Strength and Dignity

If my girl does anything, she does it with strength, dignity and flair. Today, she delivered what many consider to be the best concession speech in political history. In the unlikely even that she never does a single thing more in politics, women in this country and all over the world should be grateful to her
for as she stated, "Putting 18,000,000 cracks in the last and most powerful glass ceiling in American." I know I am grateful, not so much for me, but for by daughter and her daughters. I can't wait for the opportunity to vote for her again sometime in the future.

Whatever she ultimately decides to do with her future, I'm certain that it will be something equally historic. I will be forever grateful to this woman for the fact that my daughter will grow up taking for granted that a woman can do absolutely anything she sets her mind to.

So it is with much pride, that I go to http://www.hillaryclinton.com/ , for the last time, to make a small donation in thanks for all of her hard work. May God bless her, and God bless the United States of America.

Kung Fu Panda

So, after my Dr. appt today, I whizzed through the Mickey D drive thru for a medicinal diet coke, and noticed the new toys they're hocking with their happy meals. I asked if I could purchase just the toy, and the clerk replied, "Yep, we've got the panda". Score!!!!!!!! T just about exploded with excitement when I presented it to her tonight. All I hear about is "Kung Fu Panda", the name of the new movie from which the character originates. Apparently in the movie, the Panda's name is Po (rhymes with Toe).

I've mentioned before that the reason I chose Taylor as a name, was in honor of my mother and that whole side of the family...and god knows I couldn't name her Geraldine, my mom's name. My mom has 2 sisters...the three of them were affectionately referred to as "those Taylor women" by my dad. A bunch of smart, funny, loving women who could get a whole room laughing within 5 minutes. Add in their bald-headed baby brother, and it was a riot growing up. One of the driving forces was my sweet Aunt Rovina, the oldest. However, Rovina never went by that name with us. Instead, she went by a nickname given to her as a child. She was Aunt Poe. Apparently, named after a polar bear in a movie. (Dot argues that it was really a gorilla, I say Polar bear. My cousin Jerry or Aunt Connie will have to settle that debate.) Anyway, I have no idea what movie it was, but it must have aired in the early 1930's, by my estimation.

Aunt Poe passed away a number of years ago. That my Taylor is now running around the house some 70 years later, once again playing with a bear named Po, makes me smile. I suspect Aunt Poe's up there looking down, laughing and smiling, too.

A Bad Night

No, no, I'm not giving everybody the finger! This finger was hurting all yesterday. You know when you have a piece of skin or cuticle on your finger and you're too lazy to get up for the clippers to clip it? Instead, you just pull it? Sometimes, it just comes off easily. Other times, you take a chunk of flesh with it. Well, that was me. I pulled it and apparently took too much off the cuticle on the right side of the thumb. All day it kept hurting, but I ignored it as I usually do.

Well, by midnight, it hurt so bad that I couldn't sleep. Literally. It was throbbing and hot. Suspiciously, it wasn't really red and you really can't see the stupid cut. All I could think about was my friend's stepbrother. He went walking on the beach on a thursday, and stepped on something producing a small little cut on the bottom of his foot. It didn't really hurt him too much. However, by Saturday, he felt like he was coming down with a cold, that kept getting worse. Fever, chills, etc. This 40-something father of 2 spoke to his dad on Sunday, and said that since monday was a holiday, he'd go in to the doctor on tuesday if he didn't feel any better. He never made it. Dropped dead on Monday night. Turns out that small little cut that he never connected to his "cold", was infected. Septiseimia (don't know if that's spelled right). Basically an infection that spreads to the blood, and all throughout your body.

So, as I lay awake all last night with my hot, throbbing thumb, guess what I was thinking about? Plus the fact that my doctor has been hounding me for 3 or 4 years to get a tetnus shot, which I never did. So, this morning I took myself off to the urgent care center of Baptist Hospital. I felt ridiculous, but did manage to scarf a shot out of the whole deal.

The best part of it all? I DROVE!!!!!!

Proof of my Fashionista Status

In case you all were wondering, I offer you proof of my fashionista status. You all may recall the sneakers I had to buy due to my stupid swollen foot...extra-wide sneakers. Well, I could kick myself for buying them in white. I wasn't thinking at the time. I was only concerned with a shoe that would actually go on my bad foot, yet not be too big for my good foot. I know you'll find this hard to believe, but I was thinking nothing of fashion.

With my looming return to work on Monday and actual interaction with the public at large, I realized that I needed something more formal, that perhaps wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb...or sore foot in this case. Given the sheer size of and whiteness of the first pair, I realized quite soon that they would not do for work. I needed a black pair. I figure that a black pair might be less noticeable, and perhaps more attractive with my monkey suits. So, introducing my 2nd pair of dog-awful expensive stupid sneakers...in black. I took a pic with T for perspective, just so you could see how enormous they actually are. I like to delude myself into thinking that they look smaller in black. Kind of like the ubiquitous black dress that I'm certain makes me look like a svelt size 12 ;). I'll team this pair with my new black peds that I purchased instead of these white ones, and I'm in business!

Between my black sneaks, shiney quad cane, and sparkling new hair... Christie Brinkley better step aside!

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Meanwhile for all you babyboomers.... if you want to laugh until you pee in your pants, take a look at this video sent to me by a good friend who shall remain nameless!

Make sure you turn up your volume to truly appreciate it.

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-walt-babyboomers-blurb,0,1036393.blurb

Momma's Got a New Ride!!

Guess who can drive after almost 8 weeks? I went out this evening and practiced driving around the neighborhood. I feel like a new woman!

Tomorrow, I'll drive T to school, drive to rehab, drive to get a temp handicapp parking permit, and who knows where else I might drive?

The possibilities are endless!!!!!

I'M LIBERATED!!!!

The Daycare was Right!

Gee, maybe T can sit still for 5 minutes. Tuesday was hair cutting night again, and now that I think about it... when T puts her mind to it, she can, in fact, sit still. Guess I just have to work on getting her to "put her mind to it" a little more often!

Meanwhile, in anticipation of returning to work next week and actually living a semi-adult life again, I got snazzy new highlights in my hair. Nothing like a little bling in the hair, to make you feel better!

Evaluations and Scary Moms

So, T had her evaluation from school today. Upon entering a new class, they observe a child for about 2 months, and then do an evaluation of her skills. Currently they are evaluating T's 3yr old skills. The categories for evaluation are: Fine Motor, Language Development, Social Skills, Cognitive, Self-Help, and Pre-Writing. Each category has a list of 8 to 15 points for evaluation. One can score "3" (yes, skill achieved), "2" (working on), or "1" (no). I'm happy to report that T scored 93.75 percent...all 3's and a few 2's. They will evaluate her again, when she gets ready to move to the next class, to see how she's improved.

I agree with some of the assessments. For example, T can't yet take her shirt off over her head. We're working on that. Instead, the skinny minnie takes her arms out of the neck, and slides the whole shirt DOWN her skinny body, then steps out. Also, she can't properly put on a sweater or jacket. Frankly, she really has no opportunity to practice that skill in this swamp of a town we live in. I think she's only had a jacket on 4 or 5 times in her whole life while in Miami. So again, we'll work on that.

What's scary is the vehemence of my reactionn when I feel they've scored her as "working on", when I know she's acheived the skill. I've always made fun of those moms who haunt their kids' teachers, arguing over every little demerit or grade. I'm realizing that I'm particularly prone to such behavior given my job. At times, I unwittingly find myself slipping into "cross-examination mode". Yikes. Looks like I have some skills to work on, too, in prep for T starting real school.

Anyway, T's poorest areas are in "social skills". Gee, ya think? She's a 3 yr old for god's sake. Here are the areas she's "working on":

• Can play simple group games by following directions
• Shares toys on a regular basis
• Takes turns on a regular basis sometimes letting another child go first
• Uses words (instead of hands) when displeased with someone or something
• Asks permission to use items belonging to other people

I ask you, what normal 3-yr old can actually do any of the above? I was shocked to see that they think she "can sit in a circle for 5 minutes"! She scored a "3" for that. Just how did she con them into thinking that? Moreoever, if she can do that at school, why can't she do it at home?

It truly is amazing to see your child through the eyes of others.

The Light at the End of a Tunnel

Last night was a very big night. Regretfully, it seems my girl is out of options, and Obama has pretty much secured the nomination after quite an exciting fight. Congrats to him. Lucky for me, for the first time ever, I like both candidates almost equally. While I still think Hillary would be better, Obama will be excellent. I well remember watching the 2004 convention wherein he spoke. At the time I said to myself, "Someday that guy's going to be president." Let's hope. I'm holding off purchasing my new yard sign, though. Obama/Clinton has a much better ring than just Obama ;) I think T, on the otherhand, liked Obama better throughout the whole campaign. Everytime he came on the screen, she starts screaming, "Obama, Obama. Look mama, Obama."

My personal dream, now, is that my girl will be the Veep. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, my beloved Bill, however, seems to be degenerating recently. I found myself wishing he'd just shut up. Looks like he'll be filling the role of Billy Carter in my dream administration, if he keeps it up. Funny, I never realized that they had the same first name. He needs to go off and confine himself to his foundation, where he would do the most good.

Whatever happens, it looks like there will be an exciting five months to come. I'm praying my candidate will win the election and begin digging us out of the deep, dark hole that President Cheney, his Texas puppet and all his other criminally liable advisors have put us in.

Got Hope? You betcha!

I'm Carol XXXX, and I approved this message!

T in China

I have been waiting for over 2 years to post these videos. They both were taken in China, in our room at the White Swan Hotel, on January 17, 2006. As you can see, T was quite physically adept. She could hold her head up, sit up, crawl, and surf the furniture. Clearly, she had gotten some good care (relatively speaking) in the orphanage.


I forget how little she was!

And here's the second video, of T surfing the furniture.

The Rehab Fairy

Breaking news today is that I've graduated from a walker to a quad can. I could probably have used a normal cane, but this one stands on its own. I don't have to worry about holding it all the time or it falling down to the ground like my umbrellas always do. This is big, b/c now I can hobble along and actually hold T's hand...like when we're walking in the daycare parking lot, or any other parking lot for that matter.

Of course, you-know-who once again thought one of my mobility devices is her own personal new toy. Though she's too short for it, that doesn't stop her for going around the house pretending to walk with it...or dance with it...or use it like a ninja stick.