October 22, 2015 - Headshots and MRI

Spent most of my spare time today trying to take a decent picture to replace the manic-fabric-nutbar shot I currently use. Magazine article submissions require a headshot! Argh! I tried some neutral, serious poses between dropping my daughter off at school, and returning there again for the annual start-of-the-year IEP* meeting with her teachers, classroom aid and learning resource teacher, two hours later. Deleted them all.
*Individual Education Plan for students with special needs - legal document outlining the team's three goals this school year: feeding, educational and social

Attempt at "placidly neutral" - and not the worst shot!
I need to get more sleep...

I continued to attempt natural and pleasant poses in the 10 minutes I had alone before the appliance repair guy showed up. Snapped away while he was in the basement, humming and "diagnosing" the dryer's problem. Ran out to pick daughter up. Took (deleted) more while she bathed.

Got daughter out of the bath, brace on, clean clothes, kids in the car (one angry; tablets - both), met husband at the roundabout, main entrance to Children's Hospital. Said goodbye to son, husband and car. MRI for daughter at Children's (scoliosis) while husband waited at son's SLP* group session.
*Speech and Language Pathology - board games and facilitated social interactions

Reconvened 2 1/2 hours later. Considered eating out, but too much work to agree on a restaurant. Drove home, instead; Disregulation Level: Moderate.

Two of us ate left-over chicken kabobs on top of left-over noodles, with 1/4 jar of yummy butter chicken sauce. One of us ate a veggi burger between two slices of bread. One of us devoured 2 microwave chimichangas and a pickle. 2 drank milk, 1 water, 1 I don't remember. All ingredients from Costco.

After the boys left the table, there was a very long session of "Cat-Dog, Human", in which my daughter sits on me and alternates feeding me imaginary catnip and dog cookies. It's a terrific game, now that I've learned how to play it. When I let her drive, we always get home safely.

Kitchen Island - Thursday, October 22, 2015

Lamp shade, assortment of dessicated bugs

From top left: "Cat-Dog, Human" took place without her brace. Double heaven! Afterward, she looked up at the bug-peppered kitchen light fixture and demanded satisfaction. All summer she has been fascinated by the building collection of dead wasps, fruit flies and other random bugs trapped within. My husband washed it out as the party continued upstairs, briefly and energetically joined by my son.

Nighttime rituals observed, and now, at 11:32 I am finally seeing my head shot attempts. I want to write, but last night's little post kept me up til almost 4. Don't know how long I will last.

Continuing counter-clockwise, the green kit is my daughter's Humatrope* injection pen. It is given at night, since that is when the body does its growing. It needs to come to room temperature before the dose is given - the cold can hurt.
*human growth hormone

Manual and paperwork from our broken dryer. It will cost at least $300 to fix, but the technician thinks it's worth it: It's a good machine, it should last you another 4 years. FOUR YEARS??? Is the expected life-span of a new dryer just 11 years???? He will come back tomorrow with 4 replacement parts. Our hand basket is well on its way to Hell.

Son's water bottle.

The library book my husband is currently reading on the bus: The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden. It is excellent, he says.

Lastly on the island: a bouquet of late-blooming garden flowers from the mother of the person who helps me out with the kids twice a week. This is our respite, provided by the MCFD. It took us 7 years to get to the top of the pile to receive this funding. $196.30 per month buys roughly 3 1/4 hours help per week.

In the love note bowl on the breadbox: faux Tupperware, waiting to be returned to dear friends who share their celebrations with us, and send us home with leftovers. Love left-overs! I ate the resulting hash myself, at least three days running.

The tulip tree on the city property in front our house is raining down crispy, orange-brown leaves, but barely a portion has fallen. I've filled the yard waste bin with them once, already. This weekend is Extra Leaf Pickup; hope I get time to rake tomorrow.

After repeated hit-and-runs by the construction trucks coming in and out of our alley, squashing several of my plastic garden pots, I finally moved some of them in front of the garage, where they should be safe. I'll shuffle them back when the house is built, or my husband needs his car, whichever comes first.

My daughter's former bean garden, laid to rest

Is there any point in getting a car wash when rainy season is almost upon us? I think not. An interior vacuuming, however, would be a different story. Sadly, it's waaaay down there on the list of priorities. My car is a utilitarian vehicle.

The music: Neil Young BBC concert, 1971; The Witch Doctor Song - 3 different versions; Lonnie Donegan singing "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavour?" (Want to know the Beatles connection?)

Coming up tomorrow: Pro-D Day: 2 hours neuroplastic tutoring at the Vancouver Learning Centre for my daughter in the morning, followed by 1 1/2  hours patting dogs with respite provider (we love her!), and a play date at a classmate's (rare and highly anticipated). For me: catch up on emails and fix up late-night blog post mistakes while waiting for daughter at VLC; meet with fellow classmate from Master Recycling Class over tea to discuss recent trip to the Transfer Station and Landfill (excellent field trip!). Followed by a "Lady Beauty" appointment - a gift I give myself every two weeks: an hour and a half on my back, eyes closed. Wake up, pick up daughter from play date, rush home to meet appliance repair person. Later, laundry.