Thursday, April 30, 2009

Mayfest is cancelled!

Well, tonight my daughter was supposed to dance at Mayfest but the health department cancelled it because of the swine flu scare. So there will be no pictures of my pretty little girl in her jazz or tap costumes. No funnel cakes, no fried pickles, no sausage on a stick, no lemonade, no rides, no tickets for the rides, no nothing because of the stinking swine flu. Either this is over kill or they are not telling us everything. Fort Worth ISD cancelled all classes at all campuses. I find this strange because they have a hard time closing when there is ice on the roads. Never for a flu outbreak.

I'm sorry for all of the folks who work hard to made this huge fund raiser happen each year. Maybe next year.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

An Early Morning at Mama Sue's House

It was around 4:30 a. m. when the little girl in the blue pajamas woke up. She woke up her sister Courtnay who spent the night with us, her dad, two dogs and her mom....



So what does self respecting southern girl who majored in Home Economics do at 4:30? She makes a giant breakfast! Courtnay helped...we cooked together a lot when she was little (if you are lost for things to do with little ones you can always cook). Today we had hash browns, eggs with cheese, lots of bacon and waffles. They were Eggo...don't judge me after all it was 4:30 a.m.! There was also orange juice, and coffee.



We ate it all!


Then there was a huge mess...


The mess has since been cleaned up and guess who went back to sleep? I love the little girl in the blue pajamas. All of this before even starting our lessons for the day. Ahhh...the freedom of home school!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Why am I doing this home school thing?

This is a long post so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

The reason is because I love my daughter. I had big plans for her to attend the most perfect little private school we could find. And she did...for 2 years. Kindergarten was great and first grade was very, very hard. It was hard for all of us in the family. It turned my sweet little girl into a ball of raging anxiety in just a few weeks. How do you not know that your child has a learning difference? The answer is sometimes you just don't. Sometimes you stick your head in the sand and sometimes your kid is a pretty good faker. In our case it was a little of both.

One month before Sydney was to start first grade, I had emergency surgery. The kind you hear about on ER where you are faced with dying. When I asked the doctor what are my options? He said "you will die". That is not what you want to hear when you think you probably have a really bad case of gas. This is a long story and I won't bore you with the details but it is important to my home schooling story. My daughter didn't react well to my surgery or the other 2 that followed. So when she started having reflux and biting her nails shortly after the beginning of school, I thought it was just nerves. She had also been having a lot of melt downs of the nuclear type. Her teacher wrote me a note and wanted to talk. She suspected Dyslexia and maybe ADD. Sydney was a model student and tried her absolute best. She never got in trouble in school and was always able to "keep it together". Once she got to the comfort of home, she would usually go ballistic...usually during homework time. She was not catching on to reading at all. Math was also a struggle. In March of 1st grade, we were faced with the fact that she could not return to that school. Most private Christian schools are not equipped to deal with Special Education. We were shattered and I was scheduled for more surgery in a couple of weeks to reverse the colostomy I had in July. At that time we didn't know what we would do or where we would go. We talked about special private schools and maybe even public school. We touched on home school but only briefly because I really didn't know that much about it. Turns out there are a lot of us.

The expensive private school that was an option for us was triple what we were paying in tuition and the public schools in our area are awful and I really didn't want her in Special Ed. Once my surgery was over I sought God's help in this area and "home school" kept popping into my mind over and over. That wasn't the answer I wanted. The answer that I wanted was to wake up and this was all a dream. I didn't and it wasn't. So through out my recovery and in between chapters of Lonesome Dove I researched and read and looked at all of the recommendations from the Learning Center of N. Texas where we had her tested. And I prayed some more. Within a couple of weeks our minds were made up that this was the right choice for us.

I was told over and over that the first year would be the hardest and it has. It has been a huge adjustment for all of us. Mostly for Sydney. We have had lots of ups and downs but mostly ups when I look at the big picture. I had more unexpected surgery in November for repairing some damage that I think I did at Six Flags (another long story). That was quite a set back but we keep trying and I found out that you can conduct school from a comfy king size bed, or the playroom floor or the dining room or even in the car. You see, if you are a mother, you are a teacher. Maybe someday I will write about how all of this causes childhood depression but not today.

Cats on Quilts

These are my current cats. I say current because I have never been with out a cat in my life. I think because of allergies in the family I was actually without a cat from age 6-9 but that was it. My cats love to sleep on quilts.

This is Buddy our 11 year old Maine Coon. He assumes this position on this quilt at least 23 hours each day. The other hour he spends yelling for food and sniffing the air outside and occasionally chasing a Frisbee. He was a rescue cat who spent the first year of his life in a kennel with no lovin'. Consequently he is not very lovable. We love him anyway. When he was younger he had big black lips and reminded us of the Joker! His lips are mostly gray now and don't show up as much.

This is Noel. Noel is 2 and came to us via Sydney's kindergarten teacher Angie Smith. Oh how we loved Miss Smith. Anyway we got him the day after Christmas and that is how he came to be called Noel. He is young so he only sleeps 15 hours each day and in different locations. This is my bed and one of his favorite places. If nap time comes and there is noise in the house he will get in the bottom of my closet and he has been shut in there more than once.
This is Noel's "I can't believe you woke me up to take my picture" look. Not happy but sweet anyway. He can't stay mad at me for very long. Buddy on the other hand is still mad about Noel.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Favorite Things Friday

Since my life has been pretty boring lately, I have decided to post about my favorite things. This is also because when I do leave the house, I forget my camera most of the time. When I do remember the camera it seems like the batteries are dead because my daughter uses my camera even though she has one of her own that is even cuter than mine. Here are some pictures of my favorite things around my house.

I love cooking with my daughter Sydney. Here she is making cherry dump cake. It was yummy but I think we need to find a new name for it. My oldest daughter told me that she wouldn't eat anything with the word "dump" in it. I'm sure that those of you who know her aren't surprised.

I love pot roast cooked in the crock pot. You can't see it but there is a roast under all of those carrots and onions.



This china that my Nanny painted for me a few years before she died. I couldn't decide what pattern so I told her to paint an assortment. I also have cups and saucers too. These were done freehand by the way.


This rooster platter. I bought it at Ross for six dollars a couple of years ago. I intended it as a gift for a friend of mine but I loved it so much that I kept it! Can you believe six dollars?



This is my favorite smell in the world. Looking at this picture I think I should scrub my grout A.S.A.P.
My sweet snaggle toothed daughter. Doesn't she have beautiful eyes? No boogers either...makes me proud!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Spring fever has set in!

Spring is here and the grass is green. We have had April showers and are awaiting our May flowers but this spring has been very boring. We have had some very windy days and wildfires to the west so our allergies have been in full swing. Easter was a miss since little girl was sick and I am getting over a cold/allergy combo. This is the beautiful time of year that I remember and anticipated as much as Christmas when I was a child. It's the time between Easter and the end of school! When I was in college it was afternoons spent at Griffith beach and try and get a tan. Those of you who attended SFA know that Griffith Beach is a lawn behind Griffith Hall were I resided for a couple of years. Somedays I wish I still lived there. And I remember as a kid it was the longest time of year. I want to go to the park, have picnics, feed the ducks, watch Sydney climb the jungle gym and try to jump off the merry go round while the big kids are pushing it at warp speed and I can't decide whether to close my eyes or push the big kids out of the way. The snow cone stand is already open most evenings now too. We have had a longer than usual confused winter this year. Spring is important around here because if you are going to do it outside is has to be now and if you blink you just might miss it!. In about six week or so it will be to hot to do any of the above fun things. It will be too hot to do anything but go to the pool or stay inside and read a good book. Summer days are misery and I'm so glad I'm not a farmer. Anyone who has ever stood in line for an hour in 105 degree heat at Six Flags just to get sprayed with water knows what I'm talking about. I did this in 2006 for Sydney's sixth birthday and I can safely say "never again". We try to go do that stuff in the spring or fall. Last year I took her and Taryn (bff) on Columbus Day and I was in heaven. I love roller coasters and I met up with a friend from church who is also crazy about them. We thought we were kids again. Problem is, you don't do that if you have had 2 major surgeries in in the 15 months prior. Not good at all.

Summer evenings are great and I can't wait to sit on our remodeled covered patio with the ceiling fans blowing at full speed and drink lemonade and play Frisbee with the cat. That's right! Our 11 year old Maine Coon Buddy loves the Frisbee. He doesn't catch it but he does come to life when we throw it and runs and chases it like a kitten. This is amazing because his movements are usually like an old lazy hound dog.

I hope this week I will find something to take a picture of.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Good Friday

We have had a great week beginning with going to visit Coco and Company in the Texas hill country. My camera batteries were dead so I don't have any pictures to post but we had a fabulous time. Her kids Bram and Tessie Mayes are gorgeous and lots of fun. We went to the famous Bluebonnet Cafe for breakfast that was amazing and to the strawberry patch to pick strawberries...they were amazing.

It has been a busy week and today in observance of Good Friday we didn't have school. We didn't really have school on Monday and Tuesday but we had and up close and personal Texas geography lesson. Sydney did play her "learn math" game on her DS if that counts! She does better with geometry than addition. We hope to go for another visit soon as well as my relatives who live in East Texas. I may take her to Nacogdoches to see where mommy went to college but I will have to do that before summer gets here because I can't stand the hot humid weather. I stayed and worked one summer and it was pure misery. Plus it's a college town and the summer months don't offer a whole lot of fun.

Tomorrow is our church's Easter Egg hunt and that's good because the weather will be stormy on Easter and there won't be much hunting going on unless it's indoors. It will be the first holiday in a while that I am not recovering from surgery...woohoo!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Busy Friday

We had a busy and fun day! Sydney and I had a field trip to Casa Manana to see Rocking Mother Goose. I was really good. I was afraid it would be too babyish for an 8 year old but she really enjoyed it. We have had a show every month since September or October (except March) and it has really been fun. After the play we went to Purple Cow for lunch with Angel and her parents. All I can say is YUM! I had the bleu cheeseburger and it was amazing. Afterward we headed home to meet up with Rick and return his rental car. Then off to Huggins Mitsubishi to pick up my new car. After that we stopped off at my mom's house to show her as well as visit with my sister who is visiting following surgery. Came home, fed bathed (well I don't really have to bathe her anymore) and put Sydney to bed. Then I ate dinner with my husband. Earlier this week we went to Bisque House in Granbury to paint pottery with our home school group.

Sydney seems to be over her cold for the most part. Except for the field trips we have stayed in and it's a good thing. The wind has been ridiculous and it's been colder than it should be. I can't believe it's nearly Easter and I haven't started making Sydney's dress. It isn't fancy and will only take a few hours. When I sew I like to marathon and get it over in one day...just how I am.