The Witch is IN!

I have had a crazy month. It all started about 3 weeks ago when my husband’s wallet was stolen from work. They charged a bunch of stuff on our check card- yes it can be done. No, they didn’t need our pin. Now, the bank was wonderful etc…. but what a pain to have to cancel everything and wait patiently for our $800 to return to our account. Then we get back on our feet from that and his car gets broken in to. They smashed 2 windows and stole his stereo and GPS. ONE day before they can park on the site with security. He is an electrician and they are building the Harley Museum downtown. The cherry on top is when I came to the realization that all my paperwork for Sofie was misdirected and I thought we were close to getting the disability determination. NOT EVEN! So I need to fill out all new paper work! Plus, Scott was gone all weekend with the Army. He does not realize how difficult it is and how much Sofie is affected. She tantrumed all weekend. I wanted to run away!!

So, I did. I ran away to my cottage and created something fun, yet very fitting. I am going to hang it in my kitchen to give them fair warning! LOL! If you can’t read it, it says, “The Witch is … IN ( then on the back it can be switched to OUT). Thank God for giving me a sense of humor!!

I Like Change..

When it comes to my blog that is. I like it to look different and will always be switching it around. I hope that doesn’t bother you. I guess everytime I read my blog I think well, that used to be me. But everyday I am evolving. Mostly because I am seeing the world differently.

As I navigate “the system” of Medicare and try to get Sofie what she needs I see frustration first hand. Now, apparently there is a mistake and they don’t have Scott down as a custodial parent. So, now I have to fill out MORE paper work so they don’t hunt down my husband for child support!! On the form it said where did you last see him? I wrote this morning at 6:10 when he was in the kitchen and I was making his lunch just like every other day! I can not believe the number of HOURS spent on all of this! All I want is for my Sofie to recover. Whatever I have to do!! She is not even on the waiting list yet!

I am BACK!

Is it possible that I went this long without posting?? YIKES! Time sure does fly! We had a busy, but fun August. The kids really took my time and that is how summer is supposed to be! We also took some impromptu trips and outings and those will be seen in future scrapbook pages. I HOPE!!
The girls are adjusting well to school, but me, that is a different story. I am not used to leaving the house except to take Sofie to school or therapy. I am not exaggerating either. So, to have this new found freedom is a bit odd. I hope to be a the gym tomorrow. WHoo HOO!!
Okay, so today I made a layout for an upcoming party and a card for another party. I actually got something done. YAY!!!!
I hope you enjoy my latest creations.
Until tomorrow-
Sarita

What a Weekend!

So! With all the excitement of the new catty coming out and the new products was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited to show my mom who came over on Friday morning. So, I took my laptop to the kitchen table and we were looking and my excitement got my daughter all crazy and she accidentally spilled coffee on my laptop. I was in SHOCK! Thank GOD that I flipped it over right away and called my hometown computer shop right down the road!! He dried it out and there was no damage. All I could keep thinking about was WHAT IF ALL MY PICTURES ARE GONE?? So, the first thing I am doing is putting my pics on CDs. He said you have 10 gb of pics- OOPS! So, I am on a mission! Also, I learned that if you spill anything on a cell phone, lap top, PDA turn it off immediately!!

Now, today I am going to scrapbook all day with my girl, Brenda. I have so much to do and I can’t wait to get working! So, I should be back soon with more layouts to share!!

Whoo hoo!

New Camera



Not by choice. Sofie dropped mine for the last time and so I had to go get a new one. So, here is a pic of me before my luau gathering with Sandi and her girls. We had a lot of fun! She made some great food and everyone LOVED the stamp of the month. This was our project. I wish I would have taken pics of everyones. No two were the same. It was SO fun! I really enjoy the themed gatherings. I had another party in Twin Lakes on Sunday and that was FAB! I booked 2 more parties off of that and Cassy earned the Kindred Sprits stamp too! WHOO HOO!! What a GREAT weekend! Have a I said lately how much I LOVE CTMH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Need for a Picture- MISSING!

What a sad week. Last Thursday an autistic boy went missing in central WI. The minute I heard that on the TV I was having a flashback to 1 year ago when Sofie was missing. One minute she was in her sand box and I was in the garage and the next she was gone. We have a barn and a field and tons of places she could escape to. I ran up and down the stairs of the house, all over the yard screaming her name. My mind went right to all the missing children’s parents I have seen on TV and the worst thoughts went through my head. My world was spinning. My throat was hoarse from screaming her name and then I called 911. My daughter is MISSING! They ask, what was she last wearing. Oh my GOD! I just changed her. I knew exactly what she was wearing. How can this be happening??? I am answering questions about my MISSING CHILD! All of a sudden the phone rang and it was the secretary at school across the street. When I heard her say, Mrs. Schraeder? I knew in my heart she had my baby. “Do you have my daughter? Is Sofie there?” YES! she was there. In a flash she had CROSSED the BUSY street, navigated through the cars in a huge parking lot and walked right up to the door of the school. There was a gentleman there picking up his Market Day order and he was asking questions. All she could say was her name, THANK GOD he took her to the office and a teacher recognized her from her school and the mystery was solved. I never shook so hard or cried so much.

When I got the school the police were waiting there. OH MY GOD, all I could think of is they are going to charge me with child neglect. They are going to take her away from me.What kind of mother lets her almost 4 yr old do this? When the secretary met me outside the school with Sofie I hugged her and scolded her and held her so tight! I was crying so hard and then I cried even harder when I realized she didn’t have a clue.

I can remember everything about that horrible moment. No need for a picture. It is forever engraved in my mind. My heart bleeds for the family the lost their little boy ever. My girl was only gone for a little while. Pray for them all.

Matchbox Mini Album


I was SO excited when I made this. I couldn’t wait to post it. It’s my June Workshop. It’s a perfect card or mini album. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Holland

I heard this and couldn’t wait to post this. I want to do a layout and use this as journaling, but can’t wait that long. God knows when I will get to it. So, here it is for all those people who try to understand what raising a special needs child is like. This was written so well and is EXACTLY how I feel about my life and my future.

“Welcome to Holland”

By Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987. All rights reserved.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this……
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip – to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”
But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…. and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills….and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy… and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away…because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But…if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things … about Holland.
I am looking forward to seeing the tulips and windmills in Holland. I know my day is coming. Every day it gets a little easier and I little easier. This is not an overnight thing. I am learning that.

Paring Down My Life

This is my new mantra! So it makes sense that over the last 2 days I have sold A LOT of my old LP inventory and other scrapping items at my scrapbok sale. Now, when I set out on this venture, I was thinking I just want this off my books! What I didn’t realize was the people God would send my way! I have met the neatest people and many of them want to come and take classes and just hang out at my Creative Cottage. That is so cool!! I LOVE making new scrapping friends! I actually woke up yesterday with some pep in my step!! I was feeling normal for the first time since the diagnosis. That was a very good feeling!

So, by realizing and accepting that I need to make some changes in order to focus on Sofie and what she needs, I am being blessed. He always seems to do that! NOW, let’s hope that when I clean out my office and organize my new ‘Family Center” that I will be this excited!!

Life is still good!

Thoughts

I had an extremely hard month after learning my daughter’s diagnosis. I started my May newsletter and never finished but here is a portion. Now that May is gone, I am working on June, but still wanted my thoughts recorded somewhere.

May is my favorite month of the year and also the busiest. Between my daughter’ birthday, dance recital time, mother’s day, graduations, there is barely time to breathe. I am sure most of you feel that way. That’s why it is more important than ever to schedule time for you! Even if it is just a few hours to make some cards, finish a layout or just look at your scrapbooks. It can renew, refresh an renergize you!

LESSONS LEARNED FROM SCRAPBOOKS
My daughter, Savana, turned 9 on Saturday May 5, National Scrapbooking Day 9 (how fitting). I am continually amazed at the person she is becoming. I tell her how much I love her and how proud I am of her. She tells me she knows, “you tell me that all the time.” So we had cuddle time on the eve of her birthday and went through the scrapbook of her first year. She was almost in tears herself as she looked at the tiny being she started as. She laughed at how big my glasses were and how much the whole family had changed. I started out being critical of my work and then let that go as I realized how much joy that book brought to her. “A book all about me! that is the most special thing ever”

So, I urge you to think about that next time you are hung up on a layout that isn’t just right, or the crooked title and the uneven lines. In the end, that is NOT what matters. What matters is that you are teaching your children to celebrate themselves and showing them they are the special people God intended them to be. You are taking time for yourself and celebrating the people and pets you love! You are leaving behind lessons of love, courage and wisdom that every one can appreciate. So, get those photos out of those boxes and start that book. Take out the less than designer quality books you have been hiding and share them with everyone you know! Together, we can enhance the lives of those we love, one page at a time!

Love,
Sarita