What's Been Happening

 Beth has hoarding tendencies. I've tried to go downstairs and help her clean out her closet or clean up her dresser but usually she doesn't want me to mess with her stuff. Can't say I blame her. I wouldn't have been too happy if my mom came to my house and began cleaning or organizing things they way she thought they should be. 

But there comes a time when I step in and tell Beth it needs to be done. 

I got the idea recently to buy her some decorative bins to put her stuff in. She wouldn't necessarily have to go through it right then but the bins would make her bookcase look better. We went to Target and bought the bins she wanted (not the ones I would have chosen) then went downstairs to get started.

She was NOT happy that I was helping and it showed. After a few minutes I told her, "Okay. I'll go upstairs and you can do this."

The next day I went down to check and she did a pretty good job! Again, not exactly how I would've done it but I have to find that fine line of treating her like an adult vs. treating her like a child. She was willing to make the change and do it by herself, so, I'm proud of her.

            Before          

 

 

After

She hasn't been hearing well lately and I finally made an appointment with the doctor. Thankfully it was just wax buildup, whew! We stopped at the bathroom on our way out and when she was... going, she pointed down to the toilet and yelled, "I hear that!" After we got home she came upstairs with her iPod and said, "I hear it now, in my headphones!" I'm so glad it was only a wax problem!

I was watching TV the other night when something didn't look right about it. I kept checking my glasses thinking they were smudged but that wasn't it. I just couldn't figure it out. Then the next night it seemed the top half of the screen was darker than the bottom, it was really weird. The next day it was even worse! The top half of the TV was going dark. Just all of the sudden. We've only had it about 2 years but of course the warranty ended 4 months ago. So we bought a new one. Same size but this one has Ultra HD. I'd never heard of it but oh my goodness it's like watching a live play on stage. The colors are SO vivid, the images are super clear like 3D, it's just amazing!

Here we've taken the stand off the old TV and put it on the new one.

 Well that's what's been happening at our house this week.  

Have you ever had hearing problems? 

Have you seen the new Ultra HD TV's?

A New Comforter And Something From Her Love

I realized the other day I never showed you a picture of Beth's new comforter. She's had it for a couple of months and she loves it.

I bought it at TJ Maxx, I always forget about that store! It was around Valentines Day that I took Beth and Nick to the movies and while they were there, I walked around the mall and that's when I found it. I never think to go to TJ Maxx on purpose but once I'm there, I absolutely love it and end up buying something! 

It doesn't look very warm but she says it is and she even took the blankets off her bed. So there.
 

The pillow in the middle she got from Nick. 😊💕

We Were Surprised It Fit in the Back of the Car!

Beth got paid from her job as well as the state on the same day this month! Not sure that's ever happened before. Of course, the money's been burning a hole in her pocket.

After her bills were paid, I told her that she had enough left to buy a new comforter for her bed, maybe some pillows, new pictures to hang on the wall in her room... We talked about it off and on for a couple days.

Sharaya and Allie had made plans for today so Chuck, Beth and I tried a new restaurant in our little town. It was SO good! Rory's is about 2 blocks from the water and right at the ferry entrance. We sat outside and enjoyed the view!

After we dropped Chuck off at home (he had to work) I told Beth that we could go get the comforter or... she had enough to get her kitchen cabinets.

"I want that."

So instead of Bed, Bath and Beyond, we headed to Home Depot. At the back of the store we found two cabinets that would be perfect for her. She definitely needed drawers, but also some cupboard space for napkins, crackers, etc. A couple employees came over to help and when I asked about counter tops, he showed me a few pieces that had been cut for other customers and they were being sold as is. If we wanted a custom piece, we'd pay now, then they would have to cut it for us and we'd get it later. The already cut, smaller pieces were all about 4 feet long and looked fine to Beth and I! She chose one of the colors and off we went to buy it all! 

That's when I remembered the back of my car had a huge suitcase in it, a car seat, a small box of stuff, how were we going to get all this in the back of my car?

Thankfully an employee came out to help us stuff it all in and we did it! And the back closed completely!

We got it home, out of the car, down the stairs and into her room. She helped me take it all apart and we figured out where she wanted it.

Because the counter top was already cut (very inexpensive that way!) we decided to just put a space between the cabinets for a trash can or whatever she decided to put there. Nothing is officially attached because she's not positive that's where it's going to stay but it works for now. She absolutely loves it!

Last Saturday While Beth Was At Work...

Last Saturday while Beth was at work...

Chuck and I moved her furniture downstairs. 

When she got home she walked into her old room and just stopped. I followed her downstairs and she was just beaming! 

She immediately began hanging up her crosses and her calendar. She plugged in her nightlight and set her alarm. 

She did all those things that make the place exclusively hers.

 

She's so glad to be back in her own apartment!

It Was Like She Was Right There

Some friends and I were talking at work this past week and while one of them spoke, I got so excited because I wanted to tell them that Diana had come over... but then I caught myself. (One of the few times I actually thought before I spoke.) 😇

What actually happened was Sharaya came over and we were gonna look at some pictures (old negatives) she had just put on CD's and while she was here, she FaceTimed Diana. The three of us (Chuck and Beth were both at work) sat at the table 'together' and looked at photos! We talked and laughed and reminisced... it was so much fun! I felt like I had actually spent the day with the two of them. 

These are a few of the pics we were looking at:

They're from our East Coast trip back in 2004. Man that was fun! Flew into New York, then rented a van and drove from Massachusetts to Florida, sightseeing all the way!

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My back continues to improve every day. Mornings are the worst because my muscles and spine are so stiff and it takes me a while to get out of bed. The first thing I do is fix a cup of tea and put the electric heating pad on my back. It only takes a half hour or so for everything to relax and then I'm fine the rest of the day. The good thing is I haven't had any more pain. As long as I don't over do it.

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We're making progress on Beth's apartment. Today I took her microwave downstairs and just cleaned up a few things. She has a bookshelf in the upstairs bedroom and one downstairs so she's been transferring some of that. Plus clothes from her closet, her movies, books...

Her and Nick keep making plans for him to come over but it just hasn't worked out. She keeps putting it on the calendar, then crossing it out. We're hoping we'll have her all moved in by next weekend! Then he can come over and see her 'new' place.

 

Do any of you have a favorite FaceTime story? 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

So We Let Her Go With The Bright Pink... With One Stipulation

Remember when I said we tried to talk Beth out of painting her room a very bright pink? Well, we decided it is her room after all so we told her she could paint one wall the bright pink but the other walls would need to be a softer shade and she agreed. 👍 

This is what the room looked like before we started painting. Diana painted it this way when it was her room and she did it completely by herself, all in just one weekend! (And she painted two other rooms as well that weekend!)

In this picture I'm standing by the door looking back toward the bedroom. She doesn't like sleeping in the actual bedroom so that will become her kitchen. We'll put her dining room table in there and her refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. This large room will be her bedroom on one side and her living room on the other.

This is after I had put on the primer. When the guy at Home Depot heard what colors we were trying to cover, he suggested I use a gray primer rather than white. It was a great idea, but the color he gave me was way too dark of a gray. We ended up having to do two coats of the pink to cover the gray. But I love doing a gray primer! It covered the original paint really well.

 She chose such a light pink for the rest of the room that it really compliments the bright pink. I like the way it turned out!

Now we just need to clean everything up and bring her furniture back downstairs. I'm so ready to have my house back and she's ready to have hers! 

Her New Fridge!

Beth added a little more cash to her stash over the weekend so we went shopping for a new refrigerator! I wanted her to check different prices and styles so we went to Sears and Fred Meyer. We had looked at Target and Wal-Mart a few weeks ago so we knew what they had and what their prices were. 

Beth doesn't really like to use the computer so I knew we needed to actually drive to each store so she could see them with her own eyes. She would have loved a fridge with a separate freezer on top but those were just too expensive. Most of the ones she could afford had a small freezer inside the fridge. Which she was okay with. We were debating about getting the one at Freddys, but Diana got on her phone and checked prices at Home Depot and they had one on sale! Beth saved between $30 and $60 compared to the others we were looking at. Thank you Diana!

As we were walking back into the house, I handed Beth the rest of her cash. She folded it out like a fan and squealed, "I'm rich!"

 

 We ended up having to lay the box down to get the fridge out.

 

 She had to take off a lot of plastic and wrapping.

 

 

 It even came with a tiny ice cube tray!

 

More protective wrapping on the shelves.

 

She has it stocked with cheese, soda, yogurt... 

We've talked about her getting a fridge for a long time!

I'm glad it's finally happened for her.

Ya Gotta Love Payday!

Beth got her second paycheck last night. More than $100! This girl is ecstatic! She's saving up to buy a mini fridge for her apartment so each week she puts a little away. Almost there!

It's Not Very Exciting, But She Loves Her Life

Our lives are not very exciting. Beth is an adult. She doesn't go out to play. We no longer meet at school for IEPs, sometimes she's home all day.

Our family is somewhat sedate. I know people who go 24/7. They just never stop. Our neighbors are like that. When they pull into the driveway, he goes out to mow the lawn before he goes into the house. They work from morning to night and when they aren't working, they're traveling.

We're not like that. Chuck and I both work outside the home, then we tend to sit in front of the TV at night. Or we'll sit around the table and play board games. Or we'll sit in front of the computer. Like I'm doing right now. :)

Consequently Beth does the same. She's 27. She has a small apartment in our daylight basement. She eats dinner down there. (We've tried to get her to eat upstairs with us but she gets mad. Last time she shoved the food in so fast she began to choke.) After dinner she watches TV. Or turns off the TV and puts on her head phones. She'll listen to music while she writes.

She goes out a few times a week during the day -

Sunday morning she's at church singing in the youth choir or greeting
Sunday evening she goes to choir rehearsal
Tuesday she's in a bowling league
Wednesday she goes to karoake and art (she's gone for 8-9 hours!)
Friday she attends a job class

Other than that, she's at home. She'll go shopping with us or to the grocery store with us but we don't go out that often. Sometimes I feel guilty that I haven't found some friends for her to hang out with. I feel guilty that we don't take her more places or give her more things to do. But she doesn't seem to mind.

On Monday and Friday I leave her a list of chores and 'paperwork', math and handwriting pages we used when we were homeschooling. I make copies for her and she loves doing them. She'll read or dance or sing. And she's happy.

She loves her life. She's content. At peace. This is her life and in her eyes, it's a pretty great one.

Beth's Apartment

Our house has a daylight basement. When we first moved in, we began to talk about how we could make it into an apartment for Beth. Course, she was only 15 at the time. But we knew if we were here long enough, it would be perfect for her. Well, we've been here almost 10 years now. Sharaya is married and Diana is in the upstairs bedroom.

We are slowly making the downstairs into Beth's apartment. Today we worked on the living room. We found a cute coffee table at a thrift store for only $10! We rearranged some furniture and cleaned. Boy did we clean!

Beth went to karaoke and art class today and called me on her way home. "Mom? Did you an Dad finish my woom?"
The first thing she checked was her TV. She l-o-v-e-s her TV.

She checked out her music room. It will eventually be a kitchenette with a microwave and small fridge. But for now, it's her music room. Her most favorite thing after TV.... is music!

The door in the living room picture is to the stairs. The door in the music room picture is to her bedroom. (The paper taped to the doors are her list of rules. Rules she created and that are to be followed when you are in her house.)

She sat down on the couch, looked around the room again and said, "Wow."

I love it when she's happy. :)