August Already?

Sorry for the extended absence from the blogging world. Sometimes I get a little caught up in the girls being home (Katie's two weeks at school went very fast!!! She is now beginning her second week at home before heading back to school for two more weeks). I also have been tryinig to knock off some projects around the house. Bill and I drained the pool today - scrubbed it out and are in the process of re-filling it. What a lot of work! But it was definitely needed. Hopefully it will make it until school starts and then we will take it down and put it away.I have a feeling we are about at the end of the life of this pool anyway -- and a new purchase will need to be made when pools go on clearance here in the next few weeks.

Not a whole lot else going on. I've just been spending way too much time on facebook, reading (see the new additions to my reading list) going to movies and just having a good summer with the fam. More as it becomes available. Hope you are having a great summer, too.

Crazy Week

Well, what a week. That's all I can say. I have oodles of pictures that I need to upload...I'll try to get to that later today. Mary has a soccer game this morning, but it looks as though we are in for a major storm...so I'm not sure the game will happen. A bunch of 7 & 8 year olds running around in a rain-storm is not my idea of a splendid Saturday morning :)

Mary had a field trip to the Nature Center on Monday. We did the Spring wildflower tour which was actually very cool. I got some great pics. One flower we saw was called the blue-eyed Mary..and everyone in her class thought it was very cool that Mary has blue eyes - so it was kind of "her" flower. That was the highlight of the field trip for her.

I also toured a new classroom for Katie this week. If all goes as planned she will be starting at a new school mid-July. They are on a year-round modified schedule where the kids never have more than 2 weeks off during the school-year. It helps for autistic kids not to have long gaps in their routine, so this schedule will be very nice for Katie. It will be kids who are her age, and no-longer in a preschool type setting. They also have a pool in their building which will be great for her to have access to each week. They also have a great sensory room that she will love. I'm praying for a smooth transition, but expecting a few bumps along the way. New things are always difficult for her, so we will do everything we can to help ease her into it. We also finally had our visit to the ENT for Katie's ongoing sinus infections, and for now, no surgery. We are going to a mega-dose (literally -- 6 tsp a day) of an antibiotic for 6 weeks.. He feels confident that this will clear her up. The next step if that doesn't work would be taking her to the OR to have her sinuses flushed. That doesn't sound too exciting, so we will pray that the antibiotics do the trick!

My foot pain is also back which had added to my crazy week. My last cortizone shot didn't seem to provide any relief at all, and actually the pain is worse than it has been in the past 6 months. We feel kind of lost on how to proceed. I really don't want to have surgery, but unfortunately if they can't find a way to help with the pain, I may have to consider it. The pain has gotten to the point where it interferes with my ability to work, walk, and even take care of the girls - especially Katie. You should have seen my trying to "run" after her as she tried to escape the hospital yesterday. Running in birkenstocks (which my Dr. says are the best things I can wear for my feet) after a 6 year old with athletic speed while wanting to scream with each footstep - yep, hilarious for spectators, I'm sure :)

Well -- I'll try to get those pictures up as soon as I can - maybe this morning if we don't have soccer. :) Happy weekend!

Just Another Manic Monday....

So it goes, another Monday and more events to report on....I didn't have to work today for which I was very thankful. I was able to run some long overdue errands and even get a little reading done. I'm on a huge reading kick lately. Not sure why, but so much so that I had to go out and buy a pair of "readers". I'm nearing the big 40 and my eyes are not what they used to be. I bought a cute purple pair of 1.5's and let me tell you how much easier the reading is now :)This isn't the greatest picture but it gives you the idea....

I am not going to do any more posts stating that we are all healthy because without fail that has proven to be a bad move on my part. Katie has an ear infection as earlier reported, but she is doing much better. We have her on "permanent" allergy medicine now too - and I think that is helping a lot. Mary started with congestion yesterday and a cough today - so I'm not sure where that is headed. Spring Break is next week and it would be nice if they could both be healthy so we might be able to do some fun things. We aren't going anywhere out of town, but maybe we can catch a museum, a movie, you know...cheap, fun, local things :)

Also, because this is really Katie's blog - I have to share this picture of Katie putting her own coat on because she wanted to go "out" (this happens a lot). When she takes her coat of she just slips it off of her body so the bottom remains zipped. As a result, this is what she looked like when she tried to put it back on without assistance :)

Onward and Upward.....and maybe even healthy!

Yep, I hesitate to say this, but I think we might actually be getting healthy. Wow, it's been a long time coming. Katie is back on antibiotics, but they actually seem to be working this time...so that is a huge bonus. Mary is on the mend, too....so I think we're getting there.

School for Katie does continue to be a challenge. With two new children in her small (6 students) classroom - and her routine has been blown to bits. She has been a bit uneasy, naughty, and almost irritable. She didn't eat anything today at school, but when she got home she pigged out. She's been "hitting"( I hesitate to use the term hitting as I think it is more of an expression of dislike as to what she is being asked to do. Often when she is stimming and someone -- a teacher etc-- asks her to stop stimming, she almost slaps or hits them in a reactionary way as if to say "NO, I'm not stopping". ) and actually did try to run away as she often did in previous years. Only once though..teacher put an end to that at the first sign of fleeing.... We have conferences tomorrow and that will be a good time to see where she is. We do have that classroom locked in for next year, so that is a good thing....I think we are just in a period of adjustment for her as she gets used to the two new students that are finding their own way into this unique class.

The girls have half days tomorrow and Friday - and then are off Monday and Tuesday, so we are looking forward to a little family time. We have some fun things planned ....so there will be a lot to report on next week. Happy March!

A Long, Hard Winter

Well, yes, it is February and it is definitely still winter here in Michigan. We got several inches of snow yesterday -- and 8 more are predicted for Wednesday - yes, 8 inches. I was ready for winter to be finished about 2 months ago--- so for now we are just taking it day by day and praying for some significant sunshine :)

We have all been very sick lately, too. Bill, Katie and I are all on antibiotics. Mary finished her second round earlier in the week. I'm not sure if it is because of the weather, or the kids' school, or what, but it just seems like we have all had a lot of trouble getting healthy this winter. I invested in a jumbo size can of Lysol at the grocery store (1/2 off this week - so that was an added bonus) and I've been walking around the house spraying everything with Lysol. Window sills, sinks, doorknobs, remotes, telephones...all that stuff...in hopes of eliminating whatever germs have managed to set up shop in our home. I really wish we could just open the windows and air things out - but at 30 degrees I don't think that is a realistic option!!

Not too much else happening here....Mary is going to be an elephant in her 3rd grade musical in March...too funny! Can't wait to see it. Katie continues to be doing well, and we are happy with the fact that she is now "locked in" to the same classroom for next year with her amazing teacher!

Hope you had a fabulous Valentines' Day!

It's late and I'm tired. NASCAR is on in the background and I'm not happy because Dale Jr. crashed early...but that's typical as of late. Everyone (even the pets) is/are sleeping except me..but that is okay. I'm just wound up. I had to work tonight (that happens every now and then on a Saturday night) and I can 't just come hope and fall right asleep. My body doesn't work that way.

We did have a great day. The weather was beautiful (70 degrees) and Mary had a soccer game. Then we went to Katie's Special Olympics swimming for the first time. This is actually a new program that Special Olympics is working on where they partner a special child with a college graduate student who is working on a Masters Degree in some Special Education related area. The student partners with the child for 10 weeks. Katie was able to swim for an hour - with no cost to us - and Mary was also able to swim - so that was a big bonus. Bill & I can swim, too - but Bill wasn't there - and I took the "pass" option this week. Katie is a very good/strong swimmer for a soon to be 6 year old -- she really doesn't need someone "on" her - just someone to watch her. Her student partner was great with her. She is a gym teacher who is working on her Masters Degree. She was great with Katie -- and we got to talk a lot about autism - so that was great, too.

It's been a busy week and the next one looks to be just the same. I'm not sure what it is about October, but it always seems like such a crazy month. Monday is Katies' IEP (Individualized Education Plan) which is a legal requirement in the state of Michigan for all Special Education students. I am not anticipating any problems this year - which is new for us. We have always had issues - but the new teacher has made our life MUCH easier this year. We are thrilled. (Katie - with the help of a sentence strip - actually said "I - See - Bat" this week - on several occasions). In case you are wondering why she would say that she saw a bat - her teacher has a surprise box with halloween items in it - and the item Katie picked just happened to be a fuzzy little bat - which was actually kind of cute. Monday is also Bible Study Fellowship - which Mary and I both attend - and (of course) I have to work during the day - so that ought to be a nice full day.

Tuesday is Katie's 6th birthday -- words cannot express my feelings about that. I am hoping to get my brain together and do a special post for her birthday.

Wednesday is just another busy day with work, music makers and more miscellaneous activities .

Thursday - can I even think that far ahead. Soccer practice - work (both morning and night for me -- I don't want to talk about how I was "suckered" into doing that......)

Friday - my first day off after 9 days of work in around (or 10 shifts in a row if you count my double on Thursday) I should be in great shape by then ;)

I could go on, but I'll spare everyone the details! Have a great end to the weekend...

Too much to tell...

Wow - a week since my last post, it must be the school year. No new pics - or if I do have them I haven't uploaded in awhile. Things have just been crazy here. Mondays are BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) for both Mary and I. Tuesday is Girl Scouts. Wednesday is Music Makers for Mary (school aged after school music program). Thursday is soccer practice and speech therapy for Katie. Friday might be the only weekday that we don't have a regular commitment. Saturday is soccer and soon starting will be Special Olympics swimming. (I'm really looking forward to that for both of the girls, as Mary will also get to participate in the practices). Sunday is church day and then we start all over. Yikes!

Anyway -- what a day today was. Katie had a small accident at school today. Thankfully I was in the building when it happened -- she had a tantrum in class. She was tired. She had speech therapy first thing in the morning and then we went to school. She didn't want to go to school. After therapy she usually just wants to check out for the day. I had gone down to the office to speak with the principal when I was "summoned" back to the classroom. Katie had thrown a "tantrum" if you want to call it that. She was standing at the sink to wash her hands for lunch when she whipped her head back and then slammed her face into the counter. Blood was everywhere. She ripped the piece of skin inside her mouth which connects your lip to your gums. She also shoved one of her top front baby teeth up into her gum a bit -- but those teeth were already loose - so that isn't a big concern. It took 30 minutes to get the bleeding to stop. We ended up going to the pediatricians office in the afternoon just so they could check her. They said those injuries usually heal fine if the lip can be left alone (hello, this is Katie we're talking about). She also had a slight infection in both ears - so that combined with the need to keep her mouth from becoming infected demanded amoxicillin (sp?) (free at Meijer - big bonus) - hopefully she will be doing much better tomorrow.
Well - that's it for now. Did I mention that good T.V. starts this week? Not like I have time to watch it :)

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 :)

Weekend Update...Wow Do I Need Coffee...

This hasn't been a big blogging week for me. My hours are starting to increase at work as we head into back to school time...we do more hiring and that means more hours for me:). That is a good thing.....but it also means that I'm more tired and less motivated to do anything when I'm home.....

When you put on top of that the fact that it has been 90 degrees with high humidity for the last 2 or 3 days...(which isn't really that typical for a Michigan summer), you recognize that my kids have hit the mid-summer -- I'm bored-- phase, we havent' gone on vacation yet and the fact that gas in our area hit 4.25 for a 3 day stretch this week (although I hear it may be headed down under the 4 dollar mark after yesterday's drop in oil prices ) -- well, I'm spent. I feel very human -- or maybe I just feel like every other mom out there who works outside the home - torn between work and home -- wanting to be super mom when I am home, but not always feeling emotionally or physically able to be that person. Let's face it, the art of motherhood is a lot of work...especially if you want to do ...well, the best job you can do.

I know, this is getting deep for a weekend update -- but it wouldn't be my blog if it wasn't real, would it.? I think I just need to make today about the girls and I. Bill is at work. The dishes and laundry will be there tomorrow - or tonight after the go to bed. Maybe we'll hit the park before the heat index hits 110. :) ..and maybe I'll take some pictures or even think about re-kindling my love of scrapbooking... but first, I definitely need my coffee.

Wherever you are, have a good day...and remember, that laundry can wait, but your kids can't. And maybe, that's really the key.

This shows you where we've come to at this point in the summer. Laying on the island in the kitchen to watch T.V..... oh well, she's happy. :) Have a great day!

11 years and counting...

Well it was quite the weekend to say the least. I have yet to recover as I sit here with my eyes half open. Katie is at respite care today. She & Dorie went here today (which of course made big sister jealous...but we're working on that). Mary & I have plans to go to the park and do some fun things this afternoon. I just wanted to get some things done around the house first...then I can relax without feeling guilty.

Saturday was our 11th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe. We had a great time. We had been given a gift certificate, so we were able to go here for dinner (otherwise, even for an anniversary dinner, this place is way out of our price range...but it sure was delicious.) We had a sitter for the whole evening but called it a short night and came home to watch the race. I know, we're pathetic...but that's just how we are.

On Sunday we did "church" and then came home to tear down the swimming pool, re-level and re-surface the area and then put the pool back up again. It was a lot of work, but the pool looks much better. It was becoming very sloped -- so we should be good for the rest of the summer now :)

Overall, it was a great weekend..but actually a very emotional one for me. I did a lot of thinking, and a lot of talking with both Bill & my Mom about how Katie has changed our life so much, and how she will continue to change our life forever. I think it was part of the ongoing process of having a special needs child...you have to grieve the loss of certain things.. the loss of your hopes and dreams for them - or at least the loss of what you had thought your hopes and dreams were - we have new ones for Katie now... but it's all a process. Obviously when Bill & I were married 11 years ago we never dreamed or imagined the things that have happened over the past 11 years -- and I don't think any couple imagines that they will be parenting a special needs child. But one thing is for sure - we are a team, we are in this together. It is a process of learning and loving and figuring things out day by day. So, happy belated anniversary honey. I love you.

How Time Flies

Mary is at my parents and Katie is fast asleep. I have to work at 6 tomorrow morning (which is a rare occurrence with my summer work schedule) and I can't settle down to sleep, so I'm on the computer. Mary has been gone 3 nights now. She was getting really homesick so my parents dropped her off for the afternoon. I took a good look at her and thought, "wow, she's growing up so fast." It was just the way she looked...so "old" ...so not the "baby" that I often think of her as. Sometimes I think I get so distracted by Katie's autism that I forget life is moving forward..that Mary is growing up. I love this picture of her..it was taken just a few days ago. She is perfecting the art of "self-portraits" (something her father and I both love to do). She is also wearing her Dollar Store sunglasses (which happen to be identical to mine..she had to have the same ones as Mommy. ;)....

We had a great afternoon together. She has learned the Books of the New Testament in order and was so proud to be able to say them over and over to me. She also wanted to tell me that Grand-moo had measured her height the night before and she is 4'7" (yes, she's only 7 years old.) She was quick to tell me that means she is only 7 inches shorter than her Mommy...but almost 2 feet shorter than her Daddy. She is very excited because she is now tall enough to ride any ride she wants to at Cedar Point this summer (54" is the required height for several rides). Not many 7 year olds can say that :)

How time has flown my precious Mary! I love you! Great job with the self-portrait!

Daddy's Day

My girls are so blessed to have a wonderful daddy. Happy Father's Day, Bill! I love you!

Mary's Teacher

Mary had an amazing teacher for first grade this year. Mrs. Potter. She was awesome. I loved her ,too! I just had to put this picture on the blog because I think it's so cute! And I just wanted to say that I believe (after this year more than ever) that a great teacher can make a huge impact on a child's life. So to any of you out there (Fred) who have chosen teaching as a profession - my kudos to you! And thanks Mrs. Potter - for all you have done for Mary this year!