Oh, My Aching Foot!

It has been eight days since I fell and hurt my foot (no I still don't know what I did to the darn thing). Anyways, this is what it looked like about an hour ago. Not all of the bruising comes through (just to let you know).It is so swollen and hurts like the dickens whenever I try to move it side to side. Or if I put to much pressure on it (I'm still not supposed to put pressure on it, but...). Yesterday, was the worst though. I had a doctors appointment, so I had to wear the hard splint that they gave me at the hospital, as my foot is too swollen to fit into my shoe. Every time that I moved my foot the splint dug into my ankle, causing untold amounts of torture. I wish that I could have gotten a picture of it last night (the bruising was much worse), or maybe it just seemed that way to me.

I can't wait for my little gremlin to get here, yes I said gremlin, what else would you call something that growls at you all of the time? He is due in 13 short days, and knowing how stubborn Bennett's are, he will take every last day, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Foster told us last Tuesday (and again yesterday) that if he is not here by the 9th of December, he will induce on the 10th of December. So, one way or another he will be here in 13 to 14 days. I'm so excited. Beware my posts may not come as often once he gets here, but I do answer my phone and my emails (no spam please).

I also want to pass on congratulations to someone that I hope I can eventually call a friend, her name is Sarabeth and she is going to have a baby in August of 2008. I'm so happy for her, I wish her and her hubby all the best of luck and hope that she doesn't have the problem that I have had with this baby, a leg that forever keeps going numb.

Sierra-Lynn Update:

Home schooling is going smoothly, she can read somewhere in the ballpark of 40-50 words (some easier than others). She just learned how to do graphs today, her eyes lit up. She doesn't really care for phonics, but right now it's all we got to teach her how to read. Bribery makes it easier, for every word that she reads correctly (without my help) she gets a small treat. Today it was raisins, a couple of weeks ago, M&M's. I told her that if she got at least 20 of the 30 phonics words right (aka 20 or more raisins) she could have a cookie. She got 26 raisins and 1 cowboy cookie. (Don't worry Aunt Dee Dee, they are healthy, lots of oatmeal and a few pecans and chocolate chips.) She can also count to 16 now (yes I know that Hannah can count to 20 already), and can identify numbers to 19 then 21 to 24 (don't ask). She thinks that 20 is twenty-teen, but we are working on it. We do numbers and phonics words everyday as well as reading (if its Scooby she loves it, well that and Berenstein Bears).

Mark and I have recently found out why Sierra-Lynn acts the way that she does and how to deal with it in a way that we don't have to yell or punish nearly as often.

I have been doing a lot of reading since deciding to home school my little p-jink and thanks to my husband's genius was able to get my hands on this most wonderful book. It's called "The Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling". Upon reading Chapter 9 Determining Your Child's Learning Style; I came to the conclusion that she falls into the learning style of Actual-Spontaneous or ASL. According to Dr. Golay, an ASL is fiercely independent and spontaneous. They live in the "here and now" and derives self worth from their ability to act swiftly with precision.

The indicator's hit Sierra-Lynn right on the head. Here they are: impulsive, autonomous, distractable, flexible, short attention span, risk taker, constant motion, thrives on variety and adventure, competitive, quick, inventive, outgoing, and defiant when boundaries are imposed. Some strong dislikes of an ASL are structure, routine, sitting still (anyone who knows Sierra-Lynn knows that it is almost impossible to get her to do this), reading or seatwork, convention, and delayed gratification. Weaknesses of an ASL are study skills, long range planning, and planning and organization.

Not only does this book help you to identify your child's learning/temperment style, it gives you pages of ways to deal with them. The next book on my reading list; "The Strong Willed Child" by Dr. James Dobson, luckily I already have it. I found it about 2 years ago at a yard sale and thought that it reminded me of my little girl. Little did I know how right I was. ;)

Well, until next time....

3 Cribs And A Klutz

Monday afternoon, Mark and I put together crib number three for our little "gremlin". Back in August, Dee Dee found us this beautiful wooden spindle crib that everyone loved. It was missing the pieces that hold the sliding side up, as it was, when you raised them, they just fell to the floor.

Crib number two was a loaner from my friend Tori, she had used it through all three of her kids (her oldest is nine). Dee Dee didn't care for it because it was white and metal. I was just happy to have a bed for my little man to sleep in. I do have to say that it was not such a bad idea that she didn't like it. When we got crib number three, a Christmas gift from Aunt Becky, we took #2 down and one of the short sides was starting to come apart.

I love the new bed, when you walk into his room, you can actually see it (we have white walls and doors and can't paint). It also has a rolling drawer for under the bed and a musical crib light.

A part of me can't wait for him to get here, another part of me says that we can wait until his due date. The reason, I am a klutz. Just a few short hours after we got his bed put together, I went in to take a shower and fell to the floor, but not before I managed to almost break my left foot and hit my stomach on the side of the bath tub. On the plus side, Jackson is doing fine. I spent all day yesterday in the hospital with a fetal heart monitor on to make sure. They also did another ultrasound to make sure that there was nothing wrong internally with little man. He was and is perfectly fine and most definitely a boy. (Thank God, now I don't have to hurt the tech.) He is head down and kicking and punching me as I type this.

As for me, if I can find an orthopedic doctor/surgeon to look at my foot (that will except my insurance), I'll know what I did to it. If not, then I will do the same thing that I did when it was ran over by a car when I was eleven, absolutely nothing and I'll never know. I did take off the wrapping that they put on it at the hospital (for all of 5 minutes) just to let it air out. From the ankle joint to a point about half way to my toes has a slightly black [more of a smokey gray] coloring to it and it only hurts if I move my big toe up. So I'm thinking that it is going to be okay, I just need to take it easy for awhile and let it heal. Is that possible with a 5 year old running around?????????? We will see.

Happy Turkey Day (and blitz shopping day) everyone. For those of you braving the crowds this year, shop with me in your heart, as sadly I will not be able to go this year due to the injury.

The Doll And The Rose

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this
little boy some money back.
The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.
The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this
doll.'
Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you
sure I don't have enough money?''
The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy
this doll, my dear.''
Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a
round. She left quickly.
The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.
Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll
to.
'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas.
She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'
I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and
not to worry.
But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she
is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my
sister when she goes there.'
His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God .
Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that
she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''
My heart nearly stopped.
The little boy looked up at me and said:
'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come
back from the mall.'
Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then
told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.'
'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says
that she has to go to be with my little sister.'
Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.
I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check
again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''
'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his
without him seeing and we started to count it. There was e nough for the doll
and even some spare money.
The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'
Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to
Sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that
mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!''
'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my
mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough
to buy the doll and a white rose.''
'My mommy loves white roses.'
A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my bask et.
I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I
started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.
Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which
mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman
and a little girl.
The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical
state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the
life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to
recover from the coma.
Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the
newspaper that the young woman had passed away.
I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the
funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see
and make last wishes before her burial.
She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her
hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.
I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed
forever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is
still, to this day, hard to imagine.
And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from
him.
N ow you have 2 choices:
1) Repost this message.
2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart
The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and
with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a
good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'
For those who prefer to think that God is not watching over us....go ahead
and delete this. For the rest of us... pass this on.

Dr. Phil's Personality Test.

Below is Dr Phil's test (Dr. Phil scored 55; he did this test on the Oprah show - she got a 38.) Some folks pay a lot of money to find this stuff out! Don't be overly sensitive! The following is pretty accurate and it only takes 2 minutes.

Take this test for yourself and send it to your friends. Don't peek, but begin the test as you scroll down and answer. Answers are for who you are now --- not who you were in the past. Have pen or pencil and paper ready.

This is a real test given by the Human Relations Dept. at many of the major corporations today. It helps them get better insight concerning their employees and prospective employees. It's only 10 Simple questions, so grab a pencil and paper to keep track of your letter answers to each question. Ready?? Begin.

1. When do you feel your best?

a) in the morning

b) during the afternoon &and early evening

c) late at night

2. You usually walk...

a) fairly fast, with long steps

b) fairly fast, with little steps

c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face

d) less fast, head down

e) very slowly

3. When talking to people you.

a) stand with your arms folded

b) have your hands clasped

c) have one or both your hands on your hips

d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking

e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with.

a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side

b) your legs crossed

c) your legs stretched out or straight

d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, you react with...

a) big appreciated laugh

b) a laugh, but not a loud one

c) a quiet chuckle

d) a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering you …

a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you

b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know

c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. You're working very hard, concentrating hard, and you're interrupted...

a) welcome the break b) feel extremely irritated

c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?

a) Red or orange

b) black

c) yellow or light blue

d) green

e) dark blue or purple

f) white

g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are.

a) stretched out on your back

b) stretched out face down on your stomach

c) on your side, slightly curled

d) with your head on one arm

e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are...

a) falling

b) fighting or struggling

c) searching for something or somebody

d) flying or floating

e) you usually have dreamless sleep

f) your dreams are always pleasant

POINTS:

1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6

2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1

3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6

4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1

5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2

6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2

7 . (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4

8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1

9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1

10. (a) 4 (b) 2 ( c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Now add up the total number of points.

OVER 60 POINTS : Others see you as someone they should "handle with care." You're seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS : Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS : Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS : Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS : People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people e think you' re boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

Happy Birthday, P-Jink

I am just now starting to recoup from this weekend (and yesterday).

Miss Sierra-Lynn had so much fun at her party, she didn't even care that Ella wasn't there, in fact she never even mentioned her. I do think that it was pretty screwed up that Delaney is being the way that she is, but I can't control the actions of others. She was a little upset that she didn't get to go to the movie theater, but she had fun playing with her cousin and two very good friends that are like cousins.

She got the game that she has been wanting for months, "Let's go fishing" (from Aunt Becky and Uncle Mike. Let me tell you, she is very good. She beat Mark bad and she also beat me (by 1). Along with the game, she got 5 dollars (from Tori, Christain, Jacob and Mia), two Berenstain Bears books (from Hannah), a Care Bears movie (from Aunt Dee Dee and Uncle Justin), and a bunch of stuff from me and Big Dog Daddy including a Girl Scout necklace, a magnetic doodle pad and some clothes that I made.

Her cake was a chocolate angel food cake with chocolate mousse frosting. In the words of Rachael Ray "yum-o". She even got to help me make it, that (to me) was the best part. This was also the first year that she didn't freak out when "happy birthday" was sang.

(the site is currently not letting me add photos right now, so check back for them)

As for "Doctor Day", Jackson is doing great. I, on the other hand, pulled my groin muscle, so waking is a chore and coming up our stairs is very challenging. Today I almost fell down them (all 8 of them) coming back from the store. Sierra-Lynn checked out fine at her doctor's appointment, her iron is back up where it needs to be. All we are waiting for is her lead test, if we don't hear from them then she is fine. If we do, you'll hear about it.

We didn't have the investiture ceremony last night, because of the monthly leader meeting, so that will be in two weeks. Sierra-Lynn did surprise me by getting up in front of all (12 or so girls) that were there along with all of the parents and saying the Girl Scout Promise. I was so proud of her (I would have freaked out).

'Til next time.

I'm so tired!

I am still trying to recoup from Sierra-Lynn's birthday party (and birthday).

On Thursday, I pulled a muscle after stubbing my toe, then yesterday was Sierra-Lynn's party and boy am I beat. I will post again on Tuesday with photos from the party and some details (tomorrow is Doctor Day). Tomorrow both Sierra-Lynn and I will be seeing the doctor, then it's off to her investiture ceremony. Someday I may get to relax (maybe).

Did I mention that we now have a Christmas tree in our living room? We did it early so that we would get to have one this year (check back for photos of us decorating it).

I'm outta here.