Max's Birthday

Max turned 18 yesterday. Here's a photo of Max that Sarah took and I edited. Poor kid, I'm bending his ear a bit there. Could you tell? He didn't want to hold his head up. I thought this would work for Sepia Scenes.

Max has a brain disorder called Lissencephaly. Kids with his disorder, they don't live very long. When he was little, I used to hear they had between 3 months and 3 years, something like that. I've had 18 years so far and in those 18 years, we've spent very little time apart. He's stayed the night with Grandma a couple of times. We were apart for about 36 hours when each of his sisters were born. In my whole life, Max is the biggest constant. Taking care of him, it's my most important job. And I love it.

Much of the time I've been worried - he's so fragile, so dependent on me for everything, and I never want to let him down. He's also incredibly tough. He has scoliosis and lives in pain every day. He has seizures, this week, with his cold, he's been having more than usual.

Max doesn't laugh much, but today I was telling Mom how earlier in the week he did this sort of spoken laugh, sort of haa, haa, haa. As I was telling her, I ran my hand down his side, like tickling and he did it for her, the haa, haa, haa. It was so sweet.

On another note, I just saw the funniest commercial.......has anyone seen the new Guitar Hero commercial with Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Derek Jeter (sp?), and..........oh dang, who was that last boy? Oh Tony Hawk! They were doing a sort of Risky business performance. I cannot wait until my girls see this.

Well, that's about it. It's late and I need to get to bed. I wish you a wonderful Thursday. Oh and if you are interested in the effects of color on attraction, then please check out my post Put Your Red Dress On.

**Hint- men like red. Who knew??**

Wordless Wednesday - Day Lily

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Well, not totally. I've been stuck inside all day with a sick kid. I am very hopeful that tomorrow he will be okay. It's his birthday after all and he's got to go to school to get his crown.

Did you know that a bad relationship can make you sick. Today I wrote A Bad Boyfriend Could Lead To Heart Attack for Dating Dames. A study was done in England where they followed more than 9000 people to see what the effects of a bad relationship could be on health. The conclusion - it's not good to be unhappy.

I'm feeling on the distracted side right now. I started a new book last night and I could not concentrate. As I read, it went like this wolf......pack..........wolf tracks..........ticks..........really odd anti-social person (the only type Anna Pigeon meets).............wolf........ticks.........wolf pack............. I just could not get into it. I think I've eaten too many of those Jelly Belly Belly Flops. My brain just won't settle.

Ruby Tuesday - Red Snapdragon

Ruby Tuesday is hosted by The Teach, over on her blog, Word of the Poet. It features photos with a red theme.

Today, I have a couple of snapdragons from my patio. I still have quite a bit of color out there, as we are currently enjoying lots of daylight and warm temperatures. This week, it's supposed to get up to the 80s each day, until about friday, when the weather calls for rain. Or at least it did when I looked yesterday.

Belly-flopping

I have done my best to not think a lit this weekend. I'm worried about a lot of things right now and worrying about them is not going to change a thing. None of them is life-threatening, anyway. It's all money, boyfriend (or maybe I don't have a boyfriend, at this point I do not know), Bailey stuff, and..........well that's enough.

I made some teriyaki sauce today. I'm using it for dinner tonight, but I've got a lot of other ideas for it - chicken marinade, sauce for veggies and rice, salad dressing, etc. If you'd like to see the recipe, I've got it here . I put a recipe up there for a quick cream of brocoli soup, as well. I made it for lunch yesterday for the girls and I. Quick. Easy. Yummy.


My friend, Leah, came by for a visit today and she brought us a bag of Jelly Belly Belly Flops . Belly flops are jelly beans that are oddly shaped - like doubles or triples. They sort of look like jelly bean dribbles, really. They taste great and I'm a fan of oddball anything.

I'm not very new-sy today. I need to go pay bills online, but really I'd rather start a new book. I have the latest Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon novel in my room.

Oh, here's something else......... I wrote this on Friday, Would You Date This Man? When I was posting a link to one of my articles at Pretty Social , I found this blog entry wherein a woman wanted to find someone to date her male friend. The friend felt that there was no way to find "love" on the internet and she wanted to prove him wrong. The entry had very few comments and the comments that were there, they didn't say much about wanting to meet the guy, which I found very surprising - he's very cute.

So, I wrote about at Dating Dames, wanted to see if I could help increase the comments. Nope, still very few. Very odd. So, if you know a nice lady, in her 20s, who would be interested in meeting a handsome man who likes to travel, check out the link in the article. I'm afraid this guy is proving his friend right - it just might be impossible to find love on the internet.

Time to start marinating my salmon. I hope you enjoy your day/evening.

Backwards Day

I was riding my bike on Tuesday and the sun was this big red ball. I rode home as fast as I could to grab my camera. Then, I had to decide, drive or ride back? Get the shot or enjoy the ride? I chose the ride and totally missed the shot, but still it was fun, the darting in, grabbing my stuff, jumping on my bike, riding like a crazy woman.........

I tried a few TTVs, but my camera was out of focus and this is the best that I got......

Earlier in the day, the kids found this guy on the patio.............

I love insects...........well, on the patio. In the house, not so much.

Today, Max and I are off to Yuba City to visit his neurologist. It is a check-up, he has no new problems that I am aware of. I think he enjoyed the sleeping in. I know that I did.

I keep looking at him and thinking about how I can't believe he's turning 18 in a few days. Were did all that time go? He still feels like my baby boy. I guess because I do all his care and I carry him. I'm so lucky that I've had so many years with him. Most kids with his brain disorder - Lissencephaly - die somewhere between 3 months and 3 years.

I will miss being at the school today - it's Backwards Day. We are in the midst of our Red Ribbon Week. The Backwards Day is "Turn your back on drugs," and I could see all the 6th graders wearing backward hoodies when I dropped Sarah off. Dang, I wish I was there to see how silly they are being.

Tomorrow will be another theme day. I'll get in on that one. :D

Gotta get ready for the trip. I wish you a good day.

Dream House

Ever since last February, I've wanted to buy this house. See how cute my van looks in the driveway? It's down the street from Max's school, Bay's school, the creek is right there, I mean RIGHT THERE, and the park is across the street. I want this house. I can see my family living in this house, but I can't afford it and it looks like nobody else can either.

This is through the window next to the front door. Doesn't the light look pretty?
This is the backyard. I live in a town that has temps frequently over 100 F. This week, it's supposed to be in the upper 80s. We do a lot of swimming in Chico. And Max, he would love to be able to use the pool again. There's also a seperate hot tub, it's behind where I was standing when I snuck into the backyard to take this photo.
You can kind of see it reflected in the slider here. Do you see what I mean? Do you know how helpful a hot tub would be to a boy with scoliosis? That's the living and part of the dining room, by the way. That doorway, it leads to a larger room with lots of light - a really big room. I thought it would be a good family room and I could put up a half wall and make an area for Max and his stuff. I thought that the light would be good in there for a temporary studio. Someday I'd like to take those walls down - the one to the left, the one that corners up to it and make it all one big room. This house was built back in 1984.
Here's the opposite view of the pool. That table was just left there. Cool - my table is broken, I can so use that one when I move in. ;D Aren't those trees lovely? One time, this Summer, we took Robin to go see it and at that time, the pool was completely black. Something jumped out of the water and scared the you-know-what out of us!!! They must have poured some chlorine not very long ago. It is blue, but very cloudy. This yard, it is so pretty. There are all these planter areas and I could put vegetables up by the back fence.

Anyway, I do like to dream........................ ;D

Ruby Tuesday - Peppers

Today is Ruby Tuesday, hosted by Mary, the Teach over at her blog, Work of the Poet.

Here are some red peppers from the Farmer's Market.
Happy Ruby Tuesday to you!

The Farmer's Market With Leah

My friend, Leah, and I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday. Leah is my old friend from middle school, I reconnected with on MySpace. Leah is a peach - funny, smart, warm. I'm very lucky that have found her friendship again.

Okay, so this is how the day went..... we met at the corner and headed toward the market. I was hoping to find some citrus fruit, but it appears that squash was the theme of the day. We saw varieties of pumpkin that neither of us had ever seen before. There was even a sort of blue-gray pumpkin. I like the crazy-shaped Cinderella style pumpkins best. Check out that cute Grandpa. I bet he's got some great stuff in his bags. Great sweater. (I sure miss my Grandpa). Ooh, look I got one of those blue-gray pumpkins here. I didn't realize that I had a photo of one. I love this display, such a variety of shapes and colors of squash.
The sun finally breaking through..............
Leah and I agreed that the below flowers made a lovely arrangement and probably very fragrant, as well. Most of the arrangements included Sunflowers, which I love, but this grouping is different, more sophisticated. The succulents are to this lady's right. I took some photos of those, I'll share them later. Leah touched one! Really, she touched a cacti. It was a not a stickery looking guy, but still she's a bold one. ;D They are so perfect, she was saying, "They don't look real......" The flowers, have you seen flowers on a cactus? They are incredible - bright colored, sort of papery. Really beautiful.
We could not skip the grapes. These are Thompson grapes. Leah is to the left and the vender is to the right. She told us that this was her last weekend selling grapes. She makes wine and I got the impression that she's going to continue that. She said some funny things like, "These are Thompson grapes. Old man Thompson is buried on the property, that's why they taste so good..." or something like that. She was a character. I'd like to go check out her winery. It's La Rocca Winery
When I got home, we blew through those grapes. Yum. The wine lady said that they were very sugary because it was time for them to turn to raisins. I also picked up a huge brocoli, honey stix, rocks for Sarah (Sarah loved the one Leah picked out best), and some beeswax candles.

All in all a very successful morning at the market.

Friendly Friday

Good morning. :D It's a lovely day here in Chico, CA. I ran some errands this morning, after taking Sarah to school. As I drove into the parking lot, it struck me how pretty it is where I live. Sometimes I take that for granted.

I put away my groceries, grabbed my camera and this is a little of what I found in about 10 minutes of walking around my neighborhood. Below, see a grasshopper's eye-view of the sun shining on the wet grass.

The light was perfect for reflections. I'm not sure if anyone else thinks this looks cool, but I love a good reflection.
Some of the trees are turning, but we're still enjoying Summery temperatures here. I think it's supposed to get to 88 today. I've noticed jackets all over the playground at work. I try to gather them up, put them where the kids can see them, because I know how much it sucks to have to continually replace lost items. You should see how full our lost and found gets.
My Cannas are still going strong. The yellows, in particular. I think when it cools off more, I'm going to dig some up and move them around a bit more again. I'd like to stash some in my potted plants, too.
I didn't end up with any zuchini or pumpkins, very few tomatoes. I really don't know what happened. Oh well, there's always next year. :D My flowers were lovely, so I still feel very lucky.

We are nearing the end of Blogtoberfest over at b5Media's Lifestyle Channels. Lara put a prize-sponsored post up yesterday and there's still time to leave a comment for a chance to win. My friend Eliza has one up at Babylune.com, as well. Eliza's wondering about Mom's and stretchmarks......if you have a story to share, your comment could prove to be a winner. I will have a new post up, my last prize-sponsored post, at 4pm Central time. You can find it at Dating Dames.com.

Well, it's time to head out to recess. I wish you all a beautiful Friday!

Love Thursday - I Love To Be Outside

I haven't taken part in Love Thursday for awhile. I've been distracted, I think. Not on the look-out for hearts lately. That can't be good - nobody should be so distracted that they miss out on hearts. I need to fix that.

Here are the hearts that live right outside my front door. My front door is just inches away. Hey, c'mon in. :D And this is a close-up of a heart that my sister gave me a few years back. I love my sister. See the fuzz on there, it's left-over from Halloween 2007 spiderwebbing. It's hard to get rid of all of it, always a bit still hanging around when I hang the Christmas lights. Anyone else have that problem?
That reminds me, I need to decorate for the holiday. They are painting the apartments and I've been waiting to see how fast the painters are, because as I mentioned above, that webbing, not so fun to clean up. The wind has proven tricky and that appears to be working in my favor - the painting is slow-going. I'm going to decorate. I will get to it tomorrow. I'll surprise Sarah when she gets home from school.

Today I got to do something fun. I did the random drawing that picked the winner of Dating Dames.com's Blogtoberfest prize. I was so nervous, afraid I'd screw it up somehow, but happily I can assure you, it's pretty much goof-proof. You see how many comments you have (in my case, I had 190!!!), then you go to this place that picks the number for you online. You input some info - like pick one number, from 1-190. The number comes up, you contact the winner by email, she sends you her contact info, you send it to the vendor, you write up the "We've Got A Winner" post, and ta-da!! you are done..... until the 17th, when it starts all over again with a new prize-sponsored post. I wish I could do a prize post a week over there.

Well, it's late and I've got a stack of library books waiting for me. I wish you a very happy Love Thursday!

Ruby Tuesday - Red Helmet

Today is Ruby Tuesday, again.

It is hosted by the Teach at Work of the Poet. You can find links to many more red-themed photos over there.

Here we see my neighbor's bike helmet. Oh my goodness! I just realized that it's my friend, Mason's helmet. Mason and his family (his sister Taylor has been featured here a few times) moved a few weeks ago. As I was looking through my photos tonight, I saw the red helmet and thought, a-ha! not even thinking until about the owner of the helmet until my second read through. I sure hope they are settling into their new home. Mason is in the 8th grade, not an easy time of life for a school change.
Anyway........My town, Chico, CA, was named one of the top US bike towns back in 1997. I'm sure it's got to be even higher ranked now with bike paths are all over town, bike lanes on most major streets. When I first moved here, 15 years ago, I was nervous driving alongside the bikes. Now it's nothing - I give them room and we are okay. When I'm riding my bike, I make eye contact with the drivers, it's the only way that I can know that they see me. I teach my girls this, as well.
Happy Ruby Tuesday to you!

My Doodle

Here is my doodle for Nine Acres: 20 Miles North of Nowhere. I will look at how to figure it out when I get back from school. I'm rushing out the door now. Bye for now. *Edit*

Okay, I'm back with my analysis.


Analyzing my doodle.......... I want to be important in people's lives, because I've got a large picture in the middle there. I started my doodle on the left, but that may have been influenced by the red nine (this was part of the instructions, start with a red "9"). I filled in most of the right side first (the face, then went to the flower pot, the hearts, etc) which signifies that I use logic. I have a combination of light and dark strokes, probably more of the light, the dark was to show hair, lashes, coloring. Dark can show depression and while I'm not at the top of my game right now, I am in no way depressed.

Now some of the symbolism:

Eyes - this can show a need to be alluring or that I'm feeling like I'm being watched. I have a total of 4 eyeballs in this doodle.

Flowers - Usually drawn by women and are romantic in nature. They show a desire to blossom and be fruitful in life. This absolutely fits me. I just opened that shop and sold my first photo. I'm looking for an additional writing job. I doodle flowers often, now that I think of it.

Lips - These are usually drawn by women and show some sort of sexual frustration. I drew lips on both fish, but none on the man in the middle. I'm currently pissed at my boyfriend, so yep, that fits, too.

Oceans - These doodles are typical of people who spend a lot of time indulging in their imaginations, but who rarely put their dreams into practice. Well, I did not draw the ocean, but I did draw under the ocean. I am currently really trying to take my goals beyond dreams (where they've been hiding for a long time) and into practice. Baby steps, as long as I keep moving forward.............

Portraits - Drawn by young girls to show an idealized self-portrait. Comic faces are drawn by men and show a desire to be the center of attention. So apparently I'm feeling like a man who wants some attention??

Stars - Repeated stars are drawn by irrepressible romantics. I like stars.

It doesn't mention hearts or fish. I draw a lot of both when doodling.

I think that's me pretty accurately. Interesting. If you try it, leave me a comment and let me know where yours is and what you find out.

You can anaylsis your own doodles at http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A256466

Giveaway!

Today Dating Dames is taking part in b5Media's Blogtoberfest. If you'd like a chance at a prize, you can comment on my post I Do Not Suck. There are various other prizes hiding around our Lifestyles Channel. I have a list of links at the bottom of my post.

Opened My Etsy Shop

I just opened my Etsy shop with one item. WooHoo! I'm very excited, but also very nervous. I do not want to suck. It is available here Chase Your Bliss Photography. I will update as I add items. I need to find out where I can get those TTVs printed up. They are a funny size - square 5x5s.

Times Flies

This is a photo of my nephew, Casey, running with the ball. I think my sister took it. I then took it from her MySpace. I look at him here and I can't believe how much he's grown. He was always such a slim little guy and now he looks just...........well, he looks big.

When did that happen? Slow down, please. Well, maybe after the game, after you put that ball down, then slow down. Next thing I know, he's going to be Bailey's age.

Yesterday, Jackie came down for a visit with her family. She has two boys - Wyatt and Emitt - and a daughter - Brianna - who is in her freshman year of college. (I hope that I spelled everyone's name correctly). Emitt, he looks a lot like Casey. I noticed that Sarah got familiar with him very quickly. She kept grabbing him, carrying him around. It was funny, but also sort of embarrassing. I reminded her, "Sarah, you just met him. You've got to respect his personal space." She shrugged her shoulders and went right back to grabbing him. He was extremely patient with her.

I kept wondering what happened, why was she so comfortable with him?? Then, it hit me - he was being her Casey. She and Casey are good buddies, running around doing all kinds of crazy things together and Emitt looked like Casey, so she felt a bond with him. Plus he's a nice kid. It's not just that he looks like Casey, but I have a feeling that was the first step.

Oh, here's something funny that happened about two minutes ago ........James, from Sarah's class was out front with Alana, when Alana came to the door to fetch Sarah. She was embarrassed for him to see her in her pjs. When did James become a boy and not just James?

These kids, they are growing up too fast for me.

Tracey Is Holding a Giveaway!

Tracey over at Nine Acres: 20 Miles North of Nowhere, is holding a GIVE AWAY!

She's designing a line of lunchbox notes. So smart and creative. If you are interested in checking out her idea and entering her contest, please click the above link.

While you are there, don't forget to look at her photos - she's a wonderful photographer, too.

Getting Through the Day

This little beauty is one of my friends from school. She is showing off her school carnival tattoo here. :D

Every day, when she finishes lunch and heads into the go-to-recess line, she stops by and gives me a hug. Sometimes, when I'm walking around the playground, she will come up behind me and slip her hand into mine. This child is so sweet, so loving. She is a joy to be around.

Last Spring, I posted a picture of one of her brothers - she has two at our school. I don't get a chance to visit with him much this year. He's got a lot of friends and he's busy. I like to see that.

One of my co-workers didn't show up for work today. Our principal had to do her job. I'm hoping that by doing what Tammy has to do every day, she will have more respect for what Tammy accomplishes. Tammy is not always treated with a lot of respect. This evening, I was going through my messages and I found one from Tammy. I'm not sure, but I think she must have left it today. I feel bad that I missed her - she sounded very upset. I hope that she's better this evening.

I'm so out of sorts right now. I'm worried about money. I'm worried about my relationship with my boyfriend. I'm worried about my relationship with my daughter. It's interesting, but no less distressing to me, that I have noticed that they both treat me carelessly in very much the same way. They are quick to judge each other on this bad behavior, but seem unable to recognize it in themselves. I love them both very much, but they are not always easy to love. Somtimes I feel that all I can do is to get through one day at a time, not think too much about the future beyond that.

Well, it's getting late here and I need to get something together for the kids to eat. I can't wait to climb into my bed.

Ruby Tuesday - Sarah Swings

Here's my Ruby Tuesday offering. It's Sarah at the school carnival. I have mixed feelings about this piece of playground equipment. It's fun for the kids who are tall enough, but put a shortie on there and it gets dangerous. Today one student ran into another and a boy got the wind knocked out of him. He was so mad. If you'd like to see more, than please visit Mary's page at Work Of the Poet.

Carnival-y Post

I started to post this last night, but I lost my connection and gave up. I have a few of the carnival pictures ready. We were there for about an hour and in that time, the amount of people in attendance probably doubled. It's a fun even that the PTA puts on and the classes take part, setting up booths for things like a fishing game, a golf game, a lot of throw the ball, sponge, etc, at the target/hoop games.

Sarah was most excited about the sponge throwing. Her Grandma took her to the carnival back in kindergarten and they always laugh about the way she nailed Mr. Preston, the 6th grade teacher, in the face with a wet sponge. He's such a good sport. The kids all seem to love and respect him. Sarah acts like he's a rock star, there's Mr. Preston! there's Mr. Preston! One time, the day after school got out for the Summer in June, we happened to be waiting at a stoplight next to Mr. Preston. He motioned to Sarah to roll down her window and as we waited, he asked about her Summer plans. She was so thrilled. I think it's right up there with attending the Jonas Brother's concert in terms of exciting Summer events.

Here she is letting lose with the sponge.......... .......and here's Mr. Preston patiently waiting for the splat! He appears much braver than poor Spongebob.
One of the booths was a fingernail painting booth. Look at these cool 6th grade boys showing off their manicures. When I took the photo, I didn't realize that was what they were doing. Later, during editing, I noticed the colored fingernails. These boys make me smile. The one in the middle, he's The Boy this year. You can always find him in the middle of a crowd.
The kindergarten classes sold this honey. It's locally made and the labels are decorated by the students. I had some this weekend - put in in a vinaigrette, then I cleaned it off the spoon. Oh yum. I will definitely be hitting up the kindergarteners for some more. I love local honey.
Here's a sot of Sarah playing the basketball game. Her friends Carlo and Paolo are to the right. She's known Paolo for about 3 years and Carlo for 1. They are twins and they speak English, Korean, and French. This always impresses me. Paolo calls me Mrs. Smith, not Michelle - most kids call me Michelle or Miss Michelle or Playground Duty (to which I always reply, "call me Michelle"). He's one of those kids with a huge brain and incredibly good manners. I like that boy, but sometimes kids like him find it hard to fit with the rest of the group. Can you see me in this photo? I'm the shadow. :D

I'm in the beginning of what I'm afraid may turn into a spot of the blues. I'm trying very hard to avoid it, medicating with exercise, chocolate, and lots of cooking. I have some tough decisions to make about my personal life. I have tried reaching out to someone that I love many times - sometimes it works out, sometimes I'm hurt further. I'd prefer to avoid the hurt, but I can only control my behavior, not his. Sometimes people don't want to allow themselves to be happy and possibly that is what is going on and by trying to spare me that, I'm actually drawn further into the dark.

I try to live my life in a way that I can be proud of - sometimes I achieve that, sometimes I fail, but it's my intention always. I don't want to hold onto past hurts, or punish anyone. I want to keep an open mind and make decisions that will benefit all of us, not just myself. I keep thinking that this is The Right Way and if I do things The Right Way, my life will work out, that if I put good stuff out there, I will get good stuff back, which will then make me able to put even more good stuff out there........does this make sense?

I'm being petty with some of what is bothering me. I should just take care of my business and let things play out, but in all honesty I'm pissed right now. I've made what I need very clear and I've asked to be treated with respect and caring. That's what I have treated this person with and I should not have to talk someone into treating me well in the first place.

For now, I'm going to continue to do my work. I'm going to spend this week getting a photography business up and running. I have a photo that is going to be one of the prizes over at b5Media's Blogtoberfest. I'll post a link to it, when it's ready. We are also going to be hosting some prizes at Dating Dames. We start tomorrow, I think. I'll let you know.

Lastly, I have a bread recipe up over at A Cook's Bounty, if you are interested. It has a shortcut - begins in the bread machine, but then you bake it in the oven. Turned out pretty good.

Short Post Saturday Morning

It's raining here in Chico, California. First rain in a long time. We are really enjoying it. I don't have the photos from the carnival ready, there's a lot to go through, I was a bit click-happy. I've been working on things for Dating Dames and I made my first post Chase Your Bliss Photography last night. That's the name I want to use when I open my local photography business. I don't think I'll ever feel that I'm really ready, so I'm going to just jump in and see where it goes.

I'll post more later. I'm feeling a bit on the blue side right now. I'm feeling off-balance with my boyfriend and that's never a good feeling. I'm going to go hang out with Max and Sarah right now. More later.

Tea Party

Today, I had the opportunity to spend some time at two different school events. The first was the 2nd Annual tea at my son, Max's school. The second was the carnival at Sarah and my school. I'll tell you about the carnival tomorrow - not enough room for pictures of both.

This is the gym at Max's school - the location of the tea party. Everyone wore hats. Well, everyone but Mom and me. Next year, we'll wear them. Mom is in the middle of this photo, next to Max's teacher, Jill. She's a great teacher. She's the one who got the kids into the Special Olympics. The tent, that's where the tea was stationed. The placemats, they are the artwork of the children. We got to take one home.
This is Mom and Max. The picture is not clear, because I had to crop it from a wider shot. Can you tell how much they love each other?
This is teacher Jill and Max. He's still trying to see Grandma. :D

Here's some of the goodies. We had brownies, cookies, little pigs in blankets, pinwheel sandwiches, tea, and coffee. There was a beautiful fruit salad. All the ladies from Max's class they really enjoyed putting on the event, it was obvious. We chatted with one of the aids (I forget her name, very embarrassing) and she told me that she liked to see what Max is dressed in each day and that she felt an affinity with my family because our kids are around the same age. She was a nice lady, she mentioned angels and God. I've noticed over the years that people who are spiritual are very interested in Max. I don't have a problem with it, it's just something that I've taken note of. I'm not sure of Max's opinions on religion. I think if anything he worships trees. That kid loves trees.
I enjoy visiting Max's school, but it's also a reminder of how delicate he is. He's now one of the oldest kids in that school. He's been going there since he was 2. So much has changed since then.

It's hard to explain what raising Max is like. It's honestly a privilege, but it's also a challenge. I worry about him every day and not in the same way that I worry about the girls. I worry about his breathing and his eating and his slowly twisting body. He turns 18 in a few weeks. Okay, I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm getting too emotional to explain anymore right now. Thinking about my son's mortality every single day, it's not easy.

Thanks for reading and I wish you a good day.

Oh, and here's a shot of some candy.

Wordless Wednesday - Star Thistle