Zoo day!

Today we went to the zoo, the park, and to the library. We also stopped to see my sister at work. We even walked in on some old people doing yoga in the cafeteria, lol.

Everyone really had a nice day. Here a couple pics from the day. I got some really cute ones! I even added one of the new piggie at the zoo and one of my haircut. I cannot get a good picture of myself to save my life. I always close one or both eyes.

I got the best haircut and color yesterday!

My neice Mandy did it, and it looks great. It's shorter and a little darker. She gave me some tips with the flat iron too. When I get a good picture I'll post one. I took about 5 and they all looked awful.

I'm sitting here right now eating junk. We have tons of treats around! Gotta get moving!

My kids are sneaky....

And I'm just finding this out, lol!

Here are 2 examples:

Every time I open a soda and set it down, Parker picks it up and starts drinking it.

Molly wants an extra kiss every time I have on lipstick. She wants to have some on herself. What a sneak!

Sneaky little twerps!

Ahhh, peace and quiet....

The kids are in bed and quiet, yay! They have been so talkative and rambunctious lately. Is it time for school again yet? Darn!

Parker has been on a roll about monster trucks. His favorite driver is Frank S. that drives "Big Dummy" monster truck. He has been bugging me to look on the internet for more pictures of his truck. I found a few today and now he thinks I can find more. He keeps saying, "We'll look later, we'll look later". Grrrr....I don't want to look later. It took me forever to find the ones I found.

We all had a really nice Christmas. I think the "Christ" was the only thing missing from it. We didn't go to church and it seemed all about presents. Next Christmas will be different.

We opened presents at home Christmas morning, which was great. Then later we went to my sister Sherie's house for more presents and lunch. It was fun and everyone had a good time and got really nice presents. I got 2 framed awesome pics of the kids from my sister and bil. My bil takes the best pictures! He did them in black and white and they capture the kids perfectly. I am so happy with them. I can't get good pictures of Parker, so this is amazing for me to have!

The only bad part about being at my sisters was Parker. He was obsessed with the fact that he didn't want my great nephew there. He wasn't there, but Parker didn't believe me. He kept asking and asking if he was coming. He's a few months younger than Parker, but he kind of bullies him. Parker remembers it from last Christmas. It took about an hour to convince him he wasn't coming. Towards the end Parker buddied up to my other bil and nephew. He also loved on my sisters dogs and was so sweet and loving with them. Usually he is scared of them, so this was great.

Later in the evening we went to my sisters in-laws house. We had a nice dinner and played a game and talked. The only bad part about this is that Parker hit my bil's father in the stomach really hard. He was playing, but he caught him by surprise. I was really embarrassed. I'm going to have to crack down on the hitting thing, even if it is just playing.

He tricked me that night. He came whining over to me and said, "My toe hurts!". I told him to let me see it. Then he said, "Wait, I don't have toes, where's my toe?" I was like, which toe is it? Then he said, "I need a hug." I was like, that is so sweet. Poor guy, I wonder what's wrong with his toe. Then Molly says, "Mom, that's a line from Shrek, one that Donkey says". Lol! What a nut. He had me really convinced.

Here are a ton of pics. Please excuse all the red eye. Like Parker's Batman pj's? He loves them! They even have a cape. I let him wear them all day Christmas.

Parker, looking at his loot.

Parker and my sister Sherie's dogs.

My Mom and Neice and great nephew.

Molly and her doll.

Parker dressed in his Batman pjs.

Molly and her new Jackets.

Molly and her Barbie stuff.

Molly and my great neice Autumn.


My bil Dave, who takes all the pictures.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope its great for all of you!

I have presents to wrap and stockings to fill. I just thought I'd get on here for a minute and update.

Lots of Christmas stuff going on. The kids and Bobby have 2 weeks off. Parker is ok about Santa coming tonight. He even took a drink of Santa's coke and licked his cookie. He wanted me to leave Santa Coke instead of milk. Wonder why, lol. We read the night before Christmas and then I put "The Santa Claus" on for them to watch.

Today we made more Santa bread, oreo bon bons and more choc. dipped pretzels. We went to see my Mom today also. She had lots of goodies to eat and treats for the kids. It was really sweet. I brought her a few things too.

Here a few pics from when the kids saw Santa at their uncles house, a pic of the lazy cat and a pic of our cookies and Coke from tonight. Notice the cookie moving away, lol.

Good times...

We've been having a really nice time lately. We've had lots of fun things to do. Last night we went to Bobby's side of the family's Christmas exchange. We usually go before Santa comes and then come back or don't come until Santa leaves there. It's because Parker is afraid of him usually. This year he wasn't that afraid and wanted to see him. Santa was loud and did a lot of "Ho ho hoing". Parker didn't seem to mind though. Santa asked him if he wanted to pull his beard to see if it was real. Boy, Parker gave it a good yank. Santa even yelped a little, lol. Parker patted his belly too. I am so proud of that boy! Molly looked beautiful and Parker was adorable. It was a great time. For my present I got a new cake and cupcake pan. Yay! I'll post pics soon!

Joy

Joy is what I'm feeling today.

Above is an old picture of Parker after Christmas. I just love this pic but I forgot to publish the touched up one. Nothing like a road cone up the nose!

Busy day...

I'm going to post about what I'm going to do today since I have nothing better to talk about, lol.

Here is what I'm doing:

Clean up the house.
Pick the kids up early from school.
Take them to see Santa at the Regional center.
Meet ABA worker back at the house.
Make cookies for Parker's teachers.
Make candy wreath for Parkers teacher.

Ok, that's about it but it seems like a lot to me. Lets not forget snack, baths, dinner, bedtime routine, etc.

I hope everyone has a nice day!

Our outing to the snow

We had such a nice time in the snow yesterday! We went with my sister Ronda and my brother in law Dave.

We were afraid there wouldn't be much snow, but there was tons. We even saw a few people we knew up there.

It was super cold. We were pretty oakey too, since we don't go to the snow much. We used a cardboard box, a plastic tub lid and a laundry basket for a sled. We also used socks for gloves for Parker since he only had one pair of gloves to use. He went through two pairs of socks and one pair of gloves. I have got to get him mittens. (Next week we are buying mittens and a sled so we can go again)

We all had on like 3 layers of clothes. The only ones that stayed dry were Bobby, Ronda and Dave. Parker loved falling in the snow, so of course he got wet. Molly fell down accidently and got wet and I fell down on my own, lol. I tried to show Parker how to make a snow angel but the snow wasn't thick enough in the spot we were in. When I had him lay down and move his arms, he moved them in the air, lol.

Bobby built a snowman and so did Ronda and Dave. I helped Bobby with the face and decorations. Molly didn't get a chance to build one because she was working on something else, and boy was she mad.

The kids and I had a good time trying out our make shift sleds. The only one that really worked was the laundry basket. Molly and Parker enjoyed that. I got so tired walking up and down the hill with them. Whew. I let Bobby take over after a while. That's also when I slipped and fell. Fun fun.

Finally Parkers little hands and face were getting too cold. He wanted to get in the car. We had been out quite a while so I said we should probably go.

Molly threw an all out fit. She was really ticked that she didn't get to make a snowman. We would have stayed in the car and let her if she hadn't thrown such a fit. We also played a nice rousing game of "Parker ruins everything!" game with her. It's my all time favorite. Needless to say her mouth got her grounded today with chores.

She was fine once we got her home and into a nice bath.

Afterwards my sister helped me with my problem shelf. It looks so much better. Later Molly and I put the ornaments on the tree. We couldn't put many on, though, because it's in a corner and you can't really get to the back.

Here are a few pics....
The kids in the snow.

Our snowman, lol. Notice the kids wrestling in the background.


Family in the snow.


My sister Ronda, bil Dave, and their dogs Scotty and Angel.

A letter to my family; "Say Hello to Mr. Cup."

Dear family,

I would like you all to say hello to Mr. Cup. Mr. Cup will be with you for the day, each day. I would like you to keep Mr. cup with you, no matter what you drink. Choose wisely when you pick your Mr. Cup as he will be with you all day. You will be using him and only him all day for your beverages. What you say, what if I need to drink something else? Well, Mr. Cup can be rinsed out and you can use him again. I am introducing Mr. Cup because all of us, including myself, have been using like 5 cups a day. When I look at my counter that was clean on Saturday, I now see lots of dishes, but mostly cups. So, from now on I want you to try and use only 1 cup a day. Please give your poor mother a break from washing cups!

Long time no post, hehe.

It seems like I've had too much to do every day to post. Not only that but when the kids are home I have to fight them for the computer. We've done a lot of fun things this week though, also.

Friday night we went to a lighted truck parade in our town. It was short, but nice. Both kids really enjoyed it. Afterwards we went to look at Christmas lights. It made me almost want to cry. I thought back to when Parker was 3 and we went to look at Christmas lights. Parker wouldn't look at them really and didn't say anything about them. I felt so sad that day, thinking Parker would never look at the lights or be able to talk about them. Now all my wildest dreams have come true for him. He pointed at lights, looked at them and even talked about what he saw. I am so thankful to God for that. Anyone that has a child with autism, don't give up. There is hope even when you don't think so.

Today we went to a free movie put on by our towns businesses. They give out free tickets for an older Christmas movie. We were supposed to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. When we got there we were a little late. They gave out drinks to all the kids. They would have gave out popcorn too but they had a problem with the popcorn maker. We tried one room and they said it was full. We tried another and then heard it was full too. All of a sudden we heard a "Psst psst" and then a "come here". The owner of the theatre said they were out of room for the chipmunk movie but they were going to let the rest of the people see their regular 10:30 movie instead. It was Bolt and we even got 3-d glasses! Afterwards the kids even got a stuffed animal. It was so nice! Later we went to an even bigger lighted truck parade. This time we stood outside and watched it. It was even better! Parker was loving it. The trucks honked and played music. There was a time Parker wouldn't have been able to stand it. He plugged his ears, but he was right up front watching, smiling and asking questions. That boy just amazes me!

Anyways, a good night was had by all. Tomorrow night is a lighted tractor parade, but I'm not sure we are going to it. Tomorrow afternoon we might go and try to find snow on a hill not too far away. It should be lots of fun.

Here a couple recent pics....
A truck at the parade.

Some cookies I made that turned out funny. Like the boob cookies, lol. It was a total mistake, lol. I didn't even realize I had used the same color chips. I was supposed to use big hershey's kisses but I was out.



Here is my cat Jack, sleeping all funny on the couch. Goofy cat.

Some pictures from seeing Santa and putting up some lights.

These are the pics of the kids with Santa. Parker was happy to see him. Santa drove up on a fire truck. He plugged his ears at the noise of the sirens but was jumping up and down and smiling with excitement! I was so happy! This is coming from a boy who used to be terrified of Santa! Santa gave the kids each a small bag of treats. They were really happy it wasn't just a candy cane. It all went great except for some rude teenagers that were waiting for Santa also. They were chanting a rude song and being obnoxious.


This is a pic of the front of the house after Bobby hung up the lights. He does such a good job at things like that. I need to put up more decorations but I love the lights!


This is a picture of Parker using his Jeep toy to be a Monster Truck! Notice how he put his Jeep on the small car and then got in. He kept wanting me to take pictures of him in it. He was having a great time! In fact, he cried when we finally went in the house. My back was killing me too, because I was pushing the kids up and down the lane on their little cars. Yes, I said kids! I was pushing Molly too. The things I do for these kids! Lol!

Oh and on a positive note, I think Parker is feeling better. We've been going through boxes and playing with his toys today.

The IEP went ok. Parker will officially start Kindergarten on Feb 1st. He is going to go in about an hour at a time for a month to get him used to it. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly.

Parker woke up sick..

Poor little guy. He's been throwing up all morning. I have his IEP this afternoon. I hope Bobby can get off a little early so I can make it on time. This is not what I wanted for my morning. This is not what he wanted either of course. Poor baby. His stomach gets really sensitive after he gets sick and he won't eat for quite a while. Right now his mouth is all dry and I'm going to try and get him to drink a tiny sip. I pray that it doesn't last for days like it did the last time he got really really sick. We took him to the er last time because he was getting dehydrated. I so hope this isn't like last time. He seems content for the moment, so here's hoping he got whatever it was out of his system. I'm not usually that lucky though, lol.

Santa bread and house pics...

Today I did some more on my list.

One thing I did was make the santa bread with Molly. We were afraid it would look nothing like the picture in the recipie book, but it actually kind of did. We didn't have red food coloring though, all we had was yellow.

Here is a pic of Molly painting on the egg yolk. I actually didn't get the bread in this pic.

Here is a pic of the Santa bread. Isn't it cute!



Here are a couple pics of the house. I didn't take pics of all the rooms because they arn't finished yet. Even the ones I took pics of need work. Here are pics of Molly/Parker's room, the kitchen, and our bedroom. There is only one view of each. Later I'll take better ones. The rooms are bigger than they look, it's just the one angle I take them at.

Checked out the kindergarten classes today....

None of them seemed like a perfect match.

The one I may go with is a man teacher. He seems funny and Grandpa like, but also stern in a way. I just don't know if I'm making the right choice. He has a girl with autism in his class already, and they say she is doing great and doesn't need an aid. He also has a big classroom that is bright and cheery. The bad part is, is his aid is kind of stern looking and crabby seeming. She is also the crossing guard. I just don't know. The other 2 teachers seemed nice, but they both had something I didn't like also. One didn't have a bathroom in the classroom and it seemed small and kind of crowded. The other one seemed a little chaotic and the lady talked on a microphone and Parker doesn't like that really.

I just don't know which one to pick. I think I'll just go with the guy, because he seems to have the most to offer Parker, I just don't like the aid.

I'm going to talk to Parkers current teacher now and see what she thinks. Maybe I'll have her visit the classrooms if she hasn't already.

Goals for today...

#1 is to find Parkers playdough. I found the tools, but not the dough. He keeps asking for it. Time to dig in the closets.

#2 Clean the house.

#3 Clean the fishtank so I can see if I even have fish, lol.

#4 Unpack some boxes.

#5 Gather up library books so we can go after school.

#6 Maybe weed-eat half of yard. Can't do the other half because they are too close to windows. I'll let dh do that.

#7 Maybe make santa bread.

#8 Take a few pics of the house to share.

#9 Make snowflakes with the kids and get out some Christmas decorations. (Thanks Jen http://dontforgettoflush.blogspot.com/2008/12/teacakes-and-snowflakes.html)

I'll be amazed if I get to all of this, but one can hope.

Parker's Dr. visit...

The whole way he kept chanting, "I'm not getting a shot, I'm not getting a shot?" I had to keep reassuring him that he wasn't getting one. When we got there the Dr. barely even looked him over. He told me that I needed to cut out all his drinks except milk or water. Then I said, "Well, with the autism and all, I use the drinks sometimes as a reward or kind of a reinforcement". Then he was like, Oh, I see. Did the guy not even read the chart to see that he had autism. This guy is getting old, he was my Dr. as a kid if that tells you anything.

He just said that there is nothing I can do but keep offering him different foods and that dealing with special needs is hard. Yeah, I knew that one already. He said he understood that I couldn't take away his drinks completely and to just do what I could to get him to drink more healthy drinks. That was nice of him. I asked him for a liquid vitamin to hide in his drink. He acted like he didn't believe me when I said he wouldn't eat a chewable. I was like, he only eats or has eaten like 15 foods. I know a chewable vitamin is not going in his mouth if he won't even hardly eat candy. Don't Dr.'s realize that mothers know their children better than anyone else?

Afterwards I asked him to look at the bumps on Parker's hands. I had been worried about them since I noticed them. Turns out they are cysts. He said we need to watch them because if they get any bigger they could affect his hand function. That's all the poor guy needs. He has such a hard time with fine motor stuff as it is. He said that if they get bigger and restrict movement or don't go away after 2 years, they might have to be aspirated. That does not sound good to me at all. I so hope they just go away.

It's funny, I knew they weren't warts because they were under the skin. The worrier in me even thought bone cancer. Why do I always have to be so dramatic. I'm so glad that's all it was though.

Afterwards he got a sucker and we went to look a toy store and the pet store.

We also went to the bank. It was crowded and he was pretty obnoxious. I wanted to tell people that he had autism, to explain why he was acting up. Then I thought, he is acting like a typical hyper 5 year old, why do I need to tell them anything. Aside from the fact that he kept spanking me and singing loudly, he was ok. The spanking thing is very annoying. He must have done it once and we thought it was funny, so he kept doing it. Now he likes to do it a lot when he is hyper or I am walking in front of him. Once he even spanked the post office cleaning lady. She did not think it was funny. She was asking for it though, she was bent over, lol. Just kidding. I was mortified when he did that to her and she didn't even laugh about it.

This boy is going to make me go grey before my time, but I love him! He is my angel!

Molly had a great day at her new school today. She made 2 new friends and had such a great time. I'm so happy for her!

Here is a pic of my angels sleeping last night. They just looked so peaceful.