Sally's World

I laughed until my sides hurt, the best...the absolute funniest thing, is that he thinks he's so damn cool. Honestly, when his shoes flew off, I had trouble composing myself. Superb!

I cannot believe that I have actually written 500 posts. Okay, okay, some some weren't mine, some were e-mails or quotes or videos that I couldn't resist sharing. But 500 times I have clicked on that publish button and something that says something about me is out there on the world wide web.

Looking back, what makes me smile is how different my blog is to what I expected.

Originally, I was going to do a weekly update, talking about life as a parent with special needs children, about how to live with the loss of a child...I thought I was going to be giving support and advice to other parents like me.

And to a certain degree I think I have, sharing information is the best way to deal with many aspects of special needs and disability. But I have received just as much information back.

But what I didn't expect was to get into it and write about everything and anything that's on my mind, and what is even more amazing is the love and support I have received from my fellow bloggers. I didn't expect to love reading about the lives of people from all over the world, I didn't expect to be able to relate quite so much.

I feel less alone, I have an outlet, I can share the little things that make me laugh (or cry), things that otherwise go unsaid. I can have a bad day, rant, scream, cry, swear, and all I get back is support.

My biggest thanks has to be to Trojan of Trojan's Corner, he is the one that believed in me and what I had to say enough to encourage me to blog in the first place.

Here's to the next 500 if you can stand me for that long!!!!

EVE'S SIDE OF THE STORY

After three weeks in the Garden of Eden, God came to visit Eve.

'So, how is everything going?' inquired God.

'It is all so beautiful, God,' she replied. 'The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, the smells, the sights, everything is wonderful, but I have just one problem.. It's these breasts you have given me. The middle one pushes the other two out and I am constantly knocking them with my arms, catching them on branches and snagging them on bushes. They're a real pain.'

And Eve went on to tell God that since many other parts of her body came in pairs, such as her limbs, eyes, ears, etc. She felt that having only two breasts might leave her body more symmetrically balanced'.

'That's a fair point,' replied God, 'But it was my first shot at this, you know. I gave the animals six breasts, so I figured that you needed only half of those, but I see that you are right. I will fix it up right away.'

And God reached down, removed the middle breast and tossed it into the bushes

Three weeks passed and God once again visited Eve in the Garden of Eden.

'Well, Eve, how is my favorite creation?'

'Just fantastic,' she replied, 'But for one oversight. You see, all the animals are paired off. The ewe has a ram and the cow has her bull. All the animals have a mate except me. I feel so alone.'

God though for a moment and said, 'You know, Eve, you are right. How could I have overlooked this? You do need a mate and I will immediately create a man from a part of you.

Let's see.... where did I put that useless tit?'

Now doesn't THAT make more sense than all that crap about the rib?

The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already the cause

Henri Bergson

The future is purchased by the present

Samuel Jackson

Samuel Jackson is one of my husbands favourite actors, when you see him in interviews he seems to have a good balance on life, and this quote, though simplicity itself, is great.

This is being circulated as a warning, please read, people need to be aware. I have sent it to everyone I know on e-mail as it is not common knowledge.

Yesterday, my youngest daughter, Halle who is just 4 years old, was rushed to the ER by her father for being severely lethargic and incoherent in her classroom.

He was called to her school by the school secretary who said that she was 'VERY VERY SICK'! He told me that when he arrived at her classroom, Halle was barely sitting in the chair. She couldn't hold her own head up and when he looked into her eyes, she couldn't focus them. He immediately scooped her up and rushed her to the closest ER, and then called me.

When he got there, they ran blood test after blood test and did x-rays, every test imaginable. Her white blood cell count was normal, nothing was out of the ordinary.

When I arrived at the ER, the doctor there told us that he had done everything that he could do so he was transferring her to Saint Francis Hospital for further tests.

Right as we were leaving in the ambulance, her teacher arrived at the ER and told us that after questioning Halle 's classmates, She had found out that our little girl had licked liquid hand sanitizer off of her hands!!!

Hand sanitizer, of all things. But it makes sense. These days they have all kinds of different scents and flavors and when you have a curious child, they are going to put all kinds of things into their mouths. When we arrived at the Saint Francis' HospitalER, we told the ER Doctor there to check her blood alcohol level, and yes we did get weird looks, but they did it.

The results showed her blood alcohol level was 85% -- six hours after we first took her.. There's no telling what it would have been if we would have requested it at the first ER. Since then, her school and a few surrounding schools have taken the liquid hand sanitizers out of all the lower grade classes, but what's to stop middle and high schoolers from ingesting this stuff? After doing research on the Internet, we found out that it only takes about 3 squirts of the stuff ingested to be fatal to a toddler. For her blood alcohol level to be so high, it would be like someone her size drinking120 proof liquor. So PLEASE PLEASE don't disregard this because we don't everwant another family to go through what ours has gone through.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/hand-sanitizer.htm http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp

How many men does it take to iron a shirt????

....I don't know, there is no evidence that its ever been attempted in my house.

My kids loved this song, and when they saw this video on you tube they laughed and laughed. Deion laughed so hard I had to remind him to breathe. I love this film anyway, despite having seen it about a thousand times.

Set me a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is stronger than death.

song of solomon, ch VIII,v6

I don't know about you, but it makes me laugh when rich, famous, nanny hiring, celebs who employ enough staff to run a small country describe themselves as single mothers. It just doesn't pack the same punch for me.


"Appearing on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman in the US, the performer was asked what it was like being a single parent."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Showbiz-News/Madonna-Would-Rather-Be-Hit-By-Train-Than-Marry-She-Tells-David-Letterman/Article/200910115397273?lpos=Showbiz_News_News_Your_Way_Region_7&lid=NewsYourWay_ARTICLE_15397273_Madonna_Would_Rather_Be_Hit_By_Train_Than_Marry%2C_She_Tells_David_Letterman

There are times (like most of the time) when i feel like i am the only sane person in my house. Okay, okay, I know there is evidence to the contrary i.e. the giant football, the bungee jump, the cake...whatever!

But it seems there are just some things you can't get through to my family....

Like...if you leave your clothes in a heap on the bedroom floor, it does not automatically follow that the next day, they will not be washed and ironed and in your closet.

Or...once you have eaten all the food, it does not automatically replace itself, i do not have a magic refrigerator.

Even simple things, like, i can't be in two (or three) places at once, money doesn't grow on trees, and i only have one pair of hands.

Whether or not the parents were involved, one thing is for sure, this child and family did not get the support they needed. Its yet another in a long line of cases where a child slips through the net and loses their Innocent young life needlessly.

"The parents of an eight-year-old girl found hanged in her bedroom have been arrested in connection with her death.
Simon and Susan Moody were interviewed under caution immediately after finding Charlotte Avenall's body at their home in Mansfield last month.
The young girl, who had severe learning disabilities, was discovered hanged in her bedroom on September 12.
Mr Moody, 32, and his 24-year-old wife Susan have been arrested in connection with her death.
Following her death, Nottinghamshire County Council's social services department said it would be reviewing the care and support it offered Charlotte and her family.
She was known to social services from birth and attended Birklands Primary School in nearby Warsop."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Charlotte-Avenall-Hanged-In-Mansfield-Nottinghamshire-Parents-Arrested/Article/200910115397324?lpos=UK_News_Third_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region__2&lid=ARTICLE_15397324_Charlotte_Avenall_Hanged_In_Mansfield_Nottinghamshire%3A_Parents_Arrested

AND HEADING DOWN THE GYM!!!

My daughter Robyn had a Sunday to herself, no school, homework up to date, no karate /horse riding/work experience/extra curricular lessons....so how does she chose to spend it...like this....

Robyn had a school art trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum last week, however, time was limited, so she (being the perfectionist she is) wanted to go back to make sure her sketches were accurate, and to maybe add a few more.

I can't complain, she wants it to be right bless her.

Its a lovely museum, I haven't been for years, I loved the buddahs, so here are a few pictures of our favourite things.

I can't believe its a year to the day that I started blogging. My good Friend Trojan,(Trojan's Corner) not only suggested it, helped me set it up (as in...he did most of the work lol) and he has given me nothing but encouragement all along.

I can hardly remember life before blogging now. I have been able to reach out to so many people, and have been helped and supported by more people, from more places than I could ever have imagined.

I had to laugh when Iwent back to our intentions a year ago, http://sallyannestephenson.blogspot.com/2008/10/hi-im-sally-i-live-in-london-with-my.html I was going to put out a blog once a week...crikey, I've done at least one a day...

I was going to only talk about issues that surround being a parent of children with special needs...

Well, that all went out the window, i chat about anything and everything, this is my online diary, thought process and has been great for meeting new people...

So thankyou for reading and supporting...

And special love to you Trojan xxxxx

Have you noticed, that the more you hurry, the slower you go?

The more you wait, the longer it takes?

The more you worry, the less you dream?

But the more you live, love, and laugh, the more you live, love, and laugh.

OMG this is so funny, wrong? cruel?...yes, but hilarious too!!!!

i seem to be continuously apologising for ignoring everyone. i can't say how much i miss spending a little time on all of your blogs each day, but there just doesn't seem to be a spare minute. i used to spend those nighttime hours when i couldn't sleep on the blog...now I'm out working and spending my time with people far less savory than all of you.

gosh, i thought i was busy before i am now looking back on my life a couple of months ago and feeling that it was quite leisurely!!!!

I am trying to get it to balance out, and I'll be back commenting and posting much more...

right off to work...i think the phrase 'you'll meet yourself coming backwards' was meant for me.

I am also concerned, as one phrase pops up alot! and that's 'no rest for the wicked'...okay, i don't think I'm wicked, but its starting to worry me lol!

have a great day all of you....

Now, you would think that having a paying job (as well as all the other stuff you do, which roughly equates to five jobs anyway...but thats a blog post for another day!) would mean that you would be better off financially.

When you sit down and work out the cost of actually going back to work, decent clothes that aren't elasticated and designed not to show childrens food and mess, shoes that look smart rather than comfy, travel, childcare, and take out for dinner on days when you just havent got to the supermarket or are not home....it means financially you barely break even.

Its actually cheaper to stay home, and then as a bonus you don't have anyone moaning at you because the dry cleaning isn't picked up, or the printers out of ink, or clothes aren't ironed on the right day, or we're out of the right t-bags, or the house is a bomb site.

You can hardly blame parents for staying home can you? It's the cheaper option!

This is one of them.

This story has been all over the news the last couple of days. It highlights the depravity of some members of society... three people have been charged with horrific child abuse and distributing pornographic images of children...one of them is a nursery worker, all of them are parents.

Now police and social workers are trying to work out who the children are in the images. Aparently so bad, they could not even describe them for the press.

It is the worst kind of abuse of trust, abusing the most vulnerable. Abusing innocent children while their parents feel they are in a safe, secure, loving enviroment.

Some freinds and I were talking about this, and one felt that it almsot seems worse when its women involved, is this true????

"Female sex abuse often remains hidden behind the veil of happy family life and the apparently normal relationship between mother and child so victims are less likely to come forward.
And those in contact with the family are less likely to notice what is happening.
This combined with the stigma and silence surrounding the issue means the result is chronic under-reporting.
The statistics in this field are dangerously inadequate, but it is estimated that at least 25% of victims of sexual abuse are abused by women.
Two years ago the Behavioural Analysis Unit at CEOP (The Child Expoloitation and Online Protection taskforce) began a study into female sex offenders.
The results are still several years away, but Graham Hill, leading the team, expects the findings to show a high incidence of female sex offending.

These monsters are due to be sentenced next month. one things for sure, whatever happens to them, will be less than they deserve.

My heart goes out to the babies and their families, imagine how hard it will be for them to let those children out of their sight again, imagine how hard it will be to ever trust anyone again. As parents we are told to show preference to well run, registered nurseries rather than child minders... tell these parents that!

to read more click here....

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Nursery-Abuse-Vanessa-George-Angela-Allen-And-Colin-Blanchard-Admit-Child-Sex-Assault-Offences/Article/200910115396963?lpos=UK_News_Third_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region__4&lid=ARTICLE_15396963_Nursery_Abuse%3A_Vanessa_George%2C_Angela_Allen_And_Colin_Blanchard_Admit_Child_Sex_Assault_Offences

Three different people sent me this...do you think they are trying to tell me something???

I posted it, because, you know when you see something, and it really gets to you, and you find it hilarious, and every time you think of it you laugh....this did that for me.

hmm..perhaps I can relate!

I just had to write and tell you about a recent experience.

A friend of mine has a distant aunt, they found each other on face book recently. It turns out that this aunt is a medium, a good one, she's been on TV, travelled all over the world doing this, some of her customers are famous people.

While she was talking to my friend, she told her that she could see a little boy, and told her to ask his mum to phone her...nothing else was said.

Well, I did phone, she arranged to phone me back another day at a quiet time...and I'm so glad she did. She knew things, that no-one else knew, she described my house, where I keep a box of Aaron's things, other mundane things he sees me doing. She named the names of his Friend's his favourite uncle, my grandparents...it was pretty special. She knew his favourite toys, teddy, food, games, it was amazing. There is not one thing she said that didn't mean something to me, even if it was confusing for her.

But most of all, the best thing, the thing that was indisputable was... when she described how she had had a mad day, was worn out, so she decided to go to leave me a message saying we would rearrange and go to bed instead...well, apparently she tried but Aaron wouldn't let her, she said he drove her crazy with his incessant 'ring my mum, ring my mum' she said it was like that scene out of Ghost when Patrick Swayze wants Whoopie Goldberg to phone Molly....

Of course, there isn't another person who ever existed as stubborn as Aaron, so this really made me smile. There are times when I feel Aaron, particular moments, and recently Dragon from mysterious creature told me how to contact aaron in dreams...this medium knew all about this and told me not to doubt it.

I feel calmer somehow, less worried that he is lost, or lonely, or not being looked after...and certainly there is no doubt he is with us all....

Big breath in, my heart feels joyful today!