tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-171617682024-03-20T22:51:45.662-04:00The Stopper StoryThe ins and outs of everyday life with the StoppersThe Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.comBlogger429125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-6492408104756620082011-04-13T13:25:00.004-04:002011-04-13T13:27:50.257-04:00Tball<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2011/EmmaonTigerws.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 353px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2011/EmmaonTigerws.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Eventually I'll get around to downloading the camera and posting a ton of what I'm sure are GREAT action shots of Emma in her first Tball game.<br /><br />In the meantime, Emma's coach shared this photo of Emma and one of her teammates before the Opening Day ceremonies this past SaturdayThe Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-20787954711206253042011-04-07T14:49:00.010-04:002011-04-07T15:16:18.596-04:00Take me out to the Ballgame!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwUW4U9tvrTp-tK5SSeBGkMZXCQd0e6ygXt0Lg3tVwVj_iDY6x6V5zAWZplqbfL-b-eMs8EXYd77RbYzytlvXxY8kbuv9TSDDMBtKcPp2U5ig9gMqzdlyD5A7ysCKsgWcwW12/s1600/IMG_2258.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwUW4U9tvrTp-tK5SSeBGkMZXCQd0e6ygXt0Lg3tVwVj_iDY6x6V5zAWZplqbfL-b-eMs8EXYd77RbYzytlvXxY8kbuv9TSDDMBtKcPp2U5ig9gMqzdlyD5A7ysCKsgWcwW12/s320/IMG_2258.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592916680047358578" /></a>Finally, after months and months of planning and meetings and tryouts and drafts and paperwork and hassles, the Spring baseball season is finally upon us.<br /><br />Michael had his first game last night, before Opening Day on Saturday. He is a member of the Major division Marlins. As a 10-year-old, he is only one of a few his age in the division. As its worked out, the team that drafted him is giving him a lot of great opportunities to play pitcher and first base. The team overall is probably going to struggle a bit this season.<br /><br />But, we won our first game last night - 3-2. Michael pitched 5 innings and only gave up 2 hits and 1 run. He had a pretty good outing for their first game!<br /><br />And just for comparison, I thought I'd share a photo from one of his first Single A games pitching as a little 7-year-old on the Pirates<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5BpekIfM-ChM4VRDK19O8_KrhBTGbTGoyIcbdAA6Iod0h2fhjidd4h2klTN6ipedp4ERLdACh5ow9bylErIegROyiMnQEfdA_a8ERuqy7ZfQ-GygakWDjTpekQBXQZVlBjUN/s1600/Marlins1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5BpekIfM-ChM4VRDK19O8_KrhBTGbTGoyIcbdAA6Iod0h2fhjidd4h2klTN6ipedp4ERLdACh5ow9bylErIegROyiMnQEfdA_a8ERuqy7ZfQ-GygakWDjTpekQBXQZVlBjUN/s320/Marlins1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592916674883178674" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_tkcCImbpMxnPqkT4Wqy9N99D50IcjKa7zvwI4-E_NsxQtDNMUHB85mlXaYgh2Au28kqN3i3-Ahg27GOFe9XrXFHTbfPCImR2Qul4qkv4RVOZgcogEd-Lfr1yH9_exQSBAWA/s1600/michael+in+A.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_tkcCImbpMxnPqkT4Wqy9N99D50IcjKa7zvwI4-E_NsxQtDNMUHB85mlXaYgh2Au28kqN3i3-Ahg27GOFe9XrXFHTbfPCImR2Qul4qkv4RVOZgcogEd-Lfr1yH9_exQSBAWA/s320/michael+in+A.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592917316469760674" /></a>The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-53641107444352988522011-04-03T09:33:00.004-04:002011-04-03T09:40:32.475-04:00I am not a bowler!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53m14aqZJHVNQjv0QAmKgP6Pquk9hkKLIvfhbYvlD5CCwUvNoniJ0qf4O0VEP_W88CD795gefZdZUeVX3qQ0S641EyCJtTjbFtc_MLxh7DGvPadzXoOxB_0DosLRnICtL8TWT/s1600/bowling+score.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53m14aqZJHVNQjv0QAmKgP6Pquk9hkKLIvfhbYvlD5CCwUvNoniJ0qf4O0VEP_W88CD795gefZdZUeVX3qQ0S641EyCJtTjbFtc_MLxh7DGvPadzXoOxB_0DosLRnICtL8TWT/s320/bowling+score.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591351555020720210" /></a><br />Really, I'm not. I am in a bowling league because Mike is a bowler and well, this is more of a social league than a bowling league<br /><br />I started off by saying my average was a great golf score!<br /><br />We are almost done with our second year of bowling. I've gotten better. Still not good, but better<br /><br />We had to bowl 6 games yesterday. Power Bowling - just the two of us on two lanes. We had to make up 3 games last week we missed for Michael's baseball tournament and 3 for next week we are missing for Little League Opening Day.<br /><br />6 games - in 70 minutes. <br />That's about a game every 11 minutes.<br />That's a frame every minute - you do the math<br /><br />It was quite a workout. With 10 lb weights!<br /><br />By the end, I was convinced how out of shape I was, and my right arm was physically sore from throwing weights for an hour.<br /><br />But, I had all six games over 100. My average before this was 86. Not any more.<br />In one game I had a Turkey (for non-bowlers, this is 3 strikes in a row). I took a picture because that was never gonna happen again.<br /><br />By the 6th game, I knew I was cooked. I hit 3 pins on the first ball and 3 more to finish the first frame. My arm was tired.<br /><br />But, somehow I managed to bowl the best game I have EVER bowled - 166. I took a picture because, frankly, I doubt I'll ever see that score again, or that many marks in a single game. I have had entire 3-game series with fewer marks than this one game.<br /><br />And my arm is STILL tired!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-756066215006646542011-03-25T08:30:00.002-04:002011-03-27T11:45:21.052-04:00The boys of ... Winter?So, we are scheduled to play our first baseball tournament of the spring season this weekend.<br /><br />It's been rained out the past two years - two years ago, we got to play one game on Friday night IN THE RAIN before they cancelled the rest of the tournament. Last year, they cancelled it on Thurs evening due to rain during the week contributing to soggy fields that wouldn't be dry in time.<br /><br />So, here we are Friday morning. It hasn't rained since Wednesday. But, it also hasn't been above 45 degrees. Water certainly has a hard time drying up when its cold.<br /><br />And on Sunday they are calling for an inch of snow on grassy areas! EEK!<br /><br />So, do you think they'll give us flourescent-colored baseballs (like they have in softball) so we can see them if they land in the snow! <br /><br />It's gonna be a COLD one!<br /><br />EDITED ON Sunday: So, we played two games yesterday in the C-oo-llll-dddd! The second one was miserable. The snow in the forecast for Sun morning convinced us there was no way we were playing. We got a one hour delay at 6:15am while the snow was coming down. At 7:15 we got the word we were on for 9am. Just won that game and waiting to see if we make the top 4 seeds for the semi-finals!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-58659575717347722662011-03-22T20:13:00.003-04:002011-03-22T20:16:56.369-04:00The Horn...The Horn...The Horn is Forlorn!<br /><br />Michael went to "band night" last night - its a night where the band director from the middle school talks to the kids about band and the kids get a chance to try out some instruments, and the band director and the student make a choice of what they think the best fit is. The director also uses this to make sure he doesn't get 95 clarinets and 2 trumpets.<br /><br />So, Michael tried out some wind mouthpieces and brass mouthpieces and even some of the percussion. In the end, the mouthpiece for the French Horn was really a great fit for the shape of his mouth. The director even let Michael play his PERSONAL French Horn, after many warnings about the value of the instrument, and the sound was good<br /><br />So, next year for Michael, we'll be hearing the deep honking sounds of the French Horn. But, with only a few in the band, its certainly an opportunity for him to get some specialized attention instead of being in a sea of clarinets or trumpets!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-11980157681242317372011-01-13T10:53:00.000-05:002011-01-13T10:53:03.430-05:00Disney Dream and Wonder Meet in Port CanaveralJust another example of how everything is done "Disney" style. Listen to the end to hear the horns!<br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="344" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1aVsCsthfs0?fs=1" frameborder="0"></iframe>The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-84298797867012535702011-01-05T19:15:00.001-05:002011-01-05T19:19:06.061-05:00Epiphany!Epiphany. The arrival of the Magi. The 12 days of Christmas.<br /><br />These are all things you hear when you talk about January 6th. The 12th day after Christmas. <br /><br />I'm not sure how it has happened, perhaps its Mike's Catholic roots, but we leave up our Christmas decorations through Epiphany.<br /><br />I think the first year we lived in South Riding, this was even after our neighborhood scheduled their Christmas tree pickup, but they have since adjusted and always have a Christmas tree pickup the Monday AFTER Epiphany.<br /><br />Our tree is ready to come down. What looked majestic is now looking a bit sad. And I'm ready to reclaim my family room.<br /><br />So, the decorations will start getting put away after tomorrow - Epiphany - and by the end of the weekend I'll be able to reclaim my family room, and my living room, and my dining room table, and, and, ...<br /><br />Happy New Year!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-65923580283281703062010-12-20T12:29:00.008-05:002010-12-23T08:54:49.726-05:00Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010Santacropped.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010Santacropped.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Santa Claus is alive and well in our house.<br /><br />I never understood those who didn't tell their kids about Santa because they didn't want to "lie" to their children. Lying and make believe are two different things. Kids need a creative imagination. Santa is part of that.<br /><br />Even the government believes in Santa Claus - they track him every year at NORAD.<br /><br />We have helped keep the Santa magic alive in our house. He always leaves crumbs when he eats our cookies (messy Santa). One year, he left sooty foot prints on the mantle on the way in (thankfully, not on my carpet :) )<br /><br />One year, he had to leave a note for Michael because his elves couldn't get his Transformer that he REALLY wanted ready in time (daggone FedEx)<br /><br />I know for certain that Samantha believed at least 2 years ago - when we were discussing her wish list and I was asking for them to put small, less expensive items on their list. Samantha said she would just ask Santa for the iPod since he doesn't pay for presents, he makes them!<br /><br />This year, Michael's list started with just 2 items and he wanted them from Santa. Whew, he has expensive taste as he wants a Lego and a Nerf Gun, both expensive. But, he made sure that he mentioned he wanted those from Santa<br /><br />We have always "prescreened" the kids Santa list before going to ask Santa - because that way he can always bring them what they ask for.<br /><br />Samantha has never told us that she doesn't believe - but I doubt that she does. Michael asks from time to time, but always talks himself out of not believing. Its fun to believe. It adds to the magic of Christmas.<br /><br />I think I finally realized it when Santa and my mother had the EXACT same handwriting on presents under the tree. We never wrap our presents from Santa so we don't have that situation, but they only get a couple from Santa anyway and the rest come from us (except the ones too big to wrap or we are too tired to wrap on Christmas eve).<br /><br />But, Santa is alive and well in our house again this season!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-90609121477831814632010-12-18T12:50:00.002-05:002010-12-18T12:52:10.284-05:00Cool marching bandI was in marching band for 3 years - we never did anything THIS cool. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MREKsMPUdcg">Marching band kicks football</a>The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-67792136307514044112010-12-17T11:33:00.006-05:002010-12-17T11:49:12.373-05:00Giving backLast week, Emma and I were given an opportunity to go to Princeton, NJ to participate in a focus group hosted by a diabetes pharmaceutical company. The company had reached out to <a href="http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com">Children with Diabetes</a> and they reached out to me, as I am a somewhat active poster on their forums.<br /><br />After asking them several times if they were SURE they wanted Emma, reminding them that she is 5 - and has the attention span of a 5 year old - we happily accepted. I was pretty excited about the opportunity.<br /><br />It was a bit of a struggle with the planning because they were feeding us, and I had to make sure we had Gluten-Free options. Although the planning was a bit of a pain, it was all good in the end. We walked into a lovely local restaurant and they handed me a gluten-free kids menu (score!) And, the restaurant made her gluten-free waffles and they had gluten-free options on their buffet for breakfast and lunch.<br /><br />The goal of the focus group was to identify what parents need when they are first diagnosed. Something that this company could offer to families to take home with them as they leave the hospital. They invited a great cross-section of patients and parents - with Emma being the youngest at 5 and the oldest being 17. The kids were also diagnosed at different ages, which helped to get different perspectives on what parents need. I think probably the only "control group" that wasn't included was probably the "less connected". The sheer nature of where this group came from meant that we are all pretty connected - we sought out and found CWD at some point after our children were diagnosed. I know there are lots of families out there that aren't connected with other families with diabetes and we were probably missing someting of their perspective. <br /><br />Emma made friends quickly and was definitely a hit in the group. She was also complimented on her manners, which I was especially proud of!<br /><br />There were lots of different ideas of what people felt would be most beneficial when coming home with a diagnosis of Type 1, although most people felt that someone they could reach out to when they want home was pretty high on their list of things that would be helpful. Someone to help them see through the fog of diagnosis. That's what Children with Diabetes does for so many!<br /><br />It was a long day, plagued by high blood sugars, sickness from what I can only guess was ketones, a pump malfunction and having to give injections, getting 20 miles down the road only to have to turn around to go back and get my laptop that I forgot. But, it was a great day.<br /><br />For me, personally, I was thrilled to meet Kerri Sparling, of the <a href="http://sixuntilme.com/">Six Until Me </a>blog. I don't remember how I found this blog, but I read it regularly and I refer every mother of a teenage girl with diabetes to this blog. This is a great place to see that there is hope for a child with diabetes growing into an adult with diabetes, getting married, and having a family. And her baby is pretty cute too!<br /><br />We also met a former Pittsburgh Steeler - Randall Simmons - who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes early in his professional career. He talked about how he managed his diabetes in an extremely physical situation and dealing with the emotional side of factoring Type 1 diabetes into your everyday life. Emma has a football signed by him to show for it.<br /><br />The company indicated that this is only the first time we will meet together - I look forward to any opportunity to get together with this group of families again. We all relished the opportunity to give back to new families what we have learned, coming out of the fog on the other side of diagnosis!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-32762240059880221522010-12-15T19:02:00.003-05:002010-12-15T19:12:54.486-05:00NeglectedYes, I have neglected updating here. Sorry about that.<br /><br />I have a friend that blogged and said she always felt pressure to have pictures with her posts, and that was holding her up on posting. I think I have the same problem.<br /><br />It has been busy as we have been diving into the Holiday season, and this weekend was no relief from the chaos.<br /><br />Friday night we went to a party held by a friend from Michael's baseball team. Its always nice to see these folks outside of the baseball field, but inevitably the conversation comes back to baseball.<br /><br />Saturday night was Mike's annual office party. It has been held for the past few years at the nearby Air and Space Museum at the Udvar-Hazey Center. This year, however, they expanded it to much more of the company. They did a good job of identifying "key areas" for the different groups to meet up, so we still found Mike's co-workers pretty easily. And, since I used to work there, I still know a number of people. Ironically, the first two people I saw when we walked in the door were former co-workers of mine who DON'T work at the company anymore - they were invited because they work for a business partner company. I then ran into a man I knew when I worked onsite at an Army client site - in 1994! That's 16 years ago - and he remembered me!<br /><br />Sunday, we had the opportunity to attend the taping of "Christmas in Washington" - airing on TNT this coming Friday night (Dec 17). Mike won it in a drawing from all the people who registered to walk in our JDRF walk in June. It originally was for 4 tickets and he was able to get a 5th, so we could take the entire family. We had pretty good seats - 6th row back on the aisle in the side section. It was a nice show and we look forward to watching it on TV to see how its different when edited than it was live. The only bad thing was that it was pouring down rain and chilly, and because the President was in attendance, the streets were blocked off a block or so around the National Building Museum, so we parked a couple of blocks away and walked. It was pretty neat and I don't think the kids appreciated that this is not something you get to do often - I think Samantha asked something about next year and Mike told her that this probably wouldn't happen again.<br /><br />Times were busy leading up to this weekend as well, but that's enough of a quick update of why I HAVEN'T been posting - things are busy in the Stopper house!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-12512533251882710272010-10-20T20:10:00.004-04:002010-10-20T20:15:48.937-04:00JDRF Gala<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1736.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1736.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> For the past three years, we have made a point to go to the gala hosted by our local JDRF chapter. Besides the fact that we don't get many chances to get dressed up and go out nice, its a good way to support JDRF and as a member of the Board of Directors, I feel like its important to support those events.<br /><br />Our gala this year was this past weekend.<br /><br />I was excited, as always, to go to the gala. But, this year I was especially excited. I had a formal dress that I loved, but I hadn't been able to wear for the past few years because I had, (ahem), put on a few pounds. I worked hard this past year to lose some of that weight, and the dress fit again.<br /><br />So, I went and got my hair dolled up, Mike got a new vest and tie, and we got all dressed up to go to the Gala for our JDRF Chapter this past weekend.<br /><br />It was a really great event, with good food, and lots of excitment during the live auction. The chapter has already raised over $1M and is working to top it off at $1.2M.<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1743.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1743.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />And for those who are interested, here is a photo from the back so you can see my pin-up curls.The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-35221503947159137642010-09-12T18:52:00.011-04:002010-09-12T19:04:02.307-04:00Emma's soccer<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1272.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1272.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />So, Emma has now entered the world of organized sports that her siblings have been in for years. A couple of weeks ago she started practices, and this past Saturday, she had her first "game".<br /><br />Game is in quotes because I think that's a generous use of the word. They have 9 girls on a team - they play on half of a micro sized field, so they space they play in is probably 15yd x 15yd. They don't keep score and the minute the ball goes out, they just throw another one in and keep going<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1256.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1256.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1260.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1260.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Because it was the first week, they had professional trainers come up and work with the kids on some drills and then they started up the game. They were working on dribbling with a variety of games. My favorite was a variation on Freeze Tag - but every time the trainer said "freeze" and there was even ONE girl still moving, all of the girls had to DANCE. I think this was my favorite part because Emma certainly has the biggest smile on her face.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />But, they finally got to it. I had forgotten that girls play so different than boys. Here's what happens when GIRLS collide!<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1269.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1269.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />But things finally settled down, made a few good kicks, and she had a good time - which was the most important thing.<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1277.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1277.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />On the diabetes front, this was a new experience for us. She unfortunately was going low when we got to the field, and probably ran harder than I've seen her run in her entire life - so we spent a good bit of time having her drink Gatorade to not go low, and her post-game snack was "insulin free". We'll figure out how to manage her blood sugars probably just in time for pubertyThe Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-90084033810736490922010-09-09T13:27:00.002-04:002010-09-09T13:32:06.778-04:00I apologize in advanceI don't usually opine here about things I view in society (I reserve those for Facebook and my mutually snarky friends) ...<br /><br />... but I will NEVER think its right to see a 4-year-old child standing in a restaurant playing a Nintendo DS. <br /><br />I absolutely believe these types of things ROT THE BRAINS of kids.<br /><br />My kids were around 9 when they got their Nintendo DS. Their computer time is limited and they are automatically disconnected when their time is up. "Screen time" is one of the first things to go when they can't behave. My 13-year-old still doesn't have a cell phone (*gasp*) and she's not on Facebook like all the younger kids.<br /><br />I firmly believe the development of a child's brain is dependent on interaction. Interaction that involves all of their senses, their creative side, their imagination. They can't develop enough "educational games" to offset what I believe is lost when a child spends hours a day staring at a little screen.<br /><br />So there, I've said it. Probably lost 4 of my 6 followers with my "narrow minded" view of parenting but, boy, I just can't stand to walk in somewhere and see what I consider a "baby" playing a video game so that Mama doesn't have to pay attention to him.The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-75924072368359470722010-09-07T14:36:00.004-04:002010-09-07T14:42:52.981-04:00Happy "not" back-to-school daySo, it was back-to-school day for most of the Northern Virginia area, including my very tall 13-year-old 8th grader. For Michael and Emma, its "not" back to school at home with me.<br /><br />Lesson plans were ready to go and the kids were ready to start this morning. I knew our morning would be interrupted by a trip to the orthopedic doctor to get Emma's cast off. But, that trip took a lot longer than necessary and really threw a wrench in our morning - and the rest of Michael's day was just not the same.<br /><br />I could tell that Michael just wasn't as excited to be starting up school again. I'm thinking he's not liking the fact that the other student in the house is finishing her work quickly (Emma's lessons for today took a whopping 45 minutes total) and he's going well into the afternoon, but I keep reminding him that he's still finishing before the 5th graders at Little River. And he's studying some of the same subjects.<br /><br />I did push a few of Michael's things to tomorrow since our appointment took so much longer than it should have. I think that made him feel a lot better<br /><br />But, I'm going to have to find a lot more reading material for Emma. Her reading assignment for today was 7 pages in our Bible storybook. I read it with her today, but will leave her to her own devices in the next days. But, she wanted to keep reading, and reading. What started as an assignment to read about the 7 days of creation has turned into reading through into Egypt, the Pharaohs, Moses and the Exodus. I think it was supposed to take her 2 weeks to get to that point. Its like the wild horse that you just hold on tight for the ride - there is no doubt with her!<br /><br />So, our schoolyear has started - exciting for Emma, a bit skeptical for Michael and I'll know more about how Samantha feels about her school year when she gets home at 4, but if she puts as much thought into her studies as she did into her outfit for today, we should be fine!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-91303162218115948822010-09-05T16:44:00.005-04:002010-09-05T17:19:18.570-04:00The End of an Era, ... or is it the beginning?<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1243-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1243-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />What do you call it when your last baby loses her first tooth - is it the end, or the beginning.<br /><br />Well, Emma lost her first tooth this weekend. She was so excited in June when the dentist told her she had some wiggly teeth. For the last week or so, it had been pretty wiggly and on Thursday she started complaining that it made it tough for her to eat. I knew it was coming out soon - and it did on Friday at of all places, the baseball field.<br /><br />So, we tucked it away and left it for the tooth fairy who left her shiny gifts in exchange!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-78189220898865978062010-09-01T21:10:00.003-04:002010-09-02T10:45:37.589-04:00Lesson PlanningAnyone who has met me for, oh, more than 30 seconds knows that I'm a planner. Really, I am NOT a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person. Perhaps that's why I was given a child with multiple special medical needs - because a non-planner would be much more stressed with the needds of a Type 1 diabetic with celic (but I digress)<br /><br />Anyway, I'd been thinking for a little while about the upcoming school year but for a while, hadn't done much. I finally got around to ordering the few remaining major curriculum items I needed (I tend to purchase little things throughout the year as I find them) and thought maybe I could get started with planning. But things kept coming up. And coming up.<br /><br />Finally, yesterday, I realized I needed to get moving. Since I don't always start with new curriculums for the new year, I needed to go through all of the topics Michael had been working on to figure out where he was in each subject, what kind of review I wanted to do, and try to lay it out. I then needed to factor in new subjects into the game plan.<br /><br />So, it took most of yesterday and today, but I have 4 weeks of lesson plans for both Michael and Emma planned out, written on their assignment sheets, in sheet protectors ready for them.<br /><br />In the past, I haven't always been good at keeping with the lesson plans if there was a day I just didn't feel like doing a subject (one that involved me, he always has to do the ones he can do independently). But, we're getting into the more important years and I need to make sure things get covered. So, I've laid out 4 weeks of lesson plans and a daily schedule of subject and extra-curricular activities, and Michael will have "homework" if he doesn't finish his work in the time I've allotted. Typically, if we didn't finish in time for something in the past, I'd just shove it a day but I'm gonna try really hard to stay with the plan this year.<br /><br />Here's what the kids are studying:<br /><br />Michael:<br /><br /></li><ul></ul><p></p><ul><li><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/5M04.html">Saxon 6/5 Math</a></li><li><a href="http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/first-language-lessons-level-4-student-workbook.html">First Language Lessons </a>/ <a href="http://www.sonlight.com/RL6.html">Grammar Ace</a></li><li><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/5L101.html">Worldy Wise 5 Vocabulary</a></li><li><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/RL50.html">Sequential Spelling 1</a></li><li>IEW writing workshop</li><li><a href="http://livelylatin.com/site/index.php">Lively Latin 1 </a>(2nd half)</li><li><a href="http://eequalsmcq.com/index.htm">Real Life Science</a></li><li><a href="http://heav.networkats.com/members_online/members/viewitem.asp?item=10087&catalog=CURR&pn=1&af=HEAV">Virginia History</a></li></ul><p>Emma:</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/HKM.html">Horizons K Math</a></li><li>Kindergarten Sight Words</li><li><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/core-k.html">Sonlight Core K: Introduction to the World</a></li><li><a href="http://www.sonlight.com/readers-2.html">Sonlight Level 2 Readers</a></li><li>Literature Pockets: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Literature-Pockets-Folktales-Fairytales-Grades/dp/155799871X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283390901&sr=8-2">Folktales and Fairy Tales</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Literature-Pockets-Nursery-Rhymes-Grades/dp/1557998191/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283390901&sr=8-3">Nursery Rhymes</a></li></ul><p>Emma's pretty excited about starting school and getting school supplies. I've brought up one of the smaller tables from the basement and a chair for her to have her own workspace, and I've been getting her materials together into her crate.</p><p>But, we're starting our year with a "Not back to school" ice cream social with the homeschool group this coming Friday! </p>The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-16018398816351282212010-08-31T23:26:00.003-04:002010-08-31T23:34:18.950-04:00HersheyPark - very gluten-friendlyWe've been wanting to go to HersheyPark for a while. I even went ahead and purchased tickets at a group discount rate through our homeschool group this spring - hedging my bets that we'd go.<br /><br />We finally picked a day to go - yesterday. PA schools started back that day so we expected the crowds to be lighter - they were.<br /><br />Due to Emma's celiac, we have to do a LOT of pre-planning to go anywhere. We have to make sure she'll have something she can eat, or we have to take it with us. I have to tell you, too, that I've been having some celiac burnout recently from all of the planning that's required to eat (especially eating out).<br /><br />Anyway, I went onto the HersheyPark web site Sunday night to take a look at what they had to offer for restaurants and see if I'd be able to work something out for Emma. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I see they have a specific list of gluten-free alternatives that they offer and which restaurants they offer them at. I was pleased to know I'd be able to more easily feed Emma (who gives a little pout each time we tell her she can't have something)<br /><br />The best thing I can tell you, though, about their gluten-free offerings is that these people are really well trained. Mike ordered Emma a gluten-free wrap for lunch. They moved to a new workstation and made the wrap special so that there was no cross-contamination. I asked the cashier if he could get someone I could ask a dietary question - he told me I could ask him. I asked if the fries were gluten-free. He quickly said that they were, but they were cooked in the same oil as other fried foods. I was about to say that I'd just forego the fries for her when he quickly offered for them to make some separately for her.<br /><br />It takes a lot of training and awareness to delve into that level of preparations for gluten-free. Most people don't think about the cross-contamination or setting up a gluten-free work area to prepare the food.<br /><br />For dinner, we went to a pizza stand that offered gluten-free crust. It took them a bit longer to figure it out, but it was clear there was someone well trained there. She made sure she didn't use any of the same tools to remove the pizza from the oven, she put it on a fresh cardboard pizza board, and cut it with a new pizza cutter. And she was quick to stop another employee who almost used the same pizza peel board for Emma's pizza that had been used for the others.<br /><br />So, I was quite pleased that HersheyPark made it so easy for Emma to be gluten-free there and took one big worry off our minds and enabled us to enjoy the day that much more. Thanks HersheyPark!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-66126174506478150662010-08-27T17:12:00.005-04:002010-08-27T17:15:58.429-04:00As promisedI finally got a picture of Samantha in her braces. She's been kinda "mopey" around the house the past couple of days because she was sore from getting her braces on.<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1194.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1194.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And I kept trying to get her to smile without her braces, which is how she's been acting around the house the past couple of days. She couldn't do it without laughing:<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1199.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1199.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-54496365084022468412010-08-25T20:20:00.001-04:002010-08-25T20:21:01.153-04:00BracesSo Samantha got braces on today, and we joined the ranks of the poverty-stricken (boy, they are quite pricey these days)<br /><br />I'll share a photo in a day or so. Right now, she's pretty sore so it wouldn't be a "happy" picture - so I'm waiting until she isn't quite so sore so she can have a nice smiling picture in her new braces.The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-1653088542923549442010-08-21T14:19:00.003-04:002010-08-21T14:22:56.199-04:00Even the weekends are overscheduled!There are reports that show as a society we overschedule our children. There are some cases where there is true in our family.<br /><br />There is no doubt that I'm feeling overscheduled when we have so many events in a weekend:<br /><br />- Friday - Michael has a party at Chuck-e-Cheese with his piano teacher. He earned it by practicing 200 minutes every week (starting in January, I think)<br />- Saturday - Emma has a birthday party at Chuck-e-Cheese. Mike is handling this one and just headed out with pizza and cupcake in hand (with Celiac, Emma can't eat the pizza or the cake that they offer). Its been only 6 months but definitely feeling some Celiac burnout, but that is a topic for another thread.<br />- Sunday - Michael has a birthday pool party (the brother of the girl's party Emma's at today). Emma and I are headed into Springfield for a pool party with several families that have met online via the Children with Diabetes web site and are now going to meet in person.<br /><br />And this is a light weekend.<br /><br />And I just found out that all 3 of our kids will have something going on at exactly the same time on Tuesdays this fall - 6pm. Michael will be at baseball practice, Emma will be at soccer practice, and Samantha will be on her way to dance. At least I don't have to drive up to school each week to pick up Samantha, but getting spread 3 ways when one of us HAS to be at soccer with Emma is gonna make Tuesday an exhausting day this fall.<br /><br />Onward and UpwardThe Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-30465579051826912342010-08-11T14:40:00.005-04:002010-08-11T15:08:18.085-04:00I guess this was inevitableIt sure seems the women in this family are prone to injuries. My mother can't look at a sidewalk wrong without hurting her ankle, my mother has also recently broken her arm near the shoulder, I've broken a leg and a foot, and <a href="http://stopperfamily.blogspot.com/2008/06/as-requested.html">Samantha broke her wrist a few years back</a><br /><br />Well, Emma was running around playing with some kids at a <a href="http://www.eteamz.com/haymarketbaseball/index.cfm?">Haymarket Senators </a>game on Sunday. Including a little boy Donovan, who she <em>loves</em> to play with. Anyway, she would come back to the stands from time to time, fussing about this or that, or who said what to who. She came back about halfway through complaining that she fell down and her arm hurt and her leg hurt. She was holding her wrist. We put ice on it a few minutes and a band-aid (the skin wasn't broken, but band-aids are a REQUIREMENT when you have a boo-boo) and she went off on her way to play some more.<br /><br />But, she complained on Monday that her arm still hurt.<br />And she complained on Tuesday that her arm still hurt.<br /><br />Keep in mind - she was still playing and using her hand and everything - just favoring it at certain times.<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1186.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 325px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1186.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>So, I took her to the doctor yesterday, who got an x-ray and confirmed that indeed, she broke her arm. Its broken up above her wrist, which is why she was still able to use her hand and wrist without much pain. Its a "buckle fracture" which is, as best as I can tell, a clean break where the bone just "buckled". The bones are aligned and everything looked good.<br /><br />But, this is the type of break that they put a cast on for healing.<br /><br />So, Emma is the 3rd one in our family in 5 years to have a cast (do they have a frequent flyer program at the orthopedist office because I feel like I've been there at lot).<br /><br />She chose Purple - and I chose waterproof (because she loves to swim and we NEED to be able to bathe her easily after she spends time playing in the dirt).The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-44777022090082232272010-08-09T11:54:00.009-04:002010-08-09T19:19:37.413-04:00Family ReunionA couple of weekends ago we went to Williamsburg for a "Liverman Family Reunion". My mother is a Liverman, 2nd child of Marvin and Emily Liverman, of Prince George, VA. Her older sister, Jean, travelled up from Dalton, GA (although her husband, George, didn't. We missed you Uncle George). Her younger brother, Herbert, hosted the reunion (well, probably mostly his wife Joyce:))<br /><br />Here are the 3 Liverman kids: Jean, Jacque, and Herbert<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1003.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 475px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />and with the spouses (missed you Uncle George - should we photoshop you in?)<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1007.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 475px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1007.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We were fortunate that just about everyone was able to make this event. We were less fortunate in the fact that it was over 100 degrees all day this Sunday - so instead of being able to enjoy their wonderful yard, and a boat on the water, we all visited inside with the kids taking short trips outside before deciding it was too hot.<br /><br />The Clarke wing of the Liverman family (Jean Liverman Clarke). Milton and Melanie Clarke came up from Dalton with Jean, Bix lives in Williamsburg, and George Ryan (Bix's son) and Charles live in DC. Stacey (Bix's daughter) and her husband Stuart couldn't make it - with a new baby at home and a busy ice cream shoppe to man in California, its no wonder.<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_0976.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 475px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_0976.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The Gwaltney wing of the Liverman family (Jacque Liverman Gwaltney) was a bit larger. Larry (son), Heather, and Gavin came up from Charlotte, NC. Emily (daughter), Marshall, and Morgan came in from Houston, TX, and Mike, Nancy (daughter), Samantha, Michael, and Emma came down from South Riding, VA. Bruce (the oldest son of Jacque) was unable to make it.<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1029.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 475px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_1029.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The Liverman wing of the family (Herbert), is BY FAR, the largest. Jeff, and his wife Jo live in Danville, VA. They have 3 kids - the oldest, Alex is married herself. Then there are Emily and Sophie. Todd and Andi live in Richmond and have one daughter, Maggie. Eric and Shelley live in Chester, VA and have 2 kids. Rick and Kim have 2 kids, Cameron and Katie. Karen and Rick have 3 kids, including Blake and the two youngest at the reunion - two sweet 9 months old twin girls (Carli and Tori) that couldn't be more different if they weren't related! (one of them is missing from this shot because we all know better than to wake a sleeping baby).<br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_0980.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 475px; " src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/IMG_0980.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>. Herbert and Joyce have the pleasure of all of their kids and grandkids not too far away!<br /><br />So a total of 43 of us got together, the first time in 10 years, and had a great time. As Joyce said during her pre-meal prayer, Marvin and Emily would have been proud.The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-60792379715010012322010-06-17T09:55:00.004-04:002010-08-09T16:41:30.896-04:00Champions!<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/DSC04254.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 475px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v496/nowimscrappin/2010%20Photos/DSC04254.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Michael's Little League team, the AAA Red Sox, battled all season with ups and downs, winning great games, and losing some games ugly. In the end, they ended up the regular season champions going into the playoffs.<br /><br />In the semi-finals of the playoffs, his team played well, making good plays and getting good hits, and won their way into the finals.<br /><br />The finals were played last night. And by night, I mean night (notice the light in the team photo). While we started at 6pm, we didn't end until after 9pm. It was a 3 hour, 10 minute, 10 inning epic battle to the end! The Red Sox got down early, giving up 6 unanswered runs due to numerous errors in the field - so numerous that the only outs recorded were 6 strike outs by Michael. The Red Sox battled back and by the end of the 5th inning, it was tied up at 8! Both teams played tight in the 6th inning to take the game into extra innings. All time limits went out the door when it was clear this was going to be an epic battle to the end.<br /><br />The 7th inning saw no runs given up by either team, but the Red Sox found themselves in scoring position several times, just not able to convert.<br /><br />In the top of the 8th inning, the opponent scored and we were afraid that might be it for the Red Sox. But, we answered with a run and came CLOSE to scoring the winning run, stranding 3 runners.<br /><br />Another scoreless inning for both teams in the 9th inning left the teams tied at 9 and the daylight quickly escaping.<br /><br />So, in the top of the 10th inning, our opponent scored 2 runs and went ahead 11-9. Coach Caroline kept the tone positive and let the boys know that it was 2 runs to tie, 3 runs to win - knowing full well we had no innings left because we were getting ready to play by moonlight at this point. 1 walk, 1 put out, and 3 hits later, with the last hit made by one of our weaker hitters, the Red Sox took the lead 12-11 well after the 3 hour mark to take the championship.<br /><br />Quite the battle. Congratulations to Michael and his team!The Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17161768.post-2681328235746559122010-05-01T13:51:00.001-04:002010-05-01T13:54:06.343-04:00Internet and Computer WoesSo earlier this week, I didn't have internet for a couple/few days. Don't know why but the internet modem just stopped working. So, I got a little bit of Internet access at night when Mike was home and we could go through his Blackberry internet connection. And I have my Blackberry so I can read and respond to basic emails.<br /><br />So Internet got fixed with a new modem - yay!<br /><br />Now this morning my laptop welcomed me with the "Blue screen of Death".<br /><br />Don't know why it stopped working, but Mike is trying to figure out how to recover it. He feels confident all my data and documents are in tact, but it won't boot.<br /><br />So, I'm back to basically not having computer access. I can get on the internet on the new-ish office computer we have (Because that one died after living a long and fruitful life), but I don't have any of the documents that I need to do what I need to do.<br /><br />FrustratingThe Stopper Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01001296982957814993noreply@blogger.com1