Mixed Nuts: All work and no play makes Jennifer a dull girl

Quotes

"There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark." - Helen Keller
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
You may never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice.- Unknown
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow' ~Helen Keller
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."- Dr. Seuss
"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you react to it."
"God doesn't give children with disabilities to strong people: He gives them to ordinary, everyday people, then He helps the parents to grow stronger through the journey. Raising a child with special needs doesn't TAKE a special family, it MAKES a special family."Author Unknown
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go – Abraham Lincoln
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~ Benjamin Franklin
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle - Albert Einstein
The journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step
Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale
Where there is great love, there are always miracles - Willa Cather
The Difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.
Be the change you want to see in the world
Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big Your God is..........
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it
Fall down seven times - get up eight - unknown
Despite our differences, we sink or swim together
Life may not be the party we expected, but while we are here, we might as well dance
"The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones." -Confucius

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

All work and no play makes Jennifer a dull girl

That is why I am not doing that.

Sunday - my parents, Arlington and I went to NYC to see my cousin Kirsten in the musical Shrek.

She has a pretty nice part, and a lot of lines and singing, so we were able to pick her out all the time. We had pretty excellent seats, so Arlington could see the facial expressions of the characters. She loved the show. The show was fun and light and funny. I highly recommend it if you are going to New York any time soon.

After the show we got to take Arlington back stage to look around and see all the costumes, and sets, etc.

She got to meet a lot of the characters - particularly some of her favorites:

The guy who plays the donkey (he was spectacular):

The guy who plays Pincocchio (equally as good):

The little girls who play the young princess in the show (meeting them was high on Arlington's list - she loves meeting kids):

She had a great time and we can't thank Kirsten (and my parents!) for this wonderful opportunity.

Kirsten gave Arlington a pair of "Shrek" ears to wear, and she wore them the whole day. That is the first time I have ever seen her leave a head band alone.

We also took Arlington to the American Girl Store. Now, as I have stated in the past, we don't have an American Girl. We have "Bargain Girl". She looks the same, she is the same hight, she can wear all the clothes, but she was about 1/4 the price. And Arlington loves her just the same.

But, Arlington has read several books, and so I did promise her that she could pick something out for her "Bargain Girl" at the store. She had been looking through a catalog that her Aunt Betty sent her looking for something reasonable that her mother would let her get.

And she settled on.........a wheel chair. Yep. That girl definitely marches to the beat of her own drum.

The wheel chair is really cute, and fits Bargain Girl very nicely. Arlington wanted it so she could play doctor/hospital. There is also a crutches/cast set she has her eye on, but she is going to have to read a few more books first.......

She also did get a little shirt for Bargain Girl that says "American Girl Place NYC" and Arlington got one to match. Trust me - if you would have seen what most parents were doing in this store, you would have been proud of my restraint. Or lack of wanting to spend loads of money on a doll.

They even had a place to get your doll's hair done. A little salon for dolls! Here is a picture of that:

Bargain Girl didn't get her hair done. I am sure the store would have been able to tell she wasn't AG. Bargain Girl doesn't need a fancy salon. She gets her hair done at the chic boutique a la Jennifer.

So we had a very full and busy day, and got home very late from NYC, but had a lot of fun.

Monday - a didn't have to go to work this day. I have put in enough hours this summer that this final week of "vacation" before school starts, I only have to work 3 full days. Anyway, my parents, Arlington and I went to Six Flags for the day. It was much easier to go with just one independent child. She had a great time and rode all the things she wanted to (and more). It was pretty crowded, but not terrible. The park is pretty big, so we never were bumping into anyone.

Here are a few pictures from our day.

Today, Tuesday - I did go to work. Boo. But it wasn't bad. I actually got a lot of work done. I am still missing quite a few Kindergarten physicals, but I am not in too much of a panic. Yet. We will see what comes in on Thursday when I return to work.

My parents took the kids to "The Dinosaur Place" today while I was at work. They had a great time walking around and playing in the splash pad. My mom took about 1 zillion pictures, so I put some here. I didn't edit them at all, so...... you know.

Tomorrow is Finley's eye appointment in Boston. Keep us in your thoughts that we get some answers tomorrow. We heard about her ERG appointment today, and we will be going for that on October 1st. So that isn't too far in the future, which is good. This is the test where she will be put under anesthesia so they can see what is going on.

See you Saturday!