ch ch ch changes..

I was laying in bed last night, after checking on the kids. After covering Jenna with a blanket. After smiling at Aidan holding his puppy. After thinking, hmm.. Mason isn't snoring tonight.  And then I got thinking... we have really changed as a family.

There's no more diaper bags. there's rarely even an activity bag. We can tell the kids to get their shoes and coats on, and they just do it (usually, and only after they've grumbled about going to wherever we're going). They can carry their plates to the table, and then clear the table when they are done. I can trust them to play unsupervised in the backyard (Well, I leave the windows open so I can hear :)).  I can take a shower and have it last for more than 2 minutes without worrying that Mason has escaped the house, or Jenna has convinced the boys to steal a bag of snacks from the cupboard. Mason can be told to go get dressed in the morning, about 30 times, and then he'll do it. And even on weekends now, Jenna and Aidan are more than capable of getting their own breakfasts (though this is new, and they are still lazy enough to prefer Mommy to do it).  They are all just getting so big!

I used to think I would be SO relieved when the kids got older, and they can do all these things for themselves.  But I kinda miss my babies.  Mason is so not a baby anymore. Just all of a sudden it seems.  He's playing more, he's entertaining himself (and everyone else around him, that kid is FUNNY!). He doesn't come to me for cuddles as often as he used to.  Jenna plays in her room a lot.  And when we were at the dollar store the other day, and told the kids they could each choose something, the boys agonized over the toys selection, while Jenna complained about them taking too long, and not being able to go off to the nail polish section on her own! Nail polish!!

I feel like we're entering a different era as a family!  Jenna will be NINE this June.  NINE!!  I think it's her that I'm having the hardest time with.  I look at her, and I can see that sweet, funny little 2-3 year old she used to be, but it's such a ghost now.  Now she's got attitude, and opinions, and a quick wit that I just love... but I'm not used to it.. or ready for it!

Aidan is still Aidan.  Sensitive, funny, sweet, smart.  He'll still cuddle with me, and is always more than happy to let me make his breakfast, or help with his homework, or read him a story.  I'm grateful that he seems to be growing up at a slow and steady pace. Not in the giant leaps and bounds that his sister and brother seem to be doing!!


I will say though, that I am so grateful to be seeing a bond between the three of them.  They are so very lucky to have each other, and I am so hopeful that they know it :)  I absolutely adore it when Mason calls Jenna his sister :)

I am however, still waiting for the days when I have to drag their asses out of bed in the morning.  Enough of this early riser nonsense :)  At what age does that start??

It's with great sadness..

that I come to tell you of the passing of my grandfather. Grandpa Henry. Grandpa H.

The funniest man on the planet.

He just didn't get better after going into the hospital 2 weeks ago. His dementia was so bad at the end :( And he was in so much pain. I'm grateful that he didn't suffer long. But still sad that he's gone.

He lived a really great life. He had 4 children. 13 grandchildren. 8 great-grandchildren. He was a carpenter, and could fix anything. He loved puzzles, and mysteries and rye. He was notorious for 'faking' a conversation after turning off his hearing aids. He would have been 86 this year. He was a really great man.

And I miss him.

Sad tonight.

I'm sad for a friend tonight. She's been on my mind a lot lately. We're fairly new friends. But already, it's easy to see that she's the kind of friend who just makes the world a better place. She's quiet, and witty, and funny. She was a teacher at my children's school, until the middle of the year last year. She's a mother to a set of twins about to enter their last year of high school, a beautiful teenage girl in her first year of high school and a 7 year old girl.

She was supposed to be Mason's kindergarten teacher this year. But then her name was removed from the class list. And word on the street was that she was taking a leave of absence. No one knew why. There were rumours, but I didn't believe them.

So, as of fairly recently, we've struck up a friendship. She's just the sweetest person. And yet so different than me. She's not on facebook, she rarely checks email. Her oldest children are twice the age of my oldest child. She's from the Maritimes. But she really is just Good People. She has a caring heart.

For a few days now I have been wondering what her story is. Why she had to take a leave. Why, when I asked if she would be returning next year, she couldn't give me an answer. I didn't push. I just wondered. And the friendship grew. And us younger Mom's shocked her with our sense of humour. And we made her laugh at vajazzling. And we welcomed her without knowing her story, and it didn't matter.

And today she found out that she has lost her job for next year. And after she dropped that bombshell on me, and we hugged and growled and tried not to cry about it, we walked in the direction of home. And that's when she said to me, "Well, at least I get to see some old friends in Toronto tomorrow." I said "That's Great!! Something to cheer you up." To which she replied, "yeah, real cheerful, 'here! have some Chemo, now go try to eat.'" then she laughed, and walked off towards her house. And now I know her story.

And I am so sad. Cancer sucks.

My grandpa is sick too. He's been in the hospital for about a week. Pneumonia is the main thing, but his bowels aren't working properly, and he seems to be declining fast. His Alzheimer's/Dementia is getting worse by the hour it seems, and his body isn't functioning properly. My step Mom and her siblings are starting to wonder if the cancer is back with him too. And I am so sad. Cancer sucks so bad.

Fuck you Cancer.

Fist pumps for my wicked awesome kid :)

Mason loves to hang out with me in the kitchen when I'm making dinner. We dance, he flips sandwiches and burgers, he chooses plates. It's a good time (usually :))

Tonight was a really good night. A song came on the radio that he likes (that new one by Train) and he started dancing, so I started dancing, and turned up the radio. We danced for a bit, and copied each others moves, and were having a great time, when he grabbed the broom and used it as a guitar :) No prompting, no idea where he got the idea, as it's not something I've ever done :) Just right from his awesome brain :)!!!!!!!!!

Then the song was over, and I praised his awesomeness, and smartness and general existence. Next thing I know he's using the broom as a pointer on the calender on the fridge. he says, "This is a full moon, and this is a half a moon. And this is another half a moon" He was right :) I pointed to the two half moons and asked him why they were different. he says "because the half is one that side... and the other half is on the other side" :)

Just so many moments of awesome all rolled into about 5 minutes. I love that kid. I'm so lucky he's mine :)

A shift

I had lunch with a good friend today. I was so proud of myself. Not only did I try a new restaurant, but I tried new foods too!! My friend in Vegan. I went through a period of time when I was a vegetarian, but I just couldn't give up my milk and cheese :) Mmm... cheese... Anyway! Because of health issues in combination with personal beliefs, L is vegan. I've eaten her food a few times. The only thing I would pass on again would be the creamed tofu dill dip. :) I've always been a bit of a food chicken. I hate trying new restaurants. I like what I like, and I don't stray far from it. Until lately. I've been doing much better. Today I tried Falafel. YUM! Taheena Salad. Yum. Tabouleh (This was a little too lemony for me, but still really good!

Anyway.... that wasn't the shift I was going to talk about... though, for me, it was worth mentioning :)
As we always do, L and I were talking about a certain aspect of our lives. One that brought us together in the first place. One that we have both questioned at times. One that I find a few more of my friends currently questioning. And it made me think... have I been questioning my situation, because that's what I have surrounded myself with?? Have I drawn trouble into my life? That wasn't my intention.

Part of my personality is the ability to be friends with a really wide variety of people. I find over time that I take on certain characteristics of each person when I am with them. A good person with the good people. A funny person with the funny people. A caring person with the people who care. A sick and twisted, omg I can't believe you said that kind of person with other people like that. It works for me. I thought.

I'm going to try something different. I'm going to think for myself. I'm not going to be worried about being happy where I am, or who I am.

This isn't coming out the way I had hoped it would. I always think for myself. And I would never make a big decision because I was following in someone else's footsteps. Ever. Just that, from now on, I am not going to hide my feelings, because they don't mesh with someone elses. yeah... something like that.

Little Kids. Big Words.

Mason was slow to speak. He was slow to articulate. He was slow to string words together into sentences. So we did three rounds of speech therapy. And man... there are days when I regret that!! Talk talk talk talk talk!! The boy is Never quiet anymore!! He's bossy, and somewhat opinionated, and full of ideas.

Along with every speech milestone, and speech explosion came new words that brought smiles to our faces, and laughs to the room, and sometimes some stunned silences... like the first time he called his brother Stupid... not cool. Lately though, our favourites are the BIG words.

Like Fabulous. "Fabaliss". And Hilarious "Herlarryiss". And of course, Fantastic... "Fantaskick". I love these words from him :) Especially when he uses them in context... like "Mom, I got dress! Do's I look Fabaliss?"

I remember Jenna's mispronunciations... Ketchup was Kepputch. Play Doh was Tay Loh. And whenever we were in the car, she would repeat "Ah Winka Winka Wah".. I have NO idea what she was trying to say, but it was Funny!!

Aidan didn't pronounce much wrong. I remember Juice Tup for Juice Cup... but that's really all. He seemed to wait until he he knew he would get the word right before he said it out loud :) There was never Mama and Dada, it was Mommy and Daddy from the start.

I'm going to miss these mis-pronunciations.

Why I don't need Vinny anymore :)

Once upon a time, I was a young Mom. I was polite, and smiled and nodded at the other mom's on the playground, and said the odd Hello to the other Mom's at the school... but I was also kinda shy. (shocking, I know) So it's taken me awhile (5 years) to really gain a group of friends at my kids' school. But let me tell you, those friends, are AWESOME. they are, hands down, some of the FUNNIEST women I have ever met. We've even considered taking up shares in Tena. Not even joking. We're also fiercely protective of one another as I have recently found out :)

Some of you may have seen Sandi on my facebook page. Hilarious, that woman. She puts on a great show, (and I never said this), but she's pretty friggin' awesome as far as friends go. She's sweet, and smart, and not at all afraid to tell it like it is. I've seen her cry, and I've heard her laugh from about a mile away (not even joking). I don't know how I went those 5 years without being her friend. Well... the fact that her son is a couple years younger than Jenna might have something to do with that... but I digress...

So anyway!! The woman who 'outed' my son in front of some of these friends, and some other people who I would refer to only as acquaintances, was put in her place today. I had every intention of taking her aside and telling her in no uncertain terms that I felt she had been out of line, and to ask her to refrain from sharing private information again. But I haven't seen her since that day!

Sandi came up to me and said "I talked to J". Me, being a tad clueless at times, thought she meant a Friend with the same name. I finally clued in, and heard the whole story... Sandi told her how upset I was that she took the liberty to tell a group of people she doesn't know, business that was told to her in confidence. That what she did crossed lines that couldn't be uncrossed. that I was extremely upset at what had happened. J said she wanted to share the information with me, and Sandi said no. She said that in no uncertain terms was J to speak to me ever again. (ouch!) That if I wanted the info, I would find it myself (yeah... she was mad...).

And that, is why I don't need Vinny anymore :) What a friend. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall.

Gobsmacked.

So... I've been harbouring a dirty little secret since October. Not that it's really a secret. And it's not at all dirty. But I feel a bit like it's turned into that since I didn't make a big announcement at the time. Precious few people know. And the ones that do, are the ones I chose because they are important to me, and my family, they are the ones that I knew would understand. The ones I wanted on my team. Don't be offended if I didn't tell you. I was biding my time with some people, and I will explain my reasons in a moment. I don't know who Al has told. And in fact, I have only told one of my children (for now). and 1 other person who cornered me one day. I haven't really intentionally kept the news a "secret", but i was very choosy about who I told. I think that's my right. And whether or not that was right or wrong I'm sure would make a wonderful debate.

That dirty little secret is that Mason was diagnosed with Autism in October. I didn't want to make a big deal about it. At first, it hurt too much to say the words. I went through the testing to prove to the resource teachers, and the speech paths, and the OT's and whoever else, that Mason did NOT have Autism. I'm still not convinced, but that's another story for another day. Anyone that knows Mason, or has known me, or has read my blog in the past 4 years knows that there have always been questions there. but they also (I hope) know what a fantastic kid Mason is. How charming, and funny, and caring, and complex, and thoughtful he is. And THAT was the Mason I wanted to show the world. I didn't want my son to become the label, or the label to become my son. The school knows, and my parents know, and Mason's caretakers know. And some (Though admittedly, not all) close friends know.

Until this morning. When some CRAZY mother announced it on the school yard, as I stood with a group of about 10 people. Of which ONE of those people knew about Mason's diagnosis.

A little back story for you... One day, back in probably November, I was walking home from taking the kids to school, and this mother approached me. Now, I am a tolerant person. I am caring, and giving, and understanding. I can be friends with almost everyone on the planet. Except this woman. Her child is a hellion. Her parenting skills are nil. Her social skills are worse. Her aura makes my skin crawl and I want to run in the opposite direction every time I see her. And I probably should from now on. I will give her the credit of saying that her son, who was adopted, has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. That can't be easy to parent. I get that. but oh man... if you saw them... ugh. Anyway! She approached (where approached = cornered) me one day and asked if Mason had been "Classified" yet. Not really knowing how to dodge that, and being without my crystal ball, I told her that yes, he had been DIAGNOSED with Autism. I wish I hadn't it was really none of her business. And now she has this idea that her and I can be best buds. I'm sorry. But we can't. I understand that we kinda have something in common, but we really don't.

So, this morning, as I was standing with my group of friends (and that's a fairly loose term for a few of them). This woman stopped me and asked if I had heard of some program (She said the name, I tried to Google it, can't find it. Something like Zigarette, but I don't know). I said I hadn't, and noticed that all eyes were on us. And then she said "Oh, I thought you would have since Mason has Autism. Right?" For the briefest of seconds I thought I might punch her in the face. How AWFUL is that!?!?! All I could do was say yes. And then thankfully, my friends seemed to disappear (As we all try to do when this woman comes near, and I feel so bad saying that... but I just can't be friends with her).

I know I'm probably making a mountain out of a molehill... but man... time and place lady!!

*sigh*... I feel better now. Just had to get it out.

Big Turk?

Back in September of last year, Al called me to tell me about some kittens that had been found at work. It didn't take me long after seeing a picture of them to say that I wanted to give the little Orange guy a home :) I love orange kitties :) It didn't take long for Copper to become one of the family. He's crazy like the rest of us :)

I've long said that we should never have named him Copper, after the dog on The Fox and the Hound. Because he is soooo much more like a dog than a cat!! Seriously!! He chases his tail, he greets visitors at the door, he turns in a circle before he lays down to go to sleep, he plays fetch like a champ! I joke with Aidan sometimes that if we had named him Tuna like he wanted to, the cat would act like a fish!

So fast forward to today. I took Copper in for his first shots and a check up. He's perfectly healthy. A whopping 10 pounds already at 6 months old. The most exciting part of the check up was when the vet said that she thinks Copper is probably part Turkish Van breed! She asked if he likes water, and he absolutely does!! He hops in the shower all the time, he plays with the drips from the facets. He's not a huge fan of having a bath... but he doesn't fight it like Louie does!

I came home and Googled the breed, and while his markings are wrong (colouring is right, but Vans usually have a white body, and coloured tail, with markings on the head as well, Copper is white and Orange all over), which makes him a Van-Alike, the characteristics are uncannily like Copper!! Right down to how they shred curtains!! When we returned from our trip to Timmins there was only about 18 inches of our shower curtain left hanging! The brat. :)

He's also insanely affectionate. He loves to cuddle up beside the kids. And he's the most patient cat I have EVER met. It takes a good cat to survive living in a house with three kids plus extra kids every day!

The vet told me that he'll likely be a big boy when he reaches maturity. Orange Male cats are generally bigger, and as a Turkish Van, his chances increase again! I think I'll change his name to Big Turk :)

The resurrection of a blogger. and Farts.

I was skimming through my blog last week. And I was laughing at stuff. And crying at stuff, and being overwhelmed with joy and excitement at the video of Mason's first steps. Which is when my kids caught on that something cool was happening at the computer, and came over to investigate. We had such a great time reminiscing about when they were little. The funny stories. the sleepless nights. the memories :) And that's when I wondered to myself, "Why the hell did I stop blogging!?" I gave it some thought, and 2 things came to me. 1. I was deeply hurt when members of my family chose to use my words against me in an incredibly hurtful way. and 2. Facebook. It's amazing how one can fit an entire blog into a status update! But it's not the same. It occurred to me that my children will one day cherish these words about their youth. And who am I to let other people take that away from them?? Exactly. So, I'm going to attempt to get back to blogging. Again :) And I will start with my morning wake up with Mason :)



Mason had homework last month. his job was to learn to retell(Not memorize) his favourite story. He chose Robert Munsch's Mortimer. He did an awesome job. I didn't fully realize how good he was at retelling until this morning. He was laying in bed with me this morning. He turns to me and says "remember reading Farts?" (Again, Robert Munsch, Good Families Don't. "And the girl said "MOM! there's a fart on my bed!, and the fart looked like a boulder? That was weird. And then the fart jumped on the Mom, and then the Dad went up the stairs and the fart got the Dad and his toes were sticking... and his toes were pointing forward?? Then the Mom was like Superman down the stairs? Oh! Hi Lou Lou!" (That's when the cat jumped onto the bed :)) I swear, I have only read him that book one time, and it was early last week!! I was so amazed that he absorbed so much of it!! I'm so proud of him :)

two latest cakes...

A breath of fresh air.

Actually, i think that title might be inaccurate. A breath might be better. Because after Mason's OT (occupational therapy) assessment today, I feel like I finally took a breath in regards to helping Mason. And along with that breath come about 3 years of tears. Some that I shed, and some that I held back... but now all being released in the relief that we're gonna get help. We're going to finally get to know what makes Mason tick.

S (the OT) used a lot of big words that I will be Googling once I get her report :) But it would seem as though his need to run, and his need to escape, and his need to play with Play-Doh, and sand, and rice, and water, and shaving cream, are all normal for someone with the degree of Sensory issues Mason has. It would seem that him needing to be wrapped up like a burrito, or to be sitting pushed against someone at circle time, are normal for him. NORMAL. I have finally found my son's normal. And oh my goodness.... I can't ever begin to explain how relieved I am. *insert gush of tears here!*

S said such magical words... "We're going to make sure that the school understands how to accommodate Mason, so that he can reach his full potential." She saw, from the Moment he sat in his special chair, that he is such a fantastically smart little boy. He completed almost all of her challenges. And gave her a delightful display of how sticky, and stubborn he can be when he can't accomplish something. (He had a hard time cutting out a circle. Had a melt down (although, a calm one, for him). And then we were able to re-direct him onto something different. he never did go back to the circle, so that's something I'll have him practice here at home, but really... I'm okay with that :)

Unlike some of the other journey's we've been on with Mason, I'm excited to go down this path. Excited to have something to fall back on. Excited to have found a support system that understands by boy like no other. Speech helped. His resource teacher has become great. His pre-school has been Amazing. But OT? That's where it's at baby :)

Off to breath, and cry (the good tears). Finally.

Attack of the Squirrel.

We went to a local park today to enjoy an end of the year picnic with Mason's Pre-school. It was kinda chilly, but the kids were running around having a fantastic time...so they didn't notice. I joined the committee for the Picnic, so had to get there early to help set up. No biggie. One of the other committee members came, and then one of the mom's of another pre-schooler came. I'll call her The Crazy Squirrel Lady... or WTF!? for short. So, WTF!? brought crackers and cheese as her contribution to the picnic. So, we're standing around, waiting for other families show up, when a squirrel started to wander over. I tried to shoo it. WTF!? started giving it crackers!?!? And THEN she gave my children crackers to give to the squirrel! UGH! I was NOT impressed. I told them to stay away from the squirrel, and to NOT feed it anymore. But, WTF!? was going ON AND ON about how in Toronto the squirrels are so friendly, and how she bets that this Squirrel would just eat from your hand if you were still enough. HA! So, of course the kids are all excited about this, and start approaching the squirrel. I shooed them away. That's when the squirrel decided to stalk the food. When I tried to chase it away, it just hunkered down and glared at me. I was a bit freaked out. I'm pretty sure he was sending mind messages saying that if I took another step, he was going to eat my face. WTF!? was all "I'll get him to leave if he gets too close. He's so friendly! Give him another cracker!" And the rest of us were all "I don't want him near the food!" and "I don't want him near my kids!" So! Finally more people arrived and the squirrel scampered off. We ate, played some games, hung out, went on a scavenger hunt. A few more families went home. Me being on the committee meant that I had to stay later to clean up. No biggie. A few Mom's and I were standing around swapping recipes, and chatting about how to get out berry stains. I probably made that up... I looked over to see poor little Paige approaching the Squirrel. I started to walk towards her to tell her not to, when THE SQUIRREL JUMPED ON HER!!! I did Not make that part up. She was fine, just scared. A bunch of us looked around and discovered that WTF!? had already left!! ARGH!! I knew it!! Aidan ran over to me to show me his mutant caterpillar. Seriously, the thing was 3 inches long! One of the other Mom's suggested he show it to her daughter, so off he ran. I turned back to start clearing tables. Next thing I know, Aidan is running at me, screaming and holding his hand. I thought he had lost his caterpillar (he tends to be a tad dramatic..). but NO! He (foolishly) tried to pet the Squirrel!! And it ATTACKED HIM!! Ran up his leg, and bit the fleshy part between his thumb and hand. He flung it off then :) So, we got it cleaned, and I took him to the Clinic, where they can't do anything for animal bites (PSA). So, then Aidan and i had to spend 3 hours at the hospital. Where they also do nothing for Squirrel bites. Except inform the Public Health Unit. I had to fill out a form for the PHU, and talk to a PH nurse. And that's it. That's the story of how it was all fun and games until your kid gets bitten by a squirrel.

LMAO!!

Sorry my posts are so random and sporadic!! I just never seem to get here anymore!!

Anyway..

My kids are watching Teletoon retro this morning. THe chipmunks are on, which they LOVE :) So I decided to take a few minutes to myself before heading down to wash the dishes from the cheesecake I'm baking today. All of a sudden Jenna is calling me, telling me to "COME QUICK!!" I raced downstairs and she's so excited to tell me about the new "Super Juicer!" Here's what she said... "It's so fabulous! You add all the fruits, or even vegetables if you want, and it makes you healthier, stronger, and gives you more energy"! (At which point Mason piped in to say, "Yeah Mom! More Energy!!") Jenna continued on with "You just throw the fruit in whole, unless it's too big, then you chop it up. And the fruit bits go into one part, and the juice comes out of a spout, like a tea pot, or maybe a kettle, I don't know..." AND THEN< Jenna AND Aidan at the same time said "It's like two machines in ONE!"

OMG, my children have been brainwashed!! By an INFOMERCIAL!! They get it from me I think.. I love infomercials. Bet you didn't know that! LOL

Market Research.

So, it's probably fairly obvious (If you're one of my facebook friends, and if not, dude, add me!) that I LOVE cakes. Well, in a way. I don't always love eating cake, but I love creating them. I love taking something as simple as flour and eggs, and turning it into something people crave. I love turning something from a cake wreck, into a work of art in the wee hours of the morning (okay, not really, but that seems to be how it works for me :)) Cakes are me. I'm the cake lady. Need a cake? Call me! I'll do anything.. apparently.. :) Considering my latest creation..



My friend had mentioned awhile ago wanting me to make a cake for her husbands 40th birthday. Specifically, a "boob" cake. I told her that I would do it. Reluctantly. I think these cakes are kinda weird... I don't know why. Almost as weird as the pregnant belly cakes... but those freak me out, because I can't imagine cutting one... seriously, think about it. Yeah. But I digress. So, we never really talked about the cake again, and I thought she must have changed her mind. HA! nope. She called Thursday. And asked if there was ANY way I could do the cake for Friday. EEK!! I, being the absolute glutton for punishment, agreed. It also stems from my need to make everyone happy. It's a sickness. Digress.. again.

So, then began the mad rampage of my kitchen. Do you know how many things I have in my kitchen that are shaped like breasts? ZERO! Who knew!? So, I ended up making the breasts in ramekins... or custard cups, whatever you want to call them. And then A LOT of engineering went into getting those puppies round! Many cake scraps and much icing was used. And I will never be a plastic surgeon. Sorry. :) But, like my husband was so kind to point out, my boobs aren't even, so of course, neither should the cake's be. LOL. Thanks dear.

I felt better about the cake once I got the rest of the icing on. I wish I had lowered the blue a bit more, to give it a bit more cleavage, but I'm always my own worst critic. :) And besides, there were kids at the party, so I wanted it to be fairly PG :)

OH!! Shout out to Jackie!! I used your mousse recipe for the filling! It was AWESOME!! White Chocolate :) My friends raved about it :) And so Easy! Who knew!?

Oh, wow. Did I ever digress on this post! I hadn't intended to write a play by play of my corset cake creation!!

What I really came here to ask was about the name of my future venture. I'm thinking of calling my business SugarMama's Cakes and Bakes. SugarMama's for short :) What do you think?? I have a good friend who does business branding, so I'm going to run it past her, to see what she thinks... But I kinda love it already :) I can just hear it. "OMG! Where did you get that cake!?" "SugarMama's" :)

I want to be able to start leaving my customers with a business card or two when I deliver a cake... so I need a name!! If there's any other suggestions, feel free to throw them out there!!

Thanks guys.

Oh, P.S. Need a cake?? ;)

And then a sigh of relief...

I love it when I freak out about something, and then get a sign that I am right :)

Mason had his first session for his second block of speech therapy today. And He Did AWESOME!! Never was there a child more perfect than mine :) He was blowing J out of the water with his mad speech skillz :) There are definitely still delays there, and I'm glad we're addressing them now... but man.. he was just so GOOD! I'm hopeful that by September, when he starts Kindergarten, all these struggles will be a distant memory :)

I like being hopeful..

2 steps forward, 2 steps back.

When I dropped Mason off at school today, I found out that the integration resource support worker was going to be there observing Mason. Surprise!! This of course, after I had been through the whole spiel with him about being nice to his friends, and listening to his teachers, and being a very good boy today. Figures. :) I mentioned to his teacher that he was starting a new block of speech therapy tomorrow. And that his ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) is coming up soon, on May 14th. She seemed surprised by that, and said, "Oh! Who's doing the ADOS??" I replied, "Dr.K" in a tone that said, "duh, thought you knew that??". And then she said "oh! no no no! Dr. K won't do the ADOS." And I said "Huh??" She said, "No, he is just the pediatrician. Mason has to be accepted as his patient before the ADOS can be done." HUH!?!?! NO ONE TOLD ME THAT!!! Here I'm thinking we're almost done with this shit, and we haven't even started. What if Dr. K decides not to take Mason on?? And seriously!? This is NOT what I was told. I was told, OH! You really want Dr. V for your ADOS ped. She's the best. And then I found out that Dr.V wasn't doing the ADOS anymore. So I got stuck with the Dr they kept telling me I probably didn't want. Crap.

So now I'm so confused. Mason was put on a waiting list with the Pre-school speech and language program for them to do the ADOS on video. The video would then be sent to Dr. J (Who really is the best of the best), who would assess from there. I was also told to get on board with a pediatrician to do an ADOS, because although doubtful, that might be a faster way of getting it done. So, fine, I got screwed around by my family Dr trying to get that referral. And now that I have it, I find out that I may still be up shit creek without a paddle. AND! the resource teacher tells me that one of the speech path's at the pre-school speech program is who will do ADOS!! And then Dr. K will read the results and make the final diagnosis from there. So no matter what, it's the same people doing the same test! WTF??

I'm most worried that he won't be accepted as a patient by Dr.K. Since his surgery, he's shown pretty much ZERO signs of Autism. I still really really really want to do the ADOS. I have a point to prove now. I want his resource teacher, and the supervising speech path to STOP assessing him, and treating him like he has Autism, if in fact he doesn't. I have concerns about Sensory Integration Disorder, but even that is only a small concern. Sorry, sidetracked there... seriously. During Mason's last Speech and Language assessment Mason was so good. However, he was really interested in the lanyard that A was wearing, with her name and picture. Mason has always been interested in those. Not obsessed, interested. In the report I got regarding that assessment, it was 'observed' that Mason invaded A's personal space to fixate on her identification. WHAT!? he's THREE!! At the same appointment, she brought out a puzzle he had never seen before. And as he was absorbed in doing the puzzle, she started talking, randomly, about how she had ridden a horse that weekend, with a wagon, blah blah blah. She was trying to get him to engage in conversation... I get that. But I don't see how that relays back to speech and language... not in the way she worded her report. It was a big fat, this kid has Autism report. And I'm not impressed.

Shoot this is random. Bottom line is, I want the ADOS to prove to these people that they are wrong, and to start focusing on his Speech. But that I am afraid I will never get an official diagnosis (or a negative diagnosis... does that make sense??) because Mason's behaviour is so different now than what it was pre-surgery. Blah. Just more hurry up and wait I guess. Blah.

Poor Mason :( And, Stupid telehealth.

A rant if you will. Except that I am, so you won't have to, so don't! haha. blah.

Mason is still sick. Not as sick as he was, but still sick :( He threw up again last night, after another day of diarrhea. And then he was so sleepy and not himself :( So, we put him to bed, Al went to the gym, and I called telehealth. (A free service, where one can call a nurse and get medical advice for non emergencies. Great concept. Poor execution.)

I've had a few reasons to call telehealth in the past 7 years of parenting that I've done. I don't remember calling them before becoming a mother. Guess I knew it all back then haha. I would bet that about 90% of the times I've called, they have advised me to seek immediate medical attention. The one time they were Really helpful was when they told me I could give Mason a higher dose of Benedryl when he had the allergic reaction to Penicillin. Thank you. Other than that.. it's all doom and gloom over there.

Last night was no different. As I said, Mason is still sick. He's not eating, and yesterday he all but stopped drinking. He's boycotting drinking because I am an horrid mother, who wouldn't let him have chocolate milk. DUDE! You have been puking for THREE DAYS!! Nuh uh are you having chocolate milk!! Well.. okay, for the love of all that is precious, yes, have this little drink of chocolate milk. Please, just drink babycakes!! And then he barfed. Lesson learned. ANYWAY!!

I called telehealth. When they finally called me back AN HOUR LATER!! We went through the requisite, Is he breathing, alive, moving etc. yes yes yes etc. They asked if he had been peeing, and I really didn't know. He's had diarrhea, so I've kept a pull-up on him. Beats me if there was pee in them!! He wasn't asking to go pee, but he had also slept almost all day. A few more questions, and it was decided that he was severely dehydrated and needed to get to the hospital STAT. EEK!! Freak me the hell out why don't you!!?? I should have known, but this was my very sick boy we were talking about, and I wasn't messing around anymore. He had me really worried.

So, I call Al to come home from the gym, and then packed Mason up and off we went, for a three hour nap in the hospital. Well, Mason napped, I read, played with my hair, yawned and felt my ass go to sleep in three different chairs. I am SO not complaining about the 3 hours. I know Full well how lucky we were to get in and out of there in 3 hours.

So, we saw the doctor, who confirmed that yes, Mason is dehydrated, but not in an emergency type of way. She said considering how sick he's been, he's doing pretty good. He's got the Flu. A very classic case. It should run it's course in 7-10 days :( So, in the meantime, I'm Lysoling everything he looks at and praying that no one else gets it.

Mason ate a bit today. A bite of a peanut butter sandwich, and 1 1/4 perogies. :) He's lost 4 pounds already, but everyone assures me that he'll be fine if he drinks... now if only I could convince him to do that. :(

Just when I was getting a good rhythm going...

Mason gets sick. I've never seen him so sick :( He started Sunday Morning, with the vomiting and diarrhea. And it hasn't really stopped since. He goes through long stretches of time between attacks now, but he's still not well :( I took him to the clinic and the Dr there said that it looks like it's just a bug. But I'm thinking if he's not himself by tomorrow I'm going to Mama Bear him into an appointment with our family doctor. He's not eating hardly at all, though luckily, he is still drinking fairly well.

I do have some very exciting news to share though!! Al has completed all the training and exams needed to become a Personal Trainer!!! He's wanted this since before I knew him. Unfortunately, like so many things in life, it got pushed aside for a lot of years. I'm so happy that his dream has finally become a reality. And so proud of the hard work he put in to get there. Though, I must say, he owes me A LOT of weekend sleep-ins!! He pulled a lot of late night study sessions to get ready for his exams...and being the total sweetheart that I am.. I of course let him sleep in every weekend. :) So yeah.. he owes me :) Got that Alvin?? :)

Yeah, so, that's about it around here!! Oh! Except I made this!!



It's a poker chip for my best customer's husband. We totally surprised him with it :) Chocolate cake, vanilla filling, buttercream icing. And apparently, it made them all look like Titanic survivors!! LOL.. she ASKED for Blue!!!

And that's all.. for now.

Yay!!

I took Mason back to the ENT today. He says his ears look Great!! There's still quite a bit of wax, but that's normal..and he's not worried about it, so I won't be either!

I told him all about the changes we've seen in Mason over the past couple weeks, and he seemed pleased, but not overly surprised :)

I was pleasently surprised when his intern/side-kick someone or other kept staring at me :) Oh yeah.. still got it.. LMAO.. I probably had something in my teeth knowing my luck!

So, for the next little while, we can just focus on enjoying Mason, as he emerges as this incredible new little person. Come May, when he has the ADOS, I'll fret and worry again, but I am giving myself a get-out-of-worry card for a little while. I need it. And I'm pretty sure everyone around me does too :( I try so hard not to voice all my thoughts and worries and little annoying wonderings ALL the time. Because I can see and hear when they start to bother my husband...and mother...and friends...and teachers...and and and.. So, enough of that for awhile. Onto something more fun, like.... well...... dang i'm boring!! Gotta think of Something to spice it up around here!!