We got a Wii Fit yesterday....

basically because they had them in stock. I was hoping to have gotten one over Christmas for the 'family' (or just me....), but there were none to be found. But, I stumbled across one yesterday. Jake is downstairs skiing right now (isn't the virtual world great? And, a little bizarre). I figure if he can ski, and be happy in our game room, it's certainly a huge bargain (no ski rental, lift tickets, etc.) Not to mention the hospital bills, since I'm sure the boys would ultimately choose snowboarding, and I have many a friend who wound up in a cast after learning how to snowboard. That said, at some point we will probably journey up the mountain and *really* let them ski and/or snowboard.

The hula hoop game is fun as well, and quite the workout (although only about 3 minutes long. I think I unlocked the 6 minute option, but frankly I was ready to stop after 3 minutes yesterday.) More to come later (after I finish my homework and get a chance to play :)

Someday it will be funny...

It will be a story we will laugh about- I promise. These are the words I told Delaney the other night after a waxing experiment gone horribly awry. Never mind the fact that her dad and I were already seeing SO much humor in the situation (we're talking huge belly laughs, tears rolling down faces, while frantically trying to pretend it wasn't funny).

The victim in this story? Obviously my poor bushy eyebrowed daughter (yes, thank your papa for that).

The villain (or inepet waxer)? Me.

I should have learned from the green hair experiment of 1990 (replace Delaney w/ my sister Laura, and me w/ my mother, and maybe throw in a bottle of bad hair bleach).

Anyway- I've been doing her eyebrows for the past 12 months, since she noticed that hers were maybe a bit more "full" than others. And, we've been very successful, until now. That said, I had never used wax before. Man does it spread quickly- all OVER the eyebrow. Unfortunately when I ripped off the cute little crescent moon shape, half her eyebrow came off with it. Oops! But, years from now she will tell this story, and laugh about it. She may choose to get her eyebrows done professionally at some point, but frankly, it will be months before there is an eyebrow there to wax-LOL.

Thank goodness for eyebrow pencil.

More snow (really not the thrilling event that it once was)

We have had more snow this year, than we've EVER had (at least in the time I've been here). It's to the point where I'm just snowed out. They did not cancel school this morning, and I was able to drive Delaney up to the bus stop, but an hour later, we had a couple of inches, and my car would not make it out of our cul-de-sac. I was slipping and sliding everywhere. I tried for 40 minutes (can you tell how badly I wanted to get everyone off to school-LOL), but had to give up. Rob was on his way to the airport, so he got Emily up to school, which left me with the boys.

They finally did cancel afternoon kindergarten, so Jake is the only one officially on a snowday. And me. Because with both Jake and Trey home, I get nothing done. So we've been doing homework, playing the Wii, and baking cookies. Anyway- it's supposed to all melt by 3:00 (although that's in 15 minutes, and theres still a ton of snow on our hill).

And, I'm watching several cars spin around all over the street...guess we're still housebound. Trey has his make up field trip tomorrow (for the trip that was cancelled due to snow in December). I believe everything will be gone, and we'll get to go: It's rollerskating. I'll take lots of pictures :)

No Title Today....

I'm in a non-creative funk. The brain cells that I used to be able to use for my blog, are all being funneled to my Masters program. I am quite proud of the fact that I have a solid "A" right now (HA! I can still lecture my daughter about grades). I did lose 1/2 a point on my last paper for not citing my sources correctly- details, details, details.

The kids are all home today for a Teacher in-service day (lucky day!). We turned it into a work day at home (For at last 1/2 the day).....One of my projects was going through old photos on my portable hard drive, and deleting or saving to a book project. Here is a small sample of what I found (just because I'm bored)!

Crazy Friday....

or maybe I should change that to "Crazy Hair Friday". Today was crazy hair day at Emily and Jake's school. The kids look forward to it every year, but for me it's just an added step in the morning (yes - bah humbug). So this morning Emily woke up at 6:10 am, ready for me to start on her hair. This is the child who still has very little hair due to the short hair experiment of '08. We settled on three well-placed ponytails, scattered around her head, which were then curled and spray painted red and blue. Yes, not so original, but fairly cute.

And then there was Jake. What to do. We settled on the faux-hawk, which was spray painted bright red. Again, not overly creative, but it worked.

Done till next year!

New low, or new high.....you decide

I'm sitting here next to Trey, on dueling computers. I'm trying to be coherent in my writing, and he is flooding the room w/ the Wiggles, singing "Hot Potato, Hot Potato" (or whatever the heck it is called). Frankly listening to the Wiggles sing much of anything can be painful at times, but watching him SING (yes, sing...) and dance along is priceless. He told me I have to act out the part of the dancing dog, and he gets to be Captain Feathersword. I think I might have gotten the short end of that particular stick. And, he 'told' me all this through his Trey Talk, and lots of pointing :)

Tomorrow at his school, they have Hibernation Day. They get to wear their pajamas, bring their favorite stuffed animal, and hibernate all day. They are making hibernation soup, and building a burrow. Maybe moms should get to celebrate hibernation day also - Any takers?

Sitting here, watching my *favorite* TV show...

yet, how appropriate that I am completely LOST (yes, I'm trying to catch-up w/ "Lost"). I really enjoy the show, but it's always a bad thing for me, when you're lost if you miss an episode or three. Trey had his 4 (almost 5) year check-up today: He's very healthy, tall, and average weight, his heart sounds great (yay!), and he was a huge trooper when he got 5 shots. He even smiled and thanked the nurse....Emily is going to be part of a research study: the impact, effectiveness of bilateral implants. I'll be sure to keep you all posted on the results :)

What else? Nothing much going on here. But, if I'm going to try to get un-lost, I better skedaddle...

Today we all had a day off....

No sports, no school, no laundry, etc. I took the kids to see a movie, and we just relaxed. It was very 'summerlike' (w/ the exception of the 40-50 mile per hour wind gusts, and cold temperatures). But, now I'm realizing I'm a day behind on school assignments, laundry, cleaning, etc. Still, totally worth it :)

That said, it will be nice to send them on there way back to school tomorrow. Trey spouted off a four word phrase today, which was AWESOME! He told me, in response to a question, "Jakes at James house". Now repeat that sentence back excluding all 's' sounds, and you'll have a close approximation-LOL! Baby steps......

Quiet evening here.....

Just the two boys and I. Both girls are gone at sleepovers, and Rob is in Seattle for work. It's kind of odd to have the house so tired and sleepy, so early. Not that I mind- in fact, I'm probably going to be joining the boys shortly (yes, I know it's very early, shh!) We had the craziest weekend we've ever had (two basketball games, three soccer games, and ODP soccer training an hour and 1/2 away- and that was just Saturday). But, we survived it, and the kids all got to their respective activities and had a great time. That said, I'm just wiped out. Not to mention I had to finish the dreaded paper this morning. I completely procrastinated on it, but through no fault of my own. The kids and I are sharing one computer right now because my poor decrepit Mac moves slower than molasses. So, I'm in the market for a laptop FINALLY. I'd love words of wisdom, recommendations. My heart is definitely leading me to the Macbook, but my cheap side is leading me to a Toshiba or Sony.

Still not writing paper- Instead baked ...

time-consuming lasagna roll recipe, and cleaned kitchen. That's avoidance for you. I'll let you know how the lasagna rolls taste (they smell amazing). If I start cleaning out my closet you know I'm at desperation level.

Must, Write, Paper.....

I am now remembering how much I despise writing assignments. They hang over your head at all moments in time, until you are forced to tackle them. But, now add in four children who are used to being able to have you at their beck and call, and it makes the task difficult. I found myself awake last night at 1:00 am, writing my introduction in my head, and it was amazing (or so I thought at the time). Did I remember any of it this morning when I was ready to actually work on it? Nope.

So, as another avoidance strategy I am updating you all on how much I dislike writing essays. If I can't use horrible grammer, run-on or too short sentences, I just don't enjoy the writing process. I think once I get used to it, It will be fine (or it's going to be a long two years-LOL).

Great news on the job....

While I was not hired, another mom from Trey's school, ended up getting the position. She is an amazing person, who has so many of the skills they were looking for. I couldn't be happier. And, at least I now know what happened with the position :)

What else? I'm almost finished with my Special Education teacher interviews, thanks to a reader (THANKS!!!), to my sister, and my sister-in-law. It has been so wonderful getting the different perspectives from everyone, and hearing about their experiences, both good and bad. It has definitely strengthened my resolve to get my degree, and dive right in.

What else is going on here....not much. Trey is talking up a storm (which is amazing- what a change in just a few months). Delaney is having a great year still (well, maybe we need to take Math out of that, but we're working on it). Emily is doing well, despite some headpiece issues as of late, and Jake is Jake. Fiesty as ever, but loveable.

As we kept repeating to ourselves and our child....

it doesn't matter if you make the team. Just give it your all, and do you best. And, she did. We had zero expectations beyond that. She came home, after two long days of soccer. We gave her a hug and told her how proud we were of her. And we were, and the results didn't matter.

And then, the list came out. I scanned it, just because, knowing that there was NO way she would make it. But, there was a Delaney....but wrong last name. A sigh escaped.....I had a brief moment of thinking, maybe, just maybe. I scanned the rest of the list, and got to the last name. DELANEY, my Delaney. Yes, it really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I was so, so, so proud of her. She was not the flashiest player out there (and never will be), but she was strong, and fast, and steady. She did not wear neon colors, or dye her hair to stand out. She just played for the team she was placed on for try outs, for better or worse. I would have been proud whatever the outcome, but I'm happy someone else recognized what we see every game, and every day.

I love you D!

Soccer ODP Tryouts Today

Delaney and Rob headed out bright and early this morning for ODP tryouts (the Olympic Development Program for the state of Oregon). They were originally scheduled for December, but were cancelled due to our freak snowstorm. There are 140+ girls trying out for 40ish spots. We really are doing this just for the experience, but it's still a bit nervewracking. There are far more girls trying out than there are spots, but I think that's a good life lesson. Should you *not* tryout for fear of not making it? No, otherwise you'd never take a chance. Hopefully she has a lot of fun, and does her best- that's a great end result in my book.

Loose ends and other random thoughts

Now that school is back in, I'm realizing that I've never heard back from the lawyer regarding Trey's case. I guess after such a disappointing IEP meeting, I kind of put it on the back burner and moved forward. I was also waiting for the lawyer to let us know whether he wanted to take Trey's case or not. If he's not willing to take it, then we'll just move forward as we've done in the past, and not go to due process hearing. We just don't have the resources to hire our own lawyer, and frankly I think all we'll accomplish on our own is losing the case at the end of the day, which could ultimately hurt the other families in our area who are contemplating taking action. Anyway- I guess that could be seen as 'wimping out' again, but I'd like to think it's knowing when to give yourself a break. We still have many years to work with our current district, and other than the preschool issue I've been pleased.

I also realized that we have still never received Trey's replacement cochlear implant from when it was lost awhile back. I sent in our notarized letter to AB, and they had some questions regarding the headpiece and battery. We updated the letter, sent it back and still are waiting. Thank goodness we had a backup.

One of my assignments this week is to interview 4 special education teachers (2 working in co-enrolled classes, and 2 working in specialized classes), as well as a principal. The co-enrolled classes should not be that difficult since that is what we tend to have here in our area, but the specialized classroom might be tough. If any of you know of a special ed teacher, who teaches in a non-integrated classroom please let me know. I'd love to do an interview via email.....

Anyway- I think that's it for now :)

Holiday Fair This Morning.....

Delaney and I got up this morning bright and early (5:00 am) to finish our Yule Logs, and deliver them to her school for the Holiday Fair. This project was supposed to happen in the last week of school before the break, but due to snow, we are celebrating the holidays again. I have to admit, eating a variety of food from different nationalities first thing in the morning is a bit much....curry, mixed with Mexican wedding cookies, mixed with tortilla chips and salsa. But, it was fun embarassing my daughter-LOL.

HOH/deaf parent group being started...

at Trey's school, and I'm so glad. We had one in Utah through the girls preschool, and it's just so nice to make the connection w/ other parents going through similar issues. It's been my one complaint about Trey's school, yet did I do anything about it? Nope. But, two fantastic parents have organized it, and hopefully it will be well attended. The only potential problem is that it is on a Saturday, and between soccer, basketball, and life in general our Saturday's are busy. But, I'm going to sure try! Support is so key, and while we're at a stage where the kids are doing pretty well, have their various devices and a lot of the unknowns are gone, it's still just nice to chat w/ other parents going through similar things.

I'm almost done with all my homework for the week! Now comes the nervewracking part....waiting for my first grades!

A tough adjustment....

for Trey. He is having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. This morning, after awakening at 5:15 am and running around the house like a lunatic, he then managed to fall sound asleep in the car on the way to school. I had to wake him up , and carry him into class. I need him back in school mode soon, because I really do not like waking up at 5:15.....

Good Morning All!

We're officially back into the swing of things (hence the early morning wake up). Today is Rob's birthday.....it just comes so soon after Christmas, I never am fully prepared for it. This year, I'm not prepared at all. So, today Jake and I will get everyone off to school and make a run to the store so we can bake a cake. We will wrap up some gifts, and hopefully plan a wonderful dinner. If we don't get around to much of that, I'll at least have a cake and tell him his *real* birthday will be this weekend.

I'm beginning to think we're going to start celebrating his birthday in June, just so he doesn't get forgotten as much.

I have to run- I need to troubleshoot Emily's FM system transmitter (the one at school). I guess the battery is not holding a charge and the school does not know what to do about it. I think it has to be sent in, but I'm not 100 percent sure.

Christmas music will be going away

in the next day or so. For some reason, the holiday went by WAY too fast this year, so I guess I'm just not tired of it yet. But, I know you all probably are. So, my promise to you is no more Christmas/holiday music as of tomorrow.

I'm assuming at this point I did not get the job I interviewed for, but truly I feel nothing but relief. I was so angst-ridden over it- the fact that Jake would have to change schools, and I was so worried about time management (w/ starting school, etc.). I'm just going to tell myself that all of this came through in the interview (but part of me still feels very rejected-LOL). I really do think on some level I may have sabotaged myself, and that is o.k. I remember blurting out that I was starting a masters program in January, so that I could teach, and I just though, "now why did I tell them that....they are looking for someone who can develop this outstanding program and run with it". But, whatever the reason I think it is for the best :)

New Year- New Post.....

Actually, I'm a little late, but one of my New Year's resolutions will be to get back on track with my blog. The holidays just got too wacky with the snow, and having the kids underfoot for SO LONG :) But, now they're are back in school (well....they *did* have a 2 hour late start due to more snow), but 75% of them are gone right now. I'll be dropping off Jake in a matter of minutes.

Today is also my first day of graduate school- Scary! I'm sure once I get in the swing of the whole online university thing, it will be very manageable, but it's just a bit overwhelming at the moment. I'll let you all know how it goes. I finished my online introduction, posted it, and then found a type-o (shoot...and I don't know how to edit-LOL).

I better get my last 25% off to school!