Got a Quarter?

Stelly: "Mom, what time is it?"

Me " A quarter to four"

Stella "If I give you a quarter will it be four?"

I love kids, they bring us back to the intent and purpose of life.

Stelly

Stelly
Originally uploaded by haddy2dogs

Self portrait

Short but so cute

I heard one of my three year old students say this and it is worth mention

"Get your fingers out of my world"

I am on the phone......

Why does my sweet husband set himself up for telephone failure? we rarely acknowledge that we have a phone let alone use it, so when we do it is for something really important. Pay a bill important, sick relative important. So why is it my sweet hubby always picks up the phone and dials .....while I am doing the dishes which happens to be the nosiest activity in our home. The other line is ringing and he is waving his hand at me as if I were a fly to be swatted gesturing that he is on the phone. Of course I know he is on the phone. I continue because I am aware that modern phones, unlike their predecessors are mobile. The dishwasher has yet to evolve to this state of service. Rather than simply walking away with the phone to a quiet place he insists on trying to quell the cacophony of household chores.

I hate phones. I don't find myself needing to hear someones voice through a piece of plastic. Yes I am a grump about this. It happens in my home that the phone always rings at the worst time. The minute I answer the phone the pot of soup will boil over or the fire place will smoke up the house causing the fire alarm to go off. Maybe the phone will trigger my son to spill milk on my computer or encourage my dog to vomit on the rug. I believe the phone does this to me because it knows I hate it.

So if you really want to talk to me and value the quality of our exchange shoot me an email .

On another topic,

I will be teaching a needle felting workshop on February 13th at the Serendipity School House

Time: 10-12

Cost: $28

It it always a fun class I have 5 spots left. Contact me for details if you wish to join.

haddy2dogs@yahoo.com

Merry Christmas

So what a lovely holiday. The last day of School Stella was going to preform in the Christmas sing a long. I was able to get off early to watch. It was so cute they whole first grade sang Rudolph first in Spanish then in English. I had my fancy new camera charged up and I got video of the whole thing. After the performance the parents could go to the class to pick up their child. I realized at that moment I had been so busy with filling orders I had forgotten the teacher gift! I ran to the class and signed to Stella that I would be right back. There is a new coffee house around the corner. They have gift certificates a fresh roasted coffee. Perfect. That's how my life rolls. There is always something right around the corner to save the day.

I returned back to the school just in time. Yes, just in time to witness the treats of the day explode from a poor little girl all over her clothes and reindeer hat. The teacher was trapped and couldn't leave the class so I guided her to the restroom to clean up. I set down my camera and purse and washed up her sweet little face and hands. She just made it to the bus in time. We dashed back to leave the gift and drop certificates with the Secretaries who are a constant blessing to me.

We then dashed over to pick up Haddy. I could feel the excitement in the air as we walked up to the school. Then I saw my son. He was shooting Silly String all over his friends. Everyone was laughing and running from him. Silly String coated the area. Great, who's gonna clean that up? Oh , well. He is so excited to tell me that at the White Elephant party he got Silly String and a Chia Pet. " Mom did you know these are handmade?" referring to the pet. Hmmm wonder if I could find them on Etsy.

I was feeling rather content and relaxed after a very good selling season so I offered up "anything goes dinner" . At the store the kids pick fresh crab and string beans. That night I prepared our feast and waited for my husband to come home. The kids were famished so I decided to let them start since my hubby was moments away from joining us. The phone rang and I left the room to answer. When I returned a few minutes later I was shocked to see my darling children plowing through the crab like termites. My husband came home to one leg I was able to rescue from the rampage. Note to self, next time buy more crab.

That night I decided to download the video of the reindeer extravaganza. I realized after extensive searching I had lost my new camera. Somewhere between the coffee shop, puking and silly string my camera had taken a hike.

Christmas Eve is huge for our family. It is the one time every year all of my husband's family commit to gather. They are a really fun group so we all have a good time. I was bummed about the camera but my mother in law brought hers so no worries. We decided to carpool to the party because my husband and I wanted to join in the festivities and we don't drink and drive. We met the in laws at the hotel and left our car there for the night. They would deliver us home safe and sound.

The evening was delightful as always. The camera batteries died after about 30 minutes. The best part was my sister's new boyfriend taught my son to play guitar, awesome. He also happens to be a chef so for the first time in about 12 years I didn't have to cook.

I now know why sugar plums should remain dancing in one's head. Someone had found some at a fair and was excited to share. Not so yummy but there was a heaping pile of fried oysters to redirect our palettes.

As the night came to a close we piled into the car for the ride home. Everyone was content and a wee bit drowsy. At home we settled the kids which was no easy task and got started getting ready for Santa. There was one hitch, I had been hiding all of the presents in the trunk of my car. My husband had to take a cab back to the hotel to fetch them. He returned disappointed because there were not that many. Well I had hid the bulk of them in reusable shopping bags way in the back and he didn't see them. Oh well.

The next day we were off to my mother's house. She had ordered a fancy prime rib dinner from Whole Foods, again yummy. The only problem is her oven wasn't working so well. I ended up hacking the roast apart to speed the process up. The kids were famished, go figure, so while we waited we had a salad course. Of course by the time the roast was ready they were full. Oh well. Grandma gave them each $50 gift certificates. The trick would be to make sure we didn't end up at Target or a game store.

On the way home my husband needed to stop at a store for something. It was a kinda creepy area so I locked the door from the inside. When he came back I unlocked the door and he opened it. The alarm went of. Really loud. We were flipping switches and starting the car to try and turn it off. Nothing worked and it was so loud we couldn't think. People started to come outside to stare at us. They didn't worry about theft they were just enjoying the show. My son kept trying to tell us he could help but we didn't pay attention. Somehow my hubby thought we needed to drive home with it blaring and get the set of keys with the remote buttons. As he backed out my son insisted we stop. He calmly got out of the car and asked for the keys. He then asked me to lock the doors again. He inserted the key into the drivers side door and .....silence. Duh, leave it to the Deaf kid.

So of course the kids wanted to shop yesterday. First we went to lunch at the Grilled Cheese Grill. It is a food cart in North Portland. They have a painted bus that you eat in. Nothing better than a grilled brie and pepper sandwich on a windy day. Greasy comfort food heaven. After that we went to the art supply store so the kids could shop. Haddy was holding a box of colored pencils. I ask why he already had a ton of good quality pencils. "Oh sorry mom I have a case of art fever".

So now I have one more day to relax then it is back to stocking my shop. What a great holiday it was. I hope you all enjoyed this joyous time.

Fairy Potion

I love my job working at a Waldorf inspired preschool. I don't have to work with charts , manipulatives, plastic figures or flashing lights. Instead I get to create stories, use beautiful art supplies and watch the children use their imaginations.

Right now there is a fear that the whole city will get a nasty virus which will threaten our existence. Teacher Johanna did some research and found a natural hand sanitizer formula we could safely use at home and school. We call it Magic Fairy Potion. For project last week this is what we made.

I sat with the children to explain.

"At school do we share?"

"Yes"

"Did you know there are some things we don't share?"

A look of confusion

"Sometimes we get sick. Sometimes we have fevers, stuffy noses or coughs. Do we want to share that?"

So it goes on like that for a few minutes then I deliver the magic,

"Last night the teachers wrote a note to the fairies asking for help. They left us some magic potion but we needed to mix it ourselves."

The children are partnered up, an older child with a younger child. They take turns dropping water into small spray bottles. They learn how to squeeze the dropper and let go in their bottle. They fill it 3/4 full then come to the teacher to receive the magic ingredients the fairies left. Ten drops of each is added. They shake their bottles then go to play. While they are playing a teachers fill the bottles with a bit of rubbing alcohol. They have hand sanitizer to take home.

Materials

Small spritzer bottle

Water

Peppermint oil

Aura Carcia Medevil Mix

Rubbing Alcohol

Well as it turns out there is no magic potion at my son's school. Both kids are home sick. So since I am stuck at home I think I will check out the Natrualkids Store and do a little Christmas shopping. There are a ton of Etsy shops there if you click on team member info you get a whole list.

Naturalkids Store

One cup of coffee

So tomorrow my family is going to join a good friend Layla with type 1 diabetes, age 6 on a walk to raise money to cure diabetes. Her mamma is an Etsy friend and the best mom I know. I am just tossing it out there that maybe you have $5.00 or $1.00 you can donate to help find a cure. If you can spare the cost of one cup of coffee that would be grand, it all adds up. I know I worry every day about my kids and they don't have any life threatening diseases. Here is my 6 year old's donation page to help her friend,

http://www.walk.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=extranet.personalpage&confirmid=87517597

and here is a letter from a friend who has a daughter with this dreadful disease

Imagine you're 4, or 3, or even younger, and you are diagnosed with Type-1 diabetes.

You're likely too young to know what's happening to you, but onset of this disease is rarely forgiving. The two big symptoms, unquenchable thirst and uncontrollable urination, appear, growing in intensity each day as your blood starts to become more and more acidic. Your parents won't have any idea, because they'll think your wetting the bed is a *result* of the constant drinking and tell you to drink less.

The diagnosis usually occurs when blood glucose (BG) and ketone levels are so high that you present symptoms of a bad cold, or the flu, and the doctor sends you to the ER - because you are way too sick to get out of this unassisted. By this time your BG may be 500 mg/dL or higher - normal is closer to 100 - and you'll need a night or two hooked up to an insulin IV to get it back to normal. You have no choice because your body no longer makes insulin, or no longer makes enough of it to matter.

That's bad. But there's more.

You NEED insulin. Eat without it (and eating is quite important no matter your age), and you'll just end back up in the ER again, likely within a day. Insulin isn't particularly effective when inhaled or ingested. It must be released into your bloodstream, just as it would if your pancreas were working properly. That means injections. Needles. Shots. You may not yet know how to read, or ride a bike, or jump rope, but you will know all about getting poked by tiny, sharp objects. Several times a day. Without those BG checks and injections, you'll die.

Imagine that this is your new reality. That's *really* bad.

Imagine you've gotten used to that routine for several years. As much as you can, at least. But - you guessed it - there's more.

Imagine you're sick, as Caitlynn is right now. Fever, vomiting, no appetite. Your body starts making ketones again - a normal part of fighting your illness - but to remove them, you need more insulin. Since you're not eating, that extra insulin also makes you hypoglycemic. You tiptoe that thin line for as long as you can't eat or keep anything down. BG constantly swinging too high or too low; there really isn't much in-between on sick days.

Now imagine looking into your parents' eyes, hoping they'll be able to fix it as they do other things, but the look they give you back lets you know that they are just as helpless as you. Now you, the child, know that all you can do is be strong, because this is your battle and no one else can fight it.

That just sucks.

Imagine the realization that this is your life, because Type-1 diabetes has no cure. Yet.

Now, imagine a cure, and making this a story no kid ever has to know.