I have a grand dog!

Pandora!  Isn't she darling!

We rescued her from the pound Saturday.  She is a 2 year old terrier mix.  This poor little girl had a small litter of puppies just five days before we rescued her.  None of them survived.  She was spayed three days after she gave birth and we took her home the next day.

I NEVER thought I would have a small dog, but my goodness, she is so darn cute and loveable.  She's really a good girl, too.  She sleeps in bed with Olivia and follows me around when she's not home. 

We gave her a very unprofessional haircut (these pictures are after the haircut, we were so busy with her we forgot to take before pictures), and in a week when she is healed from her surgery we can take her to the groomer.  We did a horrid job, but she looks so much better than she did. 

Are you looking for information?

To those of you who have emailed me looking for information on Schroth, I would like to ask you to go back to the very beginning of this blog and read through it.  You will find a lot of information.

I am extremely busy right now, and will answer emails as soon as I can give them the adequate time to answer your questions.  If I don't get back with you and you have questions, PLEASE send me another email! 

I will say, that I have absolutely no regrets visiting the SRC with my daughter, and am a firm believer that the Schroth method of P.T. works.  Of course, it only works, if you work it!  It takes a commitment, and that is sometimes hard for a teenager. 

Too much time...

...has gone by since I've been here, sorry!

Life is busy.  I'll fast forward to today!  Olivia started high school this past Tuesday and she really likes it a lot.  She got the classes she wanted and is making friends.

I've started a part time job in a private school, working from 9:00 - 1:30 on school days.  I'm hoping this will be enough to get us through this school year.  The hours are ideal, as there is not a school bus and I have to drive Olivia to and from school.  I'm guessing in time, she'll meet people in or around our neighborhood and we could establish a carpool.  The school is only 2.5 miles from our house, so it's not bad.

Everything else here is going along great.  I really love it here.  I don't think that you could go anywhere else that has this perfect of weather!  Yesterday morning it rained, which is unusual, and I loved it!  By the afternoon the sun was shining, the wind was blowing and it was delightful.  People here are funny.  As soon as the weather drops they pull out their "winter" clothes.  There was a man in Cost*o last night wearing a N*orth Face coat.  It was maybe in the high 60's or low 70's!  Everyone here wears boots too.   All summer long.  Boots with shorts...it looks so silly to me! 

Earthquake!

Our first since we've been here.  5.4 with several aftershocks.  I was home alone and I think by the time I figured out what was happening the darn thing was over!  No damage done.

A few pictures

Our Fig tree, what will I do with so many figs!?

Our plum tree, it's almost ready to harvest!

My favorite place to cook dinner; our BBQ Island!

A small seating area I created off the kitchen.  Gotta love Home Goods!

We're getting there...

...settled, that is, in our new home.  It's actually starting to feel like a home!

We've been here for a little over a week, and I'd say I'm 75% unpacked, if not a little more.  All the important stuff is unpacked and put away.  The house looks really good.  I love the kitchen and especially the back yard.  The kitchen is huge and really pretty.  The backyard is incredible.  A gorgeous pool, built in BBQ, fire pit, lots of trees, including a peach, plum and fig tree.  In the front yard is a wonderful lemon tree.

The rest of the house is certainly sufficient.  The living room is nice, the master bedroom and bath are a little small, but that's okay.  Olivia has a really big room, which is nice for her. 

We've been busy putting things away, running to the store every day for what we discover we don't have, etc.  It was a very strange feeling having absolutely nothing in the kitchen and having to start from square one.  Everyday I discover something that I need that I don't have.  It's a good thing everything is close by.

This morning we went to the high school and registered Olivia and got all the paperwork we need.  We'll meet with a counselor in August when she will submit her class choices and get everything settled.

I'm keeping my eye open for job opportunites, but am not quite ready to go forward unless something comes along that I just can't risk not going for.  There are a couple of senior living/assisted living facilities very close to our house which I am watching closely.  I want to work close to home and would like to stay in this field.  I miss my old people!

Well, time to put some laundry away and get to sleep.  Bob is up at 4:30 a.m. everyday as he likes to leave before 5:30 to avoid traffic.  He has a 40 mile drive (he's working in Glendale, which is LA) and timing is critical.  The good thing is that most days he's able to leave at 2:30.  In good traffic it's about a 45 minute drive.

I do have to say, I really love it here!  I miss everyone back home....a lot....

It's been nearly a year...

...since we were at the Scoliosis Rehab Center in Stevens Point.  Time does fly.

Olivia had a visit with Dr. Mendelow yesterday and the results were that there has been no progression since last summer.  This is good.  Now, if she would be diligent with her exercises and overall bone health (Olivia - you need to take your vitamins EVERYDAY!), it is probable that she could maintain this.  She has also grown 1/2" since last summer.

I know that there are a few Schroth therapists in CA.  If they are located close to where we will be living, I plan on taking Olivia for a few sessions.  Otherwise, we are only 5 1/2 hours from Phoenix, so I may look into visiting the new SRC there in the future. 

On another note, once we are moved and settled, I'd like to keep this blog going as a means to keep those of you who read it updated not only on Olivia and her scoliosis, but also on our life in CA, so please, come back often!

It's getting closer

Just two more days and the trailer is will be delivered for us to pack up.  Actually, it will sit in the driveway for two days until Bob gets home on Saturday and we start loading it.  I'm about 75% done with packing.  I really need to get in gear here! 

It's hard to believe that in one week from today we will be on our way.  Time seemed to go so slow for awhile there and now it's flying by.

I'm really looking forward to the warm sunny skies.  It feels like October here and it's been days since the sun has peaked through the clouds. 

Tying up loose ends

and there's a lot of them!

Just a little over a week and Bob will be back.  It seems like he's been gone so much longer than he has.  I miss him. 

The final days here will be filled with appointments like the doctor (including Dr. Mendelow), dentist and haircut, as well as visiting my family in Cleveland, finishing up work, more packing, lots and lots of phone calls (I was on hold with Comc*st yesterday for nearly 1/2 and hour just to cancel our service), etc., etc., etc.

It seems like everyday I add something else to my ever growing list.

Time is going fast!

Wow, hard to believe it's less than a month until we move!

We did find a house to rent in California and from what I can see and what the realtor has told me, it is very nice.  Bob assured me I will love it!  As you can see from the pictures, it doesn't look too shabby.

It is in Yorba Linda in the new Yorba Linda High School district, which is exactly what we wanted!  Bob will get the keys on June 5th and is really looking forward to start moving in. 

In the meantime, back here in Michigan, Olivia and I have been busy packing and taking care of all the practical matters around here.  I had a moving sale yesterday and today, and will have it again tomorrow.  It's amazing how much stuff we have sold.  It baffles me what people buy.  What I think will never sell sells right away and the good stuff tends to linger.  What ever is left tomorrow (I'm selling what is left super cheap) is all going to the Salvation Army as soon as I close the garage door! 

With the exception of our bedroom furniture, one couch, coffee and end table, love seat, chair, futon, desk and one bookcase, we are not taking any other furniture.  Of course our clothes and personal items, books, pictures, etc. are coming with us as well as my good kitchen stuff.  I was so skeptical to sell off everything that I did, and now I am so glad I did!  Not for the money, but because I've realized how much stuff I have that I really do not need!  It sure is a feeling of cleansing!

Our house - we took it off the market this week as Scott and two of his friends are going to rent it.  This works out so well for both of us.  They're in an apartment now, so why not have a house, and we don't have to worry about it being vacant while no one is knocking the doors down to buy it.  He is going to keep Leo for awhile too, so we won't have to drive across the country with him in the car.  This really is a win win situation.

Now, as far as Olivia's back is concerned, I have not yet set up one last appointment with Dr. Mendelow.  I really need to do that soon.  I keep forgetting. 

I'm thinking of changing the name of this blog, as the content is changing, and I am hoping to keep it up once we move as a means of staying in touch with everyone.  I just can't think of a good name.  I'd love suggestions if anyone has any.  You can post here or email me at sstevenson18@hotmail.com

I love you

Mom and you will be missed beyond any words can express.

Today I lost my best friend and mother to a courageous battle with cancer.  My children lost their only grandmother. 

1-1-1940 to 5-3-2010
Resting in Peace
Adrienne Green

We're home

Olivia and I landed in MI this morning at 4:20 a.m.  She went to school, believe it or not!  Me, I went right to sleep for a few hours and am going back to work tomorrow.  Too much to do today.

It was an exhausting week.  We have narrowed down the school Olivia will go to (Yorba Linda High) and the area where we need to live, but have not found the right house.  We did put in an application for one house, which was incredible, but they chose someone else.  We were heartbroken, but looking back it's best.  It was a bit more than we wanted to spend and it was at the far east end of YL, which would make Bob's commute even further.  Not a good thing in SoCal!  So, back to house hunting, via online and what Bob can do when he's there. 

I have tons of work to do here before we leave in the middle of June.  Olivia's schedule is packed.  She leaves for her 8th grade class trip on Wednesday to DC, Gettysburg and Hershey, PA.  She is very excited.  The following weekend is her Choir competition at Cedar Point, then comes her 8th grade dance, the end of the school year, etc.  It's an exciting time for her.

School "shopping" and House "hunting"...

We are in Sunny Orange County California now and it is glorious here!  We have looked at several High Schools and many houses.  Olivia really likes the new Yorba Linda High School.  What's not to like!  We're going this evening for a tour and open house.

We have found a house that we really love.  It is beautiful beyond belief and it we get it, I'll post pictures.  It is rental property and two other families have an application in, but we have faith!

Today I drove Bob to work so Olivia and I would have the car for the day.  We chose to spend the afternoon in Newport Beach.  No words are necessary!

EXCITING NEWS!!!!!

We're moving.....to Sunny California!

We're excited. One thing I must say however, is that there is no way I will ever find another orthopedic like Dr. Mendelow. I hope he has a good recommendation for us, or we may be travelling across the country to see him, when necessary.

Details are forthcoming.....stay tuned.

She was thinking!

Whenever Olivia gets her haircut, she always forgets to remind them that she has scoliosis (a suggestion from one of the therapists at the center. Well, tonight we both went for haircuts. I was finished first (I'm easy, I just let it dry naturally), so I went to watch Kathy finish flat ironing Olivia's hair. I noticed she was sitting very straight. I asked her if she remembered to remind Kathy of her scoliosis and she said no, she didn't need to. She sat down in the chair, aligned her spine and was sitting perfectly straight. She was thinking! Her hair looks beautiful and it's perfectly even. She's sleeping or I'd take a picture. I will tomorrow if I remember.

She's been good...

...with her exercises lately! Yes, I'll say it again, Olivia is doing her exercises. I think she is finally realizing how critical they are and how much better she feels when she does them.

We were in Dr. Mendelows office last week with my sister and niece who is having some back problems. My sister came in from Cleveland to bring my niece to see him, as she wanted a second opinion. Everything worked out better than expected, and she is thrilled that she came. He really is an incredible Orthopedic and everyone in his office was extremely helpful. A special thanks to Wright and Filippis as well for making everything happen so fast, so my sister and niece could get back while it stopped snowing!

Anyhow, when we were at his office, he asked Olivia how she was doing and if she was doing her exercises everyday. I was proud of her for not lying, but.....He gave her a look that spoke a thousand words and she's been at it since. I hope it keeps up.

The new Schroth therapists are all trained and will begin to practice here shortly. They're just waiting for all the equipment to be installed. I am planning on taking her once a week to work with them, providing our insurance will cover the visits. I don't see any reason why they won't.

I did have a small scare today. Olivia called me at work and told me she felt a "snap" in her and that she could only turn in one direction. I told her to go to the office, do some stretches and align her spine. She did and she was fine. Thank God!