30 Days of Thanks

Day 1: I am thankful to be switching to 3rd shift (temporarily) at work. It's already been getting hard to get stuff done while we are open. Busy, busy time of year!

Day 2: I am thankful that Daylight Savings Time is ending, and not beginning. Having an extra hour to get stuff done at work is really going to come in handy tonight.

Day 3: I am thankful for my Richie D.! Today he is 8. He's growing up so fast! He's smart, silly, & cute! I'm so proud of him! He's my favorite person in the whole world, the most important person to me, & what I am definitely most thankful for.

 Day 4: I am thankful for naps. I know they are going to come in handy even more over the next couple months of working overnights!

Day 5: I am thankful for sunshine. There have been so many rainy/cloudy days, it's nice to see rays of sunlight shine through, even if just for a few minutes here & there.

Day 6: I am thankful for the Arby's employee who either messed up my order or misheard me many years ago & gave me a jamocha shake instead of vanilla.

Day 7: I am thankful for Richie's health. He had his 8 year check-up today & the doctor said he is very healthy! He has always been a pretty healthy kid, & I know what a blessing that is!

Day 8: I am thankful for pajama pants. They are so comfy!

Day 9: I am thankful for my parents. I'm lucky to have 2 parents who raised me, took care of me, & provided for me growing up.

Day 10: I am thankful for washers & dryers. It would take so long (& mucho energy) to wash all clothes by hand & then have to wait for them to dry.

Day 11: I am thankful for all of the men & women who have served in any branch of our military (past, present, & future), as well as all of those who support them. Happy Veterans Day!

Day 12: I am thankful for hoodies & sweaters. It's that time of year, for sure!

Day 13: I am thankful that the snow has pretty much all melted. I'm just not ready for it yet. Maybe in a month, like for Christmas & then it can be gone again. 

Day 14: I am thankful for scarves. I have more than enough & I love wearing them once it is cold/chilly. 

Day 15: I am thankful for contacts because I don't want to wear glasses (at least not all of the time). 

Day 16: I am thankful for lotion, especially when the cooler months make my dry skin drier. 

Day 17: I am thankful the weather has calmed down (at least somewhat). Driving to work in super high winds & rain is not my idea of a good time, lol.

Day 18: I am thankful for child logic. Today I asked Richie how he knew he was my kid. "Because your kid is awesome & I am awesome," he replied. Works for me! Guess there's no need for a DNA test.

Day 19: I am thankful that I have a motor vehicle. I can't imagine still commuting to work by bike like I used to (it's much, much, much farther).

Day 20: I am thankful for "Stairway to Heaven". It is, & always will be, one of my all-time favorites, but lately I just can't get enough, lol. I've been watching Youtube videos of Led Zeppelin & others perform it. And listening to it at home & in my car.

Day 21: I am thankful when things ship faster than they are supposed to.

Day 22: I am thankful for water. Access to fresh water to drink, the wonderful Great Lakes & their beaches, and water in general.

Day 23: I am thankful that people were driving decently when I made my way to work tonight.

Day 24: I am thankful for clear roads and visibility. 'Tis the season when that won't always be the case.

Day 25: I am thankful for grandparents. My paternal grandparents I was close to growing up, my maternal ones who helped me out when I lived in Florida, Richie's wonderful grandparents, & awesome grandparents out there in general.

Day 26: I am thankful for cell phones. Text messaging & Facebook make it a lot easier to keep in touch with friends/family across & out of the state. It allows constant access to a camera to take pics of CutieMan, & apps to help me remember stuff or cure boredom. And I hear you can make phone calls on them too.

Day 27: I am thankful for friends, those from my childhood up through college & beyond. Just wish everyone didn't live all over the place now-a-days.

Day 28: I am thankful for Thanksgiving & all of the "30 Days of Thanks" posts. While we are thankful for our blessings year-round, it's fun to read/share the things we are thankful for & have such a positive group of posts!

Day 29: I am thankful for music, in so many ways. Being in the background so it's not quiet, playing in the school band, memory association, & for just being music.

Day 30: I am thankful for Christmas time. It is one of my favorite times of year (despite it being winter), the whole caring, sharing, giving, spirit of it all. Plus the music, decorations,& all of the twinkling lights!

12 Years

Today marks the 12th anniversary since the terrorist attacks on 9/11 back in 2001.  In some ways it seems like it hasn't been all that long & in other ways, it seems like it's been much longer than that.

September 11th, 2001.  I was living in Florida at the time.  On that particular day, I had gotten up early to go shopping with two my aunts.  We had stopped by Walmart first, & then headed to the mall.  While at the mall, we heard that planes had hit the Twin Towers.  It seemed unreal.  When I got home, I watched the reports on tv.  It was all over every station and even on the radio.  It didn't seem real.  When they showed the planes hitting the towers & the towers collapsing, the clouds of smoke/debris that barreled down the streets... it seemed more like movie footage, from a disaster film.

In March of 2004, I spent my spring break in New York City.  On my last day there, I walked to the southern end of Manhattan to Battery Park.  It was a sunny but windy day.  The water was rather choppy.  I didn't have time to take the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty.  I did use the coin-operated binoculars to look across the water though.  On my way back to the hotel to pick up my bags before heading to the bus station, I came across this...

Curious, I walked closer & quickly realized where I was.  I had unintentionally come across the World Trade Center.  I walked around to the main entrance.

I spent quite a bit of time there, just looking around.  At the time, there wasn't a whole lot to see.  It had been 2.5 years since the towers were hit & subsequently fell.  All that was there were holes & construction.

Today I got to thinking about all that has changed, for me personally, in the past 12 years.

A month after 9/11, I finally bothered to get my driver's license.  The day after that, I boarded a bus to move back to Michigan (I already had plans to do so for a while, but nothing set in stone until about a week or so before I left).  I stayed at my grandma's before moving to Mt. Pleasant the following summer to live with friends from high school.

In the fall of 2003, I finally started college, after taking 3 years off after high school.

November 2005, Richie was born.  13.5 months later, I graduated (2006) with my Associate of Arts degree in psychology from MMCC.

We moved to the west side of the state at the end of the summer in 2007 & I transferred to GVSU.  2 years later, in the spring of 2009, I graduated from GVSU with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.

And while those are only a few major events, there were plenty of other major & minor events mixed in there as well.  All of Richie's milestones... first tooth, first step, first word, starting various levels of school, etc.  Events with friends & family.  Meeting new people, having new experiences, learning new things.  Losing special people.  Life in general.

I'm very blessed that I have been able to experience all of these things.  Because of this day 12 years ago, a lot of people can't/won't.  I'm very blessed that I was able to go to college & move around.  I am so very blessed that I have a smart , beautiful & most importantly, healthy, son.  I have a wonderful family & awesome friends.  And I live in a great country (despite its flaws).

Drabby Weather

This week was Richie's spring break (from preschool), as it was for many other kids. The weather was very lacking this week, I thought. A lot of gray skies & wind & rain & even (gasp!) snow. And now that it is supposed to get sunny again & warm up a bit, it's about time for school to start again. It figures.

I didn't mind the thunderstorms. I like them, especially when they are at night. I don't mind rain at night for the most part too. But rainy days make me sleepy & feeling lazy. And it usually means being mainly stuck inside. If it were warmer, I wouldn't mind taking Richie out to play in the rain (as long as it wasn't storming or anything). I like walking & being out in the rain sometimes. He would love, as he loves to play in water & puddles.

This winter didn't seem so bad to me. Maybe because it didn't seem like we had too many super cold days & it didn't drag on. I can handle all the snow we got. My problem with winter is that it can get so cold & that the roads can get way too nasty for driving. But I was definitely ready for spring to arrive!

I am looking forward to spending some time out in the sun (& in the rain once it gets warmer). I am glad to see that some trees & bushes have buds, as well as some flowers having bloomed. Can't wait for the grass to get nicely green & to smell freshly cut grass!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone! Hippity hoppity, Easter time is here! Thought I would do kind of an Easter related blog. I think there will be three parts to it: how I celebrated Easter as a child, how I celebrate now with Richie, & things that I am blessed with (kind of like Thanksgiving).

When I was young, I would get a basket. My basket usually contained jelly beans & other candy, as well as a gift (which was usually like a new dress or some toy that wasn't too big). I attended church with my Grandma & family. We all got together at someone's house for a late Easter lunch & usually an Easter egg hunt. Some years I had 2 family gatherings to go to, one on each of my parents' sides. On my mom's side when we had a get-together (it depended on how much of that side is living in Michigan usually), we also did a think where you hit eggs (hard-boiled, I think) with a golf club.

Since Richie was born, he gets an Easter basket that contains a little bit of candy & some smaller gifts (like sunglasses, bubbles, small toys, etc). This year he is getting a Cars fishing pole; he had asked for one for his birthday, but I told him he should wait until Easter, when he would be more able to actually go out & use it. Some years I hide plastic eggs for him. We also go to one of our family member's for lunch.

My blessings... (to name a few)

• Richie D. He is the smartest, cutest, wonderful little kid I know. I love him so much & feel so lucky that I not only get to have him in my life, but I get to be his mommy. Even though he is naughty at times, he is still such a great kid.
• My friends & family. I have family & friends that I've known all or most of my life, & I have some that are newer. I love & appreciate them all!
• Health.
• Not being homeless or living in my car or even a shelter. The economy may be tough & job market impossible, but at least I know Richie & I will always have somewhere to stay.
• The wonders of technology, such as the internet & cell phones, which make it so much easier to stay in touch with everyone.
  

Early Posting?

It is 6 a.m. It's early, especially for a Sunday morning, right? Not for me. No, for me, it is late. It is late because I have not awoken this early, rather I have not gone to sleep yet. I cannot. I am sleepy but not tired enough to fall asleep apparently. It's a side effect of insomnia issues, I suppose. It isn't rare for this to happen to me. I'll prolly finally get tired to a point of actual sleeping in an hour or so.

I see warmer weather ahead again in the forecast for the upcoming week. Hooray! I love warm weather, especially after not-so-warm weather. Sunshine & warm air. I wouldn't mind throwing a thunderstorm in there, but I prefer it to be at night. For one, I like the nighttime ones more. For two, then it doesn't interrupt any time that could be spent outside in the warm weather.

Trees are starting to gets buds. Soon the leaves will come out & things will look so wonderfully different, so wonderfully green! And more flowers (have seen a few already) will sprout out & all the other plants & such will grow as well. Fabulous!

I wish I could sleep. But I long ago accepted that sometimes I will not sleep as much as one should or even at all. I've had insomnia issues at least since high school. And over-the-counter pills do nothing for me & prescribed ones are either to expensive or the ones I could possibly get would knock me out much more than I want to be (mostly because of the being a mommy thing).

When I get no or next to no sleep, there are 2 effects this can have on me (other than the obvious being tired). I can feel more easily irritable & kinda grouchy. Or I can feel silly-hyperish. I prefer the second option, although the choice is never left up to me. If it were up to me, I would obviously choose just to sleep.

My sleep issues mainly occur in 2 ways, sometimes overlapping. 1) I have trouble falling asleep (or back asleep). 2) I have trouble staying asleep. Occasionally I take naps but sometimes that makes it hard to get sleep the following night. I can stay up all day in order to sleep at night & then by night, I am suddenly not tired. It's an odd thing.

Some weird is good, some weird is not. It just depends on what type of weird we are talking about. And sometimes, how much.

Well I suppose I shall end this & hope to drift off to sleepy time. Some happy thoughts to end the post...

Spring, animal crackers, orange juice, green grass, flowers, CutieMan hugs, pillows, oxygen, texting, pajamas, fresh laundry smell.

Randoms Nibs

I love Chewy Runts! I thought they stopped making them because I hadn't seen them in a super long time, but last fall I came across some at Toys 'R Us! Which is the only place I've seen them at.

It's been Shamrock shake season! Oh yum, they always come in February but leave again in March-ish. Seasonal shakes are yummy but it sucks that they are seasonal (like egg nog shakes, yum).

I bought 1 miniature Reese cup in pastel foil at Wesco a couple weeks ago & lost it in the few blocks home. Not sure where it went, never found it in my car or on the ground. I know I grabbed it & remember specifically where I set it in my car, a place that would have made sense if it were under my seat & it's now. It remains missing to this day.

On the 12th, I remembered I needed to go to the Secretary of State. At 4:35pm. They close at 5. Luckily made it over there & there wasn't anyone else not being helped when I got there. I got 3 stickers: the tag for my plate, my change of address, & a heart sticker to go on my license for being a donor. That night I got pulled over. Because my brake lights don't work properly when my headlights are on. When I touch my brakes, the one in the back windshield comes on, & the taillight ones actually go out apparently.

This year on my birthday, I turned 2 times my favorite number.

Richie is going to school again. He is in a preschool program, he goes for 3 hours Monday-Thursday afternoons. He's been going for a week & he likes it (as do I).

Random fact I recently read: "Having blue eyes is actually a mutation. Before the mutation occurred, all humans had brown eyes. Biology nerds know that these mutations often occur in the womb. In this case, the OCA2 gene, which is also involved in the production of melanin, is disrupted to make the eyes blue rather than brown." "People with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor, according to new research. A team of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. The mutation occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, so before then, there were no blue eyes." I'm not a mutant! (Brown-eyed girl, sha la la la la la la la la la la te da)

I'd like to take a road trip. Where to, I do not know. It's been almost a year since I went on one. But they are fun & exploratory.

I'd also like to ride in a plane. I've never done that at all.

The crown of the Statue of Liberty is open until sometime next year. I want to go hike up the 354 stairs. It would be awesome! When I visited NYC in March 2004, the Statue of Liberty was still closed after 9/11. You could go there, but not inside. The closest I got was looking through binoculars at Battery Park. I didn't have time to go out there. (I also want to go to the top of the Empire State Building.)

Spring is here! Calendar says so. Mother Nature seems to keep forgetting she read that memo, since she gave us beautiful weather beforehand & then it was cold & crappy & snowy on the first day. Oh Michigan, you are so cruel sometimes!

Old 25tag

This is an old note from Facebook, dated January 29, 2009.

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. (I'm not tagging anyone. So many have already done it & tagging you won't make ya do it, lol. If ya get bored like I was, do it!)

1) My favorite person in the whole world is a toddler, Richie D.! (My 3 year old cutie man smarty, sometimes naughty)
2) I have an Associates in Psychology.
3) I am a Psych major at GV, hoping to gradate (Bachelors) this semester.
4) Ben & Jerry's One Sweet Whirled is my favorite ice cream but they retired it.
5) My minor is looking to be Sociology, mostly out of convenience.
6) What do I want to be when I "grow up"? I have no idea what I want to do after college, career wise. Grad school at some point though.
7) As much as I like my long hair, I am always considering chopping a considerable amount off.
8) I have every season of Friends and Sex & the City on dvd.
9) I so far have every season of How I Met Your Mother and Grey's Anatomy on dvd.
10) I have a couple seasons of The Office on dvd. I want to catch those up, as well as start collecting House.
11) I hate that almost all my friends & family live at least 2 hours away. I wish I got to see them more.
12) I lived in Florida (just north of Orlando) for 14 months in 2000-2001. I would consider living there again. Michigan is the only other state I've lived in. I can't tell you how many times I have moved though... it's a lot!
13) I love Tinkerbell! She's cute & sassy.
14) I wore skirts/dresses every day except gym days in elementary until 5th grade.
15) I am a picky eater. There are a ton of things I don't like.
16) Morphine is great. It was the only drug I had when Richie was born & it was during contractions. I opted out of anything during the actual pushing & it wasn't as bad as I thought. If I have more children, I would go the same route.
17) Becoming a mommy has been the most wonderful thing in the world! Sometimes its scary & confusing & frustrating & hard, but oh so worth it!
18) I have insomnia issues. The symptoms, occurrence, & degree vary. Hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, sleeping long enough, etc.
19) I love the learning part of school. It's the homework & studying I dislike. I often procrastinate it & should care about my grades more. Luckily I still do decently, my lowest grade in any college course is a B-. I got academic awards in high school & when I graduated MMCC & made the Dean's List once at GV last year.
20) I've never been west of the Mississippi. The only other country I've been to is Canada.
21) I didn't bother getting my drivers license until I was 19.5 & didn't get a car until I was 23.
22) I am the oldest child in my family, by long shots. My mom has 2 sons (one will be 20 in May & the other will be 9 in Sept). My dad has no other children.
23) One of my favorite candies is Hershey's Cookies n Creme nuggets which are now unfindable. I recently came across a giant size bar which is close to them though. The regular size & Kisses are so not the same.
24) I don't have any tattoos. I have 5 holes from piercing, all in my ears.
25) In high school, I was heavy on extracurricular activities. Cheerleading, track, marching band, pep band, concert band, homecoming float, jr/sr play, NHS for a few months, color guard.

Factoids

Since it's my birthday, I thought I would post some known/random facts.

I was born at 1:02pm on March 14th. (<-ages 1 & 2)

I have 2 brothers; 7 & 18 years younger than me.

My favorite ice cream is Ben & Jerry’s One Sweet Whirled & it was retired. I think I discovered it a while after it came out, as I tried it in summer & it was gone sometime in the fall.

When I was quite young, I liked to dip my McD’s French fries in honey & I ate jelly and bologna sandwiches.

When I was little, I changed my mind many times about what I wanted to be when I ‘grew up’, including: nurse, mother, teacher, professional cheerleader, & lawyer.

In kindergarten I missed a few days of school because I had little red bumps all over me (I forget what it was called) that had been determined to be an allergic reaction to fresh hay. I had perfect attendance until 6th grade, when I missed 2 days because of chicken pox. I missed 2½ days in 8th grade & many mornings in 10th when I was tired. My final semester of high school, I missed lots of classes. My most attended class was my first block of the day, my cadet (teacher’s aide) block at the middle school for my track coach. I received many letters warning me I was about to be put on attendance probation (which can lead to suspension) but nothing ever came of them.

I technically could have graduated a semester early. I had all my required classes & credits. But I waited until spring. This played a big part in why I skipped so much, lol. I knew I didn’t have to get any credits or complete any classes & I got bored there, which added to my ‘senioritis’. (<- Jessica (my skipping partner, Christina & me at the Senior Banquet)

I went to Girl Scout camp, VFW camp (which was a weeklong overnight place for kids related to VFW members), cheerleading camp, & band camp (we didn’t go away, it was just a week of all day practice in the summer).

I have a slight heart murmur. In 8th grade at my annual physical for sports, the doctor heard it & I had to go to a specialist in GR. She said it was only a slight one & nothing to worry about. It was noticed again only a few months ago.

My high school activities included: included: cheerleading,, track, National Honor Society (for a few months before I quit because it met too early), homecoming float committee, jr./sr. play, marching/concert/pep band, color guard.
(<- Freshman yr. basketball cheer & track)

I am always a little paranoid when I leave the house. I have to check that everything is turned off (especially hot styling tools) & that the door is locked a few times. Sometimes I can specifically remember turning something off or locking the door but I second myself & have to come back, even if I have already left.

I chose psychology as my major because it was the only subject I had taken in high school that I especially liked. Sociology was my minor because I was close to having enough classes to do so anyways. I have Associate & Bachelor degrees; I would like to eventually get at least a Master’s, if not more.

I have a wonderfully fantastic son who is 4. (<-Richie D.)

2009 in Review

2009 is about to end & 2010 is about to begin. I am hoping to do some sort of new year blog too, sometime in January hopefully. Here is a short list of some of the things that happened in 2009.

• I had another birthday. (March).
• Graduated w/ a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. (April)
• Job searching. (April-current)
• Went on Tseunik's Pony Farm field trip with Richie. (May)
• High school friend, Stephanie, got married & I was lucky to be chosen as her maid of honor (July).
• Richie completed a year of head start. (August)
• Richie went canoeing for the first time. (August)
• Richie continued head start. (August-December)
• My nephew Zander was born, as well as my cousin's baby & my friend from high school, Jessica. (September)
• Richie got his school picture taken. (September)
• Took Richie to Lewis' Farm to ride an elephant & go through a corn maze. (October)
• Richie chose to be a bumblebee for Halloween. (October)
• Richie turned 4. (November)
• Richie got his 4 Year pictures taken. (November)
• We moved. (December)

• Lots of time at the beach.
• Walks on the pier, along the river, & around the neighborhood, as well as exploring some other county/state parks.
• Various conferences for Richie, all good!
• Visits to the library.

Surely there is plenty of other stuff that happened, but this is just a small list of some of the things that happened in 2009. Also, I am posting a video of pictures from throughout 2009.

Favorite Things

These are a few of my (current) favorite things… similar to the in & out blogs, but basically only ins, no outs.

1. Christmas music. It’s so pretty & the lyrics (for the most part) are so wonderful. Some of my favorite Christmas songs are The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole, White Christmas by Bing Crosby, Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt, All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Greensleeves, Last Christmas by WHAM, & Christmas Eve by Tran-Siberian Orchestra… I could go on & on, I’m sure.
2. Christmas decorations. All the pretty lights at night, the Christmas trees, the other stuff.
3. Christmas food. Eggnog, Little Debbie’s Christmas tree cakes, Hershey’s candy cane kisses, Brach’s Christmas peppermint nougats.
4. Snow. I am not much for the cold weather. In the winter, my issue is not with snow so much as it is with the cold temps & icky roads. But we got a ton of snow Thursday night & it looked so pretty (& a little weird, lol). Unfortunately we’ve had some melt since, & then got a little, then some melted, but we also got more so everything is covered again. I could have done without the rain & mix part though. I like having a white Christmas; maybe because I am just so used to them it seems weird to not have one.
5. Fixed toilets. Pretty much the whole time I’ve lived here, the toilet had an issue with continuing to run until you went back in to jiggle the handle. Last week the part inside the tank that connects the handle to the chain rusted off. But it got fixed at the end of last week & now it works like a normal toilet!
6. Pictures. Richie’s 4 year pictures came in last week & his school pictures came in Monday (finally). Of course, they are all super cute, just like him!
7. S’mores. I can’t remember the last time I actually had one, but I’ve seen them recently in a tv show or 2 & I want some.
8. Thanksgiving. Lots of yummy food, visiting with family. Enough said.
9. Barney on How I Met Your Mother. I would love to “suit up” & hang out with him for a “legen, wait for it… dary” night.
10. Orange juice. Good for you & yummy. I could drink it every day!

Thankful

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, hooray! Since Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks & such, here are some things I am thankful for (in no particular order).

1. Richie D. He is easily my favorite person in the whole world, even though he's only four years old & just over 3 foot tall. He may be naughty at times, by overall he's a great kid! He's also smart & cute & super entertaining! I'm so lucky I get to be his mommy!
2. Family. So many people seem to have a lot of family problems or they don't get along with their family. I've been pretty lucky to never really deal with much of that. Over the years, my family has grown & it's great. I am so glad that I get along with my family members, old & new.
3. No baby mama drama, lol. It's really nice that I don't have to deal with a lot of issues that some moms (or dads) do, like going after child support & constant fighting. I am thankful that Richie has a daddy who truly cares about him, not just financially, but emotionally, & is involved in his life.
4. Friends. A lot of my friends I have known for many, many years & others only a short time, but they are all awesome! I wish I got to see a lot of them more though.
5. The internet. It makes it much easier to keep in contact with everyone, especially those who are not nearby.
6. Health. Other than my issues with insomnia (& despite those), I am pretty healthy & so is Richie.
7. Education. I graduated this past April & even though I may not have yet done anything with that yet like get a job or go on to grad school, it's pretty neat that I had the opportunity to receive a Bachelors, & that I managed to do it in the time I wanted to following my Associates. I'm also grateful for the education Richie has already gotten, mainly through headstart.
8. The holidays. Usually at some point during the holiday season, we get to see many of our family members & some friends. Also, the whole spirit of the season.

Richie D. Update!

Richie had a birthday & turned four. Wow! Hard to believe he is getting that old already, time is definitely flying right by! His grandma Cindy made him a SpongeBob Squarepants cake. He got lots of presents, all of which he loved, lol. He even got some birthday money & spent that on… more toys! He got a few different little ones (& a Mickey cup he wanted) from Toys ‘R Us (or Toys for Us as he was calling it for a while) & Target.

I had a conference at his center on his birthday. He is doing pretty well, as usual. He’s still a smart little boy! His teacher said he prefers to play by himself but occasionally will play with the other children. He does well with following classroom rules but is slow to transition from one activity to another. He is very curious & asks good questions. He explores things on his own & different ways to use them. He can recognize & create patterns (something he does often with his legos at home). He likes to rides bikes, music/movement, & other high activity (go figure). He correctly holds writing & eating utensils. He also has strong language skills & shows ‘emergent reading skills’. The major things he needs to work on are transition times & his occasional stuttering (which his teacher says occurs when he is under pressure, but I notice it outside of school as times when he seems as though he is trying to speak as fast(er) as he thinks. There was a little more discussion about the K word (kindergarten). I can’t believe he might possibly be going as early as next fall already. The lil CutieMan is growing up really fast!

He likes toys/things that light up or make music/noise. He also loves to do puzzles. He can spell all his names (first, first shortened, last) except his middle. He can write Richie & he draws recognizable pictures. He is still into all the Playhouse Disney shows & some on Nick, like SpongeBob & iCarly. And he is always saying silly things (what in tarnations, that’s incredible, etc), things that make sense, but sound odd or overly appropriate or whatever coming out of his mouth. He has been doing great with potty training, he hasn’t had any accidents during the day in months. He still wears a pull-up at night time because he doesn’t wake up to pee, but one pull-up a day is much, much cheaper & way less messes to clean up than before, lol. He was showing me math skills the other night, using x number of fingers on each hand & asking or telling me how many total there were. If I ‘guessed wrong’, he would correct me.

Richie had his 4 year check up today. The doctor said he looks pretty healthy! Not that I expected to hear anything different. He is still on the small side for height & weight. He didn’t have any shots to get, they were out of both flu vacs (seasonal & h1n1), which made him happy. He did get his finger poked to get blood to test his hemoglobin & lead & stuff. The MA said he was a good bleeder, she said some kids barely bleed. He got to ride the elevator, which he likes, & the doctor gave him a Handy Manny sticker. He also got Snoopy & Diego band-aids for his finger. He did really well at his appointment, even though he had his shy moments.

Also, I am including a video interview with Richie, so he can speak for himself a little bit!

Ins & Outs

I've had this blog since early 2008 but haven't used it at all since then (& cleaned the old posts out to start over). Usually I just use the one on MySpace. But I decided this kind is a lot better & easier to work with. So now I am going to use this instead, lol. Starting out with a list of Ins/Outs...

Out
1) Unemployment. It is awful. I hate having so much time, feeling unproductive & even more, I hate being broke.
2) Debt. Enough said.
3) Insomnia. I love sleep because it eludes me. Insomnia is an annoying non-friend that just won’t go away.
4) No regular internet at home. It’s more difficult to surf or look up random stuff on my little phone.
5) Daylight Savings. The extra hour was nice but now it is dark so early. It is nearly dark most days by the time I get back from picking Richie up.
6) Refrigerator quitting. Usually the fridge problem is that the vent thingies from the freezer are dripping because the freezer doesn’t defrost properly. This time, the vent thingies were blocked up with ice all the way into where the fridge is. Unfortunately I found this out by notcing the couple day old new gallon of milk was spoiled. Luckily that was all that went bad & the freezer still work. Maintenance came & defrosted it (again) & is supposed to have ordered the part to fix it. Defrosting usually lasts at least a few weeks, & I will def be keeping an eye on it until the part is replaced.

Both Out & In
1) Summer end/Autumn begin
- I hate the cold, icky weather that can come with autumn.
+ But I like the pretty leaves, the autumn smells, & such.

In
1) The awesome wind & waves @ the pier at the end of September.
*See the photo album &/or video posted on Facebook.
2) Hershey’s Cookies n Crème giant bar. The nuggets were still the best, but the giant size bar comes close to being the same. And more places are carrying it!
3) Victoria Secret’s Berry Kiss lotion. So loving it still. Would use it a ton more if I wasn’t worried about running out & not being able to replace it.
4) Little Debbie’s Cherry & Cheese Danish. So so so good. Yummy stuff. There are also blueberry ones, but I haven't tried them yet.
5) Eggnog. It’s that time of year! I know it’s high in calories, but Holly Nog isn’t as bad (it’s actually eggnog flavored lowfat milk & it so similar).
6) Fall tv: House, HIMYM, South Park, Grey’s, Office.
7) Hair. Usually hair makes the both section, but this round it is feeling a bit more in than out, maybe because it might keep me warmer & I’ve been trying to do a little more with it.
8) Phone internet keeping me connected. I can check in on stuff & do some random looking up. Thank goodness for unlimited data usage.
9) Free cable. Still not disconnected, or added any new charges to my past due bill since July.
10) Conferences @ Richie’s center. I had one in early September & again on Richie’s birthday. He’s doing super well & is really smart. But the whole concept of talking about him going to Kindergarten, very possibly next fall, is a little scary-ish (because he is growing up so fast!).
11) Chelsea Lately. Love the show. Chelsea Handler is awesomely funny, love the roundtable discussions, & most of the guests she has on.