September Is Almost Here!

September could turn out to be an exciting month for us.  Brian has his early learning screening.  If they accept him into the program, he'll get to go to the school district's pre-school program!  We had our first visit to the "old" building yesterday for the hearing and vision screening.  Not suprisingly, he passed with flying colors as well as impressed the nurse that he knew the letters that he was told to point ot on the card when they lit up on the box.  The stubborness presented itself when he would not wear the "special" glasses that cover one eye for him, so Nana covered one eye for him and then the other. 

We were at the building early enough, the building was locked; we had to find the buzzer to be buzzed in.  I don't ever remember having to do that before.  Sercurity since the school shootings after I graduated, I guess.  The nurse wasn't in yet, so we were able to check out one of the classrooms and met two teachers' aides.  Brain thought the room was so cool! There were toys, a sandbox with wet sand, and books! Letters of the alphabet were on the wall.  Then the nurse played a fun game with cotton balls, a cup, and headphones (for hearing test), and a match up game with a lighted box (vision screening).

We never mentioned the word "school."  Lately, that word has been causing grand terror in our house. I think I've narrowed it down to a) being terrified of potty training (we'd told him he has to use the potty to be able to go to school; turns out not to be true) and b) Dr. B telling me, with Brian  in the room, the next time he needs shots is when he goes to school.  I was really suprised with how friendly everyone was.

You may have noticed I used "old" farther up on the post.  The current building was built in the 1950s.  There is a new building being constructed as an "addition" to one of the two the middle schools. It was supposed to be open for the kids in the begining of September. Unfortunately, due to a Road construction Union strike that the building workers union Honored, the new building is behind schedule and will not open until October.  Both the aides, nurse, and office staff say that the new building is wonderful.  The first aide we spoke to told us a little more about the new building after I voiced my concern with the young kids being so near the middle kids.  She told me they are  two separate building connected using a walkway.  The kids will not interact with eachother.  The reason it is an "additon" is because the community was not agreeable to passing a referendum to rehaul the current building.  The aide says they will really miss having their own gym and the current playground complete with sledding hill.   The reson the new building is being "added" to the particular middle school is that middle school had the land, and it is a more centralized location.

So, here's to hoping I can convince the screening people Brian needs into the program.  In all reality, he does need in.  He doesn't have any other kids to play with besides the neighbor girl. She is never home, doesn't talk, or really play with him.   

Disney's Flower and Garden Show

Well, the computer is finally talking to the internet!  People pictures are up on Facebook.  Now I can put some really cool topiary and other pictures, that Paul took, up here.  The Flower and Garden Show ended the day after we left.

First up, "pumpkins" being grown in Mickey's garden at the Magic Kingdom.  Genus is Pumpkin Pie Are Squared. Species is  Pumking Maximouse.

This was the view outside of our cabin.  Looking up.

Here is a picture of Snow White.  She had all seven of her friends with her.  This was the closest we got to seeing Snow White. 

The Entrance Garden at EPCOT. 

Vacation

It's been less than two weeks since we've gotten home from Disney World.  This trip was  definitely different than our previous trips in just about every way.  Not in a bad way, but it was different.  We didin't take as many pictures as we had previous trips.  The weather was different, the company was different.

The first trip Paul and I took together to Disney World was for our honeymoon in March 2006 during the heart of Spring Break...  Definately a whole lot of new experiences on that trip including a bunch of special moments like being Grand Marshals in the afternoon parade at the Magic Kingdom.  And a different pace, somewhere between his wanting to see everything and my waning to slow down, than I was used to.  There were more people in the park than I had ever seen (growing up we always went in the fall or winter). We spent mostof our time at Epcot and actaully spent a day at Typhoon Lagoon. We had a budget and ate accordingly.  A few really special meals like dinner at The California Grill (very expensive, but it got comped), Canada Pavillion, Mexico Pavillion and a few breakfasts at Boma and Trail's End.  We wore "Just Married" buttons and were showered with attention from cast members and other guests alike.   We stayed off-site for the majority of the stay, a first for me, and we on-property for 4 days. For the first time in my life I felt usafe near my happy place when we were robbed on our last night before we transfered to Disney's property.  It was still a good trip, and our last night we wished we'd had more time to spend at the place.

Our second trip was our first as a family.  A Christmas gift from my parents because a remarkeable deal: buy 4 nights with tickets, get 3 nights with tickets free plus we got a free $200 giftcard.  This time we went in February 2009.  And froze. Quite literally.  The crowds were minimal.  The waits for rides almost not exisitant. Brian was 18 months old.  We did everything with him that did not have a height requirement: Dumbo, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Seas with Nemo and Friends. We spent most of our time at the Magic Kingdom.  Our meals, for the most part, were pre-paid as we had gottent he regular Disney Dining Plan.  It was our first trip having to deal with our child's allergy to apples.  The chef at every restaurant came and talked to us.  We ate at character meals, most noteably The Crystal Palace and 1900 Park Fare.  We went back to Boma for breakfast. We attempted lunch at the Canada Pavillion.  We stayed at The Fort Wilderness Cabins because there were two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom for less than the studio at a Vacation Club Resort plus the cabins are separate from eachother: no one would wake Brian up while he napped nor would he wake anyone, besides us, up when he woke up.  We took things at a slower pace and were still exhausted by the end of the stay. The pattern was: go to the parks in the morning, back to cabin for afternoon, and back to the parks in the evening.

This last trip was our third.  We were lucky to be able to take Brian back before we would have to start paying for him at age 3.  I got a code in the mail for 35% to 45% off the room rate at the Disney properties; I think we got either 35% or 40% off.  We chose the Cabins at Fort Wilderness again.  The thinking was this would be best for us again.  We got the regular dining plan and park hopping tickets.  We paid for the trip ourselves. This time my parents and brother came with us. They had their own tickets, dining plan, and cabin. I made dining reservations.  We ate most of the dinners together and a few breakfasts. Otherwise we split up.  We didn't tour the parks together.  My parents and Eric had Brian overnight for a couple nights, and they usually would take Brian in the afternoons to the pool. Paul and I actually had "date" time.  We didn't go to any water parks.  We actually went to all the parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.  Paul and I learned about the differences in tequilas at La Clava in the Mexico Pavillion.  The Flower and Garden Show was taking place at Epcot.  The weather was misrablely hot and sticky.  We'd go to the parks in the mornings, come back to the cabin before 2 pm, and go back after 5 pm. 

We don't have any plans to go back right now.  Still recovering from the last trip.  I'm still recovering from the poison ivy that went through my system while we were on vacation.  Today is my last day of antibiotic and steriod.   I hope I don't need another course of medications.  The side effects stink. 

I'll put pictures up on Facebook soon with people (love the privacy settings), and I'll post others here as soon as I can get the computer to cooperate.  It's not not finding the library.

Finished

The sweat shirt is now finished!  I have put a fusible interfacing on the the inside so that, hopefully, the stitching does not come out when I wash it.  I had to do the inside lines on the puppy by hand as well as the eye and the birds wings and eyes as well as the needles on the pine tree.  Brian is beyond happy!  It is the only jacket he wears right now.  Here are some pictures getting to the finished project:

Puppy's Face

Entire Puppy

Finished Face

Finished Project

One sweat shirt for Brian. He was soo excited to see that the birds and the puppy had eyes.  He will tell you the birds are cardinals and the tree is a pine tree with needles.   I haven't washed it again yet.  I am too much of a chicken.  I will wash it when we return from vacation crossing my fingers the entire time!

Embroidery? Sure I Can Do That....

Since we are going to Walt Disney World in under a month, now is the best time to try something new, right?  (Roll your eyes here!)  Well, maybe not the best time, but I had been thinking about how to use my sewing machine to embroider for a while.  We Finally had the time and a gift card for me to gather materials.  I needed (I am lacking a bobin, but that will soon be fixed).  So, off I went to gather supplies: a pattern to make an applique out of, patterned fabric for the applique in red, black, brown, and white,  one teflon pressing sheet, some tear-away-stabilizer, some heat 'n bond lite, embroidery floss in green, polyester thread in red, white, brown, and black, and one (hard to find) navy blue XS size sweatshirt. 

After a learning curve with the my *loveable* sewing machine; I realized it was easier to sew with just the electronic option on slow than try to use the foot pedal.  I will more than likely be redoing the branch because of this. Here is what I have so far:

Close up of the puppy

                                  

Birds on the branch

Close up of the birds

 Please ignore the blue thread. It's tacking the stabilizer to the back of the sweatshirt.   It isn't finished yet.  I still have to go around the puppy in white and figure out how to do the spots and an eye for him.  The birds need wings and eyes, and the tree needs needles (hence the green embroidery thread).    I've pre-washed all the fabrics I used as well as the sweatshirt. Hopefully once I wash it when it's done, the seams won't pop on the appliques.  Brian loves it already and can't wait for me to finish it!

More Pictures

More busted pipe

Looking into the break

It goes up higher

And across the wall

Checking out the fix

So, the wall in enclosed with drywall now, and mudded.  It still needs paint. My dresser is back in its place. And Brian can tell you he helped grandpas fix and "paint" (he means mud) the wall.

Today's Project

Question:   What do you get when you have a house that was bulit in 1924?

Answer:  Really old, busted vent/drain for the bathroom sink and toilet.

There is now a hole in the wall behind where my dresser used to sit.  As of right now, it is 55 inches tall and about a foot wide.  Dad and Grandpa Fred are working on fixing it.  They may have to repalce the toilet and part of the floor in the bathroom also. Brian is being a super helper. I have other pictures, but can't figure out with Windows 7 how to rotate then save the image. 

Snow, More Snow, and an Earthquake

On Monday night into Tuesday we got quite a bit of snow.  I don't have an "official" total, but it was enough to cancel quite a few school districts that surrounded us.  Not ours, but they did let the kids out an hour early.  It was blizzard conditions all day Tuesday.  Not the pretty, fat, wet snow that is fun to watch, this was almost ice crystal-like driven by a wind that was almost sideways at times.  I shoveled once in the morning, and once again in the evening.  Brian helped in the evening.  The snow in the driveway, which hadn't been cleared earlier, was up to his knees.  Brian is about 37 inches tall right now.  I would say about a third of him is his legs.  He fell over a couple times, but was thrilled to help!  He was happy to see all the baby snowplows (Bobcats) clearing the snow off the town's main business sidewalks.  There is a forecast that says more snow into Valentine's Day.  It should be par for course since last year we had snow on Valentine's Day too.

In other news, there was a 3.8 earthquake that happened around 4 am in Northern Illinois on Wednesday. We felt it, but thought it was a freight train.  We live close enough to the line where the CN railroad runs long, loud, heavy trains about 6 to 9 times a day.  Every time one of those trains goes by our apartment, the house shakes and the noise is a rumbling sound. Honestly, I didn't know it was an earthwuake until I checked Facebook and saw all the post from local friends at 4 am.  The story was on CNN's site for a while.  Of course the local news picked it up.  Especially because most of the stations had people out to cover the snowstorm at that time in the morning.  WGN had their reporter comment. I can't find the video, but he said somethign the fact of he thought it was a large truck rumbling past him until he looked around and there wasn't anything around him except the parked news van.