It Really Was a Good Friday

It is finally beginning to look like spring around here!  And boy are we ready for it! Since Brian and I both had Good Friday off, we decided to go out for breakfast as a family.
We went to The Ballard Street cafe in Wylie.  The girls were very excited to eat some eggs!

Usually, the only way to get Imma's picture is to surprise her.  She's a little spaced out here!

Lucy, however, is happy to pose!

Next, we went to Say it With Sugar and everyone picked out a cupcake.
Then, we went to play in a local park.  The girls had a great time swinging and going down the slides. We hit a little bit of a rough patch when Imma didn't want to leave but the rest of the morning was wonderful.  Well-behaved children, getting along, eating at least a bit of their food, not causing a scene! I had to take a moment to look around and just feel blessed to have such a beautiful family.
Imma and I went shopping while Lucy took her nap. Imma will only drink water--literally nothing else. So, when I stopped at Sonic to get a drink (something I do way too often) I decided to go ahead and get her a water as well. She's gotten Sonic drinks before with her Wacky Pack but she doesn't ever drink them.  This time, she did. She really liked drinking out of the bigger sized cup.

Silly Imma!

Serious Imma

This was the first time I've had Good Friday off in a really long time.  It was so nice to spend it with my family!
How did you spend your Good Friday?

Run, Imma, Run!

Today was Imma's Boosterthon FunRun.  She actually completed 30 laps, which is awesome. I didn't think she would run that many.  She actually snuck through the line of volunteers keeping count a few times so it may have been higher than that but we'll take 30! She did a really great job collecting pledges.  Overall, the Boosterthon was very successful and we were able to raise a lot of money for technology at our school.  You can still pledge tonight if you'd like to help out. Just click on the link here.

Imma completing lap 2

Imma was a little tired when she was all done.

I was really proud that she kept going, didn't give up, worked hard, and was not the little girl crying on my shoulder at the end of the race because she was exhausted (that was someone else!) Thanks to everyone who sponsored her!  We appreciate your love and support!

Let Each Birthday Count

Today is my birthday.  I would like to say that I don't feel any older, but I think, perhaps, I do.  A little.  But my children keep me young.  They were so excited. We celebrated yesterday because it was just more convenient--which isn't to say that my husband should expect me to do ANY work this evening, 'cause I'm not gonna, but we had the cake, dinner, and presents yesterday.  I got a beautiful handmade necklace from an Etsy shop. It's Annabel Lee themed and I love it. I also got a beautiful Alice in Wonderland bracelet, also from an Etsy shop.  My husband did well.  He let me sleep in, we had red velvet cake, my favorite, and pizza, also my favorite. The girls sang "Happy Birthday" and helped me blow out the candles.  Lucy kept saying, "Happy Birthday, Monnie!" which was also very cute. Overall, it was a good day. Today, I've had lots and lots of facebook messages from dear friends and it's always nice to be thought of and remembered, which I also appreciate.

My cake looked something like this. Now, it is almost gone! Photo from berries dot com

But, of course, something is missing.  This is my first birthday without my dad and it hasn't been easy.  Every year on my birthday, my dad would call and sing Happy Birthday to me in an extremely unique way.  I don't even think I can describe it.  Basically, he would sing it like he was an old, out of tune banjo--without any words.  So, it was something like, "Bear-na-near-near, near near.  Bear-na-near-near, near near. Bear-na-near-near, bear-na-near-near.  Bear-na-near-near, near near."  Can you sort of hear that? I don't think he did this for anyone else in our family, maybe he did, but I know it started with me.  And I missed it. My sister was kind enough to text it to me, Brian has sang it to me, I'm sure other people have thought of it today, too, but it just wasn't the same.  Maybe next year, it will be easier.  I hope so, any way.
It just serves as a reminder--we can all complain about getting older, not looking the same, not feeling the same.  Getting tired easier, more creaks and cracks when we walk, etc.  But a birthday is something to be cherished, something to be thankful for.  And you never know when you are celebrating your last one.  When my dad turned my age, he only had 19 birthdays left. If he had known that, he might have done some things differently.  If I only have 19 birthdays left, or maybe this is my last one, I want to make sure there is nothing I didnt' take the time to do now while I have the chance. I want to hug my girls a little more, spend more time with my friends, kiss my husband more often, enjoy the sunset and be more thankful each morning that I was allowed another opportunity to make a difference.  There are no guarantees in life and so I shouldn't just assume that I will get the opportunity to celebrate my birthday next year.  So, this one has to count.
Thanks to all of you who have sent me birthday wishes. Here's to lots and lots more birthdays!

Happiness is Caring About Others

Last week, we visited the Dallas World Aquarium.  You can read about our trip here. Afterwards, we went to the Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch.  As we were eating, a young lady walked over and said, "Excuse me, I just wanted to let you know that your daughters are both very beautiful." Of course, we were a little surprised because that sort of thing doesn't happen every day, but we thanked her and she went on her way. I could tell by the way she spoke and by the way the others in her part spoke to her that she had was differently-abled. And I will say she was "special" but not in the way some people might choose to interpret that word.  She was special because it is not normal for one to approach strangers in a restaurant to give their children a compliment. She was special because she chose to go out of her way to do something kind for someone else.  While it brightened my day and touched my heart, it kind of makes me sad, too, that it is the unusual act of kindness that catches my attention. We should be acting this way all of the time.
Something similar happened yesterday at a fast food restaurant.  A women went out of her way to tell me I looked pretty.  I wasn't feeling particulary pretty at the time, hustling my kids through with dinner, in a rush to get home.  But the fact that she took a moment to give a compliment put a smile on my face and made me pause to look around. What "pretty" things am I missing because I'm in a hurry? Again, I think this woman had faced some challenges along her journey but she was making a difference in the lives of others in a way not many of us do.
The last example of kindness I would like to share involves my own sweet child.  During Imma's scrimmage Tuesday, Lucy began playing with another child, a little girl who happens to have special needs.  Lucy doesn't even notice these things.  She was playing peek-a-boo and both girls were putting grass in their hair and spinning around.  Lucy lights up my life because she is naturally giving and caring and kind.  Imma has taught her so many lessons already, even at the age of two, about accepting other people's difference and that it's okay to be different. My new life slogan is, "special is extraordinary!"  Every child is special and unique.  Lucy may be developing like a typical child but she certainly has a gift for making others feel loved and important.

My sweet girl!

These three examples serve as a reminder to me that I need to make time everyday to help someone else feel valued, loved, and to let them know they are important.  I am truly blessed to have two beautiful, caring little girl and dozens of opportunities each day to let other people know they are loved. I hope you will join me in my goal of paying it forward every day and taking the little opportunities to make unusual compliments normal.

Which One of These Things is Not Like the Others?

Monday, Imma joined a small group of students that I've been pulling out of her teacher's class for support in reading.  I've been working with these three boys for several months and Imma has made our little group more interesting.  She's the only girl, she's loud, she's silly, oh, and she's my kid.  So that makes it a little different.  She's doing well and the boys all love her.  The group is getting along quiet nicely.
Today, we played a game where I showed them high frequency words on the iPad and they had to read the word. Whoever read the word first got a colored tile.  If it was a tie, everyone got one.  If you yelled, you didn't get one.  (This prevented Imma from getting a few that she would have otherwise gotten.)  Everyone did really well.  They are definitely picking up their high frequency words, which, ultimately, will make them better readers.  I noticed something, however, as our little game progressed.  While I can't say that it truly surprised me, I still found it quite interesting.  In the picture below, you will see the tiles accumulated by each student.  Can you tell where Imma was sitting?

Hmmm, which tiles are Imma's?

There were a few times when I had to say her name to get her attention because she was concentrating so hard on sorting and stacking those tiles.  Just another aspect of the enigma that is Imma. :)

"I don't want to go to FOOTBALL!"

If you've been following my blog recently, you know that Imma has just started playing t-ball. I say t-ball, it's actually called softball here because she gets three chances to hit the ball thrown by a coach and if she doesn't hit it, she gets to hit it off of the "t".   Last night, the girls team scrimmaged the boys team. Let's just say, it went about as well as I thought it would, which wasn't very well at all.
She spent at least 30 minutes begging me not to make her go to "football."  (I don't know why she thinks it's football, maybe because the field is near the high school football stadium.) I finally got her changed and in the car.  She was fine when she got there and saw her friends.  She was actually doing alright warming up and listened to her coaches, sort of.  When the scrimmage started, the girls were batting first. Imma was last in the line-up.  She had her helmet on, ready to go.  Except, there are way too many girls on her team for her to actually get to bat in the first inning.  The rule is, one team can only score 5 runs per inning.  That happened pretty quickly and then it was time to take the field.  Unfortunately, Imma did not read the rule book in advance and she completely flipped out when she didn't get to bat. She ended up having to be carried to the outfield by her coach. Eventually, Brian went out on the field and held her by the fence so she could talk to me. She cried for about 15 minutes, sobbing, "I wanna bat!" She finally calmed down enough that she could go stand by her coach and kick dirt and spin around.
The second time around, she did get to bat.  And she hit the ball!  She had to hit it off of the "t" but we were really excited that she hit it.  She didn't have any idea what to do when she did hit it so her coach took her hand and ran her to first base.  Luckily, she drove in run number 4 so there was only one more batter after her so she didn't have to try to navigate all of the bases.  For the second inning, she took the field and spent the whole time kicking dirt and spinning.  But she wasn't crying.  I do need to remember not to put pants with pockets on her for practice.  She kept putting her hands in her pockets!
I talked to one of Imma's teammate/classmate/good friend's mom today and she said she thought it was fine. She wasn't worried at all that Imma was confused, crying, kicking dirt.  She said, "This is her first scrimmage.  She didn't know what to expect.  She wanted to bat. It happens."  I was relieved to hear that because I have no idea what "normal" kids do.  I saw other kids crying, spinning, kicking dirt, falling down, getting completely lost, running the wrong way, etc. but it looked to me like Imma was much more lost than the rest of them. But I'm her mom.  I wanted to know how it looked to the other parents and this mama gave me new hope that maybe the other parents aren't talking about "that girl" and embarrassed and outraged that Imma is ruining sports for their children.  This is, of course, my biggest fear--that she will be chastised for her behavior and that the other kids will be angry at her for messing things up.  So far that has not been the case and hopefully it will stay that way.
She is doing better each time.  She still says she doesn't want to go but I heard other parents say they had to drag their kids in, too.  I am hoping that she at least enjoys it enough that I don't have to bribe her or threaten her.  And that she keeps her hands out of her pockets!
What do y'all think? Shall we stick with it??
I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures last night. I was too busy bribing Imma and chasing Lucy.

FunRun--We Need Your Help!

I know, I know, no one likes it when parents start begging for money for their kids' fundraisers--but this may be a little different, if you know my Imma's story. . . .
Imma is participating in a FunRun at school. She will be running laps and we are supposed to ask for sponsors to pledge either a per lap rate or a flat fee. There are two reasons why this should be significant to those of you who are keepin' up with the Van Horn's:
1. You've read about how Imma is doing in softball and how she doesn't do so well on "walking Wednsdays" at school.  Here, she is being asked to do something that is difficult for her.  You can imagine how confusing it might be to walk or run around a track if you literally had no idea why anyone would be walking in a circle for 30 minutes.  And there are so many other things to distract her! Like sticks, and bugs, and the occassional lawn mower!  Yes, this will be a challenge for her--but she can do it!
2. The money is going towards raising funds for new technology in our school's classrooms.  Imma has benefited tremendously from having access to an iPad.  She learned the alphabet on an iPad, she learned her letter sounds on an iPad, colors, shapes, you name it, she probably learned it on the iPad. If more children could have access to this technology, that would be so beneficial for all of our students, especially those with special needs.
The good news is, you don't have to pledge a lot!  You can just follow the link below to a secure website and leave a flat donation of as little as $1.  We will gladly accept your donation of $1! If 50 people all give$1, that's $50 and that's a lot!  Every little bit adds up. I will personally thank you and Imma will thank you, too!
I'm asking for your support not just as the parent of a special needs child who can truly see the benefits this technology brings to every child who is able to use it, but also as a teacher.  I see the difference technology makes in the hands of my students every day and I know that, the more access our students have to technology, the better off each of them will be.
The FunRun is next Wednesday, March 27th. Please consider giving in any amount possible. Your gift is sincerely appreciated!
Feel free to message me should you have any questions and thank you for taking the time to read this and consider a pledge.
Click here to go to Imma's donation page
or
Type this address into your browser.
http://s.funrun.com/YDS4Ak

Imma using her iPad

Imma's Self-Portraits

I found these on my phone last night. I asked her about them and she told me what each one was.  Such a silly girl.

Happy

Mad

Silly

Quiet

Goofy

Regular

Imma Dog

Silly (again!)

Surprised!

I love my silly girl and I love finding (good) surprised from her, too!

Saturday, Softball, Fashionable Spiders, and Strep

It's funny how your day can take a completely different course than you expected, nothing going quiet the way you anticipated, making you question both your planning techniques and your very existence, before it's even 11AM.
This morning, we were supposed to get up and take Imma to softball practice.  I was supposed to quickly and easily list my six new tutus on Etsy, and Imma has a birthday party to attend this afternoon.  We'll see about that last one when the time comes.
Imma coughed most of the night.  Since Lucy was just diagnosed with strep on Tuesday we decided to call the doctor this morning.  Rather than going to softball, she went to the doctor with Brian and we were told that it does not look like she has strep at this time.  They went ahead and sent a sample off just to be sure.  It's good that they don't think she has strep but it's bad that we don't know exactly why she's coughing so much.  They did go ahead and give her an antibiotic so hopefully she'll be feeling better soon and will be able to go to softball on Tuesday. Still not sure if she should go to the birthday party. The doctor didn't think she was contagious but I would hate to take the chance.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I was in the process of listing my tutus for the spring line.  I decided that the two darker colored tutus were not showing up very well from the photos I was taking inside.  So, I took them and my mannequin outside to take a few quick photos. As I was switching tutus, I got a really sharp pain in my wrist. I was in a hurry so I just kept working but then I felt another sharp pain.  I looked down and a teeny tiny little black spider had sunk it's little fangs into my wrist--twice.  I squished it and finished up what I was doing but by the time I came inside a few minutes later, it was beginning to swell up. I'm very allergic to mosquitoes and those bites have gotten as big as softballs before so I'm a little worried about this little chomp-chomp in my wrist, especially since I have no idea what kind of spider it was and we have all kinds out here in the wilderness   country.  Hopefully the medicine I took will keep it at bay and it's nothing but I'd prefer it if the rest of the spiders just kept their distance! The first thought that entered my mind as I watched it start to swell was, "I sure hope it wasn't a baby black widow!"  The next thing I know, I'm imagining going outside to take some photos and ending up dead on the sidewalk. This is how my imagination works.

This is my wrist a few minutes after I was viciously attacked by a spider the size of a pin-head.  Can you see the white area in the middle where it's swollen? Now, it's about the size of a half-dollar.

I came inside and finished posting most of the things that needed posting, the "crippling" pain in my wrist subsiding as I played with my little pretty girl. Lucy is definitely feeling better. She's been a little spunky comic this morning.  Right now, she is taking a nice relaxing bath, because that's what you do on a Saturday morning when you're two. The dogs are outside enjoying the sunshine and I've gotten some things done, though I still have a lot of work to do.  Who knows where the rest of the day will take us but I hope it turns out to be a good one, since it is the last Saturday of spring break.
What are you doing today? Have you had a day turn out completely different than you anticipated and if so, how did you handle it?

Trip to the Aquarium!

Yesterday, we visited the Dallas World Aquarium.  There are actually two aquariums in the DFW metroplex and I've never been to the other one but I've heard that this one is much better and we try to go around this time at least once a year.  The girls had a really great time and so did Daddy and I. We knew we needed to get there early if we wanted to beat the crowds so we got there at 11:00.  By then, it was already nearly impossible to find a parking spot.  But the line to get in was relatively short and there were only a few times when the crowd brought us to a stand still.
When you first enter the aquarium, there's a huge waterfall that you can see from almost all of the levels.  It's stunningly gorgeous and we try to take our picture there whenever we go. (One time a lady asked if she could take a picture.  I thought she meant of our family so I said sure but she just wanted a picture of Imma in front of the waterfall. Weird!)

Imma, look at Daddy!

No, your Daddy!

Oh, never mind!

Imma wanted the camera and she took a few of the pictures.  The girls got to see the sloth and a ton of birds and monkeys. They didn't care too much for the snakes but they loved the alligators.  We saw the penguins swim around outside.  Imma really loved the jaguar and the flamingos. (She can saw flamingo now--I miss flagongo!) Unfortunately, we didn't really get to see my favorite, the manatees. We could see one of their tails from far away but that's about it. The tunnel where you can walk under the sharks was super crowded so we kind of rushed through there but we did have a few sharks swim over us.  The girls loved looking at the fish and Imma told us that the jellyfish was "dangerous!" Even though it only took about an hour to walk through and it cost quite a bit to get in, we had a really nice time and made some great memories.

The waterfall

Alligator or crocodile--not sure!

Lucy looks a little evil!

It's Crush!

Another view of the giant aquarium

The turtle swimming past Lucy

Daddy and my girls!  I'm over here--hello!

Which way next, Mommy?

This way?

Oh, this way!

Imma took this picture of the jaguar.

Imma really liked the flamingos.

After the aquarium, we walked over to The Spaghetti Warehouse for lunch. The girls were actually hungry for once and ate a little bit of their lunch--which is highly unusual.  Imma ate half of her pizza and we all shared a brownie ice cream sundae.  Lucy had mac and cheese and wasn't nearly as interested in the sundae as her sister.  Lucy ended up being very sleepy but she didn't fall asleep on the way home, which was very surprising to me.  She ended up taking a three hour nap once she got home!

Lucy playing in an old confessional in the lobby of Spaghetti Warehouse

Imma being shy

Still waiting!

And being silly

Today is the last day of spring break, though we still have the weekend.  We've had a nice week off.  I'm ready to get back to school and finish out the year. I'm really looking forward to spending the summer with my girls!
If you had a spring break, what did you do? If you had a week off from work to spend with your family, what would you like to do?

Lucy has Strep!

I'm sad to say that my cute little bugaboo has strep.  I took her to the doctor yesterday because she was running a little fever, she was acting very tired, and just wasn't herself.  So we decided she needed to go to the doc. Sure enough, strep.
This is spring break week for us so Imma and I don't have to go to school.  We didn't have any huge plans but I was hoping we would get to enjoy our time together.  It's too bad Lucy has been so sick.  She seems to be feeling a little better since she's been on antibiotics but she's been sleeping a lot.  Yesterday she took a three hour nap and today she got up at 8:30 which is incredible for one of my children.

My sick girl!  (Comments about the bottle will be deleted, lol!)

We didn't even get to go to t-ball practice last night.  Brian took Imma but I didn't want Lucy to expose all of the other children.  Imma actually hit a pitch from the coach! It was foul but nevertheless, that's some progress.  She is still struggling with wanting to run off of the field and not paying attention but each practice seems to be getting a little better.
Hopefully, Lucy will be feeling better tomorrow and we can take the girls to the aquarium as we had planned.

Mommy's Trip to the Spa is All Done!

Well, I'm back home today from my Mommy-cation. My sister Sienna and I had a really nice trip.  We got some rest and now we're jumping back into our regular lives.
If you ever have the chance to visit Echo Canyon Spa in Sulphur, Oklahoma, I highly recommend it.  Even though they initially double-booked the technician doing my pedicure so that I had to wait until the next day, they more than made up for it by giving it to me for free.  Yes, free! Sienna had a very relaxing massage, too. They offer over 100 spa treatments in their 5000 square foot facility.
Our room was very nice, as you can see in the pictures I posted in my initial Mommy-cation post. It was a little weird having a giant bathtub in the corner of the room but there was a separate bathroom.  I used the tub once when Sienna wasn't there and it was wonderful.  It had lots of jets, was super deep, and it utilized local mineral water that was supposed to have some very soothing effects.
We had a beautiful view over-looking the canyon.  We saw all kinds of birds, including some wild turkeys, and Sienna even saw some deer.  The owners are both chefs and the restaurant served wonderful meals for dinner and breakfast. They were even able to accommodate my sister's specific requests.  The view from the dining room was just as lovely as the one from our room.
The spa is very close to Chickasaw National Park.  We saw all kinds of wildlife there as well, including dozens of bison. It was amazing to see these majestic creatures in their own habitat.  We had a lot of fun walking the trails, even though it was pretty cold and windy.
Yesterday, we drove to the small town of St. Pauls to see a movie in the old cinema on the square.  We saw Oz the Great and Powerful for $5 each.  No kidding! It wasn't a huge theater but it was comfortable and just as good as any of the bigger chains.  It reminded me of the old movie theater we had on the square when I was growing up.

Daddy took the girls shopping while I was gone. Imma is pretending to eat--Lucy.

You can tell in this picture that my little munchkin doesn't feel very well.

I intended to get some tutus made while I was there but I didn't get a lot of work done.  We sat on my bed and watched Dirty Dancing last night.  I hadn't seen it in years.  It's funny how watching a movie can bring back so many memories of where you were and who you were with the last time you watched it.
I was very tired and decided to go to bed early but about 30 minutes after I went to sleep I got a text from a very good friend asking me to call her.  We ended up talking for about an hour-and-a-half but it was worth every second of it. I just love talking to her because we have so much in common with our special needs girls and she is just one of those people that makes you feel like you can do anything.  We have some ideas for ways that we can work together to help the parents of other special needs children and I am hoping we can make a serious impact! I may be asking for your help soon, as well, so stay tuned.
This morning, Sienna and I enjoyed another wonderful breakfast and then headed our separate ways.  It was so nice getting to spend some time with her.  She's a very busy young lady, starting her own private therapy practice at the age of 22 (and yes, she actually is very qualified) so I'm happy we got the chance to catch up.
After a three hour drive back, I was very glad to see my two little angels. Lucy hasn't been feeling well so it was nice to finally get to snuggle with her this afternoon.  Of course, the minute I came back in the door, stress-free mommy was gone and back-to-life mommy had to take over. Ah, well, it was nice while it lasted.
I'm so lucky that my husband was willing to let me go!  He's so supportive and such an involved daddy--I picked a winner!

Mommy-cation

I've left the girls with Daddy and I'm at the spa with sister #2 a.k.a. Aunt Ninna, a.k.a. Sienna. She's getting a message and I'm waiting on our balcony for my pedi appointment, listening to wild turkeys. Ahhh, so beautiful and relaxing! We're staying here!!
Pics below--posting from my phone so no captions. Our room and some of our neighbors at Echo Canyon Resort in Sulphur, OK.