's math she can study for hours, flashcards, diagrams, charts, nothing seems to help. She either has it or she doesn't. I never know how to help. Guess this is just a time in her life she has to figure out how to study and how much for each subject. Today it's US history and chemistry..........she studied for the tests.................... I think :)

Change and Cozy inchies

September already? Where is this year going? I'll say looking at all the inchies I've done gives the time a little perspective. I missed last week, school was kicking me in the pants and I was just exhausted. Thanks to the Labor day weekend I'm rested and ready to go again.
The first of these inchies is for 'Change' I had the hardest time coming up with something, but it's that time of year that I notice the moon more often, I think it's those big harvest moons that I notice the most. have to admit the moon is ever changing.



My second inchie is for 'cozy'. I think I always love the first fire of the fall. It's usually bright and cozy. But after cleaning out the fireplace, hauling wood, and starting fires a few times, I'm not so in love with them.



Happy Labor day! Happy Birthday to my little sister, Wendy too!!

Football!!

It's Friday night football time again. Last night the game was in a town closer to our home than the school Grace actually attends. About half of her friends from middle school go to this school. It's always a fun game as we know kids on both teams. This year Grace's school won so it was more enjoyable.

This is Hailee, she and Grace have been friends since preschool days. Don't think I know anyone that doesn't love this girl. She's been a great friend to Grace, even collected cards and a huge basket of gifts for her after her last surgery:)

This is Grace and her favorite football player, Branson, he's also a preschool friend. Plays for the other school but they don't let that get in the way.

Made it Three Weeks

Anyone that deals with Grace and school knows she doesn't have the best attendance record. So far this week she's missed her history class for a doctor appointment. She's dealing with an ear infection. Today will be her first full absence. Three weeks of school without missing is actually good for her.

Today she has an appointment with her pulmonologist. It's about an hour and a half from here, not the most exciting drive, but we make it so often it's no big deal anymore.

She's also having trouble with her ventilator and wasn't able to sleep well last night. Since the vent providers offices are in the same city as the pulmonologist's I'm hoping we can get the part while we're there and not have to deal with this broken thing through the long Labor Day weekend.

Not sure what my point is in this post. Just one of those weeks where Grace has to work a little harder at keeping up in her classes and deal with doctors at the same time. Maybe we'll find something for the pic of the week while we're on the road :)

Pic of the week...and kindergarten fun

Thankfully we made it through another week of school. Wasn't sure we would, as Grace has some ventilator problems that kept us awake most of a couple nights.

The kindergarten class is so much fun. just love those little personalities. I got to read a book to the class yesterday, reminded me of how much I enjoyed teaching preschool. Just not sure I have the energy to do it anymore. There is one lil gal that has become obsessed with Grace's medical condition. She asked if Grace walks to school or drives, she doesn't believe me when I tell her we have an elevator in our van, I think she'll have a new question for Grace everyday until she's old news.

I must take a minute to proudly announce that Grace is officially a cougar. One day this week a lil guy from the K class looked her over and as sophisticated as a 5 year old can be said, "Hey baby!!!!!!!!!"  I don't know how Grace kept a straight face.

On the high school front, things have settled into a regular routine of, notes, homework, tests etc. This weeks pic was taken in the chemistry class. Of course it has absolutely nothing to do with chemistry, but we sit in the back of a very full room. During a lull one of the girls pulled out this guy, I called him Carlos, heaven knows why. If you move the paper just right it looks like he's talking. Not too many future chemists in the back of the class as you can tell. 



Have a great weekend  TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

What's with that Style?

Some people have asked why Grace she has the “style” that she does. Let me try to explain a bit. When she was younger she could walk and do most things. Her condition has caused her to lose abilities. Walking, eventually  became impossible. I can’t imagine how frustrating and scary that had to be for her. There were times that I also didn’t understand what was happening to her and felt she was just being lazy. I know I made many mistakes during those days.

Grace has had two very serious episodes with pneumonia. When you have weak muscles you don’t have the ability to cough strong enough to cough up all the junk in your lungs. She was near death both times, although God has been gracious and pulled her through, her body never bounced back. These illness’ caused her to lose even more physical strength and abilities.


So, you can see there are many things she has had no control of in her life. She has said that doing crazy things like the purple hair or wild hats and accessories gives her something she can be in charge of.

People often stare at her because you don’t always see someone her age in a wheelchair, ( I tell her it’s her beauty they’re staring at, but she’s not buying it). So she feels that if they’re going to stare she wants to feel her best at what they’re staring at. They just might be staring at the hair now and not the chair.  She knows she’s different from the “norm’ and has decided to be even a bit more unique.

She’s still that same gal under the hair color, just a happier gal for doing something she enjoys.

Strength and Imagine Inchies

OK it's once again Monday, I missed last week's inch of art so I played catch up this week. Here are my inchies for 'strength' and 'imagine'. Just quick drawings, as I was in a hurry.

When I think of strength I always think of my daughter. She's been through so much in her life and rarely complains. She endures pain every day and usually manages to not give up. She's also a speed demon, the reason for the flying hair.

OK, for imagine I drew Robert. Who's Robert? Very few people know him,but my mom would have remembered him. I was an only child for 8 years and had more imagination than any girl needed. Robert was my imaginary friend. He was the coolest kid in my little world. I always wanted a spinner cap so of course he would have had one. And he would have worn glasses too. I don't know what a shrink would say about my little friend. I just know that I played trucks in the mud and many hours of marbles with my friend Robert and he was always there for me. We all need someone like that now and then.  Happy Monday Everyone.

Photo of the Week

This Thursday Grace started going to a kindergarten class to work in for her first two class periods. I love that when the teacher introduced her to the class she said that there was something different about Grace and they said it was her purple hair. I just love that those younger children see beyond a huge wheelchair and notice exactly what Grace wants to be noticed for, her cool hair! I  know she will have so much fun in the K class. She doesn't realize how inspirational she is to just about everyone she meets. She has so much to teach everyone about integrity and determination. Although her physical body is weaker than most, her mind and spirit are so strong. I think her acceptance of being who she is shows and her inability to recognise that she is an inspiration after all she's been through, is what makes her so personable and fun to be around.

On another note, I just have to share this photo, it was taken in the student parking lot at the high school. we checked and the notes didn't say anything or spell out anything. looks like someone just decided to have fun(it's hard to see , but the side window is also noted). Grace and her BFF, Kayla, think an entire parking lot of sticky note cars would be something close to "art".



Happy Weekend everyone!!!

Thanks for the Ice Cream :)

Just as  I'm wondering if anyone really reads this silly blog, my sister shows up at my house ( OK she lives next door it wasn't a long trip) with a surprise for me.

Not exactly ice cream, but the next best thing. for those of you that have absolutely no idea why she brought me ice cream, just read yesterday's post and you'll understand. I'm willing to take ice cream from anyone else that will take pity on me :)

Thanks Wendy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need some ice cream

If your kids complain about how much homework they have, buy 'em an ice cream. They need a little sympathy.

We are spending hours every night working on homework. Now, I know it takes us longer since Grace has to explain things to me and actually say everything she wants written down, but there still has to be a great deal of time spent on homework for the rest of the kids.

I guess we're getting in the thick of things now that the first week of school is behind us.

I am so glad to be married, I could never get all this work done if I were crushing on that perfect person across the classroom. And if I were playing a sport or in band or leadership or any other type of outside activity I'd really be a mess.

OK I'll admit it, most of my tiredness probably has more to do with age. Declining hormones instead of raging hormones. Oh well.

By the way, someone should buy me an ice cream too. :)

Strange things at High School

I always see some strange things in high school. For one thing my daughter has blue and purple hair. Aside from that, I think the strangest thing at school was .... well..... ME!

Seems that sleeping whenever I wanted over the summer break has finally caught up with me. I am like a newborn that hasn't learned when it should sleep. I might be getting three hours of sleep at night, but only in shorter intervals. By the time Friday rolled around I was sitting in class with only one hand of polished fingernails, I think I went to bed before I remembered to paint the other hand's. Also, during the last class of the day I noticed that my clothes didn't match at all. I thought I was wearing one color pants but wasn't. When I said something to Grace she said that she was wondering why I was dressed like a Christmas tree.

I had plans for Friday night and Saturday. I decided to skip my Friday night bunko outing so I could attend Saturday's Art play day. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep much Friday night and stayed home Saturday. The plan is for me to sleep tonight. A blissful, six hours would be wonderful.

I was just thinking, ( probably not recommended in this sleep deprived condition) Grace should check all the notes I took for her Friday, no telling what the "One Polished Hand, Walking Christmas Tree " wrote.

Sweet Dreams.

First day of School

Today was the first day of school for the 2011-2012 year. It sure felt like the longest day ever. The campus seemed much busier this year, crowded or something.

Of course Grace has homework already, not just the get syllabus' signed and returned, but of course MATH homework. I've never understood the concept of giving a ton of problems in math, it must be the "practice makes perfect" approach. But there's always the flip side of that concept, "if you don't know it ;doing it wrong 40 times wont make it right". At least it's just one class, it'll be a tough one, but Grace had two previous math teachers offer to help her anytime she needs it. So nice of them both to be generous with their time.

So, what do I expect to learn this year? Let's see...........umm......... oh well, there's algebra which I wake up every morning wishing I could use. Chemistry might be interesting, I didn't take it in high school so we shall see. Will probably learn how to write a better English paper, ( none of which you'll notice in the writing of this blog) and I expect the class I will actually enjoy learning the most about is US History. Seems history is the subject I find myself always thinking "I didn't know that" about and actually caring to understand more. Probably comes with age. Which, by the way, I am feeling every year of today. I'm just not 16 any more I'm old and pooped!! Only 16 more school days till a 3 day weekend!! Hey it's those short term goals that gets a mom through life. Here we go again!!

Rust Inchie Challenge

It's Monday again, Inchie Monday for me. This week's challenge was "rust". Now I just have to say, the if it's rust in our house it belongs to my husband. As I thought of the rusty things he calls "patina" to make me think it's not rust I knew it would all be too large for an inch of art.

My next thought went to my button jar ( usually does). Most of the buttons in my jar came from my sweet mother-in-law. She wasn't like me in her reason for having a button jar. I just like buttons, she on the other hand actually used hers for their intended purpose, mending clothes. She survived the dust bowl and depression, so nothing was wasted, she clipped buttons off clothes before tossing them into her ragbag. I'm thinking we could learn from that great generation of survivors.

So, back to my inchie. way down at the bottom of my jar was this gem, a true rusted button. No telling how old it is, but I can almost bet it came from a coat or something from the rust lover I eventually married. I just placed it on some paper that had been color misted, added a few beads and fibers. There you have it my "patina" oh, I mean rusty button inchie.

Countdown to Juniorism

The countdown till school starts has begun. Yesterday was the Junior roundup. Grace got her schedule and we managed to get it changed so she and her friend have most of the same classes. Not for the obvious they want to be together reason. At Grace's last IEP we discussed finding someone that Grace could have most of her classes with that could be our lifeline when Grace misses school. Someone we can count on for notes, etc.  Kayla's mom didn't mind and even sent her with a letter agreeing to this arrangement. It took some time, but it was finally worked out.

Looks like this will be Grace's "fun" year. Her first two class periods will find her at her old elementary school working in a kindergarten class. She and the K teacher have been looking forward to this year. Grace had to wait till she was a junior. She worked in this class during her 8th grade year and made some life long friends.

As for the more "unfun" portion of her days, she'll have yearbook, (OK that's a fun one), Adv. Algebra, Am. Lit/Adv comp (aka English of some type) Chemistry, and US History.

I'm sure there will be plenty for this old dog to relearn or learn for the first time. It will be more learning for the first time as i don't remember having these classes. I know I had US History, but somehow they've changed history since I was in school. You'd think the old stuff would be the same, but it's spun differently now. The old way was probably hurting someones feelings.oh don't get me started so soon. I'm looking forward to a great year, and hope I don't have to drag out my soapbox too many times. here we go ........again.

Sunset Inchie Monday

Monday has rolled in once more. Don't know where our summer went! School starts again next week. Being Monday it's inchie time in my world. This week's challenge was "Sunset" Oh how I'd love to be lounging on a nice beach watching the sunset.............hopefully soon :) Happy Monday.



How Insane Am I?

So school starts in a couple of weeks. I had the stupidest dream last night. I never even had these type of dreams when I was the student. Not to worry it wasn't the naked in front of the class dream, but close.
OK here we go into dreamland ~~~~~~~  I'm apparently the student, it's the first day of school and I'm called to the office and told that I forgot to take a test last year and have to take it before I can start my new classes. I'm struggling through this idiotic test and am stuck on the question that's asking who the most important historical figures are from 1782-1924 in AUSTRALIA?????????  This isn't even a history test it's a photography test!! (You'd think I'd figure out this is a dream) Then I'm rudely told that it has just been discovered that I haven't taken ANY finals ever and I have to take them ALL right now!...SLAM!!~~~~~~~ 
Whew so glad my husband slammed the front door when he left this morning .What the heck? I'm having school anxiety dreams? Grace will love this when I tell her. How insane have I become?

Nest Inchie

This Monday's Inchie challenge was "Nest", I had the hardest time with this one. I tried to make a nest in a tree, an inch is just too small for some things . I tried drawing a nest, it looked like a thumbprint. While I was digging through my box of collage things I discovered a skein of this yarn, it's the type you make those frilly scarves with. I love the colors and fibers. Quite a bright nest, my cat would find this in no time :) Happy Monday!!

Book Inchie

It's not Monday , but I did make an inchie, just needed batteries for my camera. The topic was book, I know I have a wonderful book charm that I put aside just for this week's inchie, apparently I put it way far aside, because I have no idea where I put it. So I took the make a book challenge and did just that. Now I need to write in it . Happy Tuesday!!



Shorter summers?

When I was a kid it seemed that summer vacation went by way too fast. There was never enough time to ride bikes, play in sprinklers, build forts. But it sure feels like the summer break is much shorter these days.
Every year school seems to start earlier and earlier. We never went back to school before September. I just realized that Grace goes back in about three weeks. It just doesn't seem right to go back to school the hottest month of the year.
Wonder when this strange schedule began. I'm sure it has to do with fitting in all the required days, and I'm sure there are plenty of moms that have had enough and are ready to send the kids back to school today.
Guess as a mom that goes along with her kid, I feel just like the kids when I say "I don't want to go back yet!" Am I getting any sympathy? Anyone??

New Pet

I have to introduce our new family member, Sora. He's a little orange tabby that we adopted today, from our local animal shelter.
One of our cats disappeared a while back and just one cat (and a dog) wasn't enough. Grace has been nagging for an orange kitty for a couple of years. I guess she finally wore us down.
 I must say that we've had many different animals. Our house has been home to birds, fish, box turtles,rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, bugs and the usual cats and dogs. I think they make everyone feel better.
 I know in the hospital Grace always looked foreword to Tuesday when Sara the therapy dog would come to see her. Sara is a golden retriever that, along with her human, volunteered to visit people in the hospital to help them feel better. Sara would crawl up in bed with Grace and lay with her for the longest time. We saw her human after Grace left the hospital and she told us that when Grace left Sara stood outside her ICU room and whined for her. Sara was also available on another occasion when Grace had to return for a small surgery. She went all the way to the operating room with Grace, it was so nice to have Sara help keep Grace calm.
I just love how animals seem to know they need to be gentle with Grace. She definitely picked the perfect little kitty, here he is about an hour after we brought him home, laying on her lap watching TV with her. When the dog came in and scared the you know what out of the poor little cat, he made his way back over to Grace's lap. I think they've already bonded.



Love and Sweet Inchies

You know how you have that weird feeling that you've forgotten something? Well, I spent this last week with that feeling. Thankfully I hadn't forgotten to unplug the iron, or left a loved one somewhere. I'd forgotten my inchie!!!!!!! Oh the shame........good thing about Inchie Monday's you can always catch up again:)

This week's challenge was LOVE......now I know love can go in so many directions. I am now addicted to Pinterest ( thank you Aileen my enabler) and keep finding button crafts everywhere on that site. so of course this week I chose buttons for my inchie. I just finished it and, yes, the glue is still wet as you can see :)

Last week I must have been too preoccupied with the July 4th holiday, the challenge was "sweet".........I made a sweetheart for my inchie. Here ya go.



Giving Back

Before I get into the "Giving Back" I have to explain the why.  Both Children's hospitals that our daughter has been to have a very important department called the child-life department. They are the people that keep your children and many times the parents from going crazy.
When Grace is in the hospital she's not normally "sick" acting regardless of how critically ill she has been. The child-life department staff do many things for the patients. They run a playroom and for kids like Grace that weren't allowed to leave their room, they bring the play portion right to their beds. Everything from movies, video games, board games, craft projects, Mother's day gifts to make, you name it they brought it. They also had a music lady that would bring her guitar or keyboard and sing for the patients, Grace was there so long that the music lady actually taught her a couple songs on the keyboard.
Not only do they provide the fun, they also assist in many other not so fun aspects of a hospital stay. They are available to accompany your children into surgery rooms to help them stay as calm as they can until they go under the anesthesia. They're there when they return to their rooms, they even explain what they'll see in the surgery room and what the procedures will entail. In our case Diana ( our go to gal ) even told Grace she was going to have to have a tracheotomy, as we were devastated and well, too chicken to break the news to Grace. I am sure there are many other jobs for the child-life department, many things that we have no clue about.
OK , back to the giving back portion of this long winded posting. My sister thought I should share how Grace gave back. When she was in 8th grade she was in the gifted program and needed a project to work on. After thinking for many days she decided she wanted to help the hospital, so naturally we thought of the child-life department. About six months before this she had spent a few days back at the hospital for a very difficult back surgery. Once again child-life was there to help. After making a couple of calls and having a meeting with them at the hospital, it was determined that a book to help siblings would be helpful for their department.
Many emails, pictures and rough drafts later, Grace had compiled a book for the staff to use to explain the rules for entering an ICU unit and what all those strange noises and machines were for. 
It turned out to be a great experience for Grace. Gave her the opportunity to come full circle and perhaps help someone else blessed enough to stay at this particular hospital and experience all the wonderful staff that had helped her so much.  

Hospitality :)

We have a pretty small circle of friends and don't get too many invites to others' houses. No I'm not complaining or fishing for an invite, just making a point.
For the July 4th holiday we were invited to some new friends' house for  BBQ/fireworks. Their home is gorgeous!! As much as we appreciated their hospitality I think we most appreciated their lack of concern for their walls. Sound crazy? Well, it isn't, as we went on a tour of their home Grace had to back out of a room to turn around and as I was telling her she was too close to a door frame, the homeowner said it was no big deal that she couldn't hurt their house. That made us all so much more comfortable than they could ever know.
We have been to other homes where the host was so worried about his walls, we couldn't relax and Grace felt as if she had to just sit in one spot. She's an excellent driver and seldom ruins walls with her wheels, but it's always a possibility.
It's not something most people would think of, but it made us feel very welcome. Thanks so much!!! :)

Tough Pics

Well, I titled this "Tough Pics" because I feel it's important to share something with anyone with a child in the hospital. Take their Pics.
Sounds easy enough, but it's not. When your child is hooked up to several IV's, art lines, feeding tubes, catheters, breathing tubes and heart monitors (I know I've forgotten something) it's hard to take their picture. Not because you love them any less, seems that you love them more at these times. Not because all those tubes are unattractive, for they are lifelines and become blessings. But because while you take them, in the back of your mind you wonder "Is this the last picture of my child I'll get to take?"
But take them anyway, we have pictures with her many visitors, nurses, doctors, x-ray techs, helicopter pilots, respiratory therapists and our daughter's favorites the therapy dogs and child life specialists. These are her trophies. She may not have looked her best at the time but they tell a story. One of fortitude and enormous courage.
I have to admit I don't know where all those pictures are, they're here somewhere, but very hard for my husband to look at. They bring back too many memories. But I know they're tucked away in a box, we run across them at times. I have a few that I can get to quickly, but they aren't pictures I can post. Not because they're too heart wrenching, but because our daughter has almost always refused to wear clothes in the hospital. The steroids she's on to help her breathe make her so hot. I usually have sweats on and a blanket over me while she's the exhibitionist.
Anyway, take those trophy pictures, even give them a camera if they're old enough, we did that and have some lovely pictures of me sleeping in a chair with drool on my face. I'm thankful I've never had to positively answer the question I've wondered about. The one where I wonder if those pictures would be the last. God willing, I won't have to. Take Care.

Harmony in This Mess?

This Monday's Inchie challenge is "Harmony" I like music, but can only tell you if I like something. I can't hear the difference in pitch, harmony etc. My husband plays guitar I play the radio. Anyway here's my unmusical harmony inchie.

And this is a shot of my unharmonious table where I play. I'm working on three artist trading blocks. A couple for a swap I'm in and one for myself. If I can manage to complete them all I'll post pictures. I just hope I can contain the "artistic workspace" to one room :)



Wise Words

When my daughter was about two she had to have tubes put in her ears. We were terrified, she thought it was great fun. The next year she had to have them again, she was so excited, until the nurse gave her a shot. When I asked why she had to have a shot, we were told it was to calm her before surgery, something the anesthesiologist ordered. I thought it sounded strange since she had been calm and ready to go. Anyway, she got the shot, was furious, and definitely NOT calm.
The next year she was four and needed tubes yet again. She was not happy this time. She didn't want that shot! When we went for her appointment with her ENT I asked him why she had to have a shot to calm her when she was already calm. He said she didn't have to have any shots. After a long conversation about the previous year's experience,he finally gave me the best medical advice anyone had ever given me. He said, " You're the mom aren't you? YOU never let anyone do anything you're uncomfortable with even if it's me!"
I have to say it had never occurred to me that I didn't have to do what the doctor said. They were supposed to be the ones that knew best. This sweet man had opened my eyes and taught me a valuable lesson.
A few years later on top of a very long hospitalization for pneumonia, we were told that Grace was going to have to have a permanent feeding tube because she was underweight. Yes, she was always a skinny kid, but the feeding tube seemed to be too much. After all, she had been sick for about 3 months, she had lost weight. I argued with her doctors and was told that she was just too skinny and had to have the surgery. My husband had gone home to work and I was at my wits end about this. He told me not to let them do anything until he got back in a couple days, which happened to be the day they planned on the surgery. After talking with our daughter about it and a lot of prayer, we asked to meet with the doctor and told him we wanted to wait 6 months for the feeding tube. We suggested that a nutritionist meet with Grace and we give her the knowledge and power she needed  to put on some weight. She has to be the only person I know that is encouraged to run through the McDonald's drive through and order fries and milkshakes. It has taken a while, although still thin, she doesn't have the nutritionist telling her she needs to gain more weight. Now they just tell her don't lose any.
I don't think we would have had the courage to go against the doctor's recommendation on the feeding tube without the ENT's words echoing in my ears. We were just not comfortable with having an unnecessary surgery.
Oh almost forgot, back to the four year old that didn't want the shot. I'll admit it took insisting on talking to the supervisors and the anesthesiologist, but she didn't get that shot and walked into the pre-surgery room with a huge smile on her face.