Miss me?

I've totally been slacking on the blog.  I blame Facebook.  Updating my status was taking over for my blog.  I'm sorry.  I'll be better.

Things here are going well.  Shannon got into speech therapy and has been doing it for a few weeks now.  Only bad thing is that it is on a Saturday.  It is at a private therapy place.  On Thursday we find out if Shannon qualifies for aid through Cobb County School District.  Since Erin works for CCSD, our chances should be pretty good.

The family got a MacBook Air as a gift from my parents.  Totally unexpected.  We were expecting to get the used PC laptop that they got an Air of their own to replace.  This computer is so thin it is amazing.  Only complaint so far is that it only comes with an 80 gig hard drive.    

Not only did we upgrade to a MAC, but I also hooked up a wireless router for the house.  Combined with the MacBook it has already changed our lives.   Shannon spends much more time on the computer now and it is great to be able to be on the computer anywhere in the house.  We haven't had a single problem yet.

Happy Anniversary

Happy 6th Wedding Anniversary to Erin and I.

6th year married.
15th year as a couple.

Gas

Strange days in Atlanta. Almost like jumping in a time machine and experiencing what it was live during the gas shortage of the mid 70s. There is no gas in Atlanta right now.

Not only downtown, but the surrounding metro area as well. Hurricane Ike cut off our supply. Because of the air pollution in Atlanta, we have to have a special mix of gas. Once those refineries lost power, we lost our supply.

The Governor of Georgia got the special gas put on hold so we can have any gas we can get. The problem is he took too long to do it and everyone is panic buying. If there is a station with gas, you better be ready to wait for it.

On Friday I was lucky enough to fill up both cars. We had been down to a 1/4 tank in each one. I filled Erin's car and only had to wait 10 minutes. Later in the day I had to wait 30 minutes to fill my car. I can't imagine waiting in line that long and then not getting gas. I got lucky.

On the news there are stories of fights breaking out, people getting shot, and police officers having to be called in to manage the lines.

We are told that the "crisis" could be over by this week or by next week. Who knows? Most stations have only one grade of gas for a few hours and then the numbers come back down off the sign again.

Speech Evaluation

Erin took Shannon to her Speech Evaluation on Wednesday. Here is how she summarized the session:

It went surprisingly well, in that Shannon participated more than I thought she would. The speech therapist ran a few tests and Shannon is showing some articulation (pronunciation) problems which makes it hard to understand what she's saying. She also has a weak tongue, so we have some exercises we have to do with her. She will need some speech therapy, but her delays are mild and should improve fairly quickly. We won't get the final report with scores and everything for about 2-3 weeks.

Now the problem is finding a speech therapy slot for her. We need to have an after school spot since Mike and I are both working. Every place around here has at least a 2-3 month waiting list. So, I'm trying to see if Shannon will qualify for services through the school system. The school will provide transportation to and from daycare (I'm still checking on that), and, best of all, it's FREE. Oh, did I mention that our insurance doesn't cover speech therapy for articulation disorder? Just another obstacle. So, I'm really hoping she'll qualify for school-based.

Speech Therapy

It looks like Shannon is gonna need to have some speech therapy in the near future. Erin had her friend over to give Shannon an "unofficial" speech evaluation and she scored below average.

This Friday we go to the pediatrician for Shannon's yearly check up and a hearing test. Once she passes the hearing test (while we think so will) then she is going to Children's Health care of Atlanta for her official evaluation.

Basically Shannon should be talking better than she does now. Using 3 word statements and verbs. Right now she is a mix of one word statements and baby talk. She does talk well at times, but overall she should be doing much better.

She was technically born a month early so that might have something to do with her development. We shall find out next week.

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On a brighter note, Shannon went to her orthopedic doctor for a yearly check up on her feet and everything looks great. We don't have to come back for another check up for 2 years.

Happy Birthday Erin

Happy 32nd birthday to the mother of my child!!!

To celebrate Erin decided to go to the dentist and have a cavity filled. Now that is a birthday present.

Guitar Hero III

After much back and forth I finally decided to buy Guitar Hero III last week. I wasn't really interested in spending 90 bucks on the game, but when I discovered that Best Buy was selling it for 60 bucks I was all over it.

I can't believe I waited this long to get it. After the first day I was hooked. I've played it before and had a good time, but wasn't sure I could maintain enough interest to own it. I'm playing about 2 hours a night now. Erin has to yell at me put the guitar down.

I'm working my way through the Easy level right now and have started to hit songs with multiple chord progressions.

Shannon loves watching it. After each song she either says "more" or "again" to get me to play on. I'm more than happy to satisfy her request.

What an additive game and a fun way to connect with music.