Astronaut Training

Jenelle is back in Occupational Therapy. We noticed that Jenelle hates any activities that involve the vestibular system (that is your inner ear). She did a lot of crying this summer when she should have been having fun.



Some activities include:
riding a bike
tubing down a river
swimming
summersaults
anything involving heights
kiddie rides at the amusement park

So we are doing a program called astronaut training. It involves A LOT of spinning. Jenelle sits on the office chair and I spin her. She can spin forever without getting dizzy. You're supposed to get dizzy. I get dizzy just watching her. Anyway, her vestibular system seems to be sleeping. We hope all this spinning will get it working normally. We are spinning every day of Christmas break! Let's hope all this work will make the summer a little less scary and a lot more fun.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! We went to church on Christmas Eve. Jenelle sat with us for the first time and she got to hold her own candle during the candlelight part. She woke up Christmas morning very excited. Santa brought her too many things. She got a grown-up scooter: it has two wheels instead of three. She got a keyboard. She got new underwear and pants. She got a magic set and shrinky dinks. She got a new Wii game and some other little things. She also got a new bean bag chair for her room. We thought she could read on it, but so far the Webkinz have enjoyed it more than Jenelle.

On Christmas day Grandma-ma, Jim, Chris, her dad and Zack came over for dinner. We had the usual turkey dinner and all the fixings. The kids had a great time playing together. Grandma-ma polished off a bottle of chocolate-mint Bailey's Irish Creme. We'll be sure to get another bottle for next year. Curt polished off quite a bit of wine himself. Grandma-ma can handle her liquor better than Curt can.

We finished off the night by playing dominoes. Jenelle and I were a little sick this year for Christmas. We hope to be better by New Year's.

Super Powers

Jenelle goes to a great Christian school. They are teaching the kids that God has a flight plan for everyone and that He gives each kid special gifts. Jenelle has adopted her own interpretation of what a gift is. Caleb's special gift at school is being able to burp the alphabet. We've been discussing Jenelle's special gifts and she will tell you that she has a lot of them. One of her "gifts" is being able to spin for a LONG time without getting dizzy. I call it her "super power". I think my super power is being able to get out stains in the laundry. Curt's super power is being able to fix things. Hmmm... I don't think these are the gift that the school had in mind, but at least Jenelle is thinking that God has made her special.

Mouse in the House

The past few days I've seen something out of the corner of my eye while watching tv. I'd turn to look and would see nothing. Yesterday I turned fast enough and saw a mouse scurrying across the floor. Gross! We've had a couple big snows and the mice have taken up residence indoors. Curt and I continue watching tv while hearing the little guy rustle around the pantry area. I was all disturbed by the mouse, but Curt wasn't fazed. He says, "I grew up with mice in the house. It doesn't bother me." I appreciate Curt's laid back attitude, but when it comes to mice, I'm uptight.

So I bought poison the next day. There was a couple looking at the same stuff. I assured them that the mice go outside to die. "I've been using this poison for years and have never had a mice die in the house", I said. Until now that is.

Curt and I strategically place the poison all around. That night I can hear the critter eating the poison. The next day Jenelle says, "There's a bug in here and I think it's still alive!!!" That "bug" was a mouse sitting on the white couch relaxing while the poison was causing massive hemorrhage inside his little body.

Curt caught the mouse in a container. If you look at the picture, the mouse is in the bottom left hand corner of the box.

A few days later, Curt went into the basement to get something from the freezer. It smelled bad down there! A mouse had died in the basement. The stench was horrible! I swear I could smell it the rest of the day. Anyway, we haven't seen or smelled any more mice, but it's snowing again today. More critters may be coming inside seeking a little warmth.

Snaggle tooth

Jenelle's mouth is always in a state of movement. She had one tooth we called the snaggle tooth. If you look closely at the picture, you can see it sticking out. The adult tooth was coming in and it pushed the baby tooth straight up and out.

Everyday this tooth stuck out a little more. One day after school we had a play date with Eme. The tooth was in that gross dangly stage. Jenelle kept moving it all around. Teeth pulling is one area where I receive a failing grade in motherhood. I just can't pull teeth. I get the heebie jeebies and all grossed out. Luckily, my friend Jen was at the park with us. She reached in and pulled that tooth out. No problem for her.

Jenelle was so cute. She left a note for the tooth fairy that said, "What is your name?" The fairy wrote her back. Flossy is her name and she appreciates all the nice cavity free teeth Jenelle is leaving her.

Happy Halloween.

Jenelle had a fun Halloween. She went trick-or-treating the day before with Zack. The kids went trick-or-treating at Chris' work. They had crafts and games for the kids. Jenelle had a great time and brought home tons of candy.

Yesterday we went around the neighborhood. It was a beautiful night and for once it wasn't cold. We went around a few blocks and then we ran into the Three Musketeers, Eme, Ava and Isabelle. So we went door to door with them for a while.

We had to stop home once to empty her bucket. It was getting so heavy. At the end of the night, Jenelle sorted all her candy. I think she likes that part the best. Well, maybe she likes the candy the best. She has been asking for pieces all day today. The Switch Witch is coming tonight. Jenelle picked out some candy she wants to keep. The rest goes to the Switch Witch (aka Curt). The witch will take the gobs and gobs of candy and switch it for a toy. Jenelle has been wanting this Mermaid bath toy for a long time. I was saving it for Christmas, but that's ok. I really don't want all that candy around the house. We have enough for a couple of weeks and soon we'll be occupied with Thanksgiving. Ahhh! I can't believe it's November already.

Let it snow, let is snow, let it snow.

We got a huge snowstorm this week. I think we got about 24 inches. Jenelle thought it was great. Curt even thought it was great. I thought it was a bit much.

They canceled two days of school. The first day Zack came over. We attempted to make caramel apples, but Jenelle burned and the caramel burned. The kids were stirring the caramel and Jenelle's spoon fell in. She reached in to grab it and got hot caramel on her thumb. The scream was deafening, but she is fine. The caramel burned while I was trying to calm Jenelle down and tend the wound. We got two apples out of what was left. The apples were delicious!

The kids played out in the snow for a long time. Then we went across the street to go sledding. Last year I bought some good snow boots. A very good investment. My feet weren't wet and freezing.

Thursday was another day spent at home. We played the Wii and did more sledding. Jenelle and I ventured out in the snow on Friday. I just joined 24 Hour Fitness and I had a free personal trainer session. So we went to the health club. Jenelle loves the kid's club there. Then we drove to the library which was closed! I couldn't believe it. I'm glad our days stuck inside are done.