Halloween Costume!

I didn't so much make this costume as put it together. I'm loving it though so I wanted to share it.

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Good Friends

There is nothing like good friends. No matter if you haven't seen them in a long time or ever, when you do see them or talk to them its like you'd never been apart.

It was like this a few weeks ago when Mel came down and when I went to see Kirsten in Denver and just now when I spoke to Denisse. Nothing compares to connecting with good friends <3

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Coloring Outside the Lines

One of the biggest challenges I have faced as a parent is learning that there is not only one way to do things.  Train tracks do not have to form a figure eight, peanut butter can be eaten straight from the jar, you don't have to color in the lines.

We went to a Halloween party where he had some stickers to decorate pumpkins to make them look carved.  If I had done it I would've made them look how they are 'supposed' to look.  The way he did it, however, was way cooler.  One looked extra nervous, one looked extra dopey.

It's hard because I grew up where everything had a right way and a wrong way.  I was always taught there was one way to load the dishwasher.  The one way that maximized the number of dishes while maximizing the effectiveness of the wash.  When I was married, I used to scold the ex for putting the dishes in wrong.  Until one day he stopped doing it because he always did it "wrong".  I realized I was the wrong one.

I grew up with a couple of family members who suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  When you grow up like that you believe that is normal.

Its hard trying to keep a balance between teaching him how things work and allowing him to play however he chooses.

Fun With Pie Graphs

A Small List

My mom posts the most inappropriate things on facebook.  I've decided to make her a little guide.

What's Next

Ryder's new favorite question:  "What's next, MumMum?"

What's next?  God, if I only knew.

I always know what is next for him.  Brushing your teeth, taking a walk, having dinner, playing with trains.  But what is next for me?

My next is probably the same thing as yesterday.  Go to work, pick him up, make dinner, play some video games.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  I want a different next.  I feel like there is a world of possibilities, yet only a few.

What is life going to sling my way?  What is next?

Drugs, Cancer, and Some Other Third Thing That Kills You

My uncle died.

The service is tomorrow and I am not going.

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Drugs cause many problems.  I know they do. But they do not cause all problems.

When I smoked, my mom would blame everything on the cigarettes.  If I stubbed my toe, it was because I smoked.

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My uncle was an IV drug user.  But that is not what killed him.  He had a brain tumor.  The cancer was most likely not caused by the drugs he injected.  As far as I am aware, Ted Kennedy wasn't a junkie.  But none of this matters.  Even if, and I am not suggesting that this is the case, he had only shot up once, it would be one too many times for my mom.  For the remainder of his short life he was just a junkie.