Cooper, et al. Done!

I finished my textbook! And I finished it before 12/31/09! Yeah! At the moment, I'm printing out 5 chapters of notes...close to 80 pages. Quite a feeling of fulfillment. (However, I don't even think the rest of these notes will fit in my big binder.)

But I am still stressed. I need to write my Functional Behavioral Assessment paper ASAP to send to my supervisor before I send it to the psych and program specialist before I send it to the parent by Monday 4 PM, who may send it to their attorney on Monday in preparation for the big IEP on Friday.

We are in the midst of cleaning out and renovating Mommy's condo, too.

I'm so thankful for these school vacations...but they hardly ever seem like a vacation!

Brandon from Angel Tree

I have been wanting to participate in church activities for a long time, but I have come up with one excuse after another, ever since I started going regularly a few years ago. More than anything, I really want to join in the Children's Ministry, which is a mix of baby-sitting and teaching about the Bible during the morning session. However, I just haven't been able to commit to the time requirements, even though I really have no reason not to, except wanting my sleep.

So a few weeks ago, as I walked out of church, there was a table set up for the Salvation Army Angel Tree Ministries. I can't remember how long our church has done this, but they join with the Salvation Army each year to "sponsor" children whose parents are incarcerated and cannot provide gifts for their children. I picked up a tag for a five-year old boy named Brandon. On his wish list were toy cars, shoes, and clothes.

With our tight budget this year, I opted to provide little Brandon a mix of fun and necessity with the budget of $20. Fortunately, I got to participate in the South Bay Target's shopping day for individuals with disabilities which meant that I got to join my autism class to shop around and receive $5 off of spending $25. In addition to providing therapy with my kids, I also shopped for Brandon. I ended up getting him a pair of shoes (necessity) and a set of 5 Hot Wheels cars (fun -- which looked really cool).

Merry Christmas, Brandon! I wish you and your family the best. May your hearts be filled with peace, joy, and God's love. I will be thinking and praying for you this Christmas.

Lil F's 5th Birthday

Call us silly or crazy, but Husband and I still "celebrate" our turtle's birthday. We have been counting down all week ("4 more days until your birthday, Turtle!"). Husband said that she was especially active and lively today. We concurred that she must "know" that it's her birthday. :)

We cannot believe she is already 5 years old! A month ago, we had some confusion. We lost track of whether she is turning 4 or 5, but Husband cleared it up when he said he brought her home (or as I like to say, he "rescued" her) two months after we moved into this condo. I remembered that we moved here in 2004.

To celebrate her birthday, we bought her 5 rosy red minnows. Since Husband didn't want to let her chase them in her tank (because they inevitably get stuck under the tile), he put her in her feeding tub and dumped all 5 fish in. She ate them all in less than a minute! We were so impressed with how fast her reflexes still are! Subsequently, we fed her a huge meal of Reptomin and lettuce, which she finished all of.

Happy 5th birthday, Turtle!

Board Games

It's really embarrassing when I I let my students choose any activity (rather than giving then a forced choice), and I have no clue how to play it. What's worse is having a student with a language disorder try to explain the directions.

What takes the cake is when I still don't get it after the student explains and I have read the instructions!

Stupid 20 Questions for Kids.

19 Full Weeks

Max sniffing and wondering, "Hey...What's cooking in the oven?"


"Ooof...A big bun in the oven!"



Rising by the minute!

Lil F is turning 5 years old this Thursday, and she is about 8 inches and 3 pounds (see her in the corner of the tank around baby-t0-be?). This week, our baby-to-be's approximated length is 5-6 inches. Soon s/he will be longer than Lil F!

A Nice Rainy Saturday

I am sitting at our dining table, listening to soothing classical piano music, watching and hearing the pitter-patter of the rain, occasionally staring at this cute single glitter poinsettia plant I got at Trader Joe's (originally to give to my brother, Brian, and Max but Husband wanted to keep it so I bought another one), and studying.


For some reason, the rainy weather and piano music makes a nice Saturday for studying. Only 7 more chapters to go...and then I can start the 200+ practice modules!

My Robe

I have bugged Husband for a boxing robe for a really long time now. I think my desire for one may have started as early as when "Million Dollar Baby" came out in 2004. Although he cannot understand why I want one (nor can I explain it), the day has finally arrived. Husband finally ordered me one! It just came today, and I have been wearing it since then. He even ceremoniously put it on me (after my shower).

Don't hate. It is pure awesomeness.

Since it's a Men's Medium, it has plenty of room for me and baby-t0-be to grow and to keep us warm over the next few months. My favorite part about it? The hoodie that is so big that it covers over my eyes and shrouds me in mystery.

I love it!

16 Weeks and 4 Days

My first baby bump pictures...and what prompted this photo shoot? I was just at Jack in the Box, and a crazy lady walked by me (the crazy kind that is by themselves and talks nonsense to themselves) to go to the soda fountain. After a few more minutes, she walked past me again to leave and she jibber-jabbered somewhat indiscreetly and almost monotonously, "oooo, somebody's going to have a baby. Someone's swallowed the seed..." and that was the last I heard before she walked out.

I was like, Wow, is it really that obvious now? Actually, I feel like I'm showing, but many people gasp, "You're not even showing!" so I take it I just look like I ate two buffets and then some. Just this morning, while I was at the school nurse's office, she said the same thing.

(Unfortunately, I have caught a cold. It is my first time being sick in over 2.5 years! Husband was concerned that I left for work with a fever so he made me go to the school nurse's office to check my temperature before he called the doctor's office for me. No temperature, just a runny and stuffy nose.)

Even though husband was starving when I got home, I made him take pictures of me and our baby pronto. Ladies and gentlemen, our first baby bump photos...!



Okay...now I see our baby in the last photo:

Any predictions on if baby will be a boy or a girl? And guesses for names?

Dog Crazy

I know I am crazy about dogs. Yesterday, I left a voicemail for my brother asking how Max was doing (b/c he's had some stomach problems lately). I also added that I am totally obsessed with Max because I think about him all the time. When I think about him, he makes me crack up. I even admitted through e-mail the other day that I go on my brother's Facebook page just to look at pictures of Max when I'm feeling down, missing Max, or need a good laugh just because.

Today, after my training, I stopped by the local pet store to pick up some (free with coupon) toys for him and return a conditioner I got him. (Yes, I'm proud to say that this is Max's vacation home. He even has shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, food and water bowls, quite an impressive selection of dog food, and his own blanket. Just not a real dog bed...unless you call Husband's bed/our sofa his bed. He likes to sleep on it and the other day, he actually "fluffed" it.)

Digression: I got him some fancy shampoo that has a coconut scent and fancy conditioner with a pink lilac scent. Separately, they smell great. Together, it smells like one of the scents that I hate the most -- musky, stale hairspray on women. For some reason, I really, really cannot stand that smell! It ranks right up there with manure, dog poop, and trash. So I had to return it, especially with my hypersensitive smell these days.

As I was making my return, I saw across the way that a guy had a really cute puppy. I couldn't tell what kind of dog it was; kind of looked like a boxer. When he was done checking out, the puppy moved ahead and an adult Great Dane followed him! I got soOoOOOo excited! It is so rare to see this ginormous dog. A few weeks ago, I told Husband that if we have a huge house/yard someday, I'd totally want a Great Dane. (Of course he said no way.) I was even more giddy b/c I got to pet the adult Great Dane. The owner mentioned that the adorable puppy is a Great Dane puppy that is 10 weeks old and the adult female is 7 years old.

I drove away all giddy and thinking, "I actually saw a Great Dane and a puppy!" On my way home, I told baby-t0-be, "One day, you'll get to see these great doggies, too, and hopefully, you'll love your uncles' doggy as much as I do...then the 3 of us can go on walks together!"