Saturday, March 28, 2009

Is That Bad?

I just filled my dog's food bowl with Cheerios. He was out of food and I did not want to go out in the rainy, gray weather.

Is that bad?

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Please Pray

This week has been a little unsettling for the Ford household. For those of you who know us well, know that Ty is in the retail business. Ty's job is great, but never secure. We hold our breath once a year to see if there is enough money in the budget to continue his program. This week we are holding it a little longer.

Ty got an email on Tuesday that asked him (and the rest of his team) to be on a call with his boss on Monday morning. The title of the email and the reason for the call was labeled "Status". My heart sank. Status can have a lot of meanings. It could be just an update on something in the company, the 'status' of a particular item. It could mean the status of the company and it's financial well-being. It could mean a lot of things, I just pray it is not bad news. Unfortunately, when you hear about other companies that are tanking left and right, you assume the worst.

Please pray that it is nothing and we can continue life as normal. We will be fine whatever happens, I would prefer to be fine the way we are now. My husband is a strong, Godly man that would do anything that he needs to provide for our family. He even told me he would slap a Dominoes Pizza sign on the roof of the car and deliver pizzas, if that's what it takes. I know God will honor his willingness to the right thing. I just pray He honors it by letting him keep his job.

I really hate waiting this out...

Monday, March 23, 2009

Really Big "Boo-boo"

Lauren had her first big injury this Sunday. I never really dealt with many bumps and bruises because she was never able to climb things like other toddlers. So I naturally avoided that normal 'climb on everything humanly possible' stage.

That ended after church, yesterday.

I was checking email at the dining room table looking in the living room where Lauren was watching a Dora DVD. She has started this new thing of getting the little step stool that I use to get into the tall cabinets, as her movie seat. She opens the stool up and climbs onto the top step, turns around and sits to watch her show.

I looked over at the exact time that Lauren lost her footing as she climbed up the stool and smashed her face on the metal handle that goes across the top. By the time I got there, the entire stool had folded up and she was on the floor screaming.

When I scooped her up I thought I saw a tooth just floating in the blood that was pooling up in her mouth. There was so much blood that I thought I would have to take her to the emergency room. It turns out that the tooth went into her lip pretty deep. I wiggled her teeth to see if she knocked any loose, but felt nothing. She was such a trooper as she held a really cold cloth on her lip for a while.

She woke up this morning with a fat and bruised bottom lip. I have hurt my mouth countless times, but it never bruised. I didn't know lips could turn dark purple. I felt bad sending her to school so black and blue. It looks like she caught the front of a semi-truck with her face. So far, a pretty nasty injury. Hope we don't have too many more like it.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Rhyming Words

Every once in a while I can tell exactly what Lauren is learning in school by what she does at home. The past few weeks, Lauren has been practicing her rhyming words. What makes it hilarious is the fact that she thinks she's an expert, but her vocabulary doesn't support that claim. She is still so far behind in the amount of words in her repertoire that when she tries to rhyme, it cracks me up.

Here are a few examples of what I have heard this week:

Lauren: "Mommy, book and chair. They rhyme!"

Me: "Not quite, honey. Book and chair don't rhyme. Book and look rhyme."

Lauren: "No, mommy. Book and chair. They Rhyme!"

According to Lauren, clock and back, shoe and foot, mommy and door, and book bag and pop tart all rhyme. She is so proud of herself every time that it breaks my heart to correct her. I would just hate to have her enter Kindergarten thinking that foot and pen rhyme. I am hoping that this is just a vocabulary issue and not a developmental issue. The rhyming will probably get better as the vocabulary increases. You can't rhyme if you only know a small amount of words. At least that is what I am telling myself, anyway.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Wild Kingdom

I know that when living in the suburbs, you are bound to run into some wild life from time to time. The occasional squirrel, cat, or dog would be expected in a quiet neighborhood. That is not the case for me.

I am either becoming Dr. Doolittle and the animals are coming for me, or this place is actually Wild Kingdom and Jack Hannah will be here any minute. In the past six months I have seen the following animals within spitting distance from me or my house.

I have seen a coyote walking down the sidewalk at the entrance of my subdivision. At first I thought it was a wolf. I have stopped next to two buzzards while turning onto my street. I swear they looked me right in the eyes. Creepy! I had a deer eating the shrub in front of my house. It even left droppings on the sidewalk as a 'thank you'. And today, I watched an opossum walk down the driveway of my next door neighbor and waddle across the street right in front of me.

I don't think this is typical animal sightings unless you lived in the country. Am I sending off a weird animal vibe that lets unusual creatures appear in front of me? Maybe this is a sign that I should become an animal whisperer. I think I'll stick to teaching. I wouldn't get bit as often.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Longest Sentence Ever...

Ty and Lauren were playing on the floor yesterday after she got off the bus. I was doing important stuff online (i.e., Facebook) when I heard Lauren say the longest sentence ever.

Ty was laying on the floor while Lauren ran a purple car over him like he was a mountain. Since there wasn't much of a role for a mountain in this game, Ty was watching what was on the TV at the time. Lauren stops in mid-roll and says:

"Hey! Pay 'tenntion' (attention) me, Daddy!"

I nearly choked hearing her say a long sentence with such a long word that came out of nowhere. I guess Ty and I laughed too long without paying her the attention she so desperately needed that she walked over to the TV and turned it off, too.

She might be delayed in language, but there sure isn't anything wrong with her development! I love that kid!

Monday, March 9, 2009

In-Service

Lauren was asked to be a part of an in-service for Orthotics and Prosthetics professionals in Charlotte tomorrow. She will be on stage in front of these occupational therapists, physical therapists, and orthotic specialists modeling the new brace she is wearing. It is a new type of brace for kids that I mentioned in a post a while back. It is very easy to use and is helping her foot stay in place to improve her gait. Since it is so new, they are using Lauren to show others how it works.

The jury is still out on how she will do in front of everyone. If she is anything like me she will love every minute of it. If not, we could have a nuclear meltdown of epic proportions. I think she will have a good time. Now, if I can just get her from school to the workshop without getting lost...

Saturday, March 7, 2009

SPOOKY

This is really weird to say, but the nickel is back! It is hanging out at the bottom of the commode and I am a little spooked.

Did it never go all the way down or is it back to taunt my mothering skills? It is just there staring at me...spooky!

Either way, how in the world do I get it out without actually touching it? Do I leave it there and hope that it just goes away?

Just when you thought this was over...

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Change is Good

Except when you eat it.

Yes, Lauren ate a nickel this weekend. Please feel free to send my "Mother of the Year Award" directly to my house. I will be waiting for it.

Lauren's Grammy and Pap-pap were in town this weekend for a visit. Lauren loves going through her Grammy's purse. I tried to train her to pull out the twenty dollar bills, but instead she was fascinated with the coins. Anytime she would find one she would put it in her pocket. She was thrilled to death to have some change in her possession.

For most of the day, the coins (a dime, nickel and penny) stayed in her pants pocket. She forgot they were there until she picked up her jeans to put them in her hamper and the coins fell out. As she was sitting on Grammy's lap, she picked up the nickel and popped it into her mouth. Her back was to Grammy and no one else saw her do it. She leaned back and swallowed the coin like she was a gumball machine. The funny thing is that she had NEVER done anything like that before. She was never a kid that put things in her mouth. She was the kid that like to play with everything in her hands. Things in her mouth never interested her. Why she decided to start eating random things at four years old is beyond me.

It has been a few days and I am happy to report that the nickel has made a full circle. It is now a permanent part of the Charlotte Sewage and Waste system. I didn't want it bad enough to go get it.