Slow Down, Gym Shoe!

Guess Who Met Dora?

The other day I read that Dora The Explorer was going to be visiting kids at the local children's museum today. I thought Pufferfish would have loved that, but I definitely didn't have enough money for the children's museum! So, when I found out that Dora would also be at the mall, for free, I was so excited!

I didn't even tell Pufferfish about it until we got to the mall and I saw the signs. Knowing my track record, I was afraid I'd somehow mess up the date or something! But sure enough, Dora was at the mall! She read a story to her little fans, and then posed for pictures with them.

I had pictured her being one of those big, costumed Dora that looks just like a blown up version of the cartoon. But this one as an actual person-sized person, dressed up in Dora's clothes and backpack! She definitely didn't look like the tiny little girl from the cartoon. Maybe that was why Pufferfish was a little nervous about sitting on her lap!

Here she is clinging to Jimmy, who came along for the fun of it.

We got her to sit on Dora's lap, but only for a few seconds! (Do you see what I mean about Dora not really looking like herself?)

Afterwards, we went into the Too Cool store and Jimmy bought Pufferfish a sheet of sparkly Dora stickers, so it was all good! And the interesting thing was, later on Pufferfish remembered the day as if she'd had an awesome time! She danced around the house, telling everyone who came over that she'd gotten to meet Dora at the mall! Little kids are funny that way, aren't they!!!

Ugh! Seriously?

Okay, dudes. I have been without my meds for about five days now. The Target pharmacy cannot get ahold of my doctor to approve a refill... and since I am a county mental health patient, I can't contact him directly either! I am now so light-headed, I feel like I am walking without a floor underneath me!

Then,there is this issue... I opened up a checking account, and then, at the banker's suggestion, added a savings account, with "overdraft protection." I suck at math, so I always have trouble balancing a checking account, and my ADHD doesnt help with this! So my solution was to just always use my debit card instead of checks, and check my balance online each day to make sure I had enough money. Well, nobody told me that you can use your debit card on, say, Monday, and somehow it can end up not being withdrawn from your account until, say, Friday. So, when you see "Available Balance," it really means "Available until that $20 you spent at Target last week and forgot about finally shows up on your account. So... yep... I got overdrawn by twenty bucks. So the overdraft protection kicked in and took twenty bucks out of my savings account... except I didn't have twenty bucks in my savings account! And my savings account became overdrawn. Which I never knew was even possible. I mean, its not really protecting me from an overdraft if they take the money out of my savings account and then overdraft that, right?

I went to the bank and explained my mistake to the banker, who said she would wave the $25 overdraft fee. But then she said she couldn't do it, she had to email someone at the specific branch where I opened the account.

I waited several days. The overdraft was still there. I decided to call the branch where I opened the account, and tell them what the one bank manager had told me she'd do. They said they'd have someone call me back. Never happened!

Meanwhile, my saving account was becoming an additional eight bucks overdrawn each day because of the overdraft fees. So soon it was up to, like, eighty bucks!!!

I emailed the help line on the website and explained my problem. They said they'd waive half of my negatie balance, but not the other half, because it wasn't really a bank error.

That brought me down to forty bucks negative. But if I left it that way, I would keep on getting more eight dollar fees! So I had to transfer forty bucks out of my checking account to even it out. Leaving me with a grand total of three bucks in my checking account!

And this is the sad part... I was gonna make chocolate chip cookies with Pufferfish tomorrow, as part of Tot School because we are reading the If You Give A Mouse A Cookie books this week. But now I can't even afford the supplies for the cookies!

Maybe we'll read If You Give A Moose A Muffin tomorrow too. I think I can afford muffin mix!

Plus, even if my prescription does become available by tomorrow, I won't be able to get it until Saturday now.

And, Little Bear and Rafael have Friday off of school! So I will be completely unmedicated and on edge, with three little kids running me ragged all day!

This should be a fun couple of days! Wish me luck!

Commercial Break: Blast Off!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Allison Maslan, author of "Blast Off!". All opinions are 100% mine.

The other day Diana and I were talking about my goal of being a foster/adoptive parent someday. I have a lot of dreams, including foster parenting and also starting my own experimental school to help kids with learning differences. The school would help kids use their own interests and talents to learn about other things. For instance, lets say you have a kid who absolutely loves robots but hates reading  Instead of forcing him to read elementary school reading books and write reports and stuff, at my school the kid would just do what he loved the most... work with robots! If all he ever wanted to read was books and magazines about robots, so be it. Maybe he could build a robot, learning math and science in the process. Maybe he could become penpals with a professional  robot builder, learning writing skills in the process. Maybe he could help plan a field trip to a robot factory, learning social studies skills in the process. You know what I'm saying?

Anyway... Diana was pointing out to me that I'm really not doing anything to get closer to my dreams right now. I've sort of been in a rut. I'm not calling raising Little BEar and Pufferfish a rut, but, I could probably be doing more with this time as well!

I've been thinking a lot about what she said. Then I saw a website advertising this book called Blast Off!, which is all about getting closer to your dreams. The book teaches readers how to leap over the obstacles that get in the way of their goals. A lot of times, fear of the unknown is one of the biggest obstacles people need to confront! I know that is true for me!

Blast Off is written by Allison Maslan, a woman who, as a divorced, single mom, built nine successful businesses using a process she came up with on her own to get through the obstacles she faced. The book was released on January 19th, and is now available on Amazon for $24.00. It can also be found on the Borders and Barnes & Noble websites, and will soon be available offline in major book stores!

Although this is a sponsored post, I can honestly tell you that yesterday I was feeling so defeated, I was Googling "start a new life" for tips on how I could just escape. This book sounds like it may be an answer to my prayers! Instead of escaping, I can read this book for strategy and guidance on how to move forward to the life I really want.

I hope you'll check this out! I know I plan to!

Am I even awake?

Bleh, I'm getting a cold!! This day is already freaking me out! Let me count the ways...

1. Jimmy is totally grouchy today and snapping at Pufferfish. My big plan was to get Puff out of the house today (we did absolutely nothing yesterday because I was sick and low on energy) but Little Bear was puking last night, and stayed home from school, and now we're stuck here like hostages!

2. I still have a cold!I took some Sudafed this morning but, although it is supposed to make me jittery and wide awake, its making me drowsy! Diana says this is because of my  ADHD... things that make regular people stimulated actually just stimulate that part of my brain that makes me calm! TOO calm!

3. Little Bear was sick last night, but today has plenty of energy to argue, fight and whine with Pufferfish!

4. Have I mentioned that I'm having trouble getting the stupid County Mental Health doctor to call in a prescription refill for me? I've been off my meds for a week now! Between that and the Sudafed, I can barely see straight!!!

5. Have I also mentioned that at 5:30, when all of this should be nearly over with, I have to go sit through the most boring US Politics class ever for three hours???

HELP! GET US OUTTA HERE!!!!!

Tot School Celebrates Chinese New Year!

Hello and welcome to another week of Tot School! I hope you enjoy my hastily thrown together version of Chinese New Year week! It wasn't my best week, due to low energy and low cash... but it woked for us!

Chinese New Year is also Korean New Year! Since our family is Korean (some by blood and some just by association) I wanted to do something specifically Korean. So I made a simplified Yut Nori game. Yut Nori is a game often played at family gatherings, such as at the Lunar New Year!

This is a fun counting game too I used a file folder to make the game board. You just need some circles around a board of some sort. You also need four popsicle sticks, with one side of each stick decorated. Players take turns tossing the sticks up into the air, and counting how many land with the decorated side up Then, whatever the number is, is the number of steps you take on the board. So simple, right? But the tossing of the sticks also makes it lots of fun! (I used polished pebbles, which we also use as math counters, for game pieces.)

Pufferfish takes her turn at Yut Nori

Next, we made a Chinese dragon puppet. This one uses popsicle sticks for handles (The popsicle sticks from the Dollar Store came in very handy this week!) and can stretch back and forth like an accordion!

Finally, Pufferfish made a tiger mask, in honor of the Year Of The Tiger.

Little Bear, who was learning about Chinese New Year in her school, also made a dragon mask!

We also made a Chinese fan and colored some Zodiac pictures, which I didn't get pictures of. And, unrelated to Chinese New Year, we counted out marbles in the brand new counting box I found at the Dollar Tree! (Its really a tiny display shelf, but it works much better as a counting box, I think!)

I just noticed the "eight" box only has four marbles in it! You'll have to trust me that it eventually did hold eight!

Stay tuned for next week... we're going to do a whole week about the Laura Numeroff books!
 
  

Can You Hear Me Now?

Pufferfish: "Nicki, where is the che-mote for the TV?"

Me: (Ignoring her as I look for a copy of my textbook in the local library)

Pufferfish: "Nicki? Where is the che-mote for the TV?"

Me: (Ignoring)

Pufferfish: "NICKI! WHERE IS THE CHE-MOTE FOR THE TV!"

Me: "I DUNNO! WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME!"

Pufferfish: "BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT!"

Apparently I do!

My Therapist Is A Pufferfish

Me: (not wanting to go on a job interview) "Ugh... I hate people!"

Pufferfish: "But I'm a people! You like me?"

Me: "Yes, of course! I love you, Pufferfish!"

Pufferfish: "Little Bear is a people! You like her?"

Me: "Yeah,  I love Little Bear!"

Pufferfish: "My daddy and mommy is people! You like my mommy and daddy?"

Me: "I love your mommy and daddy!"

Pufferfish: "See? You love people!"

Then she told me my time was up, and charged me a hundred bucks!

We Love Gymboree!

Pufferfish and I have been going to Gymboree for a few weeks now. I started taking her there because I felt like she needed to be in some sort of weekly class to start getting used to the concept, because this coming fall she is hopefully going to start three-year-old preschool!

We first tried out the Play And Learn class,which is all about climbing around on the special mats and equipment while also following teacher directions and using imagination. For instance, the day we sampled it, the theme was camping, so the kids had to gather wood (balls) to make a fire, and go on a "hike" around the equipment, and stuff like that. I thought for sure I would sign Pufferfish up for that one, but I also decided to try out the Music class. I ended up loving that one! Well, I mean, I love the way Pufferfish interacts in that class. The kids get to play lots of musical instruments and do little kid dances and rhymes. He first time we went, Pufferfish was very shy and stuck to my leg, but I could still tell that she liked the songs and the musical instruments. And now, every time we go, she opens up a little more!

Its crazy because there are certain parts of the class that she always refuses to participate in. For instance, if we have to dance, she usually wants me to hold her and she doesn't want to dance. But then afterwards, we'll be at home and she'll start singing the songs and asking me to show her the dances!  And there's one part of the class where the teacher talks about crescendo and decrescendo, and the kids have to play their bells or maracas soft soft soft louder LOUD LOUD LOUD!!! Every week, the teacher asks the kids if they remember what it is called. There is one little girl who sometimes says the word, but most of the other toddlers still don't, including Pufferfish. Anyway, today in the car on the way home Pufferfish suddenly started yelling, "Crescendo! Crescendo!" And when we got home we practiced doing a crescendo by poundiing on the kitchen table! I figure by the time Pufferfish gets to first grade, she'll be the only kid in the class who already knows what crescendo and decrescendo mean!

It is kind of hard to take pictures of Pufferfish in Gymboree because she is generally on top of me, but I manged to snap a few to show you.

The class usually starts and ends with the kids banging on this big drum!

One of Pufferfish's favorite times is when Miss Kim drags out the big box of musical instruments, and the kids get to choose whatever they want and just jam! Pufferfish looks a little somber here, because I had just been trying to explain to her that she had to back up a few steps in order for me to take a picture!

She also likes painting the walls to the rhythm of rock music!

Here she is, caught dancing in an unguarded moment!

She also loves it when the teacher reads (or, sings, rather) a story to the kids!

Towards the end, Miss Kim pulls out the bubbles and the kids get to catch them and pop them! They're weird bubbles because they don't pop right away when you touch them, so you can actually catch them and hold them!

At the very end, all the kids line up to get stamps on their hands,,, 

... or wherever else they want them!

Another nice part of this class is that, afterwards, Pufferfish and the other kids can play for fifteen minutes or so in the play and learn part! Pufferfish definitely loves getting her energy out there!

Here is Pufferfish "surfing." One of the teachers complimented her on her sense of balance today!

As we were leaving, today, Pufferfish asked me at least three times, "Can we come back here next week?"And of course, I told her, YES!

Rafael's kind of good and kind of bad birthday

Today is Rafael's seventh birthday! It didn't start out all that great, though. Apparently his teacher wouldn't  let the class sing "Happy Birthday" to him. She seems to have some sort of grudge against him... But anyway, Jimmy took Little Bear and Pufferfish to the city tow see their grandparents and Tigerlily. So I thought I would do something special with Rafael. My original plan was to take him to see the movie "The Tooth Fairy." It was supposed to start about ten minutes before Rafael got out of school, but I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to miss the previews and first few minutes.

So we got to the theater, only to be told by the lethargic teenagers working there that the entire movie had been cancelled because nobody had shown up! And there were no other kid movies playing there.

I spotted a bowling alley across the street, and cheered Rafael up by telling him we could go bowling! He got all excited as we walked across the street... only to find out  that the bowling alley was closed, for no apparent reason!

Next I spotted a small toy store nextdoor to the bowling alley, so I told Rafael we could go in there and look around. I ended up buying him a bag of marbles and an Uglydoll. Afterwards, we got sodas and went home.

I was feeling horrible that all of my plans to give Rafael a great day had backfired. But then, as we drove home, Rafael piped up from the back seat, "Nicki, you and me had the best day together, didn't we? I love you more than anything!"

I love you too, little dude!

Commercial Break: RepairPal

One of the biggest pains in my butt is my car. I love my little car... it was given to me by my grandparents, and is in better shape than any other car I've owned... but its old, and I'm not very good at keeping up it's maintenance. Just the other day, I was talking to my mom on the phone, and she suggested that my car might need a new battery pretty soon. Ugh... if its not one thing, its another! Every time I feel like I have some money saved up, my car seems to need something!

I found a website that makes the car repairs issue a lot easier! Its called Repairpal.com, and you can find all the information you want about car repairs, including price estimates of repairs to specific makes and models of cars, reviews of local car repair businesses, and much more.

For instance, imagine you havea Toyota Corolla, you live in Chicago, and you find out you're going to need a new water pump. First of all,if you'd like, you can read all about what a water pump is, what it does, why it might need to be repaired, etc. You can also read questions and answers about water pump problems that other people have submitted, or submit your own questions! Then, you can type in the make, model and year of your car, find out how much you might expect a new water pump to cost, and search for a Chicago auto repair shop that can do the work for you. The star ratings and customer reviews will help you find a shop that you can trust with your car! 

I'm definitely going to use this site whenever I have any problems with my car... and believe me, I have bad luck with cars! I hope this site comes in handy for you, too!