What's that burning?

I burned rice today. Rice. I think that pretty much sums up why I've been quiet lately.

To be continued....

Why is this so confusing to me?!?!?!?!

I am trying to teach myself the legislative process...again. Again, again. Why is this so confusing? How come the pretty pictures don't help? This is worse than calculus. This is worse than physics. This is worse than memorizing prayers and the process of First Confession, which I never understood, in PSR. And if I do finally figure it out, I forget it like, um 2 seconds later.

Oh I so wish I could avoid this. But I can't. So I won't.

A lot can happen in a week

I apologize for being quiet here... but wow, what a week!

Movement
Last week I gave a presentation to The Missouri Planning Council for Developmental Disabilities - Education Committee. The committee voted to bring the issue in front of the council and the council (hopefully) is expected to approve "supporting" legislation in the restraint and seclusion issue. Within a matter of days, a bill is being drafted and there are two potential sponsors (Senators). I have been working like crazy updating the site I started a year ago. I have been advocating through e-mail and on the phone more than I have since...well, if you have children with disabilities you are always on the phone or e-mailing someone about something trying to resolve a problem, prevent something, or hold someone accountable, or get something to change! Check out the site and give me your feedback. It's a blog, so I'm limited...but if you are smart like that, help me fix things like making the blog let me put thing in the order I want them as opposed to chronologically. Grrr. I can't devote much time on this since I'm spending time on the actual issue.

I am going to DC in March to further educate myself on and advocate about this issue (and I get to meet Stimey!). I am going to the State capitol in February and March.

Work
I have suspended my freelance work until late Spring so that I can focus on this issue (and um a "schooling" issue I have been purposely vague about...). I am scared shitless. Like really scared. It's not like I made a ton, but it was supplemental income that we live on month to month.

But, because things just work out sometimes, we found out today that Hubby is moving to a store 5 minutes away (right now he has about a 60-90 minute commute (round trip). This alone will save us $300 or more a month in gas (and food costs since Hubby so often 'forgets' to bring his lunch!). not to mention that he can come home during lunch when he wants or go to meetings/appointments for the boys...and we can drop by and grace him with our presence when we are running around. And for someone as anxiety ridden as myself, it's good to know he is minutes away in case there is any emergency.

So there you have it.

Merry Christmas -- Sorta

This year I got everyone...

... a root canal. An unplanned one, that still hurts, and costs money we don't have. I suffered through the dentist. I cried. Apparently it was a "hot" tooth, so the anesthetic didn't work all of the way. I shook. I took a Xanax beforehand, and my daddy came and drove me home. He's a good daddy. But now I can't eat my favorite cookie, unless I eat them through a straw. Which I just might do.

...a cell phone bill that was a fat ol' mistake, and costs $300 we don't have. Turns out when we canceled our home phone to save money? Well that didn't work out so well. Hubby works for a cell phone company. And our cell phones are free. Well apparently his is free, and I get 1000 minutes for free. Didn't know that. But $300 dollars later, we figured it out. And his wonderful company (that I can't complain about because I don't want him to get fired right now) will not credit our account, but would've "fixed" it if I was a stupid customer as opposed to an employee's stupid wife. Oh, and yeah, we have to pay it in full, like right now, or they fire Hubby. And, yeah, since their pay periods are changing, they decided December should be the month they skip one paycheck. And because they really suck (in the nicest way possible), Hubby has to work from 7:30-5:00PM on Christmas Eve. Maybe not a big deal to some, but nearly all of our family stuff is on Christmas Eve. So if you buy a cell phone on Christmas Eve, I will try not to hate you.

...a Christmas card.

...and maybe, if I don't burn them all, some cookies. Not just any cookies, but my favorite cookies. Yeah, the ones I can't eat.

I feel a little selfish, because we got a Wii. For ourselves. But we spread that $250 far since me and our children are so lucky to have birthdays during the holiday season. So Happy Birthday Mommy. Merry Christmas Mommy, Daddy, Bubba, and Moose. Happy Birthday Mooser. Happy Birthday Bubba. Is it sad that we're wrapping up the remotes and cables separately to make it look like we have more gifts? Well, it was either that or wrapping up my tooth bits and shredded cell phone bill. Actually, I got some books and such at Goodwill for real cheap, so the boys should be happy. If they don't like it, they can kiss Santa's rosy red ass.

Hope every one knows I am not a bitter person, this is my screwed up sense of humor dealing with reality. But I'm not joking, unless you have lived under the same roof as me for 5 years or longer, you're getting a card. I know that sucks, and I am sorry.

Surprisingly though, me and my little family are super happy minus all of the piddly shit going on. And I am going to enjoy that fact rather than let commercialism get me down. At least I am going to try.

Practice Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas traditions that I started with my boys is "Practice Christmas." (If you've only missed one year, it can still be a tradition, right?) A few days before Christmas we satisfy our impatient giving and receiving curiosities and we wrap and deliver one small present for each person in the family.

We then go over gift-giving and gift receiving etiquette, because well, this is fun and when I go over the rules on the way to people's houses, the boys know what the hell I am talking about.

After we go through the rules, we act out the scenarios and talk about them. Some years it helps, some years it doesn't. In any case, it's fun to open a present early. And the boys are excited. The rule part of the tradition ends when it becomes tedious and pointless, but I think we will always do an early gift as long as I can get away with it.

Gift-Giving Etiquette:

1) Look at the name tag. (Shit, I forgot this step this year!)
2) Softly hand the present to the person.
3) Let them open the present--do not rip the paper for them.
4) Take two steps back. (After our practice Christmas, I have determined this will be the most difficult for them, so be prepared to get laughing-spit on your face and your feet smooshed by some serious happy-dancing. I have determined this to be the best part for me because I am thrilled to see them so damn excited about someone else besides them getting a gift. So deal with the spittle and the bruised toes.)

Gift-Receiving Etiquette:

1) Wait with you hands in your lap. (Note that I don't care what their feet are doing!)
2) Do not open a present until Mommy and/or Daddy say you can.
3) Look at the name tag. (Shit, I forgot this step this year!)
4) Open the present (no restrictions on that one!).
a) If you do not like the present or you do not know what it is, say "thank you" and set the present down softly. Mommy and daddy will help you. You do not have to lie and say you like the present. Do not say "Thank you. I am not lying. I don't like your present."
b) If you like the present, say "thank you." Do not say "I like your present so much better than so-and-sos."
5) When the crazy people want to take your picture holding a present, do your typical "Christmas Picture" pose. (That is, Bubba looks like a monkey and Mooser looks drunk or is moving.)
6) Do not look around like greedy, disappointed children and ask "Where are the rest of the presents?"
7) Help throw away the paper before you open any boxes (and lose half of the pieces).
8) Give all of the crazy people with the big eye balls and cameras hugs and smile. (OK this one, for the most part I let them choose. I hate when people make the kids be physically affectionate because I hate it myself. I'll mention it, but I usually don't force it unless I think it means we can get the hell outta there faster.)

You may ask why so many "rules"? It's more important to me to set Bubba and Moose up for a pleasant Christmas and good reactions from all the crazy people staring at them as opposed to waiting for them to screw up and then teach 'em what to do (and have all the crazy people telling them how to behave).

Clues for Stimey

To further help the brainstorming process, these are places that would make sense to have "borrowed crap". But there is no room or really any sense to the madness.




This is the very ill-planned laundry room wedged in-between the garage door and kitchen. The washer and dryer are not in the picture, but there is no space by them. You can tell we utilize this space so well by the crap that is thrown in the narrow opening. To the left is the door to the garage, to the right is the door to the kitchen. The kitchen door opens onto the stairs that go to the basement (yeah, that's really safe, huh?).



And here is my bakers rack, the collector of all things important. The baskets (labeled by Mooser) hold 1) all of the boys' paperwork from school and 2) all of the paid bills and official mommy/daddy documents until all of it can be filed away. I know for a fact that each basket can hold a years' worth of stuff. The metal inbox is for all stuff requiring action, like bills. Doesn't it all look so clean and tidy?

To the right is the paper shredder that doesn't work. To the left is the basket that contains magazines and such. Underneath are containers that function as my "junk drawer". In fact, most of the little containers all over the bakers rack contain crap that I can't get rid of but don't know what to do with. And that little box on the main shelf.... yeah those are Christmas cards that I haven't touched.

Other People's Junk

I have a big problem, and I'm hoping you (yeah you Stimey) can fix it!

Dear Stimey,

Even though I am a longtime stalker at Stimeyland, I am a new reader of The Junk Pyramid. I am in need of your decluttering wisdom.

Because we are in close proximity to family and friends, we often accumulate other people's junk. I'm telling you, it knows where we live, and it knows how to find us! We have so much of other people's clutter in our house: food containers that eventually get washed that once contained the in-laws' leftovers we never asked for (or ate), toys that were 'borrowed' from a friend to ease a transition (and avert a temper tantrum), magazines and books that I supposedly have to read (but never will), clothes that were needed after an unexpected puking or expected mud puddle incident (I think those got laundered? hmmmm), and of course the fine-accumulating library books and movie rentals.

So we have all of this clutter we can't get rid of until we remember to return it. Yeah, that remembering part is hard. And the locating of the junk is even more difficult in the off chance we do remember.

So what do we do? Donating it all to Goodwill is not an option. I did that last year and the tax write off did not balance out the fines and tsk tsks. The couch won't work, because that's where we put the clean laundry that my mother-in-law folds sometimes. The kitchen won't work because that's where all the shit we have to keep goes. My office? My bedroom? A spare room or shelf or table in the hallway, you say? Nice try.

Please share your wisdom. I'm sure I could put my children through college by saving on the fines alone. And my sanity would be much improved if I had a way to organize borrowed clutter (at least I tell myself that in one of my many voices).

Sincerely,

the borrower of other people's trouble (and crap)

Seeing Things

I watched a horror show once when I was a child where blood came out of the shower head. And then later I heard a story of a woman who had spiders come out of her shower head (and I actually did have one fall out of our air vent once while I was in the bathroom, so that didn't help). So anyhow, since I refuse to close my eyes when showering and I try very hard not to think about anything either, I am forced to stare at the shower walls.

After seeing the letter A on my husband's head, I thought I'd share my "shower stall visions."

Cat and mouse (sorry about the glare)



Jesus? Or maybe his cousin?



Old man winter



The naughty wall



The water pitcher



Nude torso



There are lots more, but these are the ones that really stand out to me. Don't you wish you could be inside my brain? I told you I was crazy.

A Marked Man

Hubby was looking at something in our bedroom--and I saw it--a letter on his head!

Oh my gosh, you have the letter A on your head!

Huh, I do not!

Um, yeah, you do so!

So I corralled the boys and asked them what letter they saw on daddy's head. They both thought it was either an H or an A. I took a picture with my cellphone and showed Hubby because he did not believe us. He believes us now--so much so he seems kind of scared.

The scarlet letter? Grade A? My initial?

Well, whatever, he is a marked man. Too bad it wasn't Jesus or Mary that appeared on his head, then we could sell it on ebay.

(You may have to enlarge the picture or step back from your monitor to really see it.)

It's a Cat Eat Rodent World

For the second day in a row, I have found the bottom half of a fuzzy creature at the bottom of the basement stairs. Sally apparently not only knows how to use the kitty door, but also how to drag her leftovers into the house.

The thing I don't get is that the bottom half is always what's left. So far since she started going outside, I have come across three or four squirrel bottoms. Is there something unappealing about the waist down? And what does she do with their little rib cages and skulls? How does she severe them in half?

Why is even the cat a freaky little butcher?

She is about 6 pounds, the same size as the squirrels. Seriously. In any case, the squirrels must be on to her, because today all I found was a tiny remnant of a mouse torso.

I'm going to have to start sleeping with my eyes open.

(Hubby says I need to take her to the vet to get her something that prevents worms. She has all of her shots and is on Frontline.)

Another Anniversary

To all those who read my blog, I am aware that I have "issues." Chances are if you asked me for a list, everything that you have secretly thought at one time or another would be on there. I am fully aware and very expressive about all of my idiosyncrasies. And in fact, I suppose that is one of my many issues!

I remember once my sister telling me "Ange, I don't know how to say this, but you have some issues..." As she trailed off, I cheerily replied, "You mean like how I do [this] or [that]?" "Um yeah..." she stammered.

So yesterday, aware that I am always either very hot or very cold, very anxious or very depressed, very emotional or very distant, I quipped to Hubby: "You know I am a little crazy, right?"

"Yes," he said, and then gave me that sincere smile, that smile that tells me he wouldn't want it any other way.

Not that he doesn't have his issues either...but many of the reasons why I married him 11 years ago this month were exactly because of his "issues." And I'm sure (actually, I am positive) the same goes for him. Not that it has made for an easy life, because let me tell you, between the two of us, there's a lot of drama, confusion, and tension. But we choose to look at it as excitement, spontaneity, and passion.

Here's to another year of the best kind of love--the kind that ain't easy, but oh so worth it.

I got nothin'

A quick update as to why I am silent here:

1) Third grade sucks.
2) We are broke.
3) I am working, a lot.
4) Hubby is allergic to Sally (the cat).
5) I want to keep the cat, so I am cleaning, brushing, sanitizing, a lot.
6) Hubby is working 12 to 14 hours a day. (So who cares if he is allergic to the cat. He's NEVER home!)
7) I only have 2-3 hours a day to work without my kids at home, until Hubby gets home (at 9PM). (Thank goodness I have my mother-in-law and some respite funds to help me out when I think I am going to cave in. Unfortunately, when the boys are gone, there's still no resting.)
8) I am still fucking coughing (this is the fourth week I believe), and now I have a sharp pain in the right side of my chest when I breathe(I am hoping it is gas).
9) I am writing a lot of emails to teachers to document things, and planning for another IEP meeting (see number 1).
10) The one part of our basement floor we didn't need to replace when our kitchen pipes ruined our basement? Yeah, guess whose basement leaked RIGHT THERE thanks to Tropical Storm Ike? Yep, ours. The floor is ruined.(Yes, I am thankful we weren't in the actual hurricane and I know it could've been so much worse.)
11)My dad is staying hydrated and getting some nutrition, but he is having a lot of bad "reactions" to the LapBand. Worrying about him is a full-time job in itself. Plus he's crabby, which makes me crabby.
12)When the boys are home, I am trying to give them a 100% Right now, our relationship is pretty good, so that makes me happy. :)

A quick update as to why I will be silent here for awhile:

1) See above.
2) The boys start their three-week cycle break (no school) on Friday.

What have I given up? Exercising, writing, working in my garden. No wonder I am crabby. And now summer is over. :(

Rebound Fatigue

You know that after vacation kind of tired? Where you are mentally refreshed but you are physically exhausted? And your body just wants to lay in bed--your own bed--and your eyes just need to rest for just a little while.

Yeah, well, that doesn't happen when the kids start school tomorrow and your whole vacation threw up all over your house and you waited until the last minute to get school supplies (just like every one else). But wait! I decided to take the boys swimming first, you know, to tire them out. Instead, we all got too much sun (how does that happen now when we didn't burn all week at the beach?!?!) and then we all went back-to-school shopping tired, crabby, and hot.

To top it all off, I had to go to several shoe stores (Thanks Daddy for telling him he needed new shoes when he really didn't!) because Bubba did not believe me that they don't make transformer shoes in his size. I gave him an honest (exhausted) answer why, saying that most of the kids his age do not want to wear transformer shoes. And he gave me a sincere reply: "But I do!" Finally he decided on a pair of $40+ camo Sketchers, so he's not the only one wishing he could squeeze his foot into a $10 pair of Transformer tennis shoes.

I am so not ready for the school year already. I haven't even gotten around to posting the recaps and updates from last school year! Seriously, the boys got out of school the 1st week of June...it's only July now! Not that it matters, cycle break will be here before I know it.

First Harvest

After a month of growing, I harvested the first crop of the season...RADISHES! I was so proud, pulling the little purple-red roots out of the ground, cleaning the greens and the root, and then preparing them into something possibly edible.

The thing is, I don't particularly like radishes. I wouldn't choose to buy them at the grocery store. But I decided to plant them since Hubby likes them and I had heard they were pretty fail-safe, so I had a good chance of growing something successfully my first year.

I googled "radish recipes" and "radish green recipes", and came up with radish salsa and pickled radish greens. Radish salsa good, pickled radish greens nasty!

The radish salsa had a little lime in it and I was also able to use some fresh mint from the garden.



The pickled radish greens didn't even taste good with the soy sauce the recipe recommended. I did put some fresh greens on my sandwich, and that worked out nicely.



Hubby has yet to cease teasing me on how proud I am of my little garden. I am not sure if he appreciates me bombarding him at the door when he comes home with: "Eat these radishes, eat them, eat them, EAT THEM!!! I grew them, you must eat them. Now."

I am thinking my garden has too much nitrogen since I have the "mostly green, less root " issue that I read about somewhere. So I wrote it down in my little handy dandy garden notebook, right next to "Radishes are spicy" and "Do not pickle radish greens."

At least they are healthy. And I've heard they help reduce flatulence.

Tracking

I had this Sitemeter freebie on my blog, kinda so I could tell if anyone who shouldn't be reading my blog (like scary googlers and school administrators) wasn't and sorta so I could tell if anyone was reading my blog. I forgot about it until recently, so I decided to see if I have had any odd visitors.

Here is what I learned. Anyone can click on the free sitemeter and see exactly what I see. You'd think that is not a big deal, but I can see latitude and longitude information for each visitor. And I can plug that information into Google maps and see desperate visitors sitting on their toilets cruising the internet on their iphones. Ok, not really, but have you seen the street view deal on Google maps? Did you know you could just paste in someone's coordinates and suddenly you could get directions from your house to the general vicinity of wherever they are surfing?

Yikes. I could see where this would be helpful if you are being stalked or harassed, but dang it sure seems like it would make it easier for the weirdos to find you. It's not exact, but still.

So I removed my sitemeter. You're privacy is restored here. But watch the other places you go. Make sure other bloggers don't have an open tracker.

Project Management

I thought that when I quit my full time job two years ago, my project management skills would leave me, my meeting skills (what little I had) would leave me, my problem solving capabilities would leave me, my planning skills would leave me, my letter writing skills would vanish - POOF. Actually, thanks to having to manage IEPs, therapies, doctor appointments, and volunteering to help other parents do the same, the only things that seemed to have left me are the ability to have any control over anything, the ability to maintain a functional household, and my sanity - POOF!

My dad had foot surgery yesterday. Minor, but I still worry that he had something stuck in his foot and he is diabetic. "Diabetic" and "foot surgery," words that make me shudder when used in the same sentence. So I cut grass for dad on Saturday, did some car swapping/returning last night. Accomplished nothing at my own house really. Well nothing that hasn't already been undone.

I have an IEP meeting for Moosie today (yes, another one). So I bought cookies. They are fresh baked cookies, so that's better than nothing. Right!?!?!

We have an unscheduled IEP meeting on Friday for Bubba, thanks to a crisis(that I tried to warn them about thank-you-very-much). No cookies at that meeting. I have no sugar to offer at all.

**********************************************************

This is an example of the letters/e-mails I write. I learned years ago from Reed Martin to "build our case" (I tried to link to his site. Is it gone?) and then again from Wrightslaw to "prepare for disaster." It's a tiring way to live, but I document, document, and document some more. And although it frustrates the hell out of me, I've always been glad when the time comes (and it always does come) that I have the documentation.

[Principal],

In discussion with [Bubba], [teacher] (email), and [school counselor] (telephone), I believe the behaviors reported to us (hands-on) to be impulsive and a manifestation of [Bubba]'s disability. As discussed in his IEP meeting on XXXX XX, 2008 (also see included email "[Bubba]: IEP" dated XXXX XX, 2008), [Bubba] has a documented history of impulsive, aggressive, and/or socially inappropriate behaviors especially in times of transition and/or less structured settings. He also cycles and is inconsistent in his reactions and impulsive behaviors. This is why we were extremely frustrated with [the school]'s decision to remove [Bubba]'s behavior intervention plan from his IEP (only school staff agreed with the removal) in XXXX 2008.

[School counselor] contacted me today and stated her concern that [Bubba] appeared to be regressing over the past few weeks (I interpreted this to be in behavior and social appropriateness), that he did not appear to understand his behaviors or why he was doing them (manifestation of his disability), and that the social relationship with his peers in his regular classroom was in a poor state (what we typically see in the community setting).

I reiterated to [school counselor] about his impulsivity issues, how this behavior is what we typically see at home, and also that I had notified the teachers of reducing his medication (See email "medication/picking" dated XXXX XX, 2008; in the IEP meeting it was stated there was no positive benefit seen at school and we were only seeing negative side effects at home). I also mentioned that I was out of town a few days this week, and had alerted the teacher of this, but did not think it would effect [Bubba]. I had also mentioned to [teacher] this morning that last month was a very difficult month at home (a lot of self-aggression as well as property destruction), but we saw much improvement this month so far (at home).

In light of this turn of events, [Hubby] and I would like to reconvene [Bubba]'s IEP team, especially if suspension is imminent, as suggested in the behavior report sent home on XXXX XX, 2008. As his parents, we are concerned about these behaviors and the safety of all students involved. However, we do not want him to be suspended (in school or out of school), but would rather he receive the support he needs to prevent the behaviors from occurring and to allow [Bubba] to be successful. We are not surprised by these behaviors, and our desire continues to be to proactively support him rather than only reactively punish him. We firmly believe in discipline and consequences, but are very concerned that [the school] is setting [Bubba] up for failure (suspension) similar to what happened in Kindergarten (seclusion room) by not providing the support necessary. We are willing to meet any time to brainstorm interventions and put them in place as needed to help [Bubba] curb these hands-on behaviors and to avoid the possibility of suspension or removal from the regular classroom environment. We are also open to working with the team to determine the best dosage/type of medication to benefit [Bubba] at home and at school; however, we need detailed information to make these decisions in the best interest of everyone.

Please let us know your thoughts on these issues and how you think we should proceed. It hasn't taken a long time for [Bubba] to spiral downward in the past once a similar chain of events occurred.

Thank you for your time. I will return the signed behavior report on Monday.

Sincerely,
[ange]

Slip Up

Do you ever say things and then think "Who would've thought those words would've EVER come out of my mouth?"

In the past 15 minutes I have said:

"Bubba, come clean up your pee!"

and

"Mooser, get your fingers out of your butt. ... Keep your fingers out of your butt.


But sometimes the things I hear are even worse:

CRASH ... "Me OK. I ip in Ack pee." (I slip in [Bubba's] pee.)

Yeah, it's gonna be a fun evening.

Roughhousing

With two boys who tend to get overstimulated, one of which has pretty poor impulse control and the other of which is four (enough said!)...well spontaneous, unstructured play time can be a little overwhelming for a momma who has pretty high anxiety.

Today is one of those days where I am ecstatic the boys are entertaining one another... but I am pretty sure one of us is going to end up the emergency room.

For now I clean while I can... and keep my ears tuned for that specific screaming pitch combined with that little boy heckle that lets me know it's not all fun and game anymore.

Apologies

I have lost the motivation to write anything. I still have tons of half-written posts in my drafts folder. But I am in the middle of doing my taxes (momma needs the refund now to pay down some debt!), applying for a grant to help out with our exorbitant dental costs (which has forced me to analyze our expenses and income very closely, and is requiring me to redo our budget), starting a new work project to bring in something, and supposedly now I need to prepare for an IEP meeting for Bubba next month. Dang, I haven't even finished posting about Moosie's IEP meeting in December!

Oh, I had to reschedule the meeting about the seclusion room until next week, because Moosie was sick on Monday.

I think I'm going to start going through my drafts and wrapping up some posts, even if they are incomplete and rambling. Even my "finished" posts turn out that way, so why not just publish them already?

What a difference

What a difference a day (and a clean house) makes.

It's amazing, my children being children doesn't piss me off, and I can now laugh at these pictures, which were not funny at the time.

This is Bubba doing his homework. He had read for 10 minutes earlier, but it was time for his favorite part (NOT) of writing one sentence about the book. Apparently he needed special homework clothes, which is where the headband and spiderman shirt come in. He had to change before doing his writing.


This is him asking me which sentence he should write. I can ask him questions about what he read and he does pretty well, but if he has to write his answer, that's a little more difficult. So he has taken to copying a sentence for his "one sentence." Fine with me. Homework is nothing but "compliance" in our house anyhow. I hate homework. It sucks.


This is Moosie showing me his homework (because he has to be doing everything Bubba is doing).


This is Moosie 'walking' his homework in a bag full of other crap he had collected that night. He walked it around and around and around the table. Not so funny when it was totally distracting his brother and prolonging homework hell. And yes, that is Hubby in the background, as helpful as ever, scratching his man bags and causing more distraction. Just kidding. He's rarely home during homework time (or anytime before 9PM thanks to his job), but I was SO happy he was home last night. For the most part.


And do you see my clean shiny floor? Only took me an hour to scrape all of the crap Moosie had decoupaged to the ceramic last week.