Author Archives: Amanda

First Day of 1st Grade

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I remember when they handed Jayden to me. He peed on me. I didn’t care. I just looked at him and though ‘He’s so beautiful.’ He was this perfect baby. So perfect it scared me. He was beautiful, he was so good.

Yesterday I took him to his first day of 1st Grade. This beyond Kindergarten, we’re in the numbers now. It’s almost like a countdown, or should I say up to when my baby will be leaving me.

Here are pictures of his first day ~ Gino was at work, so he there’s no pictures of Jayden and me or Gino and him.

Finally after waiting all summer he saw his girlfriend. I got a picture of them seeing each other for the first time ~ I know, I’m a nerdy mom!



We Figured It Out

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All because of one of Ella’s medical bills. I swear OHSU creates a million different accounts and one of them was mailed to our old address. Therefore, it never got paid. Then it got turned over to Oregon Department of Revenue and we got a letter from them regarding the hospital bill. Norm offered to pay Ella’s medical bills, as that’s why there’s a trust. The trust is for college, a down payment on a home or medical bills. Per Norm, I wrote all of Ella’s medical bills out of his checking account, which I am an authorized signer for.

Norm’s bank has nothing better to do than watch his accounts. They saw a check to Department of Oregon Revenue and called in the authorities. They lady who’s investigating me told my grandma on the phone today that I wrote Oregon taxes out of his account. Guess what State of Oregon, I have backup that it wasn’t for fricking taxes. It was for a medical bill! I can’t wait to throw it in their stupid faces.

UGH.

I think I should sue his bank for harassment. I’m happy that Norm will be taking his stuff out of that bank, however, this just shows me that crap that comes along with Norm. I’ll still be there for him and I’ll do his accounts receivable, but I don’t think I want to have to worry about every thing I do. I’m going to have to turn the bills over to Norm and hope that my Grandma can help him with them.

1st Grade Homework Ideas

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It’s Works for Me Wednesday and instead of me telling you what works for me this week I’m going to ask for some advice on something that I’d like to work for me. It’s a backwards edition of Works for me Wednesday.

My son started 1st Grade today and for homework we as parents get to choose what to do with our kids and fill out a log. We never send in the completed homework, we just send back in the homework log.

I’m looking for some creative and fun homework ideas that I can do with my little guy.

There’s lots going on over at Rocks in My Dryer that you should go check out!!

Inspiration from the Bishop

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On Monday night we went to a Fireside at the Bishop’s house. He was putting it on for the missionaries, and our missionaries invited Gino and I. So, we dragged my Grandma along with me. I know she didn’t want to go, and honestly, Gino didn’t want to go either, but they’re both happier than you could imagine that they did go.

The Fireside was on his trip that he takes to Israel. The trip that my Grandma and Gino were supposed to go on, but this year they won’t be going. Hopefully next year they’ll get to go. The presentation was amazing. Our Bishop is the most spiritual, inspiring person I have met yet. His passion floors you.

I think it was kinda cool how he showed some scenarios that prove the Book of Mormon to be true. I guess I could write about the main one that was so amazing. They discovered a cave in the town of Lehi. Inside the cave there were ancient writing on the wall and they had an archeologist come in and analyze the writings. He determined them to be from 600 B.C. and that they talked of predictions of Jerusalem being destroyed and it had a sail boat and 4 men w/strong legs. The archeologist was confused as there was no large body of water near enough for a boat and he had a hard time putting it all together.

The archeologist went to the University of Utah where he got wind of the the story Nephi talks about in 1 Nephi. He was shocked and said, “Hey! How do you know that? Where does that story come from?” They handed him a Book of Mormon and he read the story and said, “Oh my gosh! This is it!!! This is the story in the cave!”

Hearing that story from the Bishop alone had chills all over me. My Grandma wants to meet with him once a week, and so does Gino. I’m sure he doesn’t have the time for something like that, but it sure would be nice.

It was inspiring. I left wanting to be a better person. I left wanting to try harder to read the scriptures. I left happy with my decision to be right where I’m at in my life right now. I’m not perfect, and I’ll never be perfect. However, I’m trying really hard, and I’m happy with that. I feel blessed that I’m a part of a ward with humble people. People that have not judged me and people who have loved to see how much the church is slowly changing my family’s life.

I have put my BOM reading on hold, and it’s going to stay on hold for a little bit longer. I’m going to start reading with Gino from the beginning. Then once I get to where I left off on my BOM blog I’ll continue writing.

Doctor Visit Breakdowns

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Let’s start off with her 1 year checkup. She’s highly advanced, growing perfectly and a devil child. Yes, my doctor called her a devil child. It’s okay though, he saved her life so he can call her whatever he’d like. She’s 21.5 lbs and 30 In. long.

Things she’s doing…. eating EVERYTHING. She actually is quite obsessed with food, which is a little bit of a worry for me, but she loves veggies which makes me happy! She’s learned how to throw fits, which is no fun. We’re going to try the ignoring technique and see if it works. She still loves to dance, so as soon as I can get her into dancing she’ll be in it. I think I already said before that she’s off the bottle ~ she’s been off of it for about a month (maybe a little more) now. She loves video games and loves to turn the video games off when people (daddy and brother) are playing them. She loves buttons to press, especially if they turn off things so that she can look at everyone with a satisfied smile.

Things Ella says: See, Jay, Benjamin (this is new), bye, mine, mama, dad, please, working on thank you, all done…. I think there’s more but I can’t think of any more.

I haven’t updated with a video or pictures lately and I’m a total loser for that. Sorry.

Cardiologist appointment was today and I must say her doctor is such a sweet man! The girl who was getting her stats was looking at her and said, has she been in this hospital before? Did she go into SVT? I told her, yeah, when she was 7 weeks old. She said that she was in the room when they shocked her heart. She said she’d never seen anything like it before. They weren’t very hopeful that day, because nothing would get her heart rate down. So scary.

Anyways, so the doctor came in and said that if the EKG comes back good then he wants me to cut her medicine in half for 1 week and then the following week completely stop. Then he’d want a holter monitor on her for 24 hours to see what her heart is up to. I got nervous. The thought of Ella not having her protective shielding medicine had my anxiety up a little. EKG showed there’s still WPW, so we just continue on with what we’re doing and we’ll be back to see him in 6 months.

I Finished Breaking Dawn

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and it was WONDERFUL! The ending was perfect and I’m completely satisfied and okay that it’s over. I didn’t think I’d be able to say that, but it does leave wonderful closure. Of course, I’d love for it to keep going on and on, but that would eventually ruin the whole story. It has to end eventually. Hopefully we still get Midnight Sun someday ~ I think that hearing things from Edward’s perspective will put a whole new spin on things.

My next book I’m going to start reading is The Host. Also by Stephenie Myer. The story line seems a little different, but it has some pretty good reviews and I really love her as an author.

Blah!

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I’m a little less irritated today, but still pretty pissed. I didn’t go to church this morning, and not because of all this drama going on, but because it’s just too hard without Gino. He has to work today. I’m supposed to go on a picnic with some friends from church, so I’ll probably still do that…… just to get out of this house and get all of this crap off my mind.

It’s hurtful that I would be accused of something so shallow when I love Norm and have ALWAYS looked for his best interest. I’m the one that’s told him I don’t want a penny from his will. The only thing I’ve ever wanted is for an education, which has been promised to me since I was a little girl. I don’t want anything other than that…. and I’ve made sure that he and everyone else knows that. I don’t care about his money. I have him here so that he can be around the wonderful medical that Medford has to offer, and a beautiful place with low elevation so he can breathe. The funny thing is he’s not captured here, he’s only waiting for a major surgery, then he’s going home. Home to a place where not one soul will take care of him. He’ll end up in a care center and it will be a sad, sad thing. Here at least he’s in a beautiful retirement community, I take him out to eat, my Grandma takes him to her home to watch movies. There’s so much we do with and for him. Yet, we’re accused of wrong doing from people who don’t even care about him?!?!!? Money does disgusting things to people. Beyond my comprehension.

Talk about DRAMA!

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Boy, I can’t catch a break lately. My Grandma called me today to tell me that I am being investigated by the State of Oregon for elderly whatever. You HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!!!!! There’s a lot of greedy, money hungry assholes in this world, and unfortunately Norm (my Grandpa that I do books for) is surrounded by them. She is just as pissed off as me right now

A social worker showed up to his room and told him that it’s a secret and he has to keep it, because they’re going to come to my house and seize all of his books. He gets reports of EVERYTHING I do. He is not in any way in the dark, but unfortunately, his executor (who we will be getting rid of) likes to play games because we took his name off of the signature card at the bank. Norm told that social worker absolutely not, that is my family who takes care of me and everything that she does I have approved.

I’m so mad. Why in the hell do I have to be the one to be picked on, when I’m the one that’s here with the man taking care of him. I feel bad because my Grandma has been the one that has been attacked and accused, when she’s always only cared and taken care of him. Now it’s me. What’s sad is that it’s like his current executor is trying to make Norm have no say ~ why so he can just take over things and have a field day with his money????

Okay, so I know this was so personal and all that, but I’m pissed and I needed to write about it. This makes me just want to hand over all of his books right over to the vultures, but it’s not in his best interest. I guess I just take a deep breath, suck it up and deal with it. I’m glad that they could at least see that he’s not in any way senile, or not with it. He knows what’s going on, and I know that’s upsetting to him for people to assume that he doesn’t.

You know what’s sad? His current executor is LDS ~ probably the most un-LDS person in this world…. he’s a disgrace to my religion.

Sadness in the Twilight Saga World

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My eyes flung open this morning and I looked at the clock and cringed. 6:30am and I’m awake??? And my kids aren’t?!?! So I totally thought I’d fall right back asleep…. but then I did the math in my head. I went to bed at 9:30pm, so I got 9 hours of sleep. Here I am wide awake without children, so I grab the computer to maybe do a little bit of blogging, and sure enough Ella’s eyes fly open and she immediately notices the computer and drags herself up just to bang on it. Her eyes weren’t even fully open. What is it with children and destroying their parent’s quiet, alone time?

I heard last night that somebody leaked the partial manuscript of Stephenie Meyer’s Midnight Sun and she has now posted the first 200-something pages on her website and is not going to be finishing the book. That makes me so sad and mad. Why would someone do something like that. This series has done amazing things to my soul. I have never had a book, let alone a series effect me the way that this Saga has. The past couple of days I’ve tried really hard not to read, because I only have like 130 pages of the fourth book, and I don’t want it to end. I have enjoyed every single book, and every one has touched me in its own way. The characters that Stephenie created were beyond amazing. The love between Bella and Edward is a love that all of us girls only dream of…. I love my husband, but that type of love is literally only for the fantasy world that all of us girls live in.

I was looking forward to Midnight Sun, and a part of me doesn’t even want to read the first pages she wrote, because my heart will be saddened that there will not be an end. I could only imagine how sad Stephenie feels that someone she trusted leaked something so special.

On a happier note, I also read on her website that the movie is coming out 3 weeks early!!! Instead of 12/12/08 it’s coming out on 11/21/08. Um, YAY!!

I hope that Stephenie finishes Midnight Sun. And as I type this Ella is snuggling up to my chest. I have the most loving, snugly children… I am so thankful for them. I wonder if one day Ella will be reading the Twilight Saga and fall in love with it the way her crazy mother has.

A Musical Genius

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My son is amazing. I’ve talked before of just how amazing on the piano he is, and now today I’m utterly SHOCKED!

So, for the entire summer Jayden has not had ANY piano lessons or even practiced. Tonight was Jayden’s first night back to piano after a very long break. I expected Jayden to be oblivious to it all to be honest. Nope. He remembered everything. He can count his notes, play the songs, point out the keys, tell you what Forte means, what Piano means.

Way to go, Jayden! I am so proud of you and we are going full fledged into this ~ I’m buying him a big keyboard and I’m going to practice with him and I’m just so excited.