Month: August 2011

First day of school!  Jeremy is traveling and Denise is only working a few days this week, so Katherine, my wonderful mother-in-law is in the house helping us get ready and get going for the first week of school.  Edda is still going to her school-commuity based program – she has a new teacher this year (a last minute change) who not only has taught for the past 5 years or so in the county’s program for kids with the most severe disabilities, she’s also worked (in the past) as an inclusion counselor for Edda’s summer camp!  I’m looking forward to a great year.  Edda’s two former teachers are still in the building –  the special needs program at Edda’s school is expanding.  It was nice to go to the open house and see all the familiar faces.

Katherine plaiting Edda’s hair for the first day – gotta look good!

Vince is also all gung-ho for 4th grade.  It’s a big year. Forget about math and science.  Forget about reading and field trips – apparently it is an auspicious grade for meeting girls (!).

And last, but not least, I started taking classes myself! I’m going to try and work my way to an RN degree. Really, it’s because I love being in school and want to keep learning. On the first day, I learned that boat shoes are back in style.

Edda had a wonderful time at Camp JCC this summer.  Edda rediscovered her love of water and being in the pool and ended the summer with a deep, golden tan.  Vince also got to attend – he was not in the same group as Edda, but there were kids with disabilities integrated into his group and it was a wonderful experience for him as well.  Edda’s inclusion counselor, Jennifer, was wonderful and so responsible and kind it’s hard to believe that she’s only 16.  Camp ended weeks ago and we are still singing camp songs and Vince still has his swim test bracelet on.  We are looking forward to next year!

We are sitting here awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Irene. While I was working today, I looked outside my office windows at all the huge trees in the backyard and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that none of them will fall on the house during the wind/rain storm.

We are just back from the glorious Northwest! We visited my parents in Portland and Jeremy’s relatives in Seattle and had a wonderful, relaxing time. Due to some scheduling issues, I needed to travel alone with Edda across the country starting from Baltimore with a connection through Phoenix and finally landing in Portland. Throughout our travels through airports, jet ways, and security lines, I always asked for help from the nearest person when I needed an extra pair of hands. No one turned me down, no one looked at me strangely, all six different people I asked stepped right up and held Edda by her shoulders while I folded her wheelchair, looked for her shoes and/or went to the airplane bathroom. Humanity can be really wonderful.

Jeremy, Edda and Vince in front of Mt. Rainier!

 

Vince took movie making at camp. This is his masterpiece.

Last week, Vince went to Hershey Park and rode his first roller coaster (which was the Comet – there was no vomit) and it looked like:

While he was frolicking, Jeremy took me and Edda on a date to the closest pickle bar at the Woodside Deli:

I let Vince go without taking a bath/shower for over 3 weeks. I mentioned this at dinner the other day and Vince countered with the fact that he has been in the pool at least twice a day and that he was clean because of that. Denise mentioned that perhaps people pee in the pool? We all looked at Edda who smiled as if to say “Who, me? I never pee in the pool.”

I can see a glimpse of an older Vince in this shower picture – I think he is even using soap.

I had been wrestling with Edda for over an hour to get her to fall asleep. Jeremy came in and took my place, scooted next to Edda and in 5 min, she was snoring away.

I love my neighborhood – we can walk to a lot of places, the neighbors are fabulous and I can practically throw a rock from my driveway to I-270. OK, the last one is not so great, but I can’t have everything. Our neighborhood had a great National Night Out – a block party BBQ. Someone brought sangria!

The local firemen came by and gave out hats:

Edda enjoyed meeting McGruff:

I have found that happiness is just finding the right mixture of sloth vs activity. Too much sloth – usually sleeping and surfing the web too much and I’m cranky and the house is dirty. Too much activity and I feel stressed and overwhelmed. This past weekend was sliding into too much sloth, so I had to find some projects to keep me occupied. I decided to fix the bathroom door which was slowly becoming unhinged.

Wood glue and matchsticks.

Stuff sticky matchsticks into stripped screw holes.

Have crazy dog try to pull matchsticks out of said stripped screw holes.

Yell at dog.