Amy Roloff pictures

Amy Roloff

I had the awesome pleasure of listening to Amy Roloff speak on campus tonight. She's a great woman- very down to earth. She told us about how she was raised. Her parents didn't make any special accommodations for her. She had to learn how to adapt to the big world herself. I was also surprised to hear her say that she didn't like PCness(except, of course, in the case of cruelty towards others). She said people try to say things in the nicest way- often ignoring the elephant in the room.

I'm really thankful that the Disability Awareness Association at WSU was able to bring her in to bring awareness to not just her disability, but to others, too. I was very fortunate to get in. I sat in the third row. They had to turn away a lot of people- even with the good sized auditorium we were seated in. If you've never seen Little People, Big World, you can watch some episodes on TLC.com.

I must say that I was a little annoyed when they turned down the lights and brought her in, and everyone started flashing their cameras while she was speaking. It was really distracting. They had the lights on for the Q and A part, and people were taking pictures then. That was a lot less distracting. I'm sure Amy appreciated being blinded by all the flashes. Maybe she's used to it. You would think they would ask for no flash photography. Another thing that got me was some lady in front, who should have just taken a video of the whole program. She had her camera on to take multiple frames, so all through the program we heard, "Beep. click,click,click. Beep. Click, click, click."

Also, the people behind me chatting the whole time. The guy commenting about how she came to his class and saying,"Oh, this is a good story. She told this one in our class today." Thanks. I'm sure I'd like to be able to listen to her story.

And I guess people need to be reminded all the time to turn their cell phones off. The movie theatres do, so apparently everywhere else needs a big sign to turn off cell phones. Sorry. Big pet peeve of mine.

In other news, Mark got a really nice printer to review:

It's a Lexmark X7675 Professional. It's wireless. I can't wait to try printing out my pictures on it. I still haven't found the USB cord for my camera, but this printer will upload the pictures from the camera card, so there is hope for me yet! I should be posting some old pictures that I've been wanting to share soon!

"Cuh- uter"

At 22 months, Jayden still has a pretty limited vocabulary. He's not "talking" as much as I'd like him to("I have no clue what you are asking me for!"), or as much as all the child development experts say he should. But he does know what he likes.

One of Jayden's favorite things right now is the computer. And he knows how to say it(sort of). He started saying it a couple of days ago, but I wasn't sure if I was hearing right until he did it again the next day and the day after. Anyway, when Jayden leaves the living room, I can be pretty sure I know where I will find him in minutes. He'll be standing up on the office chair, pulling out the keyboard and clicking away. I think I have another future computer geek on my hands.

He's also pretty cute when he's watching us play Wii Fit. He will squat down and then back up-imitating our movements on the board.

All-in-all, he's a sweet little man who loves to blow kisses to everyone and pats you on the back when giving big hugs. I love my Jayden!

Busy Mom Day

Yesterday was a bit more chaotic than usual. Jayden found some crayons and decided to show off his artistic ability by drawing on several walls and the front door.

This is a perfect tool for getting rid of pretty much any stray mark made by small children.

Later on, my kitchen became likened unto this skating rink. I was cooking some platanos earlier, and put the oil back on top of the fridge. I went to the freezer to pull out some ice cream for dessert, and the bottle fell down, lid came off, oil all over the floor. I was trying to keep our dog from licking it up, when my youngest came toddling in and slipped on the oil, bonking his head on the linoleum.
So, I put the dog outside, pulled an ice pack out of the freezer for my poor child's noggin, and when all was calm, I dished out ice cream and started a bath for the oily youngster. I managed to get most of the oil cleaned up off the floor, but it is still a bit slippery. On the other hand, Jayden's hair is very soft and silky!

So that was a few of the events that happened yesterday to make it a very busy mommy day!

Hap-Pea anniversary!

I got this little badge today on a message board I frequent- Twopeasinabucket.com. It's primarily a scrapbooking site, but over the past seven years(as of today-February 12th) that I have been a member, I talk less scrapbooking, and more on everyday life. It's a great source of entertainment. Many dramatic battles on religion, politics, parenting, and even shopping carts. It's a good place to go to find out the answer to any question you might have. Sure, there's Google, but ask a question at 2peas, and you can quickly find many BTDT(been there, done that) responses.

It's a site that has really broadened my perspective on life in many ways. People from all races, religions, nationalities, upbringings, etc. post their thoughts and perspectives. I really have gleaned a lot from this place.

Because the board is made up of human beings, there have been some conflicts and strife. There has been many an eyebrow-raising moment. But then, the goodness shines through when people unite to support someone going through a difficult time, too.

I'm proud to call myself a Pea.

Where oh where is...

the USB cord for my camera? I can't upload any pictures until I find it! When I do find it, there will be pictures of Isaiah's birthday party- including the fantastic(okay, I'm exaggerating)Lego cake I made. And today Isaiah requested that I take pictures of him and his new scooter.

If you were a USB cord, where would you be? Besides the obvious- computer desk!

Happy Birthday, Isaiah!

My little man is five today! The time sure does fly!

This past year, he has grown into a little Wii prodigy. He's really good at playing Lego Batman and Wii Sports. The kid amazes me.

He's also getting really good at reading. He reads along with Kyrie and me when we are doing her Language Arts assignments. When he starts school in the Fall, I will start him off in the 1st grade level for L.A. Today he also started working on Kyrie's old 1st grade Math workbook. He was doing really well with the addition and subtraction and knowing greater than/less than.

Random facts about Isaiah(according to him today):
favorite color:blue
favorite food: ice cream, ham and cheese sandwiches, fruity cereal
favorite animal: elephant
favorite toy: Batmobile, Legos, puzzles

Height: 3' 7"
Weight:40 lbs

Height at birth: 21 inches
Weight at birth: 9 lbs

See this blog entry from last year for a slideshow and comparison of last year!
Love ya, little guy! Don't grow up too fast!!!