Reality with Ben

So today we went into church and sat down in our normal spot. Ben helped with the "Noisy Offering" and then we had the sharing of the peace. I went upstairs for the choir anthem and when it was over I heard the dreaded sound. "Blkhlwkehtlwke!!" Ben was at the lectern spouting his own sermon. This hasn't happened in a while. I thought we were past it. By the time I got halfway up the aisle Walter had gotten him away from the microphone. He has been told before not to do this. Many times. Ben went back to our seats and sat down. I made him get up and we left the church. Outside I told him I was not happy. I reminded him that he needs to stay in his seat. He took his own sweet time going down the stairs. We got in the car and went home. We got to the house and I told him to go to his room. Of course he starts crying and I let him wail for a few minutes. I then knocked on his door and sat down with him. After giving him kleenex and wiping his face, I said, "I love you Ben, but you have to stay in your seat when we go to church".

"Okay."

We are now watching Harry Potter 4 on the big TV. Almost time for lunch.

I feel like baking. Made lemon cookies yesterday. Maybe bread today. With homemade soup for dinner. Sounds good on this cool drizzly day.

Chocolate Snobbery!!!

For my birthday this year my daughter decided on an event in Seattle for the two of us. It was a surprise until the moment we walked up to the door of THEO CHOCOLATE. YUM! Just seeing the word chocolate makes me feel good. As we entered the small retail space you could smell the aroma of the chocolate. All over the room were pedestals with chocolate bars and SAMPLES of every flavor they make. I don't mean just a few pieces were put out. I mean they had chopped up LOTS of chocolate so that you could sample every type of bar they make. We wandered, sampling everything from the fabulous Jane Goodall 45% organic milk chocolate to the Single Origin Costa Rican 91% dark chocolate. The flavor varieties were everything from basic milk and dark chocolate to unique and exotic flavors like Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate and Bread and Chocolate Dark Chocolate.
After we gorged ourselves on all the samples, it was time for the tour. Our effervescent guide Rachael was extremely knowledgable regarding the history of the company and chocolate. Our tour included lots of samples (YAY!) and a walk through the small but efficient factory. The machines were not actually running the day we went through, but I think this did make it easier to hear our guide. When we went into the roasting room it was very warm and the air was perfumed with the fabulous aroma of the chocolate. The air felt like a chocolate bath. Mmmm, if only all air could smell and feel this way. Heaven!
After the tour we went back to the retail room and bought chocolate. And more chocolate. The great thing about THEO chocolate is that it is all Fair Trade Certified and Organic. On some of the bars the only ingredients listed are Cocoa beans and Sugar. It is pure and made in small batches. The only place I can purchase it here in Texas is at Pier 1. The next time you want excellent chocolate (be prepared to spend a little extra, it is not cheap) try THEO chocolate. It has increased my chocolate snobbery by leaps and bounds!!!

http://www.theochocolate.com/

Vacation

I am so excited! We leave for vacation on Wednesday. I am really looking forward to fresh seafood, lavender fields and lots of time with my family. My daughter is planning a day in Seattle. We will be seeing Harry Potter 6 at the IMAX theater and then she has a surprise for me somewhere. I know it involves eating, but she said it wasn't exactly a meal. Hmmmm. Knowing her she has found something yummy. Maybe a place that makes fabulous desserts? I don't want to speculate too much, it might spoil the surprise. Walter and I are also planning a day in Seattle just to eat at Ivar's and meet up with friends on that side of the sound.

It will also be good to see lots of old friends. Since the advent of Facebook, I have been in contact with lots of pals from high school. We are planning on a get together. I am also planning a "birthday party" for those of us with summer birthdays. My sister and I and my daughter and niece all have summer birthdays. It should be a fun gathering. We will get a big birthday cake and forget the presents. Just lots of family time is all the present I need.

My big day that I am really looking forward to is July 17 at the Sequim Lavender Festival. I can't wait for a trip to my favorite place, Purple Haze Lavender Farm. I wonder what goodies they will have for us this year? Plus the street fair is fabulous. Lots of gorgeous jewelry.

Must go now. I have last minute shopping I must do and my toes need a pedicure! Oh my!

Spring break! Ahhh, time to relax, clean house, catch up on laundry and take my husband to the ER! Sunday morning during church one of the ushers came back and told me that Walter wasn't feeling well. The next thing I know, I don't see him up there at all, so I grab Ben and we rush up the aisle back to the sacristy. I find my husband sitting in a chair and he says he feels extremely dizzy. He almost passed out. His hands were blue and clammy. I called 911 and within a short time they had him down to the ambulance and were checking his vitals. My good friends the Thanes took Ben, and I dashed home to change and grab my phone. I drove back to the church and the ambulance was still there. I took a different way out of town than they did and I actually got to the hospital before them.

Once they got to the hospital they put Walter in a room. One nurse came in looking for the 51 year old man and she thought she was in the wrong room. Ego stroke done, he was carted off to get a CAT scan of his head. They also took blood and a chest x-ray. They even tested him for the flu. All the tests came back normal. Of course this all took about 4 hours. Thank goodness our friend Ray came up and brought me some lunch. He stayed until they let Walter go. It was really thoughtful of him and we appreciated his company.

The final diagnoses was vertigo. The next day Walter saw his own doctor and was told the same thing. It has now been two weeks and he is feeling a little better, but not 100%. Monday I am driving him to an ear, nose and throat doctor in Austin. I don't know if he will be able to do anything new. All the research we have done points to just waiting it out.

So spring break wasn't quite the week I was expecting, but it was nice to have Walter home. Of course he slept quite a bit, vertigo really takes a toll on your energy level. I did most of the things I needed to do and we bought a new TV. Our old one kept turning off. It was very annoying. The new one is really nice and a lot bigger than the last one.

Now it is time to fix breakfast. Ben is hungry! Again! Still! Whatever!

Ben

My son Ben has Down syndrome. He is 15 and for the most part enjoys school. He is currently in the 8th grade. His favorite person in the whole world is his sister, Naomi. He misses her a lot because she left last year to go to college. Ben really enjoys watching movies. Some of his favorites are, Evan Almighty, Home Alone, Corky Romano, Mamma Mia and the Broadway DVD of Into the Woods. He likes this show because Naomi was once in it while we lived in Plano. This winter we heard about a basketball league for special needs kids in Waco at Columbus Ave. Baptist church. Last Saturday was Ben's last basketball game. He had so much fun doing this that I can't wait for next year. We met some really nice people. Fortunately, Challenger League Baseball starts at the end of this month. A lot of the same people are involved so it should be fun. For those of you that don't know, Challenger League is the special needs division of Little League. Ben hasn't really done any sports other than swimming and bowling with Special Olympics. This will be a new experience for him and I hope he enjoys it. Basically as long as people cheer for him, he does pretty well. When we took the camera to his basketball games, he would make sure we were looking at him when he ran by. He even made some baskets!