Pumpkin and Fall Tree Painting

I don't pull the paint out enough any more. The kids all still love it but I forget about it. I don't think kids paint much in school any more either so I need to remember to offer painting opportunities to the kids. The kids and I discussed the differences between holidays, seasons, and months. There was a little confusion about these different things which resulted from a song they heard. In a way to add fun to our conversation, I took out the paint and completed two painting projects with the kids.

First we made fall trees by cork painting the leaves on a long brown trunk. Their paintings turned out pretty darn cute and they really liked it. I think it was good matching and fine motor control for them as well.

We also painted cheap paper plates orange in order to make pumpkins. The kids cut brown stems and added them. The boys added the life cycle of pumpkins to their plate. I got the printable from this site: http://www.makinglearningfun.com/themepages/PumpkinLifeCyclePaperPlate.htm I think it was too easy for the boys but it was a cute project. Lane learned about the letter "Pp" through this same project.

6 year old swears

In the restaurant we heard, "Granny, I know some naughty words." Granny asked what he knew and he whispered, "stupid." To which, I thought, "whew, he still thinks stupid is the worst word that can be stated by a human. Life is good. I must be doing something right."

Then he whispered, "I know pain in the ass too." Oh dear, I wasn't quite expecting that one. Alex hasn't used naughty words since he was a toddler and used damn correctly. For some reason when a toddler says a swear word, it makes it chuckle, especially when the child is frustrated and uses the word correctly. When Gabriel was only 13 months old, he said, "Damn dog." In fact, it was his first two word utterance. Ah, the proud Mommy moment when he said it in front of my parents at Christmas time. It was right after our husky did something mischevious. That dog didn't calm down until this past year when he turned ten years old and many times I said, "that damn dog." Because, well, he was a damn dog in that moment and I couldn't help but state the fact. So I discussed that "pain in the ass" and "stupid" are terms reserved for adults and when Alex turns 18, he can chose to use those words when he feels they are appropriate.

Last night, I asked Alex to put on his pajamas. I reminded him that his siblings were waiting downstairs for him with Daddy and everyone wanted to play the Wii. Alex looked at me with his big beautiful blue eyes and a cute grin and said, "stop bitching at me." Yes, my 6 year old son said, "stop bitching at me." It was an awkward moment. We both stared at each other, each one trying to decide how to assess this new situation. Seriously, why couldn't he just get his pajamas on and not say something so horrible?!!

I believe we are in a testing stage with him and he is trying to figure out which words are appropriate to use. (if this isn't the case, please let me remain in my delusional world for a while) I was calm and asked him if he really thought that was something he should say to his mother. He was smart enought to reply, "no it wasn't." Whew - maybe I'm still doing something right here. I told him that he gets one chance with me but the next time, he will have consequences if he chooses to tell me to stop bitching at him. (besides, I wasn't bitching at him!)

Always an impression, always

A few weeks ago we met a friend and his beautiful daughter at Disney. We had a great time with both of them. It had been 6 years since we saw them and didn't seem like that much time had gone by.

Our friend got to see firsthand what we experience with a special needs child. He handled it well and had a lot of patience, thankfully. Things went well with autism lingering at our side. Gabriel didn't interact much with them but Lane was fascinated by our friend's daughter so it worked out fine. Two girls and two boys evened out our family perfectly for the day. Autism reared its ugly head at the end of our day. Andrew took Gabriel to Space Mountain but when they got to the ride, he changed his mind about going on it. Andrew took him to the end of the ride to wait for our friends. Gabriel, with stealth speed, picked something up off the ground and chewed it.

The object was a blue capsule with some type of white powdery substance. Swell. We couldn't tell what he had eaten. Was it medication? Disney is an international affair and who knows what kind of drug could be hiding in that capsule. Was it an illegal drug? I walked to the nurses station while the kids went on one last ride together. (Gabriel would have had a complete meltdown if we hadn't agreed to the race ride) My heart was racing. I held the blue capsule in my hand and prayed that it wasn't something dangerous and that the capsule wouldn't dissolve in my sweaty, anxious hand.

I asked the nurses if they had any idea what would be contained in the capsule. They examined it and one nurse made the following comment to me. "why didn't you stop him?" I replied, "he's almost 8, he has AUTISM. The only way to stop him would be to live in a bubble and that isn't an option." I smiled because I had already mentioned evil autism and his age. My knees were buckling and I felt sick to my stomach that my child had eaten something with this type of danger. This wasn't the regular rocks and pencils that he sticks in his mouth on a daily basis.

It was determined that the capsule was from a toy. Whew - another catastrophe avoided.

My fortune

A few weeks ago, we had Chinese take out for dinner. At the end of our meal, I opened a fortune cookie and read it to Andrew. He didn't believe that I was reading what was written on the paper! I had to laugh because I'm not creative enough to come up with what I read and I am a terrible liar. Here is why he didn't believe me:

Go ahead and tell your significant other this is your fortune and see if it works for you.

Organize with a Dish Rack

Sometimes with organization it's important to think outside of the box. I wish I could give myself the credit for this creative solution but I can't. I saw the idea of using a dish rack to organize plastic lids but I have enough room for my plastics so I didn't need to use that idea. A friend blogged about using a dish rack and wrote about loving it in her kithen. So, here ya go... a dish rack is now in our pot and pans cabinet. It's holding the lids on the top of the shelf. I love how it puts all the lids together easily and stops the balancing act of my pans that I've dealt with for years.

Thank you to whoever thought of this idea. I love it.

Alex the 6 year old

I failed to blog about Alex turning 6 years old on August 9th. Maybe I'm in denial that my baby boy is already six years old or maybe I'm just really busy with three young children. So here we are in October and I have a 6 year old version of Alex in our home.

Alex chose to go to Sea World for his birthday celebration. Then we went to the TRex restaurant in downtown Disney for dinner.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate his birthday as a family. We also had an ice cream cake on his actual birthday.

Alex is in first grade and he's doing well. He claims to hate school but he's happy when I pick him up at the end of the day. He is especially interested in math and answers math problems when he waits in line before school starts.
Alex's reading ability and fluency are increasing this year. He recently filled out a paper about his wish. Alex answered my wish is... To have two mommies. He turned the assignment in a couple weeks ago but I haven't gotten it back yet. I'm curious about what Alex's teacher thought about his answer.

Last week Alex colored a picture when he got home from school. He added the words, "I can do it too." Alex told me that he was the illustrator and explained why.
For a few weeks, Alex chewed on his shirt. His shirt was soaked with saliva. I had to take a photo because it was unbelievable how wet his shirt got. I ignored the behavior and thankfully it disappeared.

The other day he told his granny that he knows some bad words. Alex whispered "stupid" and "pain in the ass" in her ear. Yikes! Apparently we are at the stage of testing boundaries with naughty words. Stringing a ton of naughty words together and then asking what would happen if he says the word is a way to avoid discipline but still say those fascinating words.
I'm sure it will be another year full of excitement with Alex. Life has never been dull since his arrival. He is comical, musical, stubborn, and bright. He is a good runner and swimmer.
I look forward to hearing what his next wish is since two mommies isn't a real option.

Judge's words of wisdom

I've been married to the same man for over 16 years. We've lived together for over 20 years. I have never been divorced and can't imagine the pain and hurt associated with the finality of divorce. For many people, it's the end of dreams with someone and your world has to seem shattered. When a divorce involves children, it can be especially complicated.

I have witnessed many unhealthy and wicked divorces involving children recently. Somehow I hope those individuals see this and take it to heart. You are selfish and controlling when you talk poorly about your ex in front of your children. You are slowly killing your children. Children have little control and power in their world and you are further destroying what they know when you speak poorly about your ex. Leave your comments for your adult friends and family. Leave your children out of it or know that you are destroying them.

I know it can't be easy. There are many days when Andrew and I annoy each other and we make mistakes too. I have said things in front of my children that aren't meant for their ears but I'm learning that silence really is golden in situations. Please take the judge's comments to heart and start healing yourself and your children. The rest of us don't want to watch your children destroyed by your selfishness.

Granny was here!

I rarely blog when we have company here because I enjoy the time I have people I care about here. I am engrossed in their presence. Then later I feel guilty because I don't take the time to post about our adventures. Andrew flew to L.A. for a business trip so I asked my mom to come here for a few days. I found a decent priced flight and flew her here from Wisconsin. The kids and I were thrilled to have her here. I had half the work to do when she was here and I am grateful that I didn't have to do everything by myself.

We went to a German restaurant when she arrived on Wednesday night. The kids played well and Alex orchestrated a game with a Disney character top that he found there. It was an easy way to welcome her back to Orlando. Andrew left early in the morning on Thursday and my mom and I were able to create a smooth morning routine with the kids. We spent the day in Palm Bay and Melbourne looking at real estate and the ocean when we got coffee. Ahhh - a great way to spend the day with Lane and her Granny.

Friday is the day when everyone is in school. Once everyone was situated at school, I took my mom to the land of Ikea. We only saw half of it and I think she liked it as much as I do! We left without buying anything - I know, shocker! Then we hit the outlet mall. We found fun clothing on clearance and came home with a couple bags full of clothing. I haven't gone shopping alone with my mom in a long time and it was GREAT experience that reminded me of when I was younger and we shopped together.

Saturday and Sunday were fun filled adventurous days. We hit the Celebration garage sales in the morning. When Andrew got home from California, we met him at Epcot. My mom met Stephanie Calvert's mother on the flight here and the mother invited us to see Starship as their guests. We were thrilled to sit in a front row seat and we got to meet Stephanie in person. I think the boys were in love with her! Alex and Lane danced to their hearts content and Mickey Thomas acknowledged Alex's dance skills.

We went to Animal Kingdom on Sunday. My mom hadn't been to there yet so we concentrated on our favorite things there in order to give her a fun filled day there. We went on the jungle safari and saw lots of animals, saw the Nemo show, saw the Tree of Life, and went to It's Tough to Be a Bug. The day was ended at the Rainforest Cafe.

My mom is on her flight home and I miss her already. I wish she lived closer. I am grateful for the time we do have together because I know that it could end any time suddenly. I hope it isn't long before I see her in person again.