Visit to Leah

Another great visit to Leah. She'd convinced us to come and Scott planned to go o to Wichita and see the 6A state soccer championships but it turned out that neither of us slept well Friday night. I think the dude at Radina's made my coffee with caffiene even though I ordered decaf. We got up early and he drove to Newton. I couldn't nap in the car because Professor hopped all over me the whole way (turns out he had to pee and had what Scott referred to as a "lincoln log" to get rid of. We got there and Scott saw Leah's mod for the first time. We walked across campus to the coffeeshop where Leah works, Mojo's and had a coffee. I had the ham and cheese quiche--yummy! We then took Professor and walked the trail through the woods. Beautiful weather! We showed Scott where they have creekers (which are secret beer and hymn sings by a campfire). We went back to the mod and took a nap each of us on a different couch in her livingroom! Then we went to Chong's and Leah and I had chicken fried rice. I didn' like it--too oniony and who puts green peppers in chicken fried rice? Scott had something spicy. We then went to wonderful downtown Newton and I got 4 sets of Christmas lights for my office at work from the flea market, we got natural peanut butter and local honey from the health food store, I replaced my heart earrings from my favorite store, and we looked for juicers at the kitchen store--no luck. Scott walked around outside with Professor. We went back to the dorm and Leah made Scott some coffee. He never did go to wichita to watch soccer--too tired. We came back to Manhattan and I dropped Scott at the stadium for the ksu game. I do love going to Newton! Pics to follow--Leah in her mod livingroom and at Chong's.

Perfect and You won't Believe This

Last night was the perfect date! I took a nap after work then shared some olive oil popcorn with Scott. At 5 I had the crazy idea to suggest to Scott that he go with me to exercise class and you'll never believe this but he said yes! He really went with me to my step aerobics class! He did really well, too. He's complaining about how sore he is today, though. I told him he might be too old for that class:). So then we had a shower and went to Chipotle...which we've done every Friday night for years. I wore my giant comfy pink sweatpants! Then we went for coffee and a cookie at Radina's and read our books. I was home and asleep by 9:30!
Our date continued on into today as Leah convinced us to drive to Newton to visit her. We had fun on the way listening to music--Pink, Justin Beiber, Joss Stone. We even sang to old Third Day. We love to sing together in the car! Scott and I are a comedy team. I'm the straight man. I have to crab at him about his driving or he'd space off and go 50 miles per hour! At one point he asked, "What's the speed limit here again?" I said, "65. That's why the cars in the slow lane are passing you." He sang a song to me about how beautiful I am but later sang "You and I collide." After complaining again about how long it was taking to drive here, he said, "But we're together and we're having fun!" We are. We went for a walk on the trail with Leah and a sign over the bridge said, "3 ton limit" so he told me I'd better wait til they were across. Poo poo head. Never a dull moment with Scott. I suggest we repeat last night's perfect date every Friday night til death do us part.

Day in the life of a school social worker

Not that I want to think about work while I'm home, but I think my job is fascinating....maybe you will too. Yesterday began bright and early at 7:25 a.m. with FCA. I team taught with Mr. Harmon, his first time, on Philippians 4:4-9. Thought it went really well. Next met a teacher and a student in my office at 8 as the student had had a meltdown in his classroom the day before and had been too shut down to try to talk to him. The meeting went fairly well and we made a plan for future. (he's a tough kid with lots of anxiety and possibly more issues besides his family being frustrated with him. I met with them earlier and got them some services in their home). Then I recruited Nancy to go with me to get a kid out of bed whose mom called and said she was sick and he wasn't cooperating. Nancy and I banged on the wrong door for awhile and then the student we sought came right to the door when we knocked on the right door. He tried to fake dizzy and nauseated but it didn't work on us. Met then for several hours with the admin team--lots to talk about but mostly truancy stuff. Next met with a young lady who hates to read and has been refusing in reading class and gave her my best pep talk. She is somewhat like talking to a wall but I helped her with a big bully thing on monday so she responded well to me. Then noticed my guy from this morning faking in the nurses office and sent him back to class. Turned out he didn't go to class but was eventually found in the library. Did lunch group with four students with autism (high functioning) and a peer model and added a new member who fit right it. One burped and so we talked about whether or not people can help burping, how to try not to, etc. This was quickly followed by a leadership planning meeting for the workshop we are doing. Called the parent of the boy from this morning. Saw another couple kids....blanking on those issues then from 2-4 met with the gals I'm doing clinical supervision for. Today I was job shadowed by a high school student wo was pretty neat. Started the day following up on a bully situation from PE and gave the kiddo who bullied him a firm talking to and then caught that same kiddo pushing and kicking at another student in the hall! Helped a young man, my reading buddy whom I read with 20 miutes every day, who has ADHD, sort out what book to read and where to keep it, etc, as he loses any and all books he isn't quite interested in. I coordinated this with the other teachers that also require reading and his mom. Met again with the girl from yesterday who was refusing reading as she apparently has a bad attitude across the board and is failing a couple of classes. Her teacher wanted me to give her a test and then make a plan. I did that and had her stay in AES the rest of the day to get caught up. She actually sort of seemed to like that. Go figure. Talked to a mom of a kiddo with bi polar disorder about trying to figure out where his disability leaves off and his will kicks in (which the teachers have a hard time figuring out with this kiddo too). Met with my thursday lunch group which is a kiddo with a thought disorder who was having a rough day and a kiddo with asperger's (who shocked us today by initiating a whole conversation with another student) and two in the process of being diagnosed. Emails to schedule an iep meeting, then attended an iep meeting of a young man who has earned his way out of the tlc into a regular resource setting. Then cleaned off my desk and made a list to do tomorrow. Probably missed a few things I also did each day but that's about it. I'm tired and going to crawl beneath the covers early again tonight. I actually do really like my job.

Weird Dreams

Weird Dreams

I have had a couple of weird dreams lately. I don’t usually remember
my dreams so its strange that I have had two in a row. The first one,
the other night, was that we had inherited a very large house. It was
partially furnished and had lots of boxes. I was really focused on
recycling all the boxes, which isn’t a big surprise since I’m pretty
into recycling. The funny thing was, the house came with two
monkeys—both chimps—a small one and large one. I don’t
remember much about the small one but the large one was a pain in the
butt. We put it in a bedroom and kept the door shut. When its diaper
needed changing, everyone said I had to do it. It was really wet and
saggy and the chimp was hopping all over the room making chimp sounds
and I remember feeling really exasperated by it.
The second dream was about helping Joel and a good friend (not one of
his good friends I know now, just a good friend) move into a large
apartment. It had lots of bedrooms, similar to the apartment Leah lives
in now, but nicer and larger. It had a piano and the boys were really
enjoying taking turns sitting down to play around on it, of course, when
they were really supposed to be helping with the move. It was sort of
chaotic but what made it harder for me was that someone had left a
small, cuddly puppy in my care. I remember trying to let it out of the
car to use the bathroom and trying to give it back to its owner several
times and I just kept being in charge of it. It was really sweet and
snuggled up to my chest sort of like Professor does. But I couldn’t
be of any help to anyone because I had this puppy to take care of.
So let’s analyze these dreams of mine. Do you see the common themes?
Large houses filled with chaos and having responsibility for caring for
animals that had characteristics of babies/toddlers. Do you think maybe
I’m working through not being a parent of kids in my household
anymore? Wow, as I said this, tears prickled in my eyes. Must be onto
something. I wonder what I’ll dream about tonight.

Fall Fest 2010

Went to see Leah yesterday! I love going to Bethel. It's such a special place. I met Leah and her friend from Manhattan, Natalie, at Leah's mod. I gave Leah the choco's I bought her in Wyoming and she loved them and also some fresh fruit from home. We went to Mojo's, the coffeeshop on campus where she works. I had a turkey, bacon, pesto pannini and Leah and Nat had coffee. I met David's brother, Joel, and his wife, Crystal, and their baby at the coffee shop. Leah had to work in one of the fall fest booths on campus so Natalie and I walked around and looked at the booths. We talked to the climbing club and then got fruit crepes then met back up with Leah. We walked over to the stadium for David's game. David was warming up with the team. I said to Leah, "He has nice knees, Leah" and when he walked up to say hi, she told him! He was so embarrassed! He said, "That's the weirdest compliment I've ever gotten." She also told him that I said I was excited to watch him play. I said I didn't want to say that because I didn't want to put any pressure on him and he said, "Too late." David's parents were at the game so we sat with them and Leah introduced them. They were really friendly and fun. I didn't get to see David play, though, before we had to leave to get to the play on time. Leah was in the pit orchestra. They did a good job. The play was good but very long. It was a fairy tale spoof. They have some talented kids at Bethel. After the play, we ate a free buffalo BBQ on campus then walked back to her mod and I came home. I was sad leaving her again but she's coming home next weekend for 4 days! She actually called me tonight because she misses me!

Adelle

For quite a few visits, Adelle had been sort of a challenge. She didn't want to do what we were doing, was whiny and complainy and generally uncooperative. I think it was her whole adjustment to school starting. Plus, as her mom pointed out, I was doing more picking her up at the last minute. I have learned that planning ahead is key for Adelle. Also, simpler is better. Its gone much better lately. Today we spent the afternoon together and had a great time. I picked her up about one. As I told her the plans for the day she said, "Oh thank you, thank you!" This, of course, from her spot in the back seat. I turned on the country music as I usually do and she sang along. We can only talk during the commercials. She was mildly interested in hearing about my trip to Wyoming. We went to the grocery store and she pushed the cart. I was a little worried about how that would go but she only ran into the toothpaste stand and knocked off about three toothpastes. But she didn't hit any people. We got to the house and she watched the episodes of Around the Horn that she missed while I put away the groceries. She even asked about going to the downstairs computer before going! I made the peach pie (for Bible study later) and put it in the oven and called for her and she came right up. She stuck with making the pumpkin cookies and even suggested the chocolate chips! She was a little leary about the taste since it was spicier than pumpkin bread. She went back to the computer (she watches the country top 20 music videos and Around the Horn episodes) while I baked the rest of the cookies. When they were done, we took Professor up to the large field by the girlscout house and played catch with the football and then passed the soccerball back and forth. She did about as good as I did. Then we came home. I had put together some care packages for Hannah and Joel with cookies and dried fruit and gum so Adelle went with me to mail them at Dillons. I said, "Thank you, Stu" since the guy's nametag said Stu. Adelle said, "Stu, do you want to come to my house?" I think she was joking. I hope. Here are some pics I took of Adelle a few weeks ago.

Laramie Visit October 2010

Friday morning got up early and zipped over to pick up Shelly Levalley whom I met that morning for the first time. Shelly and I hit it off right off the bat as Hannah predicted that we would. We set off for Laramie, Wyoming to visit our kids. Hannah lives right across the street from Shelly's son, John. Shelly and I chatted for four straight hours. We talked about neuropsychology, autism, funny things our kids did when they were little, and a ton of things we have in common. We stopped three times to pee, get gas and we ate chicken livers and turkey sandwiches. The last stop was for Starbucks and a short walk. Shelly offered but I drove the whole way because I wanted to see if I could! I can! We got to Laramie about 5:30. We found Hannah's cute blue house and walked right in like we owned it! Hannah wasn't home but came in right after. It was very messy so leave it to me to say something and offend Hannah. Hannah's room was not messy. It was large and had new carpeting, a large window and separate entrance. She had it decorated nicely with her art and memories.

We went across the street to where the boys live. Their apartments are so cool! They live in an elmentary school that has been converted into apartments. They have large kitchens, livingrooms and bathrooms. The ceilings are tall and they have big windows that go all the way up and chalkboards on the walls! John, Patrick and Tyler live across the hall from Hannah's boyfriend Rob, Conner, and Bob. Ben lives downstairs. Hannah lives with Lucas and Sue. John was off climbing so Hannah, Rob, Shelly, Tyler and I walked to coal creek for a cup of coffee and a chat. The weather the whole weekend was perfect!

That evening, Hannah, Rob and I went to Corona Village for mexican food. It was fun to get to know Rob and to see them together. They have a great relationship. After dinner we taught Rob to drive the stick shift and they were so patient with each other. In the grocery store, Rob kicked his heels up to the side while driving the cart when he thought I wasn't looking.

After the grocery store we sat around with all the boys for awhile but I was exhausted so Hannah walked me to her apartment. I slept like a baby.

In the morning, Hannah and I went to Coal Creek for breakfast. I had a yummy cherry turnover and a latte. We talked and played on our computers. We walked around downtown and Shelly called to tell us about half price Chacos so I got Leah a pair. We went to Hannah's favorit thrift store, New to You and I bought Rob a Beatles t-shirt, a t-shirt with planets on it, a real starfish for Hannah, and a tiny ring and sunglasses and a pink pin for me. We got Hannah's hair trimmed. At one point, Rob texted Hannah, "I pooped Corona Village." I thought it was hilarious.

We went to Rob's apartment to eat our leftover mexican food then hiked across campus to the art building. We looked at Hannah's peices then Hannah got forms for Rob and I to make an iron plaque. I don't know when I've had so much fun. I carved a cross and Rob carved a mountain scene. We took them outside and watched while art students melted iron (2700 degrees) and poured it into the molds. Fascinating. Rob went to the library and Hannah and I went to her art studio. I watched her paint and read and played on my computer. We went back to the other studio where Hannah's teacher gave her some criticism on one of her peices and she was pretty discouraged. We met up with Rob who hugged her and called Scott from her apartment who also cheered her up. We napped then went to the boy's apartment. We ended up going out for pizza and played darts (5 boys, Hannah and I).

Sunday morning we got up and drove to the Snowy mountains about an hour away with Shelly and John and Rob. We hiked up the mountain and soon left Shelly and John behind. It was perfect hiking weather with a cool breeze and fresh mountain air. The trail was dirt and rocks and parts were completely rock. There were even large granite rocks we had to climb on. I did well until the last 500 feet or so. Hannah and Rob went ahead and I trudged along, not sure I was going to make it. We rested before going up the last 20 feet and I insisted on raisins. The last part was scary and I whimpered hugging the boulders as Hannah encouraged me from around a corner. But we made it! We took pictures and had a yummy picnic lunch of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, peaches, apples and raisins. The trek back down was harder for me. A muscle on the back of my knee became quite painful. Hannah ran ahead and Rob stayed with me, patiently walking me down. Altogther we hiked 5 hours, 2000 feet!

Back at the apartment after showering, we cooked mashed potatoes and corn on the cob to go with the steaks we had bought that the boys grilled. Tyler made a wonderful garlic butter to go on everything. Shelly baked the most delicious peach pies. Boys kept dropping by and the food disappeared. We had good conversation, good food, good music and good beer. A nice breeze blew in the window. Hannah was cutting leaves out of paper products for her art project and Rob was wheeling around in a wheelchair they use for furniture. I had a really good time.

Hannah and I had trouble sleeping. We took pictures of her dirty feet. I looked at her beautiful face and said it seemed surreal I was with her and that the next day I wouldn't be again. This trip to Laramie was amazing and special.

In the morning, we got up really early and I walked Hannah to work at the coffee shop on campus. I cried when I said goodbye.

The ride home was long and uneventful as we listened to our audiobook, John Grisham's, The Testament.

Shelly's Peach Pie Recipe:

In a prepared shell, put 1/4 cup each of flour and sugar and a teaspoon or so of cinnamon. Add cut up fresh peaches and put more flour, sugar, and cinnamon on top. Pour half and half or whole cream in around the peaches until the pie tin is fullish. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then 35 minutes more at 350. Yummy.