Happy (Final?) Birthday, Kermit

Two years ago today, Kermit changed my life.  Yes, I name inanimate objects, and Kermit was my first iPhone.

 I loved Kermit, but his 3GS skills were no match for the siren song of Siri on the 4S.  Meet Rocket.

These photos were taken in the same spot at the same time.  Kermit's picture was taken using Rocket and vice versa, so you can see that Rocket has a much better camera (a flash! editing ability!), too.  Rocket is currently sporting a red ID case from Case Mate, which is much more vivid than the photo.  Kermit also wore a (green) Case Mate ID case for most of his active duty, until it broke and I found that they no longer carried it in his signature color.  So for a while, he was purple.

This may be Kermit's final birthday, because, as much as I love him, I no longer need him... and he still has some resale value.  :)  Thanks for the memories, Kermit, and for making me *heart* Apple products.

Things That Make Me Happy: Teaching

One of the things I love about being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the opportunity to learn and grow through teaching others.  Through my various callings in the church, I've had the chance to teach groups ranging from age 4 (Sunbeams - nearly impossible) to 84 (Relief Society - the most fun), with a lot of teenagers in the middle.

I find that I am often called to teach lessons about which I know very little - the experience of learning a topic and then teaching it is simultaneously humbling and exhilarating. Sometimes I teach quite well, other times not so much, but every time is a learning experience for me.

I have always known that the skills that I display as a teacher aren't really mine - the Lord truly inspires and leads me through the Holy Ghost.  It's the only way to explain the contrast between the ease and eloquence of my teaching and the complete and utter ineptitude I show daily in social conversation.  Many, many times I have said something and simultaneously thought to myself - "Wow!  That sounded amazing!  Where in the heck did that come from??"  I don't say these things out of conceit, but rather as testimony to the truthfulness of the following scripture:

Doctrine & Covenants 84:85 Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. (emphasis added)

The Lord truly does give me the words that I need to say, when I need to say them.  Often He does this as much to teach me as to teach others - I can't tell you how many times I've been in a situation and been reminded of something that I said during a lesson that is exactly what I need to hear at that moment.  Sometimes, He leads me to do or say something in a lesson that seems counterintuitive to the message, and once in a while He lets me see the impact that it has had on someone else.

image credit

That happened to me today.  Last week I "taught" in Relief Society - I use quotes, because there was very little original content - I replayed Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the General Relief Society Broadcast followed by a summary slide by Shawna Banagas, which I found on Sugardoodle.net.

In his talk, Elder Uchtdorf specifically talks about good and foolish sacrifices, and uses the example of making hand-embroidered potholders for every member of the class as an example of perhaps not choosing to spend our time wisely.  In spite of this example, I felt inspired to make a copy of this wonderful visual for each class member on 4x6 photo paper.  It seemed counterintuitive, but it was so pretty!

Today in Sunday School, while discussing "patience" as taught in James, a woman shared her story of how my lesson and the visual had made a huge difference in how she handled a situation that had been troubling her for quite a while.  She had the photo in her hands as she spoke, and kept pointing to it.  It brought tears to my eyes, and I was filled with gratitude that the Lord had let me see how He had used the efforts of Elder Uchtdorf, Sister Banagas, the Sugardoodle.net staff, and my skills with Google and a good photo printer to change someone else's life for the better.

For that reason and the countless other blessings it brings, teaching makes me happy.

Things That Make Me Happy: Blogging

Those who are aware of my posting frequency are probably chuckling at this one, but it's true.  I do enjoy blogging - some days more than others - because it causes me to actually think about the life I'm living.

This may be terribly narcissistic, but I read and re-read my blog often.  Truth is, I have a terrible memory.  Not the met-you-at-an-event-and-can't-remember-your-name kind of poor memory, but a real honest-to-goodness my-past-is-really-kinda-blank memory.  I have a few memories - good and bad - but most are  really hard to recall without a photo or note.  I need a visual reminder, and that can often bring up the memory.

On the downside, it tends to make me forget things that are important to other people, like favorite foods, interests, their kids, things we've done together... basically, if I don't work at it, I come across as very self-involved.

On the upside, it makes it really hard to hold a grudge.  :)

So, blogging helps me remember events in my life that are worth remembering, good or bad, and that makes me happy.

Things That Make Me Happy: Pine Trees

I love pine trees.  My dream spot: a large grove of mature pines in sandy soil, surrounded by crunchy pine needles, the air tinged with the sweet smell of sap.  The ragged looking ones are my favorite - they have so much character.

Spending time amongst pines soothes my soul.

 

Things That Make Me Happy: Snark

As should be obvious to all who read this blog, I love a snarky comment.  I am not, however, a fan of mean spirited put-downs (which, after consulting dictionary.com, is actually the definition of snarky.  Oops.)  What I enjoy is good, light-hearted snark like I found on my hairspray bottle.  Perhaps technically, it's sarcasm.  Whatever.

Aussome Volume Hair Spray

In case you can't read it, it says:
DIRECTIONS:  It's hair spray.  You spray it on your hair.

Things That Make Me Happy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

hersheys.com

As many people are aware, I am a friend to many varieties of chocolate candy, but in my world, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups surely qualify for BFF status.

I love these so much that I rarely buy them.  They have a half-life of nanoseconds once I know of their existence in our home.

Showing her kindheartedness, Sarah went through her bag of Halloween candy and gave me every last Reese's she found.  When I protested that she should keep some because she likes them too, she just said "But they are your favorite, Mom!" and refused to keep any.  Acts like this save her when I'm out-of-my-mind exasperated with some autistic quirk, because I remember that life with her is not all bad.

My more rational younger daughter took the smarter (?) route and immediately HID all of hers so that I couldn't get to them.  I'm guessing she hasn't figured out the value of a goodwill offering.

My wonderful husband has small stashes of these around the house for when I start whining that I NEED chocolate but we don't have any.  He has learned over the years that if he tries to hide a whole bag of them, I will literally sniff them out.  I don't know his system, but he hides a few here and a few there for when my hormones cry out for some choco/peanut-butter love. Brilliant.  I am so grateful for him... but that's a separate post.  :)

ps - My peanut butter cup love does not extend to Reese's Pieces. No way. Yuck.

Things That Make Me Happy: Motherhood

I love my children so much.  They are both such wonderful, unique individuals.  I love that they are part of my life.  I will admit that there are many aspects of parenting that certainly wouldn't fall under the category of "things that make me happy", but overall, I am grateful that I chose to have and raise children.

I am, however, slightly disconcerted by how quickly my kids went from this:

18 months

18 months

to this:

8th grade

4th grade

I don't remember giving them permission to grow up so fast.  Sigh. Just another parenting item that I'm under the illusion that I can control, but that the girls emphatically prove otherwise.

I must admit - I am very proud of the young women that they are becoming!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

As Thanksgiving approaches, Facebook and the blogosphere are inundated with posts outlining the things for which people are thankful.

Not one to miss out on a trend (yeah, right), I'm joining the movement by trying to add an item a day to my "Things That Make Me Happy" page.  As usual, however, I am late to the party, so I'll try to add two a day.  I'll try.

Please note that these will not appear in any order - in fact, the more frivolous items will probably appear first, because those posts are easier to write!

A Prize Has Been Chosen

Sarah is not one to let money accumulate or gain interest.  It resides with her for only a short while before being spent.  In this way, she is a completely normal kid.

So... what do you let a kid who won a big chunk of money buy?  I was NOT going to let her convert it into iTunes dollars and end up with 100 MORE apps for her already crowded iPad.

Luckily, the Christmas catalogs are out.  Here also, Sarah is no different from any other kid - she goes through them so many times that the pages get worn, bent, and tattered.  For a while, she's been asking for this:

leapfrog.com

It's the Tag Interactive Reader from Leap Frog.  We've had wonderful experiences with other products from Leap Frog - both the Leap Pad and the Leapsters were well-loved toys, in the days when I required that all video games be educational.  But this pen is designed to help kids learn to read, and Sarah already knows how to read.  It didn't seem much better than the Leap Pad, which did similar things (but not as easily).  So, I had absolutely no plans to buy it for her.

Then she wins that big money prize.  I think it's only natural that she should get something special.  As she's pondering how many apps she can get, I do some quick thinking and suggest that she could buy the Tag reader and a few books.  Now, THIS is an idea that she can get behind!  Dad took her out the next day to help her pick it out.  She was miffed that we wouldn't let her spend the whole amount, but tithing and savings are important, and so she was only able to get 3 books.

I wasn't concerned about her having just a few books - I really thought that it would be a short-term toy (that I could resell on Craigslist/Ebay).  It appears that I was wrong -  she is really into this pen!  I have to admit, it's a lot cooler than I thought.  And, if it gets her into reading books and away from the games on the iPad, that's a big bonus.

Grandparents, take note - Tag books will be welcomed under the Christmas tree.  I'm sure she's got them on her Amazon list.  :)

Well, That Might Have Been a Bad Idea...

I have to come realize that it's in the parenting job description to enable and encourage your child's independence.  (I really wish I could find those instruction manuals that must have come with each of my kids.  I'm sure the topic is covered.)

This is challenging with a disabled child, so you take any opportunity you can get.  Sarah is very big on "wish lists" - they create a visual record of the things that she wants.  They're nothing fancy, just words on a piece of paper, but the fact that she can see it gives it permanence and significance.

As a busy parent, you also want to lighten your own load as much as possible.  So, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to install the Amazon app on Sarah's iPad, and teach her how to use the "add to wish list" feature.  I blissfully imagined all the skills she would develop, typing in her search term and reviewing the results, adding the item to her list.  Holidays would be so easy, because I could just send a link to the list to anyone who asked.  The best part - I wasn't involved!

What I did not expect was this:

I had forgotten about the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section.

Apparently, my girl has crazy mad skills when it comes to using the Amazon app.  She understands links and can navigate with ease.  The only thing she has trouble with is understanding that it's a WISH list, and not a list of THINGS I'M GETTING.

Sigh.

So when my parents asked what they should get Sarah for Christmas, I forwarded the link to them.  Even though the list was only at 1400 items, it was still a no-go.  Apparently grandparents, even retired ones, don't have 20+ hours to review mega lists.  That, apparently, is a job for me.

The worst part?  With her super-memory, she remembers every. single. item on that list.  No outside editing will be tolerated.

In hindsight, maybe I should have just taught her how to get out a piece of paper and find a pencil.

The Ducks ARE the Most Valuable Thing!

I posted yesterday about Sarah's joy at earning 11 rubber ducks during her school's magazine sale.  I have to admit that I was slightly condescending about the whole thing; the ducks are worth about $10 at most, and cost just pennies to produce in some Chinese factory.  I saw them as just another chunk of childhood clutter.  I thought the other prizes that she won were more valuable.

Oops.

In addition to the indescribable value they have to her - she wears them everywhere, including to bed - it turns out that they are worth a lot of cold, hard cash in the world of the magazine sale.

I got an excited call on my answering machine this morning from her teacher, saying that they had good news to share, and they would call back.  Well, they never did, but a very happy Sarah came home from school today and shoved an envelope at me, exclaiming "I won MONEY!"

Correction - she won LOTS of money.

From what I am able to figure out (Sarah's hazy on the details), she was called down to the main office, where she had won the "5-bucks-a-duck" promotion.  Perhaps it was because she was wearing them (the flyer proclaims "wear your ducks to school and have a chance to win cash and prizes!"), but those eleven ducks earned her $55.  It gets better - since she had turned in her postcard booklet on time, they doubled it.  Those ducks netted her $110!

That's a lot of cash for a middle schooler, but it won't even put a dent into her 1900+ item Amazon wish list.  :)

So, I stand corrected - the ducks ARE the most valuable thing.

Amen.

This is so me that I just had to post it.

I wish I could credit the source; I stole it from Facebook

Don't get me started on my annual rant about how I can't stand Thanksgiving being overlooked as we jump from Halloween to Christmas...

Thank you!

A BIG thank you to all who purchased magazine subscriptions from Sarah.  You helped her reach 17 subscriptions before the first turn-in day, so she is now the proud owner of a lanyard holding a full set of 11 rubber duck keychains.  She tells me that no one else in her homeroom sold as many as she did.  :)

Here's a list of the prizes she won:

• A duck lanyard & lucky duck
• Entry for the iPad 2 drawing
• X-band (watch)
• SkinIT for phone/iPod Touch certificate
• Pizza lunch w. a friend in a Hummer Limo
• Kicker headphones
• A "flock-o-ducks" - one of every duck

She told me that she didn't do the iPad drawing entry...??!!! We had agreed beforehand that if she won the iPad, she would give it to her sister, who is insanely jealous that Sarah has one (purchased with state funds via her disability waiver) and she doesn't.  Sarah's explanation for not entering?  "My sister doesn't want an iPad."  Uh, what planet have you been living on, girl? 

I quickly emailed her teacher, who hopefully can sort this out.  Normally I wouldn't fuss, because what are the odds, right?  (The fact that I did all the legwork to sell subscriptions and that winning an iPad might actually give me a reprieve from the endless whining MIGHT have a thing or two to do with how personally I'm taking this...) Since the drawing is only for students participating from her school, and you have to work to earn an entry, there is a tiny possibility of winning.

Being the generous soul that she is, it's possible that she gave the entry to someone else. Just like the $35 Kicker headphones, which ended up going home with Julie, the friend she's taking on the pizza limo ride. Or the duplicate ducks that she gave to her friend (whose name she can't remember). Or the skinIT and x band watch she readily handed over to me.

All she really wanted was the complete set of ducks. 

'Cause that's how our obsessive girl rolls.

ps - the subscription link above is still active through Nov 16th, so if you need more magazines, check it out!  She'll earn more prizes that she can give away.  *grin*  No, the remaining prizes are cash, and she's smart enough not to give that away!