Well I think the flu bug is now gone....knock on wood. I am hopeful anyway. Seems like there is so much going on. I shouldn't be on the computer because you should see this house. :( We (or should I say "I") had Mary's conferences at school this afternoon - the girls had a half day. It went pretty well. Bill has been so busy at work -- and since he was out sick on Monday - I had solo duty for conferences. She is doing well in school - so no major concerns there. Katie is really doing well, too. She had speech and O.T. yesterday - she was pretty tired by the end of the day. It is awesome to see her using sign language and trying to make the verbal sounds, too...it should be interesting to see how that develops. Well..I had better run and see what the kiddo's are up to. I hear Katie banging her swing sticks together and that's never a good sign...more later :)

UP LATE....

Well, I'm up late. Everyone in the house is asleep except for me. That in and of itself is not really that unusual. We are all ALMOST healthy -- or at least getting there. It's been a long week and a half. I just can't sleep tonight...so I thought I would try and do a little "blogging". There are a few things I wanted to write about.

1) Yes, I have started my book.
2) Yes, I have started reading again..
3) Yes, I have started scrapbooking again.
4) Yes, I am starting to get organized and it feels really good :)

I know, I'm mental - but it works for me. I have really been trying to get my life and our home organized. I haven't been working a lot since the first of the year because in retail there aren't a lot of hours to be had January through April -- so I'm taking advantage of it. I am trying to knock out little projects each day, like cleaning a closet or a drawer or two. I am working on the playroom in the basement right now - and that isn't a small project. Thanks to some naughty pets and a child with autism who got a little carried away with a crayon :) we are basically redoing the whole basement which we just finished about 18 months ago. It's basically just a lot of cleaning and throwing away bags of CRAP! Broken toys, Happy Meal toys, ripped books, all that kind of stuff. It sure does feel good to get it all out of there. Once it's cleaned up I am going to repaint it in a darker color. We have ripped out the carpet and are going to polyurethane the floor (so it looks like a "shop" floor) and then we will put some foam mats down in certain areas). It is a huge project, but it will be worth it when it's done.

Well, I guess I should call it a night. Katie has double duty therapy tomorrow (both speech and OT) so it will be a full day....

STOMACH FLU STINKS....

Well, stomach flu has been hitting our house over the past 8 days or so. 3 1/2 victims so far. This picture of Katie is when she was not quite fully recovered from it. She was the first victim. Autism and puking do not go very well together - but she was remarkably calm and focused which was more than i could have asked for. Mary and I were next -- but I am the 1/2 victim. I just felt queasy for about 48 hours ....but now Bill is suffering. His has been the worst by far. He's starting to do a little better, but yesterday was extremely rough. I feel for him....he's been drinking a lot of Vernors & Fresca and chowing on popsicles .....hopefully he will be considerably better tomorrow or he will probably have to see a doctor.

All is else is going pretty well. Just busy, busy as always. Hard to believe we are in March already. The school year will be over before we know it. It is still deep winter here in Michigan. We are expecting another 4-6 inches tomorrow -- I feel like winter will never end. Mary loves it -- but I am a little tired of driving in it -- and of all the messy snow pants, boots, etc. Sunshine, where are you?

Okay, I have done a little re-vamping to my blog. It is partly in an attempt to make it more exciting for me. I want to be a "better" blogger because I love looking back at everything that has been written in these "pages" and to see how far we have come.

It has been an emotional week for us. Katie's aide whom she has been with for 3 years had her last day on Tuesday. I have cried several times about it over the last few weeks -- it has been hard to explain to Katie - and it was emotional for both myself and Katie's aide, Amy. Amy has been a fabulous aide for Katie as she herself has a grown son who is hearing impaired. She uses a lot of sign language with Katie - which has been a huge asset - and she also has raised a disabled child and has a HUGE amount of patience with Katie. They have a wonderful bond/relationship -- and we are waiting to see what Katies reaction will be to Amy's absence in the classroom. As is typical with autistic children - it may be a few weeks before we really see how Katie will adjust. I took some really great pictures of Katie and Amy and the classroom's Valentines Day party just a few days before Amy's last day -- I used the pictures to make a mini-scrapbook for Amy - but I wanted to post them here as well.

All else is good with the Bauman's. I feel like the weather has finally calmed down enough that we have been able to relax and enjoy the sunshine. I have been able to get some organizational projects completed and am actually thinking about getting out the scrapbooking once again.

I am really tired of snow days. I love my kids, but they need to be in school. And at the rate we're going they will be in school until July to make up all of these snowdays.

This was Mary on a snowday last week. It is too cold today to play outside - only 5 degrees with a negative windchill. Plus, both of the girls have once again come down with colds, so not too much outside for them today.

The Father Daughter Dance is happening as I write this - and I am pretty proud of myself that I am already posting the pics :) I am sure they will have a great time. Mary is starting to get a cold -- but nothing could keep her from being excited for the Father Daughter Dance !

Well...its a snow day here. The girls and I are hanging out - and I love it. I have to admit that sometimes it is just night to not go anywhere and just let them enjoy being at home with me. I was hoping that Bill wouldn't go to work, but he had an important meeting so he journeyed out in the blizzard. Yuck!

I do finally have the pictures from girl scout camp downloaded so I will put some of them here. Mary starts selling cookies in a few weeks, so if anyone is interested let me know :)

I love this picture of Mary all bundled up and ready to go out in the 2 degree weather to go sledding. She didn't last too long..but it was fun. The other pic is her on her top bunk...which she was very excited about. She slept on the top bunk at Great Wolf Lodge too..it must be the age.

Not much else happening here. My hours at work are cut back considerably now that it is January - so that is actually really nice as I am able to spend a lot more time with the girls, Bill , and just taking care of family needs which were often neglected when I worked full-time. Bill's 35th birthday is tomorrow! That should be fun...

Time is quickly clicking off in January. We are all sick again--seems like the germs have really attacked us this winter. Mary and I are leaving for girl scout camp this afternoon. The two super-sickies (Bill & Katie) are staying home to try and get better. Bill has service school this week so he is hoping to start feeling better before that. If you know me at all you know that camping is not my thing -- I have begged and even tried to bribe Mary into not going this weekend -- but no such luck. Most of the activities are indoors (which is good because the high today is supposed to be 12 degrees here -- yikes!) so it won't be too bad. If I take pictures (I haven't decided if I'm bringing my camera yet) I will try to post them shortly.

Well, it's a new year, and once again I need to commit myself to blogging more. I had high hopes for more posts over Christmas break, but both girls and myself were extremely sick. High fevers and cough -- not fun. Thankfully, Bill managed to avoid getting sick and we were able to recover in time for our much needed vacation to Great Wolf Lodge (http://www.greatwolflodge.com/) It was amazing - and I highly recommend it for a family vacation if you like waterparks. We are hoping to go back over Spring Break. I can't wait - 12 weeks and counting.

We did have some other interesting things happen over Christmas break -- we celebrated Mary's 7th birthday at Red Robin -- Katie loved the "big red bird" a lot - Bill shaved his head - or should I say, I shaved Bill's head at his request. It has already grown back very quickly. We had at least 2 snow storms which provided great fun for driving to work....and let's just say I am glad that school is back in session and life is getting back to "normal".

Well, the month is flying by. Mary turns 7 tomorrow - which is amazing to me. I am really behind the eight ball this year -- haven't sent out Christmas cards yet (They are coming...I promise) - haven't finished Christmas shopping...you know how it goes. I'm working too much...but that's retail in December. Once we finish inventory in January I will anticipate a few less hours and a little more time at home.

Katie has an ear/sinus/something infection. With her it can be really hard to tell. We went to the ER today because her doctors office couldn't squeeze her in until Thursday -- and she was sitting in Bill's big chair in the front room pulling at her ear and saying "ouchee". (which for her is a big accomplishment seeing that she doesn't really say any words consistently.

Well...lots to do for the big b-day tomorrow. I'll try to post pics later.

Things have been chaotic -- not a good excuse for ignoring the blog...but I'll try to do a quick update. We are once again having issues with Katie's "new" classroom. This is not the appropriate place to go into details..but if you know us and love Katie, then pray that we will choose the best option for her.

I have some great new pics of the girls from some recent outings, I will add them to this post. Bill spent last week in Florida for work - lucky him -- the weather there was beautiful, and in Michigan it was not so beautiful - unless you are an eskimo and want to build a new igloo.

My work is crazy - but that is retail in December.....

I don't have much time but I at least wanted to update...

Katie's time in the Kindergarten classroom went exceptionally well. I am hoping that will lead to increased time in the classroom for her. Her diet of gluten and dairy free is killing me -- she is so hungry and it hurts me to see her beg for foods she can't have. I am praying for strength to continue with her diet and that God would show me additional foods she might be interested in.

Mary is doing well -- almost 7 years old -- just a few weeks to go. She is loving first grade and reading like crazy.

Work is nuts for me but calming down for Bill. Black Friday was nuts, but it was nice to not be a manager this year. I had to be at work at 3 am for a 4 am opening -- crazy -- but I've survived.

The days have been clicking off faster than I can believe. I am trying to not be neglectful of this blog -- I have just been a little busy. We have so much going on with school and Katie's therapies, scheduling etc. Some days I just don't feel like there is enough of me to go around :) Things with us are good. Bill's work is finally winding down just as mine is getting into full swing.


The girls are good. Katie has started eating in the lunchroom a day or two a week, and this week she was actually able to eat lunch with her sister. Tomorrow she is going to start spending a little time in a Kindergarten classroom. This is so exciting for me. I can't wait to hear how it goes. My expectations are very realistic -- but we are hopeful that this will be a good starting point for her.



I'm tired. Lots of work and little sleep. I'm off tomorrow - and am convinced to spend a little time doing nothing but relaxing. I'm excited to do a little reading and maybe even take a nap. Yee-hah!

As if I don't have enough going on with AUTISM in my world, I received a call from Katie's teacher yesterday that they had done a craft project with cinnamon and my daughters hands had started to swell and were covered in a red rash. It was only 45 minutes from the end of the day and they said there were no other symptoms (like not being able to breathe, etc) so I decided to just wait and pick her up at the normal time.

She seemed fine. We had a babysitter for her as my parents wanted to take us to see The Polar Express in IMAX 3D (which was awesome). When we got home from the movie, Katie was sleeping in Bill's recliner in the front room. Her sleeper was on the couch and she only had on a diaper and was covered with a blanket. The sitter (who is wonderful and we love) said that Katie started throwing herself against the glass sliding window in our dining room once she put the sleeper on her. We pulled the blanket back and she was red all over in this horrible rash. Okay, what kid is allergic to touching cinnamon. She did ingest some through the air, but she didn't eat any. What a nightmare.

She seemed fine this morning. She took a nice soapy bath and the teacher said that they won't do anymore projects with cinnamon! YIKES!

This was our Halloween - Snow White & Scooby Doo -- quite the combination. Halloween was a disaster for Katie. I have determined that Autism and Halloween aren't a very good combination. Mary had a wonderful day. She woke up this morning and said, "Couldn't it be Halloween again today?" I said, "Thank goodness, No." Once was enough for this year.

COULD SOMEONE PLEASE REMIND ME WHY WE HAVE TELEPHONES? It's just 8:30 in the morning and I have already had 5 phone calls - work, Katie's teacher, a solicitor, etc, etc. Yikes. I'm tired. I was supposed to work this morning - but they called at 6:30 (I was already showered and dressed) and said I didn't have to come in if I didn't want to---they are running behind on payroll -- so I said, "sure, I'll stay home". I have Katie's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting this afternoon - I'm a little stressed about it - so it might be good to be home and get some work done here so that I am more relaxed for the meeting.

We went to Katie's AUTISM DOCTOR yesterday. I call her that because she is the only doctor we have found who will actually give us medications to try and detox Katie's body of the heavy metals. We started a series of B12 shots -- I have to administer the shot -- I did it in the office yesterday - and almost started crying - but amazingly Katie started talking yesterday. She said "on " three times - she said "daddy" twice, she said "hi" several times, and she said "I'm Katie!" last night. Yep-- I know it may be hard to believe but -- after reading Jenny McCarthy's book (see previous posts) and seeing how her son's vocabulary doubled on the days that he received B12 shots - I thought it was something that we had to try. Even after 1 day I am so glad that we did. This is a child whom I haven't heard say much of anything other than "Katie" on occasion for the past two months -- we'll see how it goes. The shots are every other day -- so no shot today - we'll see how tomorrow goes.

BIRTHDAY PICS - FINALLY! Only 8 days late! Sorry, Katie...Mommy has been a little busy. We did a cupcake birthday with ice cream cones this year. Katie loves ice cream - but only on a cone...and you know that cupcakes are all the trend this year :) She was sneaking the cupcakes off the counter all afternoon that day -- and was licking the frosting off. Pretty funny. Good thing Mommy made extras.

Things are going a little better - I think we are close to a resolution with Katie's classroom situation - so that is encouraging. They tried some different things today -- and they seemed to work. So that is good. I will upload Katie's b-day pics as soon as I have a few minutes.....

AUTISM = STRESS

Yep, that's how I feel. Things have not been going well the last few days. It seems like this years has been very transitional as far as Katie goes. We knew it would be a difficult adjustment with new teachers, a new classroom and new classmates - in addition to now going to school all day rather than half a day -- but I never imagined it would be this difficult. I will refrain from elaborating about everything that has been going on, but I will just say that we are seeing a side of Katie that we have never seen before, and it is really difficult. We don't know why she is doing what she does, and I am beginning to realize that even though teachers/aides can teach your children and care for your children, we as parents are truly the only ones that love them - and when it comes to children with special needs, it seems that I wish I could transfer my parental love to them so that they could see what I see and feel what I feel. It's hard for a teacher to understand that my child can't tell me when she's having a bad day, or that she's got a sore throat or a tummy ache. It's always a big guessing game with Katie. I'm pretty good at it, but I'm not perfect (nor do I claim to be). I've cried about it too much today - so I'll move on for now.

On a brighter note, Mary is now reading at above a 3rd grade level (which is great for my big 1st grader). She is loving school and is really excelling in so many ways. It's awesome!!!

I know it's been a few days...things have been busy. Lots going on with the girls, etc. Katie escaped her classroom through a window yesterday... yes, you read that correctly. The window had been left open and the screen was out of the window because of a portable air conditioner they had used the previous day (it had been 86 degrees). When the teacher/aides were occupied, she climbed up to the ledge and hopped out. I know it sounds crazy, but she has climbed out of the window at home before, so this isn't a completely foreign concept. She did it because it was raining that morning and even though the picture card on her daily schedule said "playground", they went to the gym instead. She was mad that she didn't get to go to the playground (her favorite place) - so she waited for the perfect opportunity when no one was looking and she hopped out and went directly to the playground. I'm actually pretty calm about it. I commend the teacher for calling me right away and letting me know what happened. In the classroom Katie was in last year, she got away for an extended period of time and I wasn't even called to be informed of what had happened - so this is an improvement. It's all part of loving Katie -- who by the way will be 5 on Sunday - that is hard to believe. My baby is turning the big 5!!