The Beach Bums

New Adventures! Fresh Life Photography!

2009-08-18T11:27:00.005-04:00

My time flies. I don't post here much anyone because of that wonderful thing called facebook. I like being bale to control who sees my stuff and who doesn't. Look me up, I'd love new friends :) My new project as of late is my photog business. I just started and have gone live! I will be starting a promo. Real excited about it! Of course it's kinda scary because I am at the point of no return, it's sink or swim baby! Come check me out and spread the word!! Click on fresh life photography fresh life photography

Spring!

2009-05-06T10:25:00.004-04:00

Wow, things are chugging along. So many things going on! Wedding is in almost a month! Yikes! Calling businesses and getting calls back, a thing of the past apparently. Matthew saw the neurologist last Friday, she told me I'm on the right path! Phew! But then ugh! because I just am not getting anywhere as far as getting the full day program. His annual review is on the 18th and they'll tell me their official plans. Todd has been my backbone, listening to my rants and raves about this whole situation, he's even taking a vacation day to attend the PPT, to keep up to date on Matthew and the school. Benjamin changes everyday. His new trick, climbing on the couch....and falling off. Matthew just doesn't get that babies can't think and when he's fitting about something he doesn't understand how it can hurt others. Ben gets in his space and Matthew doesn't like that, so Ben's had "help" getting off the couch a few times. WE're working on it to say the least. Matthew also had a comprehensive evaluation, boy I can't wait to get reports back! Maria is doing awesome. Can you believe that I haven't killed the salamander yet?? She likes having him, and doing our frequent walks to the pond for water. It's a slow morph and not sure if I am providing everything for the bugger, but it has more substantial legs and it is alittle bigger. She has a bug project that she's working on, making a habitat for ladybugs. They have a bug presentation to show off their habitats on June 3rd. I refuse to do the project for her to make her look good, so she'll have an authentic one :) She's gonna be 7 next week!! I'm making her digital baby book now for some reassurance that she's still little :) Love my family!!!!

Bad bad mom

2009-04-26T15:24:00.002-04:00

Ok well, I haven't posted my autism facts here like I said I would, what can I say?? Life with three kiddos, grad school and planning a wedding takes some time. I have however posted fasts nearly every day on my facebook page, please add me if you'd like! Times are good, thank God! The only bad thing has been joining weight watchers for me, I hate dieting, never have but never really HAD to until now. Gonna run, ADD me to facebook to learn your autism facts :)

Autism in my world.

2009-04-01T18:03:00.004-04:00

yes it is here every day. His Dad can say he suffers no affects of autism, but then again he's not with Matthew all the time. Matthew is such a loving boy who has more struggles in the social situation and language processing than the average kid. Anyway, did you know up until 1980 Autism was considered a mental illness?? Kids who had that diagnosis were said to have refrigerator moms, how cruel is that? The Dr's said that autism was caused by moms not being nurturing enough. So glad I don't live then. Autism is now a diagnosis of a learning disability which has it's pluses and minuses too believe it or not....What good is a post about autism with a pic of my cutie boy? I'll add one later, my pics are upstairs :)

Autism Awareness Month is APRIL!!

2009-03-26T14:44:00.003-04:00

How fitting that autism awareness month is in April, Matthew's birth month? As I am celebrating him and his life and all the lessons he's taught me we get to raise awareness and teach the world that ASD is nothing to be feared, definitely something to contend with but not feared. I made this header which is really the thing I use for my siggies on message boards, I plan on changing it every week with a new fact and myth. I hope to be posting some cool links that I have found while researching autism for my graduate degree and some that I have found helpful. Matthew is making great strides and of course the thought of kindergarden lingering kinda scares me. As we all know with budgets shrinking everywhere including schools, what affect will that have on Matthew's schooling, his help,his support, what will fall on my shoulders? How different will Matthew view kinder? But this is the month to teach the public about autism. I strongly believe that people don't accept autism because it's DIFFERENT and we're all taught that DIFFERENT is BAD. Let's teach the world that different can be good!! As long we're not hurting others, different is good :) Well, that's my view :)

Maria singing!

2009-03-26T08:51:00.003-04:00

Maria loves to sing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ntaiHvJwEI

Things are busy but good!

Ben turned one!
ben gave u our first real heart attack but he's ok.
Matthew is learning facts about around the world
Maria is becoming a singing legend!

More details later!

Winter Pictures

2009-02-26T11:38:00.004-05:00

I have tons of things that we have done that I haven't posted about because I have been too busy doing :) Maria as usual loves playing outside. Behind our house after a five minute walk through the woods is a great big hill with no trees around that is awesome for sledding!! Maria loves it! Her cousins even came to try it out. Matthew really wants to like the snow this year but it usually ends with tears. He doesn't want snow on his face AT ALL, or snow on his wrists. Despite my invention of armed mittens and a day with no snowing to sled he still struggles. Benjamin doesn't mind the snow, wouldn't say he loves it...yet! WE've been on a few trips to VT to ski and we have enjoyed that. Life has been good to us. Todd is finding his new job not great but he's hanging in there and we're hoping things will work out in that dept. We have health and for that we will be grateful and enjoy each day!

I hear wedding bells!!!

2009-02-25T12:25:00.003-05:00

Yes Todd has finally popped the question :) A June 20, 2009 wedding is planned right on the surf on the ocean in RI surrounded my a few family members and friends. I wish i could invite all those who helped me get to the place I am now, but it just can't be done. I am sure many probably wouldn't want to travel out there anyway :) We are all very excited. Not that my life hasn't already been blessed by Todd and all the good he brings it but to make it all official and legal feels good. Of course since I have March April and May birthday celebrations to plan I have already started to get details in place. It is kinda odd the second time around, like a bride?? me?? didn't I do this already? NAd the fears creep in every once in a while. But I know Todd and I have a good thing going, it's all in place and this is just a legality and an official start for the outside world. So how did he pop the question?? Well, you know Todd always keeps me guessing and happy :) We went on a birthday/Valentine's getaway to VT for one day of downhill skiing and one day of cross country and thanks to Grandma it was our first getaway alone! Todd insisted that I go to the top of the mountain with him. At the time it made no sense, I am a pretty bad downhill skier, why the TOP? Being promised a great view and a buddy to slowly down down with I took up his offer. The conditions weren't great and as the frosty treetops passed me in my ski lift chair I knew it would be a long trip down. I got off the chair lift gracefully in the 0 degree weather. As we appreciated the frosty beauty around us, Todd had this huge grin on his face and started saying Laurie Laurie look at me, will you marry me?? I'm thinking, right now? You're going to pull out a ring right now? Don't drop it!! My numb cold fingers embraced the diamond and sapphire beauty that was now mine! ANd I was thinking how grateful I was that we were marrying on the WARM golden beach!! When we got back to our room there was a dozen roses waiting for me. The next day we even had a private horse drawn sleigh ride! Perfect weekend and full of such great memories.

Still here

2009-01-10T11:59:00.003-05:00

trying to figure out if I should move to all facebook. I like that only the ones you know can see. If anyone is already there, I could always use new friends. I am not even sure who actually comes to this page so leave feedback if you think I should jsut move this to facebook or if you are a viewer and want it here! Here are my babies starting off the new year!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T17:34:00.004-05:00

Our holiday was great! We hope yours was just as fun! Poor Todd and Benjamin had a cold and Matthew on the tail end of one but we didn't let that ruin our fun! WE only had the big kids until 11 so I didn't get many pics of them-that's one thing that is harder with three kids-picking up the camera and just taking pics of it all! Maria got what she wanted, an emerald ring, matthew got what he wanted-books, the tag system and they both got some little extras like the movie Wall-E. Ben of course didn't have any wants this year but one new found love are the yogurt melts that he got in his stocking! I was lucky to get a pair of sapphire earrings and Santa brought Todd some tools he wanted. The best part of the day was just being with each other, our pancake breakfast cooked by Todd and the hugs and kisses that were given (you wonder why we all get colds at the same time, I had this cold with Maria first) Here's my picture overload!!

(of course my fav one that the flash didn't fire on)

Decorations

2008-12-17T12:49:00.004-05:00

We're in the spirit here!! I just love the decorations, bright colors, happy lights, reasons to celebrate and join together. Here is our tree and here is Ben trying on a new outfit Julia gave him, Thanks Juls!! And isn't my sister the greatest?? She made all those stockings BY HAND, counted crossstiched and even sewed them together. She said next year I get one too!! And how cute is it that Matthew wanted to display his paperchain proudly in the front?? Merry Christmas, enjoy your good health!! I can't help but think of the little children who are battling cancer now at the holidays and one in particular, Dante, 2 yrs old, neuroblastoma, on hospice :( And my buddy Coleman who is struggling with side effects from treatment. God bless their little souls.

v

Calendar Complications

2008-12-16T07:41:00.002-05:00

I stayed up til 12 AM to get my calendar finished and printed for a steal of $10. each from winkflash. I was done at 11 AM and thought I won the battle of digiscrapping! But it took more than an hr for that thing to load up to winkflash so I missed the sale and now it would be too pricey to print...for now...how bummed I was Sunday night. But at least I get to share it with you all anyway. digitally scrapbooked calendar

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-10T13:41:00.007-05:00

It has been a great holiday season so far, of course I haven't done any shopping yet... :) We got our tree on Saturday, a cold day but full of sun! This year Matthew cut down and Maria held it, which gave me the liberty to just go around and take pics! Then at record speed the kids helped put the lights on and decorate the tree. The Christmas spirit is here! even though Todd still doesn't have a job, we know how lucky we are to be alive and well and enjoying this year. This will be the first CHristmas for my father and my good childhood woman mentor CLaire Dowling, to be celebrating in heaven, may their souls be at rest this year.

Help a grad student out PLEASE!!

2008-11-29T19:55:00.001-05:00

For my grad class we had to "take action" on something that made us mad about eco juctice. My group had to watch a movie called The Cost of Cool. Then I built this blog as our "action". Each of us contributed, I am sure you can tell my part. On the blog is a visitor counter, unique visitor that is. I would love during my presentation to be able to prove that we have reached X amount of people. Could you just go to the blog ?? You don't have to view or do anything, just type the blog address in, let it load and count as a visitor :D You would have to go before Monday at 4PM as that is when my presentation is :D And imagine if I had followers besides me!!!! ;) THanks so much for helping out!!!

http://www.consumerawareness508.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T13:48:00.003-05:00

Since the big kids were going to Nonna's for Thanksgiving we had ours here on Saturday. I make a kid friendly version. I make chicken, stove top stuffing, velveeta mac and cheese, canned green beans, pilsbury crescent rolls,gravy for mom, and brownies, all their favs! Sounds yucky to us adults but the kids love it! Todd and I were both recovering from colds so we didn't get all dressed up but we had fun just the same. Did you notice Maria's artwork displayed on the table? She worked hard on making that for our table! Funny thing was I told Matthew that we were having Thanksgiving now, he had a fit, crying and yelling, we finally got out of him that he didn't want to do Thanksgiving because that was BORING. After we were done making brownies and ate our kid meal, while watching Kung Fu Panda he said that was the BEST Thanksgiving ever, can we do it again??? Funny guy :) Here are some pics, I didn't take many we were too busy having fun :)

Chugging along

2008-11-18T09:43:00.003-05:00

Somedays unemployment is hard and sometimes we are taken away from the stress by these sweet faces we were blessed with, all the time we are praying for guidance to the right job. Still no job for Todd. He is so ready to start working again! Prayers for some work soon would help :)
Here are some pics that I was smiling at to remind me that life is GOOD, even with no job for Todd.Sorry I got lazy and just posted the pics blog style, but school work is calling, only one more month left of this semester, then I will be half way done with my degree. I included a pic of my friend Julia from HS, and her new little son Julian, isn't he sweet? WE're hoping Ben and Julian will be friends, they're only 7 months apart! The pic I promised of Maria as a mermaid and the boys on a bike ride with Todd. Did I tell you what an awesome Dad Todd is??? :) He took them on a bike ride AND remembered to take a pic!

Hope

2008-11-08T21:23:00.002-05:00

Well, Todd as my usual amazing guy has landed himself an interview already. Now of course it's not a shoe in or a given and quite likely not get the job, but I have to leave it to God's choice. It is in RI which sounds like the only downside. But if he gets offered he will do it, the at least hr drive. Tonight we went and bought him a suit, tie, dress shoes, shirt and even the belt, with kids in tow, quite interesting! All I can say is red head kid shouting there's 6 Matthews dancing in this mirror. Todd and I were both out of our element but mission accomplished. He needed a professional outfit badly, he's been lucky at his past job to have the luck of wearing t shirts and shorts to work every day. So say your prayers for Tuesday morning!! Here's a random picture of BEnjamin flying with Daddy. Can you see him smiling??

Halloween Pics

2008-11-07T13:40:00.004-05:00

WEll, here are the late halloween pictures. Things are ok here. We have our health which is lots to be thankful for. The kids are chugging along in school, I have 5 weeks of school left, Ben has two new top teeth, the holidays are before us, always fun times. Todd unfortunately lost his job, such tough timing and scary economy for that to happen (of course the economy is the reason he lost his job). Despite the sudden and sad event he is determined to find a new job. AS he looks for a new job we will all enjoy this extra time together. I am missing the pics of Maria alone, I will get those up, they were on a different computer :( These pics aren't the best as I no longer have my fav RAW photo editor (trial ended but I keep shooting in RAW) DUMB!

New family member!

2008-10-19T14:28:00.003-04:00

We went to NY last weekend and got ourselves a new kitty. My sister had a stray kitty come to her pregnant and so we agreed to take one in. His name is wildfire and all the kids love him!! He seems so small to us, which I am sure will change soon. Benjamin likes him the most I think. Whenever he sees the kitty he goes crawling over, grabs him and slobbers on him. Wildfire plays with Ben's toys and puts up with the rough hugs. It's been fun!

More Erin pics!

2008-10-19T08:03:00.002-04:00

Erin was nice enough to shoot our family again since the first time we didn't get a good shot of everyone. Tell me what you think!!
http://www.erinbellphotography.com go to bellkids and then our password is my maiden last name and the number2

Happy 7 months Benjamin!

2008-10-09T09:00:00.003-04:00

Since Benjamin turned 7 months old today I decided we would celebrate with a halloween shoot. Isn't he a cute monkey! I can't wait to dress Maria and Matthew up now too!!!

Quick post

2008-10-08T08:13:00.002-04:00

Time is flying by. School is school. Maria is doing great in school, she loves it! Matthew is also doing pretty good! Maria brings her homework to the table and Matthew does it with her, smart boy. It's amazing how fast they are BOTH learning to read. Benjamin is officially mobile, yup the army crawl, with a hip hop in the middle LOL This weekend we go to New York to see my sister to get our new kitten, yes I know, I am crazy!!

Erin Pictures are in!!!

2008-09-29T19:20:00.003-04:00

Just a quick post to let you all know Erin says I can post the link to our family pictures!! They are amazing!! go to www.erinbellphotography.com click on speed type and then you will see clients, the password is my maiden last name :) Enjoy!!

Big kids

2008-09-25T10:01:00.003-04:00

A few last minute practice shots before the big day tomorrow. Of course not MY big day but recording a big day for Steve and Katie!! I am learning to use my flash better :) All these pics I used flash or fill in flash. I am so glad I got the best flash :) IT allows me the most control, I can even control the output! My princess is getting so grown up. She's hard to photograph because she always makes an unnatural face or she just doesn't look like her, but I think these two came out just like Maria, despite the messy hands, this was really an impromptu pic to see if I could get my light right on a whim. Prayers for tomorrow that we get some sunlight at 5 and that I get it all right, enough to capture some moments at least. AAAHHHH I'm sooo nervous, but don't tell Katie she told me NOT to freak (yeah right)
ANd the kids with the matching shirts was for a rules rally at school. they said they were twins, Lolly and Dolly, too funny.

2008-09-19T12:51:00.002-04:00

It's photos like these that I just want to jump up and down!! Of course, that might be because I am the mom of this incredible unique challenging full of love little boy :)

Times a Goin'

2008-09-16T13:19:00.003-04:00

School has started, and I haven't posted pics yet. Let's see,the countdown to the wedding is two weeks, Steve and Katie I doubt are as nervous as I am LOL My classes are ok. One class is called The exceptional learner which is a requirement for the degree. It is a class that tells teachers about special needs and gifted and talented. I feel like the spy, a parent of a SPED kid but no one knows...yet :D Maria has taken to first grade like a fish to water, see all those tears months before were wasted! Matthew is happy to be in structure again. His only deal lately is sleep. He wakes often in the night requiring me to get up and go to his bed for some time. The other night, it was 4 times, and Ben wake once so that made 5 times in one night. We're trying different things, but this has been going on since around the time Benjamin was born. I did read online that sleep troubles in older autistic kids is common, is he getting "older" already?
We had our photo shoot with Erin Bell, wow how fun! Well, it was fun afterwards :) It was the most humid day Sunday. So Matthew has wet hair in half the shots I am sure. I'd love to pick her brain on how she shoots and all that. Can't wait to see the proofs, man oh man I can't wait! 10 days she said, hopefully not longer than that. She was super cool and I am sure we'll be seeing her again. The kids loved her!!
I took an opportunity to shoot Benjamin in the tea cup one last time. THere are only so many days left that I can have him outside naked for pics. He was trying to eat grass as usual, not a very cooperative model anymore these days, but I think I got a couple of good ones. What I would love to learn is how to post process my pics; they are missing that extra wow :( When I am done with my degree and have extra money for classes and the latest Photoshop program..and then my photo subjects will be gone :( Well, anyway, more important things to do in life I guess.
Here are the kids on the first day of school and here is my cup o' ben.

Smarty Pants Matthew

2008-08-29T13:54:00.002-04:00

Here is Matthew doing what he does best (one of the things anyway) He loves the states. He can complete any puzzle that has the states on it. He can also give about 90% of the capitols now too. What a guy! This is the good side of autism. Of course it's hard to show the bad side, but I think I will try because even after explaining autism some still don't quite get how life for the whole family can be affected. Right now though, I will focus on the good :) Check him out!!!

Busy with what?

2008-08-26T09:45:00.004-04:00

In case anyone reads this blog :) We are still here :) I am busy busy busy. Of course we're all busy so I asked myself this morning, what am I busy with? And all these great things came to mind! I am so lucky and blessed to be busy with happy and fun things (mostly) Potty training Matthew isn't fun, what a MESS he made the other day in the bathroom, but he's just about there!!! This past weekend we the small family climbed a mountain! Monadnock mountain is in NH, a total of 3200 ft of elevation up. It took 2.5 hrs up and 2.5 hrs down and 1 hr we spent at the top. Ben did great! We forgot a bunch of things, of course, including the front carrier, sunblock, sunhat, man we are the worst parents :( Thank God for Rite Aid, it even had a front carrier!! At least I didn't forget his sweatshirt and we used that as suncover at the top, no sun for the little-we were successful! Two weekends ago we had my sister and her three kids to visit. Cooking for 9 people, wow it's lots of food. WE did eat out once for Pizza, Maria likes pizza now!!!!! Yippee!!!!! WE had fun when they were here, going to the beach and just hanging out at the bridge. I tried to get a pic of all 6 kids, but you know how that goes, I am not a pro for sure! I didn't even have time to do white balance. it was one of those shoots I knew I was doomed from the start, I mean 6 kids, yikes! kyle would NOT look. The first pic benjamin pooped so loud they all heard it, priceless faces! Look at grown up Erin, a "young" 13. What does the time go? And of course I spent time these days torturing my children with crazy ideas I get or steal from other places, like this tea cup. Ben was fine with the cup. i really wanted the first shot with him looking but the grass was just too tempting. My next attempt will include a blanket. matthew even tried out the cup, now that will be great picture. And how sweet is that picture of Matthew reading to Benjamin. Matthew isn't sweet towards Benjamin too often but when he is it is so cute! it's just a great life i have here!

cousin Tienna

Erin at 13

Kyle at 6

The bomb! Look at how non affected Ben looks.

all six

Rufous Hummingbird

Cup O' Ben

Grass!

brothers!

Top of the mtn!

Top of Monadnock

Benjamin 5 months

2008-08-09T14:47:00.004-04:00

Our little guy is growing up! It still amazes me even though Benjamin is baby #3 for me! He's learning to grab for things, including my hair Ouch! He already has two teeth and makes his own sounds, has his own look and has his own schedule :) What a blessing he is!

trying something new

2008-08-04T14:42:00.003-04:00

click here for album

Here is an album I made of all our Virginia Beach vacation pictures! Just click on the link above! Now on to make a Nova Scotia and Maine one LOL

Favorite

2008-07-21T15:37:00.002-04:00

Here's a picture from our trip that I am posting for the photographer Erin Bell http://www.erinbellphotography.com I would love for her to take some with this idea, the texture on the barn is what I love. If she could make me look thinner I'd like that too ;-) I can't wait to share more pics from our Nova Scotia trip and I am super excited to have Erin photograph our family in September!

Ben and Black

2008-07-10T10:55:00.002-04:00

I'm posting this pic in case a fellow 2peas friend wanted to see how I did my black background. If you are reading, this pic is far from perfect, I'm totally a beginner too :) But I like when I have a wrinkly black background to select it out and do the black painting.

My practice subject

2008-07-09T10:33:00.003-04:00

So I am still practicing for the wedding and I will probably be practicing even after :) My goal is to get used to my flash and get good quality photos. Ben is my easiest subject lately. I did take a few of Maria but I didn't do as great a job. I'll post those next. Of course my wedding will be the hardest with an indoor setting and limited equipment I have. These pics are actually a combo natural/flash light. My biggest weakness is processing my photos in photoshop :( That is where you can really make your images pop, how to learn that?? I guess courses and $$$ which I don't have time for as I am starting my master's work again in the fall. Anway, hope you like these practice shots of Benjamin! He is now 4 months old yesterday. He weighed 15 lbs even and was 26 inches tall which makes him 95th for height and 50th for weight. I'm pretty tired these days but I am so enjoying my last time of being a mommy to a little one, and what a cute little one he is.

Benjamin Fun!

2008-07-05T14:51:00.002-04:00

testing large pics

2008-07-01T20:38:00.002-04:00

Vacation for 5!

2008-06-30T21:37:00.003-04:00

Todd is so brave and adventuresome! He encourages me to take risks which I am so grateful for, if he didn't I would be missing out on so much fun. This adventure was on vacation, a 10 hr drive with three kids to go to the beach! We made the trip, headed straight for the beach, had a hotel right on the sand, it was great! Many happy memories for all. We even brought back two friends, Sparkle shell and Tommy, our two new hermit crabs. I promised grandma Marjie that I would post pictures of the kids while she and Tom were away on their 1.5 month voyage to Alaska and back. Sorry the post is late :( I have many more pictures to come including some super cute ones of Ben in his first stripy Gap PJs and his exersaucer and ones of Maria in her gymnastics performance, man am I behind. Anyway, here are our vacation pics. WE used Todd's new camera and with that comes less pics of Matthew not looking because the camera has a delay but you all get the idea :) As you can see, Ben was either in the front carrier on Todd or in the jogging stroller, he's such a good boy! The big kids enjoyed digging and burying in the sand, both went in the water, carnival rides and Maria even showed off her new swimming skills in the pool. Oh and I can't forge the ice cream and the cool cruise on the four wheeled bike! Mom and Todd were sure tired after our three day stint but with grins on our faces.

Matthew goes for a ride!

2008-06-26T21:23:00.002-04:00

Matthew, Maria and Todd went for a bike ride today with great success!

God Bless Benjamin!

2008-06-18T12:56:00.005-04:00

Benjamin had his baptism on Sunday! He was a good boy. The only thing he did that was less than admirable was to explode his pants about 10 min after he was baptized. It was so bad it went out the back of the diaper, on the gown on the outfit and onto Daddy's pants. Todd took him out to the car to change him. Good thing it wasn't when the minister walked him around to meet the church. I washed it when we got home and he was able to wear it at least for cake pictures. We had a nice party at our house afterwards, so great to be with friends and family. God Bless Benjamin!
Todd had his first Father's Day! what a blessing he is to my life and of course to Benjamin's. Even though Benjamin's timing wasn't planned, he brings such a sense of healing. He and Todd together brighten my life and I can't thank them enough.

New Lens!

2008-06-10T15:39:00.002-04:00

So I have no money to be wasting on silly stuff likes lens but I did get a stimulus check and I do have to photograph a wedding in September so...I dragged Matthew first into the woods and he sat the best he has for me in ages. Maria was dragged next but was NOT cooperative :( Ben was sleeping. So what do you think?? Any good?

Photopalooza

2008-06-08T13:02:00.006-04:00

Wow, I have to get so caught up on my pics that I am just doing one huge post! So many things going on. Unfortunately Todd has been sick :( Today was the big big ride and he had to sit out. Yesterday he woke up with his hand all swollen thinking it was a spider bite. He then developed a fever and felt crappy. He started to feel better though not quite himself, but before bed I noticed all his veins leading from the bite were red streaked, SCARY!! he ran right to the ER at 10PM and found out he had cellulice, an infection in his blood traveling toward his torso. They gave him IV meds and he needs to take pills and possibly more iV if he doesn't get better. Poor guy has been training for this ride and now he can't ride. Let's hope these meds work and no more hospital.
So all these pics are Benjamin wearing his first sandals, Benjamin dipping his toes in the ocean,Maria releasing her painted lady butterflies, all five successfully hatched, Matthew making music on the side of the house with a stick and Maria enjoying the water slide she earned with good behavior, starting our vegetable garden, Oh and benjamin started cereal! It's been crazy here.
Details, Benjamin wearing sandals, so cute :) My big boy is 3 months old today. We also took a little trip to Long Island to visit my friend Julia who's expecting Nov. 4th. then I went out east to show Todd and Benjamin where I grew up :) We had a great time, Benjamin being the star traveler yet again. Maria got five catterpillars to watch grow into butterflies. All 5 made it and we decided to let some go yesterday. She cried and cried, but this one butterfly must have felt bad for her, he stayed with us for a good twenty minutes before flying off. it was real neat to even see him drinking from this daisy. Matthew was not interested in the waterslide and he's been real tough to photograph lately :( But here he is banging a stick on the side of the house and old paint cans to get different timbres. And we also started our veggie garden :) This year we are trying more things, we have in there watermelon, squash, cucumbers, basil, and tomatoes. The kids did a great job using their hoes. Ben even planted with us :) I think that has me all caught up :)

Rally Around!!

2008-06-03T10:38:00.003-04:00

As you all know I love Todd more than anything! He gives me reasons every day to love him more than yesterday. The latest thing Todd is doing to make me proud is ride 100 miles on his bike for a fundraiser for Diabetes. He loves to ride and is always looking for ways to challenge himself, a century ride only made sense. For the past month Todd has been riding his bike once a week to and from work (70 miles) to prepare. of course it helps that he can raise money for diabetes, something his Dad deals with on a daily basis and something I had during my pregnancy with Benjamin. I would love Todd to get more money than I can give. I want Todd to know that we all love him, almost as much as I do ;) Even if we all just left $5. he would see our name and know our support as he rides that 100th mile. Todd is an awesome Dad to Benjamin, best role model for Maria and Matthew, my best friend, my best love and many other things. He restores my hope in the future! I know there are many more out there that love Todd and are proud of him and maybe even perhaps impressed at 40 yrs old can ride 100 miles in one day on a bike! Show your support by giving $5. to his fund so he sees us all in his mind cheering for him at that finish line this Sunday!!
Tour De Cure-Support Todd

Laughter

2008-05-22T12:05:00.004-04:00

How did I get blessed with such sweet faces????

Benjamin

2008-05-19T17:48:00.002-04:00

My last post wasn't meant to make anyone mad or say that I was mad at anyone else. it's just reality, my life doesn't need to be blogged.

So Benjamin is smiling lots lately!! He's so cute!! And growing!

Why Blog?

2008-05-14T20:24:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I got the question, WHy Blog THAT? THAT I am assuming is really my life. Why blog about your court stuff? Why blog about your ex? Why put on your blog your past? I don't get the question. isn't blogging suppose to be your life and how you feel about it? making your own chronicle? I understand my life can be kinda morbid or the reality of it all is not so nice. But I go to blogs that people post daily about what life is like after their wife dies in child labor. Or the ravages of cancer on their life. Ok , yeah so I have some domestic BS that I write about, but it's part of my life you see? It's the truth, it's reality. I thought portraying real life was healthy. So many years I had to be the Dr's wife, the nice one, has it all together, perfect. Growing up I was the abused child that had to smile in public or you'd get worse when you got home; I had to be perfect. I got this similar comment last week, why do you put that stuff on the internet?? Is what I have here that bad? is it offensive? I can only imagine a handful of people visit here. So I will answer the question why blog it? Why is it on the internet and then reality will have to stop. I will post about the frills in my life, the niceitites and the rosey. And for those out there who are searching for the one blog that has real life, has reality and needs to see that they are like someone else, will just have to find that in another section of the internet world. I blog everything that goes on in my life because for me writing has always been a healing experience. When I was in fifth grade I started a journal and I have kept with it ever since. of course my stressful years have far more entries and since becoming a mom it probably only has an entry once a month, if that. When I was growing up this world was not the advocate it is now for children. I suffered in silence. As an older child I thought I was the only one with a screwed up family. Being a foster child was ugh, not good for the social scene. If I had one person that I knew I could lean on it would have made the difference. maybe in my blog I think maybe someone is reading that and getting strength from me. Maybe an at home mom hood makes me feel unimportant to this world, especially when lately my two older children seem to have a better life else where and treat me as only someone who can get things done for them. Maybe that feeling is part of motherhood. I blog because maybe someone will leave me an encouraging word, Maybe people would understand me more if they knew what my life was like, where it came from and know it's going somewhere. I was hoping maybe someone found my journey interesting, slightly inspiring. it's like what shouting on a roof top is for some, though a blog would be the passive way to that very same thing, and of course the reality of it is I am a passive person :) I blog so that if my children are ever interested they could see what life was like for me, for us, how it all happened. The more sensible reasons are also to show off the kids, to update family and to keep memories for the kids. I think i was wrong about all this blogging stuff though. I think only a few people can pull off a blog about reality, the good the bad and the ugly. Maybe I just never learned the value of privacy, hardly had it in life, I was a ward of the state, my life was an open book to social workers (which only one by the way let the view of reality sink in and help me), court rooms, and the such. So I guess this will be my last entry that makes you all the reader, my therapist. I am off to find an even more passive way to vent myself. I didn't mean to offend anyone with court talk, or ex talk or the feelings of uncertainty through so much pain, the trials of love after betrayal. Maybe this blog would have worked if it was anonymous, no one knew it was me. Whatever the reason, I will only write about the children because that's what we're al interested in, the future, our children, the minds of tomorrow. I hope you can all forgive me for mistaking the blog as a therapist. I miss Todd, he always seems to understand me even when it feels like no one else does. .
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.Benjamin is doing great. He's so cute! I haven't thought about what milestones he should be doing or what percentile he's in, just enjoying him the best I can. I guess i should start working on tummy time and all that. At two months old he weighs 12lbs 13 oz. Todd took him to his appointment so I don't know about anything else. he did get his first shot and didn't show too much affect from it. We are doing one shot at time because I am paranoid about autism. Maria lost another tooth the other day, top left. The fairy brought the requested $5. 5 quarters and 5 pennies, because you know, she's five, well for at least a few more hrs :) Matthew just had his school party. I know bad mom, it's nearly a month late but he had a blast. Of course now it's on to thank you cards and trying to find a place for all these toys. Tomorrow it's more of birthday land with Maria having her birthday tomorrow. I am bringing cupcakes to school for snack. Then Friday is the Great Escape party then I can finally finish up Birthday world. I hope it's not this hard next year. I think since Benjamin has been born I have been celebrating birth. Todd will be home tomorrow around 6PM, man I can't wait. :)

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T21:12:00.003-04:00

WEll, as I sit and write, one of my blessings is being stubborn, which I kinda thought this would happen. Mr Matthew won't go to sleep, I let him nap from 4-5 thinking his cold would need him to nap anyway, now at 9:30 I am regretting that. Todd is away these few days so it would be nice if all three were sleeping to get some things done, time to unwind and time to regroup, on Mother's Day.
Mother's day has been a day that I have often felt sad that I never had a mother daughter relationship with my mother, or sadder was that she never pursued one with me. But now I have so many reasons to be happy on these days, or rather be grateful. This year is my first with Benjamin to add to my blessings. How grateful I am for my healthy babies. Maria was real sweet with a card from school she made me. All the things she said she liked about me seemed genuine and all things I'd want to be remembered for. Matthew doesn't know the holiday yet, obviously :) We celebrated yesterday, the five of us. of course the day was filled with things like taking maria to a birthday party, driving Todd's car tot he airport for his trip and ordering out for grinders instead of going out so that Todd's Dad could meet Benjamin for the first time. But I did get some sweet gifts and my much anticipated card from Todd. His cards always make me feel good :) I have a small collection now that I read when I miss him, like now. Even though we celebrated yesterday I do miss him here today.

Happy Mother's Day for all the moms who lost many nights of sleep rocking babies to bed, or the moms who gave up for them to have. I also send my prayers out to the moms who don't have their sweet ones any longer here on earth, like Becky, Ethan's mom http://www.ethanpowell.com, little Ethan passed on April 5th.And so many more, too many. thank You God for making me a mommy :)

Matthew is FOUR!

2008-04-22T12:00:00.002-04:00

Where has the time gone? My big guy is bigger! His birth was a fast and furious one, being only 4.5 hrs but much more painful than I remember natural childbirth being. Of course he was oh so worth it. I remember the moment I first held him, all 8lbs 12oz, I was SOO relieved to have him in my arms, thanking God, for some reason I was worried that something would be wrong with him, and thankfully I was wrong! He melted my heart instantly with his little bit of red hair and chubby cheeked face. Today he wins my heart just the same except now I have even more reasons to love him. He's so smart, he gives hugs, his eyes sparkle with excitement, he's my Mr Matthew and so grateful for that. This year for him has been a tremendous one! He has many challenges to deal with still but he's been checking them off one by one as challenge successfully met. Of course I can't take all of the credit, Ms Rich and her crew at Colchester Elementary school has done an amazing job with him. their love for him is very true, I yet again get lucky by moving here and having their expertise. We had a little party for him here and he will have his friend party next week, which I am really looking forward to. Of course it's alittle late but one thing about Matthew is he's pretty forgiving and loves me just the same. Happy Birthday, you've been more than Mommy could have ever dreamt up!

Holding a Gem!

2008-04-14T14:27:00.004-04:00

Everyone loves to hold Ben, and that now includes Matthew!! Of course he's not at the point of asking to hold him, but he will let Mommy take a pic if I really ask nicely LOL Maria continues to love a cuddle with baby brother. We have issues we're still working out about adding Ben to our family but we are all doing it because we love each other and I know we'll come out in the end whole and happy. Look at the love in these faces :) Benjamin continues to have more awake time. We had a birthday party for Matthew yesterday and Grandma Marjie and Grandpa Tom came and boy did Benjamin cry before they left, he finally conked from fatigue. We still love cuddling the little guy even when he cries though we feel badly when Bugaboo cries :(

Growing boy!

2008-04-09T14:51:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Benjamin went to the Dr and he weighed a whopping 10lbs 5oz and 22.25 inches long! It's always hard to chose what pics to post :) Today I have Benjamin just chilling on the couch with me probably doing laundry or waiting for a bus. There is also a pic of him enjoying the papasan seat that my friend Stacy let me borrow (Thanks Stacy). Of course if you wrap him up in his swaddle me blanket he will be quite content, great gift for that new mom if you have one to shop for!! Finally there is a pic of Todd enjoying incorporating Ben into his life, for a great jog! Of course Benjamin is a tad small for it but he just did an easy jog so no harm to our precious boy! Not much else to say as I am pretty tired :(
Non kid news is I went to court again Monday and of course no resolution. As you can imagine it's getting pretty tough on me to have this unresolved. Yeah I get my current settlement still followed, but I feel like I can't plan for my future. I am getting wierd dreams which are making it even tougher to get sleep. A hearing has been set for May 9th at 11AM, I am told that this is the last time it will be postponed. I have a month to dread testifying and to practice positive thinking LOL If you could keep me in your thoughts and pray that whatever happens is the best for the kids that would comfort me :) One thing that came from this court appearance was my lawyer telling me that I will be asked to describe life with an autistic child. She wanted me to tell the judge what is different from parenting him verses a typical child as to show the real need for me to stay with Matthew. I actually stopped in my mind and tried to think what IS my life like to parent Matthew. Well, hard of course but parenting any child gets tough at times. Matthew is just Matthew and I couldn't actually think of things off the top of my head. I had to really think ok, typical verses atypical. I'm glad I got the time to think of what I would say. And with having Benjamin seems like some autistic traits have surfaced but yet I stil think of Matthew as Matthew my mysterious boy not my autistic son, kinda a relief at teh same time even though if I was asked that on the stand I would have been unclear to the judge.
Enjoy the pics! Next time I have some real sweet pics of Maria and Benjamin to share :) Matthew has yet to hold Benjamin :( But he is closing in and I think he will so it soon...this scrapbooking momma hopes so anyway.

We have a belly button!!

2008-04-01T12:33:00.003-04:00

Poor Benjamin has had a slight cold these past few days :( The good news is that his belly button is now here, no more cord! He can now have a real bath! I thought since he can now sit in the water that he would like bath, but I was wrong, poor bugaboo does not like bath...yet. Hopefully when he can play with toys he'll be happier, Of course he was much happier once he was out and resting on Daddy's chest. He's usually good for Daddy, what's with that? Gives Mommy troubles during the dya, sleeps on Daddy at night. Maria and Matthew were a great audience, they're doing well :)

Movie Star

2008-03-27T17:16:00.007-04:00

Let's see if I can get the first video to work. Rumor has it that Todd's family can get some pretty serious hiccups, well that would include Ben :) He gets them pretty seriously but he's cool with that, no fuss :)

Also, look at this cute bugaboo in an outfit given to him by Auntie Lisa, what a little muffin!

here again!

2008-03-26T10:24:00.002-04:00

Ok so I have no excuse, Ben is now 2 weeks and 3 days old. Of course I am busy with three kids, but I know of someone who just had babies #3 &4, yes twins and she updates nearly everyday! Now I know I don't have nearly the following she does, but I am hoping that I have at least one fan out there that checks on the blog once in a while. It's not that I don't have pictures either, I have plenty of those :) I just found out that I am the photographer for some friends of ours wedding and it's an indoor wedding, yikes! So I have been practicing with my 20D indoor shots and lighting and all that. Since Benjamin sits still very well :) he's a great guinea pig. Lucky for him it's non flash stuff, well until the new flash comes in LOL So I hope to be posting again.
Benjamin is doing very well. On Friday he weighed in at 8lbs 12oz and was 20 3/4 inches long! In 10 days our little guy gained a pound! He only cries when he's cold, hungry or gassy, which isn't too bad considering it can get pretty noisy around here, we take him everywhere and he has two sibblings that don't give him much of a break, in a loving way of course :) He has taken a liking to a binky, my first one that likes a binky. Now I am thinking this is a good thing but I might be changing my mind about that in a few months. He has been awake more which is always fun to interact with him more, though that means less time for house cleaning (DARN!) Todd is still amazed that HE is a Dad, silly man. And he is often found with a silly grin on his face with words like I like that little guy, or he's great being muttered out. Maria and Matthew are doing well. Matthew still has yet to hold baby Benjamin :( But he touched his mohalk yesterday!!! And when Benjamin whimpers (all out cry poor Matthew has trouble with) when Ben whimpers, Matthew will say it's ok Benjamin don't cry in a real sweet voice. Or he will try to give him a binky. Maria even after two weeks is still in love with him and includes him in all of her plans LOL I think Ben needs a change of scenery so I will leave with these new pics of Benjamin, taken yesterday and the mohawk picture this morning :)

Matthew Man!

2008-03-06T12:40:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted on Matthew exclusively lately so I thought I would. I've been really proud of how he's handling all the change around here even though baby isn't quite here. With me moving slower and him having to wait for stuff, he's been so good! He's getting alittle more independent and his language is booming. He has more and more spontaneous language, though still suing lots of scripted. The good thing about the scripted is he usually goes through the day's conversations and with inflections and all I can hear what he was busy doing at school :) His teachers really love him :) What a comfort to know that they all love him and have his best interest at hand. Matthew's latest thing is returning to his undying love for the alphabet. He plays with these alphabet old maid cards all the time, finding the pairs. He has the whole "Do the Alphabet" Sesame Street movie memorized and as he watches he writes the alphabet over and over on his magnadoodle. He can even spell small words like pig, the, is and of course his name and Maria's name! He knows all his letter sounds and can write any word that you put in front of him to copy. He is still in love with his trains, getting better and better at making new track patterns with Todd. He also loves hiking on the blue trail right down the road near the covered bridge. He names the trees that the markers are on, the Sycamore, Hemlocks and maple and oaks and there is even an iron wood tree and an elm tree. He doesn't the baby brother thing yet but if you ask where baby brother is he rubs my tummy and gets all snuggly. We have the ear muffles ready for the crying that baby will do.
Here's my belly at 38W3D. We will be getting induced Saturday possibly if the OB schedule allows and if not then, it will be 3/11 on Tuesday. I think I will try the epidural this time, though that scares me too. Can't wait until the pain part is over and he is here safe and sound. Then my only worry will be when will I sleep :)
More updates another time about the house and pending court date set for March 17th.

Just waiting....

2008-02-25T09:21:00.002-05:00

I am growing....and growing and growing LOL Luckily we got through the house move just fine so now I am really ready. Not really ready for the pain, but the more I wait the bigger I get and the more nervous I get about having a vaginal birth, which I really want. Todd has been awesome with it all, what a huge help he is!!! I can see him getting excited and anxious. I think he really wants to tell people he's a Dad now rather than, nope still waiting LOL Say some prayers that our baby boy can come real soon and that he's safe, healthy and ready for life!

Happiest Birthday!!

2008-02-13T20:44:00.003-05:00

Yes, I am now 34 years old, and I am happy about it! Sure I am one year older, but I had a whole year of full life, of new beginnings and promise. What a birthday I had and I thought that it wouldn't be good because of my huge belly!! I had an easy morning of doing odds and ends while the kids were in school. Todd came home early so I could get the baby checked, he came home with a beautiful dozen of roses. Of course I had to run off for my apt but those roses were so beautiful. He found a vase for them. 2 hrs later I return home to cooked dinner and two hyper excited kids because it's mommy's birthday. Matthew is telling me to look in here, we have a surprise for you. Of course I could have suspected a cake, but there were no dishes, it didn't smell like cake, but MAYBE he bought one, how sweet. So we eat dinner, YUM. The kids insist on the surprise, so Todd disappears into the bedroom and comes out with a cake with 34 candles!!!! He baked a cake, not just any cake but a diabetic friendly cake with two "little helpers". Wow. then the gifts come out. I was expecting one that I knew he bought me,a new Vera Bradley purse :) But Maria hands me a card signed by her and Matthew, how cute!!! She even picked out a present for me, a picture frame, which she tells me I can put a picture of baby brother in which I correct her and said I could put a picture of all three of my babies in! Then I see a Michael's Jewelers box! In it is a beautiful Sapphire ring!!! I'm so loved!! Also with my new ring is a thoughtful card which is my fav part :) And if the night couldn't get better, I don't even have to do bath for the kids! THe day couldn't be any better. Thank you so much Todd, I love you :)

I'm grown up!

2008-02-05T21:01:00.000-05:00

Maria in all her great wisdom has announced that since her first tooth has fallen out she is now grown up :) This little tooth has been loose for a while, maybe for some time in her imagination but for some time anyhow. I have been instructing her to not bother it and let it fall out on its own. Finally her dream has come true! She was eating some popcorn and low and behold, her tooth falls out! She ran upstairs to find me and announce the big news! She's so excited that the tooth fairy now has to come visit her. She expects the tooth family to leave her five dollars, five quarters and five pennies because after all she's five years old :) She gets a box to put her tooth in, puts it under her pillow and anxiously falls asleep and wakes in the morning to find her treasure from the tooth fairy. She of course spends it that next day on littlest Pet shop toys. She is so proud of her missing tooth and now she has another tooth off to the tooth fairy. Can't help but look at her and see that she is yes indeed growing up.
All else is pretty good. My gallbladder pain has subsided due to taking all fat out of my diet. I get it scanned Thursday morning to make sure there's no stones in there. It was a relief that Dr Mihalek listened to me. I've been getting pretty good contractions but thankfully nothing regular, I am only 34 weeks and some change and we really need him in there at least two more weeks. Plus Grandma is out of town so he has to wait until the 8th :) We get measured and weight done on the 15th and find out if he'll be section or vaginal. I am scared either way :( What if he gets stuck if we go vaginal and how will I cope with the recovery of a c section if it goes that route? He's very active and has done well aside from the contractions, his heart looks great and his fluid levels are healthy. I can't believe that I will have three kids soon, Todd will be a Daddy and how different it will all be this time around. His swing is ready, carseat in the car and his big sister guessing his birth date and what he'll look like. My girlfriends are getting together Friday night for a baby celebration, I so can't wait. All my friends from different phases in my life, all important and love so much!
Court was court Monday, nothing happened, our hearing date will be March 17th, hopefully lucky day for me. I decided I just have more important things to stress about right now other than money, so it is officially off my plate, it feels good to give myself permission to do that.
The house closing is coming fast and furious! I am frantically looking for those who are better at bending over than me to help and just trying to get it out. It feels wierd to be there, not home, like a ghost life, revisiting an old old life. Instead of feeling the good times I feel this hollow me, hard to explain. It's sad. I will be glad when it's all final.
Todd has been such a trooper, I fall in love with him more and more every day. He's been such a pillar of strength and help and partnership. It's a good good life! I'm starting to believe that he actually really cares about ME! What a concept. I thank him all the time, but it doesn't seem enough. I hope I am spending the rest of my life finding ways to show my gratitude.

Rasie money for autism with just a click!

2008-01-31T09:45:00.000-05:00

Every click these videos get .49 is raised for autism awareness. Can you believe that some families have diagnosed kids but they are on a waiting list for early intervention therapies. I know for certain that early intervention was key for Matthew's great success he has these days. Please help raise money! I have to post a video of him soon so you all can see the progress! Now of course he still has troubles communicating what his feelings are when he's upset and he has other autistic struggles but where he started from is way far back behind him! Anyway, please watch the videos and raise moeny for families to be able to get that early intervention that was so key for Matthew.

click here to raise money for autism

Tough times

2008-01-30T19:54:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I started a pain above the right rib at 2PM, it really hurts. I saw the OB and he says uterine pressure on ribs, hah it hurts more than that. It gets worse after dinner, call the on call OB says it's the position of the baby, nah it hurts more than that. I decided to listen to my gut and go get checked out in ER. Labwork comes back normal, baby moving like nothing is up. AFter some serious tylenol, the pain is gone down to bearable. Today it still hurts. No explanation aside from easy things like gas or baby pressure. Whatever it is has me worried and in pain and not happy. I can hardly sit here and type. I hope it's nothing and goes away after baby comes. So when will that be? It's such astruggle to want him here and not wanting to go through the pain of birth. Where are these feelings coming from? I've done this twice, why do I want to back out this time? Why am I dreading delivery? Anything to relieve these pains, they're serious, and this is coming from a girl who had two non drug deliveries. It feels like my intestines are leaking acid or my gallbladder has stones or something but all the labs come back normal. Maybe I have an ulcer in my intestine or something. I miss my old self. THe one who was nearly tireless, played with my kids, scrapped, took pics and did all kinds of nice things for Todd. Thank God Todd and I talked and we decied it was ok to cancel my class. The syllabus was 21 pages long, just not happening. Court on Monday. They even supenaed the realtor, why couldn't they just get the records??? Moving my stuff out is just not happening. It's real hard to ask for Todd's help, hard to muster up the strength to do it myself and since Richard is going away that leaves me with the kids for three weekends in a row. I'll have to get a sitter or have Todd move the stuff, no fun either way. Man, complaining like this is so unlike me :( But it feels good to get it out. April is going to be a sweet month!! No more house, no more pregnancy, new baby, warmer weather! The good things going on is Todd's mom had a surprise shower for me last weekend, did I say that already? My friend Maria in NZ sent me this package FULL of baby stuff, all cute and man it was so fun going through that. I can't wait to go to NZ nad give her a BIG hug, she's so awesome, in more ways than one! And if it couldn't get better a message board I frequent lots (scrapbookers board) is thinking of giving me a virtual shower. So cool that even though the timing of this baby wasn't planned and we're not married, is still being celebrated. I just wish he would hurry up and finish developing and just COME ALREADY!

proud of my skier!

2008-01-07T09:35:00.001-05:00

Maria went downhill skiing for the first time today!!! I was so proud of her. Of course I can't ski because of my belly but Todd could :) Since class didn't start until noon, she went down the intermediate hill with Todd. She skied between his legs while holding onto the pole. She even did the lift without too much trouble. Then she did awesome in school, going down the hill many many times, all alone!! She even learned how to stop!! I am sooo proud that she tried soemthing new, perhaps something even scary for a little kid, but she tried it and loved it!!!

Lucky Momma

2008-01-03T08:55:00.000-05:00

Todd and I were talking yesterday about the kids. Yes they have their moments and have things to improve on, but they really are great kids. Todd had to put them on their buses yesterday morning because I had to take the three hr glucose test and make sure I got home in time in the afternoon. He enjoyed it, commenting on the fact they are good kids :) I'm such a proud momma!!! What a releif to know that he sincerely enjoyed the morning rush with them. :)
Christmas day was a healthy one!! Best gift I got this year (though I did get some great material things too). Of course all of Santa Todd's gifts were a hit! Mine were liked but soon forgotten about when they saw Santa Todd's. I swear, next year he's doing the shopping. Despite the "big gifts" Maria's favs were her littlest Pet shop houses and animals and her "recycled" thoughtful gift from her cousin Tienna that is an Ariel doll that goes in the bath tub. When we visited NY in the summer, Maria loved it but Tienna just couldn't part with it just yet. So for Christmas she wrapped it up all her self and wrote the tag, To Mrea, and Miss Maria was so thrilled, that dollie goes everywhere!! Matthew's favs were his ThinkFun Rushhour Train game! It's really meant for 8 yr olds and it's a mind puzzle of sorts, he had the car version already but now he has the bigger harder train version. Of course he had to share with Todd and Uncle Chris for a few days so they could master the hardest puzzle :) He also liked his new additions to his Geotrax trains, can you believe how big it has grown?? He thoroughly enjoyed the time he spnt with Todd building two different tracks with all his new train gadgets. They were both grinning and happily working on a nice continuous track, they even had enough stuff to build three levels!!! The kids are still too young to celebrate the new year, but I was happy and content knowing that they were safe in their beds dreaming new dreams and waiting for their dreams to come true! May the new year make your dreams become reality, I know much of mine have :)

2008

2007-12-31T14:39:00.000-05:00

I was thinking today, what will the new year bring....REALLY? How badly I wish I knew :) The things I want this year are things I really really want :) I rub my belly every morning day and night praying for a healthy baby for our family. And how much better can I show Todd I love him than giving him a healthy baby boy? Two families I pray for right now are both losing their little boys, one is four years old and the other just a young 12 months. http://www.ethanpowell.com and the other website you need to be a member of, but I promise you he's the sweetest boy alive! I often wonder why? I of course also want Maria and Matthew's good health to continue. What do you have in life if you don't have good health? I also want my house to sell. The financial ramifications of divorce are mounting. I've had one offer but it was a real lousy one, one that even I couldn't take. Very discouraging.
My belly grows very large. Kinda worrisome, I don't want anything to happen to the baby during delivery, or ever. I failed my one hour glucose test which means I could have gestational diabetes. I don't know much about it except that most GD babies are born large, that I would be living like a diabetic for 10 weeks with needle pricks and diet and that this baby would have increased chances of being a type I diabetic. I have my three hour glucose test on Wednesday morning to see if I have in fact developed diabetes.
Of course I haev pics to share but Iw anted to wish you all a healthy new 2008 year!!!

Cookies!

2007-12-22T17:41:00.001-05:00

Despite my tiredness and size I am keeping up with the holiday traditions including making our cookie press cookies. This year was actually pretty easy. The kids are getting older and I am knowing what to do and not to do. They both were able to operate the press alone and knew how to count so they didn't come out too small or too big.
To all of you who read Merry Christmas and may your new year be filled with good health and happiness!!!

First Snow Day!

2007-12-19T13:37:00.000-05:00

I think the kids are already on vacation because they did not have school for the past three Mondays and then they missed Thursday and Friday of last week, all from weather. Today Matthew missed from being sick :( But he seems better already :)
Thursday the kids were so excited about snow they actually sat on Maria's bed together and waited for the first flake. I think Matthew found one :) As soon as the first one fell Maria wanted to get bundled up to go out. Once Todd came home early they were off and ready. Matthew doesn't love the cold but he likes the sled so he tolerates the cold for the sled. Something usually happens that makes him want to come in. Today it was he tripped and got snow on his face, a tiny bit but still enough to send him in for a good cry :( But I got a few shots of him riding the sled and crawling in the snow like acat. Maria is the total opposite. She will stay out forever!!! Todd stayed outside and played with them for a good 45 minutes until he was finally done. Maria stayed out for another 15 minutes before she came in for her hot chocolate. As for me, I can't stay out too long :( I don't fit into my nice comfy winter coat and my snow pants don't fit either :( Luckily I have a view of the whole backyard from the sliding doors. Even though with snow days they don't go to school. the bright side is they give no fuss for going to bed :) they're pooped!

Tree Hunt

2007-12-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

We got our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Maria just loves the holiday prep and we couldn't wait to get a tree. We went to the same farm as last year, Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Farm. Matthew loves Charlie Brown so he thought it was neat. In past years Maria took getting the tree a very serious business, Matthew more of a trouble because of the cold and people and fuss about nothing. This year Maria was her traditional self, but Matthew wasn't. He got out of the car with feet running! Maria loved every tree we saw, even the not so pretty ones. Matthew still didn't care about the tree but he LOVED hiding in the trees. he would run and run, ducking in between, squeezing through and laughing quietly as he heard the panic in Mommy's voice. Did he answer when I called him, of course not! It was a real distraction for me, but at least it was better than the previous years' crying. We all finally settled on this tree, after about 10 minutes. If we didn't settle soon I could tell Maria would want more than one. As I kept an eye on Matthew, Maria took to business cutting the tree down. She just loves to be involved and help :) This year it was too hard for her to get underneath so she helped prune the branches after it was cut down. And of course with pride she helped drag the tree home. Todd put an end to my stress by carrying Matthew on his shoulders, after a final chase of course. I followed with camera in hand admiring my little family and grinning of the thought of with God's blessing another child next year. It was fun, carefree and memorable, just as it should be. WE decorated soon after, which both took as an important job.

"baby brother" is doing great! I feel him kicking all the time :) Sometimes he gets me real good! CAn you believe how big my belly is?? he's growing! WE're getting so excited for him to join us. Maria tells me all the time what she will do with baby brother, what she will teach him, how she will rock him and what he'll look like and do as he grows. It's real sweet. Matthew still calls him Chicken Nugget, crazy child! But of course he says it with such affection. I relly think he gets it, is it possible though? He kisses and hugs my belly and says baby brother, yells into my tummy and calls it chicken nugget to get a reaction out of us :) YEs, life is good.

Busy but Good

2007-12-05T15:25:00.000-05:00

I know I am behind on pictures. If I could explain to my grad professors that I need to post pics and to give me an extention on my projects I would :) WE are busy here, but it is a good busy. We just got back our family pictures and I just look at it amazed. Amazed that I found someone so right to share life with, so amazed that those two children once were in my tummy just as this baby is now. Amazed that I have had the opportunity to feel such gratefulness and gratitude for my life. OF course my belly is getting bigger than it should now, I am starting to get the big kind of tired, the kids want everything they see on TV and are impateint for every holiday tradtiion to come so they can do it. The shopping is tiring, the financial worry of it all grates at my nerves but you know what? I am healthy, my kids are healthy my loved ones are healthy and that is SO much to be celebrating. I look at that picture above and for the first time I can say those smiles and hugs are really there. The love you see, the happiness there is REAL. How blessed I feel among all the rush and studying and worries and fears...I am so blessed.

Halloween Night

2007-11-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

This is a tough holdiay to share with an ex that lives 35 minutes away so I am afraid next year we'll have to start taking turns :( But this year we tried to get some in. Maria did have a Halloween party here in Colchester with a friend so I was able to get some pictures of her all dressed up then :) Anyway! Matthew had a cold this halloween but despite that he was able to have fun! he was so cute all dressed up, wanting to be like Maria :) Maria just loved being scary this year :) First they went off to Daddy's and Nonna got them these really cute trick or treat bags from CA. They came back to us here at 7 so we did about 6 houses. Matthew was begging for more! But it was a school night and time for bed at a late hr of 8PM. Of coursethe one night I really wnat to walka dn take pics my hip was hurting from my pregnancy affected ligaments. I hobbled along but it did not afford me lots of great pics. Matthew is also getting really hard to photograph again. It is so hard to get him to look at me! I have sooo many pics of him looking sideways or down or even the back of his head. Of course tehy got lots of treats but only like a handful so we get the rest, yikes! After the night was done and succecssful we couldn't help but think next year we'll have one more added to the group :)
I just finished a midterm in one class this week, a test in the other, so the year seems to be winding down for one class and a few more things in the other. Next semester I have decided I could only handle one class with a newborn baby and my two big kids. I hope my grades are going well.
AS far as the divorce front I think Richard is finally taking me seriously and knowing that the collaborative process is over unless he negotiates fairly. Maybe I will see papers being served soon?
Baby boy is doing well. At our appt last Tuesday he measured 10 days ahead and looked nice and healthy. We decided to get the triple screen test done and should have results today :) WE were confirmed of boy status so we have bought a few baby clothes since I have nothing left from Matthew as a baby. We did a registry at Babies R US to keep ourselves organized of what we'll need for the little guy :) Todd's first so he had fun experiencing the zap a baby product! he feels badly that we registered for some big things we "need" but I reassured him that it was really just a list of things we can refer to when we're crazy without sleep and in disarray from a newborn lifestyle. Still can't believe I am having another one. I am finally starting to feel him kick, though still pretty subtle. Maria just can't wait to feel him!!

Carving Pumpkins!

2007-11-03T23:38:00.001-04:00

We took some time Sunday night to carve our Halloween pumpkins. These pumpkins aren't just any olde pumkins but were grown in Marge's garden (Todd's mom), so we invited them over to watch her pumpkins turn into works of art :) First we dug them out which they both did great at, both needing alittle help of course (and a slight reaction from Matthew of the slimy texture but recovered pretty quickly):) then it was time to draw what they wanted to carve. Maria knew right away and got to work. Matthew on the other hand needed alittle help, which Todd is always willing to give. Todd drew pictures on paper to give Matthew choices of what kind of eyes, mouth and nose he wanted, scary happy or sad. Matthew chose scary eyes and happy mouth and triangle nose! Hand over hand they drew his choices together. First Maria carved hers and being the crafter that she is, worked in deep concentration only to break out a smile when her work of art emoerged! Todd helped her do the cutting and he did the mouth she drew, with its jagged teeth and all. We were all proud of how cute her jack o lantern came out. Then it was on to Matthew's turn to carve. I can tell that life with a left hander is going to be a tad different :) Todd and Matthew carved and carved until it was all done. Matthew's favortie part was of course pulling out the pieces once they were cut. It was great to have Todd's mom with a helping hand, she even toasted the seeds as a snack. The final touch was to see how they glowed and how scary they can be. I love my little pumpkins!

Good Deed

2007-10-31T08:38:00.001-04:00

So I get an IM from Todd in the afternoon, which I usually do :) And he says guess what? I can't think of what he is going to tell me. He says I was at WalMart to get your beef broth for you and I saw bikes out of the corner of my eye and decided to get Matthew his first two wheel bike :) See one of the reasons I love this man so much; always thinking of others :) I couldn't believe it, he bought a BIKE for Matthew?? He says of course if Matthew doesn't like it his son could use it :) Yes, now with another boy on the way, we have more uses for little boy things :) And he even bought the helmet to go with it! And then later in the week I was talking with Matthew's physical therapist at his PPT (which of course Daddy didn't attend or ask about) and she feels that strengthening his trunk will greatly improve many other troubles he has ie toe walking and balance. She said that a bike would be a great way to strengthen his body. Now of course Matthew, like many other LOW tone autistics, has "the fear of gravity" as she said. They feel very insecure with the poor balance and so they do things to feel more secure like W sitting, toe walking and just avoid activities that use balance. So Matthew saw the bike and was unsure. Then Todd whipped out the helmet with CARS on it! Well, he was just in love with the helmet and was pretty proud of himself when Todd asked for his elbow and he knew what it was :) He tried the bike like a good boy. He knew what to do. Now when it started moving he was alittle nervous, harder to balance. But we plan on trying just a little here and a little there. He's such a sweet boy, making such great strides, the milestones and language are such a sweeter feeling than ever before. This morning I woke him and laid next to him, I say good morning and he says nice to see you Mommy :) it did sound canned but it was also very heart felt :) My little guy is growing and he's going to be a great big brother :)

Giving thanks for my blessings

2007-10-24T14:32:00.000-04:00

Well I frequent a message board of other moms expecting babies in March. One of the expecting moms just delivered her baby, at only 19 weeks a baby has no chance for survival. My heart just aches for her. Please pray for that mom and Dad, the baby's name was Gabriel Lynn (a little boy) I pray harder that this miracle baby boy stays in there for at least 16 more weeks. The thought scares the heck out of me, even though the timing fo this baby was not planned by us. I will not one more time be sad about getting big, I know Gabriel's mother will ache to have a bigger tummy.
My blessings besides the son in my tummy are the three in my life that I get to see every day. We all made a gingerbread house the other day, Halloween themed. WEll, I should say attempted. After all was said and done, the house sank to teh ground about three hrs after we finished it, but we had fun trying! I was glad I had my camera out to capture this impromptu kiss and hug that Todd got from Maria, so sweet. Matthew enjoyed his time even though Maria was correcting him the whole time LOL Simple happy times. Please pray for our baby to be healthy and to haev asafe entry into this world.

On the highest cloud!!

2007-10-17T08:46:00.000-04:00

What a great pick me up! The day didn't start great, but it ended awesome! Maria has been having asthma troubles so she's been out of school. :( Richard kept Maria home from school which meant my plan for her to tell us what the baby was, was starting to fade. After he takes her to the DR to have the PED tell him what I told him, I talked to her and asked if she wanted me to come and get her to go to the u/s. Of course she does and so I have to make a special trip, cutting my time close, but I decide to do it. Saved that plan! My 3D ultrasound that Maria from NZ bought me was scheduled for 3PM yesterday. I get a call from the tech and she says the machine is broken we have to reschedule. OMG, you can't do this to me!! She says I might be able to get in later which of course is rush hr and we want to avoid. I am so bummed, say a prayer, drive off to Bristol to get Maria as soon as I get Matthew off the bus; just put him straight in the car. On the way to Bristol I get a call that the machine is fixed and that we can come for 3PM Halleluia!!! WE grab lunch, get Matthew's costume and then head off to Wallingford to get Todd for the big u/s! I told the tech that when she knows that she can whisper it to Maria and have Maria tell us! I so wish I had my camera!!! I forgot it on my desk :( So Maria really wanted a sister, but she still turns to us with a huge grin, speechless for a moment and then says it's a boy!! i could already tell on the u/s it wasn't hard to tell! Todd was in suspense though LOL I couldn't wait for the words to come out of her mouth. I must say I thought Todd would have been more emotional but he wasn't, which is fine. I really thought it was a girl and had him convinced probably. He was still holding my hand and watching the screen in complete concentration. She switched between 3D and 2D the whole time and had me rolling over to try and get better pics. I wish I could post the video... She never charged me for the 3D because she thought that she didn't get a good pic, so that was cool! Todd gets to name the baby and he won't give it the official name until he sees the baby. His top Name is Benjamin Warren (Warren after his grandfather) and the second name is David and he wants to think of one more in case it doesn't look like either. heere is the new man in my life! Crazy!! A boy!! 2 boys and a princess I have been blessed with!!

Picture Day

2007-10-10T08:26:00.000-04:00

Wow, the kids had picture day just last week and look at these pics. I couldn't help but take pics myself, they look so grown up. Maria likes to dress up so she wasn't hard. Matthew was ok but he never likes getting dressed in the morning, leaving his warm comfy pajamas. Matthew is doing so well is school, it shows mostly in his language. He has sentences now! HE asks things that he wants to know or tfor things he wants that aren't just the things he needs :) He's getting less and less baby boy and really is a big boy, though when he starts laughing he sounds like the Matthew buddy boy I've known all along. Maria had another run in with stealing, the teacher actually called me this time :( She asked me to have Maria write a letter of apology which I did and we told her that if she did this again it would mean loss of recess. So far so good; it's been a week ;) The kids are growing and I am just so proud of them, despite the stealing.
The house still hasn't sold. This Sunday is an open house. Todd and I made good progress on cleaning out the basement nad straightening the garage like the realtor asked us to. I lowered the price and the market is getting a tad better, let's hope enough to sell after this open house. The more time that goes by the more nervous I get.
SChool is going ok. The math class is not my favorite and it doesn't hlep that the teacher is no good. There is one girl inther who isa math major that seems to be the only one that knows what's she doing. She helps us all out before the teacher gets there or while he's out of the room. My School and Society class is interesting, but there's so much work there. My paper and presentation are due Oct 29th! ANd I also have a midterm paper due that day :( My paper has yet to be started and my presentation is only in my mind still. Of course my paper is on autism :) For most of the presentation I plan on making a DVD about the signs adn symptoms using pics of Matthew. NAd of course to also include a plea to the public to be understanding of these kids with disabilites that are just innocently trying to be happy in this world. Prayers I get the strength and time to get these papers done!
Divorce #2 as I lovingly call it will be underway some time this week. I went and saw my new lawyer and she seems pretty confident that I could even keep my current alimony amount; that my original settlement was kinda crappy for my ex being a DR. I emailed Barry last night with TOdd by my side that I was not signing the proposed agreeement and unless I get X amount that I was not signing any documents in their offices. Richard will now have to serve me with court papers as a motion to modify settlement and then I will call my lawyer Karen, for her to depose him and get a hearing date. She was talking yesterday about testifying and all that and memories of my childhood came rushing back. Ugh.
Today I am 17W 3D pregnant. Still no huge movements from baby below. Next week is when the baby will have hearing so we're excited about that. Todd has said he wants to talk to the baby so that it knows his voice when it's born. I still feel tired and my belly is growing but hardly any tummy trouble, just heartburn :( Tuesday is when we find out who's in there. I am so gratfeul to have a man like Todd going through this with me. He gets more and more excited the bigger my belly gets. And he really sincerely doesn't care if it's a boy or a girl. WE just get closer and closer and more connected as time goes on. He's a true blessing, and a true partner and team member.

Fall Fun

2007-10-03T10:11:00.001-04:00

This weekend was a nice break from the reality of life. We all played like kids and forgot about the outside world. Saturday we went to the Durham fair. I wish I wasn't getting so lazy about carrying my camera around; we really need to get a pocket camera. Anyway, boy did the kids have fun. We spent a small fortune on rides,admission and food (probably $60) but those smiles were priceless. Maria is getting more brave about going on rides alone yippee! And Matthew doesn't seem to be bothered so much of loud noises and that crowd sound. He went on teh train track ride, the firetrucks and the huge banana slide with Todd. He went in a bouncy house that had a climbing wall and a huge slide down which he loved too. That was the first thing we went on and he kept wanting to go back, all protests with tears. But we fed him and he seemed much more balanced and we went on the rides after that. there was also lots of animals to pet and see which they enjoyed. There was this big sheep that was sticking out its tongue and then baa-ing really loudly, full belly laughs from the kids. We ended the night with listening to a band, 38 Special, and pony rides. Todd as usual was a huge help!! Sunday we went apple picking. A small hay ride out to the trees. We pciked Cortlands for Todd and Macouhns for me :D. Matthew started just picking up all the apples off the ground and throwing them in our bucket, so Todd decided that the best place for himmwas his shoulders. The look of Todd's face everytime Matthew grabbed a cluster of apples off the tree right above Todd was priceless. Maria took the job very seriously and taste tested many apples along the way LOL. After picking we went to the little store and bought cider donuts-YUM! I hope these are things the kids remember for a long time to come.
SChool for all three of us is going ok. Maria's teacher called me yesterday to tell me that she was caught stealing again from the classroom. I just don't know what to do!! I made her write a letter to Mrs Tanner and told her if she was caught again that she would have to start losing priveledges in school like recess. Matthew loves all his teachers, knows all their names which tells me they are all pretty involved with him, what a great feeling. In Bristol he only knew Mrs Mancini's name, and he's been attending Colchester a shorter amount of time than he was in BRistol. He sings lots of songs from school and the basic concept they're teaching right now is same and different. My school is jugging along. Boy do I hate math! The other class is lots of reading and stress related to my paper I have to write and the presentation. The midterm will be assigned next week.

the baby is doing well as far as we know. It feels odd to not have seen it aside from the last time as a blob at 8 weeks. I could not afford to do the triple screen test, $361. as I had to take the prenatal panel blood test at $369. This baby has cost me $4000. so far, the cost of a healthy baby is afterall, not priceless, but a prayer we pray every night that is answered. teh ehart rate looms around 140, could be boy or girl. I am still trying to figure out exactly what gencer I want, doesn't every one want one or the other, but I just can't decide, healthy is my biggest worry and weighs heavy on my mind. We find out onthe 16th who is really in there.

Moving along....

2007-09-19T08:31:00.001-04:00

Can you believe I am procrastinating against homework??? Good thing the internet wasn't around when I was in high school or I probably would have failed :) My two grad courses are going ok. One is interesting but lots of work, reading, papers, presentation due 10/29 and midterm paper and also a lesson plan. The other class started rough with a substitute teacher, his wife, who speaks italian orignally and anyone who knows me knows I have hearing troubles and I have a hard time understanding accents. But he showed up this past week and he seems very methodical which I need in a statistics class. A nice girl sits next to me in class too, so that helps :) I don't know her name or what she teaches or anything but we share a hate for Math which maybe is enough to start a friendship. She is newly engaged I know, and I am sure she looks at me wondering with my belly where my ring is and what's the scoop. I think I'll let her wonder a bit longer. I have math homework for that class and since we're going to Maine this weekend I need to get it done by tomorrow. Hopefully the fact that Todd rocks in Math will save me. That guy is amazing I tell you!
The kids are adjusting to school. Matthew has a clod and just passed it to Maria and myself. Of course with disgust she told me this morning that she doesn't want Matthew standing next to her, she doesn't want more cold. Funny. I told her she can't get more you have one or you don't. Matthew's teacher I can tell just adores him! I was so filled with pride when she was telling me about his abilities. And when I ask about his challenges she tells me, we'll teach him, we can help! No comments from the teacher about Maria yet. Which actually is a good thing, considering Maria "stole" some little figurines from her class that I had to make her return. Maria, my sweet girl, rationalizes everything she does just alittle too well.
AS far as the Baby Simonds front, well, I am finally starting to feel better. Once in a while I can feel the flutters in my tummy. I still can't believe that I am pregnant again, this wasn't suppose to happen. Am I good enough to be a mom of three? Will they be healthy? Is autism lurking in there? Will Todd like being a Dad? WIll he see the joys that I do and will the joys be enough to overcome the overwhelmingness I am sure we'll experience? is it a boy or a girl?
The house has had no bites, only one showing the first day it was onthe market. Our first open house is Sunday. The house HAS to sell by December. Very scary. I need as much money from that house, especially with Richard taking all of my alimony, well, trying. The deal that is being offered is $10,500. for college and then $8000. to live off of for two years. How will that work? I can't put Matthew in daycare to work. Todd pays alimony already and has a very high mortgage because of his divorce. I know I live with Todd and it's not Richard's job to support me completely, but $4000. dollars a year is not going to go anywhere. That amount means $76. a week, which wouldn't even be groceries. So the girl who had no moral choice to get divorced in the first place, after supporting him throguh medical school and making the numerous "sacrifice a Dr's wife makes" gets nothing in the end but debt. The house is my only saving grace. I will see a lawyer to see if I could get anywhere in court, the compensentory route. The kicker, Richard coould pay me what I need to just pay expenses, with just his organ playing money, not even delving into his salary. ANd let's not forget the $$ that I owe him from the house sale (which is where the $ right now will come from, I will still owe him $36,000. after I sell the house) The guy has money, he's been living for free basically the past 1.5 yrs at his parent's house. Just seems unfair for me to pay the price for his extra activities for four years.
Summer is over. We did one last trip to the beach on Friday. It wasn't too cold, the kids had a blast. Matthew was far too brave this time, next year for certain we will need a life vest. Autistic kids just have no sense of fear or consequences. Here are the pics :)
Please pray for my buddy Ethan who is having a very important test today, http://www.ethanpowell.com, click on updates at the top. Think good thoughts about my house please too :)

Orientation and First Day!

2007-09-07T08:47:00.001-04:00

Orientation went great, Matthew's teachers are super nice and she kept reassuring me that he was in good hands, I must have looked nervous :) He gave me alittle grief at home about not wanting to go but once we got there he was fine. I think there's one more autistic kid in the class, from what I can tell, time will tell. I am so shy but if I wasn't I would have asked them if their child was. Maria went with Todd and had a good time meeting her teacher. The teacher was reading about raccoons and Maria told her that she knew about raccoons and that were nocturnal! The class made a reaction to the word nocturnal and Maria took it as they laughed at her, poor thing is so sensitive. I tried to tell her that they weren't laughing at HER, not sure if I was successful. The first day went without a hitch. They both looked cute in their first day clothes. Maria's bus comes at about 7:50 and Matthew's at 8. I have to keep Matthew inside or else he has a fit that he missed his bus, meaning Maria's but he doesn't get that :( Matthew rides a van, the same driver these two days so that's a plus :) He wasn't sure about the seat since it was different, but no tears about it. Matthew came home first since his day is shorter by 20 minutes. He was happy to see me of course :) Maria's bus didn't come home until 12:40 but I imagine that's a beginning of school thing. She said she had fun but she was worried that Mrs Tanner has lots of rules. And she also said she has a boyfriend and a best friend already! Of course I aksed her for names and she said they never told her. I started asking her questions to see if I could ring a bell in the name (I remember some from the open house) Come to find out they are kids on the bus not her class, but she was all bothered by my questions and she says, you never listen to me do you, I told you, they never told me their names! Funny girl!! Here's there pics! Success all around. The year is going to be great, aside from some pushes of the limit from Maria :)

Moving along....

2007-09-04T17:08:00.001-04:00

Went to NY for the weekend to see my sister Janet and the kids had a great time. Me, my tummy was not cooperating but I was able to still have fun. Todd was a great help. The house is now on active status and I had a looker already today. It's not really ready to be seen but I thought strike while the iron is hot, if there are buyers maybe one of them can see past the mess. All rooms are done except Maria's and the basemnet and the garage. I am feeling pretty good today :) I did take all my meds becuse you never know when it can sneak up on you. Tomorrow is kindergarten and pre k orientation. I just got a call today from Matthew's teacher and she sounded young but nice. There are four adults in the room and Matthew will be number 12. I'm so nervous about being hte school mom of a special needs kid. God give me the strength to do things right by him. Maria is pretty excited about her new school. Todd will be going with her and I will be doing Matthew's, Todd is an awesome man for helping and taking a half day just for me :) I love him so much, I can't wait to have his baby :) I plan on posting pics tomorrow so stay tuned!!

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2007-08-21T13:21:00.001-04:00

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