But this time it was a top tooth. A front and center tooth. "A BIG TOOTH, Mom!" The tooth that she fiddled with all through our Primary Program practice this morning. The tooth she tried to get strangers to wiggle while we were at the grocery store. The tooth that was her obsession.
Thank you, Secondborn for helping her pull it out.
Now she can obsess about her other top tooth. It is also loose.
Today I took the kids to get haircuts. The Love Magnet climbed up onto the chair, smiled sweetly at the stylist, and announced "I want a mohawk."
(no, of course I didn't let her get one.)
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Yesterday was parent teacher conference.
The Love Magnet: At grade level in reading, thankyouverymuch. As I was talking with her teacher and the head of Extended Resource about it, I got teary. What an incredible blessing. My daughter can sound out new words. She can take spelling tests with her class. She gets more confused in writing paragraphs (because she wants to write as fast as her classmates and thoughts get jumbled before they get on paper) and math is difficult (hands on blocks are great, writing math with just numbers is hard).
Thirdborn: Still struggling in reading, writing and math (darn that dyslexia and dysgraphia!) But he got great grades for effort and attitude. Best of all he got a great grade in science. And, his teacher noted, that he does great in language when the books are read to him. He participates in class. And he is a very sensitive, sweetly endearing kid. (I already knew that but it was still great to hear him praised by others).
Secondborn: This kid does A work. But he suddenly became a teen.......every single one of his teachers said he talks too much. Really? My kid? My kid? Wait, didn't my mom hear the same thing about me? Yeah, I guess he is my kid. Darn it all. That was a trait I did not want passed down the gene pool.
Firstborn: He started out rocky but caught up and is doing much better. His teachers are please with his efforts and how respectful he is. We went to the seminary and met his seminary teacher. He participates, knows his scriptures, and is really loved over there. I got a bit teary. God bless the seminary teachers. God bless ALL the teachers. Every single one of them want to see my children succeed.
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Halloween was a riot. The Love Magnet lasted for about ten houses. She hates anything remotely scary or evil looking. All the blood makes her very concerned that somebody needs to go to the hospital. She'd rather have chicken noodle soup and hand out candy to the cute kids and pet the dogs wearing costumes.
That being said, it was funny to watch: when the neighbors saw her coming, suddenly everyone who could remove scary parts of their costume, did. Weapons were hidden. Masks were taken off. One kid who couldn't take off his exposed ribcage costume was so sweet and made sure that my daughter understood it wasn't real. She told him "You look gross" and wouldn't have anything to do with him. It made him feel bad.
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Last night was cub scout pack meeting and I took Thirdborn by myself. The theme was heroes. A lieutenant from the Sheriff’s department let the boys ask him questions. There were the usual “Do you get to shoot your gun?” and “Are you ever scared?” Then Thirdborn raised his hand and asked “How do you deploy your spike strips to catch a criminal in a police chase?” Everyone did a double take (including me).
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The latest Rachael Ray mag had a blurb about a website you could use. This website would let you send emails that would self destruct after being read or if they weren't opened for awhile. The mag said it would be great for sending gossip without getting caught. This really bugged me. Gossip is malicious. Why are people promoting it? Obviously, if you want it to self destruct, you know you are doing something hurtful and wrong.
Is it just me? My mom taught me not to gossip.
Another Rachael Ray moment: Julie Andrews was on the show. She is one of my all time favorite actresses. Julie and Rachael talked about an magazine interview Julie did where she was asked "Which virtue is overrated?"
Julie answered, "Chastity".
My heart was sad. As they joked about it I kept telling myself that not everyone believes as I do. Everyone has their own moral agency.
I believe in chastity. I teach my kids that it is not overrated, but highly valued. Enough said.
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Stuffed Acorn Squash Moroccan
Main Dish
Servings 10 (see notes for why)
My notes: I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted online for a recipe so I made up my own. I made a lot of filling which ended up stuffing up to 10 halves. When I tried to changed the amounts on Master Cook 9 software it came up with weird amounts. I think the filling would keep well in the fridge or freezer. This could easily be made vegetarian with vegetable broth and chickpeas instead of chicken broth and ground beef. Some of my kids loved this. Others didn’t.
1 cup couscous
3/4 pound extra lean ground beef
1 large onion, minced
1 cup baby carrot, diced
clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
8 dried apricot halves, diced
5 whole acorn squash, halved, seeds and pulp removed
10 teaspoons butter
10 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
2 cups fat free chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim bottom of each acorn squash half so it will sit flat. Place acorn squash in deep roasting pan. Place 1 teaspoon butter and sprinkle 1 teaspoon brown sugar in each half. Sprinkle each with a pinch of kosher salt and a grind of black pepper. Pour water into the pan to come halfway up the acorn squash. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, bring chicken broth to boil. Turn off heat and add couscous, cranberries and apricots. Set aside (couscous takes about 5 minutes to be ready).
3. Pour olive oil into pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrot, and garlic. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. Add ground beef, cumin, and cinnamon. Cook, breaking up beef, until beef is cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Stir couscous mix into ground beef mixture. Spoon 2/3 Cup couscous filling into each acorn half. Serve with fresh bread and fruit or a salad.
Cal 312, Fat 12g, Fiber 5g, Chol 34 mg, C
My sis-in-love is hosting a giveaway of two movie tickets to a special showing of Twilight that will include giveaways. Find her blog here. And tell her that Scarehaircare sent you.
FYI: If you win, I accept thank you's for the heads-up by way of chocolate. Really good chocolate like from Cummings or another local Wasatch Front chocolatier. Not a bag of Hershey's Kisses or M&Ms. After all, this is a special showing of Twilight.
First of all I am grateful for all the kind words I've received from people who care. Heavenly Father has blessed my life by bringing all of you to me. It's good to know that I can vent once in a while and not be accused of being selfish.
I am grateful for a good night's sleep. It does wonders for the attitude. I highly recommend it.
I'm grateful that The Love Magnet and Thirdborn received the H1N1 shot this past week. I just wish that Firstborn and Secondborn could have, also. I hope it happens soon. The Love Magnet and Thirdborn are doing just fine.
I've also got to throw in a gratitude for datenight. We haven't had time for one for a few weeks. Last Saturday, Mr. Wonderful and I had some celebrating to do. Both of us have October birthdays, I survived midterms, and Mr. Wonderful's bonus was better than we anticipated. So we headed to our fave seafood restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed a quite dinner for two where we did not talk about kids. Afterwards we went for a drive, just to prolong being together. Did I mention today how much I love Mr. Wonderful? Life is so very good.
Last of all, today my Firstborn received his patriarchal blessing (click on the link to access a definition. Our stake Patriarch is a wonderful man to whom my family has tender feelings. He reminds me of my Georgia granddaddy. This brought back so many memories from when I my granddaddy came from Georgia to give me a patriarchal blessing (he was his stake's ordained patriarch). We went to the patriarch's home after church, having fasted. Firstborn received incredible counsel. The blessing was a glimpse for me is seeing the potential of my son. I was in tears when it was over. So was our patriarch. I am grateful for the priesthood, yet again, and for the blessing of being able to witness this moment in my son's life.
The Love Magnet is not always the sweet, loving child.
Kids with Down syndrome exude love. I know that. It would be impossible to forget as people love to talk about it everywhere I go. But the general populace does not seem to understand that kids with Down syndrome also pitch fits. Whine. Mimic speech if only for the purpose of annoying their older brothers. All the things that typical kids do as they learn just how far they can push the envelope.
The Love Magnet has decidedly taken on the "push the envelope" challenge. She has gotten into the habit of acting out during the last 30 minutes of class. Swinging her backpack at the kids while they are lined up at the door. Pushing. Smacking.
Calling her fellow classmates 'poopyhead'. (It's the worst word she can think of at her age.)
She sometimes has a hard time understanding facial expressions. I visited her class to talk to her classmates. I explained that she has a hard time understanding their feelings by how they look, and to use words with nice manners to explain it. Telling her"Stop it! I don't like that, it hurts" gets the point across. These kids have been trying to work with me this way.
I have to admit, though, that there are times where I hate having to explain my daughter to children her age. It makes me feel that I am yet again pointing out that my daughter is different. I know they are going to figure it out anyway. I know that she looks different, acts different, is different. Truly, I do know this. I live with that knowledge ever single day.
Why is it so hard for me to deal with different? I have had 7 years to accept and get used to the fact. It is not a big deal to me that my daughter has Ds. But there are still times (still!) where I wish I could take a vacation from Holland. Along with all the great tulips, windmills, and Rembrandts, Holland also has guide book that is at times 3 feet thick, requires memorization and too often doesn't have all the current information needed, a language barrier, a myriad of doctor and specialist appointments along the way, and the siblings who feel you're spending too much time in Holland.
Usually that is my personal cue that I just need a vacation, period. Mr. Wonderful and I haven't had a weekend alone since we moved here. We're trying to find time and coordinate plans, but it just hasn't happened. We have been able to give the boys their own personal vacays away. EFY, scout camps, and a week here and there visiting a cousin's house all by themselves.
Okay, I vented. I allow myself to do that once in a while. I think any parent is allowed to vent.
Trust me, though, when The Love Magnet gets home today, I will hug her tightly and be thrilled that she is home.
I love her.
Down syndrome is not who she is.
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