pure + simple

Stinking pigs.

Things have been crazy in this here house. Crazy and messy and sick. I pride myself on being the world's biggest hypochondriac. I think everything is worse than it is. I think I'm going to catch everything. I know symptoms and prognoses and treatments for many an ailment. But I don't get sick. Not really sick. 

Until the stinking pig flu. 

I'm assuming that's what we had. Madelyn and Christopher got sick within a day of each other. Christopher had it a bit worse, and was tested for the flu. Came back positive. So we assume that Madelyn had the same thing. Sam got a touch of something about 5 days later. Not as bad, but still a sick Sam. They all got better. I thought I had it beat. After all those days being coughed on and sneezed on I was still hanging in there. Not a tickle in my throat. Just when I thought I was out...it got me. 

Ten days. TEN DAYS. I can't remember the last time I've been sick like that. I'm still fighting some lingering post nasal yuckiness and the cough that will.not.end.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we've all been through the worst of it. We have just less than two weeks until our vacation. It's the only thing that kept me going through those ten days. 

Did I mention I was SICK FOR TEN STINKING DAYS?!!

Other than that, everything's great. Now that I have had the giant bubble installed around my house we'll all be just fine.

Questions and more questions...

Wow it's been a long time since I posted last...

Lately, I seem to be answering more and more questions around the house. What is he doing? Why did he do that? What is he going to do now?

This would normally be not a huge deal, maybe a bit annoying, except that all of these questions are coming from Christopher. 

Part of the deal with Christopher's Asperger's Disorder, is that he has a really hard time with social language. It's hard for him to strike up a conversation. It's hard to get him to answer questions, and really hard for him to formulate questions. So the constant stream of why, what, when, how, that I'm getting these days is exciting. And exhausting. Because with each answer I give comes another question. 

It's such a new thing for us, that Madelyn doesn't even notice that he's asking her something sometimes. He'll ask her a question and she'll just go about her business. You know, how sometimes little brothers are just background noise? That's what she's used to. She's not used to having him address her directly. So I have to constantly remind her, "Answer him, he's asking you a question." 

So, the other day, as I'm picking up Madelyn from religious education class, Christopher asked her, "What did you do in church school, Madelyn?" I waited. "I learned things." Awesome, I thought, she's finally listening. Then, of course, came the follow-up question, "Like about God and Cheeses?" 

Priceless.

It's the second most wonderful time of the year.

September.

My favorite month of the year. Not counting December. December is an obvious choice because of all the holiday hoopla. But aside from the holidays, my vote is for September. School starts, new clothes, fresh school supplies. Crisp mornings, warm afternoons and breezy evenings. Fabulous. 

It also happens to be the month of my birthday. I swear that has nothing to do with it.

I am loving the kids' new schedule. Madelyn and Christopher are both at the same school now, so I don't have the extra early bus pickup. And Sam is in afternoon school, so there are only two to rush out the door in the morning. Plus, I'm able to do my errands and spend some time with him, and when he's off to school I can use my afternoons to get other stuff done, or not. It's very, very good. I'm trying to enjoy it because next year it gets crazy all over again. Three different schools and three different schedules. I'm blocking it out of my brain.

Sam being at home in the mornings with me has been nice for both of us. He has taken to sneaking his brother's Nintendo DS and playing with it. This would not be tolerated if said brother was home. I keep a watchful eye, but let him have at it. Frees up the computer for me. 

In other brother news...Christopher lost his first tooth. Literally. It's lost. It was there for the morning brushing, but by bedtime it was gone. We suspect it was lost with the chicken nuggets. Yuck. Better for him that he didn't notice it, though. He was a bit freaked out about what would happen. Unfortunately the tooth next to it is barely hanging on. So maybe pizza for dinner? Hot dogs? I don't think it will survive the weekend.

And you'll notice that his new teeth are growing in right behind his baby ones. Not sure how that's all gonna work out. Stay tuned. 

So facebook is messing with my blog...

All my computer time, as of late, has been spent on facebook. Although this summer, I haven't been able to get on the computer as much as I'd like. See, I now have three children who enjoy using the computer. The little guy is now playing on it as much as the older two. I'm not exactly sure where he figured out how to navigate the internet, I'm thinking maybe now kids are born with this ability. I think he's the youngest of my bunch. He goes on my facebook account and plays my games. So if you happen to frequent my facebook page and you see something like, "Deb is playing Pet Society." or "Deb has just reached her weekly high score in Bowling Buddies." it's not me. It's him. I swear.

School has started, and it seems the weather has changed already. I'm craving hot cocoa and pumpkin spiced lattes, and I'm digging through the kids dressers to find long sleeves and pants that fit. I love this weather, I just wasn't expecting it for a few more weeks. The kids started off the school year (almost) happily. Madelyn started fourth grade and is happy to be one of the big kids at school.

Christopher started 1st grade, at his new school. This is a huge transition for him. He's been at the same school with the same teachers since he turned three. He was not as excited as the other two, but he made it through the first week with only a couple of bumpy days. Each day was better than the one before. By Friday his report was filled with happy faces.

I know every day won't be perfect, but he's doing such a great job coping with all of these changes. For a kid like Christopher, this was a huge deal. I am super proud, and I think he is too.

Nine

A few days late, but that's what happens in the summertime.

My baby girl turned nine on Saturday.

It was a weekend long extravaganza. Starting on Friday, when the girls had a night out to see Demi Lovato  (move over Hannah Montana) in concert. It was loud and crazy and fun.

Saturday, her actual birthday, was quiet, we spent the day preparing for her family birthday party. Her dinner of choice...

And of course, on Sunday, the big family party, with the homemade cake and food and presents. 

And the blowing out of candles. 

All in all it was a fabulous weekend. 

Happy Birthday, sweetie. I'm so very proud of you. You are smart, kind and beautiful. You're a great and

loyal friend, and a fabulous big sister and wonderful mama to your puppies. I love you to pieces.

Happy Belated Birthday, America!

Just a simple, sweet celebration. Hanging with family. Playing with the cousins. Avoiding the rain. Eating yummy food. Watching the fire, I mean, fireworks...

It's summer again...

Which means so many things. It means that my days are longer. Way, way longer. For the next three weeks, I have to get up even earlier, because the boys are in summer school, which starts a half hour earlier than regular school. Who was the genius who thought that would be a good idea? Once summer school's over, I'm sure they'll still get up early. It's one of those built-in kid things, you know, how they only want to stay in bed when you need them to get up NOW, but when you think you could sleep in for a minute longer they wake up like an hour before anyone needs to. I'm sure it's in the wiring.

Summer also means that I'm sure I'll hardly touch this blog until, probably August. When I'm pulling my hair out and needing to vent a bit. Take that back, that could happen by the end of the month. Anyway, we don't have much in the way of "structured" activities this summer. I had the brilliant idea that I would be more active with the kids, we'll go to the park, the zoo, out on playdates. You know, normal stuff. Stuff that I didn't feel like doing last summer. I guess I"m bound and determined to exhaust myself completely by September. What the heck was I thinking? We'll just see how it works out.

I also wanted to brag about my no longer a Kindergartener boy. We attended his Kindergarten graduation ceremony this week. I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I knew he'd been practicing the songs, and he'd been working out the "choreography," but I also know that if a big crowd starts applauding and woo-hooing, he tends to get a little overwhelmed and emotional. If it happens after "happy birthday" it's bound to happen here. Well, it turns out that my little man has a love of the spotlight that I never knew about.  He got up on stage, sang his little heart out (along with all the appropriate "moves") and never let that smile leave his face. He honestly looked like he was having the time of his life. And when the applause came, the smile got even bigger. He loved it. I even got to be the parent with the kid who yells, "Hi, Mama!" It was fabulous. And then, as he came down the stairs when his name was called, he looked over at me and said, "Mom, I love you!" I nearly melted into the ground. I am so proud of this little boy my heart could just burst. He works his little butt off at school. He's super smart, but holding it together all day everyday is tough. And he's doing great. Just look at him.

His teacher has been with him since he was barely 3 years old. Next year he'll be moving to a new school, with all new teachers. It's going to be rough for all of us. But he's faced every new situation with more bravery than I could have imagined. He's braver than I am, that's for sure. 

So, I'm starting off the summer with high hopes. My plan is to have fun, enjoy my time with the kids, and drink lots and lots of coffee.

Why can't I keep up?

Haven't been able to keep up with much of anything lately. The blog is only one piece of the ever growing pie. It's not like I don't have anything to talk about. I can always find something to talk about. Like how I messed up my foot trying to be all athletic, so now I've been off the treadmill for nearly three weeks. And like how cortisone shots in your heel really aren't as bad as you think they are. So, Señor Treadmill, I'll be back next week.

I could also talk about how my poor middle boylie has been having a rough time of it at school lately. I think he's burned out, but unfortunately school is not something I'm willing to let him quit. His teachers think he's got some anxiety about moving on to first grade. This is a move that will take him to a new school, with all new faces. Luckily for us, it is our home school, and his sister is there as well. And I've met the teachers, and I know the staff there and I think he will love it. But for now, I think he's just a bit stressed. Which means lots of tears. So, hopefully after a nice break he'll be ready to go. Yesterday was our field trip to the carnival. He looks forward to this all year, and next year they will be going without parent chaperones, so I enjoyed every minute of it this year.

My big girl is moving on to fourth grade. This is what scares me. Fourth grade. That's big kids. The biggest kids in the school. She has decided not to attend the fourth grade gifted program next year. She loved it this year, when it was only one day a week. But next year, it moves her over to a new school for her fourth grade year. We went back and forth about whether we should just tell her it wasn't an option to not do it. But she has had such positive experiences in school so far, we figured it was more important for her to be happy at school, and not stressed. She'll be fine, I'm confident in that. She's an awesome kid, super smart and a great student. Come fifth grade she'll be taking classes at her ability levels anyway, so I'm not going to force her into something she's not ready for.  She's finishing up soccer and seems to like it. I've been asked not to post her picture on the blog, so I thought I could probably get away with this.

And the little bug, well, he's doing just fine in his early childhood class, he'll stay where he is at least until the end of the year, when he's reevaluated. He loves school, loves his teachers and loves taking the bus. And he's so stinkin' cute I can't stand it.

And my whole project 365 picture a day project has not been going so well either. Totally can't keep up with that. So much for 365, looks like maybe project 273? Who knows. I take plenty of pictures. Ask my hard drive.

So, looking forward to summer, grateful for the change in weather, and hoping to someday feel a bit more caught up. I said, hoping.

Oh, hello, May.

What the heck happened to April? That went by super quick. 

So. What's been going on?   

Much of the same, actually. Kids stuff, house stuff, working out, staying on top of my program (except for a little chocolate incident at Easter, but we don't need to get into that). Truckin' along.

Middle boy having a bit of school stuff. We're working on it. I think he'll be okay. Just one of those end of the year things, where we're all just. plain. tired.

Big girl started spring soccer. It's kinda fun sitting in the bleachers watching her play. Except on muddy days when I have to keep the little one from rolling around like a mud-lovin' pig.

Oh, speaking of pigs, there's that swine flu thing going around. It's all I can do to keep my hypochondriac self from going insane. Actually, I'm doing fine. I stopped watching the news and everything got better.

Little boy is talking up a storm. He's finally in the question asking stage. As in, "Mom, where are you going? Mom, what are you doing? Mom, what are you eating? Mom, are you taking a shower? Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM, MOM!!!!  Fun. 

Excited for summer. I've decided to take a less is more approach to signing the kids up for activities this summer. Got kinda tired of dragging people to stuff that costs way too much money. Going back to basics this summer. We'll see how it goes. Talk to me mid-July.

That's about it, for now. Oh, except one more thing...

I'M GOING TO DISNEYWORLD!!!

AGAIN!!

Oh, yes, my family is coming too. I wouldn't just go to Disneyworld by myself. Maybe when they're all grown up...

Can't get my brain to work.

It's been one of those weeks (or two) where I have thoughts spinning in my head about what needs to get done now and what's coming up. Too much stuff floating around up there and not enough brain cells left after 8 years of sleep deprivation to sort it all out. So not much to blog about. 

Easter was nice.

I love hard boiled eggs. It's a good thing, too, because if I didn't eat them they'd still be sitting in my fridge until I remembered to throw them out. 

I ate way too much chocolate.

So did the children. Except Sam, he's a Skittles boy.

Had Christopher's 1st grade IEP meeting. He starts 1st grade in the fall, and they want him to spend more time in regular ed. classes than special ed. I think it's great. The more you nudge him, the better he does. I just can't believe he's starting 1st grade.

Lots of stuff to do at the kids' school. Busy busy. 

And a picture from Easter, because when you can get three children to look in the same direction for .7 seconds, it's nice to show them off.

And they're all clean and shiny, too.