Halloween Catch-Up

Halloween was a blast!

The weekend began with a good Mexican party at Taylor's friend Anthony's house. It was Anthony's Tata's birthday, and it was pretty cool that they invited us to join the festivities. Anthony was dressed at Spiderman with muscles and Taylor and Jasmine came in their costumes as well. The had a karaoke system set-up and the kids had a blast going over to the microphone and singing away. The food was delish and there was even a pinata for the kids. We left about 8:30 to get our babies down and they were still going strong and had even pulled out a guitar and accordian and were playing some music when we left.

On Saturday we went to Basha's for their in-store trick or treating and then headed over to Sonic for lunch. "Boom Sonic" has become Taylor's new favorite restaurant as Taylor is going through the this tater-tot kick. One of the servers came around and painted the kids faces and brought them balloons.

On Sunday we spent the morning at home and then headed to Pacana Park for the community Halloween celebration. It was our first time going and it was really a lot of fun! Jazzy fell asleep 1/2 way through the trunk or treating so Taylor and I hit a couple of bounce houses while Jazzy napped on Daddy. We then hit some carnival games, got some popcorn, snow cones and visited the temporary tattoo shop before heading home and trick or treating in our own neighborhood. We only hit a few houses because the kids were anxious to get home and greet our own trick or treaters. They were both so excited to open the door for the neighborhood kids.

The best day

I was so worried last night about how today would work out. Even this morning I was stressing about being able to get Jasmine ready and packed with an hour worth of entertainment so we could make the Halloween Parade at school. And, everything went so well today. I woke up early to make Taylor some gluten free cupcakes and decorated his with a pumpkin and sprinkles. I knew the class would be having cupcakes, and I didn't want him eating one, but I also did not want him to feel left out by having a plain, homemade cupcake. After I dropped him off I skipped my usual mommy stalker routine of driving back around to the playground area and hanging out to make sure he made it safely, and instead walked his cupcake into the classroom to give it to the teacher. She said I could bring in extra cupcakes that they would just freeze and warm up when other kids had birthdays. I am going to try Martha Stewart's meringue recipe substituted with our version of "butter" which I think is quite tasty. If it works, then I think that would be the best to freeze. But, I digress. So after dropping off the cupcake we walked back to the parent pick up area and I sat Jazz in the front seat and we just talked and played. She was pretty fragrant, but kept insisting she did not poop. The parade started and I gathered with the other mommies and we watched the kids walk around. Taylor was the first kid out and was holding the music teachers hand and dancing away. I love how uninhibited he is, and I think he could really care less what other kids think. I hope through this whole process he never loses that. I blew him lots of kisses, tried to take as many pics as I could and off they went back inside for more holiday fun. I talked with a few of the other moms and hoped they couldn't smell my stinky girl.


About noon, I went to take some garbage out and Jazzy followed me out to the garage and climbed in her wagon. "Can we go for a walk?" she asked. "Sure!" I said, and ran inside to grab some water and sunglasses and of course my phone and off we went. I let Jazz choose our route and we went around and about and down streets we haven't been down before. It was tons of fun. She loved each time we went up and down a curb and got upset when it looked like we were heading back home. So we turned around and went around and about all over again. Finally, she decided she wanted to go home to paint her nails and we headed back home. We passed one butterfly and I stopped to try to get a picture. Then we kept on walking and saw even more butterflies. Tons of butterflies! "Mama, where are they going?" she kept asking me. Since she now had a clean diaper, I really didn't know but on we walked and they were still all around us. It even looked like some were playing tag with one another, it really was the neatest thing. And of course, super fun to experience it with my little Jazzy.

Wedding Weekend

Yay for weddings! I love weddings, and I love that we were able to go to the wedding of one of my friends from high school. We ended up staying at Dad's house in Tucson, which worked out well since he was watching the kids. We arrived on Saturday and went to the rehearsal dinner which was at a house they rented for the weekend. The kids had a good time, but Jazzy did not take a nap and we also didn't pack well for the cooler temperatures, so we called it a night early and Jazz was asleep in the car by 7:00.



The next morning, we took the kids bowling and had a blast! I did my usual routine of holding back, I certainly did not want to intimidate anyone with my mad skills. Taylor had a great time, we had the bumpers on and he also used a ramp. The girls were great with Jasmine and helped Taylor launch the ball off the ramp. Brooks and Gabe found their groove and ended up scoring pretty well. After probably 5 games and 2 hours ish we headed back to the house and stuffed ourselves for Gabe's birthday barbecue. I should also mention that we had chorizo for breakfast, and mole the night before for dinner. Praise Jesus for Spanxx. Brooks and I left the party about 4:30 for the wedding, which was just a few minutes away. It was at the Tucson Botanical Gardens which were just beautiful. We really enjoyed ourselves, but more than anything it was nice to spend time with Brooks.

Making plans

One of the best parts of having time on my hands is making plans for family outings! This next week should be fun with Halloween and Taylor's fall festival and parade. I am hoping I can convince Brooks we should also take the kids to Sea Life, the new aquarium, but I may have to downplay the crowd factor on that one. While I love festivals and events, Brooks does not. We often use the phrase with each other "you knew it when you married me", and while he is the homebody type I am not, and well- he knew it when he married me ;)

This weekend we have some extra fun plans! We'll be heading down to Tucson for my friend Aurora's wedding. We had booked a hotel, but my Dad offered to let us stay with them so after some convincing, Brooks agreed. We love hotels, but more then we love hotels we hate inconveniencing people. While I love my kids dearly, I can image 24 hours with them might be a little much for someone who did not carry them for 40 weeks. But, I really have been enjoying spending time with my dad so I really wanted to do this. Aside from the rehearsal dinner party and wedding, it is also my brother's birthday and believe me- nothing beats a Mexican birthday party. Even though Gabriel is a teenager, I am sure there will at least be a barbecue which in itself is worth the trip. We'll leave for home on Monday and them meet up with Mom and Katie who will be on their way home from the Selena Gomez concert. The icing on the cake is that I think this weekend may also involve some clothes shopping since Brooks needs a new pair of dress pants for the wedding. Something happened with my sense of style in the past few years- perhaps it went with my bladder and memory from childbirth, but I really, really need new clothes. I am heavier now than I like to be, so when we do go out I don't buy anything because I don't want to be this size. But, after packing our bag for this trip, I just need to get creative on how to buy stuff I can still wear. With time on my hands again, I really have no reason not to be healthy.

Fall!

I am so done with Arizona. As Brooks says, "D-U-N, done!" But, then of course fabulous days like today happen and my heart begins to soften for this state.

Taylor has been home sick for the past two days, and I sent him back to school today in shorts. I should have put the kids in pants, but at that point he was already in the car and I couldn't convince him to change, but I did run back inside and grabbed his jacket. Jasmine has been sick as well and woke up with a fever, but is now running around the house and playing with Delaney. She was dressed appropriately but started asking for her jacket as soon as she saw her brother with his.

This weather has me thinking all sorts of things- most of all is how absolutely grateful I am to be home with my babies and enjoying getting back to what I love. My house has been clean, dinner has actually been ready on time and the kids are just amazing. There were some days where I just had this tremendous guilt about sitting them in front of the TV or telling them no-mommy could not do that with them now. But, they don't seem to care that I am back 100% and it is like we haven't lost a beat. I guess if I was going to hear some dissertation about neglect to mommy duties it would come from the mind and mouth of Taylor, Jasmine may just be paying me back my hogging the bed, covers and pillows each night.

Houston, we have a costume

Yesterday was a fun day for mail! Taylor's costume came in, as did their new winter coats. Jazzy got the cutest pea coat with a ruffled collar and Taylor got a new big heavy jacket. We needed something a little warmer than we normally use as this winter we will be going on the Polar Express train ride again. Taylor's jacket is a little big, but that little boy is growing like a weed and I was nervous about getting him the smaller size. Taylor loves his new costume and wore it for a few hours yesterday and has worn it again most of today.

Decisions, Decisions

The kids love dressing up year round, so I guess it makes sense what to be for Halloween was something they changed their mind about a few times. Taylor originally wanted to be Wall-E, then changed his mind and wanted to be an astronaut. Easy, I thought, since we had just seen a pretty cool astronaut costume at the Challenger Space Museum. Jasmine first said she wanted to be "Dolly" (who is really Ariel, she just calls her Dolly), then changed her mind and wanted to be Jessie from Toy Story. We bought the Jessie costume at Wal-Mart, but discovered we'd bought the wrong size. When we went to exchange it, there were no more Jessie's so we let her pick out a Tinkerbell costume just for play. She had already changed her mind again and decided she wanted to be Princess Jasmine, which was fine but a little interesting since she is not really into the Aladdin movies. But, no biggie so I went online and ordered Jasmine from the Disney Store, my preferred costume store anyway. I really hate shopping at Wal-Mart anyway and their costumes are pretty cheesy. I wish we had a Target here, but until that point I guess I just need to get over myself. As for Taylor, I decided I really didn't want to drive an hour to the museum and instead found an astronaut costume on Amazon which should be here this week. I am not going to say anything to him until it comes, but I know my little space whiz will be so excited!

Hooray for free time!

The past few weeks have been a very welcome relief. While my mind is full of the changes that will be coming, I am loving having free time with Brooks and the babies. This weekend was nothing short of wonderful. The kids played together like little angels, Brooks and I watched a movie on Netflix in the middle of the day, and in the afternoon we took the kids to the park, then went to the store to pick up a pumpkin for a class project Taylor will be doing. Taylor helped himself to some frosting from the fridge and I couldn't help but smile as I helped him scoop it out to lick the spoon. He even let his sister sit in his lap going down the slide at the park, and Jazzy excitedly mastered climbing up this wavy ladder. My heart was so full of happiness and love and it was just one of those days where I could not believe how lucky I was. My kids are just amazing and being their mom is truly the best!

Mr. Artist

Taylor is quite the whiz on the computer and especially loves drawing with the Microsoft Paint program. Here is Wall-E:

And Eve:

And Mo:

And here is his lego air plane made in the lego builder program totally from scratch:

It's brilliance like this that makes it hard to be a humble mom ;)

It's a Wrap!

The bridal show is done! The work isn't quite but we are making some changes so it should be less work from now on and we can hopefully manage not to ignore our kids while we plan away. I think we have just worked too hard to be nice and make ourselves available, which sounds great but probably is not the smartest business move as it creates so much work and I think in the long run has just made more work for us. I finally finished the brides lists tonight and will hopefully have those out tomorrow. All in all we worked with 105 vendors, 20,000+ square feet, an exhibition company, a venue, a tent rental company with two mega tents, a pre-event reception with 100 guests, the event planner sent from above, almost $10,000 in prize giveaways and probably 500+ guests at the show. Praise Jesus it's done. Not that I don't like it when things are in full swing but my goodness is it a ton of work! Signed our 2011 Arizona Weddings campaign today and working on the 2011 renewal info and then breathing for a few days before starting all over again. Ahhhh...

Today Brooks is in Baltimore visiting some friends and I am enjoying the babies all to myself. Taylor has pajama day at school tomorrow and is insisting on wearing his Wall-E "jamas". I might pack a spare set of clothes just in case. He also gets to go to the book fair with his class and pick up some new books. We went on Wednesday after school and he picked out a book on space and another on the weather. Jasmine chose two Barbie books and a "Dolly" (Ariel) book, which we have ready about two dozen times.

On Saturday we are having a movie play date with Kat and are going to see the Legend of the Guardians for the sensory friendly showing. Then back home and maybe we will put up some Halloween decorations.

Mr. Popular

Last night was curriculum night at Taylor's school. We were late of course and the room was pretty full with kids and parents sitting at the tables. Brooks sat with Jasmine on the rug and went to work on her coloring book while I tried to listen to Mrs. Gregory.

"Mom, do you see blue? Blue is my favorite color"

"Shhh, Taylor. Please don't talk when your teacher is talking."

"Okay mom. But did you know that--"

"Shh! Can you please wait to tell me after she is done talking?"

"Okay mom."

And then we were done. Brooks asked if that was it, and I guess it was. We waited to talk with her after the room had pretty much cleared. I didn't know we really had anything new to share with her, but since Taylor was sent home the day before with a yellow note on his behavior I thought for sure she might have something to tell us.

She said he had a great day, and she was sure his behavior the day before was because he had made the choice not to behave versus something sensory related, like I worried. She also told us the best news ever- that Taylor has a lot of friends and that the other boys really gravitate toward him. "Really?!" I asked. "Oh yeah! He has the best sense of humor and I think the kids notice that." Then she told me that two of the boys in the class were calling Taylor their best friend.

Phew! We have been so, so worried about Taylor making friends. That concern has been at the top of our list for such a long time. Aside from wanting him to appear as normal as possible, we want to make sure he is making friends and kids are being nice to him. And of course that he is being nice back.

Taylor in the House

I was looking through some pics this morning and could not help posting this one. Taylor is so darn cute and if I do say so myself we have one good-looking kid. I love this picture, it is so hard to get pictures of him anymore and I get so sad sometimes when I look at his baby pictures when he had such light in his eyes. But, here it is in this pic, and I love it!

Girly Girl

Jazz discovered Mama's lipstick. 'Nuff said.

...and the quest for speech continues

I was reading some old posts a while back and when we first began to worry about Jasmine's speech one of the initial fears we had was Autism. How ironic (?) then that Taylor is the one who ended up with the diagnosis and our little Princess is now singing "You've Got a Friend In Me" in the background as I type this. Little Miss Jazz is quite the talker these days. She loves to sing, but is just a chatterbox in general. She can also be quite sassy...I certainly don't know where she got that from.

So here we are one year from Taylor receiving the PDD diagnosis and 8 months from him receiving the Autism diagnosis and we are still waiting for speech therapy. I think I found the place, but I won't believe it until September 2nd at 5pm when the paperwork is in and the session is done. I have to be grateful because we do have really great insurance, but unfortunately many insurance companies deny speech for Autistic kids. Yes, I plan to appeal and once I have a copy of the evaluation he received last week I plan to do that.

As we started down this path with Jazz, I went ahead and self referred to DDD to try to get coverage that way. While he was determined to be medically eligible for DDD services, he was denied by ALTCS who provides the funding. Basically DDD will cover treatment for certain disabilities/diagnoses. It's much easier to get help for kids 3 and under, over three are usually referred to the school district. Five and over gets really tricky. I keep wondering what if I would have realized sooner what was going on and how things might be different now. But, I didn't so here we are.

Yes, Taylor gets therapy at the school, but it is not enough. Any services provided by the school district are only for the child to be able to function in an education setting. I don't know any condition that limits itself to Monday-Friday 8-3. We have so many issues at home it wouldn't be enough for us to rely on the school to address everything. Plus, I learned last year his therapist had over 100 kids on her caseload! That's crazy! Gotta love Arizona and our fabulous emphasis on education.

So anyway, I have been trying to get speech. I tried through insurance. I tried with DDD/ALTCS- which took over 7 months by the way for the whole paperwork/interview process. Finally we gave up and figured we'd have to pay out of pocket. Regular price is $300 a session, but there was a cash discount where he received his other private therapies of just $90 a session. We waited two more months for the evaluation only to have the therapist tell us that Taylor needs more than what they could offer. I broke down and cried in front of the therapist. I couldn't even explain why, I just was done. "But, he is really high functioning" she said. Which is great and I get that. But because he is so high functioning getting any help is a constant battle. High functioning for a kid with Autism does not equate to able to function.

So I went home and Googled the clinic she mentioned. Then called them and immediately they emailed the paperwork over. They offer group sessions every other week for the bargain price of $50 a session. This is cheap compared to everything else. So I've got the forms filled out and we'll be starting him on September 2nd. I know I should be optimistic, but I still have this feeling something else will happen. Maybe these sessions won't be a great fit, maybe after a full day at school and an hour drive he won't respond like he should.

...or maybe this is it. Really it and we've finally done it.

Toy Story Mania

Little Miss Jasmine is Toy Story Crazy!

We watched the Toy Story 3 at the theaters during the sensory-friendly showing, which was great! The sound is not as loud, they don't dim the lights as much and best of all, all of the kids are noisy and walking around- not just ours! Great experience and we would see all movies this way if we could ;)

Well, since then Jazz has become Toy Story crazy. Thank goodness we had 1 and 2 at home, as they now play non-stop on the TV in the playroom. And I mean NON-STOP. Even if Jazzasaurus is in the other room she'll flip out if she can't hear it in the background. The only time that poor TV gets a break is when she is asleep.

By now she has quite a collection of the toys as well- Woody, Bullseye, Jessie, Slinky, Rex, Zurg, Buttercup and of course the Barbies. When we go somewhere, she'll load them all in her Kai-Lan backpack and off we go! These pics are of the gang watching what else- Toy Story, while hanging out in a Barbie carriage.

Welcome to Holland

When we received the Autism Diagnosis from Dr. Blitz back in January, we were given a packet of information. I didn't actually look at the packet thoroughly for probably four months, I was in the thick of therapies and when I had first glanced through it noticed there wasn't a comprehensive list of "to-do's" like I'd hoped for. There was a list of books to read, websites and excepts from those websites to check out but not a list- which is something it seems a lot of us are looking for. A good list that says "If your child has/does this is might be this", "here are gluten free foods ASD kids will actually eat" - definite answers are what I, and probably many other parents want. But since that was not in this packet, I figured I was no better off than if I didn't even have the packet since I was trying to figure everything out seemingly from scratch anyway.

So I ignored the packet for a while and when Taylor's folder in the file cabinet finally broke because there was so much stuff in there (medical bills, reports, other "helpful" printouts of info we'd gotten, did I decide to sort and organize and look through the packet. I found this poem in there, called "Welcome to Holland". I do like the poem, sort of. I mean it helps to make the point that Autism just sort of happens- it is not something we expect or plan for. So it brings comfort in that sense. When I went to Google the poem this morning to post in on here, I found another blog post from someone saying that she did not like "Welcome To Holland", and I guess I see her point too. This mom of another ASD kid thought this poem put parents of special needs kids on a pedestal, and gave the impression that having these kids is a blessing and we should forever be grateful and didn't have the right to feel frustrated or complain. I guess I understand that too. It's almost like when someone dies and everyone comments that they are at peace or they are with God now and that should give comfort to the family. It still hurts and that family still has a right to feel sad for themselves.

Don't get me wrong, having a child with Autism, and more so Taylor having Autism is not at all like him dying. He is such a wonderful and amazing little boy- but it is still HARD. Some days it is really, really hard. And of course some days everything is great and anyone who didn't know would never be able to tell something was "different" about him. But some days he is falling all over the place, won't eat his food because there is a speck of overcooked brown on it, he'll melt down over every little thing, won't be able to take his own clothes off and pees himself, runs into everything and everybody and then melts down again when we tell him to be careful or take away the plastic he is chewing or try to stop him from banging his head. I could go on and on. These are usually the days when I have a ton of phone calls to make, or Brooks needs me to do something and then email it to him or we are supposed to get out the door to an appointment or meeting. So I get "Welcome to Holland" and I get the lady who can't stand it. I don't want pity or high expectations. I love Taylor and wouldn't trade being his mom for anything.

But, I would also love to go to Italy.

We're back...

OK, so FOR REAL this time blogging is on like Donkey Kong! I feel like I have been saying forever that I needed to get back into this. Apparently I need a lot of signs sometimes before I "get" it. I love blogging and have been blogging about bridal stuff for the ABA, but have avoided this site mainly because with everything that has been going on I felt like I was constantly in it and didn't want to then talk about it again, but now I get how cathartic it is to deal with it all. I have been mentally overloaded and have had some pretty serious epiphanies lately. Like light bulbs going off constantly. I don't know how many times lately I have said to myself, "Oh now I get it!" "Oh that makes sense!" I also keep thinking about the phrase that God gives you only what you can handle, which is perhaps the understatement of the year. Thank God he didn't dump all this past year on me at once- I seriously would be in the looney bin.

So, looks like the last post was in March, way too much to go over all in one blog but I am sure it will all come up at some time, in due time. But, we are back and man have we been busy! Big plans, lots of new things have been learned and we keep on chugging.

Cupcakes for Breakfast? Sure, why not?

Happy Birthday Jasmine!!

Today is the 2nd birthday for the most wonderful little girl a mommy could ask for. Her party is scheduled for this Saturday at Tumbleweed Park. We were going to have a tea party at the house, but I just couldn't get creative enough for it. So, we changed plans and she is going to have a tumbling party instead. They set up mats and tunnels and other activities for the kids. We also ordered her Barbie cupcakes, since she loves her cupcakes. Today I bought some butterfly cupcakes and she decided that is what she wanted for breakfast. Of course I had to say yes, it is her birthday after all!



Taylor had one too. Let's hope he was behaved at school!

Sensory Shopping

Today the postman brought an exciting package from Barnes and Noble: The Out of Sync Child, and The Out Of Sync Child Has Fun. Ironically, just this morning I also went online and bought Taylor's "wiggle seat" as his OT calls it. It is an inflatable disc seat with bumps on it, that seems to work to keep his little keester still. Depending on how big this thing is, I may fit it in my purse for the next time we go out to eat. Taylor seems to love deep pressure and "proprioceptive" activities, so I am attempting to find what we can do at home without breaking the bank. Taylor's favorite activity with his OT is the "Squeeze Machine", which is a measly $530. After quickly flipping though The Out of Sync Child Has Fun, I think we can make a similar type of activity out of inner tubes.

Day Trip to Tucson

Last Saturday we went to Tucson for the day, and had a blast! We started out at the U of A, and did pictures with an old friend from high school on the U of A campus. It was a ton of fun and we got some amazing shots! I love pictures of the kids, and these turned out wonderful.

After pictures, Taylor asked for lunch at McDonalds and then went to the Zoo. Taylor was very excited that we had a map and he chose which animals he wanted to see. After the Zoo, we met our friends Chris and Rachael and their two kids at Little Anthony's Diner. They kids were all wild, but had a great time. It was great to see them, but what was especially nice was that the kids are all the same age and it was tons of fun since they are totally where we are in life. Since this day went so well, I can't wait to do it again!

Six Kids and Crazy

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

And, speaking of love...Valentine's Day was also the special birthday of our newest niece Maria Andrea Back. She decided to give her mommy and daddy a little bit of trouble and their planned home birth turned into an emergency c-section and NICU stay. Mary and Araceli are both doing well and should be home today.

We picked up the kids when they were still at home, and then kept them for a little bit longer then our initial idea of a few hours. I often say God did not make me to have a lot of babies, and after this weekend I can't argue with myself. Don't get me wrong, there are many wonderful parents out there who can do it and do it well (such as Araceli and James). I am just not one of them! You just have to have a lot of structure and routine, and patience. The kids all did well, but long term I think 2 is just enough for us.

Bella, Michael, Sarah and Josh are now home with their Daddy. And we are happily snuggling and loving our two.

Germs and More!

Update to my TGIF Post:
Our Friday filled with fun was on a roll: speech started late which meant our hour drive/lunch break was shortened to 30 minutes, and then because of that I was 10 minutes late to Taylor PT eval which was dutifully noted in the printed eval I was mailed about a week later. Among his hypotonia and low muscle tone diagnosis mention was a reference by the therapist that she could not complete the full test because we ran out of time. Gee, thanks. The story of my life, it seems.

So anyway, after rushing back to Araceli's from PT to pick up Jasmine who Araceli had very kindly sat with during her developmental therapy session since mommy couldn't be there, we headed to an unexpected stop at the pediatricians. And the day came screeching to a halt with the diagnosis no mother who has taken her kids all over town and so unknowingly shared germs galore wants to hear: RSV. Since Taylor does not do oral meds, he was give an antibiotic shot for his ear infection I also was made aware of, and a breathing treatment at the office as well as nebulizer to take home for more breathing treatments. So, I called Jenny and sadly explained we would not be at the birthday party, then called my very pregnant sister to let her know I just brought some mega cooties into her home.

Over the course of the weekend, Taylor got much worse and breathing treatments were upped to once every three hours, even during the night. Something like RSV really must be shared, so by the next day little Jasmine was showing signs of this virus o'joy as well. On Monday, we were back at the Pediatrician's office and this time Taylor received a steroid shot for his poor little lings and airway. He also needed to go get a chest x-ray. Following this day of fun, my little guy decided he wanted McDonald's and he wanted ice cream at Ikea, so of course we obliged him.

The week only got better, with Jasmine getting even sicker, another trip to the pediatrician for her which was positive for both RSV and Pneumonia. We ended up at the ER that weekend when her temp spiked at nearly 105 degrees. By Monday, fortunately she was much better, but on Tuesday we received a call from the ER Charge Nurse saying her x-ray had an "infiltrate" and she needed to be switched to a 10-day antibiotic treatment.

So, anyway, after all that I hope and hope and hope some more that we are done with germs for the rest of the winter!

TGIF...for some

"Thank Goodness It's Friday" for some is "Oh, Geez...it's Friday" for us. Not that the end of the week doesn't bring the excitement of the weekend or an opportunity for a full day of Transformers play with Daddy, but Friday is therapy day which means we run around all day, with hardly any play, which makes for two cranky kids. We have been hanging out at Araceli's house in during breaks in our schedule as it doesn't make sense to drive home. Taylor enjoys being able to play with his cousin, Mikey, a fellow Transformers fan. But then I feel horribly guilty when I need to stop the play to load him back in the car for another visit somewhere. Here is a sample of today's schedule:
6:30 wake kids up, get dressed and hit the road by 7:15
8:00 drop Brooks off at work
8-9 stop at the store to pick up two birthday presents
9-10 Taylor Occupational Therapy
10:30 Jazzy Speech Therapy
11:30 leave Speech and grab a quick lunch at Araceli's.
1:00 Leave Jazzy with Araceli for DSI, and take Taylor to Physical Therapy eval
1:30 Jazzy DSI home visit
2:00 avoid photo radar cameras and try to make it back for the end of Jazzy's DSI
3:30 Kids haircuts
5:00 pick Brooks up from work, grab some dinner
7:00 birthday party 56 miles from home
8:30 head home!
I could switch Jazzy's therapies to home visits, but I have been reluctant to do that because she has such a great relationship with her therapist, and home visits would mean she's lose her current therapise. Plus, she has become quite the little chatter box and I would hate for her to regress. Taylor's occupational therapist is awesome as well, so I have the same dilemma there. Now that he has received the official ASD diagnosis, he could also receive music therapy, and I am trying to get speech therapy which he really needs. But, how do I fit that in? I am sure with too many therapies in one day he would have a really rough time.

Well, until I figure something out... oh geez, here we go again.

Happy Birthday To Brooks!

Happy New Year To All!

Today is Brooks' birthday, but he has been milking it all weekend. Unfortunately, Jasmine, Taylor and I have been sick so he hasn't really been able to get away with much. Taylor and I made him a cake first thing this morning, his favorite Coldstone Creamery cake will have to wait until the January birthday party at the end of the month.

Since three of the four of us aren't feeling so hot, we'll just be hanging out at home. Taylor loves to play Transformers with Daddy, and would be content doing that all day. I asked if I could play with him and he said no because I was "too girly". Brooks also asked for steak and french fries for dinner, so I should be able to take a break from blowing my nose long enough to make that. He also wants to play basketball at the nearby courts today, so we'll see if Taylor and the Transformers follow him.

2009 was quite a year, to say the least, so we are really looking forward to a new outlook in 2010. This is also the last year in our 20's, a daunting thought only because there is so much more we wanted to do before the big 3-0. January also marks our 8 year anniversary. I can't imagine life without Brooks and am blessed to spend this day with our family.