In Search of Myself

Where I've been (and where I am)

So . . . I mentioned before that I've been playing a lot on Facebook.  And I kind of like it the best over there.  It's actually a better way to stay connected, most of my blog friends are there, it's easier to upload to photo albums rather than post pictures individually . . . I don't know.

Right now there are just a few blog readers left who aren't on Facebook.  Can I convince you to follow me there?  I'm very easy to find -- just join and search "Jen Strange" and add me as a friend.  This is the picture I use right now.  [Although if I won't recognize your name, add something in the message field to give me a clue. :) ]

Thanks, and . . . GOBAMA!!!

Busy weekend

Jake turned 6 on Friday the 12th.  Aunt Kathy sent him a card with stickers and money in it.  On Thursday Priscilla and I took the 4 kids to Chuck E. Cheese (and those pictures are in HER camera.)  On Friday we brought Elauna with us to Red Robin, where we had dinner with daddy, Nannie, and Pa.

Then we all went to Nannie and Pa's house for cake and presents.

This is what we do for breakfast the day after birthdays.  :)

Saturday we had lunch with Nana before her shift at the bakery.  Today (Sunday) we went to Aowyn's birthday party at a park down the street.

This is what Jake was doing while all the other kids were gathered for cake and presents.  He's not so much for the socializing.  :) 

First day of school . . .

. . . 2 weeks ago.

I've been having so much fun on Facebook lately, I've been ignoring my blog!

as you can see, Jake is now too cool to smile properly.  :)

More math

I just realized that reading my recent blog entries, you'd think Jake and I sit around talking about math all day.  We don't.  It's just that he tells me things, completely out of the blue, and they strike me as so interesting I have to write about them.

Last night he was in the bath and suddenly hollered to me:

Hey mom!

What?

Do you know what 10,000 plus 10,000 plus 1 is?

What, bud?

Twenty thousand and one!

Uh . . . dude.

On the way home

We went to a birthday party for Ryan today (who turned 6 in July but was on vacation!) at an indoor pool.  It was SO freaking hot.  Jake didn't mind, 'cause he was in the pool.  Me?  I turned red.  On the way there we stopped at Target to buy a present (because I plan ahead SO WELL) and Jake talked me into buying Frosted Flakes because he likes the commercials.  Of course.  So on the way home from the party he opened them up and started chowing down.  It was pretty cute.

Oh, and when I told Jake we were going to Ryan's party today, he said "What?  Is he 7?"  Because we had already talked in July when it was Ryan's birthday that he had just turned 6.  And for Jake, a birthday party is a birthday party -- it means you're a number older.  :)

Random cartoon

I don't know why, but I love this cartoon . . . and ever since I read it MONTHS ago it randomly pops back into my mind.

Click here to view.  (It's G rated . . . perfectly safe for work viewing, LOL.)

He don't work for free

Yesterday I asked Jake to do something for me, which really wasn't something he needed to do -- he hadn't made the mess, but I wanted him to help me clean up.  When he didn't want to do it, I said "Come on, I'll give you a quarter!"  (Something that until now has been quite the motivator for him.)

Well this time he looked me straight in the eye and said "Ten dollars."

HA HA.

AND, Jake is getting SO good at counting money.  We were playing candy stand with our leftover Halloween candy (nope, we don't eat it all) and we'll change how much each piece will cost.  When each piece cost a quarter I told Jake there were 4 quarters in a dollar.  Then I said "How many pieces of candy can I get for 2 dollars?"  Bro didn't even miss a beat, he just said "Eight!"

THEN, the other day Jake found 2 quarters and 2 dimes.  He brought it to me and I asked him if he remembered what 25 plus 25 is.  He immediately said "50" and then I was starting to talk to him about dimes, and he said "I have 70 cents!"

I fully expect him to pass up my math competency in about 2 years.  (Won't take much.)

Great ADHD article

Click here to read article.

What an amazing example Michael Phelps is to the world, demonstrating what a kid with ADHD can accomplish with a smart and caring mother and a lot of hard work!  The 2nd page of this article is all about Phelps.

I have to say, I saw an interview on TV last night with Michael and his mother, and she's so smart and articulate (as a school principal SHOULD be, LOL!) and I just really enjoyed hearing about their lives.

Yes, Jake is mostly likely an ADHD kid.  We're still in the process of figuring out what it accompanies (in addition to Jake's sensory issues), because that doesn't encompass all his uniqueness.  So far gymnastics has been great for Jake as an outlet -- we're adding martial arts soon, and swimming might be next on the list.  He took 2 weeks lessons this summer and loved it -- is finally putting his head in the water!  Yay!

Channel surfing

This morning:

My mom, turning on the TV -- Jake do you want to watch PBS Kids?

Jake -- No, Nana, I want to watch the Olympics.

Awwwww!!!!!

P.S. 8-15-08

Does anyone else check the metal count every morning?  I got SO excited when I saw this, this morning:

Go us!

Cute kids

Lorien always seems to be missing when we pull out the camera.  She was at home in need of a nap this day, LOL.

8-8-08

Today is 8-8-08. 

In the words of Michael Scott: "it happens once every billion years."

-------------------------------------

Ok, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about:

Jan Levinson-Gould:	You already had a party on May fifth for no reason--
Michael Scott:	No reason? It was the 05/05/05 party, it happens once every billion years.

Kitty Cat

I can't believe I forgot to post here about Jake's new kitty!  Man, I am just NOT on the ball lately!

So Jake got a kitty named Milo, and Milo lives at Nana's house.  Milo is an orange ball of fluff, and he is very mellow -- Jake is constantly picking him up and lobbing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes (very small potatoes) to walk around with him, and he just sits there.  Good kitty.

Milo has a sibling named Shane, who lives with Aunt Kathy and belongs to her roommate Leslie.

On days when we don't go to Nana's house, Jake tells me that maybe we should go visit his kitten.  :)

My current computer desktop

Just found it at OfficeTally.com

If you don't know why that's awesome . . . then you need awesome lessons.

No, I'M the boss

Jake has a hard time understanding the whole who's in charge thing.  This might be because of his trouble with abstract reasoning and "executive brain functioning" (a deficit that Vanderbilt recently told us he has, but then couldn't tell us why or what to do about it.  Thanks, folks.)  Or it might just be that he's a bossy, I want to be in control of the world kind of kid.  What it all adds up to is a lot of arguing between he and I.

Yesterday as we were driving home from Occupational Therapy, Jake demanded that I take him to Publix to buy mints.  (He has recently decided that he likes mints, but we ran out.)  I told him that I wasn't going anywhere else but home, but that maybe sometime later this week.

Now I had just fussed at him for running away from me in a parking lot, so he was on his way to time out anyway.  Thinking he could even the score, he said "If you don't take me to Publix, I'LL put YOU in time-out for 10,000 seconds!"

Nice try, bro.  But not so much.

Awww, it's a baby.

Finally getting around to posting pictures of baby Lucy, our new cousin.