steph's stuff

totally swept away

I resisted these books completely. I really wasn't even drawn towards the idea of reading them. A teenage romance? About vampires? Not my style. I even saw some blogs that said that they didn't get the hype and didn't like the books. So, yeah, it was an easy thing to resist.

And then Em and I went on our girls only shopping trip yesterday and I was looking for something to splurge on. And Em went running towards the display that had all 4 in the series - begging me to buy them. Seems her friends have read them and told her they were better than Harry Potter. Hmmmm....

I was still totally resisting. It was still teenage romance and vampires. Blech.

And then I read the back cover of Twilight. And almost without thinking, I opened it up and started reading. And right there in the aisles of Target, I was totally swept away. I've spent the past 24 hours reading - barely remembering to feed the kids or that we had plans for this weekend. The first two books are done and I'm taking a quick break before cracking open the third. Totally, totally swept away by this series. So, if you're pondering.......yes, they are that good. :)

And, because I always love some good enabling, they are all on sale at Target right now. I got all 4 books - 2 paperback and 2 hardback - for under $40. :)

Oh, and yes, I totally could have gone to the library, but I'm weird about my books. Some I'm okay to borrow, but ones that I really like, I neeeeeeeed to own. tee hee

kindergarten exhaustion

Thanks so much for all the nice comments about Libby. :) We did some research into other test scores and while there were no scores in the gifted range, she was well above normal. It all goes to show that you can do whatever you put your mind to. We refused to believe what this teacher was telling us and I believe that it's all uphill from here.

This little guy is thoroughly enjoying kindergarten.

Or at least we think so. All we hear about is that he gets to build Star Wars battleships with Legos at recess. LOL!

He's happy to let me drop him off every morning. Although his first day was heart-breaking. He told me that I couldn't walk him in and I was so sad. And then he confessed that he just didn't want to kiss me in front of his friends. :( So, when we got there, he stopped me outside the car door and gave me a kiss there and then I got to walk him in. But, when it was time for me to leave the classroom, he did give me a big hug and let me kiss his cheek. And he seems to have gotten over the kiss issue because he gives me a big bear hug and kiss every morning now. In front of his friends. :)

happy tears

This is a total stream of consciousness - I just got off the phone with Libby's teacher and I'm in tears. We were told by her teacher last year that her standardized test scores were below average and that she would probably always struggle in the classroom. It was really hard to hear at the time, but we also knew that she was on anti-seizure meds and that those played a large part in her scholastic success. Or lack thereof.

And, honestly, it's been hard to tell - she's only 7 and her older sister is highly gifted. So, there's no "normal" to compare to. But, we also knew that she had a large vocabulary and really loved math. So, while reading may not have been her strong point, she did have many things that she could excel at. I even questioned her teacher a couple of times last year because it really seemed as though she was doing better than many of her classmates, yet she was still put in the lower-level reading and math groups. And every time I questioned it, I was told that she was slower than the group and really could not possibly be moved to a different group.

So, imagine our delight when we received an email from her new teacher a couple of days ago telling us that Libby was going to be getting some enrichment work in math because she was ahead of her class. And that Libby probably wouldn't have to do as much homework in reading and spelling because it all came so easy to her. We were thrilled!

And then the phone call tonight when the teacher called to tell us that she was so blown away by an assignment that Libby handed in today. That it was the ONLY one in the whole class that had been done like that and that she was most likely gifted.

When you hear that your child has a lifelong disorder, you fear the worst. You fear that she'll never live independently. That she'll never be able to have a driver's license. That she may always struggle. That her life will always be hard. And we've tried so hard to ler her know that we don't believe any of that. That she can do anything if she works at it and believes in herself.

And now. We're right. She's going to be okay. She really is.

google reader broken?

Is anyone else having problems with google reader? My "all items" button is not working and it's driving me batty. LOL!

more updates

A trip:

So, this was our last hurrah before school started.

The girls and I drove into Chicago early Sunday morning (2 weeks ago) to meet this fabulous friend and her two lovely daughters for a girls only day of American Girl shopping and lunch. To say we had fun is an understatement. My girls are still talking about it!

Camera:

I am sooooo loving my 40D. :) Don't know why the heck I didn't buy it earlier! It's fabulous, very crisp and the ISO is to-die-for!!!!! (Still gonna post info on the Rebel for sale, but probably won't get to until this weekend.)

School and work:

I am really struggling with working still. You'd think 8 months of it would help me get used to it, but it just seems to be getting worse not better. :(

I am sooooo thrilled with the teachers my kids got this year! They're hard, but fair and loving. Love it!

Andrew started full-day kindergarten yesterday and didn't even look back at me. It helps that he got Libby's former kindy teacher, so he knows her really well. I'm going to be the room parent this year just like I did for both girls in kindy and we're going to have a ball.

I can just about feel fall in the air if I close my eyes and try really hard. I was so sad at the thought of summer ending earlier this week, but suddenly, I'm getting really excited about fall. Football Saturdays, game food all afternoon, crisp air, raking leaves, homemade bread and soup in the crockpot. Bring it on!!!!

Scrapbooking:

I decided that no matter how crunched for time I was and no matter how crazy my schedule was that I was going to find some time for me. The only time I've scrapbooked at all for the past 8 months has been for assignments. So, I decided to make a mini-album - my absolute favorite. ScrapSupply has these albums in stock and I snagged the black and cream one immediately. I've been working on a mini-album about our trip to Maine for just a little while every evening for the past 3 or 4 nights and it sure feels good!!

I realized that except for the photos that go on my layouts, I haven't printed out any photos since 2005. :O Holy cow! So, it's time to place a HUGE order of 4 x 6 photos this weekend! And start filling up photo albums. That's just shameful.

I'm dying to re-organize my scrapbook albums and put them in chronological order. I don't scrap in chronological order, but I want the layouts in order for some reason. And I really want to get rid of the stupid, cutesy pink and orange and yellow albums I bought when I first started scrapping, so I need to invest in a bunch of new black and red albums to match my recent ones.

And there's more, but I'm out of time. :)

for sale

I've decided to sell my Canon Rebel XT. I absolutely love it and it has been THE BEST camera for the past couple of years. It has never let me down and I've used it on all my photo shoots for the past 2 years. But, since I bought the 40D, I just don't need a second camera. I considered using it as a back up camera, but I just don't need it that much.

All of the photos on this blog were taken with it, most recently the vacation photos in THIS POST.

So, I'm working on a price for it. And I also have the battery pack, 2 batteries, a battery charger, and more accessories that I'm going to sell, too.

More info to come soon with pictures, specs, and prices. If you know you're interested and want to get an early jump on it (or any of the accessories), email me through that little email link on the left.

yeah, so i haven't been around much

I know, I know.

And thanks for the emails asking where I've been and why I'm not posting much about my life. My husband has even stopped reading my blog. Sigh. It feels a bit as though my life is no longer in my control and so I've just stopped blogging about it and making do with periodic layouts when I can.

So, here’s some long-overdue updates on the girls’ health and my work.and I’ll be back later with lots more updates.

 

Emily  - she is doing fantastically and still not on insulin! We go back to her endocrinologist in a couple of months and are really hoping for some great test results based on her lack of symptoms. She is growing very, very well (wears a size 7 women’s shoe – holy cow!!!!) and that’s also a very good sign for Type I diabetics. She struggles a bit with low blood sugar, but seems to always catch it herself these days and carries food with her always.

Elizabeth - she has thrown us for a loop. We just went back to the neurologist for a routine exam, bloodwork, and an updated EEG. Well, it wasn’t so routine after all. The EEG showed quite a bit of seizure activity. So, while we had been thinking that it’s been over a year since she’s had a seizure, it looks as though she’s been having small ones maybe even daily all along – small enough that we can’t see them, but they sure were obvious on the EEG. So…..that changes things just a bit. Her epilepsy may be a bit more serious than we had thought and we’ll just have to adjust. She has always been overwhelmed by loud noises and large crowds and is easily fatigued. All of which can bring on the migraine/seizure combination.

So, the biggest change we’re going to make is taking her out of the after-school care program at school. It’s just too many kids, not enough structure and makes her day way too long for her. Which means that my work schedule is going to have to be adjusted. My bosses have been great and are allowing me to go from 40 hours to 30 hours/week effective immediately so that I can now be home with the kids after school. It’s a welcome change – both for Elizabeth and our peace of mind, but also because it will simply make our life a bit less chaotic. I will now be working only the hours that the kids are in school. I am so looking forward to that! It’s a bite out of my salary, though, but kids have to come first.

She also has another physical change. She had over 10 inches of her hair cut off! And not on purpose, either. We went to my hair stylist and asked for her hair to be cut to her shoulders. And this is what we got. (Actually, it's been over a month since the cut so it was even shorter.)

And then here's me being a total dork and pinning my hair up to see if I wanted to get mine cut as short, too.

Um........no. Not hardly. Oh, and excuse my lack of a shower, left-over mascara smudged under my eyes, glasses on, and messy desk in the background.

Back later!

 

so cute

We recently celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary (holy cow! 14 years!!!) and the kids spent all day long planning out something special for both of us while we were at work.

We came home to freshly baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies, homemade fruit smoothies, and the table set and decorated for us. Complete with a mobile hanging over the table, paper flowers in a vase, decorations from the kids' rooms, menus (mennews - how cute is that spelling?!), and place cards.

:)

 

Lucky

For Saturday's Scraplift at DesignerDigitals:

I love being able to play a part in the scraplifting challenges at DesignerDigitals - just love it! This is a lift of a gorgeous layout by Lorraine. Thanks for the inspiration!

And it also gave me a chance to reflect on how lucky I really am to have this incredible man in my life. It's just so easy to take things for granted and I'm trying really hard not to do that.

When life gets you down ...

When life gets you down ...

scrapbook. :)

I have had a crazy busy schedule for the past few weeks - extra work deadlines, working night shifts, doctor's appointments, babysitter's wacky schedules, and lots more stressful stuff.

But, somehow in the midst of it all, I found time to scrapbook. And, really, I need to make more time for this. It's therapy to me. I've said it before, but I don't scrap to preserve memories. I scrap because I need to. Plain and simple.

So, here's some pages from this month's Scrapsupply newsletter. The goal was to photograph water. Perfect article for my trip to Maine. :)