Yesterday it was The Little Guy’s 9th birthday – today it’s The Big Girl’s 19th birthday. Her Golden birthday (19 on the 19th).

Our Princess

My princess has special needs. She has epilepsy and a developmental delay and a moderate hearing impairment. A few years ago she was also diagnosed with lupus. She’s still in ‘high school’ learning life skills and having her daily routine of riding the bus and seeing and socializing with other people.

We are blessed that our girl’s epilepsy has been under control on medication for several years now and that her lupus has also been controlled. The poor thing used to seize all the time, just not really visibly.

The best analogy I’ve found is to think of listening to a radio that is just on the edge of the listening area. Every so often, static replaces the music. But you know the songs. Your mind can fill in the words and music while the static is there and when the music comes back, you’re right on the mark.

She was pretty much able to continue doing whatever it was she was doing before the seizure. We were blessed that she was not in danger while seizing. She’d pause while walking, just for a second, and then continue on. She never fell, never stabbed herself with a fork while eating.

She can write her name and recognize many written words, but she doesn’t read or write. She only uses a few words and a few signs to help her get her point across. She loves to watch movies and listen to her ‘radio’ – CD’s on the DVD player. A few years ago we bought a combo TV/DVD player and just recently the DVD player portion doesn’t work properly. The tray won’t eject using either the button on the TV or the button on the remote control. So we just bought her a new DVD player to hook up to it. Coincidentally, The Little Guy’s DVD player also would not open and it had to be replaced too.

For her birthday we got her UP, Tinkerbell, and Ice Age III – Dawn of the Dinosaurs. She just loves those Ice Age movies. Back when we got the first one, she called it ‘Elephant’ all the time. Then, when Ice Age – The Meltdown came out, that was ‘Elephant in Water’. We worked with her and got her to say Ice Age and Ice Age Two. Now she’s got her new movie ‘Three’. The Little Guy got GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and she’ll love that one just as much. She loved it when we saw it at the theater for The Big Guy’s birthday back in August. She also adores the Transformers movies and Bumblebee is her favorite.

She’ll need to be on meds the rest of her life. She’ll need supervision and someone to help her with showering. She can feed herself, but can’t cook. She can dress herself, use the bathroom herself, but she’ll never be a ‘productive’ member of society.

She loves and is loved.

*** As an Amazon Associate, I could get a few pennies if you order one of these movies from Amazon – or if you order anything else while still in the session at Amazon that  came from any of these links. Also, I see that Amazon has a set of all three of the Ice Age movies on Blu-Ray as well. ***

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It’s my Little Guy’s ninth birthday today. As he is a big fan of Star Wars The Clone Wars his morning present was a complete Star Wars the Clone Wars bedding set. He was really happy. Yay!

*** I have received no compensation or consideration from Target, Jay Franco, George Lucas, Lucasfilm, or starwars.com. I went to Target and bought the bedding with my own money. The Little Guy is extemely pleased with the selection however, including the fleece throw that he can cuddle in. ***

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In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Written by Lt-Colonel John McRae (1915)

Remember me:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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I was in Germany 20 years ago when the wall came falling down. We heard about it around 9 pm local time. I called my mother at work back in the Chicago area to tell her about it. Then I was able to get a piece to take home. That was a great day.

A piece of the Berlin Wall

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Our Shih Tzu, Raven, occasionally Ray-poo,  officially known as Quoth the Raven, Nevermore crossed the Rainbow Bridge today. She had a huge lump on the right side of her neck that came up really fast. She was in a lot of pain. The vets and techs at Best Friends Animal Hospital and Animal Emergency & Treatment Center were wonderful and did what they could to make her as comfortable as they could. She went quietly and easily.

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Daylight Saving Time also ends at 2 am tomorrow. Set your clocks back tonight and change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

My Princess, Anakin Skywalker, and Crow…

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I’m getting ready to make some cookies for a Halloween Party on Monday and I thought I would share my recipe for royal icing once again.

Since royal icing is made with raw egg whites and isn’t cooked, there can be an issue with food safety. This can be avoided by using pasteurized eggs. Royal icing uses only the egg whites, not the yolks, so there could be some waste if you purchase a dozen pasteurized eggs (and they’re more expensive than regular eggs too).

My solution is to buy egg whites in a carton. These are available in the egg section of the dairy case at your local grocery store, right next to the Egg Beaters and Better’n Eggs. Like the Egg Beaters and Better’n Eggs, egg whites often come in a store brand too. The egg whites are genuine pasteurized egg whites that you just measure out instead of separating eggs to get the whites.

If you like to eat your cookie dough and don’t want to worry about the health issues of raw eggs, you can substitute the Egg Beaters or Better’n Eggs in your cookie dough recipe for regular eggs. Just follow the equivalency chart on the side of the carton.

Royal Icing

1 pound powdered sugar
1/3 cup egg whites (or two egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar (helps to bind the egg whites)
2 teaspoons of water

Mix it all in a mixer. You can make different consistencies. add some more powdered sugar to make it a bit firmer. If you want to cover a cookie in icing, use a round tip and draw a line around the outside, then use slightly more watery icing to fill in. The icing will spread out, but won’t go over the side because of the icing dam. A toothpick dipped into food coloring can be used to “draw” features in newly poured icing (works well with white).

Try to use gel coloring if possible (Wilton makes this) but you can use the liquid drops from the supermarket. If you do, it will thin the icing so be prepared to add a little more powdered sugar if you want firmer icing.

Royal icing can be kept in sealed plastic containers at room temperature for days. Mix different colors in different containers. If you don’t have cake decorating tools, you can still pipe icing dams using a plastic sandwich bag with a low corner just nipped off.

***I have received no compensation or consideration from Wilton or the makers of Better’n Eggs or Egg Beaters for this post. I have purchased these products with my own money to use in recipes and I am letting my readers know about their options. ***

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Gateway Pundit has joined the Anchoress over at First Things.

Congratulations Jim!

***I have received no compensation or consideration from Gateway Pundit, The Anchoress, or First Things for linking to their sites.***

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It’s my niece’s 14th birthday today and she wanted a purple Converse All-Star*** High Top cake. So she got what she wanted:

Emily's Birthday Cake

***I received no compensation or consideration for this Converse All-Star Shoe Cake. It is what my niece wanted her cake to look like, and it’s what I provided to her. ***

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I am a nobody.

Nobody is perfect.

Therefore, I am perfect.

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