A Return to Blogging...

So..yes, I'm still alive. December is notoriously a difficult month for me. I work retail, thus long (and very early this year) hours contribute to a lack of sleep. I also have Mary's birthday to handle the week before Christmas - and then of course, Christmas itself. January is usually a nice slow-down month for us...I am definitely hoping for that this year.

I will just highlight a few things from this past month ....

Build-a-Bear. My first official trip. Wow, why couldn't I have invented that place! A true windfall for sure...but my kids both (yes, even Katie...seemed to love it.) Here are the girls modeling their new Holly & Hal Moose "Bears".

We also have started doing the Special Olympics downhill skiing program. It is truly a highlight each week. The pics I have taken aren't great, so I will try and get some when we go this week. Both of the girls (and Bill & I) are able to ski and use the lifts at no charge - which is truly an amazing gift for us. Both of the girls are taking to it with rather amazing quickness...only a few tears so far - so we're doing well. The place we ski has a "magic carpet" which is basically a conveyor belt that the girls can ride up the "bunny" hills - this prevents them from having to learn the rope tow right away - and if you are a skiier - you know that the rope tow can actually be harder to master than most basic skiing skills!

Well - I guess that will do it for now. I need to go and get caught up on all of my favorite blogs..it's been way too long.... See you soon!

Christmas With a Capital

Merry Christmas!

The World in Which We Live...

Well it's been another week in our world....Gas is "cheap" 1.63 here. I can't even remember the last time gas was that price. That has definitely been the highlight of the news lately. It is nice to be able to drive around town without feeling guilty about "wasting" expensive gas.

We are getting ready to start Katie on a new med. We are also increasing her risperdal, so we'll see how that goes. There are concerns whenever we adjust Katies' prescriptions, so we're hanging on for the ride to see how things go. The risperdal is the one that gives her such terrible constipation, so we are a little concerned about how the dosage increase will affect her. The new med is commonly used for ADHD - we are giving it to her to try and decrease her OCD which has become completely out of control. ADHD meds aren't commonly used in autistic kids - because it's a different part of the brain - but for OCD this one is supposed to be helpful. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. We are hoping to start it on Monday. Bill has the week off, so if we have any issues/side effects with the medicine, Bill will be around to help.

Well..not much else happening here. I have a busy weekend of work in the world of retail.....More later.

Back to the Land of the "Blogging"

Wow, have I ever been out of it. I returned from Girl Scout Camp a week ago - sick -- very sick. Then the girls and Bill both became sick -- and it just turned into a sicko week. So no blogging for me. I did take some really cute pics at Girl Scout Camp - so I wanted to post those..and we also have now had our first "real" snow of the season - complete with icy roads and a snowman in the back yard - so I wanted to get the snow pics up too. I had to laugh because when I was uploading my pics, I realized that I hadn't even finished uploading the girls Halloween (70 degree Halloween :) pictures - so I guess I'll post some of those too -- so hang on- because I have no idea how many pictures I am going to post :)

This is the Halloween pic that I love. The crazy snow-white and the tom-boy. Too cute with their pumpkins. The warm weather made for an awesome trick-or-treating night.

This is Katie enjoying her PBJ before trick-or-treating...I couldn't sit like that and eat even if you paid me the big bucks!

They made pumpkin pie from scratch at Girl Scout Camp.

First attempt of the year at a snowman. Too funny :)

So that is it...the week I missed in the blogging world. Now I need to get caught up on the happenings of all my friends....They are forcasting more snow for this week....some good pictures could lie ahead. Have a great week!

Sick & Tired - Literally

Yes, I'm getting sick. I've had a relatively healthy Fall - even the kids for the most part other than a random ear infection and Katie's whole issues with the toilet -- but otherwise, it's been good. However, I woke up today feeling that horrible "I'm getting sick" feeling..the scratchy throat, runny nose, wishing you could crawl back into bed and never get out" feeling. (especially at 4:30 in the morning.) The extra bad part of it is that Mary and I are leaving for girl scout camp tonight. Nothing like sleeping in a cabin on a mattress on the floor with 25 girls to help you feel better :) I'm trying to be positive about it - as I know Mary will have a blast - but I am exhausted. This is actually a special camp where the girls are going to prepare a Thanksgiving feast for all of us to eat Saturday night. I know it will be fun -- I just pray that my body can hang in there. I'll try to take some cute pics. Last year Girl Scout camp provided this entertainment :

A Blonde Snow White

The girls don't have school tomorrow - so they celebrated Halloween today. (By the way, Halloween was the bonus spelling word in Mary's class this week :) Anyway, I hardly recognized my own child once we got the wig & make-up on...she was one interesting Snow White -- not exactly meek and mild - she's a little too outgoing for that. Katie did not "do" Halloween at school this year - after last year's disaster - when I determined that autism and Halloween don't mix very well - we decided to let her party with the kids in her room, but to not dress her up and not have her walk in the 30 minute parade around town. Yes, the whole school parades around town in their costumes -- it's a treat :)
More later - need to go nighty night. ..but as a quick note, Mary and I went to see High School Musical 3: Senior Year tonight. It was cheesy - but that's another post. I know Mary will be trying out the new dance moves soon....if you have young girls it is definitely a must see, but I'm prediciting "Beyond High School Musical : the Wedding" in about a year or so :)

Dancing with the ???

I saw this on a blog I enjoy reading when I visited this morning. Just thought it might make you smile as big as I did. Too funny...any thoughts?

Wow...lots to update...

Well, first I must apologize for my absence from blogging -- or only brief blogs - the past two weeks have flown by. I'm now sitting at the computer as Mary lies in our bed reading "Judy Moody Gets Famous" to me. I am amazed that I am old enough to have a child who lies in bed and reads to me. It's funny. When she's done I will read this to her. A chapter a night and we are making good progress. I am so thankful that we took her to get glasses. It has helped her in so many ways. She has always been a good reader, but with her glasses she can read longer without headaches and it provides a good opportunity for she and I to spend time together each night. :)


If you are a facebook friend of mine, you are probably aware that we have had some issues with Katie's health --let's just summarize by saying that autism and toileting don't always go very well together -- and if something doesn't change we may end up with a child in the hospital at some point. We are praying for some long term solutions to her ongoing issues in hope that we will somehow be able to teach her the importance of being able to go "#2" :) So if you are a praying person, please pray for her that somehow, someway we would find a long term fix for this.

Bill & I are both very busy at work -- October is always crazy for us. We are hoping to take Mary to Cedar Point for a Halloweekend visit soon -- we bought buy one day get one free tickets earlier in the season and haven't used the second day yet. We're hoping the weather co-operates.

Much more to tell, but I'll save it for another post...Narnia is calling. Goodnight :)

Gotta Love Fall

What a nice Fall we're having..and gas is 2.68 here...so that makes it even better.

Addicted to Craig's List

Well, here it is..my new "addiction" -- Craig's List I know it's not a "new" thing - but I have that same giddy-ness that I had when I first found e-bay. I still love e-bay...but e-bay costs money - and often takes a long time to sell things. On Craig's list I have had things sell within a few hours -- and usually the person lives close-by and you can just arrange to meet and swap or pick up the item. Much more convenient. Now that my ten-shift-in-a-row work marathon is over I was able to spend a little time on my favorite new website...and it was fun.

We have a busy weekend planned. Mary's last soccer game of the Fall is tomorrow morning - followed by traditional last-game-ice cream at the best local Ice Creamery (which is open until 10/31 --so we can get the yummy pumpkin flavored ice cream -- it is amazing!) Special Olympics swimming follows. That went "swimmingly" :) last week, so I am looking forward to seeing how tomorrow goes. Bill is able to come along tomorrow - so that should make things even a little easier on everyone.

I'll try to update more after tomorrow is in the record books - and I definitely need to get some new pics....so I'll do my best...Happy Fall!

Got Bacon? Katie Does.

Happy Birhtday Katie-Bug

Yes, today is Katie's 6th birthday -- hard to believe..... We're having a bacon & eggs party for dinner tonight. That's what she wants (well, we think that is what she wants). I'll post pictures later...but HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE -- WE LOVE YOU!

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...

Facelift

Well, it's October and life is busy - and I thought that perhaps my blog needed a facelift - so I'm trying out a few new looks - don't be surprised if I change things up for awhile until I'm completely happy - but hopefully this "new look" will spur me on to more consistent blogging! Enjoy - and let me know if you see anything that you like -- input is always welcome. :)

Mary's Glasses

Yep, Mary now has glasses...so I told her I would post her beautiful face here. Katie was "jealous" so I am posting a pic of her in her "glasses" -- which are actually one of my great Dollar Store deals! Enjoy!

Brrrrr..

Well with the beginning of October, cold weather has descended upon Michigan. That makes life a little more complicated for us. No more outdoor swimming for Katie -- she was still "swimming" as of last week -- it was still in the high 70's here - even though our pool has been down for several weeks now. It also means that Katie has to wear socks -- which is on her list of "dislikes" - but she is becoming more tolerant of them as she gets older. They fly off of her feet the second she gets in the house after school! Cold weather also means that these are not a good option for her - even though they are her favorite.. She likes to wear them all winter -- but we often get weird looks for that! (and no, I don't buy the brand name ones, Family Dollar has great ones for 2.99 -- and sometimes Meijer has them for 4.00 - so that is usually my preference -- HELLO! we're on a budget people! Although I must say that now that gas has come down under 3.50 a gallon here - our budget is much improved !!!

Not too much else to report. The girls have a big walk at school tomorrow - it's the fundraiser for the parents club, of which I am the Sr. Co-chair, so I'll probably be spending a few hours at school tomorrow. I'll try to take some new pics -- it's been awhile -- and I need a new profile pic for my facebook page, too!

Faces of Autism

Check out our beautiful Katie on this awesome website.

Weekend Update...

Well the weekend has flown by...and I have a few updates, so here goes.

Katie is doing much better. Her mouth has healed up nicely and her ears seem to be feeling better - so I'm hopeful for an "event-free" week of school. We were going to start Special Olympics swimming this weekend - but we postponed it for one week to make sure she is feeling 100 percent. I'll try to do a post on that next weekend after we go. We're very excited about getting involved with Special Olympics.

Mary had an awesome soccer game on Saturday. She has two games this week. Her coaches cancelled practice - for which I am thankful. Once again we are in a "something is happening every night" week - so that will help a bit. She is continuing to do very well in school. We are a little concerned about her vision. I need to call tomorrow and get her an appointment to have her eyes checked. We have been noticing that she has been sitting closer and closer to the TV when she watches it - and when she reads she holds the book/paper right in front of her face. Bill has "eye issues" - and so does my Dad - so we figure we better check it out just to be safe.

On a "Jill" note - I have enjoyed the first week of "new TV". I'm so thankful to have a DVR so that I can watch the good shows whenever I have the time - even if that means 3 days after they were originally on. Bill & I all skate to Survivor & Amazing Race - but everything else is a singles skate for the most part. Knight Rider and the Sarah Connor Chronicles could end up on the couples only list too - but I don't have enough time right now for all of those.....I did watch the first episode of the final season of ER - and I have to tell you - if you missed it - it was amazing! I used to watch that show years ago --(12 years ago to be exact - when Bill & I were dating) and we both loved it. I have watched it off and on since then - but I must say that it is shaping up to be an incredible final season. So, if you used to watch it, you might want to think about coming back for the final season. (and no, NBC is not paying me --it's free advertising :)

As not to leave him out, Bill is good - but catching his annual Fall cold. His work will start getting busy here in a week or two -- usually when the weather turns colder, which is supposed to be this Tuesday here - so we'll see. He and I are planning our annual Chicago business trip for his work for the end of the month - I'm looking forward to that -- it's always nice to get away. My mom watched the girls for us - so it's a nice mini-vacation.

Well, I probably should think about bed for the night. All of the other members of this house - even the animals - are sleeping - and it's not even 10 pm -- so we're doing very well tonight!

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 :)

Tag, You're It!

My friend Merri tagged me on her blog...so here it is....

1. Four Places that I go over & over - The kids school, work, home, the store.

2. Four people who email me regularly - (I'm counting facebook contacts in this one) - Julli, My Dad, Joy, TS

3. Four of my favorite places to eat - Qdoba, McDonalds, Red Lobster, Giordanno's

4. Four places I would rather be - Chicago, Chicago, Chicago, Chicago (Okay, maybe Disney World).

5. Four people I tag- Alice, Alysa, Connie, Jen P.

6.Four TV shows I watch - Biggest Loser, Survivor, Amazing Race, Flashpoint

TAG, YOU'RE IT :)