Food Allergy Resources

My wonderful cousin (and I don't just say that because she reads my blog) sent me this information. I know I'm excited about it, and I know it might help some of you or you can refer people to it:

Food Allergy & Celiac Resources:

From the FAAN pamphlet:
FAAN is the world leader in information about food allergy, a ptoentially fatal condition. FAAN is based in Fairfax, VA and has approximately 30,000 members in the US, Canada & 62 other countries. To obtain membership: go to www.foodallergy.org. THe FAAN number is 800-929-4040.

12 million Americans have food allergies - about 4% of population (1 in 25). It is highest in children - 1 in 17 are under the age of 3. 8 Foods account for 90% off all food allergic reactions: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish. (tree nuts include walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans). Even trace amounts of a food allergen can cause a reaction. There is NO known cure for food allergy except strict avoidance of the food allergen is the only way to prevent a reaction.

2) Food vendor: Dr. Lucy - an ER Doc who has a child with severe allergies... SHe ended up quitting her job as her daughter's life was at stake. She has developed her own cookie line which will soon be carried at Whole Foods. I forced myself to sample some of her yummy cookies - choc chip, oatmeal, sugar, and cinnamon and they were GOOD. These are GLUTEN FREE, as well as NO peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Dairy Milk/Butter or Wheat. She offers a "dedicated Bakery, no concerns of cross contact. 100 - 120 calories per serving... no Trans Fat or Cholesterol. Vegan certified, Kosher Pareve. You can get them at www.drlucys.com or 757-233-9495.

3) Food vendor: Enjoy Life - Free of wheat, gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish and shellfish. They make chocolate chips, cookies, snack bars, ceral, nut free trail mix, and bagels. THey are carried at Whole Foods, Kroger, Wegmans, Ukrops, Farm Fresh and Kroger. www.enjoylifefoods.com

4) Some good sites: www.glutenfreemall.com and www.allergygrocer.com

5) Allergy & ASthma specialists who do FOOD allergy testing in the area: www.sneezwheezdoc.com sites in Warrenton, Fairfax, Gainesville (571-248-6565) and Culpeper.

6) Celiac Pamphlet: Do you or your child suffer from a) chronic diarrhea and/or constipation? b) Abdominal bloating and pain? c) Fatigue and irratability? You might have celiac disease, a damaging, auto-immune ailment triggered simply by consuming gluten in your everyday diet. Learn about toher symptoms and treatments by visiting www.celiacdisease.net

7) An excellent source of information, recipes, peer support & NEWS updates: The National Nonprofit Food Allergy Support Group for Kids with Food Allergies. Go to www.kidswithfoodallergies.org... Check it out, the testimonials on the pamphlet were very inspiring! Number: 215-230-5394

8) Also, I found a magazine ... "A lifestyle guide for people with allergies & food sensitivities." Living Without Magazine.... www.livingwithout.com OR 847-480-8810.

9) Another food resource for Gluten Free/Nut Free cereals made with all-natural ingredients. www.perkysnaturalfoods.com or 888-4-PERKYS

from: Christy Hastings(703)303-0187 check out my website www.fitsolutions4life.com

Pleasure & Reward

I have that feeling you get when it's been 100+ and you get that cool front with rain - refreshed, renewed, energized, glowing. Only Day 2 of Believing God and I'm so thankful for His love! So, I have to share what I've learned...

Day 1: Caught in the Act of Believing
God will equip us for every good work he wants us to do. Why do I always feel like I have to do something or have some great ability before I can do what God wants me to do? He's going to give me every skill that I need to do what He wants me to do! So, why sweat my challenges (rearing children, love Jer as I should, find out what I want to be when I grow up (that's what I call my current, "what am I supposed to do next?" situation) I committed to trust Him with 'When I grow up...'. He'll show me - it might be teaching, it might be a lot of things, no stress! (I'll review this one when I get stressed.)

Day 2:Pleasure and Reward
Heb 11:6 For some reason I'm not big on receiving awards. The idea of God giving rewards, for some reason, makes me uncomfortable. I don't know if it's stories of those televangelists who get people to send tons of money so God can reward them or what, but I don't like the idea. However, I know that he has rewarded me - I do want to please God; I know He called me to be more relational, especially with my family; and I know that He prompted me to begin the process of this "job share thing." I believe my reward is that I have the glorious opportunity to drop off and pick up my children each day. Hudson is so excited that his teacher shared with me today, "Hudson asked me if I remembered when his mom came yesterday. Then he said, 'She'll always come get me early! (he & Jen were usually one of the last 4 kids there last year)" She said he was SO excited and grinning from ear to ear. Jenna's face just lights up when she spots me in the crowd. I LOVE it! I've never thought that I could do without teaching, without being in charge, but I think I could totally do this stay home thing...hmm. Of course, as long as I can job share and God calls me to that - I LOVE it! I really feel like I have the best of both worlds because I DO. I was also reassured by Is 54:10 - even when I disappear, God loves me.

Finally, please lift up Jacqui tomorrow. She has surgery scheduled at 9:00. They'll keep her overnight, and she'll be back at school Tuesday. Pray for safety, ease of pain, and wisdom of the surgeon.

First Day!

We did it! Everyone got up early, happy, and ready to go. The top is what happened when I asked Jenna if I could take her picture on the first day of school. I didn't even tell her to start posing - but that she did! They each chose their own outfits today.

On our way - we had to park a little ways away & walk. This is when my eyes first teared up. Then, to see her little body in front of the big school, tears welled again.

They line up on stage to wait to go to class. On the way to the stage to leave her, I almost completely lost it. This is when I saw 4 people I knew and really almost fell to pieces. I got it together before she saw me. Taking pictures helped!

This is Jen leaving the stage walking to her room. She hadn't seen us yet, so you can see a little concern in her face.

This face isn't unhappiness. Well, it is. As we walked down the hall, her brother very lovingly laid a big kiss on her and told her he loved her. Evidently she was far too old and too cool for this display of affection.

And...settled at her table, putting on her name tag, and getting ready to color. This was my cue to kiss and leave. I then took H to school...

That's it. The little toot was calm, confident, and secure. I couldn't get him to stop and take a picture in his room. He was ready to go outside with his friends and play. He didn't even give me a goodbye kiss - he ran to Mary and gave her a good morning hug.

Off I went, crying all the way (but it is a short drive). I arrived 5 minutes before first bell. The computer & projector were still booting up when the kids arrived. Craziness! Students were a little boisterous, but by Thursday morning the reality of early rising will set in and they'll be more sedate - I hope! My last class left at 11:40. I spent about an hour on paperwork, and at 1:30 I was at home. How weird, how awesome! Then, Jer came home, we hung out and went to get the kids together! Seeing Jenna see us was a great moment! We were at home and watching cartoons at 3:30! Wow!

About Time

I've been in a bit of a spiritual drought for the last few months. My drought has been a result of my running - not the physical running, but me running away from God. Some will find that surprising, after all, I'm married to a pastor.

It all started last spring when I let my circumstances (work) get in the way of my time and relationship with God. I knew He was doing something in the midst of my unhappiness at school, but I was scared to find out what that was. Well, it finally became enough. I'm really good at making changes at the beginning of a school year, and I've been yearning for time with God - like almost physically hurting. I'm also one of those people who is terrible at just sitting down and studying the Bible. So, last week, I ordered Beth Moore's Believing God. It's a study I've kind of done before - about the time I was pregnant with H, this whole church planting thing started, and I had H. Needless to say, with all of that, I don't remember a lot of the study. I do know that I've felt called to do this again since last spring, but I've avoided it. I remember the day I realized that, yes, we were supposed to plant a church was part of what I had studied in Believing God that morning. That was a little disruption to my well ordered, set-up-just-how-I-like-it life (I was working part time in a job share, our income was sufficient to allow for some 'extras') - life was good now I'm supposed to walk away to where NOTHING is certain and I don't know anyone. See why I've been avoiding it - God's going to do something, and sometimes, as wonderful as those things are, they hurt.

So, I sat in church this morning and listened to my husband preach to me. I was the busy girl last year. I neglected my relationships with God, Jer, kids, and friends. I realized this morning that God has taken care of me through it all despite my neglect. Something I gave up (the job share), He has given back to me so that I can re-focus my relationships with Him, my husband, my kids, and my friends. I almost started crying. I almost cry now. Someone asked me this morning, "So how did you manage to get that done?" when I told them about my work. I know that I didn't; it is all God. I am humbled beyond words at this opportunity, so I make this commitment - I will focus on relationships in my life. I will pour my life into other people. That's what exhausted me last year - I retreated into myself to try to make it all work - and it made me miserable. So, I hope my blog becomes more about what God is doing and teaching me...

In other news, Jenna starts school tomorrow. Kindergarten. I broke down crying yesterday while I made pizza for supper as I realized my little girl is going off to the world of school. I know, she's gone to pre-school her whole life, so what's the big deal? It's kindergarten. It's this rite of passage. Jer made the comment last night, "This is the first chance she'll be exposed to someone really hurting her feelings." Thank you. Tears. She's just so vulnerable. She's concerned about friends since all of her pre-school friends are in other classes. I'm worred for her, so I'm afraid my assurances aren't assuring her as they should - like she can spot the weakness in my fears. Plus, I have PMS, so it's even worse that I'm so emotional anyway! I'll be a wreck tomorrow morning.

Anticipating this yesterday, I went to my room to make the final touches - make sure the computer is attached to the projector, papers are set out on the table, everything in place. I'm excited for the year.

see the wheelchair in the center of the above picture? That's Jacqui's for the next 6 weeks - bless her heart. If it looks small, that's because it is - it's a child's chair. She's so petite!

SIOP

Disclaimer: for those of you who will read this and think, "And I thought she was a professional and great teacher, but this obviously negates all of that," I apologize if it makes you think less of me. But, I just attended two days of THE MOST boring, pointless, repetitive training on the face of the earth. Really. The microphone/sound they used made it sound like the presenter was the teacher from Charlie Brown. "Waa wa wa wa." I could make out some vowels, but not consonants, so I stopped trying yesterday at approximately 9:24 (I looked at my watch). If you can't hear your presenter; your only day to work in your room to arrange your furniture, unpack your boxes, make handouts, make copies, and set up to go is taken away for this "training" so you'll have to be there some evening or Saturday to get things together; and you're locked in a room that is a sub zero temperature for TWO FULL days, you lose professional conduct. That may make me a bad person, but I already apologized.

In case you ever need to know, SIOP stand for Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol. Since it has Sheltered in the title, you would think that it would help me with my Sheltered class. In theory, yes; in reality, no. If could have understood anything, that would help. We had 4 packets and were constantly told, "turn in your handout to page x." Which handout? By the time we found it, she had moved on. Today I brought a book, read all 267 pages. Good book. My table mates & co English teachers took other measures of entertainment:

This is a white surrender flag attached to a red pipe cleaner that is sticking out of a Chicken Express Tea straw after lunch. We passed the cup to the Social Studies department at the table adjacent to us, they added and we added back and forth all afternoon. On guy added the HELP in staples seen in the picture below. Both were taken with my camera phone, which I OBVIOUSLY didn't hold still, sorry.

Yeah, I just wasted two days of my life. Hope this doesn't offend anyone. I PROMISE we are THE hardest working department at GHS, but we also know when to surrender. At least WE didn't start the SIOP murder-suicide pact that another department did. I didn't sign. At the end of the training, one of the 'new' guys found out I was a "preacher's wife." He apologized profusely for passing the pact to me and the paper that had new explanations for what the acronym SIOP stood for. He thought he had deeply offended me. They were funny to read.

Otherwise, I'm looking forward to a terrific year, I really am. Please pray for my job share partner, Jacqui. She had a jet ski accident on Saturday, broke her ankle in 2 places, and will have surgery Wednesday of next week. She'll get to be there the first two days, but then misses the rest of the week. PLUS, she has to be in a wheelchair for 6 weeks, at least. I'm going to be rearranging the room a bit, and it stresses me a bit because she was taking care of Eng III for me while I did AP & Sheltered, but how can I be so selfish at a time like this!? So, pray for Jacqui - I'm not really worried about me! Bless her heart!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Three years ago when I came to GISD, I was no one. I had been "someone" at my former school as I had a lot of input as to campus decisions and definitely English department decisions. I yearned to be "someone" again. Fast forward 3 years...can I go back to "no one"? God has given me favor, and I pray I would embrace it and glorify Him in all that He has entrusted me with. Enough said. (the year is starting a little crazy)

We received our new insurance cards today! Praise God!

My husband is the greatest! He cleaned (swept, mopped, vacuumed, made the bed) house today while he was home with the kids.

I have to share a few more pictures of sweet James. I think I have such a thing for newborns because I missed out my two being newborns. Yes, I had them, but I also had torrential cases of post partum depression, so I don't really remember their first 2 months, and the parts I do remember are very, very dark times. So, to get my hands on a newborn now is so precious. Jeremy and I feel so very adamant about post partum and the reality that it is because it so crippled me. The strong, independent woman you know was a puddle of mush - not showering, crying, not getting out of bed, full panic attacks, not bonding. Mom & Dad had to intervene with Hudson and take he and Jenna at the three week mark, then from week 4 to week 6 Mom lived with us. Medication is okay, ladies. Share this with your friends and refer them to Jeremy and I...we're not doctors, but we'll share our testimony and get you to where you can get help (or your friends). Seriously, this is such a passion of mine. So, anyway, I relish in the sweet little things that I missed. James cooed and smiled while he was here, his tummy gurgled and he fussed a little, he napped a little, he squirmed and just took in life :)

Meet James

This handsome little fella came over to my house on Friday, so, naturally, I took 320 pictures of him. That's what everyone does, right?

Jenny & her little man

James hanging out

I SO love those little tummys and belly buttons!

James' mommy is a very special friend of mine. Jenny was a youth of ours at Lake Highlands years back. I first remember Jenny as a junior high girl. I'm pretty sure that she knew that Jeremy was going to propose before I did; I think he told them at a Disciple Now. Anyway, Jenny has been my favorite (shhh, don't tell) for forever. Now, to see her with her son just blows me away! She's a great, beautiful mommy and has a handsome, adorable little boy. Trust me, there are more pictures to come (but not all 320!).

Superchick!

I have loved Superchick, the band, since they became a band, I think. It's been YEARS. I recently turned Jenna on to Superchick, and she's in love. They're currently touring their new CD, but the closest they came was New Braunfels, and I really didn't want to make that drive. I JUST found that they're coming to The Door Dallas on Sept. 19! I got tickets for us & I'm so EXCITED. Moms, their lyrics are great for girls - better for teens, but if I can implant it now, before she even completely understands it, even better! Anyway, check them out (google Superchick, they only have their MySpace, but it plays their stuff), and if you think you'd like to join us - get tickets. Crystal says that Stellar Kart, one of the bands playing with them, is awesome, too. She and Makaul are coming...it's a mom & daughter road trip!

Back to Work

It's been a great week, and I really mean that! Compare this year to last year, and at this point I could have told you the year was going to be a disaster - I would have been told that my weekly lesson plans would be 10 pages long, I would have to account for a lot of stuff that didn't matter, and that there was no scope & sequence to follow. This year: no mandated lesson plan forms, a scope and sequence that works (because we wrote it 2 years ago), a general feeling of trust and happiness all around. Ahhhh. I am so excited!

All of that, I'm a little nervous about getting our classroom together. Two of the custodial staff came by and saw our disaster, and then they brought two friends to come and see it. It really was that trashed. They came again at the end of the day and were impressed with the progress we had made. They took away our workday (to work in our rooms) for "training" next week, so I left training today to work on our room. It's all in place; it's not pretty, but it's functional.

We took an inaugural swim at the church pool, and I got to snap some pictures of handsome little Tripp. I was excited to get to practice on the smooth baby skin and blue eyes (we don't have any of those around here!). Plus, I wanted to work more with my 50 prime lens to see if I could get the sharpness I see in some other photographer's work. Plus, if I can get my focus skills correct, then I can borrow that Billy Bob lens to see if it shoots as crisp as all the reviews say it does (because when I used it, it didn't, but I'm pretty sure it was operator error). Despite what people think, a great camera does not a great photograph make :) !

So, I shall practice...I was focusing on his eyes, so it worked well. I tried one to focus on his bubbles, but I focused on his nostrils instead...I deleted that one.

Here he is, just smiling and being the happy little man that he is...my focus appears to be his left eye. That was the plan, anyway. You can see it better if you double click to make it bigger.

Who can resist a little foot, especially when it's all wrinkly from being in the pool! There appears to be no focus point, and it's not as crisp as I would like, so lesson: larger aperture. I think it was probably moving, knowing baby feet, so a faster shutter might have helped, too.

It was GREAT & the Guilt

Our Schlitterbahn trip was the greatest! We arrived at the park right upon opening and stayed until 6:30. No one sunburned! There are no pictures because I didn't want to risk the "good" camera, and I forgot the other one (plus, I just get frustrated with it because it won't let me do anything but zoom and decide if I want a flash or not - okay, a couple of other things, but nothing that really matters). There was only one worrisome moment - when we took H on some ride that my 'mommy gut' said "NO" to, but Dad said, "he'll be fine." He was. We got in the un-AC Jetta and jetted home. The kids were sooooo good about it! No whining, just an occasional, "I'm hot." I made the best of it and did some really bad dancing and hand waving out the sun roof. We arrived home at 12:30am, and I got up to go to work just 5 short hours later. I wasn't much good today, but I don't think I missed anything. Bed time tonight - 8:00 - no joke.

On another note, I try to sound all big and bad, but I'm really a rule follower at heart. I wanted to sneak off and sleep in my comfy chair in my room, but even if no one would have missed me, I wouldn't have done it. I wanted to slouch down and nod off, but I wouldn't dream of it. I wanted to surf the internet, but my integrity...no, really, they block all the sites I want to surf - no blogs, no personal email (so if you need me during the school day use misti.white@granburyisd.org), no shopping. However, as we were leaving, Mr. Higher Up in the District, makes the announcement (while looking right at ME), "Please remember, laptops are not permitted in the training rooms." Being the rule follower I am, I turned bright red and started babbling apologies like an idiot. I felt so GUILTY, and I didn't know we couldn't have them - really. And, I used it only for school tasks (because I can't use it for anything else because all the sites are blocked). I made my first day letter, student info sheet, and emailed info to my Junior team. Oh, and most importantly, I took some really good notes over what our presenter what teaching. That's how I work - I don't write, I type. Then, it's saved (unless I do something careless - see two posts back), and I don't have to worry about throwing away a piece of paper.

So, now that I'm over the embarrassment of breaking a rule, I'm mad. The district gives us this technology, lectures us TODAY about reaching Gen Y (which I found out I am by behavior, though I'm Gen X by birth year), how Gen Y is about technology & we need to meet them where they are and embrace technology, and now I can't bring the laptop into the room for training?!?! This is where I get aggravated with the education system...

But, overall it was a good day of seeing my friends, catching up, and getting in a routine. Tomorrow will commence the real routine since I'll be in bed at an hour that's not insane.

Isn't it Ironic,Don't cha think?

We're in San Marcos tonight before we hit Schlitterbahn tomorrow. I just had to share this because of the irony of the situation.

My car leaks freon and is in need of a recharge, so it doesn't cool well. So, we took Jer's dad's car, the Jetta, because it has a killer AC and is newer (the Protege is proudly 11 years old with 148,000+ miles & other than it's AC leak and AMAZING SCREEEECH upon start up - I die every time it does it in public, but not bad enough to fix the $2000 embarrassment! - it's a GREAT car). We nicely froze all the way to Pflugerville, where we stopped to play at the gigantic Toys R Us & discovered they've taken the play land out :(. When we got on the road again, "Houston, we have a problem." The AC was blowing but not cold air. It wasn't just a fluke - the AC broke! No joking. So we sweated our way to San Marcos, Jeff & Jeremy worked for a while, and it was determined that there is some electrical problem (my dad is one trusty mechanic, even from 3 hours away) and there will be no AC for us (but we now own a set of gauges to check the freon!). That's going to be a long ride home tomorrow...but we'll leave late & have hours of Schlitterbahn fun under our belts!

Isn't it ironic that the car we chose to take for it's AC has abandoned us to the Texas heat! It's like rain on your wedding day; the free ride when you'd already paid...

OH. MY. GOSH.

Okay, so I showed up at Nicole's wedding with no plans to take pictures, but camera in bag because she asked me to bring it, just in case. I even wore a dress because I really had no plans. When I went to see if she was ready for Jer to pray with her, Andrea was there, and Nicole said, "Are you ready?" to me. I asked, "for what?" And Andrea replied, "I can definitely use you." Okay. Deep breath. At least as second shooter if you really screw up (is that permissible to say? I don't let my students in class say it, so I probably shouldn't, but it's so effective here), all is not lost.

I did some crawling around. If you've been to the Hammond's home, you know the "resort" back (that's what Jer & I call it - The Hammond Resort) is a multilevel creation. So, there was no way to be on the same level as Scott & Nicole and be in front for pictures. The palm fronds proved to be problematic from my Friday night perch, so I hiked up to a new vantage point that would be great for bride shooting. I didn't want the pressure of bride shooting, however, so I pointed that out to Andrea. Andrea pointed to a great spot for groom shooting, but I didn't have a great zoom with which to shoot it. Dilemma. Then Andrea asked, "So what's your camera." Since I have a Nikon & all her gear is Nikon, she had the solution. I've given a lot of detail here to capture where I'm going. [aside: the zoom lens I am saving for, and hope to buy in about a year, is a 70-200 Billy Bob (to save you all the mumbo jumbo) and I've recently thought of renting it to see if I really want to save for it or buy more smaller things]

Andrea reaches into her bag and takes out her 70-200 Billy Bob lens, "Here, use this, but it's heavy." I think my mouth dropped to my knees. I put it on, oh so carefully, and took off since this was about 30 seconds prior to wedding start: i.e. Jeremy is leaning down: "get outta there, you have 30 seconds." Now, in an ideal world, I would have practiced with this baby and had many more quality images (instead of 15 to 20 of 100 attempts). But, I was in heaven! Wow, what a lens. I had to tell Jer before the ceremony (about 5 secs), and I got a "great, babe." He didn't get it.

Heartbreak City

I'm doing this job share thing this year (you've probably heard or read about it, I'll work part time - every morning). So, I turned in my lap top from the district as each teaching UNIT gets a laptop, not each teacher, and Jacqui's is newer, so, well, I'm no dummy, let's keep hers. I very (thought so, anyway) carefully copied my 3 years worth of files to my flash drive and took the computer in. They reimage them which means they wipe them clean and start over. I KNEW that I should slap that flash drive in the home computer and copy my files to make sure, but I do this all the time, so no worries. I waited until today, 30 minutes before heading to meet with my AP teachers to plan. When I clicked on the folder, it took me to My Documents. I copied the SHORTCUT NOT THE FILES. I almost threw up. Literally. After I gagged (sorry Ashley), I remembered, files sync to the server. Of course the 30 pages of notes from June's AP Summer Institute that included how we would use things, and my notes of ideas for the year weren't synced nor were the first six weeks of plans that I made last month. "Perhaps they haven't reimaged the computer..." Then the return email, "So sorry, Misti, that computer was reimaged yesterday." N O O O O O O O O But, I did get the last 3 years worth of files back. My husband's a funny man, so when I again remembered that my brother & sister-in-law would like a copy of their wedding ceremony (the written part), I asked if he had saved it or if he just had a hard copy, his reply was, "Yep, I know how to save things." Since I was over the nausea of the situation, I mooned him. No, not really, but I thought about it really hard, and if the kids hadn't been in the same room, I would have. He knew what I was thinking, too, because he said, "Not in front of the kids." How do we do that? I've never actually mooned him, just threatened.

The good news is, after meeting with Jacqui and Diane, I find myself excited about the year! I'm looking forward to getting back. Of course, it could be because I saw several of my friends up there as we all lament coming back but really find ourselves happy and excited, yeah, that probably helped, too. What a praise! I really didn't think I had it in me! And, the kids played nicely for 3 hours while we worked!

Then, we went to a wedding rehearsal, and as luck would have it, the photographer was sick. Again, my darling husband interjects, "Misti will do it tonight." HELLO - have we not had conversations about volunteering information (see June when he told others of me wanting to be their friend - I'm still not over it)? So, I took pictures of the rehearsal. While I was shooting, I noticed Jer staring straight at the camera. He knows not to do this, he's trained. So, I told him - "What are you doing? You know better?" (it was just he and Nicole talking, so reprimanding him was totally okay in this situation) "Do you realize you're wearing a skirt?" Okay, so the best angle meant squatting...in a skirt. I wish I had kept the picture because it was total shock on his face, like, "what is she thinking? is that? I can't believe..." (I did have on undies, and he couldn't tell what color, so it wasn't TOO bad). But, the pictures was out of focus. Too funny. It was a great experience since it covered ever changing light (sun, sunset, dark). Fortunately/unfortunately, she asked me to possibly help tomorrow as her photog possibly needs a second shooter (and if she's not well, well, see me shaking). I'm not there, yet. And, it's totally up to the photog. I will wear something other than a skirt & not flip flops. Lots of stairs & flip flops = many close calls. It's exciting & scary. Here are two pictures. Yes, I see the fern - now, after the fact.

I LOVE summer, but...

I think I've just hit the mark where I'm ready to go back to school. GASP - did I say that out loud? Yep, yesterday was the day the kids and I had enough 24/7 together time.

First, I registered Jen for Kinder. I didn't even cry! I did cry on the way to Fort Worth when she told me, "Mom, you know you don't have to walk me in every day. I think just the first day will be enough." Did she really just throw me to the curb before the first day of school got here? I will embrace her independence, but I don't have to like it, yet.

Then, we went clothes shopping for Jenna to pick out her own clothes. Up to this point I have always bought stuff for her. But, I thought it would be good for her to have some things that she feels really excited about to relieve some nerves; it worked for me as a kid. She had a BALL. I think she had more fun trying on the stuff she picked out, because usually I buy it and she didn't really know that she could try stuff on, she thought that was just for mommies. Hudson got a couple of things too, because I couldn't let him miss out since he's a little concerned that his sissy won't be there to check up on him, "What if I need her, Mommy?" He didn't realize you don't tear the tags off, and I was a little late. Oh well, they fit.

Here is what I've been doing:
I've wanted to decorate above the bed for, well, 3 years since we moved here. I finally found what I wanted, cheap!

and, I don't know why the one on the right looks so pixelated...

Then, the space above the desk has bothered me for a while, and I didn't know what I wanted to do. Ashley W. made a suggestion that led me to a bulletin board to hang all the stuff the kids make us (and some snaps).


Then there was the cheesecake baking:


I love to do this stuff, but I'm really slow at figuring out what I want to do & how. Feels good.

Martha Stewart

I've been missing because my Martha Stewart streak for the year has hit. With the arrival of the new bedding came the spark to decorate a little. Last year I completed the mantle, curtains in the dining, living & bed rooms. This year, I accomplished deco above the bed & desk and some in Jenna's room (repaint a desk, bulletin board, rearrange). Plus, I got on a baking streak - 2 cheescakes, 1 cake, 2 homemade ice creams. It's been a busy week so far. Pictures when I finish the other projects so I can do a before and after...

oral surgery success

L-R

1-3 pre-op, pre medication

4 reaching for imaginary balloons (aaarrn't theeeey beeaauutifuuullll?)

5 post op, a little heart wrenching

6 assurance for mom upon her questions about anesthetic & crashing while under

7 home mellow after chocolate indulgence

8 home & mellow

9 & 10 chocolate feast

I know some of you have wondered how it went. Terrific.

Sedation was quick, she doesn't remember the IV (though she awakened the dead while he put it in), and she woke well. Funny points: as the sedative hit, she started slurring her speech and reaching for imaginary balloons. It was FUNNY, even for the wigged out Mom that I was. After about 15 minutes in the waiting area, they came and told me how well she did, and they let me sit with her to wait for her to wake. There was one scary moment when her congestion had settled in her chest, she got choked, and then just stopped breathing long enough that the nurse started shaking her and slapping at her face a little saying, loudly, "Jenna, take a breath." I was okay until I could tell the nurse was worried, then I watched the O2 level drop to 0% on the monitor and started praying hard. She finally took a breath. I'm sure it happened fast, but it seemed like forever.

After we got home, her slurred speech and staggered walking kept me entertained. Her first request for food was brownies and the mix, and at that point she could have A N Y T H I N G she wanted. So, she ate chocolate cake mix, chocolate cake, and chocolate ice cream. Then the power went off as I was uploading the pictures. While the power was off and I was contemplating the next move, she asked me, "Mom, am I supposed to have strings in my mouth?" "Yes," and I explained the whole reason why. "I pulled them out." WHAT? Who pulls out stitches? Frantic call to the dentist who laughed, "I'm not surprised. She'll be fine." Then we loaded up and headed to my parent's house for some AC.

So, when we return home later tonight, I'll upload the pictures for your enjoyment.

Thank you for your prayers! I was calm, Jenna was calm, and all was well.