The Little People Farm that SHOULDN'T!

Okay. So, I haven't exactly been eating very well lately. So poorly infact that I have gained Back 4 pounds in 2 weeks. Bah.

Aidan has a Little People Farm. For those that don't know, it make sounds. Sheep, horses, chickens.

And Cows.

Everytime I've walked past it today, it has Moo'd at me. that's right. Moo'd.

I was sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself because Al is working late yet again. Eating Chocolate ice cream straight out of the container. About 15 feet from the barn.

And it moo'd.

I gave it the finger.

And scraped the container clean.

Take THAT Fisher Price!

~Lisa~

Mason's Optional 9 Month check-up.

Didn't go as smoothly as every mother hopes. Well, he's very healthy, and a hefty 23.6lbs! The size of a 12 month old for goodness sakes! Yikes.

However, I voiced some concerns. And they were heard.

Mason doesn't crawl yet. Not in the traditional way on hands and knees anyway.

Mason doesn't get himself into a sitting position. He can sit when sat though.

Mason doesn't pull himself up on furniture yet. He can stand with support and bear all his weight.

Mason's eye contact is limited.

Mason doesn't laugh very often.

Mason has a very unexpressive face.

All these things add up I guess. It looks and sounds awful in a list.

Our doctor spent quite a lot of time with him today. For a doctor's standards anyway.

The good news is:

He rolls from side to side.

He does play shy.

He sometimes enjoys playing peek-a-boo.

He babbles very well, and I am pretty sure he can say the word Bubble!!

and It's very obvious that he loves his Mama.(And Daddy of course...actually, I think he likes Daddy Better :))

So, other than wondering if he has poor muscle tone for his size(He's quite the chubs!) I didn't get many answers today.

I think he is fine. But I can't help but replay the moment when I was about 8 months pregnant, when Al wondered aloud to me if I was meant to work with ASD children, because God was trying to prepare me for our future.

So scary.

I have to take him back in 2 months for a follow-up assessment.

Hopefully by then I'll be able to laugh at my concerns.

~Lisa~

And a good time will be had by all...we hope.

WAHHH!!! My boys (Well, 2 of the 3) just left for their first annual boys only camping weekend. Al and Aidan are meeting up with my George and my brother Brian for a couple days. I'm sure they will all have a really great time. I sure am going to miss my little boy though!

He's so excited to go. I woke him up at 5:30 this morning and he nearly leaped out of bed he was so excited.

I'm sure I totally over packed for them :) I tend to do that. Better safe than sorry seems to be my motto :)

Jenna, Mason and I are meeting up with my Mom and SIL Philicia to do some Garage sale-ing. Then we may go round to my grandma's and then my uncle's. Should be an interesting day. Then we get to go have a sleep-over at my Mom's. Pray for me. My mom and I are Great friends. But she annoys that crap out of me when we're together too long :) I think she forgets that even though my brother and SIL let her mother their baby, I am the mother to my kids. She's the Grandma, intended for spoiling. :) I swear she forgets what it was like to have little kids.

Mason is refusing to nurse from my left breast. It's breaking my heart, because it's probably all my fault :( He bit me yesterday morning. I said, rather sternly, OUCH!...Just like all the books say to do. STUPID BOOKS!! I AM NEVER READING ANOTHER BOOK AS LONG AS I LIVE!! Okay, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. But seriously. I am going to EXPLODE!! My pump isn't working right, and won't pump me :( I look like a freak, one loose and saggy mom of 3 boob, and the other firm and rather 21-ish.

Well, I think that's about all that's going on around here. Aidan is doing AWESOME with toilet training. Should be interesting to see how he comes back from camping...but I'm trying not to worry about that :)

Have a great weekend all!!

~Lisa~

Product Review!!

After reading about Julie (www.jaabee.blogspot.com) getting the recommendation for firming lotion, I thought to myself "OF COURSE!!!" After three babies, and three c-sections, and 33 pounds lost...I need HELP! in the tummy regions.

We went to Wal-Mart on Sunday, and at the last minute I remembered that I wanted to look for some firming lotion. Well, there weren't many to choose from. But there was Dove. I am a Huge fan of Dove products (Highly recommend their shampoo and conditioners!! Better than Pantene!! Really!) so I figured that's the one I would try. I think it cost $6.97 for 200mL. It's called Dove Intensive Firming Lotion. It looks like this...

I've used it once a day since Sunday night. Already I can see a difference!! Al said he could see a change too! Yay!! the back of the bottle says "Testing proves: After 1 week, skin appears significantly smoother and more youthful. After 2 weeks, skin appears noticeably firmer." I can't wait to see my tummy after 2 weeks of this :)

I highly recommend this product!!! 5+ Stars!!!

~Lisa~

Success!!

You may remember me writing awhile ago about beginning to toilet train Aidan. Yeah. that lasted one day. The next day was a total disaster.

Fast forward to Friday. I decided it was time to give it another go. Long weekend was here, Al would be home to back me up...perfect.

Apparently, I was RIGHT!!

Aidan is doing Incredible!!! Has told me twice now that he wants to pee on the toilet(We skipped the potty, I figured, why bother?) and hasn't peed in his underwear since early friday morning!!! We have had a poop accident, but that's to be expected.

I even managed a Wal-Mart trip this morning!! I did have him ry to go while we were there, but the person in the stall next to up flushed, and scared him. So that was a no go...but he stayed dry!!!

He went at the babysitter's too!!! This was an issue last time too. He wouldn't pee on anyone's toilet but ours LOL. But, with the bag of Smarties strategically placed directly in front of him, he went for me, and then went for Laura after I left too!! YEAH!!

I think there may be a light at the end of this tunnel :)

Oh and even better? When I was at Wal-Mart? I only bought ONE package of Diapers :) In Size 4, for the BABY!!! WOOHOO!!

It's so cute seeing my boy's bum in his little Spider-Man underwear :)

~Lisa~

I don't think he likes it!!

Mason has been very resistant to eating any food with texture or lumps in it. I got him the Heinz Mixed Vegetables for 8+ months. It has chunks of potato in it. Oh how he hates it!!! Today I was trying again. He kept closing his eyes tight, and clamping his lips together. It almost looked like he was trying to pretend to sleep in an effort to avoid the vile substance I kept shoving in his mouth :) poor Mason.

Hey cool! In the first picture you can see a drop off food falling after he pushed the spoon away! there's a showdow of it on his bib. lol...small things...

~Lisa~

Toofies!!!

And then!!

Ugh. Henry, unlike many autistic children does not like numbers/counting/etc. He has a program where he is given a number card and has to then match it to a corresponding pile of the same number of blocks. He's made it to 6. And he hates it. And I dread it. But, we;ve made it to 6 right, so that's great progress. HA.

I set up the program today, and the first thing he does, naturally, is throws the card onto the closest pile. He knows it's wrong. And I know he can do this. So we try again. And it escalates. I remove him from the table when I see he's about to sweep everything off of it. And then the struggle to keep him on the couch escalated to him biting my sweater. I KNOW that it should NOT ever come to this, but he's so damn quick, and I'm so damn tired :( no excuse for me.

So I pull my arm back, and notice blood! Good lord, I nearly passed out, I have NO idea how it happened, but Henry's Tooth was imbedded in my sleeve!!! ACK!!! And OMG, the blood. It's been 20 years since I lost the tooth Henry lost today, but I don't remember the tooth being so freakin Long!! Or there being that much Blood!! He was SOOOO freaked out. I was almost crying right along with him.

You should have seen me...in hindsight I am sure it was hilarious to watch me...rushing him to the bathroom, scooping cold water into his resistant mouth, looking around frantically for a damn cloth, or cup or someone to take over while I collapsed :) I finally kicked into gear and got his shirt off(he can't tolerate wearing wet clothes) and a shirt of Aidan's on him. Then realized that the best thing would be some cold wet paper towel on the gap. the bleeding slowed down pretty quickly after that...thankfully.

I called Jenny right away, and did everything I could to calm to poor kid, who had NO idea that teeth fall out! he is almost 6, so the timing is right...but still, I wish it hadn't happened on my watch.

Jenny was so sad that she missed him losing his first tooth :) I gave her our extra tooth fairy box, and loaned her Jenna's tooth fairy book.

I tell you, these past two days have been more stressful than...well, something really stressful :)

~Lisa~

Mama said there'd be days like this.

Days when you wake up in the morning and everything goes fairly well, considering you have 3 kids, who all decided that 5AM was the time to start getting up for the day.

Days where you are pleased that the drop off at daycare went smoothly, gas was under $1.00/litre, and you got the copies made you need for work. AND made it to work on time, despite the 2 kilometres of construction on the ONE road into the town you work in.

Days where work went fairly smoothly, with only one, 3 minute tussle with your charge.

And then...

Days where your boss has concerns about your consulting therapist. Concerns that you share. Concerns that are very valid.

Days where you decide to mention a couple of these concerns to said consulting therapist in the nicest way possible, only to have those concerns thrown back in your face, and turned around on your boss whom you have come to love like a sister...really.

Days where you realize how damn naive you are, and that there are A LOT of people out there that are just 'in it' for the money.

Days where you see the ugly green power trip monster, who cannot explain him/herself.

Days where your damn period is back with a vengence and you just want to bite the greedy, petty, freakin' HEAD off of said consulting therapist.

Days where you can't even see straight for confusion over what is being said.

Days when stupid consulting therapist cancels a consultation meeting FOR TOMORROW! When said therapist KNOWS that I have questions for her.

Days when stupid consultion therapist is Supposed to be a close friend, but probably just uses you to shit on, and you take it because you are LOUSY at making new friends.

Ugh.

And then your faith in people is restored when said 'love her like a sister' boss sends the most beautifully written email to stupid consulting therapist with this included:
"He(nry)'s a little boy who's got lots of struggles and a long road ahead and some days are just putting in the day to get us through. At this point, other than family, no one has a better grasp of that than Lisa. She is a compassionate therapist who is genuinely committed to helping him. She always speaks highly of you and your work and seems refreshed after your consults"

Days where you want to cry with relief to know that someone out there realizes that the place between the rock and the hard place is full of Anger, Confusion, and PMS. And knows the words to say to smooth the wrinkles, and calm the fears.

I hate being a grown-up.

I hate days like this.

~Lisa~

See? She has manners!!

I made Shake and bake chicken, noodles and carrots for dinner tonight. 3 of the kids favourites. Or so I thought.

Partway through dinner Jenna turns to me and potlitely says...

"I know you worked hard to make this dinner for us Mom...but I don't like it."

LMAO!!!

I politely replied back to her...

"I'm sure you worked hard to tell me that so politely, but you're going to eat it anyway."

And she did. Everything but three pieces of Chicken :)

~Lisa~

A week's worth!!

Man! I have such a hard time getting back here to post lately! And there's so much I would have liked to have gotten recorded. Oh well, hopefully I can remember what last week held :)

If I had blogged last Wednesday...
I would have written about our trip to the park. Karen invited us to a park we'd never been to before. It was really nice. There was this HUGE Spider that nearly ruined it for me, but we moved :) Karen also invited another Mom that I have met a couple times at playgroup with Henry. She's nice enough...a little strange, but her kids are freakin' adorable :) It was a fun day.

If I had blogged on Thursday...
I would have written about how I had a great day with Henry. He was really on his game and scores were pretty good. I had a rough day with Jenna though. She lied to be about something on Wednesday, so her punishment was not getting to play with any friends after school. Oh my. You would have thought I had told her that I was moving and not taking her with me!! She screamed and cried and screamed some more all the way home. I tell ya, she is going to be the death of me.

If I had blogged on Friday...
It would have mostly been about laundry :) Also my Mom came over. Jenna's school had a grandparent's Tea and Tour. It was nice. I was also reminded why my Mom gets on my nerves LOL. She seems to expect so much more from my kids than she did from my brother and I...either that or my kids really are little unpolite devils. Ugh.

I also would have wished my Dad a Very Happy Birthday :)

If I had blogged on Saturday...
I would have written about an incredible Model Train Show. I tell ya, model trains aren't usually my thing, but this was Cool!! There was a steel shed all set up. They even dimmed the lights down in the room and turned on the 'town' lights and train lights. So neat. So, if you're ever in Aberfoyle...there's an awesome train show there a couple times a year :) There was a couple funny things...first, at the 'beach', if you look back in the trees, there's an srtist painting a nude model :) And right at the beginning there's a guy standing down below, looking up at some cliffs with binoculars. I said to my Mom(Oh yes, the torture continued) that I wonder what he's looking at....so we followed his line of sight...and saw that he's peeping at 2 naked girls sunbathing! LMAO!!! But really, other than those two things...it's totally kid friendly :) I have pictures, just have to download the camera :)

If I had blogged on Sunday...
I could have written about checking out a new grocery store here in town. Called Food Basics. Great prices there!! Pretty comparable to No Frills...they're owned by A&P. Pretty boring other than that. I like boring sometimes.

So, there you are. All caught up to date. Except that every one of those nights Mason was up with a fever :( I'm guessing more teeth are coming in already...poor monkey. He seems to be feeling better...knock on wood.

~Lisa~

They like me, they Really Like Me!!!

I got a raise!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!! At a time so perfect I nearly wept with joy and relief when Jenny said the new number.

I knew it was coming. Another family contacted me awhile ago to see if I was available to do therapy for their Daughter. I haven't made my decision on that yet (It means missing SO much of Mason's (and Aidan's and Jenna's of course, but they're older...okay, shutting up now) life...I'm not quite prepared to do that. So, I guess when I told Jenny about the other family, she got scared that they were trying to steal me away from them :) never gonna happen, I love Henry WAY more than is professional really :) I swear, he's like my 4th child. But, it worked out well, because Jenny made sure I was well aware that they would fight for me!

Anyway, Jenny went on and on about how thrilled they are with the changes in Henry's life in the past year. How they like that I am a mother, that I know how far I can push Henry, and when to pull back, but that I also know that he Needs those pushes to advance :) There was so much more, but I have a hard time bragging, and receiving praise, so I am stopping now :)

Bad news (in a way) is that they are NOT happy with Karen, and have asked another consultant to come in at the end of the month to interview to replace her. I can't say I am surprised. There are sooo many reasons why Karen should be replaced. But, I am very scared that it's going to make it hard for me. I rely on Karen's input a lot. She's been at this for almost 6 years, and really does know what she's doing. I have a feeling she'll cut me off from any and all information just to spite them. Man, that really worries me. But, like Jenny suggested, it really does give her quite the power trip. I'm not sure why, but Jenny also said she doesn't like the way Karen speaks to me...I wonder if it's because Karen tends to interrupt me, and talk over me...but then, I have that problem with a lot of people. :) Anyway, this is not about her.

So, I am set for another year with Henry. Whom I love and adore. I am also Definitely going to be able to afford to take courses with The Geneva Centre for Autism. I can't WAIT!!! WOOHOO!!

~Lisa~

Slow down, you move too fast. Gotta make the moment last...

Oh man. It's happening. My baby is (*GASP*) growing up. His two bottom teeth are finally cutting through. Onto the adorable toothy smiles :)

And!! my totally genius son waves now!! Like really waving, not just flopping his arm around. It's freakin' CUTE I tell ya!!

He's still just doing an army man crawl thing, but he's FAST!

Still not up to eating anything with any consistency to it other than mush, but I'm not pushing him :)

He's still loving the boob. I'm not pushing that away either. Despite being tired of the night feedings, and the pressure from others saying he doesn't need it anymore. I quite honestly don't care if he doesn't need breastmilk at night. I want him to know that I'm there for him, and will offer him comfort when he needs it. If that comfort comes in the shape of a boob...so be it.

Our baby sitter has a walker (Gasp! shock! horror!) Mason LOVES it she says. He cruises all around in it, forward, backward, gets himself unstuck, he's amazing :)

He's also still VERY cuddly :) I definitely love that about him.

I think he's going to be like my brother when it comes to water...part fish. He LOVES bath time, and crawls all over the place in the tub :) I can't wait to take him to the beach this summer :)

Mason's already 8 months old!! Which means if he's like Aidan, he'll be walking by next month! I doubt it though, Aidan was a much stronger baby than Mason is. I don't mind. Aidan grew up too fast when he started walking so early.

I'm grateful we had another.

~Lisa~

Wow.

I hate to be biased....but seriously, this is one beautiful girl :)


~Lisa~

Smart people.

Mason is smart. We ordered Pizza for dinner...yes I know I will regret it. Not I do not care at the moment. Anyway!! Mason started freaking out in his exersaucer, so i picked him up, sat him on my lap and pretended to NOT be eating that tempting looking meal on the plate just out of baby's reach. He caught me once, and got a couple fingers full of sauce. After that it was ON!! I turned him around (Facing me) and held the pizza behind his back. When he would turn to look at the other kids, I would take a bite. It was working. But then I think he caught on. He grabbed onto my lips with one hand and then whipped around trying to get my slice with his other hand. LOL He's totally not ready for pizza, I gave him a couple kernels of rice (Is rice a kernel???) bits?? hmm...anyway, gave him a wee bit of rice and he promptly gagged and vomited. Yeah, we're sticking with mush for now :)

Julie is smart. She posted her 10 minutes routine on her blog.(http://jaabeemom.blogspot.com/) 10 minutes is a long time ya know! I got 3 'sessions' in before dinner arrived, and what a huge difference it made! In my 1st 10 I got the sink full of dishes put away, and the kitchen a little tidier, put down the play pen and put away the toys that were in it. In the 2nd 10 I got the toy area picked up, and looking a whole lot neater. In the 3rd 10 I got the front hall, bathroom and kitchen swept, as well as tended to the kids a bit. I feel so much better, and I've only done 30 minutes of work. Man, when Al reads this, he's got to be expecting a lot more from me around here LOL!! He'll be all..."Do you know how many 30 minutes there are in a day?" And I am going to be all "Do you remember the last time we had sex....good thing. HMPH!" LMAO!!!

Jenna is smart...she's already started asking to go to her friends' houses tomorrow....she'll ask until I am completely and utterly exhausted by telling her I will think about it! LOL

Al is smart. Just as I am starting to yet again feel like a single parent, he calls to say he's on his way home :)

Aidan is smart. He knows about 90% of his letter sounds, and the best way to get a snack :)

~Lisa~

Fun :)

Jenna is becomming quite the social butterfly :) Every day after school there either tears or cheers from my girl :) Depending on how I respond to the instant pleas to play at Leah's or Peyton's or Kattie's houses :)

I like Peyton a lot. She's a junior like Jenna (For my american readers, we have Junior and then Senior Kindergarten, and then grade one. Yes, Grade One, not First Grade :)) Jenna and Peyton play SO well together. Leah bugs me quite honestly, and I can always tell the days when Jenna and Leah have played together a lot. Leah's whiney, and bossy, and makes secret clubs that always leaves someone out. I am Sure that she has some kind of social delays, which makes it hard for me to dislike her too much, but holy whiney-pants batman!!! She's a senior, so hopefully next year will change.

Peyton is here playing today. It's so amazing to watch Jenna play. Aside from her bossiness and unwillingness to let her brother join in the fun, she's doing great :) Her and Peyton are great together. I hope that if we let them play together often, that they become good friends.

It's fun to watch my little girl grow up :)

~Lisa~

Nice try son.

Aidan has been resisting bedtime lately. Tonight was no different, despite threats of calling the Easter Bunny and telling him not to bring chocolate to this bad little boy.

This is how the conversation went...

A(Screaming): MOMMY MOMMY MOMMMMMMYYYYYYY!!!

Me: What Aidan?

A: I not sleepy yet.

Me: Fine, look at your book for a few minutes then lay down and GO TO SLEEP!

A: What's this kinda book?

Me: Magic School bus, go to sleep.

A: What kinda Magic school bus book?

Me: I don't know, GO TO SLEEP Aidan!!

A: I'n not wanna go to Sleep ANY MORE!!

Me: Too bad buddy, it's bed time, and the Easter Bunny is NOT going to come until you are sleeping!

A: I wanna go to the CORNER!!

Me: (Desperately trying no to laugh) Nope, you need to lay down on your pillow and go to sleep.

A: But I'n not listening to you Mommy.

Oh man, I was rolling with laughter inside.

What kid sends themself to the corner!? Seriously!?

He slays me...all the time :)

And I lub him soo larry larry much :)

~Lisa~

The post with no name.

Henry had an Awesome day today!!! He scored 80% on both Eye Contact and Responds to Name!! He's never scored that high in the near year I have been working with him!! Jenny and I were talking about the change in him, and she mentioned that he is always a totally different boy in the summer. I'm going to look into it more. I mentioned a Vitamin D supplement, but he's already on one. So I'm not sure what else to suggest for the winter. Maybe one of those sun/light machine things...I can't think of the name of it.

I am sooo not ready for Easter. I was supposed to go out this afternoon to get everything, but I guess Karen forgot she was going to watch Aidan, and wasn't home when I got home this afternoon. I hate to be so disappointed by something so trivial, but I am constantly watching Logan for her...and am not getting much in return. I even had to take all three kids to the clinic the other day, because she had to cook dinner :( It's so hit and miss with her. Frustrating. She came over this afternoon, Mason was screaming because he was so tired, Jenna and Aidan were asking for Juice, it was a regular moment here really. Karen said I should go to bed as soon as the kids do tonight. When I said I couldn't since I want to go get the Easter stuff she said she should do the same tonight...but no offer to do it together or anything...and now she's already left. I hate that she's always trying to out do me. Gets annoying. Anyway, enough whining. She is a good friend most of the time...

I weighed in today. Blah. I was 148 last Thursday. Keep in mind though, that was after I was sick, and hadn't eaten anything but crackers for 2 days. I am back up to 150.5 today. It's so disheartening after how good I was all week. Whatever. I'll keep trying. I miss that good feeling of knowing my weight was down. And as an added incentive, if I can get below 147, I get a decresed rate on my life insurance :) Now if that isn't motivation...LOL Good news is though, Jenny was up .5, so that made me feel better :)

That cake is totally to blame. WOW!! Al said it was the best cake I have ever made. yay me!! And Yay JulieQ for the awesome idea.

Well, Aidan is asking me to do his Thomas puzzle....Duty Calls.

~Lisa~

Oh JulieQ!!

You had better be a happily married woman.

I made your chocolate cake today(we're finally all over the tummy bug).

Oh....My...GOODNESS!!!!! I just used a Betty Crocker cake mix (Chocolate Chocolate Chip) but that frosting!!!!! I haven't had a piece yet (waiting for Al to get home) but I did sample the icing a wee bit. WOW!!! It's Perfect!!!! And it made a great amount!! I hate getting icing in the container, there's NEVER enough in one, and too much in two!

I swear, if the cake is every bit as delicious as it looks and smells, Al may leave me for you!!

I'll let you know how it goes over!

~Lisa~

Rough few days...

Mason's been fighting a fever for a few days now. It's been low grade, so I figured that maybe it was from teething. But it's been over 48 hours now (off and on). I took him to the clinic yesterday afternoon(Fastest clinic visit EVER! In and out in under 40 minutes) He has a slight ear infection in his right ear. I'm so glad I took him in. Poor baby. I wonder if he'll be like Jenna; she Always got an ear infection when she was getting new teeth...and she always got two teeth at a time :) Expensive over-achiever!!

So, that's where I've been. Administering LOTS of cuddles.

~Lisa~