Another idea I’m stealing borrowing (Yeah… That’s the ticket!) from TJ of zazzafooky.com is to create your own custom insert for the Starbucks “Create Your Own Memory” coffee tumbler… I had loads of fun creating my own inserts, and will probably make up a lot more. Starbucks also offers 9 ready made inserts available for download here at their website.
All you need to do to make your own insert is:
- Purchase a “Create Your Own Tumbler” at Starbucks.
- Download the template (psd format), and create your own insert with it… The possibilities are endless!
- Print out your insert using a color printer with high quality photo paper for the best results.
- Carefully cut the insert from the page… Be sure to cut exactly on the boarder of the picture, and the white background. Do not leave any of the white background behind, as it will be seen when you put your insert in the tumbler.
- Unscrew the bottom of the tumbler, pull out the insert that comes with it, and replace it with the one you made, then screw the bottom back on tightly. Et voilà… You’re done!
I’ve done up three of my own so far:
Enjoy!!!
Note: Go here and here to see more templates I’ve done up.
October 28th, 2005
Posted by: Ash
TJ from zazzafooky.com is doing a "show me your desktop" thread that she got via another blog, so here’s mine:
Now, it’s your turn…
October 27th, 2005
Posted by: Ash
It’s hard to believe that it has been 7 years since Morgan came into our lives, but it’s true!!! The time seems to have flown by so quickly, but I still fondly remember how nicely his little body fit in my arms when he was a newborn, and the euphoria I felt over his arrival… Over the last 7 years we have enjoyed watching Morgan grow from an infant into a toddler, then into a young boy, and are looking forward to the future to see what it may bring. Hopefully more good things, than bad.
Our life changed immensely when Morgan was born, but that change was definitely for the better. The rewards of parenthood have definitely outweighed any of the drawbacks. It had taken us 5 looooooong years to get pregnant with Morgan, so he is even more dear to us because of that. Even when we found out last year that Morgan had autism we realized that we were still so blessed to even have him in our lives. He has brought so much joy to our home. 
October 26th, 2005
Posted by: Ash
On Friday we received the police report about Morgan wandering away from school. It turns out that the teachers & aides in the classroom noticed that Morgan was missing somewhere between 2:00-2:10 pm. They must have immediately started searching the school by themselves, without letting anyone else know about it, since the Principal wasn’t notified until 2:35 pm that Morgan was gone. Meanwhile, Morgan was discovered walking around unsupervised, and placed in the custody of the police officer around 2:30 pm. The ID necklace he had on was the only reason they knew who he was, and who to call. Pookey was then called 10 minutes later, told where Morgan was, and where he could go to pick him up. Finally, at 2:49 pm the school called 911 to report Morgan missing.
Seeing this whole snafu spelled out on paper made my blood boil again… It boggles my mind that it took them 49 minutes to report Morgan missing!!! Ultimately, these people put Morgan’s welfare last by hoping that they’d be able to find him before they were forced to call in the police. It just shocks, and appalls, me that these people who have worked for years with children with special needs would allow this situation to get so out of hand. When you fuck something up, especially when someone is put in danger because of it, you should immediately admit to it so you can get help to that person as soon as possible. That 49 minute lapse between them discovering Morgan missing, and them calling the police, could have been disastrous. Thank the Gods it wasn’t.
Plus, I was right… They didn’t have the alarm on the classroom door in operation. Somebody had forgotten to turn the alarm back on after it had been turned off for whatever reason. It’s these small, stupid mistakes that can cause so much heartbreak.
October 23rd, 2005
Posted by: Ash
It’s been a hell of a week… On Tuesday afternoon (10/11), close to the end of the day, Morgan wandered away from his school. Supposedly, the teachers & aides were dealing with an issue one of the other children in Morgan’s class was having, and during that lapse in supervision Morgan left the classroom, and was able to make his way out of the school. One thing is certain: they probably didn’t have the alarm they have on the classroom door in operation, or none of this would have EVER taken place.
He was found around 2:40 pm, almost 2 miles away from his school, traveling East toward the intersection of Coit Road & Park Boulevard here in Plano. (See the graphic above for the guesstimate of his route from where he started, to where he was found.) This is an intersection where a six lane road, with a center grassy median, meets another one. He also probably walked along Park Boulevard for quite a ways after leaving the street where his school is located on. It was pure blind luck, a guardian angel, or the Gods looking out for Morgan that he didn’t try to cross Park Boulevard. The speed limit on that road, as with most of the major roads in Plano, is 40 MPH, though people often go a lot faster, and I doubt they could have stopped in time if Morgan had taken it into his head to run across the road. I try not to think too much about what could have occurred.
A woman who lived around the location where Morgan ended up noticed him walking alone, and was trying to catch him when she came across a police officer involved in a traffic stop. She called out to the police officer “He’s getting away!”, and then told him that Morgan wasn’t her child, and that he was, in fact, just wandering around unsupervised.
(We don’t know who that woman was, as the police officer never got her name, but Pookey & I would like to thank her from the bottom of our hearts. She had been out in her yard gardening when she noticed Morgan walk by, and instantly realized something wasn’t right about the situation. If she hadn’t taken the time to see what was up with Morgan who knows what would have happened to him.)
Soon after that Pookey got a call at work from the police officer… He introduced himself, and asked Pookey if he knew where his son was. Pookey replied that, as far as he knew, Morgan was supposed to be in school. Pookey was then told that Morgan had been found wandering around alone, and where he could go to pick Morgan up. Needless to say he then proceeded to drive like a bat out of hell to get to Morgan.
When Pookey got there Morgan was amusing the police officers (there were two officers there in two separate police cars now) with his antics. Morgan just loooooves police cars, and any other emergency vehicles. I just hope he won’t equate leaving school unattended with being able to play around in a police car. *sigh* The second officer left to go get a statement from the people at Morgan’s school. Pookey was then able to pry Morgan away from the squad car, and he drove to the school so he could pick up Morgan’s backpack. The second police officer was just finishing up interviewing everyone involved at the school when they got there. Pookey said that everyone looked shell shocked, and so was he. He just collected Morgan’s backpack, and came straight home.
Meanwhile, I was waiting for Morgan’s bus, and wondering why it was so late. I finally went inside to call someone when I noticed that there were messages waiting on our voice mail. When I listened to them I got the shock of my life… It was the lead teacher in Morgan’s classroom calling to tell me that Morgan had wandered away from school, but he was all right. The first time I listened to the message I panicked, and hung up, then had to redial the voice mail to listen to it again. After I finally listened to the messages I called Pookey. He told me that had already picked Morgan up, so I now knew he was safe. He brought him home, and told me all he had learned about what had happened. We were both numb, and all we could think about was what could have happened: Morgan being hit by a car, a pedophile getting ahold of him, or any number of horrible things. The thoughts chilled us to our very souls. We could have either been planning our child’s funeral, or wondering where he was because no one could find him.
We kept Morgan home the following day, and had a meeting with the principal that afternoon. She let us know how serious they were taking this matter, and that PISD investigators from outside the school had taken over the investigation. We were also told that everyone in Morgan’s classroom involved in the incident had been placed on administrative leave, and people from PISD’s department of special education services had been brought in to fill in for them.
Right now we’re waiting on the investigation into this incident to be concluded. PISD investigators & CPS have been trying to piece together what took place, and how to stop it from ever happening again. I’ve really lost all confidence in PISD’s ability to keep Morgan safe. It was a hard thing for me to send Morgan to school for kindergarten last year, since he had always been at home with me… I knew I could keep him safe, but I wasn’t sure about the ability of others to do that as well. Though his teachers last year (at a different school) did an outstanding job, and quickly put my mind at ease. Now this has happened, and it has brought back all of the fears about his safety I had last year. No one worries like a mother, especially one that has so many reasons to worry in the first place.
Thankfully, I had the foresight, when Morgan started school last year, to purchase a medical ID necklace & an escope ID for him, because that’s how the police officer knew who Morgan was, and who to call in an emergency. I highly recommend both of these products! They did their job, and they did it well. I am now seriously thinking about purchasing an ionKids child monitor system, though I should get the school district to buy it for the classroom instead, as Pookey & I have never (*knock on wood*) allowed Morgan to get away from us. (FYI: It can be purchased much cheaper through the National Autism Association’s website here.)
The bottom line is: They can thank their lucky stars that we didn’t decide to go to a lawyer about all this, and slap their negligent asses with a lawsuit!
October 18th, 2005
Posted by: Ash
