Beth got her hair cut today!

Beth has had long hair her whole life, but she prefers it short.

It grows fast and we don't always get her to the salon as often as she'd like.

(Sorry this one is blurry. I forgot to change the camera setting!)

She doesn't look happy in this picture, but when I took the camera down, she was sticking her tongue at me! After a little while, the stylist looked over at me and smiled. She had fallen asleep! She told me on the way home that it felt sooo good....

She used her debit card to pay for it.
Here she's signing her name on the receipt.

You can tell by the smile on her face how happy she is with her new haircut! It's hard to see it here but she got layers at the bottom! It's always been long and straight but she's wanting to style it more. We're hoping the layers will help hold a curl and allow us to style it.

Fun Photo Friday!

Beth was 4 and Sharaya, 2. They smiled so sweetly while we took their picture!

Then we looked away! :)

I Know It Should Be About Beth, But.....

I should be posting about Beth, but today I am babysitting my granddaughter, Allison. She is so warm and has that wonderful baby smell and she just fell asleep in my arms!!

No Strep, yea!!!

I took Beth to the doctor today. This is day 10 of her being sick. I am one that doesn't go to the doctor often; we know most coughs, colds and flu bugs are done within a few days. But 10 days later, I decided to take her in. Didn't need to I guess. She just has a bad cold. She doesn't have strep and the doctor said she should be feeling better in a few days. I asked the doctor to put her on Zithromax anyway. I don't think she'll be going to work on Monday, even though she's been stuck in the house for more than a week. And wouldn't you know it, Seattle has had a string of beautiful, sunny days!

Here is Beth in the mask she had to wear in the waiting room. I wanted to take her picture at the doctors but she wouldn't let me. She finally agreed to have her picture taken once we got home. :)

I told her she looks like a doctor!

Mr Sandman Over Did It

Beth has been home with a cold this week. I came home for lunch yesterday to find her still asleep. I checked her forehead, no fever thank goodness. Went back to work.... and got a call at about 4:30.

"Mom? Is Beth."

"Hi Beth."

"I'n awake now."

"You are? You just now woke up?"

"Yea. Can I ha my yogur and milk now?"

That means she slept for more than 16 hours!! I think the Sandman worked a little overtime Monday night. Unbelievable. I told her no on the yogurt and milk. She's got the whole phlem thing goin' on.

Don't worry though, I decided not to take pictures. :)

She did go to bed at a reasonable time last night, then got up early this morning. Took a shower and did her hair. She said she felt much better after her shower. You can see in the third picture just how red her nose is. Lots of blowin' happenin' in her room!

She won't be going to work tomorrow, just to give her one more day to recover. Then she'll have the weekend off and hopefully will be back to her 'ol self next week.

Special Connections

Our Sunday school class went well yesterday. One mom brought her autistic son, believing our class was during first service. I felt so bad! But she brought him in during second service to see the room and meet his new teachers. :)

He loved the large, carpeted stairs and even layed down on them when his mom said it was time to go! We did have one student, a girl with a seizure disorder. We've known her parents for a few years and she was thankful to have a class that will be able to meet her daughters needs with one on one attention. She also enjoyed the stairs! We climbed to the top and danced to the music pouring from the CD player!

Unfortunitely Beth was unable to be there. She has been home the last few days with a terrible cold. I kept her home from work today, but it looks like she is getting better! Woo hoo!!

I'm not as nervous as I was last week. I know we are meeting a great need and I am excited to get to know those precious kids!

Fun Photo Friday!

This is a picture of me and my sisters taken in the early 60's.

And this is a picture of our girls, taken 30 years later.

A Quiet, Nervous Day

Hi,

There's not much to blog about today. I'm babysitting my 10 week old granddaughter. She's asleep in her swing right now. Chuck and Diana are at work. Beth is at karaoke and art class.

So I'm doing laundry and sitting in front of this computer screen wondering what to write. Or even if I should write. To be honest, I need to clean the kitchen. And finish the laundry. So... writing it is! :)

I guess the biggest thing on my mind this week is our Special Connections class. Chuck and I start a Sunday school class this weekend for special needs kids at our church. I'm nervous, but mostly about the unknown. We haven't really promoted the class because we don't want 50 kids right away. So it's all been word of mouth so far. I hope we have enough sensory toys and activities. I hope we're not overwhelmed with the amount of kids or the variety of disabilities. I think we'll have enough teachers.

Our main objective is to provide a fun, safe place for these kids to hang out while their parents are in class or the church service. Too often, the parent gets their child downstairs, signs them in, gets their sticker, goes up to the service, finds a seat, only to see their number flash on the screen. Back downstairs they go.... I don't necessarily like the idea of separating the kids with special needs but we have had so many new families attend lately, families with kids that have Autism, ADHD, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, that our Sunday school teachers are becoming overwhelmed. A few of the families have left. Gone to search for a church that can accomodate their entire family. I think our church is becoming that. A place for singles, older adults, young marrieds, youth and now, families with children who have special needs.

Wow I'm nervous. Did I say I was nervous?

Do you get the feeling we're being watched?

I certainly felt that way when Beth and I were out today. We had to go to the store to buy some new bus tickets. While standing in line for the people in front of us to purchase all their lotto tickets, we were stared at, glanced at, and smiled at. Very few smiles though.

Beth wanted to buy some new CD's so we went into a local department store and as we were walking through the front doors, the people coming out stared at Beth. Then the employees were watching her. I've developed the habit of watching peoples eyes as they walk past. Might not be a good habit to have, considering.

I don't think they're trying to be rude. I think they are just curious. But I almost wish they would say Hi or stop and ask her name or... something. Anything. Anything but the constant stares. EVERYONE looks.

Do I look? When I see a person with a handicap, do I glance at them? Do other moms watch me when I watch their children? Maybe. I'm just curious about what your life is like. I'm sorry, I'm not wanting to be rude. Maybe I should learn to say Hi....

Fun Photo Friday!

Diana and Beth on the Scrambler at the Evergreen State Fair - 2008

(You can click on the photos for a closer look.)

Mr. Sandman, we need you!

When I first started this blog, one of my first posts was about us trying to get Beth to go to sleep before 2 AM. She has always been able to sleep anywhere, anytime, anyplace.

When she'd get home at night, she'd crawl into bed and really crash. Since she's become an adult however, that has changed.

Our plan of having her in bed by 11:00 every night has not been working. Lately she's been staying up well past 2 in the morning. The other night, I set the kitchen timer and told her she had to be in bed by the time it went off. I then crawled into bed to read... and to wait for the timer. A few minutes later, our bedroom door creaks open and this crumpled ball of paper is dropped to the floor.

'You are mean mom and dad because I do not like you and leave me alone because I do not like you. I want to be a spy. My own now.'

Page two: :)

'And sing of the blues right now about you guys too!

And spy on you now and tomorrow morning.'

Wow! Creative!

I wrote her a note, telling her that we loved her and it was our job to teach her what was right and what was wrong. Spying on us was wrong. Going to sleep was right... Then I creaked open her door and dropped it into her room.

She went to sleep! Got up the next morning the first time her alarm went off and had a good attitude. Okay. I guess that's progress. She still wants to stay up late but is now turning off her light around midnight instead of 2 AM. And looking on the bright side, she's working on her writing skills!