Busy Days

The usual quick update:

My sister from Boston is visiting again, and getting all kinds of things done! She is one of those people who likes to organize, so I guess she got the gene which is totally absent from my DNA. My pantry is organized, my box of kids' socks is organized, and moments ago she disappeared into the garage to take a shot at the floor of the mini-van.

She also made it possible for my husband and I to go out for dinner (Thai food, ahhhhh), which we haven't been doing enough.

G. has decided that he likes his new OT and SLP, which is great. Now he cries as we leave instead of as we get there, which isn't ideal, but it's an improvement.

B. is doing a little bit of imitating, which is a really hopeful development, because it could make it so much easier for him to learn so many things. He suddenly learned to sign and say "clothes", which is funny because he spends a lot of time taking them off. I wasn't making any effort to teach him that word or sign, but he picked it up from a DVD.

This weekend is my scrapbooking retreat at a B and B. I haven't been apart from all three of the boys at once except for one single night. It'll be good for all of us, but I'm a little nervous! Not that nervous,, though, mostly excited. I scheduled a massage, and I plan to spend a big chunk of the weekend either in the shower or lolling around in bed. And, oh, yeah, some scrapbooking.

Random Things Meme

Eight random things...how hard could it be? But this meme is giving me writer's block. I was tagged by Niksmom of Maternal Instincts...Flying by the Seat of my Pants http://maternal-instincts.blogspot.com/

1. I had given up on having biological kids when I had the unbelievable good fortune of becoming pregnant with the twins. We were in the midst of adopting J., and I was thrilled to death about getting his referral. Getting pregnant was not the plan, and threw me into turmoil (and that was before I knew it was two!!) It has all turned out wonderfully, if totally nuts.

2. I started college as a German Literature major (!?), graduated as an English major, but have spent my whole career teaching young children. I finished my masters in Special Ed. five years before I had kids.

3. For the last week, I think a third of my caloric intake has been Golden Oreos. I keep buying them because they are a great reinforcer for ABA (or so I say)

4. My favorite place in the world is anywhere on the New England coastline.

5. During the evacuation for Hurricane Rita, we spent 25 hours in the van, with three boys under two and a dog, driving to Austin, which is usually under four hours. In Austin, we stayed with a fantastic family who were great with the boys, and who have a huge collection of Brio trains.



6. If I could start a business, I'd have a coffehouse/bookstore, with readings or live music in the evenings.

7. I love to watch travel shows, but I'm not crazy about traveling. Going to Nova Scotia, which I love, is a big deal for me.

8. My husband and I lived in the same city for years, and went to some of the same watering holes, but were introduced by a friend when I lived in Massachusetts and he lived in Maryland. We had a long-distance romance, and bonded by discussing the first season of Survivor by phone.

I have to find eight bloggers who haven't already done this meme, and then I'll do the tagging part!

Friday the Thirteenth, not at all unlucky

We actually had a therapy-free day! In the morning we went to an indoor playspace, where I stayed longer than usual because all the guys were happy. I'm getting much less sensitive about what other moms may think of me. Just getting from the van into the playspace is a workout, and we kind of explode through the doorway, with G. plugging his ears and making sad sounds. At this point, I think, if someone can't tell that our family is, shall we say, a little special, then they just aren't too observant, and that's their problem. Most people are incredibly nice, in any case.

In the afternoon I took J. to the pool, where he met a five year old girl who proceeded to play with him and boss him around, which is probably a good combination for him.

In the evening I took just B. to the pool, and he was in heaven. it's a little scary, because he has no sense that he shouldn't walk right off the edge into the water. I pulled him around the pool, and he splashed and smiled and said "Zubadee, zubadoo!" (his happy words). He also drank a lot of pool water, which is bad but also good, because normally the only liquid which he lets past his lips is milk. The question is, how do we go from drinking heavily chlorinated water straight out of the pool to drinking regular water out of some kind of cup?

I have finally made a friend who likes to drop by with her son (back in the East, I always had friends who would just drop by casually, but I only have a couple like that here, and they don't have little kids). This little boy speaks no English at all (he's Vietnamese), but he and J. can play for hours at a time. The twins seem to find him mildly interesting and occasionally amusing.

So all is well here, although we are struggling with how to get shirts onto B. without an epic battle. I actually thought about sneaking in and putting a shirt on him while he sleeps! We have certain hard-line therapists who would scoff at this, wanting me to face every difficulty head on. To those therapists (there are only 2 out of 7 who are real tough) I say, take over my job for a week or so, and let me know how it goes!

The Fake Hip

My mom (that's her with G. in the photo) is doing well with her new hip (or fake hip, as my nephew calls it). She's already walking down the hallway with a walker. When I talk to her on the phone, she sounds great. Today she moved to the rehabilitation hospital, where she stays for a week or so.

I think I am coming out of my mini-depression, or whatever I've been in. Setting up all the private therapy has had me wound up, and trying to find some kind of nursery school experience for the twins has added to the strain.

Reasons I feel better:

1. We have a new Early Intervention therapist. This is the first one for whom it's a physical impossibility that I'm old enough to be her mom, which is refreshing. Even better, she has experience working with children with autism...hallelujah!

2. B. says the alphabet through "G" (every once in a while, when the mood strikes him).

3. The private OT and Speech are all set, and I like the therapists.

4. I've stopped crying every time I see a certain Suburu commercial. I don't know what that was about, but it was weird!

We are still having some serious issues (J. is having real jealousy problems, etc), but we are doing okay.

Not quite a blog, maybe a blip

Something has happened to the blogging part of my brain. If it's like everything else in this house, it will eventually turn up, usually under the couch, or on the floor of the mini-van, or possibly stuck to the side of a chair with an ancient slice of banana.

Tomorrow my mom is geting her hip replaced. My parents are amazingly active, still cross-country skiing, kayaking and climbing mountains, while both in their seventies. I'm hoping this surgery will allow my mom to keep up her outdoor pursuits. I wish I could be up there in NY when she has the surgery, but both my sisters will be there, so it'll be alright.

B. has decided he would prefer to be a nudist, and has taught himself to remove his clothes and diaper. I think the OT will be happy-- he even removed a shirt with buttons! So far, he leaves his clothes on most of the time, and just occasionally decides to strip down. The funny thing is that he still likes hats as much as ever.