Home Improvement...feel the power!!

I get it!! I get why guys like home improvement projects. It's more exhilarating than crafts or scrap booking:D You get done, put the tools away and admire your work. You also call all your friends and invite them over to admire your work as well. Home improving, functioning correctly, nicely completed projects are rejuvenating.

This last week, I successfully replaced my front door handle and installed a dishwasher. The door handle is gorgeous if I must say so and the dishwasher (blessed thing) is a non-leaking god-send. Ahhh...all I want for Mother's Day is more and more POWER tools.

What should I do?

I'm at a complete loss! Poor Calvin has been through so much. I'll start at the beginning.

This little guy has had it rough from the start. As an infant, he cried and cried and cried. The nurses at the hospital gave him back to me in the middle of the night because they didn't know what else they could do for him. Neither did I...so I walked the halls at the hospital. At two weeks, I joined in crying with him. I still remember very vividly crying because it had only been two weeks yet it felt more like two years. At six weeks, I spent the entire day in bed bouncing him and crying. I looked into foods that caused colic. EVERYTHING causes colic. I ate turkey on plain flour tortilla shells for 3 days and he finely quit crying. He slept the whole day and so did I. He was still fussy but much much better. I slowly added things back in and figured out that most dairy or creamy products with casein caused him to be more fussy. I was really careful of what I ate. GREATEST weight loss plan...I don't recommend it. Food became very boring and I started running to deal with the anxiety that the constant crying caused. I was constantly bouncing and moving because that is what calmed him.

I kept waiting for each milestone hoping that he would suddenly stop and we'd all be happy. He crawled quickly and started walking I mean running at 9 months and 3 days. He was miles ahead in his physical abilities but wasn't picking up speech at all. It was very frustrating to communicate with him. We'd both be crying by the time I figured out what he wanted and then he was too upset to want it anymore. At 2 years and 1 month, I had him tested by the school district and he tested at 2% in his expressive language. We worked with the school district but we were very fortunate to be able to take him to a private speech pathologist who did wonders for him.

I thought that preschool might be the answer and very helpful too. We'd had such a great experience with Brooklyn's preschool teacher that we put him into the class with the same teacher she had. He hated it. He hid in the car. He cried everyday. I know they hated it when I drove up. I pulled him out before the end of the second year.

Kindergarten started out good. He made it to the first parent teacher conference. The teacher raved about him. He was doing so great. The very next day he changed. She was shocked. She couldn't believe what was going on because she had told him how wonderful he was doing. She said that kids did so well when they heard that. He did the opposite. I'm not sure why even to this day what happened. I wonder if he thought that parent teacher conference was the end of the year and when he found out that it wasn't then it seemed insurmountable and he didn't know how to deal with it. After Christmas I started him on folcalin. I hated putting him on it. It gave me the worst feeling. Knowing that he'd have side effects like headaches and stomach aches made me sad but the more serious side effects scared me. He started to do better in school and with his homework. BUT he seemed sad and zombie-ish. I tried a dexadrine and he cried about everything like his sandwich wasn't cut right or his drink wasn't full enough. I still struggled with it the rest of the year and we finished kindergarten.

I didn't start him on the meds again in first grade. I just couldn't. His teacher has all boys of her own used to be a cop. She's fabulous!! I'd ask how he was doing and she'd say "He's a boy, they are more restless...don't worry." At Christmas time he became too inattentive, frigidity and wasn't progressing. I had to put him back on something. We started with adderall, which did seem to help with his schooling. He is completely up to grade level and on track to be ready for second grade. We went off track at the end of March which is when I became panicked, worried and willing to take any advice. (I must say that I am always willing for advice and help)

I continued to give him his meds during the week while off track and then gave him his breaks on the weekends. I don't usually continue meds while we are off track but I wanted to see if the transition going back on track would be easier. I do need to tell you that he doesn't sleep well with the meds. If I don't give him melatonin he won't fall asleep until midnight. One night he couldn't sleep at all. Every hour he'd ask if he could watch tv. He was calm and still but he couldn't fall asleep. At 5 am, he started seeing wasps flying over him. He was afraid they were going to sting him. Then the bugs were making him itch. I was panicking...aren't those withdrawal symptoms? Twice in a 10 day period just a day or so before this night he'd been having heart arrhythmia's. Irregularly fast beats with giant painful thumps every few seconds. They lasted only a few minutes. He wasn't being overly active at the time. He was getting out of the tub when the second one started.

I quit all his meds that night. I called his pediatrician and we decided to try a new drug "Intuniv." It's a blood pressure for adults. It's not a stimulant or a controlled substance. He also order a EKG and a portable heart monitor to wear in case he had another arrhythmia. Fortunately he hasn't had anymore. He did sleep around the clock for the first week and he seemed calmer and much happier. He has seemed much happier than I have ever seen him. I believe it's due to having adequate amounts of sleep. Now that he's back on track, he can't focus at school or at home with his homework. He can't sit still, can't look at the words long enough to read them. I feel like we are starting all over again. I don't want to put him back on stimulants. I don't feel good at all about it. WHAT SHOULD I DO???? What would you do?

"Music is a Luxury. Isn't it?"

Brooklyn's violin teacher, Aunt Jane, emailed this out to the parents. It's so true!! I love watching Brooklyn grow and mature. She loves her violin. She adores Aunt Jane. Like this article talks about, her grades are great. She is very self motivated. She stays on task and picks material up so quickly. This is not a brag session about her just things that I've noticed about her that I attribute to her music lessons.

"Music is a Luxury. Isn't it?"
Notes taken from the SAU Parent Lecture by
Cathy Hargrave


Most people think music is a luxury, but it is not. Our past ancestors lived at a time when only the rich could play an instrument. Today we have so much research that shows how music helps us in our society and with our own brain development. When a music program is cut in the school to save money, the grades of the students will go down.
Suzuki music training is character training. Many think that teaching music is just teaching the music and accepting money. Teaching is much more than the music. It is about the character training. We develop mutual respect between child and teacher. We help the children learn the skills needed to build great character.
Parents work hard to get their children ready for college or even just to be an adult. It is hard to know what to do to get them ready. There is a lot of information that we expose ourselves to TV, cell phones, internet, and video games, but it is better time spent to develop character. We as Suzuki teachers are teaching them to be sensitive to music. Teaching children to develop beautiful tone helps them develop more sensitivity. When a child applies this to everyday life, they become more sensitive to others and more sensitive to how violent movies or video games affect them. We are creating world peace.
Neural musicology is a new major at college. It is the study of how music affects the brain. The first graduate from this field was a Suzuki flute teacher. The research from this field shows that music actually trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. Listening to, and participating in music also creates new neural pathways in your brain that stimulate creativity. When babies are exposed to classical music it helps connect all the new neural pathways.
People tend to believe that your IQ is a set number, but it can change. Even the people who created the IQ test will tell you that the number can change. You can increase you intelligence through music.
Dr. Suzuki taught that when people practice their music in repetitions the brain waves work in a certain way that helps you think clearer. We are teaching students how to learn. It is not about teaching piece to piece but how to learn so they can apply it to other fields of study.
Musicians are desired for many careers such as computer tech, architect, and navigations. Almost all navigators are musicians. Musicians develop logic, eye hand coordination, self control, self discipline, patients, seeing things through from start to finish, the ability to can talk in front of people, commitment, great memory, working together in groups, leadership and much more.
Cathy relayed a story about a family she taught and about the effect that the Suzuki method had on them. Natalie had developmental problems with talking and walking. Her older sister was taking piano lessons from Cathy when Natalie started her lessons at three and a half. Even at this young age she enjoyed practicing the piano for 2 hours a day because she wanted to spend the time with her mom. Her mom wanted to put her kids in music lessons because she was wild as a child. She thought that if they were busy practicing they could not be wild. Natalie graduated with top grades and is now at Ithaca College majoring in piano performance. Her older sister, Sarah, is very energetic. Her school teachers thought she was attention deficit and wanted to put her on meds to help her. Her mother was a nurse and said "no way". She grew up and got perfect score on her ACT, and now is in veterinary school. When Sarah was checking out all the top Ivy League schools she found that they have practice rooms for all students not just for the music majors. Every dorm had a grand piano to practice in the lobby. Their youngest sister, Loran, is just graduating from High School and has been given a scholarship at a top university has a rear opportunity with a full ride scholarship and a chance to be part of a group of eight people to work on special projects and live in a special dorm. All these girls over came great challenges and now are reaping the reward for their hard work.
What does it mean to be well rounded? Cathy met the admissions advisor from Louisville University recently. Cathy asked her what it meant to be well rounded. The advisor listed, "good grades, helps in community, and a musician." She told her that some colleges are getting 22,000 freshman applicants each year. Parents tend to think that well round means lots of sports, good grades, AP classes, tutoring, civic duties, and keeping kids so busy that they don't have time to be great at any one area. The problem is that when these kinds of kids get to college they can't think things through. When you develop the skills you learn from mastering an instrument you become an asset and a highly recommended person.
As with Natalie, her music helped connect the things need for her development of her body. Music is not a luxury it is a necessity. In the teenage years kids tend to go crazy and don't practice much, but don't stop. It will help them in the future. Our goal is not to make musicians, but to help them develop the skills needed for their future careers.
(This document is created by Connie McCullough from the teaching of Cathy Hargrave presented at SAU's parent lecture on April 23, 2010.)

Going, going, gone....

gosh, he is too cute!!

Shh....don't tell my other kids but some days he's my favorite. Comparatively, he's the easiest baby ever. Well, Brookie was an angel but I didn't appreciate it then. I just thought I was the "Worlds Greatest Mom." Not!! :D

Seriously, I do love and enjoy each of my kiddos. They are truly different in so many ways. They each bring something unique to our family and each one has a giant heart full of love. We are incredibly blessed.

You'd think I don't feed him...

This is where I found Croy. He crawls to the pantry, hides behind the panels, pulls food down and eats what he can open.

His most favorite food to find in there is "Marshmallow Mateys" as you can see. He is great at eating only the marshmallows but what little kiddo wouldn't.

He has managed to get out my left over fondant and eat through the bag to get to the fondant. YUCK!!


And of course, he can pry the lid off the cat food. Gag!!


I guess I need to feed him more:)

Don't laugh...

This is my first (no practice) attempt at fondant. It's definitely not as easy as it looks. The fondant is stiff and hard to role out. Then it's heavy and smashes down the cake layers. Then the sides pleat. I was able to make the bottom cake layer pretty nice but the top layer with Ernie didn't lay flat at all. The pleats wouldn't straighten out. Atleast I could hide them with the stripes :) Yep, it's exhausting to role out the stiff fondant, shape, cut and glue into place before it dries and\or bleeds onto the base color. But all in all, I'm pretty happy. Now I have to dust off the rest of the powdered sugar and transport it to the party without it falling a part. Wish me luck :D

Happy Birthday Croy and Ellie!!

Grandma's Aprons

This certainly brings back lots of memories!

"Aprons"
(truly a sweet story)

Remember making an apron in Home Ec? Read below:

The History of 'APRONS'

I don't think our kids
know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the menfolks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.

I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

My very special grandmother made this apron for me for Christmas. Thank you Grandma, It's beautiful and I love it:D