I am so out of touch

I have realized, though I am taking work as I want to, I am working more now than ever before. I guess because when I come home, my work doesn't end (online reports to submit, book sales, and ebay sales). I am just now sending the "thank you"s for Morgan's party that happened at the end of January!! It is really just so over-whelming. Next week, I was intending to fill it up with work days as well, but I think, instead, I need to take a break. Right now, as it stands, I would have 4 days off... So, if I take those 4 days off, maybe I can get caught up on a few things in the house. Anyway, I know this isn't interesting chatter, but it explains why I am not responding to e-mails & posting as regularly as I used to. Maybe next week...

Morgan's animated scream

This is why I LOVE to scare Morgan!! She is so animated!!! Now that I have this on video, Morgan wants to watch it over & over (and she gets scared every time she hears me scream in the video). Too funny!!

My deprived children

I took Jaden and Morgan out for a treat. We went to Dairy Queen & I bought them each a Dilly Bar. Jaden ate hers up completely, but it was a little big for Morgan. Jaden is 4 1/2, and this was the first time for both of them to ever go to Dairy Queen. They were in awe of the ice cream and cakes, and Jaden said, "Hey, mom, can we come her again some day?" As we left, Jaden asked what the name of the restaurant was, so she could remember to tell me next time that that is where they want to go for fun. It was a hit. I just never thought to take them before. Daddy stayed behind at the house, so we brought him home a strawberry shake. Everyone was happy :0)

Dance class stretches

Jaden always comes up with unique things, and I hate to stifle her creativity... This is what happened the day of her dance class:
Jaden was in the house walking around with a red gift bag (probably one of the gift bags from Morgan's birthday party in January). She was picking up various things, and putting them into the bag. Some of the contents were:
1. a muffin that she had opened the plastic wrap on, but I told her that she couldn't eat
2. a plate that goes to her kitchen
3. a baby toy key chain
There were a few other toys, but I forget now what all was in there. I asked her what she was doing. She said that she was bringing a present to her dance teacher. When we got to the dance class and were getting out of the car, I told her to leave the gift bag in the car. She had a fit!! She said that she couldn't leave it because it was a gift for her teacher. So, I told her, "Why don't you leave it in the car, and we will get her a real gift from the store and you can bring it next time." She said, "But, I want her to have this one."
I know her heart was in the right place, and I hate to stifle her kindness, so I just let it go. She gave her teacher a muffin that had already been open and toys that have already been played with. She was so excited to see her teacher get excited about the gift, so I guess I have to stop thinking about what was in the bag and think more on the gesture itself. She is a very compassionate child.

Morgan joins the dance class... 2 years early!

Sorry about the quality of the video. I didn't bring my camera, so I had to use my phone. Now, here is the story behind the video:
Morgan has wanted to be a part of the dance class ever since Jaden started in October of last year. However, the class age starts at 4. The teacher said that she absolutely wouldn't take anyone younger than 4 because the attention span isn't there, and they would wind up disrupting the class. So, every Wednesday, Morgan would copy what the class was doing from the sidelines. Today, she didn't want to be on the sidelines any more. She joined the class & followed everything the teacher told them to do. I didn't have my camera with me, so this is the best video I could get... By the end of class, I asked Tangy, Jaden's dance instructor what she thought about Morgan joining the group. She said< "ABSOLUTELY". She went on to explain that the age group she selected has nothing to do with age and everything to do with attention span. Morgan kept up with everything the teacher did, and did better than most of the class. She is officially a part of the Pee Wee Hip Hop group now, and therefore, will be in the next showcase when it happens. I am so glad she can now participate because she has wanted to be a part of it for so long!

Strange!

Ok, so a couple of days ago I said that there are weird things that go on in the maternity ward... Well, I just have to share this story. I know that the hospital photography thing isn't for everybody. In fact, I didn't use the hospital photographer when my girls were born either. I felt like it was too expensive for what little bit of photos you got. Plus, those $3.99 a sheet offers are always coming in the mail, so I just figured that I would get their pictures taken at a studio after leaving the hospital (maybe a few weeks later). So, I TOTALLY understand when people don't want to do it. I don't have a problem when people decline. I usually have a list of about 10 to 15 babies a day. If 7 of the 15 decline, I am still doing 8 photo shoots. By the way, I should mention, I have a photography cart which allows me to upload the pictures to a computer on the cart. This way, the parents get to see the pictures right there, and we can place the order directly from the hospital room...
This is what happened yesterday. I had my log book with my 13 babies on it. The photographer that had worked the day before had put notes next to some of the room numbers that had said "maybe" to the pictures, so that I could stop back by and check. For one room number she put, "mother wants to think about it. Seems angry?" In I went to this room... They wanted pictures. They did say they didn't have a lot of money, so they wanted to get the smallest thing. I suggested a keepsake, which is $20, and includes 3 photos. I still took care in the photos, making sure that I got lots of good ones. I even got little brother in one. Everything was going well. They loved the pictures, and picked out the 3 that they wanted on the keepsake. Then, the husband told me to hold on a minute. He went outside the room. When he returned a couple of minutes later, he had a nurse with him. He asked the nurse to use her cell phone to take a picture of the computer screen. He wanted her to take a picture of each one of the photos I took, and then send them to his phone. Then, he would print them off. Say what??????? Before any of this could happen, the wife says, "Uh, uh, see, how did you even know she had a camera phone? I think you are trying to be slick so you can get her phone number!" The nurse, of course, did not want to be in their drama and said she wouldn't be able to do that, and she walked out. I quietly shut down my computer, unplugged my cart, and I took off. I don't know what happened after that, but if I were to write down notes for that room on the log book... I would have to say she doesn't just "seem angry"... Good grief!

Laid off or soon to be? Need Insurance?

I just read this today, and so I wanted to pass on the information to any of you who may need it. You can now get help paying your COBRA insurance premium. This would have been very beneficial to us back in September 2007, but it wasn't available then. Insurance would have cost us over $1400 a month for our family of 4. Here is what's new:

However, under the newly adopted stimulus bill, the government will pick up 65 percent of the premium for the first nine months for qualified unemployed workers. To be eligible, you must meet all of these requirements:

•You were laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31 of this year.

•Your individual or family income for this year does not exceed the cap. Eligibility begins to phase out at $125,000 for individuals and $250,000 for families, and stops at $145,000 for individuals and $290,000 for families.

•You are not eligible for other group health coverage, such as on a spouse's plan or Medicare.

(from www.dallasnews.com)

All out in the open

This hospital photography job is turning out to be quite an adventure. Every day is a new experience with new people & new personalities. An average day at the hospital for me involves 12 new babies to visit. Every time I knock on a hospital door, it's a new life experience. There are so many different kinds of people in the world, and the maternity ward does not always bring out the pleasant side of people. I could really write a book about the experiences in the maternity ward (without violating HIPPA).

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”

—Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004); psychiatrist, educator

Texas Weather

This Texas weather is a trip! One day it is 85 degrees outside, and the next day it is below freezing! I cleaned up one of their out door toys and brought inside about a month ago. The girls have used it more in the past month than they have in the whole 2 1/2 years that we have had it! So, I guess it works pretty well as an indoor toy... Especially to get out some of their energy!

Money Saving Tip #12~ Play mat

We (the girls and I) are in the process of building a city. This idea is similar to the Playmats for Matchbox cars. I took a fitted white twin size sheet that I got on clearance for $1.99, and laid across the dining room table with newspapers underneath it. Then, I used fabric paints to map out roads, build businesses, houses, and parks. Jaden and Morgan participated in adding things to the park (swings, slides, etc). You can't tell what it is that they made in the park, but they know, so that is what counts. Then, they told me which businesses they wanted in the city. It is still under construction, but they can use it right now the way it is until I get the last three businesses built. They use the matchbox cars on the roads, and fisher-price little people to do the things in the city (like swim, go to school, go to their friends house, etc). A great thing about this city is it is easy to take down and store & take back out when they want to play with it.

Money Saving Tip #11~ Fancy bath foam

To make bath-time fun, there are all kinds of products on the market you can buy for your kids. My girls enjoy the foam bath that I make for them, and it hardly costs a penny (plus, it is educational). This is what I do. Before their bath, I put a dab of their bath soap in a squeeze bottle & fill it up with warm water. Next, I get two different colors of food coloring, and put a different color in each bottle. Now, here comes the educational part... Jaden gets one bottle and Morgan gets the other. Today, Jaden's was red and Morgan's was yellow. They found out that after they both washed up, red and yellow make orange (the color that the bath water turned to when they were done).

My loving girls

In case you haven't read the article about Jaden and Morgan on the Children International web-site yet, you can check it out here:
http://www2.children.org/en/us/News/FeatureStories/2009/Pages/SponsorshipExperience-AFamilyAffair-2-17-09.aspx?sid=108CBC7-EDA9-458E-9D2B-BBFD0D7CB51F1

It will probably be up for just a few more days. Jaden is already 1/4 of the way into reaching her goal of buying beds for all 4 children with HIV/AIDS. She raised $125 to send to the Dominican Republic to buy a bed for Dulce. Next on her agenda is to raise $160 to buy a bed for Jonathan in Ecuador.
She has a million other ideas that involve helping others, and she wants to do them all (some of the things she will be able to do without spending money, but rather time). Every day, her show of compassion for others amazes me. Morgan sees what Jaden is doing and automatically wants to do what her big sister is doing! What a great example she is to her little sister (and to others)!

More fun with the Wiggles!

The Wiggles Live... featuring Wags the Dog!

A little fun before going back to work

I took the girls to play on Friday, since I knew that I would be at work a lot the next few days. We had a great time & enjoyed our day (even though Morgan and I weren't feeling our best). I will post more about our outing later. I just wanted to get something up here, so that you would know I am still alive. I am doing the hospital photographer gig a few days this week, and my work week starts on Saturday. I will be working at the hospital Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Thursday. I won't be blogging much, but I will catch up, I promise!

A Family Affair

The article about Jaden and Morgan is now live & will be up on the Children International web-site for the next 2 weeks. Enjoy:
http://www2.children.org/en/us/News/FeatureStories/2009/Pages/SponsorshipExperience-AFamilyAffair-2-17-09.aspx?sid=F22461C-840F-4BFE-9097-ADAF89036C931

Moments that take our breath away

I got this in an e-mail, and had to share:
A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that :

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers,

wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less,

we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families,

more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense,

more knowledge, but less judgment,

more experts, yet more problems,

more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly,

laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry,

stay up too late, get up too tired,

read too little, watch TV too much,

and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We've added years to life not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back,

but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.

We conquered outer space but not inner space.

We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less.

We plan more, but accomplish less.

We've learned to rush, but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever,

but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion,

big men and small character,

steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce,

fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,

throwaway morality, one-night stands,

overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you,

and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

Money Saving Tip #10~ Go to the museum for free!

There are a lot of things that you can do without spending a dime. Did you know that the first weekend of every month, you can go to the museum for free?! 70 museums state-wide are part of the "Museums on Us" program. Just show your Bank of America debit or credit card & the tickets are free. For more information: http://promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums/?u1=C5B1L3BR2S32856-2009-02-17-12-00-p-25122-email-71427

Jaden & Morgan will be famous tomorrow!!!

Big announcement! Of course, we all know how special both of the girls are, but soon the world will know. Jaden and Morgan have done a few projects to help others and already understand that there is a world beyond themselves with people that have less than they do. For Christmas, you may remember they put together Christmas gift bags for 40+ families in the Dallas area.
Now, Jaden and Morgan have decided to get money together to purchase beds for 4 children who do not have a bed. None of this came by my persuasion but rather by Jaden seeing a need and asking questions. Of course, all of that will be in the article that will go live tomorrow. It will be on the home page of the Children International web-site for a week. To see it, starting tomorrow morning, go to: http://www2.children.org/en/us/Pages/Home.aspx?sid=7AEBEA10-4811-443D-BCFE-6EBCE651AB41 , and scroll down to the bottom of the home page on the left hand side.

Happy Valentine's Day!