Situation

Sitting here helping Soph with her homework. She has homework every week and a spelling test every Friday. So far, she's made all 100's. She's making improvements with her math, though I can see that definitely is not her forte.

I had a nice chat with Soph's teacher last week. It seems she has opened up quite a bit (Soph has told me in past that she's only shy when she wants to be) to the point her teacher and I agree that both Brooklyn and Sophie need to be separated. So next month, (thank goodness), Mrs. Wilson shuffles everyone around to a new table. Actually, that's good and bad. She currently sits next to a boy that is very bright, especially in math.

You see every afternoon, I would review Sophie's school work and ask why she didn't complete her math worksheets. The stock response she told me daily was, "well, Brooklyn didn't do hers either. That's why I didn't do it.".....arghhh! If Sophie is going to be a follower, I would prefer she follows someone bright in areas she's weak. I'm sure she'll outgrow being a sheep if she has an ounce of her Daddy's character, who is without question not a Norway lemming even though he's Belgian.

Wow! I definitely don't want to go through the situation I'm in EVER again. The last time I went to the ER was when I delivered Sophie. So, it's been awhile since I've required medical attention. It actually started Friday, when my head was hurting pretty bad around my brows and my eyes, sharp stabbing pain. Then my eyes turned bright red. I thought I had pink eye at first, but was not sure since the symptoms were totally different other than my eyes being red.

It got to the point Saturday evening, I decided to seek what was really going on as it was quite alarming and I knew hubby was leaving Sunday. So as a family, we all went to the new ER located off State Street, which btw is very nice and new, St. Mark's Hospital. Luckily, there was no waiting at all and we were immediately escorted to one of the rooms where they attached me to all the different vital machines. Don't laugh but my blood pressure was elevated (i.e. 124/74), due to nerves, cramping in my stomach (i.e. stomach virus, something I've never had in my life until now), and the issues with my eyes. Of course the nurses thought my bp was normal, my temperature was only 99˚F... so really no temperature. All my vitals checked out to be fine, except for the cramping thru out my gastrointestinal tract, ughmm... diarrhea, some tiredness, headaches and red eyes. I believe the supplements I had been taking alleviated all of the other symptoms which I did not exhibit - i.e. nausea, vomiting, fever, etc. associated with a virus.

The ER doctor told me basically that my now diagnosed "iritis" is likely a manifestation of the stomach virus I had. I guess the remnants of the virus making it's final attack before fading; and thankfully it did the next day, Sunday.  It was also confirmed today by my primary doctor I definitely had a virus according to the CBC lab results.  All my numbers were back to normal; it lasted 7 days exactly.

Finally, after 2.5 hrs in the ER room, gulping my yummy, delicious (NOT!) GI cocktail, getting a couple of prescriptions, etc. the nurse once again took my vitals. All was back to normal, my oxygen saturation was 96, which is good and my blood pressure was "my" normal 115/60. I'm so glad we went to the ER. I would never have known what I had until it was probably too late. Iritis is something very serious and can eventually cause cataracts, glaucoma, to loss of vision (yikes!) if not treated right away and aggressively. In this case, I would have preferred having "pink eye" which is a lot less serious.

First thing Monday morning, I immediately made an appointment with an Opthamologist who could see me the same day, accepted my insurance, and was accepting new patients....sheesh!  The doctor now has me on medication (i.e. prednisone) for the inflammation. Luckily, I was spared not having to take an antibiotic since there were no signs of an infection. My doctor said, "we can do a lot of tests, spend lots of your money..." if I want to find the etiology of my iritis. But, I said "no".... I just want it to go away as soon as possible, especially because after going through all of that, there's still a big chance they still won't know what caused it anyway. We can currently chalk it up to the stomach virus and also the possibility that I may have an antigen called HLA-B27.

An HLA-B27 is sometimes ordered to help evaluate someone with iritis that is not caused by a recognizable disease process, which is the case with me. Because I reacted strongly to the stomach virus, my eye doctor suspects I may have this antigen. This will be confirmed when I have my next lab work. Very curious to know.

So the little bit of research I was able to do was enough for me to be grateful we went to the ER when we did. Otherwise, I might have thought I had pink eye, even though it wasn't anything I've experience in the past. Early detection is key to resolving this iritis issue, as well as, getting on proper medication as early as possible before it can lead to a more serious outcome.

As a side note, I think it's odd how taking medication like prednisone drops will help you from getting cataracts and glaucoma initially. But if you take it long term it will actually give you cataracts and/or glaucoma.  There was a lady in the waiting room at the eye doctor. She had been suffering 2 years to find our recently she has Crohn's disease, after many colonoscopies, surgeries, endless tests....taking steroids.  She now has cataracts at a very young age (i.e. 40's)  in my mind.

Anyway, hubby always thinks I'm against using conventional medicine, but when it's serious, acute, I have no qualms at all. First address the problem with something that's going to work immediately, then once every thing is back on track and stabilized,  I can then fix the secondary problems that arise from it more naturally.

For more information about iritis, I found this article which I'm posting herein. Below the article is just a recap of where we are with our move:

 IRITIS / UVEITIS

IRITIS, a form of Anterior Uveitis is a term for an inflammatory disorder of the colored part of the eye (iris). In the majority of cases there is no specific cause. Occasionally, iritis is just one symptom of a disease that affects other organ systems.  These are called connective tissue diseases and include: rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoid , lupus , scleroderma , Behcet's disease , anklylosing spondylitis, Reiter's disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and B-27 disease.  Sometimes, it is necessary to establish whether iritis/uveitis is a manifestation of one of these or some other underlying systemic disease. 

The symptoms of iritis include light sensitivity, red eye, blurred vision, tearing, pain, and sometimes floaters. The pupil may appear small in the affected eye when compared to the normal pupil. Frequently iritis is a recurrent problem; after a few episodes patients become very astute at early diagnosis. Iritis is sometimes confused with conjunctivitis, a much less serious disorder of the clear outer lining of the eye.

The secrets to the successful treatment of iritis is early detection and proper choice of medicines. Therapy consists of anti-inflammatory and dilating drops. These medicines decrease the inflammation and reduce the scarring that can occur.  Persistent cases may require more intensive treatment.  Successful treatment of iritis depends on careful and consistent compliance by the patient.

In serious cases, complications may arise. Cataracts, glaucoma, and corneal changes are possible consequences of both the disease and the medicines used to treat it. Careful observation is needed in the resolving phase to monitor potential problems. If the medicines are withdrawn too rapidly, a recurrence is very possible.

What are the symptoms of iritis? The symptoms of iritis usually appear suddenly and develop rapidly over a few hours or days. Iritis commonly causes pain, tearing, light sensitivity and blurred vision. A red eye often occurs as a result of iritis. Some patients may experience floaters, small specks or dots moving in the field of vision. In addition, the pupil may become smaller in the eye affected by iritis.

How is iritis diagnosed? A careful eye exam is extremely important when the symptoms of iritis occur, as inflammation inside the eye can affect sight and could lead to blindness. A slit lamp, which illuminates and magnifies the structures of the eye, is commonly used to detect any signs of inflammation.  A diagnosis is often made on the basis of an eye examination from an eye care provider.

Since iritis can be associated with another disease, an evaluation of the patient¹s overall health is sometimes necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, blood tests, skin tests, and x-rays may be conducted and other specialists may be consulted to determine the cause of the inflammation.

How is iritis treated? Treatment of iritis is often directed at finding and removing the cause of the inflammation. Steroid eye drops (1% Pred Forte) and ointments are the main stay of treatment.  They work by quieting the inflammation.  Additionally drops that dilate the pupil may be added to reduce any scarring which may occur and make the eye more comfortable.  The application of hot packs may also provide relief from the symptoms of iritis. In severe cases, oral medications and injections may be added.

A case of iritis usually lasts 6 to 8 weeks. During this time, the patient must be observed carefully to monitor potential side effects from medications and any complications which may occur. Cataracts, glaucoma, corneal changes, and secondary inflammation of the retina may occur as a result of iritis and the medications used to treat the disorder.

Loss of sight can be prevented: Since iritis is an inflammation inside the eye, the condition is potentially sight threatening. Proper diagnosis and prompt treatment of iritis are essential. To minimize any loss of vision, the patient should have a complete eye examination as soon as symptoms occur. If diagnosed in the early stages, iritis can usually be controlled with the use of eye drops before vision loss occurs.

So, we're planning on moving for sure in 2 more weeks. We won't close on our house until the end of the month. This works out perfectly so we don't have to rush and move out the same day we close....waaay tooo stressful.  I certainly don't need another iritis attack!

I can't wait to get moved/settled in before the first snowfall. Looking forward to having someone else remove the snow for a change. And hey we have a heated lap pool right next to our town home. Sophie can't wait to jump in. Although, I would prefer she waits until next May.

Our new kitchen with staggered custom cabinets.  If you enlarge, it'll give you an idea how my vision appears, just 10x worse, cloudy and blurry.

That's all the excitement for now, albeit not a lot of fun for me :o/  However, I do feel things are going much smoother now.

One last final word, it's easy to not take a supplement when you're feeling well. But if you're under a lot of stress, I think the most important thing you can do for your health is to take probiotics on a daily basis, 2x a day, eat yogurt, drink probiotic juice, eat kimchee, sauerkraut, etc... just anything to supplement your gut with all the good bacteria. It can help keep at bay any food poisoning, stomach viruses, or viruses in general you come in contact with from taking a foothold in your body and your health.  I'm back to regaining a good flora and fauna in my gut this winter.  Hope you do the same :)

Be Well!

Not the status quo

Yes, I am still here. Staying ever so busy with mundane business, packing boxes starting with obscure areas of the house, getting all my ducks in a row for our move to take place the first part of October. I've had so much on my mind that I've almost forgotten to pick Soph from school twice, especially on Friday's when she gets out early. If it were not for hubby inquiring and reminding me from AZ, I would surely have forgotten Poopsie for sure. If you know me, you know that this is so unlike me; you see my middle names are "dependable and reliable."

So, we are moving the first of October. We're moving in an area I've had my eyes set on the past year and a half. Sometimes, I can't believe it's actually going to happen (or maybe I should first knock on some wood). We are going to rent to see how the market behaves before buying our "retirement" home. Heck, we may even consider buying the town home we're renting. It's a huge step down from what we've had in the past, not in quality, but in size.  We want less fuss with everything in owning a home, to include square footage, yard work, snow removal, etc. When I see all the big homes with big yards around us, all I can think of is "work, work, work!" Am I showing my age....lol.

Soph's first day at school was Tuesday, August 24th. Her teacher, Mrs. Wilson is fantastic. She's very experienced / qualified having taught 5th grade English and specializes in Reading and Math. Soph likes her a lot! One of the things I really like about this school is that all 1st graders rotate in a French class. Next year I'm going to enroll her in the French Dual Immersion Program, which actually starts in 1st grade, but I missed the deadline due to the fact I wasn't sure which school Sophie was going to end up at. Anyway, students in this program receive 50% of their instructions in English and 50% in French. Her Daddy is going to have fun helping her out with her French and maybe I can freshen up on my French a oui bit.

Soph loves her new school and prefers to bring her lunch everyday, which is fine by me. She was so worried that she would not make any friends, but knowing Soph-Soph I knew it wouldn't take long; she's very easy going and caring. She made friends immediately with 2 girls the very first day, Brooklyn and Lanon. Mrs. Wilson said at this age, there's no competition in who's getting more attention or who's getting left out and that the three girls all get a long very well. She calls them the Three Musketeers. Lanon's mom and I are becoming pretty good friends too. Lanon's mom, Anna, has her own hair salon plus she's a Realtor. Currently, I get free manicures in exchange in helping her out with her website (not that I'm any good at it, but as with everything it's all relative)....lol.

There are a lot of boys (as previous) in her class - 14 boys and 8 girls. Another 1st grade class has even more boys!; Of course at this age, Sophie isn't very excited about all the boys. Her response to boys..."eeeewww, boys, boys are disgusting, boys are not my friends. I like girls. I'm friends with the prettiest girls, not the boys."

I am definitely not going to be a Room Mom this year, but I will volunteer from time-to-time not only to help out but to see what they're learning. I like to be involved in Soph's education as much as possible. Even the school Principal said that they have found that children of parents who get involved in their education do better academically and socially.

Here's a picture of Sophie hopping in on the driver's seat at every opportunity. I go through this pretty regularly, where she climbs into the drivers seat and pretends to be driving. All the buttons, knobs, dials on the dashboard fascinates her so much! She must get this from her Daddy. I can't believe she's already talking about getting a convertible when she's older.

Last final note, we lost Ernie. The past few months, he was having excessive complications due to his old age. It actually all started last fall/winter when his neurological problems became apparent... unable to walk, tripping all over himself, running into things, barking at Chief all the time, roaming around in circles aimlessly in the backyard, getting lost in corners, paralysis....it was really sad to see the decline in his health. He was also having some kidney issues, drinking a lot of water and barely eating. He used to weigh 45 lbs. and dropped down to 35 lbs. Of course, he was 14.5 years old and never once was sick. He was the best sentry dog anyone could ask for. He will be missed. I'm sure Scottie is very happy to see Ernie :)

Ernie-Bernie, March 1996 - September 2010

Just Soph-Soph

Look at this cute baby deer!  (Click on photo to enlarge.)  She was very close to the side of the road on our way back to the house.  She walked across the street to meet up with her mother and sister. When she safely got to the other side, we looked at each other as if we knew one another.  It was so precious!! And made my day :)

So things... I feel, are winding down (with our house) and you can actually smell fall in the air.  A couple of days ago it was barely 60 degrees in the morning.  For the first time in quite a long while, well, since I was a kid, I'm sad to see summer just about over.

I don't know about others out there, but it seems the older Sophie gets, the busier I become.  For some reason I was thinking it would become less busy.  I was talking to my dentist about it very early this morning and he said the same thing.  He's a lot busier now that his kids are older, with all their extra-curricular activities and basically ferrying all of them around town.  I can relate and I only have one child!

By the way, one of the things I always like for my dentist to check is the deterioration/recession of my gums.  This time, I believe I've been able to significantly slow down the process.  I can actually see as well that my gums are not receding, but in fact are growing back together perhaps (?).  For the past 3 months I make a conscious effort to actually swish my mouth a little before ingesting Asea.  I have to say, I'm pleased with the results and wished everybody knew about this unique product.

On the topic of teeth, take a look at Soph-Soph. She actually lost both of her upper front teeth. But I only have a picture of her with one tooth gone. Because of the way she smiles, you hardly notice the gaps, even with two teeth missing, which I apologize I do not have a picture at this moment.

And so to really show that she lost her tooth, I had her smile really wide and big like this....lol.

This next picture reminds me of Minnie Mouse :)  I wonder why....lol

It seemed Soph's teeth were loose forever, actually since the start of summer.  She recently lost both in less than a 2 week span, practically right after her photo shoot. They just simply fell out.

This last picture I think really shows how creative she is.  She can spend hours doing arts and crafts (which equates to big mess!) versus playing with her toys (which she really isn't in to anyways).  She's mentioned in the past she wants to be an artist and paint pretty flowers.  She did this masterpiece all by herself using things she could find around the house.  And then surprised me by taking photos with my iPhone.  This one isn't too bad.

Flower in vase, Aug 6, 2010

Soph's photo shoot at University of Utah

This past Thursday was Soph's photo shoot for Waterford Institute.  For those that don't know Waterford School is a private school here in Sandy, Utah.  It was a big project to promote their educational products on their website and entailed at least 5 days of shooting.  The photos below were taken with my iPhone, definitely not by the professional photographer.

Me: "Soph smile" Yep! This is what I get, a perfect forced smile.

In total there were 30 models/kids between the ages of 4 to 8 and several model/adults to represent the teachers. It was pretty interesting and fun, a little tiring until the right shot was finally achieved.

The photographer was hilarious, claiming that it was due to the fact he was functioning on 4 hours of sleep. However, one mother in particular did not appreciate his humor so much, as he made a negative comment about her daughter's choice of clothes.  Of course, assuming she received the same email like everyone else she would have known that the kids were not supposed to wear white, black or anything busy.  The mother later asked me "what does busy mean?" Oh, well, I guess that explains it.

Getting headphones adjusted and body positioned just so

Having to deal with so many kids, the photographer basically color coded all of them when giving out instructions. Soph was known as the "pink" girl.  Of course!!  And the "red" boy, oh boy! appeared to be suffering from Tourette's syndrome and ADHD shouting out "sh@t" and "they're gay!"

I can't imagine how they can coordinate all 5 kids in a classroom to do the same thing at the same time.  Well, it only happened for a split second. I believe the photographer was lucky enough to capture that shot with his fancy camera.  No kidding, this is snapshot of what it was like....  ["Red" boy needs to put his arms down. "Red" girl needs to stop looking as if she's reading the Wall Street Journal newspaper.  "Light blue" boy needs to stop squinting.  "Green" boy, perfect, don't move!  "Purple" girl needs to smile more and looks as if she's stuck in the moment.  "Pink" girl needs to lean forward more, etc.  Okay, "red" boy needs to turn around.  Everybody needs to place their hands on the keyboard. "Pink" girl needs to pretend she's writing/calculating...] and on and on for 3 hrs.  I was exhausted just listening to it all!

Sophie with her pretend teacher

One of the things Sophie was supposed to do was accept an award from her teacher with a big grin and with lots of excitement on her face.  Did that happen?  If you know Soph, you probably already know the outcome.  The photographer said, "NEXT, go get the "green" boy.....Thank goodness, there was one boy, yes the "green" boy (aka Vance), that took his cues spot-on.  I believe it also helped that he was the oldest in the bunch.

Pretending to be working on the computer

Another cute little girl began crying because she was shivering from being cold and just broke out in tears....So she was out of the picture, literally and figuratively, for awhile.

I actually have to give a lot of credit to the photographer and the crew.  They did an amazing job with all the kids.  I think working with babies, kids, and animals are probably the most challenging.

Once the pictures have been selected to go online on Waterford's website, I will leave a comment herein with the link.

Soph's pretend teacher and photographer

So the lesson I learned about this particular photo shoot....things like tears, unruly behavior, no smiles, people in the way, can be resolved by blurring things out.  I asked Soph if she enjoyed modeling; she said "it was very boring" but still liked it anyway because she made some money, which by the way is going into her savings account for college.

June (yes, I know a very insipid title)

I can't believe it's already July.  Oh, Yes!  Happy 4th of July everyone!

Just think Sophie starts 1st grade next month.  A gazillion of things have been going on the past month and I don't see things slowing down any time soon.  I'm so glad I've found a product like Asea that is a boon to my boundless energy and endurance; a requisite to accomplishing everything on my plate while staying sane and strong.

I now see why the "reactive molecules" found in Asea is very popular amongst professional athletes, as well as, for those looking to repair and replenish their cells for better health.  I'm so happy with the team I'm in.  It's so close to the top and includes some of the original founders like Dr. Gary Samuelson's wife.  For those that don't know, Dr. Gary Samuelson is the atomic physicist who discovered how to replicate reactive molecules (found in your healthy cells) stabilized outside of the body.  It only took 16 years for someone to accomplish this feat that is undeniably cutting edge and a medical breakthrough.  Click here for more information about Asea, the only Redox Signaling product available.

Sophie has her first paid assignment with Craze Agency the middle of July.  I'm working on trying to get one of Soph's friends, Charlie in on this project so that way she'll be working with someone she knows.  I'll have more information about this later.

We recently had friends come visit us from AZ, and had such a great time while they were here.  I originally met my dear, beautiful, friend (inside and out), Tanya when we lived in Mesa.  Tanya's little girl, Jaida and Sophie were both enrolled at The Little Gym when they were like two years old.  We're both introverts and so it took us about a year before we finally introduced ourselves to one another...lol.

They have three really amazing, cute kids.  I just love this family! Jaida is probably the most precocious child I've met. Sometimes I forget she's only 6 years old. Bryson, to be honest reminds me a lot of my hubby.  He's such a cute little boy with the most amazing blue eyes (just like his mother).  And Rylan, oh my goodness is the most adorable, sweet natured baby with a bubbly personality. He's irresistible and incredibly cute.

My other friend, Kathryn and her husband were here recently as well.  Kathryn and I used to work together when Fleet Mortgage Corp was around in Columbia, SC.  It's been like 10 years since we last saw each other.  She and her husband were here in Utah visiting, looking for their new home. Can you believe it!  Of all places for her husband to transfer, they chose Salt Lake City.  I'm really looking forward to hanging out with them.  They too have a new baby boy, Cooper.  I usually don't look at mouths right off the bat, but Cooper has got the prettiest lips and is definitely a cutie.

It's going to be so much fun having Kathryn and her family here....just like old times, when we all lived in Lexington, SC and worked together in Columbia, SC eons ago.

Soph is doing well in her swimming classes.  Initially, I thought she had forgotten everything she had learned the past 3 years, but now she's made drastic improvements and is enjoying it more than ever.

She's still enrolled in gymnastics and likes it a lot even though she's struggling with her backbends and climbing the rope.  On the bright side, she's a wiz when it comes to doing the hula hoop on the balance beam.

So now we're waiting to get everything finalized with the selling of our house.  And then the real work begins when we have to pack and move.  I certainly hope we can get all this sorted out and get settled into our new hibernaculum before school begins and winter sets in.

This is just a snapshot of what's been going on with us.  Hope you and your family have a great holiday weekend.  Be Safe and Be Well!

Weather woes

Date: June, 17, 2010 - Wednesday

I believe we're finally over the cold snap here and we can now enjoy some warmth (I hope).  I checked the thermostat this morning and brrr... it read 65 degrees in the house.  Of course that's with one window ever so slightly opened.

Poor Soph had swimming lessons yesterday and temperatures dropped to 56 degrees (we're definitely below average temperatures which is the low 80's); now that's what I call a FROPA.  Still, swimming lessons carried on at Draper Pool; they do not cancel lessons unless it's raining.  At least she had her wet suit and the pool is heated to 85 degrees.  She seems to be enjoying swimming lessons a lot more this year, only because her instructor does not make her jump off the diving board....lol.

At first I was disappointed I was too late enrolling Soph in her usual swim classes.  But now that I see how much fun she's having....WELL.  It's funny how things work out and so far I'm pleased (including the cost! I'm saving almost $15/class).

Yes, a lot has been going on as you can see by the mere fact I don't update my blog as often as I would like. I don't even know where to begin -- the house has consumed a vast majority of my time.  I kid you not, we had an average of 5+ showings a week.  Once we lowered the price of the house, then the offers started coming in. It almost looked as if there was going to be a bidding war.

Now that we have our solid offers, I can stop showing....Whew!  If all goes well, we will be moving the end of summer.  If not, I fear I may start shoveling snow in September.  Who's idea was it to move here?

All I can say is the next place we live will include, in the HOA, snow removal on the driveway :)

Poor Kitty

Me: "Why is there plastic wrap over kitty's face?"

Soph: "It's so she doesn't smell the chemicals from the strawberries."

Me: "There are no chemicals in the strawberries. And besides you're eating them."

Soph: "But they're healthy chemicals for me and unhealthy for kitty."

This is a typical conversation I have with Sophie everyday.  Does anyone feel sorry for me? ....(I didn't think so.)  I'm still trying to figure out how she was able to obtain all 4's (full mastery) on her last trimester grade report :o/ ?? Hubby and I would like to see the median score in her class....lol.

Sophie - Student of the month for May

Yes, Soph has come a long way since the beginning of the school year. She's still shy, however underneath her diffident exterior is a passionate, eager, bright little girl that fills my life with lots of pleasure and joy! Congratulations Sophie!!

While we were on vacation (which I will post later this week), Soph's school had a Dads and Donut day and a Moms and Muffins day. The yellow flowers were picked by Sophie to give to me.  She said she chose the yellow flowers (instead of the pink flowers) because she knows how much I like sunflowers and daisies. You know what?  She's absolutely right! No wonder she's student of the month :D

Just Pictures :D

Soph's Valentine's Heart. After laboring over the colors and coloring, she has something she's quite proud of.

Mia and Sophie

Soph waiting patiently for her turn (sort of).

Soph can't stand it any longer and starts acting like a clown. Mia diligently working on solving her math skills.

Hero Day...finally! This is where I get to talk about Sophie & read stories to all the kids. (Frankly, I don't see hubby doing this :o/).

Starting line-up. Let's hear it for Sophie! Lot's of woohoo's and high 5's.

Soph has something nice to say about everyone in her class, including Savannah's great smile.

My little SI model cute as a lady bug

You might have noticed I haven't had as much to time to update the blog. Not nearly as much as I would like, even though I have a lot to say. I've just been so busy with life (which btw has been action-packed) and all of Soph's homework and projects. So here's a quick snapshot to show how we've been busy with life, especially where Soph is concerned.

She's so looking forward to being the "Everyday Hero" this Friday. They have been learning about patriotic symbols, learning about the flag, it's colors, stars and stripes and what it all represents. So we had to create a flag that represented Sophie on standard size paper. In a nutshell, this flag portrays Soph.

Everyday Hero

You may not be able to see everything, but the stripes represent her age. The pink and purple represent her two favorite colors. You'll see her favorite food is spaghetti and favorite dessert is yogurt. Her favorite shows are Dragon Tales, Kipper, Noddy, Berenstein Bears and the Goodnight Show. She wants to be an Artist and a Doctor when she grows up. She taught herself how to hula hoop when she was just 4 years old. Her two favorite princesses are Snow White and Aurora. Sophie is so proud the way her flag turned out and can't wait to share with everyone in her class.

100 Days

Soph's school is about to approach 100 days at school. The assignment for next week was to make a collection of 100 items... whether it be cheerios, marshmallows, stars, toothpicks, etc. We decided to use noodles... actually garlic, spinach fettuccine. And at the same time construct a house with it. Soph kept saying, "this isn't going to look good, I want to do a Christmas tree, this isn't going to look good, etc." Still, I had her color all the noodles and to her surprise, she ended up loving it and can't wait to bring it to school next week.

Switching gears, we went to Gymboree to buy another pair of jeans as she's growing like a weed, however this bathing suit was the highlight. Doesn't she look like a SI model?

My Little Lady Bug

Okay, okay maybe not.

Hope everyone's New Year is off to a good start!

Soph Singing French (Nuit de Folie)

Does it sound French? Well, maybe not.

Can she sing? Uhhhh, not really :o/

Soph listened to this song several times. I didn't know she was trying to learn the song until I played it again and this time she started singing the best she could for an English speaking, just turned 6 year old.

Sophie's Kids

This post is really appropriately titled "Sophie's kids." She's always saying "my kids...." thus referring to her classmates.

So, here's her Kindergarten class picture of all her "kids." Being a "Room Mom" has allowed me to enjoy interacting with all these cute kids. Some are really smart, some suffer from ADD, some are funny, some are allergic to peanuts, some are wild, some are calm, some are shy, some are very gregarious, etc. According to Soph's teacher, she does what she's supposed to do. Is she turning into an L7 like her mother? Hubby's biggest quibble about me, I'm too square....lol.

I never really signed up to be a "Room Mom." It just kind of happened, but I'm not complaining. As long as I'm able I don't mind helping out, and besides Sophie luvs it when I volunteer. Hubby, an intelligent listener commented one day when I said, "I have to go volunteer today." He said that doesn't sound very good if you "have" to volunteer. But seriously, I don't mind it all. And plus, I believe parents need to be involved in their kids education as much as possible.

As before in preschool, the kids know I'm Soph's mom. They always tell me not only does Soph look like me, but that she sounds like me...hmmm.

So far, Soph has done well in school, achieving all 3's and 4's on her report card. She has advanced to level 2 in her reading and level 2 at gymnastics. She still wants to be an artist; however, she also wants to combine that with being a doctor. Her daddy approves.

Kindergarten picture

Well, hubby and I are not as pleased with Sophie's Kindergarten picture, mostly because of her "Elvis" smile. So, for now I am just going to post it here as I'm sure there won't be very many onlookers and lurkers :o) Of course, it will be printed in the blog blurb for posterity.

When I asked Sophie, if she liked the picture....it was a definitive "yes, yes, yes!" But then again, the goofier the picture, the more she likes it. It's nice to see she doesn't take these things serious....lol.

Family turkey project & making Halloween crafts

One of Soph's homework assignment as a "family activity" was to disguise a turkey. He is afraid because Thanksgiving is coming! And needs to be all dressed up in a disguise so he won't get caught!

Mrs. Westover said in the past family turkeys have been dressed like ballerinas, football players, farmers, hula dancers, Elvis, doctors, spys, etc. Well, all of those sounded really cute but a little complicated to me especially since I am not that artistic. Soph originally wanted me to dress him up as a scarecrow, but I was scared I would botch that up as well.

After about 30 minutes of brainstorming, we finally agreed on disguising the turkey with leaves to blend in with nature. Sophie was thrilled and I was even more since I didn't have to draw anything, just cut with the help of a leaf template I found online. Soph did all the coloring and I cut out the leaves. Great teamwork, huh?

Here are some pictures of the turkey who is actually a girl (of course), named Leaf (how original)...lol.

Now you see her

Now you don't

Now you see her

Now you don't

The Halloween party was also a success. I was responsible for crafts and we made these cute, witch's broom with treats. All the kids had lots of fun putting their broom together.

Here are the instructions to make a paper bag witch's broom:

Supplies Needed

• Paper bags (size depends on how large you want your broom)
• Raffia
• Scissors
• Dowel rods or sticks or wooden spoon (I used a wooden spoon/spatula)
• Cereal or candy

1. 1. Fold a paper bag in half, overlap if you want broom bristles to be long. Carefully trim the ends of the folded part of the bag to make fringes (creating the bristles of the broom).

   
   

   
   

   2. Fold another paper bag in half and cut the top off. Proceed to cut slits in the bag to make more fringes for another layer of broom bristles.

   
   

   
   

   3. Fold the bristles back to expose sack. Then, fill your bag with different cereal, popcorn, treats or toys and insert the stick into your bag while cinching the bag around the stick. Add your extra paper bag that is fringed over the top of the first bag and cinch it around the stick also. The cut bags SHOULD cover the base of your paper bag.

   
   

   
   

   4. Tie the bags to the stick with raffia. The paper bag fringe is the broom bristles and the stick is the broom handle. If you want you can color the bags or add any decorative embellishments to dress it up.

   
   

   
   

   Happy Halloween!

Happy Labor Day

Yes, fall is my favorite season; however, I'm not quite ready for it this year.  Summer just flew by especially with all the rain and cooler weather that fell upon us almost daily in May and June. 

Here is a  picture of a mammoth sunflower I planted in June.  Now if I can just have a whole backyard of these sunflowers and other wildflowers.  Instead we'll probably end up having a golf course behind us...lol.  BTW, that sunflower is taller than Soph.

Soph really likes Kindergarten and likes her teacher, Mrs. Westover, a lot.  Heck, I even like Mrs. Westover.  She's a very nice, soft spoken, but stern teacher placing a lot of emphasis on reading.  Based on previous experience, she has seen great strides amongst kids reading abilities when parents read to their child every day versus the ones that didn't.  I read to Soph every night, if not several times throughout the day.  For every 10 mins of reading, Soph colors in an apple for each day during the month of September.  Once all the apples are colored in, she can hand in her "colored apples" to her teacher.  This is an on-going assignment until the end of school.

Mrs. Westover's way of discipline is something I never heard of; she uses the marble method.  She said when kids hear that marble drop in the jar...uh, oh.... it's a sound kids don't like to hear.  They know they better shape-up, wise-up, otherwise parents will be receiving a phone call.  Soph's a pretty well-behaved child and very mature for her age, so I'm not too worried about it.  

She looks forward to school every day and wishes she could go even on the weekends.  I can already see she is very interested in how everything works, including the human body.  She saw a human body model at Barnes and Noble and immediately wanted it....NOT the barbie dolls, not anything one might think a 5 year old little girl would be interested in.  From the time she was a baby, I can recall she showed definite preferences and was quite willful.  She knows what she likes and what she doesn't and is still quite willful even to this day.  However, she isn't very noisy about expressing her wants unless she wants it badly.  So I broke down and got her the model human body even though it was geared for 8+ year olds.  She absolutely luvs it!    

If I had to point out one of Soph's strengths, it would definitely have to be her knack to memorize.  She has excellent memory, memorizing all her favorite shows, commercials, books, etc.  I find it quite humorous and amazing.

Hubby is home for this long weekend laboring around the house and work as usual.  He's also enjoying his new car we got a couple of weeks ago.  It's a beautiful bluish, gray sedan that has a lot of cool features.  We had our car search narrowed down to one of three Mini JCW's and an R32.......BUT....... I received in the mail an outstanding, smokin', sweet deal for the BMW 328 iX. ....almost too good to be true....so, we thought....surprise, surprise!!  Even though the BMW is more expensive than my Tiguan, payment wise it's cheaper than my Tiguan (same terms and all).  I'm beginning to believe my.....ahh, never mind :o)

Enjoy your long Labor Day weekend!

Just Us Update

You might have noticed I haven't updated the blog as often as I usually do...just really, really busy with day to day life.  However, I do Tweet every day.  If you're interested and want to see more pictures, be sure to follow me on Twitter.  

It's about time for Sophie to start Kindergarten this Thursday, 5 days a week.  Last week during the "Open House" at Ridgeline, we met her new teacher, Mrs. Westover.  I sense Mrs. Westover is going to be a great teacher.  Soph even told me she liked her new teacher a lot, perhaps more than Mrs. Chris and Mrs. Clark :o/  

During "Open House," Mrs. Westover had her students along with their parents go on a scavenger hunt to find specific things like their locker, cubby, garbage can, as well as slide down the slide, know how to open the gate to the playground, etc.... and last but not least find the school principal, Dr. Higgins.  And so we met with him briefly as Soph decided to put on her shy persona to avoid situations she feels uncomfortable in.  Nonetheless, he's a very nice, personable and gentle man.  

I'm debating on whether or not I should volunteer for the PTA.  It seems a bit much as I always help out as much as I can volunteering just for Sophie's class, but for the entire school, not too sure about it, especially if some of the things that have been tabled in our household spring into action.   

Initially, I had Sophie enrolled in the morning class.  Because I do not work (outside of home), I decided to give up the slot for those parents that do work and go with an afternoon class instead.

During this summer, I believe Soph had a major growth spurt.  I deliberately bought size 5 pants that were a tad too long the latter part of May.  Thinking Soph had plenty of opportunities to wear them later, they were shelved in her closet for a couple of months.  Recently, I had Soph try on the pants to see if she grew into them.  And to my surprise, she was wading in water!

When Lennie, Soph's swim teacher mentioned she's tall and skinny, I actually laughed it off. Today, I finally took some measurements and she still weighs the same as she did 2 years ago and so that was no surprise.  However, when I measured her height....that just about blew my mind.  According to the children's growth chart percentiles calculator, she falls in the 23rd percentile for weight and 62 percentile for height.  Last time I measured her, she was in the range of 60% and 26% respectively.  Complete opposite of what it is today.  When I measure her up against me, her head is right below my...ughm, bosom.  So Soph has transitioned from Sumo wrestler to Olive Oyl (well maybe not that extreme).

One final note, tomorrow, is Soph's "getting acquainted " and assessment visit with Mrs. Westover.  I sure hope she has not forgotten everything she learned from preschool.  Her memory tends to flip flop from elephant to fish.  At the same time, she does a remarkable job at reminding me of things when I'm having a senior moment.

I Can Read

Lately, Sophie has become quite engrossed in reading all by herself.  Ever since we got our Far Infrared Malibu sauna, which we use faithfully 6x a week, Soph and I spend a lot of time reading while roasting.  Actually, it isn't that bad; you just sweat a lot without feeling overly hot :)  

Anyway, she insists coming in the sauna with me and so we spend the first 20 minutes reading her books, which then allows 30-35 minutes for myself. That 30-35 window all to myself in my private sanctuary is heavenly!  Listening to the "soothing music" of Zen.....well, that's what Soph calls it makes the experience, well very soothing and relaxing. 

We would like to thank Uncle Eric for the "I Can Read My Little Pony" books.   Soph sure is enjoying these little books, and she's actually learning to read.

Here is a snippet of Soph reading one of her My Little Pony books.

Meet Daisy

Poor Elmo lasted exactly 3 days.  Sophie was soooo sad....um...about as long as a fish's memory.  Overfeeding probably contributed to Elmo's demise.  Apparently, whatever they don't eat (which is not much; their stomach is about the size of their eye), you should clean up right away as it can quickly foul the water, especially in a small fish bowl that isn't filtered.  

So, meet Daisy, a Betta fish.  She's quite friendly and beautiful. We're now feeding one flake a day or less depending on if she eats it right away.  

Meet Elmo

Sophie went to Sophia's Birthday party yesterday and came home with a fish.  It reminds me of the time I went to a Birthday party and came home with a hamster.  Poor Charlie met his fate by breaking out of his plastic bubble cage.  He found some colorful beads, actually my Mom's bead necklace, that were apparently extremely toxic as the poor thing barely nibbled on the beads.  I only had him for less than a month.  

Anyhoo, from the sound of his voice I could sense hubby was not elated with Sophie's new pet.  But on the bright side Soph's always wanted a small pet she could take care of and more importantly she's not allergic to this pet.  

Fishy Elmo got his name because 1.) he's a fish and 2.) because he's red.  Let's see, I wonder who came up with that name?  To be honest I don't see much red, if any.  Elmo is growing on me and is actually quite cute.  It's fun to watch him him eat and poop :o/