Summer Wind-down

I can't believe that we're less than 36 hours from the start of school..and yes, I'm ready. I am sad to see the Summer go...it doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. It was 90 today - and is supposed to be 90 the next four or five days.... funny, considering we've only had 2 90 degree days all summer before today :)

Anyway, Katie did something funny tonight while I was at work and her daddy was watching her, and I had to share. She has a "beloved Dora couch" that stays in her room - and many nights she actually sleeps on the Dora couch which she puts on top of her bed. Well, daddy was watching TV -- or doing something in the front room. He got up to go check on Katie, and this is what he found...


Yep, this is Katie with her Dora couch on the counter. Funny, I would have thought she would have turned it around to watch the TV....but regardless, this is pretty funny :)

Tomorrow is family day -- finalizing things for school - early bedtimes for the girls (which we have been doing for several nights, and it's actually working well). Maybe a little swimming - yes, the pool is still up. We usually take it down before school starts, but with the hot forecast, we weren't quite ready to take it down.

I am really looking forward to our family getting back into a regular routine. Regular sleeping habits, daily habits (school, sports practices, Girl Scouts, etc.)...and regular work for me... life seems to flow a lot smoother at this house when we are all on a good schedule! So farewell friend Summer..... Fall, here we come!

Excited....

Well, we got our "home" visit (it wasn't at home, it was at school) on Wednesday...and let me tell you what...I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS YEAR FOR KATIE.... We met the new teacher and she is awesome. I really think she is going to be a great fit for this classroom. She "gets" these kids - and if you know or love someone with autism, you realize that is the key -- you have to "get"them - understand how they operate. That was really missing last year.

Katie and I went to school on Wednesday afternoon (Mary went out with Grand-moo). We got to the school and all of the aides and therapists were "ooh-ing" and "aww-ing" all over her - and she loved it. They commented on her "newly blonde" hair -- and once again we got the "where did you take her to have her hair highlighted" questions, which still crack me up. She only "complained" once when we pulled into the school parking lot, but other than that there wasn't a whole lot of screaming or crying -- and we had anticipated a lot of opposition - considering that as of last week, she was still screaming every time we headed down the road that leads to their school.... So, YEA!!! I can't wait for Tuesday. I'm really excited to see what lies ahead for Katie this year.

How Time Flies

I can't believe a week has flown by since my last post. Bill was on vacation all week - so we stayed pretty busy. We spent a lot of time out at the lake where Bill's Dad lives...with Katie learning to swim and jump off the diving board we had a great time.

We went here on Wednesday. It was loads of fun as it always is. We try to go once in the summer and then back on a Saturday in the Fall for Halloweekends. We left Katie with my mom this time..and that seemed to work out better for everyone, Katie included.

School finally starts a week from tomorrow. I think that 13 weeks is far too long of a break...especially for kids like Katie. They lose so much in that time. I'm actually already in my "advocate"mode. There is a new teacher in her classroom this year. If you follow my blog or know me personally, you know that we had far too many problems last year with Katie's school situation. I'm hopeful that this year will be much better. We were promised that the kids would have the opportunity to either have a home-visit by the teacher prior to the start of school, or at least would have the chance to meet the teacher at school prior to the first day -- but it's not looking promising. Katie still cries everytime we drive down the road towards her school - so I'm trying to remain positive - but next week could be a little trying - so keep us in your prayers.

Well, I'm off to soccer practice for Mary and then work.... more later.

Milestones

Katie lost her first tooth yesterday. She also proved to us that she can swim in deep water (she's only 5) and she can jump (over and over again) off of the diving board. It was a big day for her. Don't laugh too much at the picture -- that was the only way we could make sure you'd be able to see her teeth ;)

MIS

If you know me, you know I love NASCAR..and especially Dale Jr. He's it for me! (Bill knows, and he's okay with it :)....

Well, a dear college friend of mine who has been involved with MRO was able to call in a favor and get Bill & I passes for the pits and the garage area of the Nationwide race at Michigan this past weekend. My mom and dad watched the girls so that we could go -- and let me just tell you, it was amazing. We had a great time, the weather was great - and I got to see so many cool things and people. It was one of the best days of my life -- and I think that is saying a lot.

The only thing that would have made it even better is if my Moody friend could have come out from Phoenix and gone to the race with us...... Thanks for everything, Tony. We had a blast!

Convicted

Yep, convicted. That's really how I felt last night. I had worked long early days on Wed & Thurs. (up at 4:30 am) and by last night I was really tired. Mary has going to VBS all week - and it has been obvious that she has been having a fabulous time. Last night was family night and she had been begging at least one of us to take her - knowing that we wouldn't all go because Katie wouldn't be able to handle it. I hemmed & hawed and tried desperately to get out of it....but finally at 5 minutes to 7 she convinced me (in my extremely disheveled state) to walk out the door and take her. We were 10 minutes late - which is totally not me...so I was a little off from the start...but you know what...it was awesome. The kids sang all of their songs. It was very cool. They showed slides and talked about what they had been learning. 12 children had already made salvation decisions and 2 reassurances of salvation - AWESOME. I was feeling really awesome by the time we left.
Mary was given a CD with all the songs from the week on it - she loves to sing so she did a mini-concert for Bill when we got home because he was not able to go. We also found out that Mary had made a salvation decision this week --so great!!! She did ask Jesus into her heart on her 4th birthday -- but I think she was just so young then...she told us last night that she knew she had asked Jesus into her heart then, but because she didn't actually "remember it, she wanted to do it so she could remember it -- and I was like -- that is just fine! How great!!!! We were thrilled to hear that she had done it independently. Today is the last day of VBS - and if I don't get moving she'll be late...but I just wanted to share .....

Bill & I are going to the race at MIS tomorrow -- so I'll have more later.. Have a great day!

Skinny Dipping....

Okay, no pictures with this post, but I don't know what it is lately. Katie is obsessed with swimming (no secret) ...in the nude. She gets out in the pool and strips all of her clothes, swimsuit, (whatever she is wearing ) off. She might be in the backyard to play -- in clothes, and she whips her clothes off, and there she is...my nudist. Thank-goodness we have a 6 foot wooden privacy fence -- but still. As soon as I see her I make her come in and put a suit on...but usually, it's off within a few minutes. She did this a few times last summer...right towards the end of summer (kind of like right now). I don't know if it's just that she swims so much she gets tired of wearing a suit...or what.....

Well that's my thought for today. If you have any suggestions on how I can keep a swimsuit on her....suggestions are welcome...and no, I don't think duct tape will work :)

Summer Synopsis...

Well...my week-long absence from posting has not been intentional...but summer is flying along. I worked 5 days last week, which I haven't done all summer. So, as a result I haven't had much time to do anything on the computer. Katie is at respite today and Mary is at another VBS - so I have a little time to get caught up on housework and spend a little time blogging and surfing....

Last week was good - just a little crazy. Work always adds to the mix. Bill has been continuing to work long hours as well -- he is on vacation starting this Friday and I can't wait. We have some fun things planned for next week including the Carfax 250 at MIS. We are so thrilled to have all-access passes thanks to a great friend of mine from Moody who has connections. My parents are going to watch the girls and we are hoping to have a wonderful day. We didn't get to do anything major for our anniversary in July - so this will make up for that :).

The girls are doing well. Katie continues to swim daily - I told Bill that I wonder if she could ever become as good as this amazing swimmer whom I just love watching every day on the Olympics. Bill & stayed up way too late last night watching the relay....AWESOME..that's all I can say :) Mary was thrilled to be able to do a second VBS this summer... Outrigger Island if you are familiar with VBS formats.

Mary also had her first Build-a-Bear experience yesterday. I'll try to get a picture of her when she gets home from VBS. She & the bear hav matching shirts --- it's cute. Yes, it's a High School Musical Build-a-bear. What will they think of next?

All right - lots to do, so I had better go. More later - and hopefully some pics too :)

Monday Update.... or a collection of random Monday thoughts.

Well, I'm overdue for this post--

We did finish Mary's room. I had posted pics on my facebook page but realized I didn't put them on the blog, so here they are. The one is really dark..but the other two will give you a pretty good idea of how pink it really is. It's like walking into the inside of a piece of Hubba Bubba.


She loves the room - I'm just glad it's done & clean. And..she is feeling much better after 4 days on antibiotics....Thanks Dr. Tom. :) I was just thankful that I was able to get her into the Dr. on such short notice.

She appears to have loved camp. They went horseback riding in addition to cleaning, grooming and feeding their horses. She was able to go to Lake Michigan every day -- what a treat. I'm so glad she was able to go, just wish she wouldn't have been feeling so badly. We are hoping to do it again next year...and now she knows that it's okay to let an adult know if your sick --especially if you're at camp.

Katie had respite care today and Mary & I went and saw this movie today. Even though the critics have really given this movie poor reviews - (and I was dreading having to go see it) it was actually very cute. We came home and I took on the project of cleaning out the girls closets and dressers so that I know what they need for school. Yikes -- what a job. If you know anyone that needs a ton of nice girls size 12 or ladies small clothes, let me know....I have tons of it -- and most of it is in excellent condition.

Well, I guess that's it for tonight. I don't know why Blogger won't let me upload pics, but I'll try in the morning so you can see Mary's room. School starts 4 weeks from tomorrow - so it looks as though I'm actually going to survive the summer :)