It's ridiculous that when all I have is my two sleepers of the family I still can't sleep past 8:30! UGH...

Ok, Livvie woke her dad this morning so he could play a dental hygiene game she got as a handout at school. People who know Dan see the irony here.....tomorrow a healthy eating/physical fitness game?!

Lisa

A snowfall - Feb 24th

From Facebook on Feb 24th: The snow is falling here in beautiful, gigantic snowflakes that look like they were shipped right off a Hollywood soundstage.

The great coffee experiment is over. I came home to find my coffee pot shattered on the floor and coffee grounds all over the wall, courtesy of Junie. I am soooo . . . not in a good place today. 

A normal, sedate day spent with LuLu

Saturday was a pretty good day, and very LuLu-centric.

After a leisurely morning I accompanied my mother-in-law as she took the girls to swim class. She takes them every Saturday but as of late LuLu had been refusing to get in the water, and I was asked to go and play the bad guy. She swam alright, and did fine. I was proud of both girls.

[btw, it was so odd seeing them in swimsuits w/out a summer tan. YaYa has my darker complexion but her Mom's skin; sensitive and dry. LuLu has my skin but Lisa's complexion. Looking at Lu you can see every vein and capillary. "It's like looking at an anatomy chart," I told her.]

YaYa went w/ her Grandma for an overnight, and LuLu and I took a nice, half mile or so stroll home. Then we made lunch and spent an hour searching for missing library books. A bit later in the afternoon we returned said books to the library and headed to Mass.

While there we turned in our parish census form. I belong to two parishes, one a thriving congregation, and the other (where we were married) a very small, very obscure church whose membership is dwindling quickly with age. Put it this way: Lisa and I were the last marriage in the church - 14 years ago - and only 28 people officially donated any money to the church in all of 2009.

The Archdiocese has long been contemplating the 80 year old parish, but hopefully my census form, which single-handily boosts the parish head count by double digit %'s, helps buy some time.

Then LuLu and I hit Wal-Mart, where we dealt with a clerk in the music section who pronounced Beyonce's name as BEE YON SEA. Hmm. Looking at it phonetically it doesn't sound as jarring and wrong as it did out of his mouth. Know your product sir, know your product.

After that we picked up Ginger from my Mom's place, stopped at Target to buy a NKOTB DVD, and headed home to have dinner and watch the disc.

All in all, a very nice day.

Crud I wrote for an internet gig that didn't work out

Debt Consolidation or Bankruptcy? Which is right for you

- Like too many people in America, you lost your job when the economy crashed. You always paid your bills on time in the past, but now you're forced to pick and choose: do you pay the mortgage this month, your utilities, or your credit card bill? Of course you can't risk losing your family's home, but you also can't live with the constant, humiliating harassment by your creditors.

Is debt consolidation the answer? Your creditors may say it is, since under consolidation they'll continue to make money even while your family suffers. But for you, and those you love, it may mean years of endless payments and interest; years where you'll be struggling under the burden of a debt you can't afford. When all is said and done, it may feel like less of a solution, and more like the status quo.

No one wants to declare bankruptcy. But in the end, what you really need is a clean slate, a way to start over and begin anew. Bankruptcy can give you that chance - and in most cases let you keep your house and car while you do so.

When you decide to consider bankruptcy, it's important to have the guidance of an experienced lawyer at your side. They can help you determine if its the right option for you, and determine what you owe and what you can keep. They can also can help you restore your credit rating in the quickest time possible, sometimes in as little as two years.

Remember, you are not alone. If you are in Houston, contact our lawyers at XXX-XXXX for a free consultation.


* * * *

GM must make deadline deal on debt or face Bankruptcy


- General Motors and Chrysler face an upcoming June 1st deadline to negotiate a deal with debt holders or risk defaulting on $1 billion in notes.

It's one of two high profile dates on the automakers calendar. On Tuesday the companies must submit a progress report to Washington on their post-stimulus restructuring program. If the data they present doesn't meet expectations, the Obama administration could call in the $17.4 billion loans, an action that would undoubtedly drive the companies under.

Washington has signaled that unpopular scenario is unlikely to happen.

More pressing is the $1 billion in bonds that mature on June 1st. Neither GM nor Chrysler appears ready to meet the requirements of the loans, despite viability plans submitted February 17th.

If they can't reach a deal with bondholders, GM has warned they will seek protection under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

The main sticking point in negotiations is GM's $28 billion in unsecured debt. The loan terms require the company to try to shed all but a third of that total, as well as convince the United Auto Workers to accept half of the money owed to them for its retiree health care trust as stock, rather than cash.

Despite agreeing in principle to concessions with the automakers, UAW has accused bondholders of disrupting changes dictated in the loans. For their part, bondholders are critical of the viability plans, believing among other things that the sales projections in the plans are too optimistic for the U.S. market.

Sources say a last minute deal is unlikely to happen.

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, summed up the atmosphere of the negotiations. “It's a cage match,” he said, “The idea is for everybody to come out of the game alive.”

Sentry (at least the one in Bay View) no longer accepts Internet coupons, rendering many popular sites useless. I'm told they were burned on a Velveeta forgery (snort). So, for the sake of a lost 40 cents here and there, they have turned the clock back to 1963 and pushed more biz to the Evil Empire that is Pic 'n Save. Nice.

 The secret ingredient . . . is phone.

Shame on Them

My niece's 2nd grade teacher (she's in 3rd now) was fired today. She'd begun to show signs of mental illness, writing things like "20+20+10" on the board and saying it equaled 30. Other teachers started to shun her. On the way to a staff outing she went back to her rm for her purse & returned to find everyone had left w/out her. I guess there's so little pain in the world they felt they had to add to it. A*holes

American Idol, Rupaul's Drag Race, and Match Game!

 AI was dull & unimpressive, and I'm really not liking the dynamic between the judges. Kara remains an awkward fit; too ADD, too much makeup, too unable to define her role on the panel. Although he was bad, they were waaaay too hard on Tim Urban, especially when they let equally sucky performers off the hook. Kudos to Ellen for (gently) calling Kara and Randy out for how they acted during Casey James' performance.

A great surprise on our DVR tonight: On Rupaul's Drag Race they (gasp! applause) did a full-out recreation of The Match Game, cleverly re-titled "The S*atch Game". Sure everyone was in drag and impersonating a celebrity, and they had too many people on each tier for a traditionalist like myself - but Gene Rayburn & Co. would've had a blast. Plus Tatianna won, so it was a great hour of TV all around.

A Full House

Crowded house. All the kids are home now, plus Lisa's watching Jess & Jason's newborn and a 3 yr old while they move. My my. Good thing (for me) that I'm leaving for work soon.

My Thoughts

 Lousy kids r rguing @the table over whether or not YaYa is actually swallowing her grilled cheese or just 'faking', & about who can upchuck into their mouth w/out spitting it out.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

Here's what non-breeders and the 'bred because it was expected' fail to comprehend: you can hate 17.5% of any given day with all ur heart & still not regret any of it. It'd be like hating pizza because 1 slice was crap.

There is Beauty in It

 The snow is falling here in beautiful, gigantic snowflakes that look like they were shipped right off a Hollywood soundstage.

Lost

This weeks episode told u everything you need to know about Lost: It's all about Jack. Past, present(s), and future - the island, and the show, is all about Jack Shephard.

Smiley's IEP

A few weeks ago I promised I'd follow up on Smiley's IEP (Individualized Education Program) from his school. Here goes.

First: Smiley appears to enjoy coming to school and interacting with his peers. He follows all classroom rules and routines independently. Smiley is eager to help and to learn. He completes his work and art projects independently.

Then: Dad continues to have concerns regarding his speech production and Smiley knowing his letters and numbers.

Here's the pertinent part: Smiley's speech is approx. 50% intelligible during spontaneous speech to known listeners in known contexts. He often requires cues and/or reminders to slow his rate of speech and to use all hsi sounds. Smiley has difficulty producing the following sounds consistently and/or spontaneously: s, s blends, z, sh, ch, k, g, and th. He produces "s" and "s" blends at the word level w/ minimal verbal and or visual reminders. Smiley requires cues to use correct vowel production at the word level during spontaneous and imitative speech production. Smiley uses 3-4 word sentences to spontaneously to communicate. He uses correct prepositions during structured and unstructured language tasks. He continues to require cues to use articles and correct pronouns. He follows directions independently, answers "wh" questions with 75-100% accuracy and labels vocabulary w/ 80-100% accuracy. Smiley labels 9/9 colors and 8/8 shapes. He counts to eight, then skips to 10. He labels 4/20 numbers and 2/26 letters.

Then: Smiley's speech and language delays negatively impact his communication w/ peers and teachers and his ability to express wants, needs, and thoughts in an age appropriate manner.

Whew. Heavy stuff. Here it is in English. He still doesn't talk very well, but talks 1000% better than he would have if Lisa hadn't pushed to enroll him in therapy two years ago. If you know the boy, and have some idea about the subject that he's discussing, you have a 50/50 chance of comprehending him. I'd say it's closer to 60-70% for family.

The thing I find remarkable is that it really truly doesn't seem to wear him down. He just keeps plugging away. Oh, he gets happy when you understand him, and sometimes seems shocked when you do, but even when you don't he'll a) patiently repeat it until either you get it or b) he finds another way to communicate his needs. The only time I've seen him get annoyed is when a clerk at a store failed to understand him. After a few tries Smiley waved him off and said "nebber min'".

There's some drawbacks to his newfound intelligiblity. We discovered he's been 'secretly' sassing us, saying "shut up" and whatnot in Smiley talk. The first time we comprehended what he was saying we naturally scolded him. He was flabbergasted; he'd been saying it so long without a reaction I think he believed it to be a perfectly appropriate comment.

Forgetting that stuff, here's some famous Smiley quotes: "Di-ah-wee-ah!", said as often as possible in every context.

"Knock 'ock"

"Who's There?"

"Mommy"

"Mommy Who"

"Di-ah-wee-ah!"

He also very frequently asks "Is he weal?" of various characters in TV, movies, and in picture books. I think this is a developmental stage, but I don't recall it with the older girls. I think he's trying to sort out the real from the impossible, and fiction from reality. It's cute, but it's also fascinating to see his mind churn over the possiblities.

Anyhow, I've rambled on long enough. Have a good day.

Anne Frank, yams, and American Idol

Busy day. Topped off fluids on the car, took the kids to school & Junie to playgroup, (Smiley's bus never showed) had my crucifix fixed, cleaned fish & turtle tanks & kitty litter in btwn writing. Now Park and I r making a turkey, stuffing (w/ walnuts), rolls & yams for our Tues Family Nt. Then a game & we'll end by reading from Anne Frank's diary. Not 'fun' per se, but they seem woefully ignorant of the Holocaust.

Dinner was A1. Got the kids to eat yams by saying they were carrots. But L & the girls were late bcuz she left the lts on and needed a jump-start, so we xnay'd the game. I did read Anne Frank's 1st 2 entries to the girls. They liked her snarky & somewhat judgemental take on her classmates. Based on her bday gifts, they decided she was much richer than us We'll try reading a few pgs each nt.

I was going to go all in-depth on tonight's American Idol, but I think I can sum it up nicely: disappointing, boring, and almost enough to convince you the talk about this group being 'strong' is all smoke and mirrors. However, Katelyn and Crystal did well, Lily was @ least interesting, and Michelle was as good as Ellen said. My picks to go home: Janell and Haeley (sp?).

 So has Parker gone to sleep yet ? When you came in you said Laurie would be going down for a nap...........But Parker slept for over 5 hours!!!:) - Aunt Katie

A Danny Quote

One night last month a small group of our friends was sitting in my living room. Everyone was a little tipsy, and the mood grew melancholy. One by one folks started voicing their biggest regrets: that they never finished college, that they 'wasted' years on John Doe, that this error happened or that opportunity wasn't taken.

And then it was my turn. I sat there woefully underemployed, with a van that doesn't run, a gutter that needs replacement and a degree I don't use. And I thought, I really truly thought "Don't blow this off. Think hard and be honest. Deep down what's my one, most troubling regret of the last 35 years?"

After a moment it came to me, this deepest, most painful, most honest regret. And so I voiced it:

"I wish" I said, and sighed. "I wish I could rap."

 Feb 22nd, the day I met my husband....15 years ago. Still feel blessed for that day. - Lisa

 At ~ 3 AM this morning Lisa and I will mark the 15th anniversary of the first day we met. Feb 22nd 1995 remains the luckiest damn day of my life, and I wouldn't change a thing. Happy anniversary baby.

A special anniversary

At ~ 3 AM this morning Lisa and I will mark the 15th anniversary of the first day we met. Feb 22nd 1995 remains the luckiest damn day of my life, and I wouldn't change a thing. Happy anniversary baby!

For our anniversary we were granted 2 1/2 hr w/out children, all in the middle of the day. Long enough to stop and buy some needed pet food, wait for a table at Olive Garden, and scarf down some food. I'm grateful 4 the break, but 4 the record: on my bday, if I don't find a babysitter, I'm locking the kids in the shed with a water bottle, a loaf of bread, and a harmonica. Ok, 2 bottles of water. Maybe 3.

Cart Surfing

I'm on Club Penguin cart surfing to earn coins for Grace's penguin. Ain't nobody can top me in the mines, N-O-B-O-D-Y. If you think different, step on up pardner. I'm the penguin in the purple gown and the long brown hair racking up the points. Bring your A game and prepare to recognize!

"Activ-iaaaa"

 Proof that advertising seeps into the brain: I took my two oldest to the grocery store to look for plain yogurt. No luck, but there was plenty of Activia. As soon as they saw it on the shelves both girls pointed and sang, in harmony, the Activia jingle.😁

Smiley Breaks his Foot

Allright, I have another Smiley post planned but let's get this out of the way. Quoting my FB status at 7:51 PM this past Thursday:

Just back from wrestling w/ the kids, and Smiley hurt his foot goofing around w/ me. Now it looks like we're on our way to the urgent care. Lisa is furious @ me, I think they're both over-reacting. We'll see.

He and I ventured alone to St. Francis Hospital, where we spent a good two hours. All but five minutes of that was spent waiting in one place or another, and I must say the face-time with medical personnel was very limited. Two good things: they brought the X-Ray machine to the ER room, rather than make the little guy move. And two, the nurse was a dead ringer of Kendra from The Girls Next Door. Seriously.

Here was the result from 10:19 that night:

We're back. Smiley has a fracture of the 2nd metatarsal (sp?) of his left foot and was given a boot to wear. Officially its 'questionable'(?) and he has to see a specialist after this wknd. Lis is still mad at me & it will be a long night, but Smiley & I r cool. Most of Lisa's ire comes from my initial reaction - but yo...u know, Smiley is 4 & can be dramatic, and he was already moody in the hour leading up to the mishap.

The next morning at 11:19 AM:

Smiley's a mess. No complaining, but he can't put weight on the foot and he doesn't understand why, unlike his other booboos, this one isn't better in the morning. Plus he's wizzing all over the bathroom because he's hopping on one foot.

Lisa then took him to a follow up appt. At 1:33 PM:

Lisa's at the bone doc with Smiley. In her absence I should clean the house b4 work . . . but uh, yeah, no.

Finally, at 2:19 PM (I must really like sitting in front of the comp at 19 minutes past the hour):

Damn damn damn. Word from Lisa: the ER doc was full of sh*t. Smiley has not one 'questionable' fracture, but *three* clear broken bones that run up quite a-ways in his foot. He's gotten a cast, bright orange at his request. I'll have full details later.






The details are this: breaks in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th metaparsal, halfway up the bone, running straight across the foot. The doc expects them to heal well and not need any extensive follow-up. This is the first broken bone among any of my kids.

So, Smiley is at times quite annoyed with me, but usually only when other people *cough* my sisters *cough* are instigating him to rebellion. It was clearly an accident. While seated I put my palms up, and he placed his palms down on mine and locked his elbows. I then lifted him straight in the air - 'levitated' him - just as I have 1500X with the kids. On the way down he got wibbly-wobbly and bent his arm, falling all of about 2 feet and landing on his feet. He just landed too hard on his feet, or twisted his foot on impact, I'm not sure. And yes, since this took place during a sports team practice where he'd already been moody and cried I assumed he was exaggerating for effect. I do feel bad for that.

Sorry Smiley :(

Cart Surfer Extreme

I'm on Club Penguin cart surfing to earn coins for YaYa's penguin. Ain't nobody can top me in the mines, N-O-B-O-D-Y. If you think different, step on up pardner. I'm the penguin in the purple gown and the long brown hair racking up the points. Bring your A game and prepare to recognize!

Our Visit with TJ

Back on December 10th my friend Tre and his wife had their first child, a boy named Theodore John, or TJ. More than two months premature, he spent a month in the hospital before going home.





Today I took YaYa and LuLu to visit the little guy. It was their first time meeting him, although YaYa made a Christmas stocking for him that hung in the hospital over the holiday.

First tho', I finished feeding and burping the little guy.







Then it was YaYa's turn.









Now obviously, the little guy has a problem around his left eye. It's a hemangioma that's put pressure on his optic nerves and threatened his vision. It's been treated with steroids and has retreated internally. The last-ditch option of chemotherapy has been discussed but has been shelved, and yay for that.





Then it was LuLu's turn to hold him.







Here's TJ high-fiving YaYa:



A few minutes later, while distracted by talking to Tre, I looked over and found both of my girls talking to one another on the couch, their arms on each other's shoulders like the best of friends. Naturally, as soon as I drew attention to the fact they turned on one another, but they *tried* to pose for this shot:





Whatever problems he may or may not have with his eye, the boy seemed chubby, content, alert, and glad to be doted on. He's a great big blessing, and we're glad to have him in our lives.

Welcome TJ!