1st Day, Round Two

George returned to his EEP Preschool today! He went off with a smile and a loud "BYE!!", hand in hand with his favorite teacher. This is so good. He's been so very bored these last couple of weeks, especially since Emma returned to school last week. Routine is good.

And our routine will get crazier next week. George starts at an afternoon preschool next Monday. It's a traditional preschool, we're hoping to broaden his social skills and better prepare him for kindergarten. Jason and I attended the parent orientation last night and came away with great feelings about the program, teachers, and facility. But I'm nervous. My kid is a special needs kid. Hearing about all the fun activities they'll do, the manners that will be enforced, the choices they'll be encouraged to make....it's all overwhelming to a family that's used to a more structured (possibly sheltered?) environment. Everyone that I've talked to there seems very flexible, they understand George's needs and will work to stretch his limitations without stressing him past his capabilities. But still. A mommy worries.

It will be good. He's bored at home, needs much more than three hours outside of our home. Needs "typical" kids around him. Needs more stimulation and to learn how to adapt to that stimulation around him. He'll be okay. Mommy will be okay.

And Mommy will be a taxi. Two kids, three schools, at least one after school activity. Every school on a different holiday/inservice schedule. Please don't blame me if I completely lose my mind this year. I'll check in whenever I feel slightly coherent. Happy Fall!

Between Daddy & Daughter

Him: Do you want to hang out with me tonight, paint the workbench, and listen to music?

Her: Sure!

Him: What music should we listen to?

Her: VAN HALEN!!!

(Mom's head hits the dinner table)

The 1st Day of 1st Grade!

Think someone is excited???

Meow

At the beginning of the summer, Jason and I were presented with this: (Please Mom, I really want a cat soon today, Mom.)

Notice the detail and thought put into this drawing. Apparently her goal is to have a neon orange cat with claws that can shred us all. (By the way, she wants the cat to be female, hard to find in orange, and it's name will be Wendy. Why? I have no idea.)

So, we felt those claws in our sentimental parental hearts and privately decided that yes, she would have her kitty. Shortly thereafter, unfortunately, Emma entered the stage of her life where she was slightly less delightful to be around (remember the Blueberry Meltdown, anyone?), and we told her she would have to earn the right to a cat. She and I formalized that idea by making a chore chart. The goal was 30 good days, with chores done and no nighttime tantrums.

If you'll notice the numbers at the bottom of the chart you'll see she has just eleven days to go. And with school starting, her behavior is evening out and I have a feeling those eleven will go real fast.

Jason and I have started spending a lot of time on this website: Petfinder.com

Shoot me now. That may be the only thing that saves me from bringing home a whole litter of fluffy, clawed creatures. Buy one, get one half off indeed.

A very busy day...

Three hours of moving water from one container to another. I guess we could have taken him to the pool?

Oh dear. Apparently, it's Duncan's turn to explore....and get into trouble.

A new haircut (notice the bangs?) for a new 1st grader. (The expression is amazingly NOT annoyance, she's just in a heat-induced coma.)

Look what jumped into our truck.

Look who likes it!

Fly

Right Now

Meme blatantly stolen from RedMolly's blog...

Three things in my fridge that define life right now: Fresh fruits and vegetables, because we're trying to take advantage of their seasonal abundance and eat better. Rotting fresh fruits and vegetables, because by dinnertime, chicken nuggets or cereal for dinner sounds just fine. Vanilla rum, because it's yummy with Pepsi and knocks the edge off the day. (Can you tell the kids are running me a bit ragged right now?)

Three recent acquisitions: This lovely trench coat (I can't wait for the weather to cool a bit so I can wear it!), a new clock for the kitchen, and Thomas the Tank Engine underwear for George (think good thoughts this weekend, as he goes cold turkey on the diapers).


Three classics I reach for every day: Coffee, the computer, and a book or other such reading device.

My kids right now, in three words or less: Bored with Summer.

My sweetie right now, in three words or less: Beer in hand.

What's on my to-do list: Figure out George's preschool situation for fall, pay a couple of bills, finish writing my next DSP class, put dishes in the dishwasher, start prepping dinner, create social story to prepare George for this weekend, walk away from this computer...

What I do often that relates to the season right now: Sit and enjoy the sun.


What I'm listening to right now: The soundtrack/effects of the Transformers video game and Emma talking to herself as she plays it.

What I'm worried about right now: My to-do list.

Which news stories I'm following right now: Hmmmmm....I really try not to pay attention to the news. I have enough to worry about.

What I'm reading right now: I just finished reading Body Surfing by Anita Shreve.

What I'm looking forward to right now: Going to Amy & Dale's house in Portland tomorrow for a visit!

A thought I keep returning to right now: I believe in fate, everything will work out as it should.


One small thing that's making me happy right now: Two small things actually, one hanging from each side of the apple tree. Don't know why we waited so long to do this:

Still here...

We've had scads of family around for the past few weeks; most recently, Jason's brother and family all the way from Denmark. Tons of fun had by all, kiddos going in all directions, good food, great music. Today, we're digging our way through loads of laundry and all the other assorted chores that tend to be forgotten when company is visiting. AND the county fair starts today! I can't wait!

So, I hope to have lots of photos to share soon, but for now, the washer is calling.....

Family Reunion

My Great Grandmother was one of six sisters, known as the Tate Sisters. They established a tradition of gathering with their families that is still going strong today, long after they have passed. Every summer, on the first weekend in August, the descendants of these sisters gather together for a picnic. Here's my immediate family's branch...

And the whole group from this year's gathering....

Totally cool to see that so many people are still interested in coming each year. I keep thinking that the tradition will end, as the relations spread further apart and all of us 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins once removed, and so forth, really don't know each other. But still, we all drive up to the picnic spot, fill out extensive name tags that delineate our heritage, and enjoy the day. Tradition is good.

Oh, and my favorite picture of the day.....
There were several babies and many teenagers, but no one right around Emma's age. Luckily, at family reunions teenagers don't find it so horrible to play with little kids and even grandmas find the time (and energy) to kick a ball around with speedy little girls.

Never thought this day would come

George had his first "real" haircut yesterday. And check out this cool photo that Emma got of the process!
I hope it looks as good on your screen as it does on mine, the colors are so fun and I just love the blur of the stylist's hands! And let me tell you, she was moving FAST!! George is eating an M & M in this picture, not gasping in fear, they were a great distraction. He really didn't seem to mind her at all (though the clippers were not a hit, and had to be put away), but he got bored with sitting in one place. But she was great, everytime he moved, she moved, and after about 10 minutes, he was done and looking far more handsome than my sad attempts at haircutting ever made him.

We're starting to look for a Big Boy Bed, too. Sigh. When did my babies stop being babies??? I must have missed that point!

Happy faces

I am trying to remember that Emma is on summer vacation. When George is in school, there are more entertaining things to do than following me around the grocery store or house. We've been to the park the last couple of days. I think she likes it.

We live on a pretty severe hill, and a fairly busy street, so she hasn't ridden her bike (outside of our basement) since last fall. I love the fact that she would rather ride her bike or use her roller skates than sit inside watching TV. I must remember this when we're getting on each other's nerves from being together 24 hours a day, every day, all summer! This park isn't too far from our house, and heck, we have a minivan! Load that bike in it and go!

Gorgeous

You've just got to love unplanned/unposed/unexpectedly beautiful photos. No photoshopping necessary.

Wahoo!!

Two more pages selected for publication!! (Well, three really, since one of them is a 2-page spread). These newest ones will be in the Dec/Jan issue of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine. Did I ever report here that I have a couple of magnets being published in the spring 2008 issue of Creative Techniques Magazine? My scrapbook resume (off to the right there if you want to check it out) is looking better and better. It amazes me that this little hobby of mine, that I started on a whim, has turned into such a satisfying and exciting part of my life. I love that my family's memories are being recorded and what a thrill to see them in magazines and books!

So cool.

Holy cow, I'm tired!

Whew! Yesterday was tons of fun, but I'm wiped! Here's a few photos to show the fun: The Blur

The Cake

The Candles

The Animal-like Eating of the Cake

Hooray for CAKE!!!

(In case you couldn't tell, the cake was a hit. It was also breakfast this morning!)

Last day of his 3rd year

And he has finally overcome his aversion to stickers! George is extremely tactile sensitive. He's long acted like all those friendly cashiers in grocery stores who try to give him stickers are, in fact, the monsters that live in his nightmares who want nothing more than to stick their evil poisons on him.

Okay, maybe I made that up. I have no idea what he experienced when peeling happy faced stickers off his clothing, but I do know that he panicked at the very sight of them.

But apparently, that is no longer the case! This morning, he calmly went into Emma's room, helped himself to a sheet of butterfly stickers, and proceeded to peel off every single one of them and affix them to his shirt. Then later, onto his pants. Then later, onto my magazine. Then later, a select few ended up on his cheeks and neck. Strange child.

Emma was great about sharing her precious stickers. (As soon as I promised we'd go buy some new ones!) She seems to understand why we get excited over silly little changes in George's behavior. She cheered him on as he covered himself in pink, green, and blue butterflies. What a great kid she can be!

I met with George's teacher yesterday, for a six month review. It amazes me how much he's advanced. Really, he was diagnosed with Autism only nine months ago; but in that time, with the help of many incredible teachers and therapists, he's come so far. His vocabulary expands daily, with several short phrases now finding their way into conversation. He is an active participant in his class, even at the circle time that used to be so difficult for him. (Over 30 minutes of sitting in a group, paying attention to teachers and students doing show and tell.) His violent outbursts (hitting & hair pulling) have completely disappeared at school (still working on that at home), and he plays with his friends actively, instead of parallel play off to the side.

Earlier this week, I was rereading what I had written the day he was diagnosed, and feeling those emotions anew. Overwhelmed, sad, angry, fearful...you name it, I felt it. But then, going through our photos and the memories we've recorded since, I feel so differently. I'm proud, happy, still frustrated sometimes, but hopeful and excited, too.

Love you, buddy! These three years have flown by, and I can't wait to see what the next three bring!

Oh boy...

George had cupcakes today at school. Remember that whole Gluten Free diet we are trying, and it's wonderful results? Cupcakes aren't gluten free. George had to take a shower after his nap time.....while I ran a load of laundry.....and scrubbed the carpet in his room and multiple puzzle pieces, toys, and furniture. yuck. And we're going into a weekend with not one, but two birthdays; and not two, but three birthday celebrations that include cake or cupcakes. Oh boy.

On a more positive, and less icky, note: We're still here! The vultures were gone by morning. We figure they either finished their meal or followed it elsewhere. Can't say I'm sorry to see them go. Did you know that turkey vultures have a 6 foot wingspan? Yikes!

It's been a good week. Despite the rain, we've gone swimming everyday. Emma LOVES her current class and it's amazing to see her propel herself through the water with such confidence. No meltdowns since the Blueberry escapade, and she's stayed in her room quietly after bedtime every day this week. As my friend, Sharon, pointed out, and my mom has often said, just when you think you've got kids and their needs figured out, they come up with something new. Now that we seem to have Emma in a good place, I fear for the next upheaval!

George and I generally just play while Emma's in swim class. He's fallen in love with the slide at our local pool. Here's a pic from their site:

I don't know if you can really appreciate it's hight, twists, and speed from the picture. But it's really fun! The only negative is waiting in line on the staircase leading up to the top. BRRRR! We usually brave it about 6 or 7 times before we head back to the regular pool or off to get changed into dry clothes!

Stinky boy is fussing, so I have to go now. I suppose I ought to wrap a few of the many Thomas products currently hiding in my closet. I'll be back with pictures sometime this weekend!

Oh, and Jason got the first of his presents last weekend. He finally saw in concert a band that he's loved since.....well, forever. They've been around since the 70's, I believe. As have we. Social Distortion isn't one of the bands we enjoy together. But I had to laugh as he dug out some of their CD's over the past week. I have many a compilation tape, stuck somewhere among the boxes of our history, containing Social D songs that a young Jason felt conveyed emotions he needed to share with me! Remember compilation TAPES???? Ah, glory days.

The vultures are circling

There are three of these ugly guys in our trees this evening, and a forth that's either their female counterpart or a hawk. So basically, we're surrounded by birds of prey.

If you don't hear from me within the next couple of days, you may want to come check for bones in our field.

Summer Boy

Farm day

We've been having some trouble lately with Emma throwing tantrums late at night (long after bedtime) and just in general having a difficult attitude. So we've taken some privileges away. And it's my job, as stay-at-home-mommy, to keep her gainfully occupied. Lucky me! I figure she must be getting bored with summer, I certainly remember getting to that point during school vacations, when the novelty has worn off and the lack of schedule means there's nothing specific to look forward to. (Sorry Dave, I know that sentence structure was horrific!) So, I'm trying to think of fun, active things to do on the weekends, when there is no school for George and we don't go to the pool because it's packed.

Today we went to the farm. Many of George's newest words focus on animals, their noises, and farming (thanks to a reemerging interest in Baby Einstein videos and books). We have a farm here, just outside of town, that has WONDERFUL produce, plus the family-friendly incentives of many hungry goats and a super playground. We had a great time, George did really well with all the transitions between activities (usually leaving a playground is incredibly difficult, but he was totally intrigued by all the other things to see), and we brought home some yummy cherries and raspberries.

Unfortunately, the trip home will now be known as the "Blueberry Meltdown", as Emma did an amazingly accurate rendition of the poor child in The Exorcist over my failure to purchase blueberries. Even Georgie looked at her like she was insane. Isn't he supposed to be my difficult child? Not sure what's going on with her lately, but we'll continue to try new adventures in the hopes of wearing them out, if nothing else!

Mommy

I know, I know, two posts in one day after a long dry spell. But I had to share.

George just said, "Mommy". Not entirely unprompted, but really, I didn't expect him to say it. He has a lot of trouble with M's in general and M's in the middle of words especially. Emma has been "Ebba" for months, Thomas is usually pronounced "Tho-as", and I haven't had a name at all.

But tonight, when I said "I love you", he said, "I love you". And when I said, "I love you, Mommy?" He said, "I love you, Mommy."

Off to go cry now.

Update time!

First off, I'm going to apologize for not apologizing. What? I haven't blogged in a while. Because I've been lazy. Not busy, just lazy. Just about every day this summer, I have read a book. An entire book almost every day. Granted, I read really quickly, but still, that's a lot of time sitting on the porch with a book, laying on the couch with a book, going to bed early to read a book.... And I do not apologize for it! Most of those books haven't been worth mentioning (I choose my books at the library based on their cover art work, that's all the time I'm allotted by my oh-so-patient children), but it has felt so good to just relax that I really haven't cared. So, I'm not on the computer much and therefore the three of you that check in here from time to time have probably deserted me completely! Oh well, before I go choose my next trashy novel, here are updates on and cute pics of the kids!

George went back to school last Tuesday for a month-long summer session. I was worried that he would resist, but nope! I brought his backpack out of hiding on Monday and he promptly put it on and started dragging me to the door, saying "school" and "teachers". Then when he discovered that we'll still go swimming every day, after we pick him up, well, life just doesn't get any better.

He is completely loving anything that has to do with water these days. Thus, his new best friend, Gracie:

I'm not sure how these pictures look to you. My monitor died on me last week and I'm using the old CRT monitor from Emma's computer. Which apparently has a dying bulb because it's on full brightness and contrast and still everything looks grey and washed out. Just waiting on a check from one of my magazine publications and off to Circuit City I'll go!

I'm not the only one doing a lot of reading this summer. Miss Emma has fallen in love with it! YAY!!! She now reads to ME every night at bedtime. And this is one of my favorite sites these days:Green Eggs & Ham was her first book that she really read by herself. Now we go to the Early Readers section of the library and she goes crazy! She also loves to write stories and letters. (Some of them are cranky, angst-filled notes that start, "Mom and Dad, I'm upset today...." Love those.) So, if you need a pen-pal, let me know! I'm thinking of setting up an email account for her, and of course "real" mail is even better.

So, there we are. Swimming, reading, and lazing about. Hope your summer is equally relaxing!

Emmatude

Digital Scrapbooking Magazine

There are some GREAT layouts on pages 34 & 69, if you're interested.

Ballet Photos

Yesterday was Emma's first ever stage performance. She was very nervous last week before the dress rehearsal, but once she got on stage, under the lights, in front of an adoring audience... she wanted MORE!! I was recruited to help backstage, which was exhausting, but so much fun to see the excitement on all the little faces. Plus, it was fun for me to be "behind the scenes" again after so long. I haven't been on or behind stage in 12 years, YIKES, that's longer than I thought!

The show went really well, and the girls all did wonderfully. Emma's already talking about wanting to get back on stage. And she certainly loved getting flowers afterwards. They were a surprise and she was thrilled!

I'm busy color correcting the photos, but I chose a few of my favorites to do first and share here. Enjoy!

And Jason is...

a Dreamer, too! But in a very different way. I'm an escape artist and he's a thrill seeker. It's amazing sometimes, reading these things. I know they're horribly generic and, like astrology readings, you can always find a way to make it fit. But still, it's interesting to read how the choices you make may define you. Anyway, here are Jason's choices:

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Another Fun Quiz

I'm a Dreamer, what are you?

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

You know you're old when...

...you spend 10 minutes dancing in the cool basement at 4:30 in the afternoon with your husband and 6 year old daughter to the awesome band you loved in college (Lawsuit, now sadly defunct), and you get a cramp in your side.

Jason was winded, too; only Emma kept going strong.

I love summer

It's 9:15. I'm still in sweats and no make up. The kids are outside playing in the sandbox and chasing the dog. In an hour, we'll get ready for our second day of swim class. After swim class we'll stay for family swim time. Then we'll have lunch. Then we'll go back outside. Then nap time/reading time/quiet time. Then back outside. Then dinner. Showers for the kids and off to bed. Drinks and maybe a movie for Jason and me.

Can life get any better? I'm so very glad that I decided not to over schedule our summer with day camps and such. The kids are loving this freedom, and so am I!

Pictures and stuff later, I'm going to go refill my coffee and sit....you guessed it, outside!

The newest 1st grader in town...

Leaving for school this morning:
Getting a hug at the end of the day from quite possibly the best Kindergarten teacher in the world.
She received an award for perfect attendance, has the phone numbers of several friends who want playdates, got a new I Spy book from Gramma, and McDonald's for lunch; but the thing she's most excited about? She gets to sleep in almost every day for the next three months!!

I'm right there with you, kid, enjoy your summer!

George's Wish List

I know this will come as a complete surprise to all of you, but George's birthday this summer will have a Thomas theme. I know! SHOCKER!!

I normally hate wish lists, I would rather people give what they want, but in this case I felt it would be easier to put together a few things for family members, since we do already have a few Thomas items. Plus, I've had more than one request for a list this year. So, here's a dozen or so things that I found on Amazon that he doesn't have. Add to that list any Thomas books, he only has a couple and even duplicates would be fine as we could keep them in the car.



We buy the metal Take Along series, not the wooden trains. For obvious reasons, I think! They can be found at Target, ToysRUs, and Barnes & Noble, among others. Thank you in advance to all our family! Thomas trains are helping him be more verbal and interact socially with other kids. For those reasons, we're happy to encourage this obsession!

Random Monday Musings

Here we are in the last week of school. How the heck did that happen??? I have exactly 7 hours 45 minutes left of kid-free time! George's last day is Wednesday, and Emma's final day on Friday only lasts until 11:00 am. It's my goal to keep these kids busy, but not overly scheduled this summer. George's behavior quickly deteriorates if he doesn't have some kind of routine or if we fail to get out of the house every day.

I've signed them both up for swimming lessons starting next Monday. Not sure how that's going to go. Emma will be fine, but George and I will be doing what is essentially a Baby & Me class. I couldn't see him going in safely with his age group, away from me and paying attention to a new teacher. So, we'll go in together with the babies. I may have wasted that $36 and we'll end up moving over to just open swim, but he loves the water so much that I want him to have some concept of water safety. Never sure how much of that computes, though. Can you tell I'm really looking forward to this new adventure? At least it will get us out in the open air every morning (not too early, Emma's not exactly a morning person, LOL), and we can play in the open swim area afterwards.

Other than that, there will be a lot of trips to the library, craft projects, visiting various family members, and trips to the beach whenever Jason's available to go with us. Emma's especially excited about the library. She's reading and writing all the time now, and loving it! I love watching her and having her read to me. Such a fun stage!

Speaking of the library. Emma checked out several books last week, and Jason was looking through one last night. Kid books have definitely changed since we were youngsters. Case in point: Um, hello? It's a true statement and all, but is it necessary? Course if you're going to mention pooping, I guess you've got to go the other way, too. Did you notice this is a "pull the flap" book?

Seriously people? Thank god they stopped there!!!

Back to normal stuff. We've had lots of success lately, or rather George has, with some changes. He's been pacifier free for a couple of weeks now. I wasn't sure how that would go, but he didn't fight it at all! I made him a social story (picture book) all about how he didn't need it any more, and a few days later, when he had ripped his latest pacifier, I simply didn't put it in his bed. NO FUSSING! Unreal. A few days later, when he was having trouble sleeping, he asked for it, but when I told him it was gone, he didn't whine or fuss at all. Whew!

We've also changed one part of his diet. There's a lot of research about gluten free diets being better for kids with Autism. Their bodies have a hard time breaking down wheat products and it not only upsets their digestive systems, but also creates more havoc in their brains. I fought this idea for a long time, George is such a picky eater that it was just something I couldn't deal with. But we need to get him out of diapers so he can start attending "regular" preschool in addition to his early intervention preschool. And having a messy diaper every afternoon was not helping. So far, we've only switched out his sandwich bread to this:It smells horrible to me, but George seems to like it. And the messy diapers have STOPPED!!! Unreal. I guess those scientists know what they're talking about. Now I have to be careful what snacks I let him have. Over the weekend, I made chocolate cupcakes for the kids to frost and decorate, as a treat. Let's just say that George's system is no longer used to the regular flour and sugar in cupcakes. Poor kid was miserable. So many things to keep track of just to help him be a normal, happy boy. I've gotta keep reminding myself that all the work we do now will make it easier for him as he progresses.

Novel over, sorry for rambling! And I only have 7 hours, 15 minutes left of my kid-free time! Must go mop the kitchen, wheeee!!!!

Inspiration Overload

I love my husband. I love his job. Yesterday he brought me this:

This, combined with the information that he can acquire paint for us at an extreme discount means I can get paint happy again! Those of you that saw our last house know that I am not afraid of color. But painting here was put low on the priority list simply because the money was needed for other repairs. But for, ummmm, *cough* $5/gallon *cough*, very little money, we can go for it!

Jason keeps laughing at me because I'm carrying this book around with me like a baby blanket. But I love it! I'm thinking a buttery yellow for the living room, dark grayish blue for the dining room (to match the trim on the curtains), with all the molding touched up in fresh white. But what about the kitchen???? There isn't much wall space showing in there, might just go for the same yellow as the living room.

Ahhh, life changing decisions going on around here, I tell ya!

Just 'cause