The Dawning of Comprehension

A couple of things happened this past week that made me see just how much more S1 is understanding. The first was with S3. S3 had been playing with a group of toys on the kitchen floor and walked away. S1 came in, inspected the lot, and picked up a toy that he wanted. Instantly S3 began to scream. As I stood there trying to help S3 understand that he left the toys and that now S1 could have a turn, S1 looked at S3, looked at the toy in his hand, and then looked back to S3. S1 then reached out his hand and gave S3 the toy! I'm not sure that he's ever made that connection before. I am sure that it was the first time he has willingly given back a toy!

Second, S1 took me out back and walked to a blank stretch of fence. He looked at it, not finding what he was looking for, and continued to drag me along to where the gate was. He then reached up and grabbed the pull cord, which until now he was too short to reach, and dropped my hand and ran out the back gate! Arghhh! Now he can't just play in the backyard by himself. Well, actually he can because I went to the other side of the gate and pulled the cord out so now we can't open the gate from inside the yard, just the outside. I'll have to solve that dilemma once he's back in school.

See what happens when kids are home from school for too much time!

Oven Door? What for?

Well, to the vast majority of us, it would seem that the purpose of the oven door is to keep the heat in while we bake and hide whatever is burned on the bottom of our oven. However, to S1 it is a convenient fold down chair. This summer it has also become a stepping stool to reach cupboards and a fun springboard to bounce on when bored, at least until mom comes in to break up the fun. One night though, mom was out getting a break. Dad called to tell me that there was a surprise for me when I returned home. Knowing my family as I do I asked if it was a good or bad surprise. He countered with, "Well, maybe you can fix it." This did not bode well.

S1 had apparently been bouncing on the oven door when it "broke" and hit the ground. The other end was still attached to the hinges, however, it would not fold back up into the oven. Luckily all I had to do was unscrew the hinges and tweek them a little to the side for them to pop back into place. Then I screwed them back into place and slid the door back on. Now we actually keep the door off of the oven, laying against the side of the cupboards, to keep S1 from repeating this and risking injury - not to mention possibly making the door irrepairable! Great, now I have to keep my oven clean!!!!

New Mexico "Vacation"

Well, you are about to find out what happens when Mom (that's me) tries to get away for awhile. Disclaimer: Even though it may seem at times that I am complaining, I am not. I was very happy to be able to be of assistance. Ever since S1 was very young, I have not been able to help out a lot at family functions because of having to take care of S1, and I often have been the recipient of help. So, it was nice to have the chance to help out.

My cousins who live in New Mexico, Jenn and Aaron, have adopted a baby boy. The adoption was supposed to be finalized before April so that they could bless him and take him to the temple to be sealed to their family (we're LDS for anyone who doesn't know). The same Sunday, Easter Sunday, that they were planning on blessing him, my cousin, also her sister, Becky and her husband Drew, who live near Jenn, were planning on blessing their baby girl.

Since Dave gets to go out of town frequently and I am left home with the kids, I thought it would be a great chance for me to get a break and leave him with the little darlings. In fact, earlier this year he had been to New York for a conference for five days. He'll even admit that it was a lot more play than work. So, since he had spring break over the Easter holiday, I booked my flight. Well, the adoption wasn't finalized by the time of my trip so Jenn wouldn't be blessing the baby or having him sealed to them yet. I decided to go anyway since I had the tickets, Dave had the time off work and I needed a break.

I flew down to New Mexico on a Saturday evening. I had a layover in Phoenix and my Uncle Richard and Aunt Barbara and some of my cousins came to visit with me. It would good to see them all, I can't believe how much my little cousins have grown up! Saturday night we went to the Becky's and talked until it was time for bed. Sunday was Easter and the blessing of Becky's baby. We had a great ham dinner, even if it wasn't the Martha Stewart event Jenn had hoped for. We played a cool card game, that I can't even remember the name of. But everyone wears funny hats and you rotate around the table according to the order that your hand goes out, if that makes sense. My cousin Rachelle had come over from Arizona with her family and it was fun to see and play with them. Anyway, Jenn and I stayed up late talking after everyone had left. The next morning my Aunt Wrae and Uncle Ron left to drive home. Once Jenn and I got up and going we went to run errands.

When we got back we found out that Wrae and Ron had rolled their car! They were both sent to the hospital, albeit different ones. It ended up that Wrae had a spiral fracture in her upper arm and Ron had cracked two ribs in three places, plus a ton of bruising. So after an afternoon on the phone talking to different doctors, hospitals, tow trucks, relatives, etc. it was finally decided that the next morning Jen and I would leave, with her two kids in tow, and pick up her parents in their respective hospitals and take them home to Utah.

First we drove to Monticello to pick up Wrae. She needed her Lortab prescription filled but the pharmacy in Monticello doesn't open until 3 pm on Tuesdays! Instead of waiting around we drove up to Moab to pick it up since it was on our way. I spent a lot of time on the cell phone with Wrae's insurance trying to find an orthopedic surgeon who she could see once we got her home because the ER people in Monticello thought she'd need surgery. That was a run around and a half.

A word to the wise, don't ever get hurt in southeastern Utah. They can't treat you for anything unless you are giving birth! They didn't have anyone who could do anything for my aunt's arm other than put it in the sling/brace. Also, my uncle had to be flown to Grand Junction, CO because one, the MRI wasn't big enough to fit him in Monticello and second because they thought he had internal bleeding and they are not capable of treating that if it requires surgery in Monticello. Just know that if you get a serious injury in Moab, they'll take you to Colorado. He was actually flown there by helicopter-talk about expensive!

Anyway, after picking up Wrae we headed over to the tow truck place to retrieve what belongings we could, like the rest of their luggage, from the car. I'll post a picture in the photos section. Note: The car roof was not smashed down from the roll over. They had to cut it off to get my uncle out. He is not a petite man and he was driving a Kia Spectra. So, once they cut it off and got him out, they just laid the roof back on the car for towing. So, it looks worse than it was, although it was pretty bad. After we got their belongings and her drugs in Moab, we headed over to Grand Junction to hopefully get my uncle. However, he was not able to be released that night so, thanks to my grandpa, we were able to get two good hotel rooms. One for Jenn and the kids and one for Wrae and I.

We ordered curbside to go from Applebee's for dinner and I went to pick it up. After Jenn ate she went to visit her dad in the hospital and I took care of the kids. I also got to give my first sponge bath to an adult! Wrae still had sand and dirt in her ears and hair from the accident. So we got her cleaned up so she could rest comfortably. I joked around that maybe Paul should have been there since he did this kind of thing as a job in high school. Seriously though, I was glad to be able to do it. Wrae is always helping me out and I am still indebted to her.

Although Wrae was doing well when we picked her up, she is diabetic. By that evening when we were getting settled in she was pretty wiped out and had thrown up a few times, throwing her blood sugar all out of whack. We all thought it a good idea for me to sleep in the room with her so I could help her out during the night. The kids would be in the other room just to ensure Wrae the best nights sleep possible. The next morning we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast, got packed up and went to retrieve Ron from the hospital. It was pretty uneventful the rest of the way home. I drove a good chunk of the way that day.

Once back home we stopped by a KFC to pick up some dinner and go to my house. There we all ate and the rest of the party headed home. Due to the fact that Wrae and Ron had several doctor's appointments over the next couple of days, I volunteered to take my cousin's kids off of her hands so she wouldn't have to drag them along. She agreed so they spent the next night at our home. The next day I was going to return them but then Wrae had to go to the emergency room because she was so dehydrated and couldn't keep anything down so her blood sugar was all catywhompus, compounded by her severe injury. She ended up spending the next few days in the hospital. So Jenn's two kids (6 years and six months) spent another night with us. S2 had a blast with his older cousin and S2 and S3 absolutely adored the baby. We all had a good time.

Wrae's arm has healed but she missed six weeks of work for it to do so. But luckily she didn't need surgery. Ron also missed work, about four weeks, and apart from the broken ribs, was bruised pretty bad. I did go up and help out one Saturday, after Jenn left (she was here for about two weeks), with dishes and laundry. I even drove them to the lot where they purchased another car. They are both doing well now and even drove down to New Mexico and back this month to witness the sealing and blessing of Jenn and Aaron's baby, since the adoption was finalized in May. They even managed to do it without rolling their car.

So, in a nutshell, that's why I don't go on vacation. Out of the five days I was going to be gone, I was gone only two and a half. Of the time I was gone, only one day was actually a "vacation". I even became an instant mother of five for two days (thank goodness S1 was in school!) I would go on another trip, but I am afraid of what will happen!

We love our Aunties!

So, my boys just love their aunts to pieces. When Jen came to help on Saturday, S3 went chasing after her calling Jenny, Jenny, Jenny when he thought she was leaving. They were all thrilled when she showed up that morning. Then today as I was getting ready to take S3 to the doctor's, my sister showed up. S2 was excited to see her and I had just gotten S3 out of bed so he was out of it. Terraza, my sister, took S2 with her so they could get a treat and I could just drag one kid to the doctor's office. Today S1 had respite so I didn't have to worry about him. Although, it is a bummer to have to use respite time to take another child to the doctor. Anyway, we left first and Terraza and S2 left sometime afterwards. Well, first thing that S3 does when we walk through the front door is look around and say to me, "Where's Terraza?" I set him down on the couch as he continues to look around for her, repeating himself over and over, and I say, "She's not here." Boy, did he start to cry. When they, Terraza and her husband, Eric, come to drop off S2, I let her know she needs to come in and spend a few minutes with S3 after I told her what happened. So they sat and read a book together and that was good enough for him. As she left he stood and waved and said, "Bye bye Terraza".

S2 on the other hand had trouble separating from her because they hadn't done all the things he had wanted to yet, like play sorry and draw with sidewalk chalk. Life is hard. But he still had fun getting ice cream with her and eating dinner at her house.

They also love their aunt Katie and can't wait to see her in July and for her to come back for school this fall!

June, let's just skip it

That's how I felt way back in May, and amazingly enough, I still feel that way. During the last week in May I flipped my calendar over to look at June. I about died. Everyday had something on it. It looked as a calendar should by the end of a busy month, not the week before it begins. So, in my book, June would be a total wash. Okay, it wasn't all bad. For example, we went on vacation for a week. That was great but I could seriously have fallen asleep on May 31st to wake up on July 1st and been totally okay with that.

What could have been so bad? Well, for starters, Dave is gone for more than 1/4 of the month. S1 got out of school on May 30th, so he was home from then until extended school year started on June 11th. Now he is a very sweet kid, but he also has a very short attention span. Which means my assistance is needed anywhere from every 5 to 30 minutes depending what I can get him interested in, so you try accomplishing anything significant. It also means living in lockdown so he can't escape or turn the bathroom faucets on and flood the house. In addition working out in the yard can be somewhat limited if he refuses to go outside. As an added bonus, I also am trapped at home since I can't go anywhere really by myself with the three of them. At least I had the gym to look forward to in the afternoons, oh wait, I didn't! The car overheated on June 1st and was in the shop until June 7th. Our leaky radiator simply couldn't hold enough coolant to keep the engine from overheating in this hot weather so it was time to fix it. So no gym for me. Also, David was still working because his school didn't get out until the 8th. Even then the teachers' last day was the 11th, but due to our needing to leave on vacation on the 10th, Dave spent a lot of time the last few days of school and on Saturday and Sunday wrapping up so we could leave on time.

This would have been manageable except for one thing. Several months ago I was presented with the opportunity to help put together some historical books about our town's history and get paid for doing it from home. Basically I would scan pictures into the computer and insert them into the text and fix the layout. Well, it took longer than expected for the book to be finished and I got a call on the evening of the 6th asking if I could still work on the book....but it had to be to the publisher by June 27th. I said I could but that I would be out of town on vacation for a week. So from the 6th thru the 9th I worked several hours a day, while tending the boys. I could never have done it if they didn't play so well together and if S1 didn't love movies so much!

Needless to say I was ready for vacation by the time we left. I'll blog about our vacation later. Right now I'll continue to rant about our crazy June. Well, we got back into town early Saturday evening and I planned my primary lesson for the next morning (thank goodness it was an easy one, I have feelings). And I had to make sure everyone had Sunday clothes for the next morning since I'd be getting everyone ready on my own because Dave had to play with the orchestra every Sunday this month. Sunday was a bit of a breather but on Monday it was back to working on the book and getting caught up from vacation, paying bills, sorting mail, etc. Fortunately for me I not only had a working car, but S1 started ESY. I felt bad that he had missed the first week but it was the only time that Dave could make it on vacation. I would have much preferred going on vacation during a week where S1 didn't have ESY. Oh well, I can't have everything.

The next two days I worked on the book and since we'd been back from vacation, Dave had been helping the local marching band, teaching lessons, and getting ready for his trip. Tuesday, the 12th, I had a Neighborhood Board Meeting. Then at 6 am on Thursday Dave had a friend drive him to the airport and he won't be back until July 3rd. He's on tour with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They're going to Toronto, Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Memphis and Nashville. When people find out the say, " Oh, I bet that's fun!" What's my response? "Yeah, for him it is." For those of you who say I should get away, read some future post about my New Mexico vacation.

Anyway, so Dave left I was still working madly on the book. Also, swim lessons started the Monday we got back so I have been having fun with S3 at those. S2 has a lesson at the same time. We end this Thursday but then start up with the next level on Monday, what was I thinking? I have been released from Activity Days and am now the ward activity chairman. However, I have no committee and am supposed to use the heads of the priesthood committees as my committee. So I am busy trying to plan a fun Pioneer Day activity. Any suggestions? We meet tomorrow night.

To make this month even more psychotic, it's Strawberry Days! Our town used to produce a ton of strawberries, so many that the farmers just started to give them away. There is a rodeo, a couple of parades and a carnival. Well, S2 has talked about the Strawberry Days carnival ever since last year. I kid you not. He brings it up every two weeks. Well, until we made our vacation plans and Dave found out about going on tour, I had planned on taking S2 to the carnival, now I wasn't so sure.

Well, on Saturday my SIL came down to help me with the boys and the parade. It goes right by our home so luckily we don't have to drive. I just get up before 8 am and put our chairs out on our neighbor's lawn (with her permission of course!) Then we eat breakfast and wander over to our chairs once we here the police sirens at the beginning of the parade. The boys loved it and S1 did an excellent job this year of staying seated and not running after the passing bands. He needed to be reseated about every 15 or 20 minutes, but that is excellent for him. They all got candy and were happy. I ran to the store at the end of the parade and then my SIL went to get her hair done. When she came back we went to one of my friend's, from high school, child's birthday party. Now, although my friend is not latina, her husband is Mexican. So even though the kid was only turning four, there were probably around 75 people there and enough rice, beans, tamales, corn and watermelon to feed a small army. Apart from S2 crying because he couldn't get any candy from the broken pinatas (there were three) and S1 attacking the birthday cake (four feet long by two feet wide, pirate themed with ship and deserted island on top) five minute before we left and it was served, everything went reasonably well. We had to leave before presents were opened. However, we had been there for two and a half hours.

On our way home I had hoped that S2 would be too tired to still want to go to the carnival. When I asked him if he would be fine not going, he replied, no, I'll be fine going. Oh well I tried. I had to take him because I did not want to hear him cry for the next year about how he missed the carnival at Strawberry Days. So when we got home I ran down to the carnival (three blocks from our house) with him while my SIL took care of the other two. I bought him $9 worth of tickets and he got to go on the flying saucer, super slide, carousel, train ride, and a super fast spinning thing that I can't remember the name of. He got pretty scared on that last one but he toughed it out and didn't cry. When we got home I was pleasantly surprised that my SIL had gotten the other two all ready for bed. In fact, S1 may have already been asleep, I don't remember. We soon bid my SIL farewell. I am so grateful that she was willing to spend the day with us. The boys had a blast and they loved being with her. I could never have done it without her, so thank you Jen! Next year we won't plan anything around Strawberry Days so we can, hopefully, do it with Dad next year- and not be too pooped (and poor) from our vacation.

To make things even more exciting, this last Sunday the sunbeams were in charge of Sharing time! So I did that since I wasn't the one who had to teach our class later on. However, I did need the help of my co-teacher to gather some materials that were impossible for me to get while working on a book and dragging three kids along. Sharing time went great, I was just totally wiped out by the time we got home from church. I did not want to fix dinner and wished someone would call to invite us over or bring me a meal. Since that didn't happen, the boys had corn dogs and I had a bowl of cereal. Tonight I was talking with my aunt, who lives about 40 minutes away, and it dawned on me that I could have called her up and invited ourselves over for dinner. But at that point I was too brain dead and exhausted to have thought of that option. Oh well.

On Monday I finally finished with the book. I was finished with the layout last week but then the author asked if I could help proofread because her former proofreader had quit. I agreed and got the final print out done and disc made for the publisher. S1 had ESY again this week. ESY is for 18 days in the summer. We missed four of them while on vacation. It runs M-Th for three weeks this month and T-Th for two weeks in July. I had a lunch meeting today and I about had a breakdown when I couldn't find anyone to watch the boys. I started yesterday trying to find someone and had no luck. I didn't know that the girls in the ward had girls camp! Finally after calling like fifteen people, no exaggeration, I finally found someone. I desperately needed to get away and was about to breakdown when a neighbor rescued me. Thanks Cindy!

This morning when S3 woke up, he was a bit warm. We all were because I had turned off the cooler at night. Well, he wasn't acting normal at first so I gave him a little bit of Motrin and by 9 am was his normal perky self. So I went to the gym and we came home and went to swim lessons. Then they went to Cindy's (she doesn't have young kids, only teenagers and adults) and when I go back S3 was ready for a nap. Cindy had said that S2 and S3 were great and that S3 was just settling down to rest. So I took him home and put him to bed. He woke up very hot so I took him into the doctors figuring he had an ear infection. Well, when the nurse took his temp it was 104.8!!!! I couldn't believe it. I hadn't taken his temp because he had played with our ear thermometer and I can't find it at the moment. I felt so bad that I hadn't given him more Motrin before we left the house.

So the nurse got him some Motrin and I got some wet paper towels for his forehead, back of the neck, and back. After about ten minutes he showed interest in a book and his temp was down to 103.5. So the doctor checked him out. No ear infection, just swimmer's ear. Since that doesn't normally cause a fever he also swabbed his throat which was red, but that came back negative for strep (thank goodness). So the doctor says it's something viral so hopefully none of us will get it. It also means no swim lesson for S3 tomorrow. When I think of this morning's swim lesson I think, well, that's why they chlorinate the pool!

I guess I'll also have to cancel my gym appointment for tomorrow- and my visit teaching appointment for tomorrow. At least S2 can still do his swim lesson. I forgot to mention also that at the end of last week I, with some help from a neighbor, hooked up our secondary water for the lawn and garden. I also had our appliance guy come over and fix our swamp(evaporative) cooler so we don't die from the heat or keep wasting water. I've also been weeding the front yard and garden. I thinned out the corn and we actually have our first zucchini growing! I'm sure Dave will be thrilled to hear about that. He doesn't care for squash.

Oh, and sometime soon I am supposed to be receiving another volume in our town's history to proofread and do the layout on. And the city wants it to be done (printed and everything) by the second week in Septemer, the week of our town's birthday.

Now I think you can see why I thought it might be nice to fall asleep on May 30th and wake up to find it's July 1st. However, maybe I should just sleep until Aug 1st since we have a birthday this month for S2, a BIL leaving on a mission, two more weeks of swim lessons and now this book. So it looks like July will be busy too!

If we were Pentecostal....

If we were Pentecostal then I wouldn't have to struggle with S1 being disruptive at church. He'd fit right in with all his hand clapping and arm waving. Not to mention the speaking in tongues and sudden loud outburst. People would just think he was filled with the spirit! Today was great because as they were passing the sacrament he was singing Twinkle, twinkle little star - with the accompanying hand gestures, in a pretty audible voice. I think even the pentecostal's would have noticed.

I suggested to him that maybe he should at least sing I am a Child of God instead. I think he tried but was too caught up in his previous song so it came out as a mix of the two songs. S1 was pretty good the rest of the meeting, although you should have heard him belting it out during the first verse of the closing song, I Believe in Christ. That was a joyful noise. Nothing intelligible, but a joyful noise none the less.

To the pool

We had our first trip to the pool so far this season. It was me with the three boys. Dave had a gig and they were dying to go. S1 especially was ready to get out of the house. So with double stroller, life jacket (for S1) and water wings (for S2) we walked up the hill. I have to admit, it went rather smoothly. Most of that was only because S1 wanted to actually stay in the pool today (not visit the water slide or roll in the sand volleyball court) so we just trailed him. The other reason is that S3 actually enjoyed the water. Last year he was pretty leary of it and would get cold fast. This time he had a blast. The biggest struggle is that he wanted me to let go of him so he could "swim" like S1 and S2. Next time I have to remember to bring two life jackets. Especially since as I was leaving for the pool Dave said, "Don't let anyone drowned." Not that I would intentionally do so, but I think he was more scared than I was of having me go to the pool alone with the three boys! We are in for one fun summer.

A Very Slow Slow Cooker

So, I thought I would get a jump start on things today and throw a rump roast, peppers and onions in the slow cooker so we could have fajitas for dinner tonight. Great plan, except S1 got out of school early since it was the last day. By early I mean they had him home by 10:30 am! Yet I still managed to stick to my game plan.

I also managed to get the rest of the corn, tomatoes and cucumbers planted in my garden. Then it was time to go to the gym. Well, when we got back I took a look inside my slow cooker. To my utter horror I saw that the contents did not appear to be very cooked. That's when I looked at the knob and found that some little hand had switched it from Hi to Lo. Ahhhhh!!!! So my plans for dinner tonight have become my plans for dinner tomorrow night. Now I just have to figure out what to feed them now. Corn dogs anyone?

Run, Don't Walk

So, I just found the deal of a lifetime at Wal-Mart. Okay, maybe not the deal of the century but still a great bargain. S1 and S3 both wear the same size diaper even though there are 5 1/2 years between the two of them. This afternoon I discovered that I was down to my last four diapers. I normally buy a box of size 6 diapers every 2 weeks or so. Since Dave has a gig tonight I knew I had to make the diaper run before S1 got home. Down to the Wal-Mart I ran with S2 and S3 and made a bee line for the diapers. Of course they were all out of the boxes! And all out of size 6, in the brand that I usually buy, on the shelf. Luckily I checked the center aisle. There they had, on clearance no less, mega packs of size 6 diapers --- for only $7!!!!! So, I bought every last package they had out! All ten of them. I figure that should hold me for a while. And should S1 happen to potty train before then, I shall simply be grateful. For those of you who want to know just how good my deal was, here's the break down.

Usual box of diapers: 64 for $15.46
Clearance Mega Pack: 52 for $7 (usual price $12.74)

So, for 520 diapers I paid $70. Normally this would have cost me $126 so I saved $56 on diapers. Hooray. There's not even a coupon out there that could hold a candle to this deal. If you've got kids in diapers, maybe you want to run, not walk, down to your Wal-Mart and see if they've got this killer deal for you too!

The only downside to this tale is this: if the diapers are on clearance, does that mean they are getting rid of my favorite brand? Sniff, Sniff. I guess I'll have to wait and see, hopefully they are only changing the packaging.

P.S. It's the White Cloud brand.

I can't wait

Okay, this post has absolutely nothing to do with my kids. It's all about me. I am so excited for two things this summer. First, the new Harry Potter movie. The Order of the Phoenix has been my favorite book in the entire series so far so I am totally pumped to see it. Second, the new Harry Potter book. I know that when it comes out I will be at the evil empire, Wal-Mart, at midnight to buy the book at that lovely roll back price. Then I will stay up as long as my eyes will remain open, devouring it's pages. Dave will have to stay home all the next day while I eat, sleep and breathe Harry Potter. Until I finish the book all diapers can wait! Dave will also have to teach Sunbeams on Sunday because, although I will not skip church to read Harry Potter (it will take all my willpower to do so) I will be so tired from staying up all night reading that I will not be coherent enough to teach, just awake enough to tell the kids to sit back down and be reverent! Or if I'm really lucky one of my kids will be sick so I can stay home and read while they sleep. No, I'm not really wishing that, okay, maybe just a little bit. I should be done reading it by Sunday night. Then Dave can start the book. But, whenever he's not, I'll probably grab it and read through it again! That's what he gets for marrying a speed reader. Or maybe we'll just buy two copies and when were finished donate the extra one to the library. I'm sure they've got a waiting list!

Climbing like a monkey

So, we were at the zoo about a month or so ago and we were in the kid's discovery land, or in other words, playground. S1 amazed me by climbing up a rope ladder, getting on the platform and then zipping down the slide. This really should have prepared me for where I found him the other day. His motor development has come a long way.

S3 was down for a nap. I could hear the bunk bed squeaking because someone was shaking it (it's a huge metal beast). I assumed that S2 was up there goofing around and my ire was instantly up since I did not want him to wake up S3. So I go storming down the hall, totally unprepared for what I saw when I opened the door. There was S1 on the top bunk, having the time of his life! It's amazing how easily entertained he can be at times. Anyway, I was stunned, the ire quickly disappeared and was replaced with wonder. We've had that bunk bed up for at least six months now and I do not recall, even once seeing S1 interested in climbing up to the top! But there he was. Luckily I was able to easily convince him to come to me and I lifted him down. However, when the babysitter was here that night she found him up there twice more!

As David said, "That'll teach you to leave the ladder leaning against the house!" Yeah, just what we need, S1 on the roof. FYI, I only do that in the front yard where the kids can't get to it. Even if they couldn't climb it, they could still knock it over and get hurt.

But back to the climber. My main concern now that he can climb up is how he will get down. I can just picture S1 just bailing over the side to get down. Maybe today we'll work with him to try and teach him how to properly dismount. Now that I think about it, S1 may have been inspired by his brothers antics. The other day Dave put S3 up on the top bunk with S2 and they had a riot together up there for a while, attended by a parent of course. Now S3 goes to the bed and begs to be put back up on top, although I refuse because I don't have all day to sit in their room and watch him play on the top bunk. Maybe S1 saw all this, even though you don't think he is paying attention or cares, and began to think, "Hey, maybe there is a reason to get up there, it looks like fun! I should give it a try."

SO unfair

Okay, I realize that life is in no way fair. But sometimes it just kills me how unfair it can be. I just read this article, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18660812/ , on msnbc about how they are starting to figure out ways to diagnose autism in infants. Great. What killed me and made me cry was reading that the state of California PAYS the $70,000 a year needed for intense therapy that so often helps kids with autism to function much closer to "normal". Why does a child born in one state reap such benefits when those in another get almost none? Aren't we all supposed to be part of the same great nation? Dave and I were both born and raised in California, our parents still live there. We got transplanted due to school and job availability in California (slim pickin's for music teachers as most programs had been cut). During the time that S1 would have received this intervention, it wasn't even possible for us to live in California due to Dave's schooling.

It's so frustrating to know that because we didn't have $50,000 to $70,000 for therapy every year for three years that S1's development may have been hampered for the rest of his earthly life. I know that we did all we could for him at the time and that the Lord will bless S1 and us to deal with whatever comes our way, but sometimes the injustice of it all is overwhelming. Thanks for letting me vent. If we ever have another child and they are autistic, guess where we are moving back to?

Medic Alert

S1 now has a medic alert bracelet. His grandpa has one and since he had a discount for a family member, generously purchased a bracelet and one year membership for S1. So, the next time he "escapes", people will be able to identify him. He got a cool sports band with music notes on it, not that he has noticed mind you. S1 has definitely noticed the bracelet, he has tried to rip it off a few times, but I don't think he has paid any attention to the notes yet. He hates wearing things like bracelets.

It gives me more peace of mind. But people constantly amaze me. Like a couple of weeks ago at church. I sat him down, right next to his teacher, she knew he was there. I then went to prep my Sunbeam class room and lesson, Dave was playing with the orchestra. When I went back into the primary room, I looked at S1's class and he was not there. I asked his teacher, "Where's S1?" She said, "Huh?"

He was no where in the primary room! Right outside the primary room there is a set of double doors going outside. Apparently his teacher had thought someone was missing but couldn't think who wasn't with the class. S1 just slipped out when she wasn't looking I guess, it's happened to me. Anyway, so I immediately am worried he's gone outside but I couldn't see anyone when I opened the doors. So I headed back down to the chapel where he likes to sneak off and play the piano. No luck. As I was headed back outside, someone called that they found him.

He had gone across the hall into the Sunday School room. He was sitting next to a sister looking at her baby's book. No one in there bothered to wonder what a primary kid was doing in Sunday School, without a parent, just hanging out. Or to come and tell anyone in the primary, or find his parent! We've been in the ward for over 2 1/2 years people! The ward isn't that big, we are rather small. So anyway, it just amazes me how apathetic people can be. It just makes me realize how much danger S1 will be in if he does get out in the world alone because if the people who know him and know his disabilities are so apathetic, what can you expect of those who don't?

Budding Artist

What is worse than having a two year old who has discovered that your walls are his canvas? Having a seven year old autistic kid who discovered the same thing! Now my walls, especially the kitchen ones, are covered in all sorts of lovely designs. Luckily the markers are washable, so that damage is minimal. It's when they've grabbed the crayons or a ball point pen that we have the main problem. Sure, magic eraser gets off the crayon, but the ball point pen can be more difficult. Maybe I'll try rubbing alcohol tomorrow. But what's the point because as soon as I am putting my cleaning supplies away the little artist will be at it again!

Life in the Fast Lane

We're only in the fast lane, or maybe it would be better said the slow lane because everything is just speeding by! I can't believe that we are already in May. Wow. Lately I've been stressed with my calling because all three boys are home while I try to run Activity Days. Managing six girls ages 8 and 9 and trying to help them learn something worthwhile while having fun is a challenge in and of itself. But when you throw one boy in who is constantly interrupting and two more who think they are activity day girls and want to participate, it can almost drive you insane! By the end of July I will have eleven girls due to new move ins and birthdays. It shall be an adventure.

My calling as a Sunbeam teacher has been a stretch too. Dave has been playing with the orchestra a lot for the broadcast so he's missed quite a few Sundays. By the time I get the boys ready for church and wrangle them all through Sacrament meeting, my patience is pretty thin when I get to my seven wriggly sunbeams. Having to police them while teaching wears thin. Don't worry, I don't swear at the sunbeams, but I definitely am drained by the time we get home on our day of "rest".

S1 has been gaining weight now that we have dropped the Zonegran. It's only a couple of pounds but he sure looks healthier. He loves school. He really enjoyed having his aunt Katie around last week because she kept playing the flute. It was a bit shrill for his tastes (he prefers the tuba) but he still liked it none the less. One of his math goals is to match like objects. He has been matching silverware at school so now his chore at home is to put away the silverware. I of course have to stand behind him so he doesn't run away, but when I hand him a spoon, fork or butter knife, he puts it in the right slot in the drawer. Well, he pretty much chucks it at the right slot so it makes it half way in and then I straighten it. We'll work on accuracy later. He just needs to have a chore to do.

S2 is quick as a whip. He's enjoyed visiting with his cousin Lorna this last month. Since she left he talks about going with her to the reptile museum, the animal farm and the zoo. She is a year older and very bright too. The only down side to the visit is that he heard how well she reads. Afterwards he didn't want to read because he couldn't do it as well as Lorna. It took a few days before we could convince him to read again, assuring him that he read very well for his age (4) and that when he was a year older like his cousin, if he kept practicing, he'd be reading just as well as her.

S3 is no longer my baby. He turned two last week and is one rough and tumble kid. S2 and S3 love to wrestle and rough house. I am forever telling them to calm down. This also meant that I finally took his bottle away. He only got two a day, one at nap time and one at bedtime. Oh how it broke my heart when he cried for his ba ba so I caved a little and let him have one filled with water. He yelled NO! and wanted nothing to do with it. So I just left it next to him and let him know that if he changed his mine it was there. He's such a sweet kid, always giving hugs and saying "tank two".

Dave is doing well at school, having a blast teaching. He also loves playing with the orchestra. Dave is also part of a couple of groups so he plays weddings and other gigs a couple times a month. Currently he has the opportunity to be the Assistant Marching Band Director at BYU but we aren't sure it would work out well for our family. It is full time for six months only (July 1 to December 31) and then nothing. Then to be repeated year after year as long as they/we wanted. Of course Dave would give his right arm (and possibly his wife's also) for this opportunity but we'd have to figure out what he could do to support us from January to June! As Dave has said, he loves to do everything and it's hard not to be able to do it all. Well, isn't life hard? ;)

There's the short version of what we are up to. I'll write about my "vacation" later.

New Photos

I have posted new photos from S1's birthday and from Christmas. More updates will follow, how soon you never know!

Learning New Words

I read this article on Yahoo earlier today and thought I would post the link for all to read. It talks about how autistic kids have trouble learning new words compared to other kids. Yet they can still distinguish between real words and fake words. Enjoy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070504/hl_hsn/autistickidshavedifficultieslearningwords

It's about time

Yep, that's why I haven't blogged in a while - it's about time. And time is the one commodity that I have even less of than money! Hard to believe isn't it. To catch everyone up to speed in a much abbreviated version of my life, March went like this. First week- throw bridal shower for my sister, take the three boys to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and California Adventure with David's high school choir and steel drum band (riding the charter bus to and from - I also got to see Wicked thanks to college friends who watched the boys). Second week- get the flu and spend the entire week in bed, hardly able to move and escort sister through temple and attend sealing/reception (luckily at the end of the week so I was doing MUCH better by then). Third week- recover from the flu and the horrible sinus garbage that it left me with and get back to the gym since I had a two week hiatus, attend Neighborhood Board Meeting. Fourth week- pull together my assignment on my mission reunion committee-refreshments-and attend reunion.

So that's it in a tiny nutshell. S1 has had his medications adjusted and now we are watching to see if he will start gaining weight. He is seven years old and weighed 40.8 pounds as of March 17th. To compare, S2 is 4 and 1/2 and weighs 43 pounds and S3 who is 2 (on May 2nd) weighs 32 pounds. You know the kid is too skinny when he and the "baby" wear the same size diaper! I am constantly trying to get S1 to eat, which he usually does. He also gets to eat more cookies than anyone else because he needs them!

Speaking of which, I am doing well with going to the gym. So far since I started going at the end of December, I have lost 15 pounds and 2.5 % body fat. On Saturday I am off to New Mexico to visit a cousin, so we'll see where I am at when I get back and have to weigh in! Ha. Good luck to me.

Amazing Vocabulary

Okay, maybe amazing isn't the right word, but S2 always amazes me with the words he knows and how he chooses to use them. Today S1 was feeling a bit under the weather and was cuddling in my lap, still dressed in his pajamas. S2 comes into the room and looks at us and asks, "Mom, why does S1 have a large hole in his pajamas?" FYI, he was wearing pj's with feet on them and the hole was in the bottom of one of the feet. I said that it was because S1 had just worn them out. I just got a kick out of the fact that S2 would use the word large to describe the hole. Later on I was playing with S1 and discovered that both feet have holes in the bottom, and one is twice the size of the other, hence the need for S2 to say large hole instead of just hole!

Now we're cookin'!

S1 loves the stove, which wouldn't be such a problem if he wasn't autistic and prone to drop seizures. He also loves to watch cooking shows, the blue flame below the pot and stir whatever he possibly can. So tonight was a special treat for him, getting to help dad make spaghetti. I must say he did better than I expected. It's still cooking but S1 helped by putting salt in the water (hand over hand with dad), putting the lid on the pot of water (by himself), helping dad get the frozen hamburger from the big freezer in the garage, putting it in the microwave and adding the spaghetti to the boiling water, stirring it and getting the lid back on. In the meantime I was washing dishes. It was great to see my two guys working together and the tenderness that Dave has with S1.