Smellyann Strikes Again

Friday Fragments

Link up here if you've got bits and pieces floating around in ye olde brain this week!

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I've had a busy week. For starters, we've all been sick, especially the kiddos, so I proclaimed it Fall Break and gave them the week off to lie around in bed and cough an stuff. I was sick, too, in the same way and gastro-intestinally (TMI?), so I did a lot of sitting around. I wasn't sick on Monday and, feeling pretty good, so I did a ton of laundry and cleaning house. Then I went downhill, so ... this will mostly be a pictorial of our week.

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On Sunday, I went (by my lonesome, because we didn't have childcare) to the qualifying party for the radio station I to which I listen to send someone to Live in the Vineyard. I just KNEW I was going to win the trip, but alas and alack, I came in tenth out of about 11 times as many people. Close but no cigar. At least I got a $20 gift card to a wine shop and the latest Matchbox Twenty CD out of it - not to mention a very strong gin & tonic that had me announcing something kind of embarrassing, on the microphone, to the ENTIRE room.

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Also on Monday, aside from cleaning and attending to sick kids - and speaking of sick kids, actually - I signed up to be a Point Radio change bandit to benefit The Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD). You can look at the sidebar on the right to see how much I've raised and (please, please, please) donate a buck or two to my efforts. I fervently believe that if I'd had my twins at CHKD, Robby would still be alive; aside from that, Jack has had surgery there, and Sophia has been followed there for her ongoing breathing issues, as well, so I help them out however and whenever I can. I'd greatly appreciate your support!

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Since I fell sick on Tuesday, and Chloë especially was ailing, I canceled their instrument lessons and spent time on eBay in between nursing sick chirren. I've had a good month: over $700 in sales! Woot!

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On Wedneday, Rob's and my Halloween costumes came in, so we tried them on:

Oops, that one's not for trick-or-treating. Heh heh heh. Let me try again:

I kind of hate this picture, because I look fat in it, but whatevs, it's fun. We still haven't decided where we'll go trick-or-treating -- definitely not here in the new neighborhood -- or even if we will, as opposed to trunk-or-treating at church, so I guess with five days to go, I better figure it out! At least we've only eaten ¼ of the candy I've bought for handing out!

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On Thursday, I really didn't feel well, so I skipped Jack's Cub Scout pack Halloween party and sent the rest of the family without me. The kids were SO excited to dress up in their costumes:

Sophia is going as a pretty princess (yes, I will be buying more appropriate shoes for her before Wednesday night!);

Jack's a dangerous dinosaur (LOL I just realized I left the tags on his costume; d'oh!); and,

Chloë's a cute kitty cat. Guess I need to find some black shoes for her, as well!

Group shot, including our landlord in the background. Argh.

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I'm on my way out for therapy in a bit, so I'll leave you with some cute shots of the adorable tommy-kittens Sophie and I rescued a week ago.

That's Pepper on top and Ginger on the bottom.

A trio of cuteness!

Soap cuddlng Ginger, "her" kitten, while studying her guitar lesson book.

Chloë mimicking Jack's portrait with the kitties.

Me canoodling with my "grandkitties," looking an awful lot like my mum in this photo, face-wise.

And finally, Pepper peeking out of Rob's camo work pants pocket! Aww!

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That's it from me. Hopefully after therapy I'll be able to do some visiting of y'all Fragmenters, too!

Fin.



The Primrose Schools© Family Dance-Off Is Back!

Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win a gift card in exchange for this post. No monetary exchange took place and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Here is everything you need to know about the third annual Primrose Schools^© Family Dance-off:  It benefits Children's Miracle Network Hospitals^© and helps fight the childhood obesity epidemic by promoting physical activity, healthy lifestyle choices and quality family time...things all Moms and Dads can get behind!  And did you know? Primrose Schools^© is the leader in educational child care.

  

Here's how you and your family can enter the Primrose Schools© Family Dance-Off Competition:

1. Record a 30-second video of your family's best dance moves. Don't be afraid to let loose and be silly!
2. Visit www.familydanceoff.com and upload your best take between February 25th and March 23rd.
3. Share your video with your friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
4. View and vote daily (you can place one vote per day per device) for your favorite family dance video!

Of course, no contest is complete without amazing prizes. Primrose Schools^© is providing prizes that are great for your family and your community too, with $81,000 in donations to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals^©:

• 16 families will receive a $1,000 donation to their Children's Miracle Network Hospital^© and advance to the finalist round from March 26-30 to compete for the grand, second and third prizes.
• Grand Prize: $5,000 and Primrose Schools^© will make a $30,000 donation to their Children's Miracle Network Hospital^©
• 2nd Prize: $3,000 and Primrose Schools^© will make a $20,000 donation to their Children's Miracle Network Hospital^©
• 3rd Prize: $1,500 and Primrose Schools^© will make a $15,000 donation to their Children's Miracle Network Hospital^©

Childhood obesity is a critical issue for young children in America. Dance is a fun, easy way to incorporate physical activity into your family's routine while enjoying quality time together. The Family Dance-off supports Children's Miracle Network Hospitals^©, a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children's hospitals, which collectively treat 17 million children annually for every illness and injury imaginable.

 

So, let me know if you are going to participate - I can't wait to record our silly video and share the hilarity with y'all! Hey, it's for a good cause, so get moving!

 

Fin.

A Few Things With Which To Bug You

This picture can only mean one thing, and that's that it's Cookie Sale time again for the Scouts o' Girls. Chloë and I beat the street today for a wee while, but we were largely unsuccessful because (a) we returned home quickly after discovering it was deceptively chilly outside, (2) no one was home, and (x) practically everyone else had a "NO SOLICITING" sign on their door, which IMHO should not pertain to Girl Scout Cookies because I said so. So we'll go out on our next opportunity, which should be Tuesday, but in the meantime, if you want some, they're $3.50/box and I'm willing to go halvsies on shipping with you if you're not local to us. If you are local, pretty please won't you buy some yummy delicious cookies from my little Scouties? *blink blink blink*

The second order of business is that I still have two or three local (Hampton Roads) 2012 Entertainment Books to sell for our big homeschooling trip to Baltimore/DC later this year, and I need to know whether you want one by, like, right now. So get 'em while they're hot - and they are hot, because the price has dropped to 25 smackers!

Thirdlish, have you joined the Superpoints Network yet? It's a lot like Swagbucks, in that you get points and redeem them for prizes. I joined less than a week ago and already have 288 points, and I only need 500 to get my first $5 Amazon.com gift card - my reward of choice! Click here for your invite; only the FIRST person can use that link, so if you want to join, just comment and leave your email so I can invite you. Woot!

 

And lastable, speaking of Swagbucks, click here to join, because you want free money, too. I mean, if you don't like free Amazon money (and who doesn't? I've racked up $325 in free Amazon.com gift cards - no lie - with just five more to go before I cash in for yet another $5 GC), you can spend a few more points to get free Paypal money and bunches of other swag. So. Yeah.

'Kay, that's it. I'm done buggin' y'all. For the moment.

Fin.

Friday Fragments

Link up here with Mrs.4444 if you're feeling fragmented today!

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Happy Autumn! Good-bye, 100º days with NO air conditioning, hello, well, 65º days so far... Much more tolerable. Better get the HVAC fixed soon, though, or we'll (I'll) be miserable come Winter!

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Check out my Aloha Friday question on the previous post for a special offer! I'm running a Jafra promotion for my blog readers only and it ends in one week, so hurry!

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Wednesdays are homeschool co-op days for Team Odette, and while the kids are in their classes, I'm in the kitchen all day teaching cooking to children from age five to 14. Last week was the first week and quite chaotic (but fun); yesterday went much more smoothly and was a blast. Still, it wears me out. I had more errands to run and finally crashed before midnight, and I slept late late late today. We were supposed to spend the day up in Yorktown for their homeschool days events, for which we had tickets, but I was just too pooped. I think we'll have to think about taking Thursdays off from doing school, because last week was the same. Can always make it up Sat & Sun, though technically, we "do school" ALL the time, if you count the lessons the kids learn on-the-go, in the car, at the store, and so forth. Yeah. Let's count that.

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Tomorrow, we WILL be going up to Jamestown for the kids' classes, since Jamestown/Yorktown Homeschool days end this weekend and I want to get our money's worth, but since we already went to J-town last week, we might either go early or stay late (or both, what the hey) and venture over to Yorktown. We've never seen Y-town, and it's unlimited free admission during this event, so I'd like to go check it out. Have y'all ever been to the "Historic Triangle," as they call it (Colonial Williamsburg is included in that)?

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Saturday is free museum day! Learn about that here and get your two free tickets if you haven't already! We plan on going to the Children's Museum of VA in Portsmouth until Jack has to go home and get ready for his Cub Scout popcorn show & sell (a booth sale, as we Girl Scouts call it), and then a friend's having a birthday party for her husband after that, so... another busy weekend!

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Oh yeah, and the Girl Scout Fall Product sale (candy and nuts) starts on Saturday, too. Phew, it never stops. My dad always complains that our life is too chaotic and hectic. I guess he can't seem to remember what life was like with four teenaged girls going in all different directions all the time?

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If you want to read about my trip with Chloë to D.C. for her 10th birthday celebration, read the two posts prior to my Aloha Friday one. We had a grand weekend at American Girl, taking the train, going to the National Zoo, and staying in a hotel in the middle of the District. And I left her alone for her very first time while I slipped out and did a mystery shop at a restaurant and bar with a friend who lives there. Chloë did great, except she was upset that she couldn't get the laptop OR the TV to work, so she ended up taking a bath to calm down and missed my check-in phone call. By the time I got back, after watching the Mayweather-Ortiz fight at the restaurant, she and her AG doll, Faith, were sound asleep in their bed. (Speaking of the fight, did you see that? I kept cringing while the men cheered; it's the mother in me, I guess!)

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I'm back in therapy at least twice a week now, and it's helping considerably. I adore my therapist and think it's the best-working relationship I've ever had with one (and I've had a bunch).  My psychopharmacologist, "Paypal," has changed up one of my meds, from Side-Effexor to Pristiq, and it's not going so well... plus he was out of town and unable to take any of my "what should I do?!?!" phone calls. Luckily, my therapist was there and able to help me cope. I ♥ her.

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So, my 8yo son, Jack, had his latest appointment with the new pediatric endocrinologist this week, and that went as expected, with the medication refill put in and new needles ordered. However, apparently we're supposed to be physically seen in the office every 4-6 months - as opposed to the 12 we've been asked in the past - and he's supposed to get an IGF-1 test every other visit or so. Now, like you I'm guessing, I'd never heard of this test, so someone has been dropping the ball. At least this new endo is on top of things. Basically it tells us whether his med dosage is correct, according to liver function after taking some marker meds. I love finding this kind of thing out after, what? Five, six years of being following for his growth hormone deficiency? Nice. (In the "good news" category, though, he's grown 8½ cm since Feb. 2010, which is fantastic! It would be 0 cm without the meds, more than likely.)

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Chloë, at age 10 and smaller than her 6yo sister Sophia, weighs less than 50 lbs and has barely grown herself, so at the end of the endo visit, I asked the doc if she should be re-evaluated. She'd been checked a few years ago and was "borderline" for the condition, but I remained concerned. He took a height check on her and then pored over her medical records. Doc called me himself within the same day and told me that, yes, she definitely needs to be seen again and will probably end up taking the shots herself. I broke the news to her a little while later, and she was fairly calm about it, saying she kind of knew that was coming. She just doesn't want her shots "in the butt" and asked if she could have them in her arms and legs instead. I don't know, but since she's not very meaty in those places, I'm guessing that'll be a "no."

{Note to Grandma: her appointment is October 18th at zero-dark-hundred.}

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Since we're talking medical stuff now, I visited my PCM myself this week to ask for referrals for both a new sleep study (do I still need the CPAP, which I don't use anyway, for apnea since I've lost 205 lbs??) and for the breast cancer gene test. Normally, they don't approve the gene test unless there is a "strong family history," which to Tricare means a mother or sister with the disease. Well, my maternal grandmother had it both in her 30s and 50s, and my mother died too young, at age 33, to know whether she would have gotten it. Since Sis and I have both had lumps checked out, I was able to talk my way into getting the referral submitted. I found out tonight that I've been referred out for an oncologist-geneticist appointment. Woot! (Meanwhile, the sleep study referral is still "under review," which I think is ridick. Whatevs.)

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At Jack's Cub Scout pack meeting tonight, he earned belt loops for Gymnastics, BB-gun shooting, and Archery, along with his first Popcorn patch for this current sale, and his Wolf badge, which he somehow didn't get last year. (He's a Bear now.) We don't know what those arrow point-thingies are for, though. Grandma, help?

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Ehh, I guess that's way more crap than you really wanted to know about me/us this week, so I'll shut up now. I really need to go do some cleaning, since we're having house guests (a friend and her three doggies) all next week. With four cats, this should prove interesting!

Fin.

Flower Power!

Hey, folks.

So, Sweet Pea Academy (our homeschool name, if you're new here) is doing a flower fundraiser. Our online link is here.

We're a frugal family, by necessity. I'm using materials we already have on hand, and the curricula I'm using this year is either free from here and here, among other places, or stuff we already purchased last year and are still using. The field trips we're doing right now are either free or so cheap they may as well be. In other words, I'm keeping our costs as low as possible.

But there are some field trips we'd like to do, and some projects to go along with those free lessons, that we can't because we don't have the budget for it.

That's where this fundraiser comes in. All I'm asking you is, if you were going to buy bulbs and stuff this Fall anyway, would you take a look at this site and see if it works for you to do it this way instead of wherever else you may have bought your plants? They have a 100% product guarantee.

Thanks. ☺

Fin.

P.S. This post will remain at the top for a while, so scroll down to find new posts. There will be many coming up!