100 Things

Bold the things you've done:
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait drawn
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - a tiny little Wetaskiwin made movie that played at the Reynolds museum. I was the piano player in the background.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - piano lessons, does that count?
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - my mop doll
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Been in a commercial or other ad
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - on the pioneer trek in the Red Deer Stake
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - Sherri Dew
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee - a wasp actually
100. Auditioned for a reality T.V. show (like American Idol...)

Blah, blah, blah - I can't think of a title right now

I don't know why I haven't updated our blog in a few weeks. It seems like the time has flown by. I've been busy typing, Ryan's been busy with school and we have something going on every day of the week. I definitely haven't been getting enough sleep, hence the lack of title. Even though I know that I need to get more sleep, I can't seem to give up staying up late because I like having the time to myself or spending it with Ryan.

We've had some fun activities lately:

GRIT Winter Festival - it was a day-long drop-in activity at the GRIT offices with so many fun things to do. The girls loved it and we met a lot of new people. It was good to see other kids in wheelchairs there because I had felt like Claire was the only one!

Here is our little Picasso. She's getting very good at painting.

Claire loved being in the open jumping pit. She stayed in it for awhile.

It doesn't show up very well in this picture but Madeline's hair was
sticking straight up the whole time she was in the jumping pits (click on the picture to enlarge it). There was another, bigger jumping castle that she enjoyed - she got tossed around like a rag-doll because of all the other kids jumping, but I guess that is the fun part!
They had a fun fishing pond where the kids got stickers.

Our Primary had a PJ Party which was okay. I always feel like Claire is on the outskirts of things at church and I have a hard time expressing my feelings without becoming either angry/rude or too emotional. I need more practice to be a better advocate for her. Thanks to my friend Cindy who stepped in a made sure they included Claire and thanks to Shauna for making sure she had a nice prize for Claire at the end. Madeline was allowed to tag along and I couldn't even get one picture of her because she was running around and having so much fun.

The GRIT fundraiser Hope & Harmony is coming up this Saturday and I think it will be great. I hope I don't screw up - that's my huge fear when I accompany people. I always say a prayer that I won't detract from the good singing!

We set up an RDSP for Claire this week to make sure we made the cut-off date so we could take advantage of the government grants offered in 2008. It will be so nice to have these savings for her so that we know she'll always be taken care of.

I'm feeling renewed and encouraged by my friend Shauna's successful purchase of a home. Everything fell into place for them and they found exactly what they needed so I have to have faith that it will happen for us as well when the time is right.

FYI - Here is what was on my "to-do" list today:

Rhymes & Songs group
Deposit cheques
Mail letters
Call Sears re: yearly appliance checks
Finish Maddie's Heritage Maker card deck for her birthday
Find fun songs for piano on Thursday
Fill out Little Bits medical/liability release forms (Claire starts riding in APRIL!!!!)
Organize Claire's GRIT binder/file cabinet/seizure list for Dr. Sinclair's appointment
Write Elder Patterson a letter
Sewing - mending/velcro for Claire's walker/chest strap for Claire's new chair
Groceries
Laundry/dishes/clean-up/meals/bathtime/etc.

Here are some fun pictures:

Madeline is such a delight in our family. She makes things so much fun. The other day she found Ryan's toque and gloves and put them on and danced around the house.

Here is a cute picture of Ryan and Claire. They love to cuddle together.
I must have been really boring this day. I need to think of more fun activities!

It's like living in New York

Ryan and I were feeling quite happy with the fact that housing prices were coming down. We have had our plan in place for saving up enough for a small down payment and were feeling more optimistic than we had in several years about eventually owning a home. (Our options for homes are limited because we can't have a townhouse/split/bi level because of Claire's wheelchair). I then read in the paper this morning that next year housing prices are supposed to be back to "normal." How disappointing! It feels like we will never be able to get our own home.

My biggest worry is that the girls don't have a private little grassy spot to play in. I feel like we're depriving them of an essential part of childhood. However, I'm trying to reconcile myself with apartment living right now by telling myself "It's like living in New York." There are lots of families living in New York apartments and they survive just fine. They get along fine with playing in public parks and playgrounds. Their children aren't deprived - right? This is how I've been comforting myself but it's not really working.

I am trying to focus on the positive - we have a huge apartment with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a washer, a dishwasher, all the storage rooms in the building are crammed with our stuff, we are close to several parks, the river valley and the library, we can walk to lots of fun summer/winter festivals, if we need things repaired we don't have to pay for it, we can use all the hot water/heat that we want and we're close to lots of good places to eat. It could be a lot worse but sometimes I feel so behind compared to people who have their own home. I wonder how some people can afford it when the median house price is $350 000!

On a more positive note, we had a great Family Day weekend, besides Claire being under the weather. We spent a lot of time doing stuff at home, going for walks, making messes, etc. We went to the Royal Alberta Museum on Monday when it was free admission day and took in the exhibits and a balloon art performance show. It was fun although we almost weren't able to sit in the theatre because parents had filled the empty wheelchair area in the back with their empty strollers and wouldn't move them! I was almost ready to bust some heads, but the girls had fun. We didn't take any pictures during the show since they wouldn't have turned out but here is an example of some animals that the lady makes with balloons:

Madeline had fun on daddy's shoulders while we were viewing the exhibits.
Claire loves the Alberta exhibit with all the animals and landscapes.
I think she also enjoyed all the crowds and hearing people talk and laugh.

I've really been enjoying how the girls interact with each other now. Madeline is always trying to copy Claire. For example, whenever Claire stands in her standing frame, Maddie always wants to have a turn:

They enjoy doing more things together now.

They like having their baths together, reading stories together, colouring together:

Maddie pulled her chair over to Claire's chair and started colouring with her. It makes me so happy to see them enjoying each others' company.

Claire looked so grown-up today and I tried to get a picture but all
she was showing me was the profile shot.

And, filed under the category of "at least our lives are never dull,"
this is what I found in Madeline's room after nap time today:She had systematically taken every piece of clothing out of her dresser drawers and almost all the books out of her bookshelf. She did this very quietly and sneakily. Fun times.