December 10: But

Sarah’s favorite sentence construction of late involves words preceding “but” and then the word “but” with nothing after it. We aren’t exactly sure how this came about, but….

It may be from some episodes of Daniel Tiger and/or when Sarah's bus driver tried to console her when there wasn’t a lot of rain when she wanted rain and he said, “It’s ok to feel disappointed, but…” I’m sure he actually said more words, but Sarah can’t tell us what they were. I’m equally sure Mom or Dad Tiger said words after their “but” but I don’t know what they were. Sarah got out the book My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems and turned it to one of the pages in which Piggie says, “But…” and cracks up looking at it. She often wants us to dialogue with her, pretending to be Gerald saying, “but you were not there to see him” so she can be Piggie saying, “But.” Sarah made a book with Anna that has pictures of tigers and the word “but” on every page. That’s it. No other words are needed. Carl and I have been enjoying the hilarity of having a long preamble about something, saying, “but” and then just leaving it as is. 

Amy figured out how to make her Schroth exercises more palatable. She has her American girl doll, who also has a brace, do the exercises with her, whether on a small ball or small chair or small blocks. It is really adorable. I love how Amy brings her creativity to any situation to make it better. 

It was another week packed full of things. I remind myself that we aren’t overloaded. We are at capacity, but it’s not too much. And it’s all good things. It is also true that we haven’t had a lot of flex time, and we sometimes have to get creative about arrangements. Wednesday evening there was a neighborhood holiday potluck. We haven’t been to one since maybe before the pandemic, unless my memory is faulty. You could also tell me I was there last year and I would believe you, although I think it has been years. The girls still made a beeline for the kids' room, and though they were massively too big for some of the bikes, that didn’t stop them from riding. Amy took a coloring book and drew a scoliosis brace on one of the Disney princesses and wrote “scoliosis strong” on it. I hope that someone else who goes through that coloring book in the future may find a surprise of support just when they need it.

I’ve been contemplating my own work lately and realizing that just because I’m good at something isn’t a reason to do it. The reason to do it is if I still love it, and luckily I do still love all of my jobs. After 21 years of studying the Alexander Technique, and over 16 years as a teacher, I am finally realizing I might actually know a bit about it and be able to teach others without always second-guessing my abilities. Also, how can I be old enough to have those numbers make sense? 

I hope you have wonderful weeks. I do not have answers to any life questions, but…

December 3: A Packed Week of Wonderfulness

Our whole week was packed with fun experiences. The girls didn’t have school on Monday so we got our Christmas tree. We let it settle for the day and decorated it Tuesday after they were home from school. My favorite part was when Sarah wanted to climb a short step ladder, but then actually leaned down to reach branches lower than the ladder. 

I took a week-long zoom class through the Option Institute called Exceptional Woman. As with other classes I have taken there, including all of my Son-Rise Program training (the Option Institute is also the home of the Autism Treatment Center of America), it was life changing in the best way. The premise of their work is that we can look at our beliefs and change them, thus living freer and happier lives. This week I realized that for all of Sarah’s life I have been holding the belief that my fear for her well-being was keeping her safe. I also suddenly came to the understanding that it has actually always been my love keeping her safe, to the extent that I can control that, and that the fear is an extra experience but not the key factor. So I can begin to let go of my superstitions and fears and go more towards feeling my love for her, trusting that I will be guided by that to best help her. The same of course also goes for caring for Amy, but I have historically had less fear for her life, and she has had fewer life-threatening moments. 

Thursday evening we went to the St Anthony Program Christmas party and had a blast. This year there was a dance floor and both girls delighted in dancing. Sarah danced the whole time there was music and loved it when I said she was cutting a rug. I danced for a little bit but then Sarah asked me to sit down! That gave me time to hang out with a friend whose daughter was also dancing. 

Friday evening we had a Higgy event to meet up with other families with kids who have scoliosis. Amy loved connecting with new friends who know exactly what it is like to wear a brace. The venue was Chuck E Cheese, which I hadn’t been to for maybe 35 years, so it was understandable that things had improved. We all had a fun time playing games and connecting with the other people. 

Yesterday morning Carl and I dropped the girls off with Anna for their December bash sleepover that they have been eagerly anticipating for months. Then we hopped in the car with Sonia and her partner and drove to Washington DC. At a rest stop I saw a fun play area with Big Bird and wanted my picture taken to send to Sarah. We got that, and I also got a wet butt from the puddle of rain water I didn’t notice on the seat! 

In DC, we met up with four other family members from different branches of my family, had a delicious dinner, and then saw Swept Away, a musical based on the album Mignonette by the Avett Brothers. I highly recommend it if you live anywhere nearby. It was riveting, powerful, and moving. Our dear friend Adrian Enscoe, from the early Sarah-Rise days, is in it and is incredibly good. 

Aside from all of our big events, some small moments of delight included Sarah talking about falling in gym class. She cracked up as she pretended to be her teacher telling her to be careful. She cracked up further when I said there was a turkey down! A baby Bow-Wow down! That baby musical note wiped out!

Furthermore, when Sarah packed for her sleepover she had a tote bag for any books or toys. She put one item in her bag: Blue Hat, Green Hat. 

Overall it was a great week! It was packed solid with  wonderful people, connections, and parties. 

November 26: Turkey Trots and Higgy Zooms

Sarah had a piano recital last Sunday and all went smoothly once we got out the door. It can feel tricky to balance making time for a nap prior to getting dressed nicely for something while leaving enough time to get dressed and get past any protests. Thanks to Carl helping us both stay mostly calm, we made it.

Amy is ever more recovered and has started wearing her scoliosis brace again. I forgot to mention in my last update that she attended another Higgy zoom. Higgy Bears is a nonprofit group offering community and support for kids and teens with scoliosis. If you know anyone in that category who doesn’t already know about the Higgy Bears, I highly recommend it. Amy has loved both zooms and wears her “bent not broken” bracelet all the time. It’s a big deal to wear a brace for most of every day and to have to do exercises daily so it is wonderful that she has a place to go where everyone knows what one or both of those things are like. I don’t know how much they talk about scoliosis, but I do know they play games and she is always glowing after the zooms. 

Amy had a gloriously long play date with her bestie on Wednesday and dressed up in all sorts of things from our costume bin - that is when I knew she was really recovered. It is astonishing to remember that two weeks ago today Amy and I were waking up in the hospital after her surgery. It is wonderful how quickly young bodies heal, especially when the cuts are laparoscopic. There is still some more healing needed before she will be doing cartwheels, but now she is allowed to go swimming and to pick up things over 10 pounds. 

Thursday morning, Carl and Sarah ran the Family Fun Run Turkey Trot. Last year Amy participated too, but this year she wasn’t quite healed enough for running a mile to make sense. Sarah loved it and even won a hat after racing a person in a turkey suit. I stayed at home cooking, and then we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with our local family. We always make enough food to have plenty left over, including 4 different kinds of pie (pumpkin, apple, chocolate, and key lime). The chocolate mousse and key lime pie are recipes left over from our GAPS days and involve avocados. Luckily my avocados behaved and ripened in time. 

Our days since Thanksgiving have involved ample dining, desserts, napping, reading, and playing Kittens in a Blender (Amy’s latest favorite card game). 

Love and naps to all of you.

November 19: Recovery

Last Sunday the surgeon on duty said that Amy was free to go home as soon as she felt ready, but at that time Amy felt anything but ready. Carl and Sarah visited, bringing a sad-faced balloon (selected by Sarah of course!) and a new Beanie Boo stuffed animal. After lunch we put in the request to be discharged and a mere (!) four hours later we were on our way home. It was so nice to be in our own beds and allowed to sleep without interruption. Amy slept for about 12 hours that night. She spent Monday and Tuesday at home, but I could tell she was starting to feel better as she needed pain medication less often and she started doing art in her room. On Wednesday she went back to school, having been instructed by the doctor to take it easy and not participate in any contact sports. We communicated ahead of time with her friends to let them know any hugs had to be gentle, because hugging each other hard is their contact sport. Amy felt loved and appreciated as the texts, pictures, and videos came in from her friends while she was at home. They missed her so much. She is mostly back to normal and has resumed her Schroth therapy exercises, but she is not yet able to comfortably wear her scoliosis brace. While she normally aimed to wear it for 20 hours a day, I think it is important for her to be more fully healed at the incision points before putting any undo pressure there. When she tried it yesterday for a minute and I asked how it felt, she said fine, but then she tearfully admitted that it would take getting used to how it hurt where her belly button had been cut. I told her to take it off immediately and we would try again another day. It’s hard to be a momma bear wanting to protect and take care of a baby bear from two different perspectives that collide with each other!

Amy received the best present when her bestie came to deliver cookies. It wasn’t the cookies (although they were super delicious) so much as the BFF's gentle hug that made Amy’s day and brought the biggest smile to her face that I had seen since her pain started. It is amazing to think back to a week ago this morning when Amy was in such rough shape - the way bodies can heal is remarkable, as is modern medicine and laparoscopic surgery. If it weren’t for modern medicine most family members that I know would be dead, as would I, maybe many times over.

Sarah had a good week, including staying after school for a few minutes on Thursday to sign up for the musical. I’m still wondering if this will actually work once rehearsals start and I go as her helper. It seems like she is the only one from the St. Anthony program doing the show, so the only one who might need a little help. At her old school there were more St. Anthony kids in each musical so it seemed like more of a done thing, and I was more sure of her acceptance by the other students since she had been a part of the school for years. So fingers crossed for All Shook Up, the musical based on Elvis, that will start rehearsals in January.

Yesterday we got our covid boosters, making it a family event as we did for our flu shots. First shots, then a CVS shopping spree where I let the girls pick out cookies and snacks and nail polish. Apparently the shot yesterday was much more painful for Sarah and Amy, but especially for Sarah. Perhaps you heard her scream? She has had tons of shots and bloodwork in her life and often handles all of it calmly, with the exception of anything to do with EEGs, for which we now know we need laughing gas. I was surprised to hear her scream yesterday, but felt like we were in a good place for handling it. Carl sat with her for many minutes, while the staff members brought her tissues and water, and Amy waited patiently so they could do the snack selection process together. I was standing in a very long and slow-moving line to pick up a prescription, and by the time I was done the girls were ready to load up on Goldfish and Milanos.

We got a new printer yesterday and Sarah delighted in using the copy feature. If left to her own devices she would make copies all day and use up all of the toner and paper as she pretends to work at FedEx/Kinkos. She made a few copies of pages from my book draft, as she knows that is what I go to collect at Kinkos. 

Speaking of my book, I’m thrilled to have been provided with my publication date: January 21, 2025! That means the publisher needs my entire manuscript by January 2024, along with other things so they can create the cover. It’s exciting to have things to do bookwise again other than waiting. I keep thinking in stunned wonder, “My book will be published and there’s nothing I need to do!” That’s not true at all. There is a ton I need to do, but there is no magic that needs to be performed. I am on track. I will do my things, and the publisher will do their things, and it will happen. And that feels like magic!

While my time in the Sarah-Rise room was long ago, I have recently been reminding myself of some perspectives that I found useful in the room. My job, especially when teaching or seeing my clients, is to show up and offer my best self, but after that it’s not up to me. If someone doesn’t want some Alexander Technique perspective or hands-on, that doesn’t mean I have done something wrong by offering it. It just means it is not the moment or the modality for them. It doesn’t mean there is something wrong with me. I can still be pleased about how I did my job of showing up and offering my presence. 

November 12: Emergency Surgery

 Last Sunday was a glorious autumn day. We started our day in Washington, DC, where we had been for a family wedding. We decided to see some of the monuments before heading home. We hadn’t known what our morning would be like so had kept it open, so it was very last minute to reach out to some other family in the area. Luckily one of my cousins was available so we met her for a delicious lunch, and we saw her parents who were in town too. 

For more family time, we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa on Monday, echoing a dinner the week before when Sonia was also able to join us. We love being able to have casual dinners with local family, or sometimes-local family. Amy got home from her first evening art class so it was great that she could share the details with all of us. The teacher for the class is also the newly hired art teacher for her school, but the students come from all different schools. They are mainly focusing on drawing people at the moment, which is what Amy does with most of her free time anyway. 

Sarah drew pictures of people too. She drew a large smiley faced bus driver with smaller smiley faced passengers. I sent them to her bus driver who was quite moved. We are really incredibly blessed to have this driver who loves Sarah as much as she loves him. 

Yesterday morning started off normally, aside from the fact that I was taking a two-day continuing education class at the massage school. I had a few hours of learning about the Trager Method before I left in a hurry after getting Carl’s call about Amy. I do want to learn more about Trager in the future because it overlaps notably with the thinking and experience of the Alexander Technique. 

Carl texted me so I knew that Amy wasn’t feeling well (throwing up, intense pain near her hip) and that he was going to take her to Urgent Care. Then the people at Urgent Care sent them to the ER at the Children’s hospital. As soon as he called to tell me that Amy needed surgery for a twisted ovary, I got in the car and was on my way to join them. 

Sarah was a supportive older sister and Nurse Bow-Wow. After what felt like a very long wait, with Amy being given morphine for her pain, she was finally taken to be prepped for surgery. As Carl and Sarah said their goodbyes, Sarah said, “Bye, Amy. I hope you feel better soon.” Amy’s face, though ashen and green and with her eyes closed in pain, brightened when she heard Sarah’s words. So often when Amy is upset or ill, Sarah doesn’t quite hit the right note for Amy to appreciate her efforts so this was heart-warming to see that connection. 

Carl and Sarah went home. I had packed supplies for staying the night, but…. I realized a couple of hours later that I forgot my evening meds to help me avoid cluster headaches! And it’s not something I can just skip. So, feeling stupid, I told Carl of the problem. He arranged to have Grandpa hang out with Sarah after a late dinner while Carl drove the 20 minutes each way to bring me my verapamil. Amy was still in the recovery room and I hadn’t been called to see her, so Carl went home again without getting to see Amy. We didn’t know if it would be another ten minutes or another hour and he needed to get home. 

Right after Carl and Sarah left and Amy was taken to the operating room, I went to the cafeteria for dinner. I went from feeling like I knew what I was doing to suddenly feeling overwhelmed and confused. It it actually just a normal cafeteria and I have been there before, but this time there were signs with barcodes all over the place that said “scan and pay.” I didn’t know what to do so I asked someone else who clearly worked in the hospital and was getting food. He said I could just pickup whatever I wanted and go through the checkout line with a cashier. For some reason that moment of confusion and then getting help switched me into feeling like I wanted to burst into tears. With many deep breaths I pulled myself together (I’m all for crying but that wasn’t the time and place I would choose) and got food. Then I talked to my brother on the phone while I ate and I felt ok again. 

The surgery went well. They even gave me two pages of printed pictures of what they saw and did to her insides. She slept and slept and slept. She is sleeping now. We also were awake many times throughout the night with her vitals being checked or getting more Tylenol or water. This morning she ate some oatmeal, which is her first real food in almost 24 hours. Her skin is back to its normal color, but she is tired and sore. If she feels up to it then we can go home today but we are also welcome to stay another night. 

Carl and Sarah are having a good morning. He said, “This morning I put Sarah’s hot chocolate on her coaster without realizing that her aligners were there. Sarah laughed and said, “Do not squish them dad. My aligners are not a spotted lantern fly!”  After hot chocolate and meds at home, they went to Pamela’s restaurant for breakfast. Pamela’s is known for its pancakes, but Sarah chose her customary restaurant favorite of a toasted bagel with cream cheese. 

Everyone at the hospital has been incredibly helpful and kind. I am so deeply moved by having a team of people work so diligently to help my children be healthy and well and alive. It is almost enough to make me want to be a nurse - except that I get squeamish about many things and I love my current jobs. 

Earlier in the week I was interviewed about my experience of having a village of support. This moment with Amy exemplifies the power of my village. I always reach out for support when there is something big and/or hard so I emailed those who receive these updates via email. I do believe that prayer can help, whether with the medical condition or helping my own heart feel held. I felt so supported by all. It really meant a lot to get supportive messages. Amy especially loved the cat pictures and the silly videos from her BFF. Please know that I will always send you love and support if you need it. 

November 5: Halloween and a Family Wedding

A week ago Amy had a fun day celebrating the birthday of her bestie. It was chilly and drizzly, but the outdoor mini-golf ice cream party happened anyway with umbrellas and rain boots but no dampened spirits. After that we dyed her hair to be ready for Halloween. While Amy and I were out, Sarah and Carl went to a Steeler’s game, also bundled against the cold and the rain. They enjoyed their time thoroughly.

Last Sunday I wrote about how Sarah wanted to tell her bus driver about the rock hard chocolate that formed when the girls were making cake pops. On Monday afternoon when I picked her up from school I asked, “Did you tell ____ about the rock hard chocolate?” She replied, “Yes! And I want to tell him again tomorrow!” On Tuesday her driver wore a Freddy Krueger mask. He warned me ahead of time, and Sarah was not phased. In fact, now she talks about how she scared Freddy Krueger when she said, “Boo.” 

We had a wonderful Halloween. It was cold so Amy wore a teal wool sweater of mine as part of her siren costume so help her be warm. Her winter boots happen to be mermaid-scale print so she was all set. Sarah’s elephant costume was large enough for plenty of bundling. She opted to wear two sweaters rather than a coat. Instead of all of us being part of one theme, we had two thematic groups. Amy was a siren from the ocean and Carl was Odysseus tied to the mast. He maybe took his role as Odysseus a bit too literally, having trouble getting home and encountering various obstacles! Sarah was the elephant from Sandra Boynton’s Blue Hat Green Hat. To accompany her I was the bear in a red hat, Anna was the turkey, and a small stuffed animal moose was the moose. Some houses were so impressed by Sarah’s costume they gave her gigantic chocolate prizes for having the best costume. She got an extremely large Hershey kiss that is as large across the bottom as the palm of my hand. She also got a chocolate bar the size of 3 king-sized bars. Amy was delighted by her haul of multiple Twix bars. Amy went trick or treating with a group of friends, and all of them sorted and traded their candy at the end of the evening. The next day she took in various non-chocolate items to trade with a school friend who doesn’t like chocolate, bringing home peppermint patties to give to Carl since they are one of his favorites.

Amy’s school was having a spirit week with different themes each day. Monday was sports teams, but Amy doesn’t have any non-fictional sports teams that she loves. Instead she opted to wear pink to honor her bff’s birthday. Tuesday was Halloween colors. Wednesday was supposed to be wacky Wednesday and wacky it was, but not as planned. Schooling had to be virtual because of trouble with the sewer system! Thursday was the 80’s, so Amy wore lots of colors, put her hair in a side ponytail, and wore my vintage original plastic charm necklace. She couldn’t understand why anyone would choose the side ponytail look. I wondered why it has fallen out of fashion! Friday was pajama day, so we let Amy go to school for a few hours even though we had to get her early to drive to DC. 

We drove to the greater Washington DC area for a rehearsal dinner on Friday and a wedding on Saturday, celebrating the union of my widowed uncle and his new wife. We hadn’t met her before, but we immediately took to her and her whole family. Sarah doesn’t wear dress shoes often and in hindsight we should have had her wear her black school sneakers. Her feet were hurting as we walked into the church for the wedding. Carl and I rubbed her feet during the reception, and I asked,  “Sarah, have your heard the phrase that people use sometimes for hurting feet? They say their dogs are barking.” Without missing a beat, she quipped, “My musical notes are singing.” 

I don’t know if it was her hurting feet or being hungry or being in a big crowd, but Sarah was very sad for a portion of the reception. Because of her feet, she opted to stay sitting and I got a plate for her at the buffet. What Carl and I didn’t think about was that maybe one of us should have stayed with her for company instead of our whole table being gone except for her. When we got back she was crying and quite sad. We rubbed her back and feet, offered comfort, and suggested food. Carl basically fed her a bite of bagel and that didn’t help. But then he put a bit of salmon in her mouth and suddenly she started eating ravenously. Two portions of salmon later and she was her usual sparkly self. I think she was haaad. That is when you are hungry-sad. 

With the stroke of an “I do” our extended family size has increased dramatically. During the relaxed evening hanging out time, I learned that one of my new cousins even knows what the Alexander Technique is and has studied with a teacher in Boston, whose book I am currently reading! We enjoyed our time with other family members that I hadn’t seen in many years, and we got to see Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop. Amy and Mom-Mom had a good time playing as Mom-Mom pretended to steal Amy’s new stuffed animal cat Maple. Maple is orange and white and is a Higgy Animal, meaning it is wearing a scoliosis brace. The brace is exactly the same pattern as Amy’s. Sarah played with her toy piggy bank with Mom-Mom and then had a riotously good time reading Blue Hat Green Hat to Pop-Pop. Earlier she had also shared the book with her great-uncle and new great-aunt. 

Our Airbnb is surprising in some ways, as they always tend to be. There is no toaster, no coffee maker, and there are no mugs. Things are dusty and could clearly use some vacuuming. Aside from that, it’s been great. The whole weekend has been heart-filling. And the coffee and donuts Carl has procured at Dunkin’ Donuts have been belly filling.

 

October 29: A Very Big Upset and Many Wonderful Moments

We have weather maps and meteorologists to help us predict when storms are brewing. If only we could more fully see such maps for our own selves. On Monday Sarah had an enormous upset at school in the afternoon. It was so enormous the teacher had to write up an incident report and if such a thing recurs we will have to have a meeting with parents and teachers and all support people. Evidently she just really wanted to be done with the day but the day was not done. It was free period so she could have played on her iPad or read a book or done almost anything else she wanted to do. . . except scream, kick off her shoes so they went flying through the air (my guess about what happened because that is how it goes at home), knock over multiple desks, and run out of the room. The teachers were perplexed. I was also perplexed, especially because by the time I was picking her up Monday afternoon her storm had passed and all seemed normal and calm. 

Looking backwards at Sarah’s radar map, maybe it was a combination of many things being different from usual. Although that can happen often, maybe there was something about this time that made it so much harder for her. She had had many big upsets over the weekend, I had been gone for the weekend, she had a slightly stuffy nose, we drove her to school instead of her riding on the bus because we had her IEP meeting at 8am Monday morning, and she was going to have piano over FaceTime instead of in person because of her congestion. On Sunday we had discussed with her how she would go to school with us instead of riding the bus, but on Monday morning she was distraught about this and really wanted to ride the bus. But I had already told the driver not to come and I had let her sleep in. She got over her upset and all seemed fine. Carl wondered if maybe the bus driver is too awesome and that is why she so desperately wanted to get to dismissal, but since I am the one to get her on Mondays that doesn’t explain it. Because clearly I’m not as fun as the bus driver! Carl and I had a good laugh about that. I also wondered if Sarah’s period was imminent but it hasn’t yet started so I don’t think hormones can explain the upset either.

All we know is that we hope it doesn’t happen again. It was startling to be the parents getting the info about our child having dangerous behavior. What?? That is not the story I have in my head about our family. I sincerely hope it was a unique moment. Talking with Anna gave me some good ideas about helping Sarah notice what she is feeling in her smaller moments of stress and helping her find equilibrium on the smaller scale to help her better handle the bigger moments. I have had a couple of times when I helped her thus and I could feel her whole body go from being tense to being relaxed. I have also ordered calm strips which are sensory papers to look at and touch while breathing according to the instructions on the paper. I am considering a calming weighted stuffed animal but she isn’t much of a stuffed animal kiddo so I’m not sure about it helping. Her teacher immediately placed an order for a hammock seat that was in Sarah’s classroom last year and that she found soothing. I love that her teacher acted in that way, seeking to help rather than to punish. Her teacher also called me and said she would talk to last year’s teacher and that she remembered something about a nickel system…? Nooooooo!! I nixed that right away, explaining that any mention of using a nickel chart would be traumatic. 

Anna talked with Sarah about the big upset and drew comics about it with the character of Pretty Tiger representing Sarah. There is also a page about times when Sarah gets upset on a regular basis, although we may need to add one about when Amy uses the bathroom. Sarah did her own version of many of the pictures and the whole thing seems like a wonderful way of honoring her experience and processing her feelings. 

On the plus side of all of this, now I often feel grateful and excited for Sarah’s small moments of upset because, if I have the time, they are great opportunities to practice helping Sarah notice herself and calm herself. 

The actual weather all week was beautiful and warm. When Sarah came home on Tuesday she wanted to stay in her uniform and leave immediately to walk to the eye doctor’s to have her glasses tightened. We had a wonderful and relaxed walk, arriving a mere twelve minutes before the place closed because I forgot they close at 4 on Tuesdays! Thursday was a day for immediate snuggles while Sarah sat on my lap and gave me chin presses for at least half an hour. Whenever I have the time for that I figure it is also a good way for Sarah to regulate her nervous system. 

I had an idea a few weeks ago of helping the girls clean one area of their room with the plan being that then every day moving forward they would keep it clean on their own. This has really worked well with Sarah and the clothes that so often decorated her floor. She now puts things away or in her hamper immediately with minimal reminders. Amy’s area is her desk and that has been going relatively well too. My area is the kitchen and that has not worked quite as flawlessly, but that is ok too. 

We got good news on Friday when we saw Amy’s orthopedic doctor. She probably will only have to wear the brace for another 12-24 months. We had thought she would have to wear it for two years after getting her period, which hasn’t started yet. Since I was quite late compared to my peers for starting my period, we were concerned that Amy would have a very long brace timeline. But, the doctor said he sees signs that her bones are maturing and that not everyone follows the pattern of stopping growing two years after their menarche. 

Amy also had a very exciting Thursday night out when she went with her uncle to a cat cafe. We thought the cats would be in costume, but as one might expect, not many wanted to keep wearing their costumes. Amy and her uncle wore cat paws, drew whiskers and cat noses on their own faces, and wore cat ears. Amy came home happy and covered in cat hair. The next day Amy donned lots of pink and blue makeup to be Laguna from Monster High and regaled us with Laguna’s song. Amy’s artistic abilities gallop apace on paper and on her own person.

Friday night was wonderful for all of us because our beloved sitter and past Sarah-Rise volunteer Sc came to babysit. Carl and I went out to have a fancy dinner and the girls and Sc made cake pops. The pops are delicious but don’t look quite as much like pumpkins on a stick as we all imagined in our heads. Also, the white chocolate chips behaved oddly after the food coloring was added. When they attempted to reheat the mixture in the microwave it hardened into a rock. We couldn’t use my double boiler because we have an induction stove and my double boiler is glass, so the microwave seemed like the best option. While the chocolate didn’t quite work out as anticipated, Sarah can’t wait to tell her bus driver about it! I love how much she loves her driver. He is one of her favorite people and I can tell he delights in her as well. 

Sarah has been wanting a copy of Rhinocerous Tap, another Sandra Boynton book that we used to have but gave away in one of our Great Book Sorts. I ordered a copy and it arrived on Monday but I didn’t give it to her then. I didn’t want it to seem like a reward for the big upset nor did I want her to be so invested in looking at the book that getting ready for swimming would be derailed. I waited until Friday and she was so excited to see it that she started paging through to find Turkey Love Song before even removing her backpack. 

We wrapped up our day yesterday with pumpkin carving and watching It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Pumpkin carving wouldn’t be complete without Amy being grossed out by pumpkin innards and last night didn’t disappoint. She made some great faces while scooping her pumpkin clean before turning it into her siren-o-latern. Carl carved a bat, Sarah did her requisite musical notes, and I cut out stars and a moon. 

Now I leave you with Sarah’s latest rendition of a well-known tune, “Yankee Doodle when to town riding on a turkey, stuck a feather in his turkey and called it spaghetti.”