Say "cheese"!

I'm so excited! I think I must've been one of the last people on the planet still using 35mm film. For Christmas, though, I was given my first digital camera. It's a Kodak Easyshare V530 and I just love it so far. I have had minor difficulties taking pictures indoors with low-light and am not sure if I have some settings wrong or if it's just going to take better pictures outdoors... I'm open to any tips/advice from people with more expertise than I!

Happy New Year!

May 2006 bless all of my online friends with good health and much happiness!

Million Dollar Webpage

I love this story! Go Alex! (Click above for the actual webpage he created - it's a trip!)

Tracking Santa

You have to love the people at Norad for doing this every year! Following him is becoming a much-loved Christmas Eve tradition for us and our children!

Holiday SWEETS

I've been in the kitchen quite a bit during the last week and thought it'd be fun to post a few of my (new) favorite recipes here...

Peppermint Bark
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 c. white chocolate chips
peppermint flavoring
2-3 large candy canes (crushed)

Melt 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (stirring every 30 seconds). Immediately use spatula to pread out on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place in refrigerator for 1 hour. Melt 2 c. white chocolate chips in microwave for 1 1/2 minutes (stirring every 30 seconds). Mix in 1-2 capfuls of peppermint flavoring (depending on taste) and pulverized candy canes. Spread out over dark chocolate. Place back in refrigerator until hardened - approximately 1 hour. Break into pieces to serve.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 squares (2 ozs.) unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter or shortening
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. plus 2 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
3/4 c. finely chopped peanuts
36 miniature peanut butter cups, frozen and unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine both chocolates in bowl and microwave at 50% for about 2 minutes. Stir and repeat until smooth and melted. Cool slightly. Combine sugar and butter/shortening in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until blended and crumbly. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then salt and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add chocolate slowly. Mix until well blended. Stir in flour and baking soda with spoon until blended. Shape dough into 36 1 1/4" balls. Roll in chopped peanuts and place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set. Press a frozen peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie immediately upon removing them from the oven. Cool completely before serving.

Update to my October 28 Post

My son appears to have "emerged" from the little funk I posted about a few weeks ago. (Phew.) I wonder if I'll ever understand those phases... Are they developmental? Related to something in his diet, supplements, the moon, for pete's sake? So much mystery surrounds my little man... I wish I could just take these things in stride and know that they won't be permanent - I just worry about him so much.

I've decided to put him back on melatonin. I'd had him off of it for a little while. Save for one night when he just could not seem to "turn his brain off" at the end of the day (flashback to those endless nights we used to suffer through during which he'd "bounce off the wall" all night long), he hasn't had many problems - that we've noticed. He had told me on a number of occasions, though, that he was feeling tired during the day so I wonder if the "sleep" he was getting (sans melatonin) was really restful.

He's doing well at home and in school - even scored 100% on his math test 2 weeks ago! Ahead, we trudge!

Scary Santas

Call me sick but I think these are absolutely hysterical!

Ho, ho, ho!

We're going on a Cruise!

I'm so excited! We were confirmed last week - in March 2006, we're flying from L.A. to Fort Lauderdale and cruising on the Caribbean Princess to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and the Princess Cays (a private island in The Bahamas). I'm nervous - having never been on a "real" ship before. (I've spent a few nights on The Queen Mary down in Long Beach but she doesn't move!) I know it'll be great, though - the kids are very excited. The countdown begins!

I'm a little concerned about my son and how he'll do... He suffers from Sensory Integration Disorder - oh the joys of Autism - and, while it's mostly under control (thanks to years of occupational therapy), I worry that the vestibular thing could be a problem for him while onboard the ship. We won't really know until we get there, unfortunately. I was panicked about it when I took him on an airplane for the first time last Summer (a 5-hour flight to Maui!) but he did incredibly well. Perhaps he'll surprise us this time as well. Maybe (hopefully) Mom will be the only one on this trip who has difficulty with her "sea legs"!

My Babes

In all of their glory at 5.5 and 6.5 years of age. They're beautiful children (inside and out) - I couldn't be more proud.

Christmas - bring it on!

I'm ready! I start shopping early - October, usually - but didn't have every last little thing until just this morning (when I picked up a UPS-delivered box from my porch). I have a small amount of wrapping to do and need to buy some of those bags for odd-shaped things - but I'm DONE with the shopping! I did a lot online this year - Amazon, Victoria's Secret, Brookstone, Macy's... Nothing beats the convenience of that. With my kiddos in Kindergarten just 3.5 hours/day (7:30-11 AM), it really helps me.

The kids are on vacation for 2+ weeks now so whatever things I have to get done this week to prepare for Christmas day, I'll be doing with them. My menu is decided - I always do a prime rib roast with horseradish sauce, popovers, garlic mashed potatoes and a green vegetable - either asparagus or creamed spinach. For dessert, I'll make a pecan pie and some type of cake (so I can use my favorite Fitz & Floyd cake plate). I'm also really looking forward to making and serving Tiratini drinks - martinis that taste like Tiramasu! My girlfriend and I had a few last weekend at a Macaroni Grill restaurant and they were excellent - perfect for Christmas evening (and maybe even Christmas Eve!)!

I love this time of year!

Actor John Spencer Has Died

How sad - he'd have turned 59 on the 20th of this month. He had a heart attack apparently - a bit creepy considering what his character, Vice Presidential nominee Leo McGarry, just went through on the show West Wing. We had the opportunity to meet him at a fundraising function 6 weeks ago and he looked great. I've enjoyed him for years and am deeply saddened by this news.

Mother Tosses Baby From Burning Building

I get chills every time I see that video - it seems too wild to even be true. I can't imagine what that poor woman must've been going through - feeling she had no other choice but to drop her 3-week old child from a 3rd story window. (Of course I cannot imagine what watching your infant die from suffocation would be like either.)

Williams Execution

Our Governor has denied clemency to Stanley Williams. His death - scheduled to happen in about 11 hours - seems to be imminent now. I've read reports that community leaders are worried about the possibility of "backlash" (from the 30,000 Crips members in south-central L.A. and others) post-execution. I lived in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict was announced and would hate to see that city - any city - go through anything even remotely similar.

GM's Collapsing Ladder

I loved this op-ed written by Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. My Father was with GMAC for 35 years and my husband (who is now the Vice President/General Manager of a dealership) was with them for just over 20. As a loyal and life-long GM consumer it saddens me, too, to see the company in its current state.

Black Friday

From Wikipedia:

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Many consider it the "official" beginning to the holiday season. The "black" in the name comes from the standard accounting practice of using red ink to denote negative values (losses) and black ink to denote positive values (profits). Black Friday is the day when retailers traditionally get back "in the black" after operating "in the red" for the previous months, often by cutting prices considerably. In addition, most retailers will open very early.

Although Black Friday is typically the busiest shopping day of the year in terms of customer traffic, it is not typically the day with the highest sales volume. That is usually either Christmas Eve or the last Saturday before Christmas.

Because of the large amount of shopping that typically occurs on Black Friday, it has also become Buy Nothing Day."

Oh how I miss the days of 5 AM shopping on the Friday after Christmas! For the past few years, my husband has worked on Black Friday and I just haven't felt brave enough to venture out on my own with 2 small children. For those who go and enjoy it, some links for you...

• Black Friday 2005 - "your one stop source for all the best Black Friday Deals and information"
  
• Target's Wake-Up Call Service - I love this! They're offering a "tuck-in call" service this year as well.
  
• Black Friday List 2005
  
• Black Friday - claims to be the "OFFICIAL" list for deal-searching shoppers
  

Happy Thanksgiving!

As always, I have a long list of things and people to be thankful for this year. My online friends are definitely on that list. I hope you all have a wonderful day!

More Bad GM News

GM to Ax 30,000 Jobs, Close 12 Facilities

They are certainly having a bad month, year - DECADE!

A "Cure"

In a few of my recent posts, I've mentioned the possibility of finding a "cure" for Autism. It's been brought to my attention that not all parents of Autistic children (nor all Autistic adults) necessarily want a cure to be found. Some believe that it's not necessary - that they (or their children) don't need to be "cured".

This fascinates me. I admit that it was probably close-minded of me - but it never occurred to me that there might be people out there who felt that way. I, of course, respect them and their wishes but would ask, in return, that they respect me and mine.

I love - adore - my Autistic son but it makes my heart hurt to see him frustrated and struggling with the issues that his diagnosis burdens him with. If there were something out there that could "cure" my precious boys' uneasiness in certain social situations, his preoccupation with parts of objects (wheels!), his socially and emotionally inappropriate responses, his spontaneous verbal chirps ("stims"), the difficulty he has with eye contact, his inability to "turn off his brain" and sleep restfully at night without medication, his limited (but intense) range of interests, his failure to develop age-appropriate peer relationships... you can bet that I'd jump at it.

American Music Awards-Bound!

I'm so excited! We will be in attendance at the 33rd Annual American Music Awards next week! It's going to be held at The Shrine Auditorium and starts early (5 PM - live for the east coast but tape-delayed out here) so it won't be a terribly late night for us...

Chronicles in Autism - A boy recovers: Can children be cured ?

(Click on link above to read.)

An inspirational story that fills me with hope!

Court Rules Against Special Ed. Parents

Nov 14, 3:55 PM (ET)

By GINA HOLLAND

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that parents who demand better special education programs for their children have the burden of proof in the challenges.

Retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the 6-2 court, said that when parents challenge a program they have the burden in an administrative hearing of showing that the program is insufficient. If schools bring a complaint, the burden rests with them, O'Connor wrote.

The ruling is a loss for a Maryland family that contested the special education program designed for their son with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The case required the court to interpret the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, which does not specifically say whether parents or schools have the burden of proof in disputes. The law covers more than 6 million students.


The Maryland family in the Supreme Court case had argued that when there are disagreements between schools and parents, education officials have better access to relevant facts and witnesses.

The Bush administration backed the Montgomery County, Md., school district which maintained that the extra requirement would be expensive for local schools.

Chief Justice John Roberts had recused himself from the case, because attorneys from his old law firm represented the school district in suburban Washington.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer wrote separate dissents.

"School districts are charged with responsibility to offer to each disabled child an individualized education program (IEP) suitable to the child's special needs. The proponent of the IEP, it seems to me, is properly called upon to demonstrate its adequacy," Ginsburg wrote.

O'Connor said the court was not ruling on a separate issue, whether states could set their own policies and put the burden on the school officials.

The case is Schaffer v. Weast, 04-698.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the decision and was joined by Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, and Thomas. Justices Ginsberg and Breyer filed dissenting opinions. For a transcript of the complete decision, click here.

Long Night For Arnold Indeed!

His reform propositions were shot down across the board. A few of the more conservative counties easily passed 73, 74 and 75 (and some even 73 through 77) but, statewide, everything failed. Were they bad props? Or did the more than $100,000,000 raised by special interest groups (to campaign against them) just win out?

California Special Election

I voted today. (It drives me up a wall that the prediction is for such a low (35-42%) turnout.)

Here are the props we voted on today:

Proposition 73: Parental Notification of Abortion

Proposition 74: Public School Teacher Tenure

Proposition 75: Union Dues for Political Purposes

Proposition 76: State Spending and School Funding Limits

Proposition 77: Redistricting

Proposition 78: Discounts on Prescription Drugs

Proposition 79: Discounts on Prescription Drugs

Proposition 80: Electric Service Providers Regulation

Results can be viewed here after polls close at 8 PM PST. It's going to be one long night for Arnold...

Cure Autism Now

We were fortunate enough to attend a weekend full of events sponsoring the Cure Autism Now organization. We attended a lovely cocktail party Saturday night at actress Patricia Heaton's home in Los Angeles (and dinner afterwards at The Belvedere inside The Peninsula Hotel - fantastic!). Sunday night, we went to the 10th anniversary gala for the organization held at our hotel (The Regent Beverly Wilshire) during which Anthony Edwards, Dr. Ricki Robinson, Frank Del Olmo (posthumously) and Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek were honored.

It was fun "rubbing elbows" with the celebrities - Mary McCormack, Ed Asner, Debra Messing, Treat Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Annette Bening, Vern Yip, Dana Delany, Catherine O'Hara, John Spencer, Ed Asner, Kristin Chenoweth, Bo Welch, Michael Chiklis, Catherine O'Hara, Steven Weber and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa... The highlight for me, though, was hearing the personal stories shared by other parents of Autistic children and not just the hope - but the confidence - that the Cure Autism Now people have that a cure will be found within the next 10 years.

General Motors has signed on to be a corporate sponsor of the organization and, for that, I'm thrilled.

My baby boy...

My 6-year old son was diagnosed with Autism (PDD-NOS, specifically) almost 4 years ao. Thanks to countless hours of occupational therapy and a fabulous special-ed pre-school (which he attended between the ages of 2.5 - 5), he's doing very well. He has been completely mainstreamed into regular-ed and no longer receives any special services save for language therapy with a speech pathologist twice weekly. To be honest - his diagnosis is something I only occasionally think about anymore.

For the past few days, though, it's been on my mind a lot as he's been having a rough time with things. We've seen a number of these "rough spots" throughout the past 3+ years. They're always upsetting and cause us fear that we're going to lose him to some Autistic "funk". (We never have so I know the fear is un-founded - emotions are what they are, though.) We've noticed a fairly predictable pattern - the "rough spots" are almost always followed by a period of tremendous growth developmentally, physically and/or cognitively. It's kind of like a "two steps backwards, one step forward" thing. Even with that knowledge, though, it's easy to get discouraged when we see regression and wonder if maybe he might not pull out of it this time. It's so hard to see him, after months of doing so well, suddenly lose the very skills/abilities that he just worked so hard to gain, "get" and master. It's hard to see him struggle. He's such a special and incredible little guy who has had to fight/work so hard for things that come to "typical" children so easily...

(Reminding myself...) Patience, Mom - trust in the past and have faith...

Beta

Beta is officially a Tropical Storm now. I feel bad for Central America but, hopefully, this one won't affect Floridians or anyone else in the southeast United States...

News Today

There will be no announcement today in the CIA leak probe but newshounds will have no shortage of things to opine over with the withdrawal of Harriet Meiers' name for Supreme Court nomination...

There will be no opining from me, however - my Kindergardeners are having Halloween Parties tomorrow at school for which I ("Room Mom Extraordinaire") have to prepare!

Making BAIL

A week ago today, on my way home from the mall, I ran through a yellow light at an intersection that - I admit - turned red while I was still in it. Oops. I saw a bright flash go off and knew almost instantly that my picture had just been taken and that there was a good chance I'd be receiving a ticket in the mail...

Sure enough - Sunday morning, on his way back from Starbucks, my husband stopped at the mailbox and picked up Saturday's mail. He walked into the house with my Caramel Macchiato and a huge and silly smile on his face. He plunked the mail down on the counter and said "I think you have mail...". (We have had a 13-year "feud" about traffic violations. I have received 4 (well - 5 now) in the 14 years since we first met and he, despite driving much more and much faster than I do, has had NONE!) I opened the envelope with shaky hands and was mortified to see the ticket (with pictures of me at said intersection and everything!) and the word "bail" written all over it! Bail? Bail is for criminals! What have I done?

While I'm pouring over the "notice of violation" - trying to figure out how much it's going to cost us (him) and whether or not I (we) will have to go to court and actually appear infront of a judge - my darling husband is teaching our 5-year old that "Mommy got busted". Gotta love him. I'm sure I won't hear the end of this one for a long, long time.

I called Monday morning and found out that my "bail" amount is a whopping $381! Holy crap! I can take a driving class online (which must be something new - that wasn't an option when I got my last ticket 10 years ago) but will have to pay an additional $30-$75 for the class and then another $30 (administrative fee) in order for the court to request that the DMV remove the point from my record. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Remembering Reagan

I attended a fundraiser for a local State Senator last night. The theme of the dinner was a "Tribute to Ronald Reagan". John Herrington (former Secretary of Energy), who was here for the opening of Air Force One at the Reagan Presidential Library, was the keynote speaker. He shared wonderful personal stories and anecdotes from the three decades he worked with/for the former President. An enjoyable evening!

Wilma

Are we anywhere near the end of the hurricane season?!

If you are so inclined - follow Wilma at StormTrack.

Golfing with Raymond

My husband recently was invited to play in a fundraiser golf tournament for the American Film Institute. It was a celebrity-am (where 4 golfers are partnered with a celebrity) and he was paired with Ray Romano! I cannot tell you how many times (dozens!) he's been asked "Has anyone ever told you that he/you look (or sound) like Ray Romano?". What a wild coincidence that he was paired with him for the tournament! They had an excellent time - my husband enjoyed him so much and said that he was hysterically funny, down-to-earth and just an all-around great guy.

"FU H2!"

Here's the text of an anonymous note left on a piece of paper underneath the windshield wiper of my husband's Hummer H3 last week...

FU H2!

Your Hummer OFFENDS me!

Eloquent, isn't it?

Vino!

I recently discovered a very simple, yet efficient, way of cataloging the wines we have managed to collect (as purchases and as gifts) over the years. It's called Bottle Count and it's completely free - all you have to do is sign up with an e-mail address! It allows you to keep track of everything - number of bottles, winery name/location, value of bottle, rating, date purchased, wine notes... I've only entered a handful of bottles so far - I am really liking it, though!

There's N.O. pLA.ce like Home

An online friend of mine is back at her home in New Orleans after spending a few weeks out of the state post-Katrina. Her family (she has 2 boys and a husband who works seemingly tirelessly for the New Orleans Police Department) has been through a lot, to say the least, over the past 5 weeks. She's a lovely person and reading her blog (link above) has really helped me to better understand the unbelievable things some of the people in the area (those able to return) are going through.

Although not all outsiders may understand the strong desire New Orleanians have to "re-populate" an area that has been through what NOLA has - the spirit and determination of the people there has to be appreciated and respected!

A few other NOLA-related sites you might be interested in...

Renew New Orleans Foundation

New Orleans Police Foundation

Dine For America

I love this - what a great idea! 16,000+ restaurants are participating. Eat out on October 5th and help the Red Cross and Katrina victims! We're taking the kids and a friend to Chili's for dinner - they're donating 100% of proceeds from the night!

The 26th already?

Wow - 2 weeks since my last post... I've been so consumed with RITA. Well - with Rita and with the kids - who knew that having 2 Kindergardeners would keep me so busy?! Too - I've been doing the "single parent" thing a lot in the past few weeks/months (which doesn't leave me with a lot of time for "blogging"). My husband has been accepting invitations to golf tournaments left and right - he's played at Trump National, Riviera C.C., Pebble Beach, Empire Lakes in Rancho Cucamonga... Nice for him - bites for me, though!

4 Years Later

Like most Americans, I will never forget where I was, what I was doing or how I felt on the morning of September 11, 2001. I will forever pause on this day to remember and to think about the people whose lives were taken on that day.

One Persons' Katrina Story

I don't know Alvaro personally but I happened across his Kodak Gallery recently and spent a lot of time marvelling the almost 200 pictures he took in/around his home in The French Quarter between August 28th and September 1st. Definitely worth a look and a read!

Charitable Children

I'm so proud of my babies. They each won $6 yesterday in a drawing at school. We had a fundraiser (the first of many this year) for discount cards good at local retailers. Every child that brought back an order form got to participate in a "money grab". They were both so excited to have "won" and I told them that they could either put the money in their piggy bank or we could go to Target and they could each get something. They love putting money in their piggy banks (both are saving up for something "big") and decided to do that.

This morning, on our local news, I learned about a money drive being held this afternoon for The Salvation Army and asked the kids if they'd like to donate their $6 to that instead. My daughter is aware of what has happened in the South. My son knows there was a "big storm" but not much else. He hasn't asked me as many questions about it as my little girl has. I explained that donating the money to The Salvation Army would help those people (whom she has seen on the news - wet, stranded, crying) get food, blankets, beds etc.. Both kids easily and happily agreed to go with me to place their $6 in the box at the money drive.

Speaking of charitable giving, I was pleased to learn about the following corporate donations at WWL-TV out of New Orleans:

-- Chevron: $5 million.

-- JPMorgan Chase: $3 million.

-- Citigroup: $3 million.

-- Walt Disney Co.: $2.5 million.

-- Pfizer: $2 million.

-- Abbott Laboratories: $2 million.

-- State Farm: $1 million.

-- EDS: Will match employee contributions up to $1 million. -- Eli Lilly: 40,000 vials of refrigerated insulin.

-- Wyeth: antibiotics and nonprescription pain relievers.

-- Merck: antibiotics and hepatitis A vaccines.

-- Johnson & Johnson: Pain relievers, wound care supplies and kits containing toothbrushes, soap and shampoo.

-- Abbott Laboratories: At least $2 million in nutritional and medical products.

-- Nissan: 50 trucks for Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

-- General Motors: 25 cars and trucks to the Red Cross.

-- Sprint Nextel: 3,000 walkie talkie-type phones for emergency personnel.

-- Qwest Communications: 2,000 long-distance calling cards.

-- Kellogg: Seven truckloads of crackers and cookies.

-- Culligan International: Five truckloads of water.

-- Anheuser-Busch: more than 825,000 cans of water.

-- Office Depot: Contents of its five New Orleans stores, valued at $4 million.

Katrina

What a surprise to wake up this morning to the news that she is now a category 5. I can't imagine how torturous it'd be watching and waiting for a storm like that to hit. My thoughts will definitely be with the residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida over the next few days... God help them.

Another 1st Day of Kindergarden

Monday August 22nd was the first day of Kindergarden for my 5-year old daughter.

It was my 6-year old son's second 1st day of Kindergarden. He completed one year of K in 2004-2005. He did incredibly with the academics (much better than I feared) but we decided to have him go around one more time. There are a few (important) things he really needs to work on before we feel like he'll have a chance at succeedingin 1st grade. Both kids attend the morning session (from 7:30 until 11:15 AM) but they are in have different teachers/classrooms. They see each other at recess and during lunch. We're on day #3 right now and everyone is doing wonderfully so far!

My son had aides and shadows with him last year as he mainstreamed from special-ed into regular-ed but has been released from all services and is doing this year completely on his own. I worry a bit about him getting "bored" with the curriculum (all review for him) but he enjoys repetition in general and really needs the extra year, I feel, to grow and mature.

I'm still getting used to the quiet house. I have 3.5 whole hours to myself now every morning of the week! More time to blog perhaps?

Halfway to 70

Today is my 35th birthday. My Mom said to me this morning "Boy - you're halfway to 40 now!" (meaning halfway there from 30). I laughed and told her "No - I'm halfway to 70!" - hah! I've been asked if I "feel" older. I don't really - I feel great. I'm starting to notice visible signs of aging, of course, and I'm not so thrilled about that - but I don't "feel" any different than I did 10 years ago.

I often find myself in a reflective mood on birthdays and anniversaries. I sit here today, with a heavy heart, watching on the news what is happening at that Neve Dekalim synagogue in the Gaza Strip between Israeli forces and the Jewish settlers and I feel so very thankful for the life that I have. I look forward to my next 35!

My little Jack-O-Lantern

My sweet little boy lost his first tooth (bottom left) 6 days after his 6th birthday. It happened during breakfast one morning towards the end of our trip to Maui this Summer. It's been almost 2 months since that day and still no permanent tooth! How long do these things take to come in? You might notice from the picture that he's missing a top tooth as well. *sigh* That one didn't come out via Ma Nature like the bottom one did. We were at a friends' house for a BBQ and he was running around in the backyard with their new Weimaraner puppy when he tripped. I wish I'd have seen it - I can't figure out, for the life of me, how his face hit the ground before his hands did! Ouch. Anyway - the impact with the ground (according to the one person who witnessed it) sent the tooth flying straight out of his mouth - in one piece! He bled like mad and screamed for a good long while but a quick visit to the dentist the next morning showed that no real trauma occurred. The dentist predicts that the permanent tooth (still up in the gum) is just fine and will come down normally - in another year or two!

My first!

I've decided to join the masses of people blogging! I have always enjoyed writing and journaling and look forward to sharing my thoughts here on family, life as a busy stay-at-home-Mom, politics, current events, Autism (my 6-year old son is affected), friendships/relationships, parenting and just life in general.