Sorry,

I can't come to my blog right now. I've been reading the Twilight series. I'll return to blogging and responding to blogs a soon as I find out what becomes of Bella Swan. Thanks for stopping by!

OMG! Seriously!! I had no idea! I know a lot of my Mommy friends have read the series, and raved about it, but really... I didn't have a clue! I was all OMG, how much more Jonas Brothers, High School Musical, Miley Cyrus can I stand taking over my friends!! But now, I get it! I'm all consumed by this series! I don't understand how you can be team Jacob, Julie bo bolie, but I'm willing to continue reading the series in a quest to find out :)

I just finished New Moon, and have heard that Eclipse is by far the best in the series. Darn kids here all day are taking me away from valuable reading time though! LOL, totally kidding. kinda :)

OMG!! I just googled Twilight, because I'm crazy like that... and in a post written by Stephanie Meyer, describing how she got her book written and published, she mentions Janet Evanovich!! (Stephanie Plum anyone!?) What a crazy coincidence!! The last time I followed a crowd of readers it was to read the Stephanie Plum series!! :) Thanks guys :)

So anyway, I'm about to dive into another book, and don't expect to suffice for longer than to cook chicken nuggets or eat a protein bar. So if you find yourself missing me, no worries, I'll be back! (Especially since I don't have a copy of Breaking Dawn waiting for me yet!)

I've got nothing...

Nothing to write about!

I'm still excited about the house. I bought new towel racks on the weekend. And I'm 90% decided on a paint colour. :) But that's about it. Gonna light a fire under Al's but to start looking for a dishwasher :) (Hi Honey :))

Jenna got her ears pierced on Sunday :) She looks sooo different!! Makes my heart get a bit squishy when I see her :)

Aidan is so stinkin' sensitive that it's driving me up the wall. Any ideas on how to deal with a crier??

Mason, his resource teacher, and I had a meeting yesterday. I really think she's pushing him towards having Autism. I"m not sure how I feel about this. She kept asking if I think her has sensory issues. Um, No. This is the kid I can't keep out of the mud puddles. The only of my three kids that has wanted to finger-paint, and actually use his fingers! I will admit to him maybe having food-sensory issues, but she was talking tactile, because he was hesitant about putting his hands in the cornmeal at school that day. I thought that was strange, until she told me that he preferred using the scoops and shovels. Well DUH! That just makes sense! It's just starting to feel to me that she is pushing him into a certain category, and I'm not convinced that's where he belongs. I don't know :( I'll think on it some more. The good news is that it looks like he has a fairly good chance of getting an EA (Educational Assistant) when he goes to Kindergarten next fall. I'm grateful for that. He's such a go-er that he really does need someone on top of him every minute to make sure he's going in the right direction, or to re-direct him onto something more reasonable. He also has the potential to be a flight risk, especially outside, which scares me, so I'm hoping the school can be aware of that before he gets there. Some very big steps to be taken very soon :( Scary.

I'm good. Had some blahs. Had the flu. Feeling better :) I got a Wii Fit last week :) I love it. And man, I can Feel it!! And I've lost 1.8 pounds in the past 5 days :) Although one of those days was when I had the flu :( So who knows.

Al is doing great. He's sent in the papers to take the course and exam to become a personal trainer. And he's working very hard on his goal. :) Eating better, working out regularly. Studying hard :) I'm so proud of him. (Go honey!)

And I think that's that!

Pausing to breathe...

We are thisclose to being finished with all the stuff that goes along with getting a mortgage! And by we, I am mostly referencing Me. :) What. a. pain! Never Ever buy a house around Christmas! Seriously! Everyone in careers associated with house buying takes two weeks vacation.

I think the worst headache was centered around getting the house appraised. I had a guy all lined up to come last Tuesday afternoon. Super nice guy. However, when I was talking to our Credit Union that morning (her first day back after 2 weeks off) she said no no no, that guy is not qualified to do the kind of appraisal we want. My jaw hit the floor. Scramble scramble scramble. Because our deadline was that Friday! Eek! So, I called guy number 1 back, and apologized profusely. He gave me a number for a fully certified appraiser, and told me the guy was the best :) I called, and left a message. no call back that day. We get to Wednesday afternoon and I still hadn't heard anything (eek!). I called back, and guy #2 was in the office (score!) I explained my situation, and he was SO nice! And showed up at my house 15 minutes later (eek!)! He was so nice. Great with the kids, very professional, and understanding. AND! He appraised the house bang on what the credit union asked for! Must remember to send a thank you card.

So, with that headache relieved, All I had to do was wait for the government to send me my 2006 notice of assessment for my taxes. HA! I stressed about checking the mailbox every day from the day I called to request it! It came Thursday :) I called our Lender, and set up the appointment to sign the final papers on Saturday!!

We went Saturday, and even took the kids! (eek!) but they were pretty well behaved (I took books and colouring stuff and toys :)) and our Lender had chocolate :) Yeah, she has kids too :) After that it was all signed, sealed and delivered!!!!!!!! AND! Rates went down, so our mortgage did too! By $25 a month!! sweet!

Next headache. Get an appointment with the lawyer. He has to do all the money transferring to pay off the loans and my Dad. And that appointment HAS to be this Friday at 10:30. And I have daycare kids that day. And I have to get there and back before it's time to get the kids picked up from school. And did I mention the lawyer is in another town...over an hour away? Yeah, that too. Eek! I called, and held my breath. And then the heavens parted again. Yes, he was available Friday. And yes, he has an opening at 10:30. And everything you need to bring is easy to get :)

And that's about all there is to it. I think. I hope.

Except that Al has all these grand plans for the house, now that it's ours, and we're going to have a little bit of extra money to put towards some upgrades and renos. So on top of organizing our lives and appointments and changing accounts to pay the utilities and convincing my Dad that we're going to be okay doing this, and running a daycare and doing school runs and keeping clean clothes on our backs and food (from my handy new menu plan that I think I might not be able to live without now) in our bellies, I need to decide on a stove, dishwasher, microwave, flooring for the living room, paint for the kitchen, the living room, the master bedroom and the boys room, and curtains and maybe a sofa or two no pressure OMG I can't breathe.

I can't wait for this to be over and done with. Except that I'm a homeowner now. I have a feeling that's not going to happen is it??

The best word I heard all day was....

Optimistic :)

I had an appointment with our family doctor today. To get a referral to a pediatrician who will do a psych evaluation on Mason to test for Autism.

He seemed surprised to see me from the start. I'm not a Mom who has her kids to the doctor for every sniffle, so I guess when he sees me, he knows it's for real. So, there we were. And of course, Mason. was. an. ANGEL! Normally he hates the doctor's office, but he seems to have turned a bit of a corner on that one, and is tolerating them much better. But I digress.

So I told him about Mason occasionally lining up his toys, and even less frequently flapping his hands. How he hates straying from his routine, and how he has a very hard time with transitions, and shopping, and obeying the rules. How he is having some difficulty with his peers, in regards to engaging them in play, and treating them appropriately(He's very hands on, which is very unacceptable). I explained that he has significant speech delays, and that I have wondered off and on since he was an infant what it was that makes Mason SO different from his siblings and peers.

The Dr asked about Mason's eye contact, which is limited at best, but not blank and lifeless. He asked if he was toilet trained, if he could say Mommy, Daddy and how he would typically ask for something, such as Juice. He is, he can, yes, and he says "MOM! I want JUICE! In a WHITE CUP! PLEASE!" The Dr. asked if there was any family history, and I initially said no, and then changed my opinion because I seriously think my brother has Aspergers (and OMG, I can't believe my computer is telling me Aspergers is spelled wrong!), but that my brother has never been diagnosed.

Then the DR mentioned that he knew I have three kids, and asked what I was doing for work now. I told him daycare, but that less than a year ago I was working with children who have Autism. He kinda smiled at that, and asked if maybe I was a bit biased? I wasn't too sure what he meant, but answered with this...

"I don't know if Mason has Autism. If he does, he is very high functioning, and for that I am grateful. If he doesn't then that's even better. Because no one Ever wants to hear that their child has a neurological disorder." I said "All I know is that from the time he was just a baby, he's been different. He was too quiet for too long. and then when he stopped begin quiet, he was SO different from all the other children I know of the same age, that he really stands out. And if he's not standing out, he's sitting alone, playing as though no one else is in the room" I told him "I don't know if Mason has Autism, but I NEED to know what is making him different. And if it's Autism, so be it, but I also feel the same way if it's ADHD, if it's Oppositional Defiance Disorder, if it's Sensory Integration Disorder, or if it just boils down to Mason being Mason. I just need an answer. I've struggled with this for more than long enough now, and I need an Answer."

And that's when Mason hopped off the table, and stood with his back against the measuring tape thingy on the wall, looked at me and said "Measure Mason!" And that's when my Dr looked at me with the greatest smile, and said, "I think you might be wasting your time, I don't see Autism". He said, That's a very complex idea he's grasping there, and a child with Autism probably wouldn't be able to grasp that" I told him that Academically, Mason is very smart, ahead of his peers in many many areas. It's the simple stuff that we're missing, that is causing us the trouble. Like sitting for circle time, or wearing a hat when it's cold.

The Dr. just smiled, patted me on the back, told me I was doing a great job, and then he looked at Mason and said, "I'm optimistic" :)

So I'm going to be optimistic too. I'm not going to give up on my search for the rooth of all this. But I am optimistic about his diagnosis. Whatever that may be.

Worried much!?

It's back to the routines today. No more jammies until 1:00...or later :) no more snacking as we please. No more hop in the car and go where we want, when we want. Nope. It's get up get breakfast, get dressed, brush hair and teeth, pack school bags, run out the door, drop kids off at school, run back on Mondays and Wednesdays and take Mason to pre-school. Run home play with kids de jour, run back to school on Mondays and Wednesdays to get Mason, make lunch, quiet time (HA), get kids from school, snack, play, eat dinner, do homework, chill, have a snack, brush teeth, bedtime. Lisa crashes.

I had a very quiet Christmas break. Just had one little guy here for a couple days, and then I was off :) I'm not used to all that quiet!!

I guess I was worried about today, getting back into the swing of things, because I had a bad dream about it!

I dreamt that I dropped Aidan at his friend's house, and the Mom invited me in for some quiet. So I grabbed a snack, went up to her room, and turned on her TV. And then I realized it was 9:45, and I had forgotten to wait at home for one of my daycare kids, and Mason was home alone, and WAY late for school. As I was leaving, the Dad (who is a cop) came in, and was trying to chat with me, and I couldn't hardly speak because I was convinced he was going to arrest me for leaving Mason alone!! How strange eh??

I'm very happy that none of those things happened :) The only mistake I made was to forget that the school has switched their schedule to a balanced day...so now the kids have two times to eat instead of three, and I meant to divide Jenna's lunch/snacks accordingly. Hopefully she's a big enough girl that she can figure it out. :)

Glad I was able to dive back in so easily!!

So far so good.

Day two of not eating everything in sight :) I'm already making better choices. And it's not that hard :) I think it really helped that I did the weight watchers thing a couple summers ago. I know what I can eat, I know what works. I know that I need more water though, and that's not something I've been doing very well yet, but it will come.

I had an interesting day today. Jenna and Aidan are both sick. They have tonsillitis. I was a little apprehensive about a solo trip to the clinic with all three kids in tow, but it wasn't bad at all. I thought the clinic opened at 9, we got there at 9:30, and the parking lot was empty. Hmm... I was thinking they might not have opened it because of a doctor shortage or something. But, I figured we'd give it a shot anyway. So, in we went. Turns out the clinic wasn't open until 10! Oops. The lovely nurse though opened the doors early so everyone could get registered and settle in. We were second in line! Score!! I only had to entertain the kids for 35 minutes before our names were called. And man, was I ever relieved that we got there when we did!! By the time we left (10:15), the line was almost out the door! So, then we debated on where to go to get the prescriptions filled. We'd been grocery shopping and wal-mart last night, so I didn't really feel like going there. I hate taking Mason into Shoppers Drug Mart, so that was a last resort. Then Jenna reminded me that she had only had grapes for breakfast (oops!) and was hungry. Something clicked, and I remembered that Costco has a pharmacy!! ALSO!! It's Saturday, which means free sample day!! Double Score! Jenna had a great breakfast of melon, yogurt, pepperoni stick and fruit/veggie juice! Oh and an Arrowroot :) We got their medicine, I got a good deal on Tide, and we were good to go! Until!!

Some ASSHAT double parked me!! There was a guy in front of me and a guy behind. Seriously! How can you not notice that you are blocking someone in!? I understand that it's winter, and the parking lot lines are snow covered, but dude!! use your damn common sense!! Line up with the cart corral and you're good! Not this idiot. I tried a 4572483 point turn to wiggle the van out, but it's about 89 feet long, so there was no getting out. So I waited. and waited. I finally unbuckled the kids and went back inside. Got an employee to get a manager. She was no help. There's no PA system in Costco, so they couldn't call the asshat. She suggested I call a tow truck, and said that the asshat would be towed at his expense. I told her that seemed a bit harsh, and she told me it was my only option. Considering how Mason was dashing around freaking out about being asked to stand still for the 3.8 seconds I spoke with this woman, I gave up and went back outside. On my way out a VERY nice couple offered to let me use their cell phone to call a tow. I'm grateful to them, even though I have a cell phone of my own...they renewed my faith in humanity a little bit.

So, out I went to call the tow truck (actually first I called Al who told me to stop being so nice and call the damn tow!) :) I get them on the phone, and because of some stupid by-law in the city, he can't tow it because it's not mine!! Well, no, that's not entirely true. He could have towed it, if I wanted to pay for it!! Uh, NO!? He was super nice about it all though, thanks tow truck guy!!

I spoke to a couple other people who sympathized with me. One guy was going to help me try another 4572483 point turn, but I was too nervous about hitting the 4 other cars around me so I sent him on his way. The cart guy was also super sweet. Called me dear. :) He told me the guy had been parked there for quite awhile. And he felt bad for not knowing who it was to go find them :) Thanks Sweet older guy.

So my only option left was to wait. And that's what we did. for an HOUR!!! I was sooo annoyed!! Finally this guy comes up to my window, and said "Did that guy double park you?" pointing to the car in front of me. I said no, I'm pretty sure it's the guy behind me. I've been waiting for him for a freakin' hour!! He says, as he's walking backwards from me, "Oh, well, I didn't know, I'm in line with all the other guys beside me" and then he books it back to his van! I was REALLY tempted to run over his asshat wife and their new big screen TV as I pulled away. But I'm too nice for that :(

So, back to the original point, even after all that, I came home, made myself a giant salad in a wrap with a few pieces of chicken :) Not the box of Kraft dinner that I was really wanting :) I snacked on fruit, and drank water :)

So far so good.