Being Productive

I feel so productive and happy right now. My nails are black and my back is a bit sore, but I am completely HAPPY!! I had such a great day.

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First, I have to apologize to anyone who logged on to the "Transplanting Trees" post. My computer is having serious issues. I had downloaded my pictures using Hubby's laptop and thought I could add the words using my computer. I spent an hour and a half typing up what basically amounted to a as a tutorial for transplanting trees. It was a really great post. And then my computer went funky, closed one page, opened another, and reverted to the picture only post, which it then posted...even though I hadn't pushed the post button. Ey-yah! I was so mad I wanted to throw something or punch a wall. Isn't it great how pregnancy amplifies whatever emotion you are feeling? Haha! Luckily, Hubby knows how to deal with my amplified feelings now and was able to help me calm down. Sheesh! I'm such a mess sometimes. :)

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Anyhoo, the full Transplanting Trees post is forthcoming. I just have to re-type it all using Hubby's laptop (the computer I am using currently). Don't expect it for a few days though.

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So, back to my great day.

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I had an OB appointment this morning. The baby boy is doing great. He is currently head down. Cross your fingers he stays that way. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I noticed a magazine advertising an inside scoop into the current season of LOST. Of course, I immediately grabbed it and started reading. It was a great article. Except it made me feel kind of stupid. Remember all the numbers that I mentioned in the last post...I did NOT make the connection to the numbers Jacob had written and THE numbers. I am going to blame the pregnancy for dulling my mind. Haha!

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After that Mr. J had a visit from his CASA worker. She wanted to observe him in our home...see how he interacted with me and Cakes. I was nervous about having my parenting skills observed and analyzed, but the visit was more like a visit than an observation. Hooray! I had a lovely conversation with the CASA worker while Mr. J, Cakes, and I played. She is a nice and compassionate lady who is honestly looking out for Mr. J's best interest. That makes me happy. The little foster kids need all the people they can to look out for them. I'm thrilled to have such a great advocate for Mr. J.

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This afternoon the weather was idyllic. Big white fluffy clouds. Cool temperatures with a slight breeze. Hubby had brought me home a wonderful surprise last week...a new set of pruners. I am the proud owner of Bypass Pruners for pruning live growth and Anvil Pruners for pruning dry branches. With such a perfect afternoon, I decided to break out the pruners. My hibiscus plants have been in desperate need of some pruning. They grew so quickly the roots couldn't support the weight of the top. It took quite a lot of pruning before they could stand up straight on their own. My kids think they look pitiful and scraggly now. I told them to just wait. Hibiscus grow like crazy and their flowers will bloom again.

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I also pruned my five citrus trees and the plum and peach trees in my backyard. Again, my kids think they look a bit scraggly now. I told them to just wait and watch. I used it as a teaching experience to talk about making choices in life. There are so many ways we can grow and we have to make choices. My kids thought we would only cut off bad or dead branches. They were surprised to see me cutting off healthy branches and new growth. I explained that life works the same way for us. Sometimes there are several good branches, several good opportunities, but we have to make a choice if we want our tree to grow up healthy and balanced. It was great seeing the understanding in my kids' eyes.

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The only bad thing that happened with the pruning is that I forgot to put on latex gloves before I started applying the pruning paint. I ended up with that sticky paint all over my hands. It wouldn't have been that big a deal, except tonight I was attending my first Quilt Group Meeting! Aaack!

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I scrubbed and scrubbed my hands, but the paint would not come off and the stickiness did not lessen. Luckily, I had a stroke of genius. I smeared Bag Balm all over my hands then put latex gloves over them. And off I went to the meeting. My hands were clean and usable and by the end of the meeting the bag balm had worked off most of the pruning paint. Now only the edges of my fingernails are black and all stickiness is gone.

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The quilt meeting was a blast. Four other ladies showed up. Three had sewing machines, one brought all her cutting gear, and I manned the iron. We managed to put together a super cute and super scrappy lap-sized quilt top. One of the ladies took a picture and said she would e-mail it to me. When I get it, I'll post a copy here. The quilt top turned out very well and I felt so happy that I could contribute. Plus it was fun to just get together with a bunch of ladies and just listen to them talk. I grew up with a bunch of ladies around me...mom, aunts, grandma, sisters. I miss just being with a bunch of ladies. It was very, very nice. My heart is satisfied, which is a great feeling. :)

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The final good thing that happened was when I came home Miss Q had finally gotten an Algebraic concept that she has struggled with for the past year. Her new Algebra teacher is amazing. She has so many tricks up her sleeve, so many different ways to teach the math concepts to the kids. When Miss Q doesn't understand, her teacher shows her a different way. The trick that finally helped things click for Miss Q...using different colors to separate the different numbers.

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Instead of writing 4y-5x+9z-10+2x-y+2

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Miss Q now writes 4y-5x+9z-10+2x-y+2

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Isn't that great!!! Just a little color-coding and the girl UNDERSTANDS!!! Hooray!!!

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And that is the end of my day. Except...Hubby has promised to rub my neck for five minutes if I have this typed up and the computer off before he finishes his project. And guess what...I'm done and he's not! Hooray. The pregnant lady is going to get her neck rubbed. :)

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I hope you had a great day too! :)