Life in a glass house

What Emily's Been Watching- January Edition

2012-02-05T21:48:00.000-07:00

I warned you last month that I was watching a lot of movies in January, and what do you know- I was right. I was inspired by all the end of the year top ten lists. Next month I going to try to hit up a few more Oscar nom movies. I even found time to start Emily's Wall of Shame. (What better time to finally start that then January?) If you are new to this, or have forgotten, my wall of shame is watching a movie that is super well known/famous that I have just not happened to see or missed it, etc. You know those movies: ones that are on AFI's 100 best, or come up in Trivial Pursuit a lot. Yeah- those. Oh, and as always, the titles link to their page on IMDB if you want more info on the movie. Ok, here we go...........

THE WILD AND WONDERFUL WHITES OF WEST VIRGINIA (2009) [R] documentary. This was a documentary recommended by my sister Sue. It was a strange mix of interesting, disturbing, entertaining, shocking and depressing. I like anything that pulls you into a different world, to see a slice of life that is normal to someone else and utterly alien to you. This movie does that. Apparently, The White family is pretty famous/infamous in the mountain culture of West Virginia. It started with a grandpa that tap danced and now there is a huge family tree comprised of drug infested, self entitled, dishonest, foul mouthed, ignorant people. There is definitely not a lot of heart warming pay off here, or lessons learned, but it is fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives of this family and what constitutes as normal to them. .Also some really funny moments. And don't forget: Sue Bob is the sexy one. Emily only recommends this documentary to people that like the slice of life story telling and have a fascination with the Appalachian Mountain culture like I do (you also must not mind drug use and language).

Here is a funny scene that I found more entertaining then the trailer.

ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011) [R] comedy/sci-fi. This movie was so much fun for me. I just loved it. It was made in the UK and centers around some sort of ghetto in London. I texted it as a recommendation to my brother and described it as "Super 8 meets Boyz in the Hood- in London" and that does about cover it. Basically, these little alien things start falling from the sky while these kids are holding up a lady. They take action and then find themselves having to defend their block by themselves cause the cops aren't their friends of course. It's really funny, has some intense scary alien scenes, and isn't afraid to kill the main characters. I loved the London, inner city, ghetto vibe it had- the accents and idioms were quite entertaining. It was just well made and well written and the kids were quite likeable for meeting them while ganging up on and holding up a unarmed woman at night while walking home. Cool aliens, especially for a low budget picture. Emily totally recommends this movie for the alien adventure lovers out there (I wouldn't call myself one of those, but I do enjoy a well done alien movie once in a while). It brings something new to the table. It was my first English alien picture (I think).

ANOTHER EARTH (2011) [PG-13] drama/sci-fi. Another Earth. What a polorizing film this has been this past year! It won an award at Sundance, then got picked up. It has appeared on critics top 10 best lists and others worst of the year. I've heard critic partners discuss it together on total opposite ends of the spectrum. Where do I fall? It totally worked for me. Here is what gets some people: It is drummed up as a very very interesting idea- a sister planet suddenly appears by earth with apparently the exact same structural make up as earth, it later reveals that EVERYTHING is the same, including cities and people having the exact same experiences as you. Essentially, there is another you doing the exact same thing on another planet. So, with that premise, people expect to dive into all that entails and they want to visit that world during the movie and find out all the answers. This movie doesn't do that though and that disappoints some. It also doesn't depict all the havoc that planet would have on our earth such as gravity problems and the tides- that stuff isn't touched on. Instead, this is a character drama that kind of revolves around the question of what if you met the other you? What if you could change the past and right the mistakes you have made?

It was written by two friends (a man and a woman) and first time movie makers. Then, he directed it and she starred in it. They filmed it with very little money, saving money by staying at one of their parent's houses and eating their food, etc. I listened to two interviews by this team (one was a Q & A after a screening) and I just was even more impressed. I loved hearing the process of how they made this and the stories behind it. Fact: they did try to add some of the elements of what would happen to the earth if we had another one so close but they told us that we are very glad they cut it all out, it looked terrible with the budget they had. I totally respect that and am glad they left it out. I don't think they needed it. The story wrapped me totally up right away and I felt so heavily for the main character, Rhoda. I knew the main stuff going in about the other earth stuff I explained, I also knew that a car accident was involved. That is all I knew going in and didn't happen to see the trailer. There is stuff I didn't see coming at all (which I think is rare- most know). It was a great way to watch the film I thought. I was just so wrapped up in the emotions of the main characters- it was quite the ride. One thing didn't work very well for me, but it was a minor side plot, so it didn't ruin anything. I recommended this one to Matt too and this one he and his wife really hated (he enjoyed Attack the Block very much). Guess it is polarizing. Emily has decided to not recommend this movie. I will leave it to you to decide if you want to see it or not. By the way, I couldn't get this movie out of my mind for most of the next day and I have spent quite a bit of time coming up with different versions of the ending (it was left sort of ambiguous- about that: the directer/writer said in his interview that they know very specifically what actually happened, but want to keep it under wraps to allow the audience to do what I have been doing and interpret it their own way. Stinkers. I have had a great time coming up with my own, but I am dying to know the real ending. If you've seen the film and am interested in hearing the interviews I spoke of (and I really recommend them) you can find them here and here. Pretty clean PG 13- no language, but there is a pretty intense car accident scene.

HUGO 3D (2011) [PG] family/drama/adventure. I suddenly had an urge to see this one while it was still in theater in 3D (I'd heard things about it), so I reached out to my Utah family to see who would be interested (I was going to just go down the street after the kids went to bed and watch it by myself if no one was interested- I'm cool with that). My cousin Dan was able to go, so the two of us went and we really enjoyed it! The 3D really was amazing. I am not a big 3D person, in fact the only other I saw was when one of the Harry Potter movies had a few scenes in 3D (6th?- yep). I just find it pretty unnecessary. That is also how I felt during the 3D previews they showed before Hugo. BUT Hugo was impressive. It really was worth seeing that way. The movie was really enjoyable too. I liked the story and liked learning a little about the history of film, mostly about Georges Méliès. Most of it takes place in a Paris train station and features lots of clock work (which is really cool to watch in 3D). The auto-matron totally blew my mind. I couldn't get over the work involved in programing one of those things. CRAZY. It may seem like a kid's movie to you, but it isn't. I don't mean that it isn't appropriate, it just would be totally boring to a child if you want my opinion. I think it is more a magical movie for adults. That sounds lame, but it really was excellent. It had a great story to it and fosters a love of cinema- especially old cinema- which is cool I think. Emily recommends this movie very much for anyone (except those under about 11 I'd say- unless they were unusually mature). I figure it is probably too late to see it in 3D but if not- it is totally worth the effort and extra money to check it out that way- and that may be the only time I ever say that. 3D is stupid.

CLOVERFIELD (2008) [PG-13] horror/sci-fi. Cloverfield came out a few years ago and is still brought up all the time when anyone discusses a monster movie. It is one of those "found footage movies" I am a big fan of, but somehow, even with all that, I never saw this film. It hung out on my Netflix queue for a very long time and I finally decided it was time. Wow-- it was fantastic. I really liked it. It is essentially an American godzilla movie. The very beginning of the movie (very first thing, so I'm not spoiling anything) says that this tape was found in some number area (I forget) which used to be known as "Central Park". It is pretty cool that the whole story is just shown with the point of view of the guy with the camera, so you don't know any more then they do. The footage begins at a party for some guy that is leaving for a job in Japan and the lights go out, there is some mayhem, and then they evacuate and the guy still has the camera. They are in downtown Manhattan and there are explosions and shouting from far away and suddenly the Statue of Liberty's head comes flying down the street. That's all I'm going to say about that. Emily was a big fan, lots of fun. Check it out if you haven't yet (I'm probably the last person on earth that hadn't seen it though). It's not to be missed if you like the found footage movies, and in that genre- it's a classic.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011) [PG-13] romcom/fantasy. I had been waiting to see this one for a long time, and snatched it up at Redbox the week it was available. What a fun little flick. You get to combine the Woody Allen film style with history and classic painters and authors AND Paris. You get to vicariously meet people like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Picasso. You get to walk the streets of Paris with Owen Wilson and hear love of the city gush out of his and everyone's lips almost continually. I love it and I think I would really love Paris if I ever went there. But mostly it was fun to see the 1920's Paris set interact and hang out together. Also- I love Woody Allen. I am not even as harsh about his stuff from the last 10 years as everyone else is. I've enjoyed them all at least a little and on some level. This one is a no brainer- check it out. Good times. Might be a pretty good introduction to Woody Allen. It's kind of "Woody Allen light", definitely has the feel and dialogue of his movies, but isn't too heavy handed.

MOON (2009) [R] drama/sci-fi. This is a movie I have heard about for a long time, I think my sister Sue has mentioned it once or twice and I have finally gotten around to watching it. Here is what you can know about this movie: Sam Rockwell lives in a space station and has for 3 years. He lives alone with a robot companion voiced by Kevin Spacy. The robot is really interesting, it's face is just a classic yellow smiley face that changes it's expression when appropriate. It has a very HAL like vibe to it. One day, Sam (I forgot his character's name) goes out to investigate something (on the moon which if you couldn't tell by the title, is where he is stationed) and finds a crash victim and it looks exactly like himself, so he takes it back to his space station. This movie was really good and interesting, and if anyone can be pretty much the only person in every scene- it's Sam Rockwell. He is a really great actor, whom I always enjoy. Kevin Spacy (even though it is only his voice) is also AWESOME. He gave a very memorable performance. Good surprises peppered throughout and a good twist ending. Emily recommends this one too if you can possibly handle another sci-fi movie. It's R for some language.

TABLOID (2011) [R] documentary. I have been interested in seeing this movie since I heard of it's existence early last year. It's the story of this lady that back in the 70's fell in love with this guy in Provo, said they were planning to get married, but "the Mormons got him" and he went on a mission instead. So, she did what any sane person would do (seriously- in her eyes she did), and follows him to England, kidnaps him, and ties him up in this little cottage and has sex with him. He escapes and she becomes a tabloid super star in England. This film was made by the legendary documentarian Errol Morris. This was my first of his and I just loved the style. He pretty much just filmed her telling the story. He is well known for doing reenactments of crime scenes and stuff and according to him, was sick of people talking about it, so this time he showed clips of old 50's movies in their place. I loved that effect, it added a whimsy I just loved. He also would randomly speak, with a short question or shout of incredulity once in a while that was just funny. It was fairly jarring and something that if you think about, you never see during a documentary and it always tickled me when he'd do it.

About the story: She obviously has some sort of vast mental problems. She is kind of freaky, but very very entertaining to listen to and watch. It is more like she lives in her own little universe that has it's own truth and actual facts don't matter-what's in her head is what is true. A fascinating thing to watch and listen to. Weird. She is VERY angry at the Mormon church and blames it for everything that is wrong with her life- even though all it did to her as far as I can tell is be the religion the man she became obsessed with belonged to. She paints missionaries as these brainwashed men that are held against their will by power hungry leaders. Too bad the movie's mission was not to go into discrediting that lovely and crazily skewed view she has, but I dare say that her obvious craziness discredits it to the smart viewer. It gets a little too close to sacred things I wish it wouldn't (cause it's sacred) once, but otherwise it doesn't get into much doctrine. I will tell you one thing though, and this isn't just this movie-- if I hear the term "magic underwear" used one more time- my brain is going to explode into a million pieces. I can't express how much I hate that. A great review of this movie (done by a film reviewer that happens to be LDS can be read here) I thought he reviewed it really well and think it's worth reading. Anyway, VERY interesting movie, and an interesting story. Too bad the man in question would have nothing to do with being interviewed. It would have thrown an interesting twist into the mix. But the spectacle that is Joyce McKinney is the spot light- she really is a trip. The last 15 minutes or so she tells about her dog she had cloned in Korea (cause she is nuts) and man I laughed so many times, it was SO FUNNY. Emily recommends this movie- it's a very interesting story told in a very unique and interesting way. Watch out for a fair amount of nude photographs during this one part and she gets fairly explicit on describing their "consensual sex" that even out of her mouth does not sound consensual. Us Mormons were not conveyed in the best light, but I have heard us depicted far worse for sure, and that is not the center of the story.

THE ARTIST (2011) [PG] romcom/drama. I can describe this movie with two words: utterly charming. I, along with the rest of the world, just loved this movie. I also love the idea that a movie that is silent, French, and black and white can be so mainstream. That is pretty cool. It is also fun to see a movie like this, one you don't see everyday- that reminds you that you don't need a lot of dialogue to tell a great story. Saw this with my Utah movie peeps crowd and we were all charmed. I loved the lead characters- Jean Dujardin pulled off a mustache in the spirit of Clark Gable (a rare gift indeed), he also, even in depths of despair- was able to break out in a smile that would light up his face and the whole room (also very Rhett like). Bèrènice Bejo could not have been cuter. She was funny and channeled some sort of Carol Bernette vibe at times, or she could just be simply stunning. Would I see this movie again the next chance I got?: with pleasure. Go, run out and see this film. See it in the theater, so you can sit back and relax without distractions. You'll love it.

THE THIN BLUE LINE (1988) [NR] documentary. So with Tabloid I discovered Errol Morris. Which made me naturally seek out his most famous documentary. This movie came from a 3 year investigation he did on an old case in Texas involving a routine police stop, where the officer was shot and killed when he approached the vehicle. Morris upon investigating the story, came to believe that an innocent man was on death row. So, he made a documentary about it. What made this so famous, is that Morris got a confession from the actual killer on tape, which lead to the innocent man getting exonerated days before he was scheduled to be put to death! Isn't that crazy? What may be more crazy is the man that was set free, after getting out of prison- ended up suing Morris for sole rights to his story. I would have thought a thank you might be in order......... But anyway, this movie plays a lot like a true crime investigation like 48 hours (but better of course). But how many times during 48 hours have you wanted there to be a satisfying end and answer to who really committed the crime? Not often does that happen, they just raise speculation and uncertainty. This documentary actually solves the crime during it's filming. Awesome. Emily recommends this movie to anyone that likes true crime shows- it's a fun and satisfying time for that set. Also, David Chen of the /filmcast interviewed Errol Morris last month for over an hour. It was really interesting and he talks extensively about Tabloid and The Thin Blue Line. You can find it here if you're interested.

It doesn't look like a trailer exists for this film, but I found this- which is a bunch of people talking about the film and showing it some love.

Emily's wall of shame

APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) [R] drama/war. Wow. I don't quite know what to say except wow. This movie was so nuts. I will tell you one thing: this movie deserved all the hype and mentions that it has gotten over the years. Watching this was truly an unforgettable experience. I've seen my share of Vietnam movies in my time, and they have all been amazing and horrible in their own ways. This one took war horror to a new and interesting realm though. Amazing film. Creepy and disturbing, but amazing. Martin Sheen is a secret op agent of sorts in the military, and is sent on a mission down the river into Cambodia to terminate with "extreme prejudice" a rouge and insane general (Marlon Brando) that has made himself into a god for a group of followers and soldiers. One question: what was up with the napalm in the morning, surfing general? Did it have a reason beyond showing callousness of war? The surfing just seemed weird. Just wondering. This one isn't for the faint of heart. It's war and it's crazy. If you can handle it- this is totally one to see. I mean- it's Coppola. The man can do intense and he is a brilliant director.

Buffy watch: I have seen little Buffy this month, but have seen the first handful of episodes of the 4th season and I hope it gets better.

Still watching Fraiser in my down time. Almost done. Next up: The Wonder Years.

That is all for my honorable mention lists.

Waiting on the rapture

2012-01-28T17:18:00.002-07:00

It's official. Here in my house, tacked above my computer in my bedroom, there is one ticket to the Glendale Arizona Radiohead concert. (Ok, officially- it's B's ticket because I bought hers and she and Matt bought mine and Matt's -Matt and I are sitting together in the lower bowl and B will be in the general area, but in the upper bowl, so we have to switch tickets-) But still................having the ticket in my hands feels as good as mine (and if anything should go wrong with mine and Matt's ticket- I'll fight her for this one- I'm not above that.)

I can hardly believe that what started 12 years ago, is going to culminate into me finally getting to be there, watching the greatest band on earth, play their music right in front of me. 12 years ago, I was hanging out, listening to music (lots of The Cure) and in the span of 2 months, had 4 different people tell me that I should check out Radiohead, they thought I would like it. Two of those people were good friends I trusted quite well, one was a work mate, and one was a boy I went out with once. I was moving to NY then, and when I got to NY, and made it into a music store, I bought OK Computer (that was the one I was told to start with). I popped it in my cd player and well, to make a long story short- it changed my life. I couldn't believe how good it was. I bought The Bends. Blown away again. At that point, I couldn't buy any other RH albums, because I couldn't get those two out of my player for long enough to do so. That lasted a few years, then I bought Amnesiac. Basically for about 6 years I really listened to little else (and that is being generous). For some reason, I didn't want to buy all their albums at once. I wanted to get to know them in time, so that's what I did. I bought them one by one through the years. Then when I caught up with the band, I started getting the B sides.

I lived in this world for a long time. Not keeping up with what was going on currently with the band. Just soaking them in at my own pace. When I had caught up, they were starting to tour for In Rainbows. That year was a terrible year for us. There was no way in the world we could have handled me taking a road trip to see them play somewhere. I may have been able to go if they came to Salt Lake, but no. As I followed the tour, I got more and more disappointed that I wasn't there. I should have been there. I couldn't be there though and it broke my heart. The last date they played, they played in Santa Barbara, and they webcasted the entire concert in real time. I had it up on the laptop and watched while Rob slept beside me. I took turns cheering and crying and clapping while they played. It was wonderful really. I also vowed that the next time they toured, I WOULD be there. Whatever it took, I would be there. There was no way around it. I was not going to go through that again. I belonged there.

Flash forward to now. They started announcing tour dates. They left big gaps and nothing back east, and no California. So I impatiently and nervously waited while tickets went on sale. After sales started, they announced Seattle and California. Seattle sounded right to me. Sounded awesome. Matt had never been there. Radiohead's website presells tickets a few days ahead of time. For Seattle, they did that the day of my niece's wedding and there was no way to try. They went on sale to the public on sat morning and were gone in seconds. I wanted a GA ticket, I wanted to be right in front of the stage. So, we waited for the California shows to sell. Presale- gone in seconds, later sale- seconds- and I mean literal seconds. We sat at our computers refresh, refresh, refresh- sale- gone. Right out from under us. It was a mad house. Radiohead fans everywhere are up in arms. Fans were actually staying up all night hitting refresh only to have then sell out right before their eyes. What's worse, tickets were appearing on resale ticket sights by the hundreds, for 5 to 10 times the ticket price amount, directly after. I don't know what happened, but it was not cool. It wasn't fair. Something went bad. On the fan forums, there is a very ill wind in the air. And it does suck, that is a nasty disappointment and frustration that I understand. They tried to have most tickets "paperless" which means that the person that bought the ticket has to present the exact credit card they used and their id at the gate to get their tickets. This is to prevent what ended up happening. Somehow the scalpers have found a loophole and were able to secure tickets and take advantage of us fans that are really, a pretty fierce, loyal lot. We recognize the genius and we live for it and we want to be there to see it happen. Fans are trying to blame someone, and ticketmaster is getting some major wrath for this, the band is getting it's share too. I don't think for a minute that the band is happy this is happening. But I hope that the fans raise a big enough stink about this and let the band know how they feel. Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I really think that something can be done next time, and avoid all this. If you follow up with the band at all, you will know that they are firmly against corporate greed. They went independent from their record company and now release their own stuff, how they want. They pioneered a new way to buy CDs with In Rainbows, asking people to "pay what they want". You could name your own price to get their cd. Cool eh? People that can do all of this and be so innovative, I think, can figure something out- and not have to go through sites like Ticketmaster and let the true fans buy the tickets at actual ticket price. I really hope they come up with something, cause I fully intend to be there next time too.

I was referring to mostly the other fans in that last paragraph, cause I was lucky and was able to come up with a do-able alternative and have a happy ending. I found out that for whatever reason, the tickets in Glendale were much cheaper to buy on these secondary sites then any other tour date, so we decided to do it. I cruised a lot of ticket websites and found the one that had the best reputation and a 100% guarantee on the tickets you buy there. We went to purchase floor seats and found out that they tacked on an extra 55 dollars in fees. We regrouped. I would have done it, but got a really sinky feeling in my gut thinking of Matt and B having to add over 100 extra dollars and they are fans, but maybe not over 100 dollar fans tacked on to two already double priced tickets. We figured out that we could get decent seats (very decent seats) on Jonny's side of the stage for quite a bit less. Then we couldn't buy 3, only 2 or 4. So.............B offered to sit somewhere else, and let Matt and I sit together since we are the bigger fans and she might as well get an even cheaper seat in the upper bowl. Yeah- B's awesome.

I am perfectly happy with this. I am also bringing some binoculars. :)

In light of all that has happened and the catastrophe of the ticket sales, I think to the most recent Radiohead song they have released. It's called The Daily Mail, and it's lyrics remind me very much of this whole thing.......................................

The Daily Mail

The moon is a rock on a mountain
The lunatics have taken over the asylum
Waiting on the rapture

Singing we’re here to keep your prices down
Feed you to the hounds
To the Daily Mail,
Together
Together

You made a pig’s ear, you made a mistake
Paid off security and got through the gate
You got away with it but we lie in wait

Where’s the truth? What’s the use?
I’m hanging around lost and found
And when you’re here, innocent

Fat chance, no plan

No regard for human life

Keep trying, you’re not right
You’re fast to lose, you will lose
You jumped the queue, go back again

President for life, lord of all
The flies in the sky, the beasts of the earth
The fish in the sea, you’ve lost command

Am I the only one that sees the irony?

What is making this whole thing even better, is that two of my sisters -Cat and Sue are coming along for the road trip and also to baby sit my kids while we are at the concert. Rob can't go, which pains me a lot. I would love to have Rob at my side for this, but he can't miss school. He will get the full report though, oh yes, he will. It is going to be so much fun, what a road trip! I am so excited. The ides of March didn't turn out so well for Ceaser, but I'm sure looking forward to that date.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M ACTUALLY GOING!!!!!!!!

October, 2010:

Me: I hope Radiohead does that when I see them in concert. (Note I said "when" not "if". If Matt can see the Pixies, I WILL see Radiohead).

Matt: You will totally see them. And it is going to rip your face off and eat with a side of dope sauce. I will be there for sure.

excerpts taken from This Monkey's Gone to Vegas

Thank You

2012-01-22T00:21:00.002-07:00

I want to tell my daughter's crossing guard thank you. Since September, I've seen her twice a day, said hi, shared a smile, and watched her take her job seriously. Then, a few weeks ago, school was out and I stood across the street from the school, watching my daughter waiting at the curb with some other kids. Scout saw me and knew I was there and couldn't wait to cross and run over to me and tell me about her day like she always does. But she stood there, waiting for the guard to tell them it was safe to cross the street. All the cars were stopping, and she put her sign up and started across the street.

The car in the first lane wasn't paying a bit of attention, and I watched as that car hit my daughter's crossing guard. I watched her hit the hood and then fly off the car and land in the street. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. I knew my daughter was still waiting at the curb, but my first impulse was to run home 3 houses away to get my phone to call 911. Rob was there with Elles and I told him what just happened and we both flew out of the house back to the school. The crossing guard was lying on the street and had a few people around her, tending her. Scout was in the exact same place, crying. I ran to her and scooped her up, horrified at what had just happened, what I had just watched, what my daughter had just watched a few feet from her. A little later came the horror of what could have happened, how bad it could have been.

Then came the police and the ambulance. Then came the next horror to me- I realized that the crossing guard's own children go to the school and hang out at the same corner waiting for their mom to get off work. That's when I noticed a little boy crying, trying with all his might to unlock his mom's phone so he can call his dad. I went over to their car and tried to comfort him and help him. Her other children were upset, but sitting in the car. The little boy's sister took over trying to unlock the phone. We ended up using my phone and at this point I didn't know the status of the crossing guard, or what to say to the dad. I walked over there and the crossing guard was conscious and they told me that he had been called by the school office. I told her I was with her kids. I went back and told them that their mom was ok and that their daddy was coming and relieved that I didn't have to make that phone call.

Rob took Scout home. I had to stay because I was a first hand witness and had to sign a statement, etc. The dad didn't show up. I started making inquiries and found out that there was a mix up and he really hadn't been called. I chickened out again and had the lady that worked at the school office call him from my phone. By that time the crossing guard was being loaded onto the ambulance. The woman that hit her never got out of her car, never talked to anyone.

Her family lived close and the dad happen to have the day off (he is a fireman), so he arrived quickly, but wasn't able to see his wife, the ambulance was already gone. He was then able to comfort his kids, and I wrote down everything I remembered from the accident and sped home as fast as I could. By that time, Scout was feeling much better, she and daddy had a good talk about what happened. What ever he said to her was the right thing. I spent the rest of the evening restless and recovering from various degrees of shock which ended with quite a headache. Scout spent the evening bringing up feelings and thoughts about the accident which included bouts of anger towards the person that hit her. I tried to tell her that she didn't do it on purpose but was in big trouble for doing that. I walked Scout to school the next day and inquired in the office how the crossing guard was doing. I was told she hadn't broken any bones, but had a lot of soft tissue damage and will be back to work in a few weeks (if her husband lets her).

I am so glad things turned out ok. I am so relieved that it wasn't worse then it was. I will forever play that scene in my mind, and never forget what that was like. I've never seen a person get hit by a car before. I've thought a lot about what happened and like Scout, I can sometimes feel anger towards the woman that hit her. That crossing guard was doing everything right. School had just gotten out. There were kids everywhere. The flashing school zone lights were flashing. The cross walk is one of those big ones, with extra safety curbing, and green stripes. There are reflector poles on either side. The crossing guard had big, colored cones out in the middle of the street. She had a orange vest on. She had a huge stop sign in her hand. I am angry that you can make such a grievous error such as not paying attention to all of that and hitting a crossing guard with my child (and several others) so close. The fact that that can happen, I saw it happen, there are people out there that can cause that to happen, scares me so much.

So I want to say again, thank you. Even though I feel like we've gotten to know each other a bit this year by smiles and saying hi, I hadn't even learned your name. But thank you for taking your job so seriously. Thank you for keeping our children safe. Thank you for following the rules and making sure those kids are safely still at the curb until you know for sure it is safe to cross. Thank you for putting yourself on the line for our kids. At Christmas, we gave you an inadequate gift card and some chocolates with a note that said, "thank you for keeping Scout safe". Little did I know, just a couple weeks later, how much I would mean that.

Tell your son that I am sorry I was so shaky I had to ask him 3 times what his dad's number was. The fact that he could tell me it correctly 3 times with all that was going on, and being so scared for his mom, is amazing to me. What a kid.

Tell your husband I am sorry I hesitated in calling him the first time. I was too afraid to call this complete stranger and tell him that his wife was just hit by a car and he better come down to the school to be with his kids. I was scared I would say something stupid. I was clear headed enough to know that in my state of shock, I might not make the best word choices, but I should have manned up and done it anyway. I am the reason he didn't get to see his wife before you went to the hospital.

And finally, to the woman that hit her, I don't know quite what to say. I know we all make mistakes, but I really hope that you and everyone else learned something that day. According to some of the kids waiting to cross the street with my daughter, you had your phone in your hand. We all get a little distracted from time to time, but we just can't let ourselves get so distracted we don't notice we are in an active school zone. I don't know if you were dialing a number or texting, either way........ you are so, so, so lucky this didn't end up worse. I don't think my daughter's small little body could have taken your car like the crossing guard's did. But I just can't even think about that. She is safe, and she is doing well and hardly brings up what she saw that day anymore. But I don't think she will ever forget it.

What Emily's Been Watching Nov/Dec

2012-01-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

In true end of year fashion, I totally dropped the ball. BUT in true new year fashion, I have made an effort to remember.to write down my movies as I watch them so I don't forget. Speaking of movies, I have been a busy little movie watching bee this month, so my Jan list will make up for this list where I can hardly remember anything I saw. I have been inspired by end of year best of lists and my need to catch up on last years movies, combined with a chest cold that has messed with my energy levels cruelly. But I guess that is all stuff for next month (or the next week or two). So here are the movies I can remember watching these last few months (If anyone remembers me watching something I forgot or if you saw something with me, speak up and I'll add it)--

Also........ I am going to be pretty brief and not get into them too much. Basically, I just want to get this post done and out of the way.

SOURCE CODE (2011) [PG-13] action/thriller. Rob and I actually sat down together and watched a movie. A very rare event these days with school. I found this movie interesting and enjoyable. It is a good one to watch when you want some action combined with a mystery that has you trying to figure out how it is all going to end up. Not a thinking movie with some great moral you will think about for a week, it is more just cleverly put together and interesting while it's on. Has a pretty good little twist ending too. I could give a little explanation of the plot, but I just watched the trailer, and it explains everything I would have, so just watch that if you want to know. Yes, I'm in a lazy mood. Emily recommends this one for it's pure entertainment value, for when that mood strikes you.

THE MUPPETS (2011) [PG] comedy/family. I come from a family that appreciates The Muppets. We have all been life time fans. So, when Jason Segal made a muppet movie, we made it into an event. We went together over the Thanksgiving week. My mom, dad, brothers Matt and Ben, Matt's wife B, and sisters Sue and Cat and Cat's son Booker. Plus my two girls (Rob had a conflict, but he isn't as into them as the rest of us). Anyway, we had a great time. The movie was a lot of fun, the muppets were funny, the songs were enjoyable and catchy. They did a fine job trying to relaunch the muppets into society again. The muppets have been scattered and are urged to reunite by a super fan (who is also a muppet but happens to be Jason Segal's brother (no explanation given on how that worked. None needed though if you ask me) So they travel around gathering muppets from where they have been for the last 15 years or so (Gonzo is a successful business man, Animal is in therapy. and has been conditioned not to say the word "drums') My favorite part though, was looking over at Elinor on Sue's lap with her eyes big as saucers seeing her much loved muppets in giant form before her. She was in heaven. I also enjoyed how the movie repeatedly broke the 4th wall- it was a great device that kept me laughing (as did gonzo's arm that wouldn't stop winding for the last half of the movie- Scout and I still laugh at that). Emily recommends this movie especially to the old muppets fans- it was made for us. Kermit sings Rainbow Connection again if you need more endorsement.

SUPER 8 (2011) [PG-13] sci-fi/thriller. Another movie made for nostalgia seekers around my age. This movie was made by Steven Spielberg and JJ Abrams. Abrams wanted to make a movie that brought back the feel of the old child adventure movies of the 80s, such as Goonies and Stand By Me. I think he definitely succeeded on a certain level. Some parts of it really felt like those old movies, other parts not so much. I really liked it and was glad I saw it. It was cute and pretty good little story. I loved the movie the little boys were making, it amused me very much. The train crash was pretty exciting if not entirely believable (I mean, there is no way all that would happen to a crashing train)- but hey, it made for an exciting few minutes. Emily recommends this one too -especially if you have a fondness for those old 80's movies, if you do, you will probably get a kick out of it.

LIMITLESS (2011) [PG-13] sci-fi/thriller. Saw this one in Wyoming with much of the fam on The Phister's giant couch. I was not prepared to be interested at all, in fact- I was prepared to use it as nap time. Instead I was sucked in and watched the whole thing. It's about a guy that takes a pill that opens up the parts of the mind we normally don't always have access to. It made him incredibly smart in all areas of life, then would wear off. He ends up with a giant supply of them and lots of stuff happens. That's about it really. It was shot with overly vivid colors and my mom couldn't get over Bradly Cooper's eyes no matter how many times we told her they were color enhanced. That is a lot of what I remember of the film. Emily recommends this movie if you happen to have it playing in front of you. I think it is pretty forgettable, so don't rush out to see it or feel like you need to make a lot of effort to see it. But if it happens to be playing in front of your eyes, you will probably find it interesting enough to watch.

Wow, that is a weird list. Not only are they all from this year, they are comprised almost entirely of sci-fi thrillers. Not typical, but an enjoyable time at the movies I had.

Extras

-I also rewatched Sherlock, my niece Adri has wanted to see it and knew I'd be good for a watch, so we Netflixed it over Christmas and she loved it.

-The fam watched Young Frankenstein on Christmas day too (that is the Pugh fam by the way).

-My late night Netflix choice du jour has been Fraiser. I've never watched the entire series back to back and am finding a fair amount of episodes I have never even seen. I LOVE Fraiser, in my top few favorite shows of all time and Niles is probably my third favorite tv character ever (behind Rob and Laura Petrie). Funny, I have never liked Cheers, but Fraiser totally does it for me. I love the smart humor and Fraiser's pompishness and just about everything about Niles.

Buffy update:

Finished season two and a lot of three. Having a great time with it and watched some massively enjoyable episodes. Interested to see where this thing goes. (I'm further along then that as I write this, but wasn't at the end of December).

Octo-baby

2011-12-22T11:41:00.001-07:00

Apparently, this is what happens when you give Elinor Cheerios after she has eaten waffles.

Santaclaustrophobia

2011-12-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

I looked around the internets to see if there was an official term for the fear of Santa. Because let me tell you, Scout has it and always has. There is pogonophobia, which is the fear of beards: nope, daddy is still huggable when he has given up shaving for a week (but ask me how huggable he is to me when he shaves it all but a mustache and then chases me around trying to kiss me -yes he still does that-), there is hagiophobia- fear of saints and holy things (nope, she isn't a vampire nor is she possessed nor is Santa very holy these days anyway no matter what his roots are.) I think I'd know by now if she had rhodophobia (the fear of the color red) or cacomorphobia (the fear of fat or obese people). These are as close as you can get to a fear of Santa. Perhaps you could combine them all into a crammed term that incorporates them all................or you could just call it Santaphobia.

When Scout was a year old, we were in Macy's and there was a Santa wandering around handing out candy canes. The moment he got within 20 feet of her, she absolutely flipped out. I didn't think too much of it, she was right in the middle of the fear of anyone that isn't mom and dad talking to her that little ones get. Then a year or two later, on Christmas morning when she woke up, I said, "lets go into the living room and see what Santa left in there for you" and a dark look of fear crossed her face when suddenly all the talk about Santa coming down your chimney and creeping around your living room leaving you stuff and eating your cookies hit home to her and she didn't like that idea at all. We coaxed into the living room though and she shook off the creepy feeling pretty fast.

Last year, at our ward Christmas party, Santa came and then left to sit in another room and the kids were to go visit him. She flipped and I mean a 5 year old had a fit and cried her eyes out because mamma told her we were going in there to sit on his lap, get her picture taken and get a candy cane. This was a girl that never has tantrums and never throws fits. I pushed her a little, thinking that she would get over it when she was there and saw the other kids happily doing it and the promise of a candy cane. Nope, it just got worse. I gave up, I mean, I've looked at pictures like these with a lot of sympathy in the past and I don't want to do that to my children. And lets face it, I am not exactly crying myself to sleep at night that I don't have a fuzzy little picture of little Scout sitting on Santa's lap. I decided that day I would respect her fear and support her fully. Now, this is just Santa in the flesh mind you, she is fine with pictures of him and talking about him. He just can't come within her comfort zone (which is about 50 feet or so).

I am not sure how long Santa is going to remain an actual figure of truth to her though. Frankly, I'm surprised she seems to think he is real this year. She squelched the tooth fairy this year with the loss of her first tooth. She asked me if it was me that gives her money for her tooth. I asked what she thought and she said yes and I told her that it was me, but it is fun to pretend that it is a fairy. I told myself before I had kids that I would play along with Santa, etc. for as long as they seemed happy with it, but if they ever asked me point blank, I wasn't going to lie to them. I was going to hear their opinion and feel out if they seem like they want it to be real and go from there. She didn't like the idea of a little fairy coming into her room and getting under her pillow much either, so she seemed relieved with the truth. I am a little boggled that Santa is still allowed to come into her living room every year. Maybe the proximity is enough to keep her at least calm, he doesn't leave presents under her pillow at least.

So anyway, this year when we talked about going to the ward party (it was on Friday), she immediately asked if Santa was coming. I said yes and she started to panic and ask if we could stay home. I told her we were going, but she does not have to sit on his lap if it makes her uncomfortable. She seemed satisfied with that, although felt the need to ask me about 6 more times that day if she had to sit on his lap. He came in the room and she kept her cool for the most part, but started to cry when her friend ran to her and wanted to go in there with her. We told her that Scout is scared of Santa and she left. She was the only child left in a room full of adults, so of course she got asked a million times if she was going to go see Santa. One nice lady told her a story about how scared she was of Santa when she was a little girl and they shared a high five.

Just cause Scout is scared, I decided I should not have Elle miss out on Santa. So I took Elle, and Scout actually stood out side the door and peeked into the room a few times and even after a while stood with her back against the wall right at the door way. But then people would try to coax her in line and she would get upset. Daddy rescued her and they watched as Elle had her turn.

Elle was so amazed that she actually got to get so close to this amazing looking man with all that white hair on his face. She was so cute. No fear of Santa with this one, (in fact, the only fear she seems to have is that of getting from one the crawling position to a sitting position -or changing positions of any sort-).

Santa seemed rather taken with her too.

My Birthday

2011-12-08T16:16:00.001-07:00

I celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago. The last few years, my birthday's have gained a slight reputation of being on the bad side. Two years ago, my beloved and wonderful husband totally forgot it. He had an excuse, he had court the next day to defend himself from being sued and had remembered my birthday for the days leading up to it, but it escaped his mind entirely the day of. Last year, while planning where to celebrate with a nice dinner, Tiny E somehow poked herself in the eye REALLY bad and cried for over an hour while we conceded and warmed up frozen spaghetti. This year, I found myself driving on the top of a mountain amidst the worst snow conditions I have ever driven in. There is more to it, but you can see the pattern here. Nothing I would define as epically bad, but still.......Anyway, I wanted to record that weekend I spent, cause it was an interesting time.

My birthday fell on a Friday, and it happened to fall the weekend that Breaking Dawn Part 1 came out (for those of you that follow my life, you would know that my family has a strange tradition of seeing these movies up in Wyoming in this crappy theater together. More on that in a bit.) Also, my sister in law Bronwyn was in her very first play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as a made up fairy "Foxglove" at the local college. Also, my dad was speaking in church that Sunday and planned to tell some life experiences he doesn't share very much. It was a total no brainer to go up there. So my sister Cat and her son Booker, my sister Sue and me and my girls headed out on Friday afternoon in two cars. We were making good time until we were about 2 hours away, the snow started to fall. No problem, we just needed to be there by 7:30, to make B's play that night. We had plenty of time. Did I mention that my family lives on the other side of the infamous "South Pass"? This is an infamous place in Mormon Pioneer stories, it is the place that the Martin and Willy Handcart Company got stuck in a winter storm that caused a lot of suffering and many to lose their lives and had to be rescued. Anyway, we were making our way through this pass with some MAJOR snowfall. You know the kind that pretty much blinds you? The very lucky thing was that there was miraculously no wind. South Pass winds are legendary. They cause the pass to close a lot in the winter cause they are menacing and blow semi trucks down and little cars right away. Speaking of closing, they closed the pass that night WHILE we were in it. We must have barely made it in there before they closed it, and there was an official vehicle waiting at the other closure, waiting for us last crazy people to get out so they could lower the gate.

Yeah, my skills got us through without one slip (with the help of the 4 new tires Rob had made sure were on there before our trip). Man, it was a good thing we had those things. It didn't get any better off the pass, we still had a 30 minute drive to Riverton, which took waaaay longer then that. We didn't make much of the play. We made it for the last few acts and pretty much missed B's entire performance. My birthday dinner was wolfing down my requested sweet and sour chicken cold my sister had lovingly prepared in my honor and then left the girls with Cat, who decided the play was a total loss and skipped it. It could have been worse, I could have spent my birthday dying on the top of a mountain as a tin can a semi ran over. OR, it could have been spent turning around because the pass was closed and spending the night in a flea bag hotel in Rock Springs. We shuddered over that thought more then the dying one. So we triumphed South Pass, not a bad birthday after all I say.

Sadly though, early that afternoon a beloved member of their community and orthodontist to my nieces and nephews, crashed his plane and was killed. This is the man that makes his own fireworks and then puts on a free show every 4th of July that totally kicks butt (spoken about in a previous post, here). So sad. He was a good friend to my family and husband and father to his family, was a good support to B when she joined the church and is very missed by all. Kind of sad it happened on my birthday, it's weird to think that day will be such a sad day for his family for the rest of their lives.

The next day was Saturday and we went to a matinee of Breaking Dawn. I don't want to complain or anything, but the movie was legitimately pretty good and the theater had gotten a new sound system and the generator had been replaced and the audience was pretty quiet also- Taylor Lautner has obviously noticed the way his voice sounds when he talks and modified it this time (WHERE IS THE FUN IN THAT????). Luckily, the movie did give us some gems such as the werewolf pack conversation. I sure missed that generator going off every 15 minutes or so, picking it's times to go eeeerrrrrrrrrrrrr...bumbumbumbumbum..... during a particularly brooding Edward moment. The theater did seem to want to at least remind us where we were at the very end and produced a loud and nondescript crash somewhere in it's annals at the very last poignant and quiet scene. Thanks old friend, you still have it in you, at least a little.

We were in our own that night, Amy and Scott had their company party that night, but in true form, mama bird made us a yummy casserole before she left. We hung out that evening with my parents and watched a movie, then at about 10 they decided to head home (they live in Riverton too, but when we come to town, we stay at my sister's house). Anyway, my parents had taken separate cars, coming at separate times, so they left in two different cars. Shortly thereafter, I saw to my crying baby and then went back downstairs in time to see my brother shoot up and say, "you did WHAT?" Turns out he was on the phone talking to my dad who had just rolled his truck on the ice. He had called 911 before Matt (surprisingly, if you know him), and thought he better let us know what's going on. We couldn't believe it. We immediately bundled up and drove to where he was, thinking that he could be in shock and hurt worse then he thinks, which was not hurt at all according to him. Amy and Scott were still gone and my mom wasn't answering her phone. We got to the scene and there was a police car there already and surprisingly- Amy and Scott. They had driven past and seen his truck there. My dad was fine! Crazy guy was fine. The police man called the ambulance anyway just to be sure, we were glad, as we think we should be a bit cautious seeing as he is the "octo dad" and by that I mean he had 8 bypasses this summer on his heart. He didn't have a scratch on him! While they were checking him out we noticed that we were about 7 people standing on the side of the road in like 0 degree weather at 11 at night next to an ambulance, a cop, and a rolled truck- laughing and making jokes. Don't come across that every day. I took a picture on my phone and didn't send it to anyone and my phone has been washed since and is dead, so I guess those pics are gone forever. I am sad, cause it is quite the memory.

The next day was Sunday, and at nine o'clock that morning, my dad stood up at church and delivered his talk. Scott told him that he is a hard man to kill and he is right. This world is not through with him yet and for that I am grateful. I am not ready to be without him, and I am glad someone agrees with me. After church Sue, Cat, Scout and I went to the first part of B's play for the matinee. I am glad we did, it was fun seeing B and it was Scout's first play and she liked it. In fact, B's part was pretty much done, so we all agreed to slip out and I told Scout and she said that she wanted to watch the fairy princess (Titania) wake up and see who she falls in love with. I love that she was following along and liked it and wanted to know what happened next. I loved that she had no idea that it was going to turn out to be a man that was turned into an ass. I knew she would get a kick out of that. She loved that group of guys (Bottom and company) and laughed really hard when they were on stage and I wish she could have seen the play they put on, she would have loved it. We'll take her again when she is a few years older. Good to know she enjoyed it though.

We went home that next morning and had a beautiful clear day and two of the best behaved little girls on the planet. I can't think of one thing to complain about them on that drive home. They were fabulous. We got home and gave Rob a big hug and Lola sure was glad to see us too.

Notable moments to remember:

The giant Twilight cups and my disgust that I got Bella. Then, Matt offering to go back to get me an Edward cup and then thinking it through in his head that he would have to ask the girl for the Edward one.

Leprechan Puck

Matt imitating leprechan Puck

Watching Paranormal Activity 2: B staying awake the entire time and not watching a second of it, then asking us questions to get the story clear, Kyle's creepy room happenings and my rational explanation of the circumstances.

Did I forget anything? I know I did, but I am out of ideas tonight.

I promise I didn't forget Hunch Cat. I will NEVER forget Hunch Cat. We watched that video on Amy's big screen tv I am not lying- no less then 50 times. It kept getting funnier and funnier and I will NEVER ever not laugh upon viewing hunch cat. I laughed just as hard on viewing number 49 as I did on viewing number 2.

I dedicate this video to my fellow hunch cat peeps, you know who you are and I know you are going to laugh:

For all of you that haven't seen Hunch Cat, first of all: you're welcome and second, do yourself a favor and watch it at least 3 times back to back.

(Or 50 as we did.)

What Emily's Been Watching.........lately. (Aug/Sept edition)

2011-11-14T16:47:00.001-07:00

So I don't know what was going on the first week of September, but I can tell you that What Emily's Been Watching was not on my mind at all, cause I didn't even realize I forgot it until it was way way into Oct. I decided to combine the months and then it has taken to until mid November to post it (make that the end of Nov. to actually get it finished and posted). I get it, I suck. Better late then never though eh? I am afraid this isn't going to be too exciting, I didn't watch a ton of stuff besides catching up on The Office, Grey's Anatomy and I found out that the entire series of Wings is on instant Netflix and I had a little nostalgic Wings party for one over many weeks of bedtimes and had a good time (I was a MAJOR Wings fan back in the day). I hope I remember everything else I watched, but no guarantees.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 and 3 (2010 and 2011) [R] Horror. I got these two movies in on Halloween weekend. Cat, I and Booker made plans to go see number 3 that last weekend in October, and I hadn't seen the second one yet, so I watched that alone on Friday night. Everyone that has seen it will appreciate the fact that Tiny E woke up like 7 TIMES THAT NIGHT! She will usually wake up in the early morning for a bottle and then go back to sleep. Not that night. She woke up a million times and I am ashamed to admit that once or twice my mind briefly thought that she and that demon are on their own in there. Just a brief thought mind you, I always ended up manning up and going in there, but you know- human survival can trump mom instincts sometimes in our darkest moments.
Then, the night after seeing the third one, at almost exactly midnight, I was awake in my bed probably watching Wings, and there was a giant crash in my living room followed by Elinor's little train playing it's annoying little song. This was followed by the telltale sound of dog ear's flapping back and forth as a dog tries to shake off an embarrassingly ungraceful exit off of the couch. My heart finally resumed beating again, just as Lola walked sheepishly into our room to see if there were any witnesses. I forgave her, but then every five minutes or so, she would come to the doorway of our room and creepily stare at me for a minute or two (this was her checking to see if I was settled or asleep, so she could sneak back onto the couch instead of pretending to settle down for sleep on her dog bed. You see, she is not allowed on the couch, but breaks the rules frequently. She seriously was giving me the major creeps and I was about to kill her.
Anyway, I guess I should mention the actual movies for a second: Love them. These are the kind of scary movie that really gets to me. There is no visible monster to ruin the effect by being fake or not as scary as you think it will be. These movies are super creepy and scary and I find them great fun to watch (and by fun I mean scare the crap out of me). Usually your imagination can scare you more then anything else ever could and these movies require a bit of that. Also having an evil presence in your house that can possess you is a super scary concept to me.    Emily recommends the whole trilogy if you like scary movies and you have yet to see them. They are all good. But let me wqrn you: they are total creep sauce.

Nothing in this trailer is actually in the film, but it is relevant to the movie and keeps the tone at least.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 1 AND PART OF 2 (1997-1998) [TV14] Action/Drama/fantasy. So after knowing about this TV series for a very long time and having absolutely zero interest in ever watching it, I started watching it (this is despite the fact that I saw the movie it was based on back in the day and liked it a lot). I got into watching this series in a round about way: I started listening to a podcast about Twin Peaks. In this podcast, the hosts watch one episode a week and comment on it. The hook is, that 2 of the hosts have seen the series and are life long fans, and the other two hosts are watching it for the first time. It has been a fun podcast to listen to, cause you get to hear the reactions and point of view of two people that haven't seen it and it is fun to hear them react and predict what is going on. There is a growing family of podcasts that is stemming from this concept and the mother of all of them is one started a few years ago about Buffy, called Potential Cast. They mention it often and I finally decided to give it a try and watch it along with them just to try it out only because it is on Netflix streaming, so why not, right? (Don't judge me- my husband is in school full time and working and I have two easy kids and no job.) Well, it turns out that Buffy is a pretty dang good show and I am totally enjoying it. It started out pretty bad but in a good way. The whole concept is campy and stupid, and I embraced that and had fun. The first season is pretty short, and pretty bad, but like I said, I embraced the camp and enjoyed myself. It's kind of like Interview With the Vampire meets Freaks and Geeks meets The Lost Boys meets Clueless. The monsters are pretty shoddy, but that is fun sometimes I think. The lines are pretty bad both in delivery and content, which I found fun too. Well, midway through season 2, things started to change and it actually legitimately kind of became good. I admit I was a bit disappointed. I was in when it was laughable and a good time, I wasn't sure I was in for a seriously good show. Well, it turns out that I am and now I am in deep and am really glad I am watching it. I made a rule that I can't watch the next episode until I listen to the corresponding podcast. This makes it so I sometimes have to go an extra day or two before getting to the next one, but it is worth it. I also am not allowed to be spoiled by anything including reading the description of the show on Netflix. I read a few early on and got spoiled and was totally sorry. Oh and even though it's getting respectable, there are still enough bad lines to keep me happy. Emily really recommends this show (I can't believe I am saying this!) But it is becoming a darn good show. For all of you nay sayers- it is listed as #10 in Entertainment Weekly's top 100 greatest shows of all time- number 10! I can also recommend watching it as I do, following along with The Potential Cast. It is kind of fun to listen to people discuss the show you just watched and then watch the next one along with them. One piece of advice: avoid spoilers! I knew NOTHING about the show, not one detail, and it is really fun to go into it blind. In fact, if you also know nothing and decide to follow along with the podcast, there is a spoiler in one of the first episodes that they announce and I ignored it and listened to the spoiler and I was sorry! So don't listed to that spoiler, because the way they reveal it would have been really surprising and fun if you didn't know. Anyway- you should give this show a try, I have a feeling it is going to have some great times ahead.

Sorry for this trailer, but I had to find one without spoilers.

THE PAINTED VEIL (2006) [PG13] Drama/Romance. So this was an Ami recommendation that she has been waiting for me to see. Well, I saw it and liked it very much. I was confused for a while because I thought it was a Bollywood movie. She recommended it to me along with some Bollywood movies, which I thought were all Bollys and it turns out this is not so. I kept watching it thinking that this isn't what I expected Bollywood to be, but maybe I had some preconceived notions. I still might, but this was made in China and stars Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. It is a little independent film set in the twenties (maybe it was the thirties- I forget) and involves a young couple moving to China during the Cholera outbreak. Edward is an infectious disease doctor and Naomi just wants to get away from her family. It was a beautifully shot film and a great story. I really connected and felt for the Edward Norton character through the whole thing and am interested in reading the book it was based on to get a better look at what he went through, cause I found it very compelling. I connected with the Naomi Watts character also and felt very invested in her story too. Great casting, I mean, Norton is amazing in all his roles and he played what I would guess is a really interesting literary character, and played it awesome. Gosh, I really need to read that book. Have you read it Ami? Emily recommends this movie very much. Especially if you like yourself a good, tragic romance. Oh come on- you know it's got to be at least a little tragic. Great character movie and great scenery. Well done and well written. Alright Ami- what's next?

Wow- melodramatic trailer alert. I assure you that the movie isn't.

Next installment of WEBW will be up in a week or so- I'll be good I promise.

Lollipops and Crisps

2011-10-21T10:28:00.001-06:00

Elle's blog is now officially up and running. On occasion, I may double post (same blog post here and there), but I THINK I will be posting just pure Elinor updates on the other blog and Elinor shenanigans over here. At the moment it is almost purely double posts, so if you've kept up with this blog, at the moment it is pretty much just cut and pasted blogs relating to Elle's medical journey you've already read with the exception of this one.

Sorry for the fact that to keep up you'll have to follow both blogs, but I just really feel that this is the way to go from here. I appreciate all my readers and hope you enjoy both blogs, I really enjoy writing them.

PS there is a link to Lollipops and crisps on the side of my blog, but for the record, the url is : http://ourlittlelittle.blogspot.com/. (Some stupid, emo teenager took the url "lollipopsandcrisps" to make a stupid blog she wrote like 3 posts and declared that she hated it. Now the url is gone forever.)

I am still rankled over the waste.

Cheers!

Emily

Time to break out your violins and pipes

2011-10-18T22:27:00.001-06:00

(Or nicotine patches if you're a fan of the latest adaption.........and I am)

Alright all you Sherlocks-- the detective that is able to best piece together the events of this little crime wins.

When I bent down to check her out she raised her head and giggled. Someone was mighty proud of themselves.......

The game is afoot!

(Or "on" as it were)

School (School, School)

2011-10-17T21:43:00.001-06:00

This fall, school has hit this household like never before...........and I for one, think it's GREAT.

Here is the run down:

Dad

For those that may not know, Rob has decided to go back to school this fall. After the fall of real estate and his subsequent move into the wood refinishing business, he has decided that redoing cabinets is not what he wants to do for the rest of his life. This fall, we moved in with his dad, Rob bought a wood refinishing franchise, and has enrolled in full time school at UVU. He is getting a nursing degree, planning on taking it into hospital administration of some variety. The wood refinishing is going to keep him pretty busy we think, as will school of course. We have the idea to sell the business when school is over and be able to move on into something better, but it is a great opportunity for now that really kind of just fell into his lap. So far he is finding his psychology class a bit dull but is loving English and Nutrition. This is adding a new element to the family schedule, but is something I am really excited about and is working out good so far.

Scout

Scout started the 1st grade (in a new school might I add) this year. 1st grade is a big step-- all day, eating lunch, real school work, etc. I am happy to report that all elements are going really good. She has made some good friends already, I know that Sam was irreplaceable, but she seems to be doing fine without him and has found about 4 little girls to take his place. They don't play Mario and Bowser at recess though. *Mom bragging about her smart child alert* --Sorry, but Scout is my only child that has the ability to be an "academic", so all my proud-mom-book-smart-eggs are in her basket, so I am really proud of her. I roll my eyes as much as the next guy when moms brag incessantly about how smart their child is online, but like I said- she is my shot, so indulge me a little (or skip this next little bit). We just had our first parent/teacher conference and her teacher beamed about Scout. She is good in class and follows the rules, she is getting math concepts really well, has gotten 100% on every spelling test so far (except the first one, she didn't write anything for "I", -I can imagine she spaced for a second and didn't hear the teacher, cause I am reasonably sure she can spell "I"-). She also at the first of the year, tested as high in reading as they test 1st graders, so they put her in a 2nd grade class for reading time along with 4 other students in her class. *Ok, bragging over, it's safe again.*


First day of school. she was pretty excited- while walking with me down the hall to her class that morning, I was worried she was really nervous, but then she turns to me and says, "this is the best day of my life".

Later at a school "Cougar Walk". She is playing a cake walk kind of a thing, but the winner wins a school shirt. She played that game with strangely intense purpose in winning a shirt. I am happy to report that her efforts were successful.

Elinor

Elinor has started two weekly classes this fall. The first one we go to on Thursday mornings. It is a motor skills class (fine and gross). We start with free play where the therapists that run it visit each child and interact, help them find an activity that is good for them, and see how they are doing. Then we sit in a circle and sing songs with actions. Then we go to the "ball room" and practice gross motor skills. They have a lot of equipment for kids to strengthen the areas they need to and be able to play while doing it. Then we have snack time, honing our fine motor skills again under supervision to get tips and advice on their particular feeding skills. The above pic is Elle during free play, she is playing a little piano very Schroeder like- I love it.

This is a great class and once again, I am impressed with Kids on the Move. Some day, if I have a lot of money, I am going to donate a lot of it to them.

Then on Friday mornings, we head to Highland, and go to a horseback riding class called "Courage Reins". It is a center that does therapeutic horseback riding for people/kids with disabilities. It is really awesome! When it was mentioned to me, I just went -Sure! Sign her up- as many things like this that help the better I say. But the first few minutes she was on the horse that first time, I could see what a great thing this is going to be. I am amazed by what horse back riding could do for her. It is hard work staying steady on them, and she did really well. I think before we make too much progress on Elle's gross motor skills, she needs to develop more trunk strength and not just in the abs, and this riding once a week is going to be great for that. By the way, no- Scout has no idea we do this every Friday. She is at school and I figure that what she doesn't know that goes on- is just me being a nice mom.

Waiting for her turn to ride

I love this pic (I had a hard time getting a good pic that day, this was as good as it got).

Riding backwards- extra tricky. Betsy works that girl good. (Betsy is her PT (in the tan shirt)- she has a Sesame Street shirt she wears just for Elles sometimes. We like Betsy.)

We were dropped off that first day, and walked to Kohler's to wait for dad. Almost the entire walk, Elle held her legs out like this. I don't know if it had to do with her 20 minute horseback ride or not- either way, it cracked me up.


She spent a period with just one leg up at the end there. So silly.

We saw a katy-did on our way and took a picture of it to show Scout. Least I could do considering the horses and all. Mommy really feels guilty little sis gets to ride horses every week. I really do. Hope I can keep it from her forever. We'll see.

Mom

Nope. Mom did not join the school ranks. (Unless you count the fact that she tries to keep the kids and the house quiet while daddy studies and supports him any way she can so he can do his best. Walks Scout to and from school every day, sits down with her every night with her homework and helps Scout read and attends her book club group and joined the PTA (and packs her school lunch when the menu reveals that today's entree is gross). Takes and participates in both of Elinor's classes and supports her as best she can, doing Elle's little homework everyday, and attends and participates in each and every one of her 8+ appointments every month.)

Phew. School is hard work for mom, even when she isn't the one going. Love it all though. I'm even finding a way to love the fact that Scout got put in the early schedule and has to be at school at 8 and comes home at 2:15. I really wanted the 9:15 to 3:30 schedule, but it was not to be. Gets my butt out of bed and dressed early every day, and that really is a good thing.

Can someone please explain how people do this with 5 kids?

Full Disclosure

2011-10-09T22:39:00.002-06:00

This is what my kitchen looks like right now.

Why am I showing you all this picture? I was inspired by my Relief Society lesson today. Our lesson was on Pres. Uchtdorf's recent talk about the forget me nots and when we got to the petal "Forget not to be patient with yourself" we spent some time discussing how others may seem perfect to you and that brings you down, because it is harder to forgive yourself of your imperfections then to forgive others. This brought my mind back to the problem that is out there that people find it so easy to put their best foot forward on their blog and weed out all the crap in their lives and just tell and show pics of the idealistic world they want to show and this is making some women feel bad. They read them and think about how perfect this woman's life seems to be and then they look at their life and you can't weed out the imperfections as easily when they are surrounding you. I've brought this up before on my blog, but after today, it seems worthy of revisiting. I don't want my blog to become that...... so there is my kitchen in all it's glory. (Lest any of you have been reading my blog and feeling bad about the idyllic beauty and perfection that is my life.)

Why does my kitchen look like this?

Well, that's simple (kind of). We moved into this house and my husband wanted to redo the cabinets right away, so I never did unpack my kitchen, just stacked the boxes of all the stuff I'd need around the table. Then life and months happened and the cabinet project is half done, out of necessity I have put some things in the cupboards haphazardly, and the kitchen has become a fantastic dumping ground for baby equipment and work stuff. The good news is Rob thinks he has progressed to the stage where I can load the cupboards and a little while after that (Saturday) I snapped and had it. I am organizing and scrubbing the cupboards one by one and getting everything in them and then am going to throw the boxes as far from my kitchen as they will go then I will find a place for everything that does not belong in the kitchen. At that point, we may not have doors on the cupboards, but we will be able to move around in there and maybe even utilize the table. We still will have that golden colored fridge that freezes all the vegetables I bring home, but maybe just maybe, it will inspire us to get the bigger nicer beautiful black glass fridge fixed that is standing unused and wasted in the car port at the moment. Ah, dreams........

Here is the view from the other side. This view gives you a peak at the matching golden oven that has only two (dubiously) working burners. It also shows the new computer I am typing on right now that never got moved to it's proper place in our bedroom.

All in good time guys.

Did I mention that my dog has emotional problems and sucks her paws?

Potpourri (or a little Scout, a little Elles and a little Radiohead)

2011-09-26T16:02:00.002-06:00

I've got some updates and information and blurbs about the lot, so I figured I would combine them into one post so you could get caught up on three of my very favorite things

(I have more then 3 favorite things- Rob comes to mind, but I don't have an update of him on this post).

taken on Saturday morning, being a black footed ferret

Scout:

Scout suffered this weekend with another UTI. Of course my girls only get things like this on Saturday, making it hard to get to see a doctor. Saturday she had a stuffy nose and a sore throat and a low grade fever. Saturday night she showed signs to me of a UTI. Sunday she seemed pretty good if not a little feverish. It was the Primary program in church and she had a speaking part, so we convinced her to get dressed and go anyway. She has been nervous like crazy about this for months and has practiced, memorized her lines, and even had the courage to do it (once in a while). We thought it was important that she ended up doing it, so we took her. I would like to report that she was such a brave good girl and did it. She was so scared and it took a lot of convincing and Paw Prints in a little purse around her shoulders going up there with her, but she did it. We really were proud of her. She said her part as fast as I've ever heard her talk, but she did it without looking at her cheat sheet AND feeling like crap. I took her home after sacrament meeting and spared her the other 2 hours if that gains me any points for forcing her to go.

She took Advil through the day and seemed almost like her old self. She woke up this morning pretty sad and hot and her back hurt in the kidney area. Uh oh. I made a morning appointment for her and she is now armed with antibiotics. The deal is, the doctor said that if she still has a fever noon tomorrow, he wants to see her again and will probably recommend having the antibiotics administered through IV and that means the hospital!! I guess the fever, which was over 102 at the doctor and it obviously getting into the kidneys makes the doctor not want to take any chances. Yikes. I would hate to have this happen to her. She really seems great right now, so I have confidence that she will be fine with the antibiotics we have at home. I can hear her right now singing cute songs, putting on costumes and playing with her jungle animals. We did decide to get her checked out fully in a few weeks in regards to her urinary tract (she was diagnosed with reflux in the kidneys at about 3 months old, when she had her first UTI). We are going to revisit those tests and see what they can tell us, including an ultrasound and this xray thing that is very unpleasant involving a catheter and medical imaging. She had that test twice before 2 but not since. This time they are going to sedate her cause it can be "tramatic" as they put it. I think it was traumatic for her back in the day and very possibly what has caused her fear of doctors. She isn't as scared of doctors right now as needles and shots (which of course go along with doctors), and I am afraid she is going to be getting some of those. Good news is, they discovered that they can do it in Provo (Utah Valley Medical Center) instead of up at Primary's where she had the others, so that is something I guess. We are really hoping and hoping for results that don't include the "S" word.

************Scout Update***************

She woke up fever free and went to school, so I am very optimistic.

Elinor:

Ellsies got fitted last week with splints for her thumbs. They are worn all the time, not including baths and eating. They keep her little thumbs out so she doesn't keep them in like she does and scratch them and all that bad stuff. If they do their job, they should train her brain not to do that and make them used to being out and have her hands eventually work like normal little hands should. She has really gotten good at adapting to no thumbs and holding stuff with them in and that is no good, we would much rather her use her hands like humans, as opposed to apes. They don't seem to even phase her, she is just fine with them on (of course she is, given the tolerant little thing that she is), and we are noticing that she really doesn't do the hand flapping with them on. She relaxes them a lot more. Once I take them off however, she has a hand flapping party, but it's only been a couple days, so I would love to see that stop too. Wouldn't that be awesome? We are surprised that she stops the behavior with them on though. Didn't think it would be that dramatic, but it seems to be right now. So we are encouraged.

We are heading to Primary Children's tomorrow, going to an appointment/ meeting with her doctors. Dr. Carey arranged a meeting with us, himself, Dr. Filloux (her neurologist), and I think some interns, etc. where we are going to go back to square one with her diagnoses. He told us on the phone that it isn't really that strange if she has Angelman's that we haven't picked it up on the tests yet, (I assume this is because since she only has about 20% of the symptoms, it isn't a stretch that she would be in the lesser 20% cases that aren't picked up by the tests he has run thus far. He listened to Rob tell him his concerns about her symptoms and things we feel she has lost and digressed in and he mentioned that it could possibly be something biochemical. I googled biochemical and got a lot of talk about bio polar disorder and schizophrenia and I know that can't be right, so I decided quickly to not google anymore and just wait for the appointment. I did however mention it to her cognitive therapist and she said he would be talking about babies that are born with an inability to process some metals or proteins or something like that, and so as the thing they can't process builds up, their body starts acting strange and reacting to it. This is very interesting to me, thinking about the slight possibility it is something like that and wondering if she could be treated with a pill or something. I don't know, trying not to think about it and for sure not getting my hopes up. Just interesting. I'm sure we'll know more tomorrow. The appointment is at 4, and I will for sure update soon. I would like to point out how horrible and complicated our day could be tomorrow if Scout actually had to be admitted to the hospital. Seriously? Could that actually happen? Cause I think that is just a little too much don't you agree? Fates? Heavenly Father? Karma? I am letting you all know I'm not seeing that as being very nice. (and if it is the way it is going to be, I'm going to need some instructions on how to figure it all out and make it work.)

***************Elinor Update****************\

Last night's appointment went great. Dr. Filloux was unable to make it at the last minute, but that didn't really matter to me. Dr. Carey has been discussing Elles with colleagues from around the country. Since he had a few directions to go when it comes to our next step in trying for a diagnosis, he thought it best to see Elle again in person before he decided the smartest direction to go. His recommendation is to go with a broader rett test (his other idea at this point (the idea from a Angelman expert in Boston), is to do an eeg test -which measures brain waves) apparently Angelman brains have really screwy eeg tests even if seizures aren't present. If she gets a screwy test result that will tip the scales towards it being Angelman's quite a bit. BUT given her (I forgot what he called it- the movements she has developed with her fingers), he would point more towards rett. Here is some good news: 1. She would definitely have a lesser variant of the syndrome, and he would not expect us to see any dramatic losses at this point (ie my fear of losing eye contact and eating capabilities are very very unlikely given how she presents). 2. Seizures starting at this time in her life with rett (after 2) are highly unlikely. 3. Since she has shown improvement in all areas of development according to her last evaluation in August and even though we have seen some things drop off her abilities/stuff she does, he said that she would not classify as "regressing". We figured that any loss would mean she is regressing, but apparently since she is overall showing improvement, that is a promising thing. 4. Dr. Carey upon observation, feels that her limitations with her hands and body are affecting her cognitive abilities more then we might guess. This gives me great hope that we will see greater things from her. She really is more interested in toys these days and she is showing quite a bit of improvement in her motor skills- therefore, they will improve and as they improve, her cognitive skills should improve. 5. He gave us a bit of hope about some things rett kids can do given her possible variables (ie some verbal skills, etc.) 6. It was nice again to see with my own eyes such a wonderful doctor being so invested in our little girl and the long amount of time he was willing to spend talking to us and listening to our concerns and explanations (not to mention all the time he has spent discussing her with his peers). It makes me sad to think that everyone in a situation similar to ours doesn't have the same experience. We have absolutely hit the jackpot with Elle's team of doctors and therapists. It makes me a little weepy thinking about how great everyone is and how much they invest in and love our daughter. That is soooo important to you as a parent.

Also--- Dr. Cary pretty much shelved the idea that she has a biochemical problem yesterday given her overall good health. She really is super healthy and almost never sick. That doesn't mesh with having a biochemical problem.

Radiohead:

Thom Yorke announced that they are going to be TOURING next year. Rumors about a tour have been circulating for a few months and taunting me, but I haven't allowed myself to believe it. Having Thom say it in so many words this week cinched it for me. HOLY CRAP!!!! I am going. There is no way they are coming to Salt Lake, so Matt, B, Cat?, Rob......pack your bags kids. We're going-- this is your chance to see Emily hyperventilate, have a heart attack, faint, or any combo of the three (I wouldn't be surprised if they came to Denver or Vegas, but we may have to go to California). I am not missing it this time if I have to go without food for a month. 2012 is also seeing my parent's 50th wedding anniversary which the family is going to celebrate in Mexico in August. So I am thinking that 2012 is going to be EPIC as long as the 2012 Mayan thing doesn't pan out- if it does, that would make it epic too I guess, but the end of the world is not allowed to happen until Emily sees Radiohead live.

*shaking my fist at the Mayan gods*

Also, this has been a grand Radiohead week, they performed on the season premier of SNL on Saturday and tonight they are going to be on a Cobert Report Special. Good, good times.

Here are a couple promos that aired for SNL and they are so funny.

Alec Baldwin cracks me up (I particularly liked the first one).

*****Colbert Report Update*****

It was really exciting watching this and seeing that the majority of the show was dedicated to Radiohead. Thom's interviews were as endearingly awkward as ever and I must say- I love Stephen Colbert, but him juxtaposed with Radiohead was...... I don't know-- a little cringe worthy a few times. BUT didn't take much away from it. (Maybe I'm just not in the mood for any shenanigans when Radiohead is around- I'm all business.) Made me laugh a lot though. I just know they have very very strong feelings when it comes to matters of global warming and what they do as a band to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible (why they won't come to SLC) and they weren't given a chance to talk about too much of what they do, but I suppose that doesn't matter too much. Look at me! I feel like I am coming across as negative about the show and that is not my intention. I absolutely loved it

"Prepare yourselves Radiohead, you're about to meet television face"

Below is the shining jewel of the night, they sang a song I hadn't heard yet called "The Daily Mail" and it Totally. Kicked. My. Trash. (in a really good way). This song is from a live session they did and put on the interwebs called "From the Basement" back in June and I hadn't been bothered to listen to it yet. Who knew they debuted a fricken amazing song on it? Not me apparently.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Can I mention how much I love that Cobert's Harry Potter joke made Thom laugh? (that intro was cut out of the show, so didn't see that until now. Awesome.

Oh, and did I also mention they surprised me with "The National Anthem" at the end? No? Well they did. Second best moment.

(Worst moment was cutting the program off before the song was done. I got to finish it this morning online though.)

Exhaustion

2011-09-15T14:34:00.004-06:00

This is what happens when you spend an hour in your crib partying with your mobile friends instead of taking your nap.

Then after falling asleep, sleep for a total of 5 minutes.

Then mommy makes you practice walking in your gait trainer while she sweeps the crab apples from the driveway.

I love the little puddle of drool.

Just Like Heaven

2011-09-08T10:54:00.003-06:00

*Before I write this post, I thought I would just make a small request to my readers. I am going to be sharing some religious views I have that mean a great deal to me, so I ask that you treat them with respect while on my blog. Being respectful of everyone's religious ideals is something I personally take very seriously and strive in my own life to always do, so I just ask while here, you do the same.*

Alright now that's out of the way, I thought I would use this post to share a few of my thoughts on what is going on with my youngest daughter, Elinor. If you are a regular reader, you already know the story of where we are with her and how we got here. If not, I will briefly sum up the journey we have had.

When Scout was 18 months old, I was pregnant with a crazy difficult pregnancy that made me feel terrible all the time. I even threw up a few times a week (for those that know me well, you know what a big deal that was). I felt terrible, I bled quite a bit, had migranes and I was measuring big. I went to the doctors a few times while bleeding to see if I was miscarrying and they always found a heartbeat. So they sent me home. One day they couldn't detect one, and did an ultrasound and during that ultrasound we were told that our baby had passed away and that I might get cancer from this pregnancy. They took the baby that next morning using a high risk procedure that was supposed to cause me to hemorrhage and definitely need blood transfusions and there was a chance of a hysterectomy. I woke up to find out that miraculously I didn't even need a transfusion. The doctor was quite surprised. After testing, they found out that I was really pregnant with twins, one baby was perfectly normal, the other was a complete molar pregnancy that was made out of abnormal cells that eventually suffocated the twin and invaded my body with abnormal cells (that is what causes the cancer and the need for chemo). The way they test whether you need chemo or not is to test your hcg hormone with a blood test once a week until it is gone, or starts creeping back up. Every week mine fell and fell and against all odds, it went to zero naturally. I say against all odds because for women with a cmp and a twin, they almost always end up needing chemo. In fact, my hcg on surgery date was 1.8 million which is the highest I have found on the internet, and I think I am the only woman I have seen that came down from the same sort of situation without chemo. This was exciting for many reasons, but mostly because the time line it took me to get to zero (almost 7 weeks) gave me the green light to start trying for another baby right away. The loss I had at 19 weeks pregnant made me ache for a baby in my arms as quickly as possible. Plus, Rob and I had plans to get Scout a sibling quickly. Two years went by and there was no baby. The doctor's couldn't figure it out. Molar pregnancies aren't supposed to cause infertility. They finally figured out I had a messed up fallopian tube and put me on Clomid. After 3 months of that, I was finally pregnant! I was shocked and we were overjoyed. This pregnancy felt more like Scout's, I felt great, everything was going awesome, but I was nervous. The last one was such a giant fiasco, you can't help but be scared. During the ultra sound we found out we were having another girl and we (especially Scout) were overjoyed again. That summer we had a scare with her heart beat, she had an arrhythmia. After some specialists, we found out that it wasn't a problem and it went away.

Birth day came and I was induced. When she came she had the cord around her neck, and was blue. She had a terrible first apgar, but a great second one. The first day she didn't want to nurse and the nurses made a huge deal out of it, but when she finally got hungry, she nursed away like she'd been doing it her whole life. We took her home and marveled at the sweet little baby we had. She was the sweetest, quietest little thing ever. She slept great. She didn't want anything to do with a binkie after she was about 3 weeks old, but that was ok, she didn't seem to need one. She started sucking her tongue instead (I didn't know that was what she was doing until much later). She didn't seem to be able to figure bottles out, which wasn't as ok as the binkie thing, but we managed. She started using her feet in interesting ways. She would hold a toy in her feet and play with it with her hands. Kind of weird, but very entertaining. She didn't do things as fast as Scout, but I was determined not to compare my kids, so I let her do things on her time. We managed to get her to sit by herself reasonably well by 9 months. She finally figured the bottle thing out at 11 months (just in time!) When we got to her first birthday, I shelved the worry that she wasn't crawling yet (let alone walking). We chalked it up to her being so dang happy and content no matter what she was doing. She didn't need to go places, she was just fine where she was. She was so happy! She started laughing 6 weeks earlier then Scout did. Her laughs were almost always reserved for Scout.

By 15 months and nothing having changed, the worry was getting harder to ignore. I finally mentioned my fears to my doctor (they were about the cord being around her neck at birth, I was secretly fearing that she had suffered brain damage). We took her in for a neuro exam with her ped and she did fine. He mentioned that we could contact Kids on the Move (they are a program with our local school district that help kids 0-3 that are developmentally behind). He suggested that these people could maybe get her moving and they often observe more then a doctor that only sees a child during an office visit. So we did and they accepted her in their program. Right away, they could see that something wasn't quite right with her. This started a chain of testing, including appointments with Primary Children's Medical Center in Genetics and Neurology. We were scared, but couldn't imagine she was really bad off. After a few more months though, I started accepting that we were probably looking at something more then a child with a few learning disabilities.

After talking to her Geneticist, we basically found out that we were most likely looking at a child that had severe mental and physical challenges. Because of her history and a few other clues (including her extreme sweetness and happy demeanor) the doctor figured she had Angelman's Syndrome. He also thought it could be Rett Syndrome. We took her home that day and a feeling of peace and acceptance washed over me. I was ok with this. I knew we would have a different life then I had planned, but somehow, this was ok. Elinor was the nicest baby I had ever been around, so how could it not be ok? As of now, she has had two Angleman tests (both normal, which knocks out 80% likelihood of that one), one rett test (normal, I don't know the odds) and an MRI which also was normal (that takes away any chance that we are looking at brain damage and tells us what she has is strictly genetic). We are facing more genetic tests to isolate the genes that Angleman and Rett effect. Where we go from there, is most likely no answers.

I do know one thing. Elinor is exactly the person she was meant to be and she is exactly where she was meant to be. We went through a lot to get her here and I am grateful every hour of the day that she is my baby. She makes me feel so good when she is around, it's like she radiates this feeling of peace and love that really soothes my soul. I don't know what I ever did without her. Shortly after finding out all this, I came across a sister of an old friend's blog that has a daughter with cerebral palsey and she had a quote on that post I read that has changed my life. It is from a book called "The Water Giver", a book written by a mom that had a son with sensory issues and pretty big learning disabitlites and she really really struggled with that and they did not have a good relationship. At 15, he was in a skateboard accident and suffered severe head trauma. He was in a coma for months and during this time, she totally changed and when he woke up, they had a beautiful relationship from then on, because she learned to accept him for who he was. She ended her book with this (which is the quote I liked so much):

"Motherhood is about raising -and celebrating- the child you have, not the child you thought you would have. It's about understanding that he is exactly the person he is supposed to be. And that, if you're lucky, he just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be."

I have no doubt in my mind that Elinor is going to be one of my greatest teachers. I like how she said person instead of mother, because I feel that Elinor is here not just to make me the mother I need to be to my two girls, but the person I need to be to come even close to reaching my potential.

My church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or "Mormons") has some very fundamental views on Heaven and this life on earth. We believe that we are spiritual beings that are currently living a life on earth and when that life is done, we will go back to living the spiritual life we were living, with this earth life just being a tiny part of our eternal life. This is the Lord's plan for us. As part of our spiritual journey, we need to spend some time on earth as a very important part of our plan (important, even if it is a comparably short time). It is, for lack of a better term, a test. We are being tested on this earth to see how well we do. How we treat our fellow man, and how we treat God. We are experiencing things we can't experience anywhere else, mostly temptations and having free agency to make our own choices. We can only hope that we do ok here and make some right choices now and then and then move on to greater things after we are gone. Our families on earth are our families in heaven and have the opportunity to be together forever some day.

We believe that sometimes there are spirits that are perfect. They somehow are beings that don't need to be tested on earth. I am a person that needed to come to earth to go through the ups and downs and choices and to prove myself worthy of living a life in heaven with God, etc. Elinor needs no such test. She is there already. She has a free ticket to heaven (as do I believe, some babies that are taken before they have the opportunity to make choices and live a life here, also included are people that mentally have no way of being accountable for their choices). A huge part of this "plan" is to gain a body, even if it is just for a short time. Some babies are taken before they can even take their first breath. Some, come to this earth for us, not them. That is what we believe Elles is here for. She doesn't need this, but we need her. We need her to teach us that life is about so much more. I am sure she has a lot to teach anyone that will listen.

I don't know what the future brings for Elinor. I don't know how far she will go in life. I don't know if she will ever walk. Chances are that she will never talk, we might get a few words out of her if we are lucky, but it looks like she most likely won't develop any real language skills. If she has rett, I really don't know where our future could lead, she may loose the ability to even feed herself or use her hands with any purposeful movements. Or, and this one fills me with the most fear, she could stop making eye contact with us. Although, she used a spoon pretty good for the first time this week and we are over the moon about it. Her hands seem to have a little more control then they did a few months ago.

That is another gift she's given us. I can't describe the feeling we get when she accomplishes something. What a wonderful feeling it is to see her overcome her limitations and progress. I don't want to discredit the awesome milestones that Scout has reached. That is awesome too, but with Elle's limitations, her triumphs are grand indeed. It's a different feeling and makes me feel a joy I can't describe. I am so grateful to be able to celebrate a child's little advances in such a way, they each feel like a miracle and miracles are special things to witness. I look forward to her many triumphs to come.

One of the most remarkable things about all this, is that I have a daughter that I will meet properly only after we have both passed. I will most likely never have a conversation with her on this earth. When she sheds this earthly body, she will be whole, and have a sound mind and be able to do anything and everything she can't do here with her limitations. What a reunion that I have to look forward to! (But hopefully not for a long, long time........I can wait 60 years or so.)

I think Elle is going to (if I let her), change me in ways I needed to be changed. What better motivation could I have to be the best person I can be, then to have this shining example of goodness and such a beautiful spirit in my own home? I am not the person I should be, I make mistakes every day and wrong choices. I don't do all that I should be doing. But I want to do better, Elinor more then anything I have ever come across in my life, makes me want to do better. It gives me pause and makes me feel so humbled that Heavenly Father trusted me to raise one of His special spirits. I only hope I can endeavor to live a life that makes me deserving of her, and raise her to make my Heavenly Father proud. I bet she was hard to let go of, maybe that's why it took so long to get her here.

Untitled from Emily Pugh on Vimeo.

This is a video my brother Matt and his wife Bronwyn (B) made for Elinor. Thank you so much you guys for making this video for our special little one.
I hope you all like it and can get a glimpse of the joy we feel living every day with this beautiful girl.

What Emily's Been Watching, August Edition

2011-09-05T01:36:00.000-06:00

No intro this month, can't think of one.

THE TREE OF LIFE (2011) [PG-13] Drama. What started for me as a "I kind of want to see this movie and if I do, it better be in the theater because it is supposed to be visually stunning and my crappy tv that wouldn't know what to do if ever confronted with a Blue Ray would never do it justice, so who do I know that would be interested in seeing this with me? I bet Sue would..." turned into a reunion of the Utah peeps movie club, or, family in Utah that wants to get together once a month to see a movie in the theater (which has been unofficially disbanded for probably about a year now). Posting my invite to Sue on facebook raised interest and so 4 of us (+ cousin Dan and sister Cat) went to the Broadway Theater (only theater in Utah that frequently plays arthouse films.). This is a movie that Terrence Malick has been working on for many many years. My only other Terrence Malick experience was The Thin Red Line, and I am perhaps the only person I know that liked that movie more then Saving Private Ryan (the two movies were compared a lot since they were both released in 98 and were about WWII), I just was more impressed/blown away with The Thin Red Line, and most other people I hung around with at the time couldn't stop talking about Private Ryan and thought I was a little nuts. Perhaps, but Terrence Malick had my respect, and he certainly didn't lose it here.

So, The Tree of Life.There is very little narrative, but narrative is not important here. This is a movie that was conceived to allow the viewer to get out of it what they want to, without holding your hand and making sure you get what you are supposed to out of it, and if all you get out of it is a few unbelievable camera shots, it was worth sitting through. Because, visually, it was incredible, many moments of the film gave me that feeling I get wandering around an especially great art exhibit or stunning cathedral, you know that feeling where you just feel like you are going to drown in beauty and you almost can't comprehend it? (I got that feeling a few times watching Planet Earth to be honest.) Besides the visuals, it was just a good film that inspired you to think. I thought and let my mind wander the whole time I was watching it, I thought during the drive home, I thought trying to get to sleep that night, and I dreamed thoughts about it through the night.

It revolves around a 1950's Texas family, but it is more a spiritual journey that goes back to the beginning of time and our place in the universe and accepting loss and I could go on, but I won't. You should experience it for yourself. Or not. This movie is not for everyone. Many people may be bored. Many might be frustrated that there isn't a really concise story to tell. I think that is ok. You probably know pretty much right now if this movie is for you or not. It is a little surreal, yes- perhaps a little pretentious, and quite a bit avant-gard. If you go into it with the right frame of mind and let your mind go with it and think in different directions and let your eyes feast on some beautiful imagery, I think you will walk away from this picture a little changed. Emily's brain hurts. Let's move on to:

Wait, first a trailer of Tree of Life, then we'll move on.

TWIN PEAKS, THE COMPLETE SERIES (1990-91) [NR] Crime Drama. Oh Twin Peaks, where do I begin? Lets begin with the fact that I spent the rest of my entire month lost in Twin Peaks land. This is a show I have always meant and wanted to catch up with. I have heard about it since it aired with I was in middle school. It was one of those television events in history that found it's way into everyone's consciousness when it was airing no matter what your age or situation. It was big. Now I know why. What a crazy, messed up, wonderful, head shaking ride. Let's just say that David Lynch had me in the first half hour and had a life long fan by the 4th or 5th episode. I even forgave the crazy directions it went in the second season, crazy directionless drivel though it was. When it was bad it was BAD I am talking brow furrowing, soap opera, crap. I could also mean some really really bad special effects. But when it was good, it was some of the best tv I have ever seen in my life. The good stuff made the bad stuff kind of endearing in a way I don't know if I can explain. David Lynch man, that guy is a GENIUS. By genius I mean he has a way of making weird and awkward so cool. He (when directing) would hold some scenes uncomfortably long, he would throw things in that were just straight up too weird to comprehend. He also had a role in the show for maybe 4 episodes and I enjoyed his character so much. He played FBI agent Cole, who is deaf and so he yelled everything and everyone talking to him had to yell and it was just executed so great. Every time he showed up it was a total treat. There is a moment where Agent Dale Cooper walks into the station looking straight ahead, has no idea Cole is around, but he stops and without looking snaps in Cole's direction and at the same time Cole says (yells) "A-gent Dale Cooper!" without looking too. It is just so them, you don't even really know Cole, but this little moment is all you need to know about them. Did I say Dale Cooper? Oh yeah, perhaps I should bring him up since he is the shining gem of this series but I think he is going to be too hard to explain to my satisfaction. He is perhaps my favorite character ever written for tv. I think I have become a total Twin Peaks fan girl and Agent Cooper is why. He is quirky, he likes pie, trees, coffee, donuts and Tibet. He tweaks the Sheriff's nose and gives the best thumbs up and snaps ever. Kyle MacLachlan's delivery and timing should be studied by every actor that ever came after him. BRILLIANT. Hmmmm. Maybe I should explain what this show is about. Basically, it begins with the homecoming queen found dead on the beach. We then are thrown into the lives of the people of the town and trying to find out who killed her. Everyone turns out to be seedy and have private lives that is more then meets the eye including Laura Palmer (dead girl), who isn't the squeaky clean girl you might think she is. It isn't all as straight forward as that, in fact it goes bat crazy from there. I'm talking little-person-dancing-in-a-black-and-white-and-red-room-talking-backwards crazy. And then it begins to get weird. There are many characters and storylines and scenes I couldn't give a CRAP about. But then there are characters and story lines and scenes I will remember forever.
This entire show is a coo-coo experience and I am so glad I took the plunge. It is a shame it got cancelled and therefore the series has ended with a million cliffhangers, including one that knocked my socks totally off, but also in a way, it was a perfect way to end it and I can think and stew and let my imagination go a little nuts. It had some jump worthy scarey moments I didn't expect to be a part of the show, and also has a scene that made my jaw hit the floor while watching and then it hit the floor again when I realized that it showed on prime time, network tv in 1991. Seriously disturbing, On another note, while I have a lot to say about her character and none of it is good, I have found the only role to date where I could stand Heather Graham. Didn't know that could exist. I would also like to thank Twin Peaks for introducing me to the best gun racks EVER that apparently exist outside this show that makes me wonder if hunters have a sense of irony I knew not- or it could be total ignorant hillbilly offensiveness (either way it's great). Also, if you were wondering, the portrayal of Laura's father done by Phil Hartman when SNL did a Twin Peaks parody was not hyperbolic AT ALL. Emily recommends Twin Peaks if you think you can handle it. Again, probably not for everybody, but for who it's for, you may know who you are and you people are in for a massive treat. And if you find yourself in the middle of the second season wishing things would get better, hold on to your pants, it is worth it to stick it out.

Twin Peaks parody by Saturday Night Live (1990) by Malmignatte

I also watched Sherlock again. This time on DVD so I could watch the commentaries and extras. Yummy.

I guess Twin Peaks will have to be my Wall of Shame movie for the month, since it is about all I got around to watching (it's on Netflix streaming by the way). It is a series that most well versed tv people know and love, and I've always meant to watch, but it isn't quite what I meant when I was going to knock off wall of shame stuff. Oh well, my blog, my rules, my world. Twin Peaks, Wall of Shame. Boom.

Random Scoutiness VII

2011-09-01T23:59:00.000-06:00

I was in the shower one morning and Scout pops her head into the bathroom and calls out, "mom, I am going to go golfing in the backyard and pretend that I am Scooby Doo and that I am in Scotland". "Ok" I answer back not thinking a whole lot about it. To be honest, this isn't such a weird sentence to come out of Scout's mouth. Pretty routine actually. I did check it all out when I was dry and dressed and was delighted by the scene I saw:

Slight clothing malfunction here, but I was actually impressed she was able to figure that kilt out by herself.

Scout lost her first tooth last month:

This one was followed by the other bottom front. Rob and I have consequently found something out about Scout: She is a total WIMP when it comes to pulling out her teeth. She eventually let us pull the teeth out, but not before they were hanging by the smallest thread and the new tooth is growing quite big and shark like behind them. She is currently speaking with an ever so slight and cute lisp. Very understated, but noticeable.

Here is just a sample of some afternoon play:

She set up a beach scene with a large number of small animals. Each has their own towel and each one is doing something different.

Here is a closeup, cause the charm is in the details.

I had to get a picture of these guys, they were the center of play for at least 3 days. It is a little crocodile and an otter. They had many adventures together including going on safari, driving bulldozers, visiting Nessie at Loch Ness (all done while dressed very spiff in their bowler hats). I wish I could remember their names, but it's been too long. Scout will remember I'm sure.

Here we have a mask she made so she could be a more convincing caracal. I just thought it was cute and thought it was worth noting that the markings on the mask are accurate. Also note that the mask is just taped directly to her face. (This was a less complicated option to string or elastic.)

Yes, I know she has giant holes at the knees, but you come over and throw away her beloved pink animal dunglees!

This is just a little blurb that doesn't have a picture to accompany it:

She walks in to where I am and asked me to tell her something that I have always wanted and now have- so I tell her a husband I love and two of the cutest little girls ever. She goes-

"No. That thing doesn't fit in my air-hawke basket".

(I later learned that she was pretending that an old Easter basket was being carried by a remote control helicopter she has been wanting since she saw a commercial for it weeks before. A few days later she told me (after I asked her to hand me something) that if she had that helicopter, she could fly it over to me. Obviously, she has some great shines to get her hands on one of these things and have it do stuff for her and also, it could bring me stuff I really want- nothing like a husband and kids though it would have to be stuff that can fit in the basket).

I just really get a kick out of trying to imagine what goes on in that little mind of hers and when I do, the imagry can really make me laugh................ and her with that helicopter really does it for me.

Last month when Matt and B came down for that Bright Eyes concert, they were greeted (I am very sad I didn't get a picture of this) by Scout on the porch sitting on an office chair with a cardboard box desk, wearing devil horns with a giant book for her ledger. She said she was making contracts. Before you (as did Matt and B) think they were about to sign their souls to the devil, you should note that the horns were there because she was being a buffalo and devil horns were the only horns we have.

(Being a buffalo had nothing to do with the contract business she was doing, it was just happenstance- she IS Scout so really, no further explanation should be necessary.)

Here is the list of people that were to get contracts that evening:

Here is Matt and B's (Bee's) contract:

Rough translation: We will have a time we will remember

This is my contract:

Translation: About giving Scout hugs and kisses: you can and you may

Rob's:

About dad loving me: you can and you may. (But no slops on the head).

We aren't exactly sure what a slop on the head is, but we are pretty sure she has yet to get one from her father, and well- now, he is contractually obligated to make sure she doesn't.

That next day, she was asking us all to tell her what we want to get as presents or just anything we wish we had. It was easier to just come up with something and let her stay busy drawing. I don't remember everything, but Matt got a skateboard, B got a new dress, and I got a new dress too, a new car, a trip to Mexico (I just said a trip somewhere and she picked Mexico), and I also got a robot maid that did all my chores (I was getting desperate coming up with things). While the robot maid picture was awesome, (very Jetson's "Rosie", but had one red laser eye), my favorite turned out to be the ipad I asked for:

She drew "angry birds".

In case you were wondering, this was done with blogger's new format.

YAR that was annoying! I am sure it looks totally screwy, but I did the best I could and had a heck of a time moving pics around. They better smooth the bugs out of this, or they are going to have some majorly irate bloggers.

I didn't dare switch back mid post either from fear that I would lose my work. So apologies for the weirdness, if it annoys you to read, take it up with blogger.

You can and you may.

Gone

2011-08-20T22:37:00.007-06:00

Well, most of it anyways.

My favorite part is that it has made the neck that much more kissable.

(The broccoli on the forehead adds a nice effect, eh?)

The MRI

2011-08-18T07:34:00.016-06:00

Well, Elle had an MRI on Friday morning. Since we have been getting negative test results with the genetic testing, Dr. Carey thought it was time to rule anything out that might be found on an MRI. Which mostly would be structure problems, brain damage, or even a tumor or something. I knew months ago that getting an MRI was a possibility and I have been dreading it. It did indeed prove to be hard and scarey, but like everything else, we all got through it together and are grateful it's done.

Luckily, Matt and B happened to be down here staying with us (they went to a Bright Eyes concert the night before), so they were able to be home with Scout during the procedure. We had to be there at 6:30 in the morning! That meant we had to get up at 5:15 to make it up there. We did it early because she had to be sedated fully and therefore needed to fast, so they schedule the littlest ones early. This turned out not to be an issue. I fed her later then usual the night before and was able to give her a bottle up until midnight, so I gave her one around 10 and she never needed one after that (which is usual), so that all worked out great.

She slept the whole way there and woke up at the hospital. We had to register and check in and the place was totally empty except one nurse, one receptionist and a night watchman. The nurse did Elle's vitals and all of that stuff then we had to wait for another nurse to get there to start an IV. Elles was pretty cute. Then a little after 7 they put the IV in her hand (she hated that!) She doesn't like her hands restricted or held most the time cause those little hands have their own agenda which usually involves being up in the air and fingers clenching into fists. So taking her hand and putting it behind daddy's back was not too cool with her. Then they had the nerve to stick it with a needle and then wrap it up in bumble bee bandages. The nurse choose bumblebees cause she was wearing a smock with little smiling bees on it and Elinor loved it and kept leaning in to get closer looks. That was sweet of her. They gave her regular fluids for a while and she got pretty cranky. We had to do that and wait another half hour or so. I took her for that and rocked her and sang a few songs that did nothing to make her any happier of her treatment thus far. So I pulled out the big guns and sang C is for Cookie, complete with my terrible Cookie Monster impression, even though the door was open and I had an audience out there of 2 or 3. Anything for my sweet girl, especially cause that one works every time and I got a few smiles for my efforts.

Then we moved into the MRI room and they injected her hand with the sedative. She fought it. She was moving around, closed her eyes, cried a little. Got quiet, cried a little, moved around, etc. It took a few minutes for it to knock her out enough. Then came the hard part. I had to give my sleeping little girl to the nurse and watch her get carried to that big scarey machine, get hooked up to oxygen, heart monitors, and strapped to the table. I thought it was sweet that they kept Kiki with her and covered her with it. Then we had to leave. I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of her on the MRI table from the doorway (we weren't allowed in the room). Even though I can't imagine that I will ever be able to forget that image, we all don't need a picture of it.

We were sent to the recovery room where we paced (or should I say "I", Rob sat down. I'm the pacer). I was glad I didn't have kiki with me, it would have been too sad to hold it while Elles was in there. We discussed how hard it must be for parents that have to go through their babies having things like heart surgeries and stuff, cause this was hard enough. My heart goes out to parents that have to go through that kind of thing, I can't imagine.

We were told it would take about a half hour. I started doing fussy little things like clean the outside of the diaper bag and straighten the sheet of the gurney she was going to occupy. That's what I do when I'm nervous: pace and fuss around. We were worried about the actual procedure and also what the results would be. Nerve-racking! It ended up taking almost an hour (I stopped myself from cleaning this little portion of a wall divider next to me that had some sort of little spill on it- although I couldn't stop thinking about cleaning it and wanted to soo bad). I thought that was crossing the line into "crazy", but I think about that spot today and wonder if anyone has cleaned it. What a relief it was to see the nurse bring our little girl into the room, holding a wiggly little Elles. I asked if she was awake already and the nurse laughed and said, "well, her eyes are still closed". She gave her to me and she didn't open her eyes, but calmed down and fell back asleep. After a while I laid her on the bed cause she has always slept better lying down, spread out, rather then in arms. I wanted her to rest as much as possible. The nurse wanted to let her sleep for about 45 minutes then we were going to wake her up and let her drink a bottle and if all was good, go home.

45 minutes later, we all did our best to wake her up. Not easy. She finally opened her eyes and tried to focus, but didn't have much luck. After a while (and a visit from the sedative specialist to check sleeping beauty out), we were cleared to go. She wouldn't have anything to do with the milk or the apple juice, and promptly fell asleep when put in her car seat. We were given discharge instructions and a paper listing things to watch for today, told she would probably be cranky today, but a nap would help that. She slept all the way home (with mommy watching her belly for breathing as instructed). She slept on the couch when we got home to Scout, Matt and B. Rob's fishing buddy called and it was his birthday and wanted Rob to fish with him. We thought that would be ok, even though the spot was a couple hours away. Elles was doing ok and Matt and B were around. Elinor finally woke up and was having trouble holding her head up and focusing, and she was making these shortened little yells and various weird sounds, but she drank a couple ounces of juice. Then it was back to sleep. Good, cause she was a little cranky. She woke up a little later and seemed to be up for good. I fed her some food and then put her in her Jumparoo thinking she had wiggles to get out. She snacked in there and mommy tried to rest a little. Rest is hard when Scout comes in as Bowser every minute or two and Elles is in the living room jumping and making her weird yips and noises that sound like general little protests of some sort. I finally took her out and she drank a bottle and I thought she looked a little tired still, so I put her in her crib. She slept for another hour or so, mommy gave up on napping and Bowser played.

Then we had Bobble head Elles again. Then she choked on some apple juice and puked on mommy, then hung out for a little while. Around this time, a little neighbor came over and asked if Scout could come over to play. YES SHE MAY! Then I decided Elles should go in her crib for a little bit to play. She pulled all the characters off her mobile, pulled off the round things the character's hang from, drank two bottles and finally nested in and fell asleep again. B and I used this time to watch the first episode of Sherlock. Shortly afterwards, B was hooked.

It was getting to be dinner time, daddy was expected any minute and grandpa thought we should order pizza. So Matt got pizza, I got Scout, we ate, no Rob, Elles slept. Matt and B had to drive to Ogden to pick up his cameras (long story), and I decided to lay down for a while. I started thinking about Elles and missing her, so I brought her in with me on the bed. She was totally knocked out. We cuddled and I watched a few shows and she didn't stir. I started thinking about how she had been awake for about and hour and a half total that day and decided to nudge her awake. She would not stir. Didn't even stretch (this is odd, she always stretches immediately when she is disturbed while sleeping). So I worked a little harder at it and got minimal response. So I thought I would check out her discharge sheet and go over it- just to be cautious. It said that child may be drowsy that day, but easy to wake up. Another part said that if you can't wake your child up, to call 911. I decided perhaps I should double up my efforts on the Wake Up Patrol. I walked her around but couldn't get her to open her eyes. Dale (my father in law) came upstairs at this point and I told him what was going on. We took her outside and after a few minutes got her to crack her eyes open. She wouldn't focus and kept wanting to just close them again. She at least had her eyes open (which was good, cause I was a few minutes away from calling the ambulance). Dale suggested that I give her a bath. Good idea, so I did and at first she just relaxed and tried to sleep in the water (she was in her safety seat), I poured a cup of cold water over her head and she barely protested, but seemed a little more alert and started playing with the toy in front of her. Scout asked if she could try, so I let her pour a little cold water over her head. This time, we got a welcome (for me anyway) gasp of shock and I hurried and poured warm water over it and we seemed to have our little little back for the most part (+ bobble head though). We had come to accept bobble head Elles as part of the family at that point, so no big deal there.

She finished her bath, got some new dunglees on, and Scout went to bed. Still no daddy. I did notice a missed call from him however, having come in around 4:30. He said that the guy had driven further then expected and that his phone was about to die. Lovely. Elles stayed up for a while, but started rubbing her eyes again. I was exhausted, so I put her in her crib. She had another bottle and just kind of hung out. It was after ten and Matt and B came home. We all went in to see Elles and I told them about my evening and we discussed Elle's beautiful spirit that makes her so inviting to be around. You can't help but feel good being around her. She truly has a special little aura around her. I then expressed my tiredness and how even all that went on tonight, I sure hope she sleeps all night. With all the sleeping during the day, my secret fear was that she was going to wake up at 2 with a major case of Elly Beans and be up the rest of the night. Matt and B had a wedding the next day and turned in.

I started getting a little miffed that Rob was still gone. My miffiness turned into worry around 11 and I didn't like that cause I didn't want to be worried about someone I was mad at. He came in sometime after 11 looking about as mad at the situation as I was. I was determined to get my point across and he heard about the day and felt bad. But he already felt bad cause he was not planning on being gone that long. I know he didn't, and heard his story about how the guy drove like 3 hours longer then Rob thought he would and he felt really helpless, it being his birthday and all and Rob was a hostage in his car. Lesson learned. No fishing on such days unless it is one of the local spots and you have control over how far and long you go and your cell phone is charged up nicely.

Elles fell asleep about 11:45 and I planned on checking on her about every two hours and laid down in my bed. Next thing I knew, I opened my eyes and it was light outside. I flew into Tiny E's room and there she was, sleeping peacefully. I touched her hand and it twitched and she stretched and went on sleeping. I smiled and took that as a sign that all was ok. I can't believe we both zonked out all night! That was the last thing I expected. She woke up later in the morning with the twinkle back in her eyes and we were sans bobble head. I missed that sparkle that was missing the day before. The little yips were gone too. My Ellesies was back and WELL rested. It was great. Missed that girl. Sleepy, yippy Elle had her charm too though, but I was ok with leaving that day behind.

The weekend had her coughing a lot and puking a little. Not sure if that was all related, but it's gone now. I got a call with her results Monday morning, and they came back as normal. Brain scan and a chemical analysis of her brain both normal. That means "more genetic testing is recommended". Relived about that. I was once again relieved that we are not looking at brain damage, as said before, it feels better to know that she is suffering from something that is in her genes and she was meant to have this since she was a little egg. It is easier for me to deal with mentally this way.

Wow that was lengthy. Sorry. I kind of wanted to record the day though.

A fast for the little little

2011-08-03T00:23:00.007-06:00

(I posted this note on facebook tonight, and thought I would post it on here also, just to get it out there as much as possible.)

We have decided to have a group fast for our sweet little Elinor this Sunday (August 7th). We love this little girl so much and think it appropriate to have anyone that is interested, come together and fast and pray in her name. She is currently going through testing right now and we are anxious to find out what these tests will tell us. Getting a diagnosis is proving to be a long road, and we are really hoping to get answers- we are getting to kind of a critical time in this process (different directions to go, etc.)

If you don't fast (or even know what that is) and would still like to participate, we invite you to say a prayer in her name that day. Even if you don't pray and would like to participate, you could meditate or send thoughts and good vibes her way. We are spiritual people and believe in the power of a group of people sending prayers and energy in the name of someone they care about.

We couldn't adore this little girl more, and we feel so lucky and humbled to have been chosen to be her parents. We are prepared to be at peace and accept whatever life is going to hold for her. We also know that the Lord says that we need to ask, so that is what we are doing. We ask that Elinor may reach her full potential in this life and be the best she can be. That she has the opportunity to shine and teach us what she is here to teach us. That her little mind and body can work together to accomplish great things. As her mother, I feel a peace when I am with her, that makes me want to hold and cuddle her forever to maintain that feeling. I want that to last our whole lives. As her teacher, I need to know the things I need to teach her and the persistence and the fortitude to do it. I need to understand her and listen to what she needs me to know. That Scout may be blessed with the continued maturity to be the big sister Elle needs her to be. It is these things we are praying for, including a miracle (if that is in store for her), for we believe in those too.

We know that whatever happens, things will work out how they are supposed to, we have a lot of faith in that. Thanks for your time and support, and thank you for loving our little E, I know she is pretty easy to love, but it still fills my heart when I see the evidence of the love from those around her. It means a lot to me.

I am attaching all the comments from the facebook note here (I wanted them on my blog where I can see them instead of buried on a facebook note). It also became kind of the place where I posted a few updates from Elle's doctor.
I also included the original pictures on the note (when I pasted the note to my blog, I was on the notebook- so didn't have access to all the pics on my pc. Turns out, you can copy and paste pictures right from facebook notes to blogger. I'll have to file that away as useful information for the future.)

Susan Wright Rydman, Amy Zussy Modracek, Erin CampoBasso and 5 others like this.

Ian Anderson Sending love Em. Thinking of you and your beautiful family.
August 3 at 12:36am ·
Rachel Hill Count me in- I believe in the power if prayer, and especially the power of fasting! And whenever I have held your daughter, I feel a great peace and a deep level of spiritual communication with her- she is more than meets the eye! Love to you and your sweet girls!!!
August 3 at 12:55am ·
Wendy Johnson Roberts Our thoughts will be with you. With a loving Mom like you, and a loving family both immediate and extended, I know she already has a miracle. She could not ask for a better situation for getting the support she needs. She will do very well!
August 3 at 1:51am ·
Benedicte Chung I'll join in prayer from across the Atlantic on Sunday. E just looks PERFECT, and so loveable as you say...and also so much like Scout! I love your note, as always. a truly wonderful and super strong Mum you are xxx
August 3 at 4:35am ·
Rachel Kelley Conditt Your girls are beautiful, Emily and so is your heart. I will definitely say some prayers!
August 3 at 6:39am ·
Beth Croasdaile Adorable pictures! Your girls have amazing eyes and hearts! I'll be praying for you all.
August 3 at 7:02am ·
George Wright I'm in!
August 3 at 8:09am ·
Megan Scott Richardson thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to help!! love to you all!
August 3 at 8:32am ·
Bronwyn Starlight Wright Those pictures are soo cute. We 're in!
August 3 at 8:55am ·
Amy Wright Phister Love and prayers, as always, from us. Your strength, attitude, and love is truly inspiring, Em. We love your family so much.
August 3 at 9:48am ·
Erin CampoBasso Many prayers headed your way!! Thinking of you all and sending lots of love xo
August 3 at 10:00am ·
Emily Wright Pugh I am amazed at the outpouring of love and support! Thanks so much everyone, bless you all.
August 3 at 12:21pm ·
Laura Chatterton Chaffin We are here for you all the way from the West Coast! Anything in the world you need you let us know.
August 3 at 1:07pm ·
Jenny Baich Powell You guys will all be in our thoughts and prayers!!
August 3 at 10:22pm ·
Jeanine Walton I am sending you love and prayers! Please call me if u need to talk medical stuff! Love u guys!
August 3 at 11:00pm ·
Lorri Hubbard Wotherspoon The Wotherspoons are in and sending love and good wishes from T-town.
Thursday at 8:12pm ·
Emily Wright Pugh Colin Farrell was on David Letterman tonight and talked pretty extensively about his son with Angelman's Syndrome. Pretty cool! Kind of wish that Colin Farrell wasn't the celebrity that has a son with the same condition they think my daughter has. That means I have to dislike him less. (He did a quick imitation of h is son that look remarkably like Elinor! It was really funny.)
Thursday at 11:16pm ·
Jeanine Walton Wow Em, Angelman's! When will u know for sure? There is varying degrees so I know she will get best care and has the greatest parents and family. I will totally be there for you and my resources at my hospital:-)
Thursday at 11:33pm ·
Emily Wright Pugh
I'm not sure- she had a simple Angleman's test (that detects like 80% of the cases) and it was negative. Then he did some other test that we thought was a complete gene sequence, but it must not have been because what ever test he just did, that came back as normal. We got the test results from the lab, so they had no information except the actual result, so Rob called Dr. Carey and left a message. He called back the next day while Rob was in the shower (ARG!) so he left a message and explained that he recommends a complete gene sequence now, and is going to talk to her neurologist about doing an MRI too. That was two days ago and he said he would try calling again to explain more fully and we haven't heard from him yet.
Friday at 12:18pm ·
Emily Wright Pugh Rett is the only other thing he seems to be even considering right now. Angelman's fits much better to all of us though.
Friday at 12:19pm ·
Jennifer Peddy Berg Oh my.....lil E looks so much like younger Scout...and they both look so much like you. Beauties!! I will definitely send some positive thoughts to lil E. Stay strong sweetie - you are an amazing mom to an amazing little girl.
Friday at 8:00pm ·
Jeanine Walton Whatever she has you will handle it! What a special little angel!
Friday at 9:31pm ·
Emily Wright Pugh
Dr. Carey called today and it looks like we will be scheduling an MRI for her on Monday. I am also grudgingly giving the possibility of her having Rett more weight. She definitely doesn't have classic Rett if she does have it, it would be a variation. Also, she has had two different Angelman tests as of now- one that catches 70% of the cases and one that catches 80% of the cases. If she has Angelmans at this point, it would be a mild case. After the MRI, and depending on the findings, we will be doing a complete gene sequence on the genes that affect Angelman's and Rett. We were also reminded a few times that we still may not have a diagnosis after all this is done. So that is the update. Kind of unsettled, but doing ok. We went to a pool party this evening and Elle had a fabulous time splashing around, she absolutely loved it. It was a nice end to a uncharacteristically grumpy day for her.
Friday at 10:25pm ·
Benedicte Chung Em - this is really unsettling and you are dealing with it remarkably well. I have just looked up the 2 syndromes - I really hope you get more certainty and a diagnosis soon. In the meatime, prayers tomorrow, MRI on Monday, and lots of strength to you and Rob. Thinking of you lots, Love you xxxx
Yesterday at 3:29am ·
Susan Wright Rydman
We are in for the fast/prayers thing Em. Cam's family is also in. Lot's of love and support going out to you this weekend. I am so impressed with how strong you and Rob are in dealing with this. I The thing I'm going to focus on most this weekend, is just getting a firm diagnosis. Whatever that diagnosis is, we can move on from there. Ellse is such a sweet, wonderful, loving, beautiful little girl, we are all lucky to have her in our lives. I can't wait to go to the new Muppet movie with her in November. We are going to take her, right?
18 hours ago ·
George Wright Doing so as I write now. Does that make sense?
6 hours ago ·

What Emily's Been Watching, July Edition

2011-08-01T08:57:00.012-06:00

I just would like to point out that it is Aug 1st. Also, I saw a respectable amount of movies this month. I think I've been feeling deprived the last few months and had to make up a little. Plus it's summer which is a good time to watch movies and shows. I also made some great choices (hold off your judgments past the first movie I watched this month please).

THE 'BURBS (1989) [PG] Comedy. The Burbs. This is a classic in my family and so when we got together this month for 4th of July festivities, this was on the docket one of those "let's start a movie at 1 am". All I feel compelled to say about this movie is that I know it is stupid as H, but it contains some of my very favorite Tom Hank's comedic moments ever.

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER (2009) [PG-13] Romantic comedy. This is a movie that was recommended to me a million times when it came out, it made it to my Netflix queue and got bumped a few times and then I cancelled Netflix, then I reinstated my account after around 2 years and it was still in my queue and made it to the top again and I decided I might as well see it. All I have to say is: WOW was everyone right! I loved this movie. Now this is a romantic comedy I can get on board with. It was smart, interesting, well acted, well scripted, funny, sad, kind of the whole package. It was also the director Marc Webb's first movie- I am totally impressed and will definitely look out for his projects. I loved how they formatted the movie (documenting a relationship that lasted 500 days and showing the days in random order -if you by chance haven't seen this, the girl's name is Summer- also, I liked the narration). That format opened the film to a whole host of interesting possibilities, and they utilized it well. I loved the surprise "dance number" it was so funny and surprising and stylized awesome. I really liked Joseph Gorden-Levitt as the lead and I am a Zooey Deschanel fan (she had me at that Frasier episode she appeared in many years ago as Roz's niece). Anyway, the movie wasn't flawless, but I am not in the mood to nitpick, cause it is fully forgiven. Emily absolutely recommends this movie to anyone out there that happened to miss it the first time around as I did. Totally worth a watch. I kept it around the house until Rob and I had a chance to watch it together cause it seemed like a movie Rob would also appreciate. He did. Dear Hollywood, more romantic comedies like this please. Thanks, Emily.

SHERLOCK: SEASON 1 (2010) Drama. This was another fine recommendation from my good friend Ami. Her recommendation came on the heels of a few other people mentioning it and loving it. I decided to not waste any time this time and I got right on it (it helps considerably that it is on Netflix Instant). This is a TV show done by the BBC, it had it's first season last year and the second season will air this fall.
So, before you give a little sigh that Sherlock Holmes has shown up again and reworked, let me tell you that this time it is different. First of all, it is set in modern London. Therefore, Holmes and Watson call each other by their first names, Sherlock seems to have a touch of asperger's, really likes texting, and uses GPS in fantastic ways to solve his cases. Oh, and pipe replaced with multiple nicotine patches. John (Watson) is a veteran of the Iraq war, and well, is basically Watson in every way. Funny thing about Watson- I heard he was played by Martin Freeman and my first thought was- really? I don't see it. For whatever reason, it didn't fit to me and even though I am a fan of the guy, I was dubious of their casting choice. That lasted about 4 minutes into the first episode. I immediately turned around and thought he was brilliant and the absolute perfect choice and wondered why I didn't see it in the first place. The guy that plays Sherlock is great too (Benedict Cumberbatch), if not a tad off putting. His skin color combined with the color of his eyes and lips, juxtaposed with the overall lens wash effect the show is given, distracts me a little. But that aside (and doesn't matter much in the first place), he makes a great Sherlock and I am totally on board. I really really like the filming style, camera angles and story lines (the two main actors have great chemistry too). I knew things were going to be good with this series during the climax of the first episode. I thought for a few moments I was going to find out what the sentence is that makes the guy lay down in the street in Radiohead's "Just" music video, but it turned out to be more "Princess Bride" in nature (if you got both of those references, then well- you are just the coolest person on the planet). There were only 3 episodes and it looks like there will only be three episodes this year also. This disappointment is soothed by the fact that each episode is over an hour and a half long, so it is like three movies- which is good. The character's are fun, the mysteries are compelling, and it is just all around well done. It has that great Sherlock Holmes vibe to it and I really like seeing these stories done in modern times. BRILLIANT.
Sorry- did some extra gushing because I think I know a lot of people that would like this and it might not be on their radar. Oh, I have to add one more thing: the season finale was mind blowingly fantastic. The puzzle Holmes had to figure out throughout it was superb and the last 10 minutes had me gasping and squeaking in shock and horror several times (ask Rob- he was sitting next to me while I watched it on the laptop with headphones on). Emily says check it out FOR SURE! I think this one is for practically anyone and everyone. Game: afoot!

official trailer

This is a little montage of the first episode and gives you a much better taste of the feel of the show and how it is filmed. (Contains some images that could be called spoilers though, so if you don't want that- skip this one.)

WASTE LAND (2010) [NR ] Documentary. This was a movie revolving around this Brazilian Artist Vic Muniz. He has been very successful in America and decided he wanted to use his powers for good in his own country. So, Rio de Janeiro has the largest landfill in the world and there is a whole society that lives out there and picks through the garbage to find recyclable materials for money. He decides that this is his project, he is going to make some works of art with that garbage and donate the proceeds to the society to improve it. Before going, he talks about the place and pretty much paints the people there as THE roughest and worse society has to offer. Just an entire city full of crazy, thieving, crack heads. Instead, I think he was generally surprised at the humanity of these people. The doc mostly focused on a young leader trying to improve the town and society by forming a union of sorts, a nice old lady that cooks for anyone around that needs a meal (out of edible garbage), and a few young women that chose working there and make an honest living instead of the other choice of work opportunity for them- prostitution. (I am sure the crack heads are there too, but this film doesn't focus on them.)
I really liked this film. It was really uplifting and good. It was also very inspiring for the cause of recycling, which I was not expecting. The art was really interesting, and the stories of the people were so sad and inspiring. I like stories where people find themselves in a bad situation and instead of making excuses and rolling over, they roll up their sleeves and better themselves.
I am going to leave you guys with some words of wisdom said by the happiest old man in the world that has picked through garbage his whole life and has received virtually no education, named Valter:
"It's not bad to be poor. It's bad to be rich at the height of fame with your morals a dirty shame"
and
"People sometimes say "But one single can?" One single can IS of great importance. Because 99 is not 100, and that single one will make the difference."
I like that. I think that quote will stay with me a long time and be thought of often. Emily can totally recommend this movie too. I already went over the finer points, but it also really gave me a bug to visit Rio someday (probably not the garbage dump though). Geez I'm a jerk. Did I learn nothing from the film?

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PARTS 1 & 2 (2010-11) [PG-13] Drama/Adventure. It is no secret to my blog readers that I am a Harry Potter nerd. I LOVE the books, the movies however, I am not a huge fan of. They are fun and pretty well done, but the books are TOTALLY where it's at. However, I have to say- these two movies were fantastic. I really enjoyed the last installment (I am going to just lump them together for that since they really were like one continuous movie split into two parts). The final movie contained probably 8 out of the top 10 coolest scenes from all 8 movies. #1 being Snape's exit from Hogwarts. Holy crap! Geek me out that was awesome. Yes, I cried more then once and more then I am comfortable admitting. There are just some themes and scenes in that last story that really get me and you know what? I am not going to apologize for it. I was fairly hesitant to read the series (I came in to it after book 4 had come out -Ami again (and her husband and his friends)-) and by the end of book three, I was in with both feet. I think Rowling is truly a tremendously talented writer.
Back to the movie, I had to wait a week to see it (I waited to see it with B), and in the mean time I listened to all the movie podcasts I listen to and they ALL reviewed it to my delight. Now, all these guys have pretty much made fun of all the films so far to date (except 3- the Alfonso Cuaron one- they all seem to respect that one, which besides the absolute beautiful film set he created, it was my most disappointing story wise. But I understand his contribution to the movie series and really, he created a gorgeous world. I was pretty disappointed with it as a lover of the actual story.) Anyway, the demographic of the average movie reviewer with a podcast is: male, single, and late 20's to early 30's. There seem to be very few exceptions to this list. Anyway, this is NOT the demographic that the Harry Potter series is aimed at, so very very few have read the books and it just isn't their thing. My point to this tangent is that every single one of these reviews I listened to loved this movie. It seems to be an actual legit movie that is enjoyable and well made. Good job guys, you went out on a high note, and I personally, only had a couple gripes. Emily recommends this one (obviously), but I have one thing: if you haven't read the books but like the movies- just read the dang books. They still are far superior to the movies and I can't stand the thought of someone learning how the series ends by the movie instead of the book. That sucks. But maybe that's just me.

STEPHEN TOBOLOWSKY'S BIRTHDAY PARTY (2005) [NR] Documentary. As a few of you may know, I have pretty recently gotten into a podcast called "The Tobolowsky Files". It is basically a series of stories told by Stephen Tobolowsky about his life experiences. Who is that you say? Why he is a character actor in Hollywood that has been in like 200+ movies. You probably know him best as Ned Ryerston from Groundhog Day. Who knew that guy is like the most interesting storyteller on the planet? (and I am a girl that LOVES a well told story). In some ways he is a total nerd (but in a loveable way), but in other ways, he challenges your image of a nerd. This dude has led an interesting life and has a very compelling and smart mind, he is an excellent writer and a totally captivating story teller. How does all this relate to the movie I am reviewing? (besides the fact that his name is in the title) Well, one of the gentlemen I spoke of in my review of HP, saw this movie (Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party) enjoyed it so much, he figured that this dude had to have more stories in there somewhere, got in touch with him, and they created a podcast based on the theme of this movie. Which is basically Mr. Tobolowsky throwing a party for his birthday and telling stories to the camera and his guests. And that's the movie. The movie was totally enjoyable of course, but pretty much was just like the podcast, only you get to see his facial expressions and gestures (which where very entertaining) but really, I am just as happy listening to him on my ipod. Give this movie a shot, it is different, but if you too like a good story told by a master, you'll like this. Oh! Also- it's available right now on Hulu. And for goodness sake, check out The Tobolowsky Files. I can't recommend that podcast enough. It will totally captivate you, make you laugh, make you cry and make you think a lot. It is a must listen for everyone that likes to hear funny and interesting life stories kind of in the David Sedaris camp (funny, autobiographical stories of growing up, etc.). They focus a lot on the acting world, so it would probably be particularly interesting for actors (but I am not that nor have I ever been interested in that) it is just as interesting to people that like movies and behind the scene movie stuff. But it is also full of just good old life lessons and ponderings. This podcast would make a great accompaniment to a road trip I think.

The best advice for a trailer on this movie I can give you, is to go here and click the middle clip.

I've also been watching: I've revisted a few seasons of The Office this month and have stayed up too late too many times this month. I hadn't seen season 6, so I watched that and then noticed that I have only seen all the episodes one time each, so I thought they were worth a rewatch. It's been very fun.

So yeah, I did see a lot of movies this month. A lot of good movies! I think this might be my best list of movies to date. Lots of good ones- I really challenge you guys to see some of these and let me know what you think of them.
I have been thinking about exploring my "Wall of Shame" lately and think I will do something with that for the next while. A Wall of Shame is a term used by (I THINK) the IFC podcast (RIP), which is a list of very famous movies that you just have never gotten around to seeing (like Raging Bull or Lawrence of Arabia or other such films -one of those I have seen and the other I haven't). So, I am going to pick one from my wall a month and watch it.

Cheers.

A Love Letter to Ikea

2011-07-31T09:23:00.017-06:00

Dear Ikea,

This is my baby:

She's a nice little girl.  Mild mannered, happy, funny.

Here she is again, eating a harmless Cheerio:She is a sweet little thing, but she has a condition. Neurologically, she struggles. She struggles to use her hands like other babies do. She has one thing down pretty good- and that is eating. I am so proud of how well she eats and the variety of foods she eats and how well she handles big bites and different textures. She is a champion chewer. She will chew something forever until she knows she can swallow it. She never chokes because she won't try to swallow something she can't handle. But anyway, that is really neither here nor there. What I really wanted to tell you is that yes, she is a great eater........ but I never said that her excellent self feeding skills didn't come with a price.

This is my baby eating:

This is what I clean up 3 times a day. It's ok, because she is a little angel all the time and doesn't get into things she shouldn't cause she can't crawl or walk. She is a 22 month old toddler that stays where I put her (try to find another one of those easily). So, I can handle cleaning up after her meals, like I said, I am just thrilled that she can feed herself so well.
The real problem lies with her clothes. She LOVES pasta so much and that as you certainly know, comes with a red sauce that stains. Even if it isn't pasta sauce, it is something else all over her clothes. Breakfast is easy, I make sure she is still in her dunglees (that is our word for pj's, I'm sure you have those in Sweden), then after breakfast I dress her for the day. Dinner is ok too for the most part- I can change her into her dunglees after dinner. Lunch, however is always a problem. Sometimes I do what I did in one of the pics and take her shirt off. WHY did I struggle with this problem day in and out? Because this:is what passed for a bib in my house until I made a recent visit to your fine store. These bibs served Scout just fine, but Elinor laughed at these bibs and showed me what a fool I was for even putting them on. While shopping at your store, I came across this:I was just wondering........HAVE YOU MET ELINOR? Cause I am thinking that you made these bibs especially for her. Full sleeves and a pocket? Are you kidding me? What a wonderful product you have made. You have solved a huge problem in my life and have saved many a shirt and pant.
I am telling you- it is perfectly clean under there!!!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.

Sincerely,

Ms. Emily Pugh

P.S. I was wondering if you can make a similar item for my walls and floors.

Just asking.

Ellesabubs

2011-07-20T09:18:00.016-06:00

It has been a while since I did any update on Elles, so I thought I'd just write a little up. First and foremost, I think I mentioned the results of her Angelman's test on a random post, but not on an official Elle update post. She got a negative and this was disappointing because we are at peace with Angelmans and we like the thought of a diagnosis, which we can concentrate on and move forward with. Also, lets face it- we have accepted that she is severely delayed and will be so her whole life and when it comes to disorders that are in this wheelhouse, having the one that is marked by being a happy person sounds pretty good.
We didn't like the fact that it was negative also because that means more testing, more waiting for insurance approval, and possible MRI's, etc. The neurologist immediately called to get an MRI scheduled. Elle's pediatrician called and expressed his surprise that the test was negative for one basic reason: he says that when Dr. Carey sees a patient and makes a call on what he suspects- he is almost always right. Dr. Wise (Elle's pediatrician) told me that Dr. Carey is the smartest man he has ever met in his life.

(Let me just stop for a minute and express my gratitude that Dr. Carey was assigned Elle's case. Rob and I felt instantly upon meeting with him that he was a doctor we were going to like and was going to help us. He listened really respectfully to us (even complimented us several times on our questions), he carefully explained everything he was talking about to us in a way we could understand (well, as well as a layman can understand genetics), he also was so cute with Elinor and got a kick out of her Sesame Street stuff (including the fact that her diaper was Sesame Street themed). Anyway, we really liked him right away and were surprised to walk out of that appointment with a tentative diagnosis. This is him by the way. Before reading that I had no idea he is the Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Medical Genetics. Very cool and I think that no one could dispute that Elle's care is in just about the best hands possible.)

Anyway, when I was talking to Dr. Wise, he told me that the next step would be genetic sequencing and that is really hard to get approved by insurance. He suggested another Dr at U of U Med Center that does research and we might be able to get him to do this on Elles as research and he supplies genetic counseling and stuff like that. That sounded pretty good, so he said he would contact him. I got a call from him that next day and he got our insurance info and was going to call them and see what he could get approved, and he would look over Elle's case and what I read between the lines was he would see if insurance would cover his costs and if not, see if Elle's case was interesting enough for him to use some of his research money on. That's fine, but upon hearing this, Rob started getting nervous that too many people were pestering our insurance and they were going to shut anything else down cause too many avenues are happening (we had gotten the news that insurance approved the MRI we weren't even sold on wanting). Rob called Dr. Carey's office himself and left a message. He and I totally agree, that out of all the doctors that has seen Elle, Carey is the one we trust the most to have the best plan for her and we thought he should be informed on anything happening to her and get his opinion on what's best. Dr. Carey returned Rob's call the next day, and agreed with him that insurance could do exactly what Rob feared. Then he gave Rob the surprising news that he had gotten approval for everything he wanted to do. Remember when we were waiting and waiting for approval for the Angelman's test and it took forever? Well, it turned out that Dr. Carey had laid out his total plan for Elles to them and gotten the whole thing approved! (kind of a: I am going to do this, and if it comes back negative, then I want to do this, and if that doesn't work, we'll do this.......) I was blown away!

He went on to explain that we got really lucky with the insurance we chose (we had two choices when it came to the kids and I happen to choose the one that ever approves that sequence test) the other one never does. The one I chose is the less popular one too (by far). So anyway, that was a major blessing. The news got even better when Dr. Carey told Rob that they had enough blood left over from Elle's vial to do the sequence right away, so we didn't even have to take her in again to get blood drawn. We are all happy about that. So, we are I think about 3 or 4 weeks into that test and haven't heard anything, but we will let you know when we do. This test will map out Angelman's if it's there and most other genetic abnormalities whatever they may be. Dr. Carey also told Rob that she could just be diagnosed with being "Angelman Like" which is an actual diagnoses. Like if she isn't found to have anything specific, but her symptoms match Angelman's the most, you can be called Angelman Like and that is what you have. I think I could live with that.

As far as therapy goes, we have had some slow progress this summer. With summer plans and moving, we have had few appointments and haven't worked real hard on her exercises. We have worked some though and she is doing good. We are noticing less hand clenching and her little thumbs are looking better because of it. Not only are her thumbs looking better, but she seems to grasp toys better and is eating more with her left hand. She also is starting to grasp for toys with both hands at the same time which is great news.

She also got some new wheels:

This one fits her so much better. It is a trick getting her in this contraption, but once she is in there, it fits well and holds her well and she likes it. In the past few weeks, she has gotten really deft at going backwards in it. She has caught on that she can move backwards and she does it really well. We haven't seen Betsy since, but I know she will be pleased because just the fact that Elle recognizes that she can get places in her walker is a great step (even if backwards isn't ideal, it should lead to forwards eventually).

Well, that's good for now. She continues to be a joy in our lives and the best little snuggle monster there is. We all just love this little girl!

"Preposterous. I swear I haven't been eating the bubbles, mom. Surely you jest."

What Emily's Been Watching, June Edition

2011-07-11T02:05:00.002-06:00

I am afraid that June yielded very little down time. Moving is a busy busy business. Movies were just not on my mind, but I still managed to see two:

Water For Elephants (2011) [PG-13] Drama. I got a text one Friday night from a friend of mine, she was wondering if anyone out there wanted to see the late movie that night. After a week of packing, stress, and disappointment, it sounded like a great thing to do, so I was on board. It turned out that we were the only ones that ended up making it. The movie was actually pretty good. I had low expectations to tell you the truth and really didn't know much at all going into it. I knew it was based on a book, involved a circus, and had Edward in it. Because of my limited knowledge on the movie, I had two good surprises: 1. it involved an elephant (shouldn't have been a surprise given the title, but I still didn't expect getting to watch an elephant do cute elephant things) (for those of you that don't know, elephants are my very favorite animal and I absolutely LOVE watching them). 2. Christoph Waltz was in it. Waltz is a seriously interesting actor to watch. He caught the attention of everyone that ever watched Inglourious Basterds. He owned that movie and got himself a very well deserved Oscar and Golden Globe. Quentin, where ever you found that dude- well done, sir. Anyway, back to the elephant movie, he played a villainous part in this one too, with similar creepy, uncomfortable moments. Typecast? Perhaps. He may have tipped the scales of evil in this one though, cause he has some really cruel moments beating a sweet, undeserving elephant. Nazis and elephant beaters. What is left? I suppose he could always play Satan himself.
So anyway, the movie was something I probably never would have seen on purpose, but I am actually glad I saw it, cause I enjoyed myself and enjoyed the movie. The best part of the evening though was talking to my friend until at least 3 that morning in her car. We both agreed that was better for our souls then any movie. Sometimes life hands you mutual beneficial moments that you didn't expect, but are very grateful for. I was even able to be cheerful all day that next day for Scout, (it was her birthday). Emily can recommend this movie to most people. Especially if you have a rainy afternoon ahead of you and it happens to be handy. Don't feel like you have to run out and rent it or anything though.

Wow, that was a terrible and cheesy trailer. Did you see the elephant do a headstand though?

Just Go With It (2011) [PG-13] I guess it's a romantic comedy. This movie was born of a spontaneous visit to a redbox after buying some groceries, knowing I had a huge pile of papers I needed to sort through at home in an effort to pack our desk area, and doing that while watching a movie, seemed like a nice idea. I really hadn't heard anything about the movie, but saw Adam Sandler and read the little blurb about it and decided it was my best option. Best option or not, it was pretty sucky. I might have laughed once or twice, but it really was stupid and not in a Billy Madison way. Just lame. It certainly wasn't the worse movie I have ever seen, probably not even the worse one this year (Gigantic keeps that title for now), but it was not good my friends.Although, to be fair, I did get the papers sorted and will admit that it helped pass that time. You're probably better off watching something else out of that redbox, be wiser then I, there has to be a better option in there.

Well, didn't really get this one out too early in the month did I? Believe it or not, life is actually slowing down a little, so there is hope for my blog yet.

Not a bad way to spend 10 minutes of down time...

2011-07-08T09:11:00.002-06:00

What Emily's Been Watching, May! Edition

2011-06-23T08:01:00.007-06:00

Well, This has been a long time coming, but as my readers probably know- I have been majorly distracted lately. Because of my busyness, I really only watched two things too. So this will be short but sweet.

Conviction (2010) [R] Drama. Rob and I rented this one night and really enjoyed it. It is about a guy that is accused of murder, convicted and sent to prison for life. His sister believes he didn't do it. She actually goes to law school to become a lawyer to help him (and by law school, I mean college too). It takes her many years (I forget how many ok? It's been a while- but it really is a lot). I don't think it's a spoiler to say that her efforts pay off and he is eventually released and cleared of all charges (or much of one since any idiot would know that if she doesn't, this would make a REALLY crappy movie). But not until she has hit every road block in the book including: embarrassed prosecutors that don't want to look wrong, crooked cops and destroyed evidence boxes to name a few. It makes the whole idea of wrongful accused prisoners that were put in jail and given the death penalty, only to be found innocent when DNA testing is invented, hit you a little. "The Innocence Project" has helped free over 250 wrongfully accused prisoners. That's amazing and disturbing. A man was just released in Texas a few months ago that spent 30 years in prison for a rape he didn't do! CRAZY! This whole concept is a disturbing one indeed. Anyway, the movie- it's a true story and it really is touching seeing the lengths that the sister goes to, in the name of her brother. Emily recommends this movie to anyone. Especially if you like yourself a good court room drama and a warm story about sibling devotion and the human spirit and other such things. Oh, and great acting.

Freaks and Geeks (Season 1 (and only) [1999-2000]. Comedy/drama. I have been watching this series for a couple months, but when it is a tv season I'm watching, I usually wait to report until I have finished it. Well, I finished it. I watched this show a bit while it was on the air and really liked it, but hadn't seen it since and didn't catch every episode either including the finale (this was back in the day before DVR's and when I worked a lot of nights). Anyway, it was really fun revisiting it and seeing all the episodes (and many commentaries). This was a well done show, well written and acted and funny. It also was a spring board for quite a few actors including James Franco, Jason Segel and Seth Rogan (whom I have issues with, but as long as I don't have to hear him talk in real life, he is fine (I also CANNOT under any circumstances stand his laugh)), it also features the girl that played Nurse Sam on ER. James Franco is really excellent and man Jason Segel is SO funny as a love sick, verging-heavily-on-creepy, teenager. Also the main geek "Sam" is an absolute doll. I love him. Anyway, the series as you may have guessed isn't about the popular, beautiful high school kids like most shows, it's about the freaks and the geeks- oh and it is set in 1980. It had a pretty big following (now has an even larger one) and it was cancelled after only 18 episodes. Kind of a shame, just a casualty of a network not giving a well done show a chance before it could really take off. Too bad, but happens all too often. Emily recommends this show if it sounds good to you.

I will try not be as late getting June's out (especially since I have watched only one thing so far), but there are no guarantees.

If I had my life to live over...

2011-06-17T09:11:00.003-06:00

By Erma Bombeck

If I Had My Life to Live Over...

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten popcorn in the good living room and worried less about dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken time to listen to my grandfather ramble on about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased or sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed - less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never had said, "later. Now go wash up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love yous"... more "I'm sorrys"... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it... live it.... and never give it back.

This has been hanging on the side of my fridge for probably about a year following a relief society lesson. I liked it so much I hung it up, then it got covered over time by coupons, pictures Scout drew of aliens, and dentist magnets. I just removed everything from my fridge to clean and saw and read it again and loved it again.

Thought I would share.

ps, I have a leg up on Erma-- I do eat popcorn in the good living room. Well, I don't have a "good" living room, just the one.

A wee bit overwhelmed

2011-06-14T08:05:00.006-06:00

Things are tough.

My family is at what might be described at a crossroads in our lives, although if you ask me, it feels more like we are standing at a cliff with high winds trying it's best to push us over the edge. Either way, we are at a time where things are changing and we will find our selves standing on the other side. I know we will be standing on that other side triumphant. The journey however, seems sometimes as if we will never make it.

Learning we have a child with special needs was easier then I would have thought. The news brought with it a different life then I had pictured, yet not an unpleasing one. It also brought with it 4 therapists twice a month, all giving us important exercises to do with Elles. It brought with it appointments to the hospital, scary things my baby has to go through I don't want her to go through. It hasn't brought easy answers either. We got her blood test back rather quick and it was negative for Angelman's. This doesn't mean she doesn't have it, it means she now needs a more comprehensive test that is expensive and harder to get approved. It also could mean we may never know what is wrong with her exactly.

The economy has hit my family pretty thoroughly. Real Estate agents didn't exactly come out great with the housing market crashing and burning. Ok. My husband is scrappy. He learned a new skill and started working with cabinets. He eventually hooked up with a cabinet refinishing company and became their main guy. They were quickly discovered to be idiots, but it was work and although it frustrated Rob to no end, it was work. When they started to show unethical practices, including not paying my husband for the jobs he did, Rob abruptly cut ties with them. They weren't keeping promises and it was apparent this was a road we did not want to be on. They owe him a lot of money that he earned and are refusing to pay. Rob is suing them for that money and they are stalling and getting a lawyer (For a kind of a simple suit that NO ONE gets lawyers for). They are simply horrible people that don't have the money to pay Rob, so they are doing this instead. Rob had the insight that he is not doing what he wants to do, he knows what he is supposed to do, and that is go back to school.

So this fall, he is going back to school to be a nurse. He is going to get his masters and go into administration. Going to school feels so right to us, we know it is the path we need to take. How we are going to accomplish it exactly is not entirely known to us. He had a job land in his lap, he didn't search for it, it was just kind of offered. It promised a salary, medical benefits, internet, home computer and phones all paid for. We didn't see how it would quite be handled with school, but we figured it would all work out. Rob and I fasted that it would work out and he could do full time work and school and all would be grand. Monday came and the job inexplicably was not his. We took that as an answer. It wouldn't have worked. But it was sure a blow. Our dreams of a salary and benefits were so close and so sweet. Well, we know school is what we are supposed to be doing, so we still know that things will work out.

One way to make it work is we are moving in with Rob's dad. This will have it's challenges, but it feels like exactly where we need to be. Actual moving has been a huge challenge. There is a "roommate" at the house we are to move to that is not proving easy to remove. Half of my house is packed the other half is not. I am stymied until the issue gets resolved and that is not my favorite situation.

All these things have been happening about the last week and a half. Rob and I went to the temple. We've fasted. I've prayed that things will ease up a little. I've prayed a lot that things will get easier and resolve a little and paths and doors will open up. I've informed my Heavenly Father that I am not sure how much more stress and pressure I can handle. As an answer, my dear, sweet, wonderful dad had a heart attack on Saturday. He is in the hospital in Wyoming, and on Sunday we were informed that he is going to need 9 bypasses. NINE? I had no idea that was even possible. He is having open heart surgery today. So I guess my answer is that, yes, I can take more stress and pressure (or at least someone up there thinks I can).

I truly have a testimony that the Lord is mindful of me and my family. I also know that we are on the path we need to be on. What I don't know is when I will feel like I can breathe again. I know all too well that my time frame is not His time frame. I do know my sweet little Scout is having a birthday this week and I need to make it special, no matter what else may be going on around us. She also has her first ballet recital tomorrow.

There, now the blog is up to speed.

With love,
Emily

Progression

2011-06-09T08:26:00.010-06:00

1. We finally got the call letting us know that Elles was approved by our insurance to have the blood test. We hopped in the car that day as soon as Scout was out of school and headed to Primary Children's Medical Center and got the blood drawn. Poor little little. That is a tiny little arm housing a teeny little vein and it was painful and slow drawing one vial. Mommy did not cry though. The test should take 2-3 weeks.

2. We had the appointment with the Neurologist this week. Seemed a bit pointless. He said an MRI would probably be helpful, but not really if she has Angelman's, so we didn't schedule one. He did a pretty comprehensive neurological exam, but didn't share any findings really. He did concur with Dr. Carey, telling us that things look good seizure wise if she hasn't had any yet. He seemed less sure that she had Angelman's then Dr. Carey, but only one of those doctors is one of the world's leading geneticists (as Dr. Filloux referred to him as). He gave us some useful information on the types of seizures we should be looking for, so I can recognize one if I saw it. I have felt reassured that I have definitely not seen anything like he showed us (he mimed them for us), he also witnessed the one behavior that I thought could possibly be a seizure and he said it wasn't (what I am referring to is her tendency to tilt her head back and roll her eyes), which she does over and over sometimes. He says it is just one of her little mannerisms like what she does with her fingers. This was a relief to hear that from someone that really would know. So, all in all, it did seem pretty pointless, but we did learn a few things and we also realized how glad we are that our genetic appointment was moved up. We were supposed to meet with neurology first and the genetic appointment was a few weeks later, but I got a call telling me that they had a space open up a few months early and I nabbed it. If we would have seen the neurologist first, we would be really discouraged right now and have an MRI scheduled that would most likely give us no answers.

3. Scout is falling in love with Primary Children's excellent waiting rooms that take "kid friendly" to new heights.

4. Rob and I went to the temple for the first time since all the Elle stuff went down. I honestly feel like Elle is my ticket to really getting closer to God. Elle is everything good, calm, and spiritual. To look into that precious face, is to know peace and love and what eternal life is. What an unbelievable blessing it is to have her beautiful spirit dwelling in our home.

5. Elinor has made some pretty amazing break throughs the last few weeks. A) while in 4 point (crawling position) and in front of her PT, we put a bunny cracker by one of her hands and waited. After assessing her options, she clutched the cracker and put it to her mouth. This was major cause she wasn't being touched at all, so she did it without any support. This move is crucial, because it demonstrated that she accomplished "weight shift", that is an important thing for her to learn for many reasons, one being she is an important step closer to crawling. Mommy wonders why it took her so long to figure out that food is the ultimate motivator. B) I have really seen great progress on her rolling. Yes, simple rolling that 3 month olds start doing is a milestone for Elles. She CAN do it, she doesn't want to do it. I have been able to accomplish some good rolling by motivating her with back scratches (if I start scratching her back, she will roll so there is more back exposed for mommy to scratch). Again: know your baby's motivators mom! Sheesh, it's about time you used that noggin. The scratching usually only gets little half rolls, but a couple days ago during tummy time she was PISSED to be on her belly and finally had enough and flipped herself over onto her back quite handily. I rewarded her by letting her stay there (and shouts of jubilation and many kisses).

6.I attended my first support group yesterday for moms with children with special needs. It was good. I think I will like it and I learned some things. One thing I learned is that there is always someone that has it worse then you. In fact, I think I have it pretty darn good.

7. I have started working on making Elle her own blog. I think I will copy and paste all her "Elle on the Move" posts and then update her progress there instead of on the family blog. My blog is getting busier and I figure that there are people out there that may be only interested in Elle progress reports and if she does have Angelmans I think it could attract people only interested in Angelman stuff and they might find my other posts tedious. It just is making more sense, so watch for that in the near future...... Life in a Glass House will still have plenty of Elinor shenanigans and the like of course, so no fear. Sorry if this is inconvenient to anyone.

Elle REALLY on the move (sort of.........and with the help of a giant contraption)

2011-06-03T09:52:00.005-06:00

Elles got a walker this week from her physical therapist. The fit didn't end up being good (she is unhappy about how her armpits are positioned), but we are keeping and practicing with this one until she finds something better.

So far, Elle is less then fond of it. She starts crying within about 5 minutes of being in it.

Maybe it's the pressure of being able to move now.
Maybe it's the pressure on her armpits.
Maybe actually moving is a bit frightening.
Maybe it is the chest cold accompanied by two ear infections.

At any rate, we are practicing for a few minutes a day.

Scout thinks it is fantastic. Could it be the running horse?

I know the horse plays a part, but I think it is mostly because when Elle isn't in it, it is a great car for foxy.

Best I could do in ways of a smile.
(It's kind of unsure and verging on freak out, but she is trying anyways.)

Go, Elles go!!!!

When you have a minute (or 13)

2011-05-17T11:44:00.003-06:00

I came across this on youtube and I used to watch this show all the time (when we had Discovery Health) and this is one about a baby with Angelman's. It was so interesting to watch and I saw so many similarities to Elles. Although this little girl has had more trouble eating then Elles. Also Elle doesn't or didn't scream a lot. Once in a while she cries without any real symptom wrong, but never for long. I would guess this baby was crying because she had a harder time eating and was hungry or in pain. Anyway, you guys should watch it, it's very interesting. I didn't include the first clip cause it is labeled differently and is hard to find, plus it's just about her long crying jags and puking (it does talk about her smiling all the time at 2 weeks old!) anyway, her first few months are different enough to Elles that you really aren't missing much.

What Emily's Been Watching, April Edition (finally)

2011-05-15T10:01:00.005-06:00

This is Life's 200th post!
Yes I am totally skirting the fact that we are well entrenched in May.

Gigantic (2008) [R] Hipster vomit. Once upon a time, a hipster exploded and they picked up the pieces and put it on film. That about sums it up, I think. We rented this when Matt and B were in town from a Red Box. We read the synopsis: mattress salesman wants to adopt a baby from China, but his plans go awry when a girl falls asleep on one of the mattresses in the showroom. We read the cast: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Zac Galifianakis........ come on! Wouldn't you have rented it too? I like independent movies. I like quirky (it turns out in small, tasteful amounts). I like Paul Dano. What I don't like is when a movie is made that tries so hard to be quirky that it annoys the crap out of you. Done and done. I put the fault entirely on the filmmaker and the screen writer. Just looked it up and it was his first movie. Dude. Knock it down a notch. The actors weren't at fault to me, but they certainly didn't save the film. No one could. The only one that came close was John Goodman, I enjoyed his part. But not enough. Emily doesn't recommend this movie unless you are a posing hipster that has no taste and thinks any indy film that appears quirky is awesome and meaningful. Let me help you out guys- it's totally fin.

Jane Eyre (1997) [NR] Drama-romance. I saw this at the library and figured I might as well. It was ok. It didn't commit any grievous sins. I actually really liked the person that played Jane for most of the movie, at the same time I was scandalized by the dude that played Rochester. Oddly, by the time I started thinking he might be ok, I started disliking her performance. Also, they massacred the scenes when she comes back. No playfulness. No fun. No bueno. Emily can't recommend this movie. Especially when the "other" one exists. BUT you won't die if you happen to watch it.

No trailer, but here's a scene.

Zombieland (2009) [R] Action adventure. This is back in Red boxes and Rob and I wanted to have a movie night and I remembered that Rob didn't watch this with us when we rented it last time. I knew he would at least get a few laughs and find it tolerable. Turns out, he did indeed enjoy it. I really do enjoy this movie. I like the film style a lot, I like the humor a lot. I like the writing a lot. I am not usually much of a Woody Harrelson fan, but he really tickles me in this movie. He is so funny and perfect for this role. I love how he plays off of Eisenburg, and his quest for a twinkie. Eisenburg is great too. I love his rules of survival and how they keep popping up throughout the film. Just very clever and funny. Emily totally recommends this movie if you haven't seen it. There is language and an excess of gore, they kind of go over the top for humor's sake (plus, we're talking zombies here) and I must admit- it is funny.

Never Let Me Go (2010) [R] Drama. Now, this movie was promising and I liked it quite a bit. Here is the problem: It is based on a book, and from all I have heard, a very good book. I have heard that people that have recommended this book (before the movie existed), were very tight lipped about a big reveal at the end. Kind of a "the first rule of Catfish is you don't talk about Catfish" kind of a thing. Well, apparently (and I am pretty positive I know what the reveal is)- the movie reveals the plot point in like the first 25 minutes or so.) So for one thing, the movie takes a different approach then the book. I don't know any different, so it was ok with me. But after seeing it, I can see that as being a pretty shocking reveal at the end. The next thing about the movie, is while watching it, I was constantly thinking: "I bet this is really sad in the book" or "I bet this book is really good". Instead of thinking these things, you should be thinking: "This is really sad" or "this movie is really good". I just couldn't, cause it just never quite pulled it off. My advice? If you've read the book, see the movie. (If so, let me know if you liked the movie). If you haven't read the book, read it, then see the movie. I say this without having read it, I know that's weird, but I REALLY don't recommend the route I took. I guess I just went over my advice on seeing this movie or not. Guess I better read the book, but I really wish I wasn't spoiled. But it may not be too late for you! My guess is that the scenes that the movie tried to pull off as emotional will be emotional and a lot better if you have read it. Otherwise, they just didn't quite make it. Close though- it really was good, just well, I think I've explained myself enough.

The King's Speech (2010) [R] Drama/Biography. Yeah, we finally saw it. Yes, it was good, inspiring, well done, yada yada yada. Do I really need to praise this movie? It's been done and every one is correct. See it if you haven't seen it. Don't be afraid of the swearing scene. Very rarely is there swearing with a purpose. Well, here it is. It is a feel good scene, the character really has a turning point that is important for his growth, plus, it's pretty %$@#&ing funny. Haven't you heard worse walking the halls of your high school? And there is no feel good message attached to that (usually) See it.

Elle Update (almost) 20 months

2011-05-14T23:24:00.005-06:00

Remember Elinor's Everest? That was Elle doing container play at 18 months. Here she is today, about 6 weeks later. I think some of her hard work is paying off.

(The duka duka pep talk doesn't seem to hurt either)

SO PROUD of this girl.

It's been a weird 6 weeks though. The week following the (kind of) diagnosis, I didn't do much with her by way of her exercises and stuff. It was a time where that wasn't quite on my mind, I was devoting a lot of time googling and researching and just holding her and cuddling. I was trying to wrap my mind around it a little I think. Plus Scout was out of school that week, I think I just concentrated my efforts on surviving. The next week, we did some stuff, but I wasn't as devoted as usual. The week following, sort of the same. This was coupled with a weird scheduling thing with two of her therapists. In fact, because of various things we haven't seen her OT since we went to Primary Children's. So, I don't know if it was the diagnoses, or the lack of therapy sessions or just getting out of the habit (perhaps a combo?) Anyway, I guess I am kind of confessing that my routines with her have been less then par these last 6 weeks and I have just in the last week started really attacking it again.

Learning about this syndrome has done weird things to me. It's like I was almost thinking- wow! She's got more troubles then I imagined, so part of my brain kind of was trying to tell me that this stuff is pointless. Most of me knows that this stuff is more important then ever, because everything I have read tells me that kids with therapy have a much better quality of life and independence and all that good stuff then kids that don't. I know this, but I think I needed some sort of balancing out or adjustment phase or something, but I think I have passed that phase of easing off a bit. So, this is my confession and also my public call that I am determined to see this little girl succeed and thrive and be the best Little Little that she can be. Tonight's session and seeing some improvement has really given me an added strength I think I needed, so..........welcome to baby boot camp Tiny E! Bring your A game.

My favorite Scout drawing of the week

2011-05-13T13:49:00.009-06:00

This is a story she wrote about losing her first tooth.

(She hasn't lost any teeth yet, but is quite obsessed with the concept.)

close up.......
Note: I have a small issue in being portrayed as a complete hag, but it's so funny I am willing to overlook it.
By the way, I imagine that the little squares falling at Scout's feet are teeth, but I'm not sure.
(Perhaps I will try to get a clearer picture of what is going on in this story from Scout when she gets home from school, because now I am starting to think that both are of her and the one that I thought was me, is really Scout with her "found" tooth.)

***UPDATE***
Ok, I have now been informed: so, both pictures are of Scout and the squares on the ground are toys, the square in the air is the missing tooth.

Budding Book Worm?

2011-05-09T23:56:00.004-06:00

Scout has been learning to read in kindergarten this year and she has done really well. But, just the last few weeks, reading seems to have really clicked. We have actual moments during the day now where she grabs a few books, sits down, and reads them all. I love it. It makes me happy and it's really quite nice (she reads to herself so the silence is golden sometimes).

In addition, she really has started getting into reading at bedtime. She goes to her book shelves and grabs a giant stack when she goes to bed and gets to work. Because of this, I have walked into this scene twice this week:
I love this one, cause I like to picture the moment she got so tired she propped the book up so she didn't have to hold it anymore.

Here are some stacks of books. One stack is books to be read and the other are the finished ones.

I'm so glad she has embraced reading already and I happily picture myself walking into similar scenes for many years to come.

Funny Girl

2011-04-23T12:35:00.009-06:00

Scout, almost 6

This morning (early, like 7), I am lying in bed, woken up by Scout playing pretty loudly in her room. This is what I hear:

(shaky sheep/goat voice): "Earthquake!!!!!"

then in some other more regular voices:
"earthquake!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"
"oh no!"
"But I paid my taxes!"

Rob and I started giggling at the goat voice (until then didn't know the other was awake), but when we heard the tax line we about died laughing. We think got that line from "the boy who cried wolf" done by the Muppets on a video the girls watched all week, two weeks ago. It was just quite random to hear. We love listening to her when she doesn't know she has an audience.

Then later today:

Scout was trying to put a videotape* into our tv in the livingroom (it's tricky, there was a tape already in there and it doesn't eject properly).

"mom! It's not working!" (trying to shove a tape in, in the wrong direction)

"Well, you have to take the other one out first" (ejecting tape for her)

(Scout, trying to put the tape in -still turned around-)

"you need to turn it around"

(turning tape around and trying to shove it in again, but at a slight angle, so it still doesn't work) "See! It doesn't work!"

"You need to put it in straight" (me, demonstrating the correct way and the tape slides right in)

"How come you know everything?"

(deciding to accept that) "because I am smart and I'm old"

"You don't know everything- how many muscles are in an elephant's trunk?"

"I don't know, how many?"

"4,000 muscles"

(put in my place) "Wow, I didn't know that"

*Yes, I know "Videotapes", but we have one built into our living room tv and we discovered that our library has a much bigger collection of kid's movies on videocassette then they do on DVD. (especially Muppet movies which they both are totally into right now). LAY OFF!

Elinor Shenanigans II

2011-04-22T13:54:00.005-06:00

Elle's has starting trying to scoot a little bit while sitting (let me emphasize "a little bit"), she was scooting while sitting on the couch and I moved her back a few times, but while in the other room a few minutes later I get the shout from Scout that Elle fell off the couch and that I better hurry. I didn't hear any crying I expected to hear, and walked into this scene. She caught herself and then just continued watching tv, calm as can be. SO Elles.
(Yes, she had just had her diaper changed and was waiting for mom to get her some clothes and out of her dunglees if you were wondering).

2 Cute church stories:

A few weeks ago, Rob had her on his lap and she was looking through a sesame street board book. Rob leaned over to me and told me that she was kissing all the pictures of cookie monster. I watched her for a while and sure enough! When she'd turn the page she would zero in on cookie and give him kisses. It was so sweet, she loves her Cookie so much.
(Kisses are a consistent thing we have been able to get Elle to do on demand and also unsolicited. When she has a stuffed animal, you can frequently see her leaning over and giving it kisses over and over.)

Last week, Elle didn't get a nap in before church (we go at 1). She was super tired (started rubbing her eyes at 9 that morning!) It came time for nursery and we debated whether to take her or not and we ended up deciding to just try it. We told the leaders she was super tired and if she got fussy to just bring her in to us. I was filling in teaching a primary class and Rob was just doing his normal thing and when re joined up at the end of church, I saw that Rob had a sleeping Elle in his arms. I asked when they brought her to him and he said they didn't and that at some point they looked at her, thought she looked so tired and just laid her on the floor with her blanket and she conked right out. I just laughed at the thought of Elles just sleeping right on the floor in the midst of the mayhem that is nursery. Only our girl!

Here is the new thing her physical therapist is having us do:

I love her little left hand in this pic. It's the classic left hand pose she holds when it doesn't want to participate in what the right hand is doing)

It's helping her balance (she tends to spread her legs out really wide when she sits and they want her to be able to balance without that maneuver so we have to turn her into a little mermaid for a while each day. She is so amazing. This would probably make most kids so annoyed and mad. Not our Elles. It doesn't even phase her. She just does her best to balance, topples over now and then, and continues to play or watch tv or do her little Elinor things.

(Sorry for the quality, these were taken with my phone, I couldn't find the camera.)

Here is a little sample of Elle watching Sesame Street.
This show makes her so happy! Yesterday she was on the couch and it was four minutes into one o'clock and I knew it was on, but didn't know if the tv was on the right channel. I walked into the room to make sure and the first thing I see is Elle with a giant grin on her face and I knew then that it must be on the right channel (it was turned down really low, and I couldn't hear it). I looked and sure enough, there was Elmo on the screen.

Arcade Fire Concert Report

2011-04-19T13:00:00.009-06:00

It is about time I did an official report on the Arcade Fire concert we attended. Of all people, our cousin Dan tipped us off early that Arcade Fire was coming to Orem in April (shout out to Dan, thanks dude) and we were very surprised they were coming at all, let alone to Orem instead of Salt Lake (but that's neither here nor there). Well, this was a definite NO MISS, so my sister Cat, my bro Matt and his wife B, and Rob and I all got tickets.

It turned out that Elinor's big appointment was the next morning (early! At nine and a little over an hour away). This distressed me at first, it seemed like really bad timing. It turned out to be awesome timing for a few reasons: 1. Matt and B would be around (staying at our house) and could watch Scout that morning so we could leave her home and she could go to school -then it turned out to be spring break- 2. There wasn't a better place for me to spend the night before the appointment then burning off steam with some of my favorite people in the world, watching one of my favorite bands in the world. That environment was much better then what I would have done- worried and stressed all night about what the next morning would bring.

(By the way, thanks to Grandpa and then Sarah for taking care of our kidlets)

We met at my house and left for dinner, had a quick sandwich and then headed for the venue (UVU). We had general admission, so were on the floor (we'd have it no other way). The concert was AWESOME! The playlist was so so good and the band was fantastic. Rob was very nervous about enjoying himself. He has grown into quite a fan, in fact The Suburbs is his favorite song at the moment, but he thought they would be awkward and full of themselves. He has seen them perform on SNL and Letterman and stuff and they have come off a little awkward there. I wasn't worried for me or him, I've seen videos of their regular concert gigs and they were energetic and fun. Turns, out they were even better then expected. Win was so cool and totally didn't take himself seriously at all. He also forgot the words to one of the songs (something from The Suburbs, I can't remember which (ready to start maybe or we used to wait). He was funny about it. Rob and I laughed when he took off a buttoned up shirt, only to have another buttoned up shirt (buttoned to the top) on underneath (he wasn't trying to be funny, but it was to us). Rob mentioned that he has "Adolf Hitler hair" on the way to the concert and we all laughed, but he had the last laugh when they came on stage and we all had to agree that his hair indeed, looks Hitler-ish. My favorite person to watch though was Win's brother Will on percussion. He was so all over the place and banging on anything he could, conducting if needed (or not needed, but doing it anyway). He was just really entertaining.Shot during Rococo

I had to get a picture of this creepy video they played during No Cars Go it was a loop of these women in water and it was really unsettling and made us giggle a bit.

Last song.
I think that is Matt in the glasses.
And possibly B's arm.

I did a special dance just for Rob during Sprawl "Mountains Beyond Mountains" (he was a few rows of people behind me at that point). I knew he'd see it and appreciate it. I went all out.

Anyway, it was a GREAT time and I am so glad we had the opportunity to go. Also, I can't mention Arcade Fire and Rob's reservations without mentioning this: since the beginning, when he hears "Wake up" he has thought of this video and song:

Don't ask me how he ever saw this video or why but maybe his reluctance and dislike for Wake Up makes some sense.

Here are some selections of songs from the concert (it has wake up on it if you are curious now)- I made the playlist this week on my family blog cause I won the movie trivia and I did this one (it includes a Thom Yorke song as a clue to the next movie so, that song was certainly not at the concert but you can't ever get enough Yorke):

One more funny thing as long as we are talking about Arcade Fire:

They surprisingly won Album of the Year at the Grammys and many people are unfamiliar with them and someone started a blog called "who is Arcade Fire?" which features really mad tweets (mostly) from people that had never heard of them and were upset that they won the award over such people as Katy Perry, Justin Beiber, and Eminem. It is funny but I must warn you that these people aren't the sharpest tools in the shed and besides the spelling atrocities they frequently use bad language in their gripes. Here is the site if you are interested.

Some highlights include:

1. "the fact that Arcade Fire is winning over people that have actually made an impact on the music industry is *beep*ing annoying."

2. A video of Kathy Lee and her co host on The Today Show going over the winner of Album of the Year. So funny, here's a link.

3. "I can't believe that unknown artists will earn a world-renowned artists like Justin and Lady Gaga for that reason cease to believe in the legality of prizes." (man, that girl was REALLY trying to sound smart. I love it.)

4. "It's a weird world we live in when someone called Arcade Fire can win a grammy n Justin Beiber doesn't!"

5. my personal favorite: "What the *beep* are The Arcade Fries?"

"So can you understand? Why I want a daughter while I'm still young. I want to hold her hand and show her some beauty before this damage is done. But if it's too much to ask, if it's too much to ask-- send me a son."

-The Suburbs