Just what do I have to do...

I've tried blogging it out, shouting it out, stomping it out, yet my message to the world that the west frontage road by Walmart is a 40 mph zone is not reaching the right audience. The over 70 crowd who persist in traveling at a snail speed of 25 mph no matter how many speed limit signs they pass proclaiming FORTY MILES AN HOUR. That is FOUR ZERO. FORTY! Today, on my way to work, an old man pulled out in front of me from Walmart (like that surprises you) and right there - 200 yards from him hitting the road is the first sign of three along his journey - 40 mph. Yet does he speed up? Does he heed this advice? Does he even TRY to hurry it along? NO NO NO! Man I'm getting tired of this. If you are going to pull out in front of me please try to at least pretend you are going to drive like a real person because really one of these days I'm going to start using my horn and in this nice growing community horn honking is considered rude - but I'm not above it - seriously!

Oh and one other bit of news. I have created a convert. Amy has sworn to never again (translate - not for a really long time) visit Walmart due to recent unpleasant events which occurred at this establishment - not the least of which was the huge train of carts blocking her departure from the parking lot leading to her having to GO INTO THE STORE to ask someone to MOVE THE DAMN CARTS. At least someone is listening to me - now if I could only get those elderly patrons to turn up their hearing aids and put their foot on the gas!

TTFN...

The goodness of a long weekend...

don't you love the freedom of a long weekend? Sunday nights without Monday morning hanging over your head. Playing outside long after bedtime and not really caring. Knowing there is still one more day of free time before it's back to the same old same old. The long weekend - it's a fabulous thing.

I have really been yearning for a break from my "day job". It isn't that I don't like my job - I'm just tired of working. I know it will pass but for right now it is on my mind - constantly and it is making me crabby (I know what a big surprise) :-)

I actually had Friday off to take the dog to the vet and the girls to their well-child check-up and myself to physical therapy - which I ended up canceling since the girls' appointment ran long. I actually stopped wearing the brace this weekend. As far as I'm concerned it has done the job and it is time to move on and let my elbow move freely in the world. I see the doctor again on Wednesday and he may have different plans but for right now I'm going with the "I know best" theory.

That's it. Really just dropping in to say I'm here. I'll write more later to ponder the mysteries of the world - like why that guy on Grey's Anatomy who was entombed in cement did not have any family members around while he was on the brink of death...

TTFN

Did you think I forgot...

Did you really think that I would let too much time go by without discussing the Dancing with the Stars finale? I may have hurt my arm but my brain still works :-) And before we begin I do have to tell you that I STILL have not watched the tivo'd episode of DWTS where my Marvelous Mario makes an appearance - I KNOW - maybe something has affected my brain!

So about that finale. Kristy Yamagochi was the easy win - I don't know that there was any real contest even from the beginning. I do think she had an unfair advantage. She was used to performing in front of a crowd under pressure in skimpy outfits and she knows how to execute a lift. BIG things. But what she did lack was passion. I never saw any passion from her. I never had that much fun watching her dance. She never excited any emotion in me. So although technically good - emotionally - heh. Actually I don't think any of the couples had much chemistry between them this season. That was kind of disappointing. I think what really makes great dancing is the passion and chemistry. But maybe that's just me... So those are my thoughts on the win but let's talk about the really important stuff like why that Edita (is that how you spell her name) chick can only afford half a wardrobe. Have you noticed how she wears the skimpiest costumes week after week. Even during rehearsals she is barely dressed. Interesting. Although maybe if I had her body I'd flaunt it too :-) And then there was Tony and Marissa. I really liked them and I really wanted to see the chemistry but instead it was more like watching a brother and sister. BORING. Oh speaking of Tony - have you seen that movie with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez (I think it is called May I Have this Dance or something like that) anyway, did you see my guy Tony in that movie? He was one of the dancing contest participants - just a little useless trivia - feel free to use this in the future to impress your friends and family :-)

Okay I've got to go. My wrist is killing me. Have I mentioned how happy I will be to throw this brace out the window? It's cramping my style.

TTFN...

Oh Oh Oh - the name of the movie with Rich & Jen is Shall We Dance so there you go.

Highlights of a birthday...

It's that time again, time for two of my babies to take another step forward into the real world. It makes me happy. It makes me sad. It makes me nostalgic. I makes me share pictures. :-)

Birthday - One Year




Birthday - Two Years




Birthday - Three Years




Birthday - Four Years




Birthday - Five Years - 2008




Okay now if you excuse me I need to go find some little girls - their mommy needs a snuggle!

You know I am pretty much an open book...

well at least about the things I want to talk about. The thing about me is the more I feel something, the more passionate and emotional I am about a topic, the more protective I am and I become less and less likely to talk about that topic. Do you know what I mean?

There is one topic that I am very protective about and rarely discuss, and that is what it is like to be the mother of a child with a disability. It isn’t that I am ashamed of my son, or that I haven’t accepted Down Syndrome as part of our life it’s just that I don’t always know how I feel about this subject – until I view it through another mother’s heart. I was at the girls’ Mother’s Day Tea at their pre-school (creating all kinds of hubbub with people wondering what I had done to my arm) and there were a few children performing who had special needs.



As I watched those children I couldn’t help remembering how it feels to watch your child who is a little different from the rest. It is such a bittersweet experience. There is the joy and love you feel as a parent watching your child participating and being part of the moment but there is also the sorrow of knowing how much harder that child has to try. How much harder that child will have to work for the rest of their lives. How their life is such a dramatically different experience than anything you have ever known. Sometimes it makes my mother’s heart weep for my son and all children with special needs. Life shouldn’t have to be so hard for any child. And you know I have empathy for my son but never pity because although life is different for him in some ways it is much greater when it comes to the things that really matter, like happiness and love and joy without jealousy or deceit or corruption and that my friends is a good thing – a very good thing.

So there you go, I’ve spoken. I’ll leave you with this poem by Emily Perl Kingsley who has a grown son with Down Syndrome.

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a
disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to
understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When
you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to
Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The
Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You
may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After
months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags
and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes
in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean
Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my
life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight
plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important
thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place,
full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you
must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new
language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never
have met.It’s just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less
flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch
your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has
windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But
everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all
bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of
your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I
had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...
because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.But... if you
spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be
free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about
Holland.* * *
©1987 by Emily
Perl Kingsley.

Is it really any surprise?

This will be my only entry for this week. I gave my own graceful performance at dance rehearsal on Friday night resulting in a trip to the ER and a severly dislocated elbow (feel free to wince here because yes it is as painful as it sounds). So I've got this cumbersome, not to mention ugly, hard/soft cast thing on my arm which leaves me one-handed, clumsy, off work for a week, frustrated and crabby. Life is good :-) When I am back to full capacity I'll give you all the details.

But still - the HoTY got pictures.

Happy May Day!

Hooray Hooray the first of May! Too bad Mother Nature hasn't noticed the date (note to self - no more talk about the weather :-)).

The kids made May Baskets last night - well they made about five and then I finished the rest - they were soooo tired. I guess gluing flowers and putting candy into little cups is very exhausting business. And who knew we'd run out of candy. I went to Sam's Club and bought a bag of the super industrial size candy assortment thinking we'd be really generous with the candy (no popcorn in the bottom of the cup to help take up the slack) but guess what - we started running out - so the generosity, not so much with the last 10 or so. I would have taken candy from the cups that runneth over but the girls would have none of that - no tampering allowed of completed "baskets". Such rule followers :-)

Short and sweet - that's today's motto!

TTFN.