Summer Reading

One of my favorite hobbies is reading. I LOVE to read!!! I remember being the dork in high school literature/English class who couldn't wait to get the semester reading list. All around me were friends groaning and moaning about having to read this book or that book. Usually those friends would chose the book with the least number of pages (and read several) for thier assignments - not me - I wanted to read what I wanted to read whether it was 100 pages or 1000 pages. I read Gone with the Wind during the summer between 7th and 8th grade - fell in love with Scarlett and Rhett. Then I moved on to the Bronte sisters (Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights), Alexandre Dumas (The Count of Monte Crisco) and other authors/books that I wish I could re-read again and again. But I keep finding new books that NEED my time. When I was in college I would keep lists of books on my refrigerator throughout the semesters that I wanted to read when I had MY time back again and could pick up any book in the world other than a text book. The list grew and grew. I have conquered quite a few books from that long ago list and am working through the 300+ books on my current list here. I also keep a running list on the side of my blog of what I have read, plan to read and am currently reading.....yes, dork queen, I know!!

I like to read good literature books but sometimes I just need to read the no brainer, no thinking books. Put a book in my hand and I usually don't come up for air until I am at least half way through it or finished with it. It is sad that I can't control that strange habit ummm, or is it?

Because I love books so much and want to spend any amount of time reading I decided long ago that I had to teach my own children that same love of books/reading - I succeeded with my daughter, Sarah, who now has her own small library with almost 1,000 books of her own. After all, I did pay her to read classics while we were on road trips (beginning at the age of 10 and is another blog of itself). I am currently working on Caleb's love of reading....which is proving to be a little harder!!!  Caleb loves books - as long as they are about spiders, bugs, fish, frogs, snakes, etc.   He loves going to the library and checking out books - but only books on the above topics.  He will fill his bag with at least 10 to 12 books each time but when I try to steer him towards books that I want him to read problems arise.  Which brings me to the actual reason behind this post.

This is what I am reading this summer:

I am learning how to deal with a child who has sensory processing disorder.  I didn't even know this was a disorder until my pediatrician pointed it out to me at our last visit ("I think Caleb has sensory processing disorder so I am going to write a script/referral for therapy").  With Caleb I am expanding my mind once again.  Learning new things about how to deal with obsessive compulsive disorders and now sensory processing disorders. 

I love my little guy. 
He is absolutely darling -
when he isn't having meltdowns.
He loves to color coordinate our dinner plates in the cupboard.  He wants the red plates on top (so he can easily get them for his meals) then comes the orange, yellows, and greens --
 isn't that sweet of him????

He also doesn't like a change in schedule -
if it is a stay home day (as he calls it) then
I absolutely can't change things up and run errands
(meltdowns pursue).

He also loves to create patterns:
"Mom, how about this (as he is trying to get out of brushing his teeth) I brush my teeth tomorrow,
then I don't brush them the next day, then I brush them, isn't that a great pattern?"

Another thing my sweet guy doesn't like is water in the face. 
Yes, that creates problems with bathing and especially now while we are working
on swimming lessons. 

So until next time, the doctor is out......learning how to be a parent of a child with SPD.....

Just My Luck!!!!!!

I am not really a supersticious person but sometimes things happen to make us question that.

I needed to go to Denver for an Educational Research Conference since I am presenting a paper. I decided that I wanted to drive to Denver instead of fly. I love a good roadtrip and there is so much to see and do on the way there and back. The night before I am supposed to leave my car overheats and sweet hubby comes to rescue me...he checks it out for me and says everything is a-ok. So on Friday morning I am getting everything together and sweet hubby has to run some errands then comes home and decides that the truck needs an oil change along with a few other things he wants to check out. FINALLY, I am able to go pick up my sister, Mimi, and we head out....at 3:00 PM!!!!   We are driving along I-40 minding our own business, laughing, talking and BAMM!!!!   My truck starts overheating - this can't be happening - I HAVE TO GO TO DENVER!!!!  AND, we are only about an hour outside of Little Rock -- so we pull over at the local small town WalMart parking lot.  I call sweet hubby and tell him what is going on.  He tells me to sit still and he will bring me a thermostat for my truck because apparently that was the problem all along...(question to myself --- why didn't he change it out before I left----oh, yeah, I am the wife who is last on the list -- haha).

So we have an hour or so to kill while waiting on sweet hubby.  There is a Bonanza across the street and we decide to go there for a bite to eat -- big mistake -- super yucky food!!!   Then we decide to sit in the parking lot of Wally World and wait.  I decided to go into the store to get a book then went back out to the truck to wait.  While sitting in my truck waiting (Mimi had gone into the store by then) there were some very dark clouds coming in and then the tornado sirens are going off.  I leave the truck for safety in the Wally World.  I find my sister and we go to the back of the store to wait out the tornado (that didn't produce). We are quite awful too - you know more like teens- giggling at the oddly dressed people in Wally World on a Friday night (I mean where else do county people go on a Friday night - that is why there is this).   While waiting out the storm and walking around the back of the store sis tells me she wants me to look at a couple of things for her girls bedroom - one being a pink framed full length mirror.   I reach out to look at it and it slips between my fingers/hand and CRASH on the floor.   People around me are trying to distance themselves from me as fast as their legs will run!!!   They are giving me that Oh, no you didn't look..........oh yeah, I did!!!   That is when the county people of Wally World start laughing at me and telling me I will have 7 years of bad luck....I guess I deserve it for not being very nice to begin with!!!  7 years of bad luck - just my luck if I were supersticious!!!

Oh, yeah, I did make it to Denver and I will be presenting my paper this afternoon and then heading out back home to my sweet family baring no bad luck on the way home......

For now the doctor is out......hoping to avoid running into a black cat or walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella in the house....well you get the picture!!!!

Caleb's Best Friend

I am not a pet person.  There I said it.  But my kids love pets.  

When Sarah was 4 I decided she needed a dog.

Big mistake on my part!! 

I got her a little white puppy.  

She loved that puppy.  I didn't.  

That little puppy was like having 3 kids at the same time.   A LOT OF WORK.  

We didn't keep him long....he found a new home.   

 Then when Sarah was about 14 she brought home a baby kitten from a visit with her cousin. 

It was her birthday. 

She didn't ask me. 

I relented and let her keep him. 

She still has that cat  (Oliver)--- he is the devil, no seriously, he is a crazy cat.  

I DO NOT LIKE THAT CAT!!!  

I honestly believe that Oliver is schizophrenic.  But that is another blog by itself.  

Needless to say I didn't want anymore pets.  

But I have an almost 6 year old boy......he loves animals of all kinds.  

He captured a couple of bugs with his bug catcher and called them his friends.  

Very Sad.

I like pets that don't live at my house:

Aunt Betty's bird lives in Florida -- I don't mind visiting him.

My cousin's dog, Harry.  I don't mind him visiting us.

I think stuffed animals make perfect pets.

No mess.

No fuss.

But Caleb wasn't buying any of this. 

He asked for his own puppy. 

Then he asked for his own kitten.

I explained to him that we could visit Mimi's kittens anytime:

But he wanted his own kitten who would love him.

So what was I to do?

I began the search.  I hoped the thought would go away.

It didn't.

We found his new best friend online and went to pick her up.

On the way to Whitehall to pick up the new friend.

Caleb is demonstrating how we must hold this new friend. 

Very carefully.

Since it was a last minute decision when we found her

I didn't have a carrier ready.

So we used a box.

He named her Ella.

She is 2 months old.

And they love each other already.

Ella follows Caleb everywhere.

I found them here last night:

Cuddled up together in my bed watching TV.

Caleb told me last night - Ella is my new best friend.

I am Ella's daddy now.

We have to be careful when we walk through the house or we here:

SHHH, Ella is sleeping and you will wake her up.

Talk softly so you don't scare Ella.

I have to say Caleb has totally surprised me here - he takes very good care of Ella.

He feeds her.  He makes sure she has water.

He even wanted to give her a bath last night.

Thank goodness Sarah caught him while he was running the bath water.

He hasn't touched the litter box yet....oh, but he will eventually!!!

For now the doctor is out.....praying that Ella is normal....since one crazy cat is enough for me...

It's 1, 2, 3 Strikes You're Out!!!!

My daddy put me on the softball field when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I didn't know which end of the bat to hold or where to stand (btw my daddy loved sharing that story!).   I didn't know about running bases, etc. But, I finally learned and enjoyed many years playing softball with kids from my school and neighborhood. My parents spent many evenings watching us play ball and sometimes stepping in to help coach. When my daughter was 6 I put her on the softball field and then became her coach. I coached her for 6 years. There is nothing like summer time and ball parks. We virtually lived there. I love sports. Most all sports.

Now my son is 5 (he will be 6 in April) and I put him on the ball field this past Saturday. He didn't know anything about the bat or how to catch a ball. His throw is not so great either. But he will learn and I soon found out he has a hidden talent for baseball.

One of the Coaches showing Caleb where to stand, how to watch for the ball, etc.

I think he looks so tiny out there!!! 

Caleb is on the small side - um, let me rephrase that - he is super small for his age!!! He is not the youngest person on his team but he is the smallest. Most of the other boys are at least a head taller than he is.

One of the first things the coach did was to have them run bases. A couple of little boys started out and then Caleb started his run around the bases. The coach paced each boy before having the next run. Caleb was almost to 1st base when the boy behind him began to run.....as Caleb came up to 2nd base the little boy behind him was in front of him, as Caleb came up to 3rd base, the other little boy behind him was in front of him, and by the time he hit home plate about 4 boys had passed him up. Caleb is not a slow runner.....he just has short little legs that couldn't keep up with the longer legs of others. I have to say it was extremely funny to watch and oh I felt so bad for my little guy running his heart out and then being left behind.

His first day out he learned how to catch the ball - yes he missed quite a few but he got the handle of it. Then it was time to come to the plate for batting practice....I just cringed....I hated the thought of him missing every ball pitched to him (by a pitching machine 37 mph) - the laugh was on me -- Caleb swung and missed the first two pitches and then BAM!!! He connected and wow what a connect - I was almost reduced to tears (not really - I was jumping up and down yelling for my little guy!). Then came the next pitch - BAM!! And then the next pitch -- BAM!!! WOW!!! My baby can hit the ball!!! Now he just needs to know that you run to first after you hit the ball!!!

Coach showing Caleb how to hold the bat, swing, etc.

Getting ready to connect with the ball.

I put the camera away after the first couple of missed swings.

Shame on me.....I missed getting a shot of Caleb connecting with the ball!!!

For now the doctor is out.......anticipating the very first game, the cheering, the excitement.....um, the heat, the humidity...maybe the doctor should rethink this.....nahhhh, it will be worth it!!!!

The Wind Beneath My Wings

It's no secret I had a very bad 1st marriage. I went into that marriage full of life, happiness, and on top of the world. I left that marriage a very broken person, wondering if I could ever become my old self again, wondering about my self worth, my own intelligence, my skills as a mother, and myself as an individual. I left that marriage with a beautiful daughter who kept me grounded and gave me hope for the future. I never intended to get married again. NEVER, and I really mean NEVER. Around that time there was a song entitled, "Me and You Against the World," and it became my theme song with my daughter. Eventually I began to gain back my self, the me I knew was there somewhere. I made a decision to go back to college to get the degree I was working on when I married. Not long after this I was introduced to sweet hubby

(Thank you Kera!).

Sweet hubby was a blessing from the Lord. When sweet hubby asked me out on a date, it was "I would like to take you and Sarah...." What more could a person want than an individual in her life that recognized she came as a package - with a child. Sweet hubby never excluded Sarah in anything we did together while dating. In fact sweet hubby brought along Joshua too (his son from his 1st marriage). Sweet hubby always understood my need for independence and never pushed me on that. Sweet hubby did very gently take care of me. At this time in my life I was very serious about everything...working, raising a child by myself, and working on my BA....I had forgotton how to laugh or have fun...sweet hubby brought laughter and fun back into my life.

After dating for six years (yes, six years) sweet hubby and I were married. Sweet hubby was very understanding when I wanted separate checking accounts. At this time I was just finishing up my Master's Degree. Sweet hubby was very supportive when I spent hours working on my thesis. Sweet hubby was also supportive when I took a research job at the university which required a lot of travel. Then when the university asked me to teach 2 undergraduate classes at night, sweet hubby was very supportive again. Sweet hubby took over the household things so that I could live my dream of teaching at a university. Sweet hubby became the chauffer for Sarah taking her to school each day and eventually to early morning seminary.

When I told sweet hubby I was ready to get my doctorate he was right there beside me. I was working as an evaluator for a non-profit at the time and getting a doctorate meant driving 2.5 hours one way to Memphis two days a week. Sweet hubby closed down the business early two afternoons a week to drive with me to Memphis. Working fulltime and taking classes began to take up more and more of my time. Sweet hubby once again took over the household stuff. As I sat at a computer every evening working on projects, research papers, residency project, and finally dissertation sweet hubby would miraculously show up with a plate of dinner for me to eat while typing away. With a doctorate program comes many opportunities to present papers at conferences. As each conference came up sweet hubby proudly sent me away to make my mark on the world of research. In order to really make my mark in the world of research conferences became international. Again, sweet hubby proudly sent me on my way to do what I dreamed of doing and continues to support me each year as I come running in to tell him my paper was accepted at the Barcelona conference, the Belfast conference, and the most recent - Cambridge conference. Sweet hubby holds our house together when I am working fervently on papers for publication. Sweet hubby encourages me constantly to reach for those stars.

Sweet hubby never balked when I said I wanted to go visit Sarah - whether in Utah, Kansas or New York, he would smile and send me on my way. Sweet hubby is also very understanding about my yearly ski trips with my aunt or my trips with my sister and mom.

Sweet hubby is an example of service to me, never complaining when asked to do service for others or fulfilling his callings within our church. When sweet hubby and I got married my theme song, "You and Me Against the World" went out the door and was replaced by, "The Wind Beneath My Wings." Sweet hubby gives me the courage, the love, the support, and the desire to reach for the stars and live my dreams. I am truly blessed to have sweet hubby in my life. Sweet hubby is my everything and more. Sweet hubby is the wind beneath my wings.

For now the doctor is out....thinking about how truly blessed she is having sweet hubby in her life.

And to think.....having a Ph.D. isn't near enough education!!!!!

For Christmas Santa delivered this huge box with 1,000 lego peices in it.  The box stated on the outside "children 5 and up."   Santa knew that Caleb was 5 1/2 years old so this should be an appropiate age toy.  So on Monday we didn't hold school (MLK day) and decided it was time to open the big box and see what we could do with the contents.

The plan was to take all of this:

and make this:

So we pulled out the directions and started putting it together,

wait, I mean I started putting it together ~ then I took it apart

and started over.

Finally we got to a point where I could direct Caleb

on where to put the pieces:

Notice the laundry on the sofa waiting to be folded....

A long time ago someone told me the laundry will always be there -

the opportunity to play with your child won't -

I choose play instead of laundry - good choice!

Three hours later (YES, 3 HOURS LATER)  this is what we built:

And we were extremely proud of ourselves!!!
When I started working the project with Caleb I wasn't aware
that "5 and up" actually  meant "engineering degree."  I know that now.

Now the firetruck is waiting on the police car, motorcycle, fire station,
police station, etc. to be built so that there is a cute little "city" of  made by legos.
I still need to work on that Engineering degree - then we might construct the remaining peices.

For now the doctor is out......thinking seriously about obtaining that engineering degree!!!!

Oh, the places you will go.....

When I was a little girl my parents made it a priority for us to travel all through our home state of Arkansas - mainly visiting historical sites. Then my parents extended these road trips to include other states. Our vacations were not like other people's vacations. We didn't go to Florida to visit Disney World....no, my parents took us to Florida to visit St. Augustine - the oldest city in Florida where we also visited the Castillo de San Marcos and the Fountain of Youth. However, we did get to go to the beach for an afternoon - such frivolity when there is so much history to see and things to learn (this according to my mom!). Then later it was a trip to Illinois to visit sites for all things Abraham Lincoln and then to historical Nauvoo. When we were in Hawaii, we spent exactly one full day on the beach and the remainder of the time visiting historical Hawaii. When we finally made it to Disney World my dad loaded us up and we went to visit historic Church Street area of downtown Orlando and then on to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. On many of our journeys we saw presidential libraries, all types of monuments as well as historical church sites. Learning vacations became very much a part of my life to the point that I can't visit a place without exploring the historical heritage. I have since made learning vacations very much a part of my own children's lives. We have added visiting universities to our agenda as well. When I took Sarah on her first big road trip to the Northeastern part of the US, we included a visit to Yale University and Harvard University on the agenda. What a wonderful country we live in with so much to offer us in it's beautiful, rich, history.

I got this off of a friends blog and decided to put it on mine. The red states indicate all the states that I have traveled to.....and yes, I have been to all including Hawaii and Alaska. I have been to some states several times and will probably visit them many times again in the future. I love a good road trip and visiting places in my beautiful country!!!

create your own personalized map of the USA

Until next time the doctor is out....planning the next history trip for her family.....thinking maybe close to home - Natches, MS and the Antebellum homes...maybe!!!