Signing BABY

Baby

Here is Mimi signing Baby.  I honestly think this is one of her favorite signs because any time I ask her to do it, she has this HUGE smile on her face.  

For the past few weeks, it's just been me and Mimi.  Kai has been visiting Grammie back in Hope Mills, while Mimi has been here in Wilmington with me.  Of course I've been in school during the day, but afterwards, it's just been the two of us.  Today, we "attempted" to have a girls afternoon out.  It really didn't go all that great. Well, nothing went wrong.  We just didn't accomplish much.  But we did spend time together and that was more than enough.  Mimi's first set of DVDs came in the mail today.  She was super excited when we opened the box.  The set came with a CD of some of the Signing Time CDs.  So my iTouch connection in the car has been replaced with the Signing Time CD.  At least I have something to learn on the way to school.  Mimi carried the CD case around during our entire "date".  She refused to put it down.  At least I can tell she's happy about the new movies.  The DVD set came with 4 DVDs, but right now we are just going to focus on two.  The first one we watched was "Going Outside".  Some of the signs we are learning include:  outside, flowers (which we already knew), grass, sun, and many more.  The second one we started on consisted of the different seasons.  We aren't really paying attention to it at the moment, just listening to it.  Mimi is too young to understand the different seasons, so it's not a must at the moment.  So, I'm sure in a few minutes, I will be putting the "Going Outside" DVD back in.  Well, that's about it for today.  Thank you all for taking the time to read up on little Miss Mimi.

Bath Time

Loving up on Louis from The Princess and the Frog!! saa

Back to SQUARE One........

So, apparently the ASL-101 class is full for the Fall semester.  Yes, I will admit, I was a bit disappointed, but at the same time, maybe a little relieved.  I don't know.  I still have my back up plan of taking courses online, so I may go ahead and start one, once I see how my school load will be in August.  Until then, I will continue to practice my daily signs out of my pocket dictionary and watch Signing Time videos with Mimi.  I just ordered Vol. 1-3, Series Two of Signing Time.  So, she has a total of 7 DVDs on there way.  I know Miss Mimi is going to be super happy once they arrive.  Kai will be too.  Especially since these are new DVDs in which they haven't seen yet.

Not much to report on at the moment.  But I will continue to keep every posted on my progress.  Once I get the time, I will post what I've learned so far.  Which is a lot, if you ask me.  :)

I can do this.......and I WILL DO IT!!!

I guess you can say, after 24 hours of "some-what" thinking, I made up the decision to go ahead and sign up for ASL-101 at UNCW.  Well, lets rewind.  I emailed the teacher a few weeks ago about wanting to take the course, but wasn't sure if I could since I'm a graduate student and already completed my language requirement.  Well, never heard back from her and TODAY, I got an email from her stating she'd been out of town and was catching up on emails, and did not see why it would be an issue.  I went around talking to several people to be sure and make sure it wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg, and it won't, since I am "already" taking classes in the Fall.  As of right now though, I'm not signed up for it, since it's not available to add to my course load.  Fingers crossed it won't be an issue.  Now, fast forward.  I decided to go ahead and do it now since #1, I'm already at UNCW and they have it available to take it, so, why not?  #2, it's a course that has NOTHING to do with Chemistry, so it shouldn't be "too" much for me to handle.  #3, I will HAVE to go to class and there will be no slacking on my end.  So as of right now, I am going to sign up and take ASL-101 in the Fall.  I'm kind of EXCITED about this.  At least I will have some what of a fresh start once the course starts.  I have NO idea what to expect, but we shall see.  So, that's the news of the day!!  :)

Teaching Signs in the FUTURE

So I have decided, I am going to learn ASL, not only to help me better communicate with Mimi, but to hopefully be able to teach in the future to families who could benefit from it.  I'm looking into taking courses online, since many of you know already, I am working on my MS in Chemistry and that's already enough for one person to handle.  Trying to take courses at a school, would most likely be "overload" on my part.  However, I won't begin the courses until either end of December or January.  Mainly because I am still taking classes at UNCW for the graduate program and right now, that's my main focus.  I've dedicated almost a year to the graduate program and I just can't let anything else get in the way.  But until I take the courses, which there are 4 on the site I am looking at, I will be teaching myself (and of course Mimi and Kai).  I went to Barnes and Nobles the other day and purchased:  The Pocket Dictionary of Signing by Rod R. Butterworth and Mickey Flodin.  It gives more than 600 signs of ASL and a few phrases.  Gives me time to practice, so once I do start the courses in a few months, I won't be as lost.  Also, I ordered Mimi, Signing Time DVDs, Series Two, Vol. 4-7.  I will be ordering Vol. 1-3 in the next few days, if it's still available at a reasonable price on Amazon or Ebay.  Vol. 4-7 focuses on the different seasons, going outside, sports, and the days of the week.  Something Mimi has NO clue about, but I got a great deal.  I really want Vol. 1-3, since it focuses on how to communicate with individuals when you meet them, birthdays, and moving your body phrases (dancing, walking, jumping, etc.).

With my hectic schedule, I admit, it's hard to fit in teaching myself ASL or even sitting down with Mimi.  But I am going to work very hard on making it a priority everyday, for at least an hour a day.  There's so much I can teach myself and Mimi in just an hour.  Well, mainly me.  It takes a great amount of time with Mimi, but all she needs is repetition and assistance, and I know she will get the hang of it all.  What I would like to do is eventually teach ASL (not the whole ASL, because Lord knows, I probably will never get that far) to families who can benefit by using it to communicate with the children, whether they have special needs or not.  Most importantly, I hope it will better help myself and Mimi, communicate a lot better, since at the moment, she's still not talking, but trust and believe, she gets her point out.  

This week, I am working on teaching myself the manual alphabet.  I know it pretty well, but there are times I get caught up and have no idea what I am doing with my fingers.  It looks easy, but you have to be able to learn it well enough so the person reading it "knows" what you are attempting to spell to them.  Eventually, I should be able to do the whole alphabet at a pretty steady speed, but right now, I am slowly taking my time.  I am working on words in the book to fingerspell, since just knowing the alphabet from A to Z is not enough.  You should know what sign "F" is right away, without thinking about it for 10 seconds.  So, this is my working progress for the week.  Also, learning the numbers and a few phrases.  Hopefully by the end of the week, I have this down pretty well.  I don't expect myself to go as fast as those who have been doing ASL for years, but feeling comfortable showing someone else is good enough.  Also, I will gradually work on words in The Pocket Dictionary of Signing in which I feel Mimi can benefit from at the moment, while reviewing those she has already been introduced to.  

So, this week is going to be an ADVENTURE of learning, if you ask me!     :)    And I'm READY!

Mommy's "Signing" Goal

So, my "GOAL" is to learn FIVE new words through Sign Language each week.  I was going to set myself at learning two each day, but felt that would be pushing it, especially since I'm so behind as we speak.  I figured I would choose words in which I use with Mimi on a regular basis and gradually teach her.  I think this will be a fun and interesting learning experience in itself.  So we will see how it goes.  Each week, my goal is to post the new set of words to learn that week and briefly go over how the other set went.  So, we will see how it goes.

This week (6-20-2011) words are:

• Balloon
• Brother
• Hair
• Love
• Pillow

10 on Monday

1.  Well, it's SAD to say I just "realized" I haven't BLOGGED in about two months.  I have to admit, I am NOT much a blogger, even though I try.  Plus, April wasn't that great of a month and once May came, I was SLAMMED with preparing for Mimi's 3rd birthday, Disney (of course), and starting summer session teaching Organic Chemistry.

2.  Teaching Organic Chemistry has been an experience in its self and didn't expect to say this, but I LOVED it!!  I really enjoyed these past four weeks.  Now I don't know how the students felt about me as a teacher, I will find this out once SPOTS are completed, but it was a joy to teach this past summer session.

3.  I'm "itching" terribly to go back to Vegas.  Don't know if it will happen any time soon, but this momma wants to go NOW.

4.  As each and every day passes, Kai finds a way to get to the last nerve that exists within me.  I don't know if it's my patience or tolerance, but me and Kai are butting heads a lot here lately.  Hopefully, between now and "OUR" trip to the Bahamas, he gets a grip with his behavior.

5.  I met this "GREAT" guy.  Ha!  Well, I've known him for some time, but well.....that's all that needs to be spoken of, so we will just have to see what happens.  :)

6.  Signing with Mimi hasn't gone like I want it to, but we are trying.  I know it's mainly my fault, but I can only do some much as one person.  School, mothering, learning new things.....it takes a lot out of me.  

7.  My new car, which I got in January is about to hit 10,000 miles.  I'm a little disappointed in it, but it happens.  Especially when I have to be out and about all the time.  I'm not liking the 20mph average that keeps popping up on my odometer, so I think I will be sitting her out on the next trip to FL.

8.  If you know me, you know I have two lip piercings.  I'm thinking of removing the top one.  I'm just not feeling it anymore.

9.  I'm stretching my bottom holes in my ears.  Right now I'm at an 8G.  I think I'm only going to go up to a 6G, nothing more.  I don't want anything extremely big.

10.  And I'm finally at TEN.  Hmmm......Me and the kiddos are going to enjoy the summer out on the patio, where there is a slide and water table for them to enjoy, while I just enjoy the fresh air.........

Almost Summer

Over the past few months, I have dealt with more than I could possibly deal with, as ONE person.  But, as each day passes, I find a way to get through each moment.  It's finally June.  All I can say is WOW!  On May 18, my little Temperance Porter turned 3.  We celebrated her birthday at Disney and I have to say, I think she really enjoyed herself.  This was a SPECIAL trip.  Not only were we celebrating her 3rd birthday, this was my nephew Keon's first time going.  I truly feel like he had a freaking BLAST!

I completed my second semester as a graduate student at UNCW, but unfortunately I have to complete two more courses in the Fall.  But, I will handle my business.  It must be done and trust and believe, I am going to DO IT!  I won't lie, there are times I want to completely give up.  I mean seriously, what was I thinking when I decided to go back to school with two children who need my guidance?  But I am here now, and I must find a way to stay focused.  Now that summer session has started at UNCW.  I get the pleasure of teaching Organic Chemistry Lab and I am actually enjoying it.  Yay me..............

The school year is pretty much over for Kai.  He didn't go to the Tot Spot every day, but did have the pleasure of going twice a week from 9-1.  I am GLAD I put him in it this year, he absolutely LOVED it.  This Fall, both of the kiddos will be attending school.  They are growing up so fast.  I know Mimi is going to enjoy herself, especially since she is always cooped up in the apartment.  I know Mimi will be going to the CDC, but won't find out about Kai until the summer time, since I applied for the More at 4 program for here.  Fingers crossed he gets in or I have "no" idea on what I am going to do, but I am sure mommy will figure something out.

So what's planned for the Summer??
Let's start off with ME first, since my summer is pretty much shot to hell with school.  I will be working on my research, which I LOVE, it's just going really slow and I am getting frustrated with doing it seems like nothing.  On top of that, assisting my mom on clearing out her house--> there right here could take months up to a year, so not sure exactly how much of that will actually get done.  Oh I almost forgot, I have to work on my Comprehensive Exam/Presentation that has to be presented to my committee by mid-August.  Not looking forward to that and also, catching up on Organic Chemistry so I can go at it once again in the Fall.

Now the kiddos.  Well, Mimi is still needing therapy, so we may be taking a few trips to the park during the week, so she work on climbing, sliding, and just plan out being a KID.  We haven't done signs lately and you can tell is slacking because she's starting to just do a "random" sign to get what she wants or just NOT do them at all.  I admit, it's quite time consuming, especially with an already loaded plate.  But, somehow or another, we have to get back into it.  Me and Mimi will be working on coloring, getting her to "feed" herself a little better.  Oh and the big one, using the potty, since she seems to be comfortable taking her diaper/pull-up with no regard.  On to Kai.  Less video games/movies and more READING.  We have a huge collection of books and he needs to get into them more.  I don't expect him to read, but we can read together.  He's been working on writing his name for fun, but he doesn't exactly know what letter is what.  So, that's something we will work on.  Hopefully we will work on swimming lessons, for our Disney cruise next year (another blog on that in the future).

Well, that about sums it up on what's going on in my little family.