Airboat ride

There are several things I love about living in the greater Orlando area. Two of those things are: 1. we are never bored. There is ALWAYS something to do here. Besides the theme parks, there are festivals, concerts, and events all over the area. We live 40 minutes from beach parking. We have stores galore and every kind of food possible.
2. My friends and family visit. I love when our friends take time out of their vacations to spend time with us. Even better is when a friend tells me they will be here ahead of time and we make plans.
A friend of mine from grade school traveled here with her son and husband. We made plans to get together with our families and decided an airboat ride would be an unique experience.
Airboat rides are awesome in Florida. They show visitors the rarely seen side of Florida. I highly recommend these tours. Andrew and I went on an airboat in Lousiana years ago. The kids have been on three airboats since we've lived here and it has been a fun adventure every time.
The eight of us made our way to Camp Holly, less than 20 minutes from the ocean, on the St. Johns river.

Lane and Alex wore life jackets and all three kids had squished, chubby faces from the ear phones. It was an adorable look for them. We saw alligators, fish, and numerous kind of birds. It's a great learning experience for our kids.
If anyone visits Orlando, I recommend going on an airboat ride. I also recomend calling us to join you.

Three children, three programs, three reactions

We had three holiday programs to attend this year. This was the first time all of our children had programs and created an exciting and busy week. When I think about it, this is the first year we had more than one child's holiday program.
We attended three programs at two different schools and we witnessed three different reactions. Lane's event started with the children acting like the teachers, showing the parent what their day entails. Andrew got to see what Lane does while she is at Montessori in the morning. She is a hard worker who stays busy and has incredible focus for her age. When Andrew and Lane completed their tasks, Lane sang songs enthusiastically.

Gabriel had an evening Polar Express concert. The kids wore pajamas and dressed up as reindeer, elves, and Santa. Gabriel started on the stage in the cafeteria with his friends. The curtains closed and a narrator began the story. When the curtains opened, Gabriel wasn't on the stage. I wasn't concerned because I know he gets overwhelmed.
I wasn't happy when I heard him talking to his teacher, over the singing children, about how he was naughty. I had to walk to the side stage in order to escort him to the cafeteria. All would have been fine except that he continued to yell about his poor behavior and choices, asking to go back to the stage. I had to find a way to leave with him, while wearing heels. It presented quite a challenge as he continued to ask to go back on stage, louder and louder and pushed his body into me. It was a short, ten minute Polar Express concert for us.

Alex's concert included three first grade classes on the risers in the cafeteria stage. His event was at 9:45 in the morning. Alex was on the end with the biggest smile, beaming with pride. He followed the hand movements and sang quietly. He was picked to play the bells and shook them to the beat and took his role very seriously. He was so darn cute; I wanted to eat him up.

A short thank you

A short thank you for my son's teacher today:
Dear ___,
I write this note exactly three days after the CT tragedy. I watched the time on the clock and felt extreme sorrow for the families of the lost ones.
The past three days I have thanked whatever powers that be for you. Thank you for being a public school teacher. Thank you for being the kind of teacher who I know would protect my child at whatever cost. I know this beause we have shared laughs and tears over the past few months. You have loved my child even when it wasn't easy to do so. You are an amazing gift for Gabriel and I will never be able to express my gratitude fully in words. "Thank you" does not seem like enough.
I will anxiously give his little hand to you today but in my heart I know that if I can't hold him, you are the next best person.
Sincerely,
Jessica

Galaxy Dough

On Fairy Dust Teaching, I found a recipe for galaxy play dough.

From these every day items,

I created a substance that kept the kids entertained long enough for me to make dinner and straighten the house. This is a rarity for us! It was an easy thing to throw together but as my children's imagination grew, so did the mess. It would be better to limit the amount of time children use galaxy dough unless you have children who don't have the intense creative juices my children have every day.


The recipe begins with this information:

What You Will Need

2 cups of plain flour
2 cups of water with black and blue food coloring (you will need the large bottle of black food coloring for the deep color)
1 Tbsp. of cooking oil
1 Tbsp. cream of tartar
1 cup of salt

glitter - silver, purple, blue

Mix the liquid ingredients in a pain, add the mixed dry ingredients and stir until they form the dough.

Let the fun begin! I found recipes for other types of play dough and hope to make them soon for the kids.

Dot Marker Learning

Dot markers, or bingo markers, are tons of fun for my kids. The best part is these markers can be purchased at the dollar store. We own a basket full of these goodies for the kids to use.

I didn't realize until recently that thre are preschool art pages available for purchase for these dot markers. I stumbled upon free activities for kids. I printed some fall art pages as a starting point.

The fall pack can be found at this web site: http://3dinosaurs.com/wordpress/index.php/fall-pack-extra-dot-markers/

The activity allowed Gabriel to practice his fine motor skills and Lane was delighted to compete a colorful picture.

I then found a dot marker letter activity. Lane enjoys art and learns easily if she is occupied working on something. Here is the site for the letter dot marker activity: http://totschool.shannons.org/do-a-dot-upper-case-letter-worksheets/

Lane woudl work on all of the letters in one sitting if I let her. She finds the activity extremely enjoyable and doesn't realize I'm working on letter recognition with her.

After she completes the letter, she works on finding the same letter several times on a sheet.

A niece turns 13!

My third born niece turned thirteen years old in November. She is around four years old in my head still. I can't believe she is already a teenager. I'm sure her parents wonder where the time has gone as well.
I don't like sending money for gifts even though it might be the most liked gift. I want the child to have something material to hold and love, to look at and think about us when they see it. The problem is that the tweens and early teens are difficult to buy for - I never know what I can buy that will cherish. I know, I should give in and send the money.

This year I saw a really cute idea and decided to make it for my niece. I put the numbers "1" and "3" in a mason jar and filled it with her favorite candy. I think it's a gift that I would enjoy receiving even at this age.
I might make more of these as gifts - it was easy, affordable, and included a favorite item for the birhday kid.

Halloween 2012

We enjoy Halloween in our house. It's fun to think about dressing up and buying new costumes. We like candy and getting out our decorations for the house. It's the first holiday of the season and it's a lot of fun to get pumpkinds and think about all things that fit with the fall season.
I thought Lane would want to be a purple fairy. She adores princesses, fairies, and purple so this seemed like the perfect outfit for her.

Instead she wanted to be Princess Peach again this year. It fit the Mario and Luigi theme that her brothers insisted on wearing. Since it was free, I didn't argue when they asked to wear the same costumes as last year. Interestingly, the switched and wore the opposite character.

When we were done walking around the neighborhood in search of the best candy, the kids had fun handing candy out to the trick-or-treaters. We dumped all three buckets into a large bowl and Alex declared Halloween the BEST DAY EVER.

The boys schools has a character parade and party in lieu of a "Halloween" parade. This gave the boys a chance to dress in another costume. Alex's teacher chose Dr. Seuss characters so Alex was Cat in the Hat.

Alex also took goody bags for his classmates. The bags included a Cat in the Hat hat, colored paper straws, stickers, and pencils.

Gabriel's class learned about filling buckets. The idea is based on a book that teaches children how to be nice and helpful to other people. It was more challenging to find bucket filling items for Gabriel's classmates. I printed out a bucket filler coloring page and added crayons, a pencil, and tattoos. I also bought a bucket filler pin for Gabriel's teacher.

Harvest Festival 2012

Our new community has great, family friendly activities and events. I have been very impressed by how many different things are available to us here. Due to our busy schedules, we haven't been able to attend as many things as we would like but we know many more opportunities will come around in the future.
The weekend of October 21, Harmony held the Harvest Festival. It was a small festival with vendors selling products and food. There were contests including tug of war. It was the perfect size festival for our kids, complete with free bounce houses and a Touch A Truck section.

Alex wasn't interested in climbing on the trucks at first but quickly realized it was fun to see the inside of dump trucks, police cars, fire trucks and more. Lane talked the Lobster car owner into giving her one of her display "baby" pumpkins. Lane carried it around like a fragile baby for a couple hours.

Gimme that back!

Tonight Lane crawled into bed with me after being in her bed for a couple hours. I rolled my eyes and thought, " really, sweetie, you are almost 3.5...it's time to give me my bed back."
Then a guilty feeling washed over me and I held her tight. She is still so little. Physically, she is a peanut. I still adore her sweet breathing on my cheek as she sleeps. The comforting rise and fall of her chest.
Then Lane was startled from her sleep and looked genuinely frightened. Since I was still next to her and awake, I was able to comfort her and tell her that I was beside her. My heart melted when her discomfort ceased and she smiled in her half woken state.
I wouldn't mind more room in the bed but it was a reminder to me that she is still little. She still needs me and I am doing what I think she needs most. One day I will have my bed back and knowing me, I will cry because I will long for the days of a three year old again

Unicorn poo

Lane loves her Montessori preschool. I can't say enough great things about the school and the teachers. I only wish it was closer to us but it is well worth the 45 minute drive twice a week
She started attending school last March when her teacher had the preschool in her home. The current location opened this past fall and we have thoroughly enjoyed the new program.

A child's cooking academy is opening two doors down from the school. The cooks (chefa?)have come in to make projects with the kids. It's such a wonderful opportunity for Lane. She brought unicorn poo home and she was delighted to show it off. I think she was delighted to say the words unicorn poop. It was colorful and even had butterfly wings and glitter in it.

A little maturity...

A little maturity goes a long way, in our home any way. A teacher Gabriel only sees on occassion commented on Gabriel's new maturity. I've noticed it too. Lately he is more compliant, more confident, and more responsible. He even talks about the importance of being responsible for things.
I took this photo of Gabriel last week while he worked on his homework. For the last couple years, we have had to argue with him, bribe him, beg him to work on his homework. Lately he will sit down and start working without a peep.
I know this will change at a moment's notice but right now, I'm enjoying my little second grader and his new found maturity. I have been thrilled with his new ability to help his siblings and even walk away from confrontation with them. I have to give credit to his teacher and our ESE team who work hard with us. Without them, I believe this level of maturity would not have happened.
He was a hot mess up until a couple weeks ago and I am grateful to have a team of adults who care about not only his academic progress but his social, emotional, and maturity progress as well. I think this version of Gabriel will last until we have to transition back to school in January after the holiday break. I'm not looking forward to that transition but maybe it won't be as bad as I envision.

Autism, Right?

Gabriel and I were in Target last week. He was having a particularly "off" day. He didn't seem to be apart of this world, zoning, and unable to focus on anything. He couldn't hold any type of conversation with me. Not that we have real conversations yet but we couldn't get past one sentence on this day.
He has little awareness of personal space and it seemed especially bad as we maneuvered through the store. Gabriel bumped into me constantly. I'm used to it. I constantly have my body smushed by him or my toes stepped on, literally. His weight is supported by my vertical presence daily. I think he would have crawled back into the womb. It was that bad.
For the most part, I hear, "I would have never guessed he has autism." when I explain his behavior to other people. I don't tell people to get a pass for his behavior but to teach and advocate for special needs children. Maybe, just maybe, it will stop the evil stares and promote acceptance and tolerance.
Recently I stumbled on a site where adults bashed children with autism and their parents. It was heartbreakting to read that we, the parents of special needs parents, should leave our "retarded" children at home. We should learn how to parent and use discipline in our children's lives. This site pointed out how intolerant some adults are in this world. This fact scares the crap out of me as my son with autism ages.
In any case, the cashier looked at me and said, "Autism, right?" My heart sank. My mouth went dry and I nodded. I couldn't speak but looked at her with my pleading eyes. Please don't make me talk about this today. A day when I'm trying to keep it together.
Yes, autism. Yes, that demon in the room that follows us everywhere and we don't know when it will stike again. She continued to talk about her friend and how her child has autism, as if Gabriel wasn't standing there. It was another moment when I was glad we have told Gabriel that he will have to learn how to cope with autism through this lifetime.
What if I hadn't told Gabriel that he has autism? What then? Would I have lied and looked at her like she had two heads? Would I have wanted the ground to swallow me whole?
My stomach stopped doing flips when we got to the van. Why did this comment from an innocent person throw me so much? I've wondered for three years why people say that he doesn't look like he has autism. What is that look exactly? Why can't other people SEE it? SEE THE DEMON in our home I want to yell from the rooftops and now, well, now it happened and it was a sock in the gut.
Yes, he has autism. Some days are still worse than other days. Some days I want to curl up in my bed and sob for the child I thought we were going to have, for the child I want him to be... but I can't. I have to move on through our day. I'm the mother of three children and life doesn't allow for wimps. In these moments, I realize I love my child and I love his quirkiness and I am the one who has the problem with his disability. He doesn't care. He doesn't know the difference.
I don't know what to tell people when it comes to this topic. Tell me that you see autism, tell me that you don't. Either way, you'll probaby throw me for a loop. In either case, you will delight me that you care enough to talk about it. I'll be grateful that you aren't one of the adults writing that my child needs discipline. I'll also thank you for talking to me about it.

Classroom Door Decoration

At the beginning of the school year and throughout the year, I tell the teachers that if they need anything, to please let me know and I will get it. I want to support the people who have my greatest treasures. Whatever I can do to make their job easier, I do. I've gotten staples, tape, and ink immediately for the teachers this year. Most of the time, I wish the teachers would ask for more than they do.
Last year Alex's teacher was great at letting me know when she needed anything. I got paper and stickers many times. I also made file folder games througout the year. Whew - those are time consuming. BUT I am positive the file folder games got the reading code to click in Gabriel's brain so it was well worth the time spent on it.
When the teacher mentioned that she doesn't have a door decoration, I jumped on it. I asked my Facebook friends for ideas and scoured Pinterest. I couldn't visualize how to create such a large craft. Thankfully there were lots of realistic suggestions and it all came together.

I made a beach snowman since we have no idea what snow is like here. The kids names are on buckets with the saying, "we are having buckets of fun." I had a lot of fun with it and hope she allows me to make another door decoration.

Mother son dance 2012

Our PTO has a free mother son dance each year. I wasn't planning on taking the boys until a new friend reminded me about the dance. I didn't know how the boys would handle a busy event on a Friday evening after a day at school. Despite my hesitation, I was convinced that we would enjoy it. Poor Lane was crushed when we left without her.

I'm glad I was able to take the boys. The boy energy was amazing. Most of the younger boys played tag and ran around the room while snacking. Eventually they joined in the dancing.
The PTO had a picture opportunity set up. For $3 we were able to get a photo taken with the three of us. I look forward to seeing the photo soon.
Gabriel was overwhelmed by the activity after an hour and asked me to read a book to him. Since Alex wanted to stay until the last possible second, I obliged and read Gabriel a Spongbob book.

It will be fun to take my energetic sweethearts again next year.

Playroom Bench

We moved the end of July. When we move to a new home, many of our organizational methods need to be tweaked. Things that fit in the old house don't fit well in the new house.
The kids have a play room right off the kitchen/dining room on the main floor which is perfect for us. This house is our favorite home, by far. There are very few things I would change on it.
Our organizational cabinets from our last home did not fit well in this house. We have more room but things are situated differently. Better, I think. So when I saw an organization idea on I Heart Oraganizing, I had to go for it. http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/ I love her blog. I think we could be real friends if we met in person. However, she would probably figure out in a nanosecond that I want to suck the organizational information out of her brain. Maybe she would like me too. I have some cool ideas in my head to share with her.
This project took much longer to accomplish than I thought it would. We had the shelves and bins right away and that helped with our toy collection. However, getting the wood, fabric, and foam took a while. We finished this the end of November, a few months after completing the shelves and bins with labels. We had to plan to go to JoAnn's and Home Depot because we don't frequent the stores often.
The project is also a costly one unless you remember to use a coupon. The cost to consider inclueds the shelves, wood, bins, material, and foam. Overall though, it was worth the time and expense. I want to add art work, pillows, and a new rug to the room. (and a large cabinet that my friend is painting for me) Then the room will be complete. We plan on staying here for a few years so we can wait a few more months until the room comes together completely.

If you are near an IKEA, I recommend this project. Maybe you are more motivated to accomplish these tasks than we are and if that is the case, jump on this idea. It's a fun one and my kids now have an uber cute area to sit and play.

"The Little Cookie"

Lane has share time at her Montessori. She seems to enjoy going to school more when she has something to share with her friends. Last week, I printed "The Little Cookie" for Lane and Gabriel. Both children enjoyed coloring the book. While Lane used visual cues to "read" the book, Gabriel used visual cues and actual reading to read it. The repetitive nature of the book works well for both of them. It was cute to see them working on their books at the same time and in their individual ways.
While they colored and read their new books, Alex read to Andrew in the other room. In these moments, I am grateful that we embrace education and our children's different learning interests and abilities.

The book can be found, for free, at this site: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Gingerbread-emergent-reader

Visiting the Pediatric Cardiologist

Gabriel was diagnosed with a heart condition when he was 18 months old. The pediatrician asked us to get his murmur checked, just in case it was something more severe but he thought that his heart murmur was a holing closing by itself. It didn't sound serious so I wasn't nervous at all when we went to the dr. It seemed like a run of the mill appointment. Never mind that I was very pregnant and dealing with a high risk pregnancy at the time.
We found out that Gabriel has a bicuspid aortic valve. It reminds me of a time bomb. It can get worse at any time or he might remain stable for the rest of his life. We have no idea what the future will hold. We do know that puberty will be a challenging time because his heart will grow and it is unknown if his valve will be able to handle the change. Though he has no restrictions now, we don't know if Gabriel will be allowed to play sports when he is older.
I tend to forget about Gabriel's heart condition because his other issues are more immediate and are more recognizable day to day. In the beginning, he went to the cardiologist every 4 months but we have graduated to annual appointments.
About 9 months ago, the pediatrician heard a murmur while listening to Lane's heart. I heard the same thing - "I think you should get her murmur checked out, just in case." I typically make appointments for my children immediately but I dreaded finding out about another heart problem. A few weeks ago, the pediatrician asked if I followed up with a cardiologist. I was embarrassed to tell him that I hadn't taken her yet.

Today was cardiologist day. Lane was a perfect patient. She sat still for her EKG and for the doctor. Gabriel, on the other hand, was completely flipped out by the EKG stickers and cords. He thought that it was going to turn him into a robot. He was scared that he was going ot have his blood drawn again. Gabriel has been a great patient for years until the past couple months. I don't know what changed for him but he now hates the doctor. He tried to kick and hit the nurses and I wanted the ground to swallow me whole.
Gabriel did better with his echo and then we met with the cardiologist a final time. We received good news today - something we aren't used to when we go to doctor appointments. Lane has an innocent murmur and doesn't need to go back to the cardiologist. Gabriel is stable and doesn't have to go back for two years. I don't have to worry about heart conditions until Gabriel is 10 years old!

Marble run

Every child should have a marble run of some type. Seriously, it's one of those classic toys that my kids still love.
We have the kind that requires assembly. My kids can't set it up but they are giddy with anticipation every time I set up a new run for them. It's cute how much they enjoy a few marbles rolling down a track. It helps with fine motor skills, sharing, and expectation. And they are entertained by the marbles for a long time, a definite positive for all of us.
If you don't have one of these toys, come on over. We can sip coffee while the kids are entertained. :)

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving was just the five of us this year. Andrew and I haven't had a holiday alone for a long time. It took a few days for us to decide what to do - go to a restaurant? Make a meal a home? Go on a mini vacation? Forego tradition altogether since Alex is the only one who enjoys turkey?
We chose to make a traditional meal at home. Well, mostly traditional since we limit dairy and eat no gluten at home. Andrew doesn't want the kids to feel like they are missing out on a tradition but I was fine with crab legs and a trip to Disney.
Since Lane and Gabriel were awake at 5:10, it was easy to make everything by 1 pm. I gave the kids paper Thanksgiving place mats while we finished the last food items. Their excitement over this little dollar item was precious.
Later in the afternoon we went to the dog park. We threw a ball for Brody and Alex worked on his football throw with Andrews. Overall, it was an easy and relaxed holiday.

Clearance Halloween

My recommendation: buy clearance Halloween items, especially costumes and especially if you have children who like to dress up. I bought a cupcake costume for Lane for a couple dollars along with an Angry Birds mask and cowboy costume for the boys. At 90% off, I couldn't go wrong.

Lane insisted on wearing her costume when we went to the school to get the boys. I thought it was pretty darn adorable.
Lane vocabulary is exploding again. Today she called something "awesome." When watching we watched Sofia the first, she said that Sofia is a little princess like herself.

Lane is always thinking and very curious about her environment. The other day she made me laugh when she asked if bras protect boobies. She is a joy who lights up the room with her smile. It doesn't hurt that she picks out really cute outfits like cupcake costumes to wear during the day.

Good-bye Ceremony

A 2 year old classmate and friend of Lane's passed away on October 27. I don't know the details, only that she was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. I don't know the family well but I did see the mom and child at the school often last spring and this fall.
I explained the situation to Lane and she was adamant when she told me that Elizabeth is not dead but sick. Lane had tears in her eyes and did not want to discuss the issue any more. I was surprised that she has any understanding of death because Lane hasn't experienced a loss through death yet.
The preschool collected gift cards for the family and then had a good-bye ceremony with Elizabeth's family and her classmates. The ceremony was held on Friday in the late morning.
It was a cloudy, gloomy day when I drove back to the preschool. As I walked toward the school, my heart grew heavier. The pink balloons could be seen from the parking lot, bouncing in air while children held them tight. The lead teacher talked to the children about Elizabeth and then counted to three. On the count of three, over 20 light pink balloons carrying notes and pictures written by the preschoolers floated slowly into the sky.

I entered the play area of the Montessori and saw a large framed photo of vibrant, young Elizabeth. Next to the photo was a vase of white flowers. The children stood to the side of the play area with adults in a circle.

Elizabeth's mother sat on a chair, clutching a pink scrapbook given to her from the teachers. The children were invited to hug her mother and they did. I hugged her and thanked her for sharing Elizabeth with us.
I can not express the deep sadness I felt when I witnessed this grieving mother. It has weighed heavily on my heart and soul since Friday. I've held my little ones tighter the past few weeks, terrified at the thought of losing them.

State of Matter

I asked Gabriel's teacher to let me know about their science topics. Gabriel does well in science and math and I enjoy supplementing it at home. When the email said that the class would be learning about states of matter, I had to use one of my Pinterest posts.
On this blog: http://mrsterhune.blogspot.com/2012/01/matter.html
there are three poems about liquids, gases, and solids. The poems are super cute. This was my chance to buy the Post-It sticky easel pad.

A friend used this paper for an advocacy class and I fell in love with it. It's so cool! No tape needed - the top sticks to the wall and I can write on a huge piece of paper.

Solids:

Liquids:

Gases:

I wrote the poems on the paper and hung them in our front hallway. I laminated photos that fit each of the three categories and then added magnets to the back of the pictures and the poems. The kids were able to put the photos in the right spot and learned about the states of matter in the process. I think hands-on activities work well for my kids and I was thrilled to create another activity to help their learning.
When we were done with our poems, I gave it to Gabriel's teacher. I couldn't bear to throw them away after taking time to use magnets and the laminator.