Toby's Book by Hannah and Mom

I love how Hannah's mind operates. The simplicity of her story-telling in "Toby's Book" that she wrote on Tuesday night. The ability to remember the details which really makes her not so simple. Watching this, listening to her, it's fascinating.

Her book arrived from walmart.com four days early. Talk about exceeding my expectations! The quality was pretty good, too. We excitedly thumbed through the pages, everything looking just as she had hoped.

I am so amazed at how far she has come. A year ago, she completely shut down regarding school. It was too overwhelming. She refused to read, she refused to talk about school work, and now...she's writing stories.

If you like to write, read. If you like to escape reality for a bit, read. If you want to learn something new, read. I can't imagine what life is like to be unable to read.

Is This my Baby?

In my lovesick desire to surprise my husband with a whole new set of pics for his digital picture frame, I found a ton of pictures of Hannah when she was a baby. Pictures I remember taking, but I looked at one particular photo (not the one I chose for my blog) and thought "Is this my baby?"

Time has a funny way of sneaking up on you. And it cackles when you look back and wonder where it went. A cruel, cruel joke.

I chose this particular picture because Hannah wrote a children's story last night, and it was about Toby. How I wish I had consulted the flash drive in the digital picture frame before putting the picture book together last night on walmart.com. How precious are the memories of a baby and her best friend! It touches me deep down, but I already know what Hannah would have said if I had actually put her baby pics in the book. "Mom! You're embarrassing me!"

Time will sneak up on me again, and ten years from now I'll be looking at that book of the story she wrote. And have the same feelings as I do tonight.

It Begins

That is, my blog. Well, I should say my family's blog. Wherein I shall share our news, which may include some tidbits of our everyday life, some hilarious Hannah moments that have me trying very hard not to laugh (as it embarrasses her), maybe some pictures, and any and all news that we want to share. I have the following accounts: Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and now, a blog. How often I will update? With all the networking sites available, I cannot say. I'll forget where I posted what, and may end up repeating myself thnking that I've not said something on Facebook when in fact, I've already shared it but could not remember if it was really at Google+.

It's a hot Sunday afternoon, my family went to church, I stayed home to try and nurse a headache while getting laundry done, the kitchen cleaned, and dinner and dessert going. Thank you cards from Hannah's birthday need to go out. Ted's clothes to be set aside for an upcoming work trip.

He's going to Atlanta. Again. He is not a fan of business travel, being so tall and squished in coach class on the plane, having crappy hotel beds, and well, being away from us, of course. Since he took his current position, he's traveled a lot. I'm a little jealous in that he gets to go to places that I've never been. He's been to Atlanta a few times, I'd love to go there. He'd rather stay home where the bed is comfy and all is quiet. Basically. He's been to DC, Florida, Oakland CA. We used to live in the Bay Area, CA, so I am also jealous of that trip.

Hannah starts week two of school. A new school. A school that I must say, "I love you!!" As does she. Saturday morning, she woke up at 8:30am, shouting, "Mom! Where are you?" She located me, all comfy in bed, and asked, "Shouldn't I be at school?" That, folks, is history in the making. Aside from the fact that she tells us all about school now, whereas before, it was like trying to brush though her matted hair on a Monday morning. With the new school comes a dress code much like my days at Kamehameha. It's both good and bad, the good far outweighing the bad. Good in that she looks so put together, it breeds a more academic environment, and well, I enjoyed picking out smart-looking attire. Bad in that it is more expensive (sorry, honey, the American Express bill is going to be kinda big). Tomorrow, we start carpool. She gets to ride with another family, and well, I don't really need to leave the house, which means I can stay in my jammies all day long.

Speaking of me...

The things I like about being at home all day, no kid or hubs.

1. No TV. I relish in the absolute quiet of my home.
2. I can turn down the thermostat to 65 degrees and no one will complain if it's cold.
3. The dog pretty much stays out of my way, except for when he wants something, at which point he follows me everywhere until I comply.
4. No interruptions! Except for the above re: Toby.

My Toby boy is getting old. He's 13 years old, going blind and deaf. I read The Art of Racing in the Rain this weekend and bawled. I had to try and be quiet about it because I finished at 1:27am early Saturday morning, I did not want to wake Ted from his slumber. It was like I was already mourning the loss of my dog. I have book club on Tuesday morning, and I doubt I'll be able to contribute anything, other than tears. And no, the thrust of this book is not about a dog dying. If it was just that I would not have read it. It's a pretty fantastic book about a dog's life, the struggles his owner faces, lots of metaphors of course, and it is written completely in the dog's point of view. While the ending is supposed to be a happy one, it made me cry even harder.

The dryer has dinged and its contents must be handled. Blog time over.