Chamber of Secrets HP Photo Dump

Our little house elfs. 

I didn't really intend to have a "feast" after this book, but the kids loved that part of the Sorcerer's Stone party so much.  So as we read, Jon and I took notes of the foods in the book.  Of course if you have ever read HP, you know that most of the food they talk about are sweet treats.  So we immediately latched on to the Strawberry Peanut Butter Ice Cream that is mentioned early in the book.  This became the basis for my Strawberry Peanut Butter dirt cake.  The rest of the food this time came from our desire to feed the kids actual food, not just sugar.  It took a lot of time to convince them that Basilisk bread and "blood" sauce was totally edible.  

They were not fond of my Butter Beer from the last party (even though I was!), so we came up with Phoenix Tears (Kiddie Cocktail.... loved these when I was a kid!).  Liv loves broccoli and we were trying to come up with something really healthy to add, so the Forbidden Forest cheesy cob web broccoli was born.  

Finally, Basilisk Fangs, because we knew that half our kids would not touch the broccoli... they needed something healthy too.  

Taylor strikes again

I love this picture.  I love it because it shows all of Taylor's uniqueness.  Tay is this seriously skinny little twig boy, please believe me when I say this child eats.  He eats a lot, especially rice, sour cream and onion Sun Chips, and saucy meatballs.  But he doesn't really seem to gain weight... ever...  He is also fond of sweets, although, like any kid, he gets them in pretty limited quantities.  

Anyway, the one sock on, one sock off look is totally Taylor.  He just doesn't care about that sort of stuff.  He is wearing SpongeBob boxer shorts as pajamas with a white tang top... the simplest summer PJs I could come up with.  However, the boxers are serious sized 4T, two sizes too small, but T LOVES them... Since he can still pull them up, I just decided not to fight him on this one.  

Taylor loves to build things, repurpose, if you will.  So here I am a little surprised to see that he actually build most of the castle out of blocks... made for building castles...  I am not at all surprised that he has also enlisted Legos, Angry Birds, Brio and Figit.  

Finally, It is so Taylor that he has a little train chugging along past the castle!  

Tonight while we were reading Harry Potter, Taylor was constructing.  He set up a totally elaborate stage with moving foregrounds and flying props on strings.  Jon took a video that I will put up soon.  Just so cool...

Autism: 2 Me: 0.000000000000001

Its so hard to keep a positive and hopeful attitude when something is draining me of all the life I have. 

I feel like I have aged years in the few months since the diagnosis. 

I knew that the diagnosis would open up options for treatment and I was hopeful that it would offer some explanation about him, but I never thought it would financially, emotionally, and physically defeat me.

I know that it is my cross to bear, believe me, I know a lot about the weight of them...  Some days the reality of it is simply too much. And then I scroll up again, is it so wrong to do everything possible to try to reach the little person alive and prospering inside this beautiful boy's little body?

The other day after I got him dressed, he was laying on my bed singing.  Wes LOVES to sing.  For the longest time we thought he was just singing nonsense, but soon all the nonsense turned into humming tunes we actually knew.  And since he started going to Connections, the nonsense turned tunes has slowly morphed into words. It started as one word at the end of the line, to the second and third words, to whole songs.  So he is there on my bed, and we have been working on the alphabet... I say "A, B..." and he is supposed to say "C, D".  He does, then he starts over, "A, B, C, D... E, F, G.... H, I, J, K... LMNP..." and so on, all the way through the little jingle song at the end...  Ok, so he skipped O, but who doesn't really?

Unless you have been here, waiting for your four year old to sing the alphabet, save say anything coherently, you may not understand how absolutely monumental a moment that was.  I tried so hard to get him to do it again, so I could catch it on video, but to no avail. I wish there was some way to help people understand the hours and hours of therapy it took for this one moment to happen. I wish there was some way to make the powers who govern the financial support system for children with Autism to understand how ludicrous it is to expect families to wait more than a year to help their children achieve these moments.  I wish I could make them understand how impossible it is to expect that three years time is anywhere near enough time for them to achieve everything needed to become productive members of society. And God help me, I will go broke trying to offer this tiny little gift to my child.  This itty bitty twinkle of hope that shines through behind the meltdowns and the frustration and the tears. 

Make me Cute

When Alivya was an infant, I had the most adorable yellow dress outfit. 

You cannot imagine how excited I was to put it on my little Ava after the second set was born three years later.  I had so many cute dresses from when Liv was little.  As it turned out, Ava was a beast of another kind.  I put this adorable dress on her, and she screamed and screamed and screamed until we took it off.  She did so with nearly every cute dress I put on her.  In fact, when even now when I have an outfit I think is really cute, she most definately will not find it cute. 

So last week was her first week on summer break.  Since the other kids still had three weeks of classes, Ava and I were going to have some serious us time.  We began it on Tuesday really (Monday we spent trying to get our clothes dried after our dryer went caput). 

We went shopping to find me some new sunglasses... Wes got a hold of the ones I was using and broke them on Sunday.  So we get into the store, and Ava suddenly decides that she actually wants to be "cute".  I couldn't resist.  She left our shopping extravaganza with a new dress, bracelets, a toy and ice cream cones.  What a little stinker!  When we got to the car, she demanded to wear it all, and when we got home she asked me to put piggies in her hair.  You may not be aware of this, but Ava hates having her hair combed.  She can see the brush and start crying big crockidile tears.  

 By the end of the week, she also got new sandles, a handmade apron, and a new bracelet (as she and her brother broke the ones we bought earlier in the week).

I think all of this started because last week she happened to be "sick" the day before my scheduled hair appointment.  Since she had been sick, she had to be out the following day, and therefore, got to come with me to my appointment.  While we were there, I decided to get her bangs trimed, as they really needed it.  The stylist was smitten by her charm, and curled her hair too...

1000 islands

Today we got to spend some time outdoors.  Jon and I went on a long bike ride this morning while Evan was at our house hanging out with the kids.  We rode the CE Trail half way to Kaukana and back.  Eight miles in total.  We had breakfast on the ride, and returned home.  There, Jon finally mowed the prairie that had taken hold of our back yard, and I started the laundry.  It was a decent morning. 

At 2 or so, we picked up Grandma K and drove to the 1000 Islands Environmental Center in Kaukauna.  There we all walked the trails for nearly an hour.  We saw wild flowers, jumping fish, chipmunks and more.  We heard birds calling, gunfire, and swatted at bugs.  Our legs tired and we all expended some energy (Yah!)  Then we went on with our usual Sunday routine.  We ate, made merry and started reading the next book in our series. 

When we got home, the kids, filled with all the sunshine and oxygen, passed out without much objection.  Jon and I enjoyed a small fire on the patio.

A great way to spend the day! (And burn many calories too!)

Book 2

This week we finished reading the second Harry Potter book, The Chamber of Secrets. I am so excited that the kids are enjoying them as much as they are. To me, making a huge fan fare out of it is totally worth it in order to keep them interested and motivated to read.  They look forward to seeing the movies and now the "feast".

Before our feast, we replanted mandrakes by using grass seed in nylons.  I am really excited for these to begin sprouting... photos to come.

For our Chamber of Secrets party, I made Basilisk Pizza Bread with blood sauce, Basilisk (banana) fangs, and Forbidden forest Broccoli with cheesy cob webs. Served with Phoenix Tears cocktails. It would not be Harry Potter with out an assortment of treats either.  So we had chocolate-peanut butter rice crispy spiders (pictured) and strawberry-peanut butter dirt cake. The meal was a huge success. 

After our end of term feast, the little people were bathed and scrubbed.  Then, in our Harry Potter tradition, we all dressed for the movie.  The kids became House Elves and wore Pillow cases, while the adults wore house robes. All of the children got the treat of staying up late to view the movie.  Ava and Wes, perhaps gratefully, fell asleep before the spiders arrived on scene! 

I love that this has really become a fun family tradition.  I know all the benefits the kids are getting out of it, and I can't wait to see where it all leads... what other book series we end up sharing in.

IEP Season

On Wednesday we completed the IEP season around here.  We kicked it off with Taylor's on the 14th. They pretty much said that he is nearly caught up for this year.  He will continue to get a lot of support with direction, focus, and attention while in classes.  They added some support in phy-ed.

Then I attended Evan's IEP this past Tuesday.  I won't get into details, but I hope we have emphasized enough the importance of graduation.  It kills me that I just don't know how to motivate him.

Wednesday, we had Wes' meeting.  We went totally prepared with our demands and plan... only to have them fight tooth and nail.  Now we are back to square one.  When did it change from these people helping your kids, to being such a battle? Autism is a new beast to us, we don't know what to do... but it seems like we should just throw all the different options into a hat and pick one blindly.  There really isn't any good research to point us in one direction or another.  Sucks.

Apron For Ava

I found this apron pattern on Pinterest.  I bought a bunch of scraps last year from the clearance bin, and what a find when I unrolled one yesterday to find a Peter Pan pattern.  Ava loves Tinker Bell and always fights for the Peter Pan cup at Grandma's house.  So now she has a reversible Peter Pan and Tinker Bell apron when she helps us cook!  

My sewing machine pretty much quit on me in the middle of this project, so I got my mother's day gift a little bit late...  Hello new Singer, don't mind if I do!!! 

Kites

Tay and Liv had TJ over for a play date in April.  It was still cold and snowy, but the wind was strong and it was a "warmer" day.  So we went to the park.  Wes and Tay and TJ all flew kites.  It was the perfect day for kite flying!  Taylor let out all the string  and his soared high. Eventually it got caught in a tree and we thought it was lost for good.  But Taylor is nothing if not determined, and he was able to shake it loose, even when I could not. 

Baby

Liam came over for a photo shoot.  Liv is going to make a great cousin to the new baby in July.  I think she will enjoy Teddy when he comes back in July! 

Yet Again

Last fall we discovered that our "new" roof was leaking.  Our roofer said he would "make it right".  Well, six months of unanswered messages and disconnected phones, we hired a contractor. It wasn't cheap, and the insurance doesn't cover 'workmanship' issues.  But, the leak appears to have been fixed. This week, we are focussing on repairing the interior damage. So looking forward to not having to stare at that big nasty whole in my wall! 

Wow Wes

Wes is having an extremely good morning. He is vocalizing a ton, and not just gibberish. In this video he demonstrates for me a number of the targets from "school" that he has mastered. Most of these are known as interverbals, where you start a phrase and he must complete it. Right now, his interverbals are focused in music because he is very motivated by music. He is also having a lot of success pointing to and labeling body parts, both his and others. This morning he extended the alphabet song from "C-D" to nearly half of the other letters on his own. He also got out of his bed on his own and demanded to "go downstairs please." 

I really love these new emerging skills!! It is nice that his tantrums are less about the fact that we can't understand his demands, and more about the fact that he has been told no.  The tantrums and meltdowns remain the most difficult part of living with autism, however.  Unlike other kids who experience tantrums, there is no one thing that will always curb or cure a tantrum.  Letting him cry it out, as is the best advice we have found out there, means literally hours and hours of full on mind numbing screams every day.  

The other day I watched "What is Eating Gilbert Grape" a movie with Jonny Dep and Leo from the early 90s.  I was surprised by how much I related to the characters.  

Smiles

Today is Ava's last day at day care.  She will take the summer off and attend Montessori in the fall. 

In the meantime, we shall swim, and play, and paint, and everything fun!

Another one bites the dust

We had a miserable ice storm a few weeks back that coated every thing in about an 1/8th inch of ice.  Many trees went down, but none more than the Birch trees.  As I drove to work that day, I saw parts of nearly every Birch in town destroyed.  Our tree held the same fate.  When we had moved in, it had three main trunks.  The first one succumb after the first year.  The branch cracked severely right about where Alivya is sitting in this picture during the ice storm.  So we knew that we had to take it down. 

It fought valiantly!

Autism Awareness Month

April was Autism Awareness Month. 

As a family, we took a trip to Build A Bear who was holding a special event to benefit Autism Speaks. This organization brings a ton of awareness and research to Autism.  So we donated some dollars and Wes got a new friend.  We called him Puzzler.  So fitting that the symbol of autism is a puzzle piece.  Wes is truly a puzzle. 

It did take him some time to warm up to Puzzler.  Ava was happy to carry him out of the store, and all the kids were excited to wear bunny ears!

Beauty Parlor

Ava developed a nasty fever yesterday, so she had to stay home from school today.  I already had my hair appointment scheduled, and she really needed a trim, so we made it a date! How adorable is she? 

Leprechaun Juice

We didn't do much for St Patricks day, given that it was cold, dreary, and very busy around our home.  We did, though, spend time with Grandma K.  Her leprechaun friends left little bottles of leprechaun drops to turn the kids lemonade green!  

Mothers Day

Alivya is so articulate not only in her language, but in writing and drawing.  This both broke my heart and warmed it.  

This morning we had Belgian Waffles for breakfast with fat juicy strawberries.  I did the laundry and nursed my aching legs back to health.  Jon went grocery shopping and we cleaned up around the house. In the afternoon, we went to visit his mom per our usual Sunday routine.  It was extra sweet though, not just because it was Mother's Day, but because she has been traveling a lot recently, so we haven't spend much time with her recently. 

Sole Burner

Last fall after I worked the finish line of the Fox Cities Marathon, I was introduced to an amazing experience... race day.  It was really fun to be a part of something really positive and exciting. I told Jon that next year I wanted to run the 5K that is held on the Saturday prior to the marathon.  I thought it would take me that long to train for and be physically capable of running a 5K. 

After only a few months, I was running 60 minutes without much difficulty, albeit slow. In November I talked Jon into running the Turkey Trot with me.  It was very cold, but fun.  I think this is probably when Jon's interest really picked up.  

As I registered for my run in the Sole Burner 5K, I discovered that the event really was designed to be family friendly.  Taylor and Liv's school has been sending home running events all year in an attempt to get the kids moving and involved.  Wes' autistic characteristics make it very difficult for us to attend events with large crowds, and loud unfamiliar sounds. So I resolved to find a sitter for Wes and Ava, and signed Tay and Liv up for the fun run.  They were excited about the bib and the shirt, but not about running so much.  Today, they drew excitement from the other kids and the clowns.  As they waited for for the start horn and as the began running, they held hands.  I was very proud of them! 

Now, we decided to run this race because we needed a goal to keep up our exercise program, but in the meantime, a family member inadvertently found a cancerous tumor on his kidney.  We decided to dedicate our run to him and named our team in honor of his fight. 

Thank you to all who supported our efforts with donations to the American Cancer Society!  

Swaddle Time

My brother in law and his wife are expecting in July :) Alivya and I attended her baby shower in March, and during my spring break, I made her a swaddle blanket.  Taylor picked out the fabric shown here.  On the inside, Ava picked out a cute turtle print (which is Sonja's favorite animal).  Livi helped me pin and sew and Jon kept my chin up when I was frustrated with less than desirable instructions.  So it was a family affair.  I can't wait to see our new niece or nephew all swaddled comfortably in it!  

I also made a carseat wind cover with the same fabrics.  But since I don't have any infant carseats around here anymore, I couldn't get a goo picture :( 

Can't wait for July! I'm going to be and AUNTIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Again :)

Dental Cool

Wes wasn't very fond of the Dentist... obviously, but he did well.  The hygienist was able to scrape a little, squirt a little and even suction a little.  There wasn't very much polishing however, and the dentist himself got only a small glimpse. But he totally rocks the shades right!?!

Ava did awesome. Who is surprised there? 

Subsistence

Yesterday, Alivya and I worked until the sun ran out so that we got all of our plants in the gardens.  We planted spinach, spring mix, Swiss chard, beets, asparagus, tomatoes (4 varieties), bell peppers (three varieties), zucchini, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, mint, leeks, beans, edamame, and carrots.  We already had garlic growing that we planted last fall...  Jon built me two knew beds and the kids helped him fill them with dirt over the weekend.  I can't wait to begin harvesting... the pay off of all this hard work!  

I also can't wait to eat it all!  Oh the salads we will have! I don't even know how to cook beets or leeks, but I will figure it out. 

Alivya told me yesterday that she wished (with her fairy dust) that we would plant violets...  I'm thinking that is going to be a mother's day activity on Sunday!

Welcome to Hogwarts!

At our last conference with Alivya's teacher we were told that Alivya (1st grader) was being pulled out of her class to join a second grade for "stamina". During this time, the children are given the opportunity to sit quietly and read silently for a period of time... "long" period of time... to first and second grade students anyway...  Livi has also been interested in chapter books and bored with the the books they have at school.  Finally, unlike her classmates (and twin brother) she does not have to do "guided reading" or sight words because in the words of her teacher "she knows them all".  Sorry, I am a proud parent.  

Anyway, we decided to let her "open the chest"...  

We started out reading a chapter an evening and pretty quickly finished the entire first book.  To celebrate, I promised that we would watch the movie with popcorn.  But that just didn't seem like enough.  So we had an "end of term feast".  I roasted a chicken, served Butter Beer, made pretzel "wands", golden snitches, every-flavor beans, sorting hat bread, sweat potatoes, glazed carrots, chocolate covered strawberries and, of course, troll boogies!  After dinner we herded the kids upstairs for a bath and then we dressed for the ride on the Hogwarts Express!  

Even Ava and Wes stayed up for the movie!  It was truly a family fun night.  The kids still haven't stopped talking about it, almost a month later.  

Now we are reading The Chamber of Secrets... Staring Alivya again as Harry Potter,  Julie as narrator, and Jon as everyone else :)

Little kitty likes turtle

We went to the opening of a new exhibit at the Building for Kids last month.  The exhibit is Safari themed, and therefore the staff brought in a few live animals for the kids to see and touch.  Alivya really liked this part.  Taylor and Ava were impressed, but not to the same degree as Liv, who ended up holding the Walabe.

Alivya and Ava also had their faces painted. I wish I had been there to see it done because it was some of the best artistry I have seen on kids faces in a while... and when I have to do it at halloween, I could use some pointers...  alas, I was off in the water exhibit with Wes.  Wes LOVES running water.  He and Oliver really share that obsession. 

What surprises me about BFK is that the kids love the permanant exhibits.  The traveling ones come and go, obviously, but they hardly notice them.  They just live for the ball and the heart, and the water, and the trains...  As a parent, I feel bad sometimes, because I get bored, so I am less inclinded to want to go...

New Man

Last year a attitude swept through our home, and after a ton of hard work and change... drum roll please... my new spouse. 

I wish I could claim it was a magic wand or something, but it wasn't.  Changes in diet and activity.  I wish I could post an equally impressive photo right next to it, but frankly his exercise is a fat burning machine and mine laughs in my face...   Not that I haven't improved my health with our changes, its just not as evident. 

I won't deny that I am totally envious, but I like to think that my spite is balanced nicely with constant support and encouragement.  I purchased a Groupon for a cut/color/style in December.  I fully intended to use it myself, but it seemed to me that this man's hardwork required some additional pampering to bring it to its full potential.  Looking good!

Pork N Breans

Six years ago last week I lost my dad. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday, and sometimes it seems like a really long time ago.  I remember his last weeks pretty vividly, unfortunately.  But some of the good things, the memories I should never forget, slip deeper and deeper into the cob webs every day.  Last weekend Jon and I spent all day Sunday outdoors, a Leroy approved act.  Then we capped it all off with a brat barbecue. At the end of which, I had left over hot dogs and hamburger (not hot dog) buns.  Since we had worked so hard all day, I didn't see the harm in indulging one of my simple childhood past times.  So I took a hot dog, cut it in half (not the long way as my dad would have done... my knife had a hair on it or I would have...) then I ate it, on a hamburger bun.  :)

I am not really sure what my father believed in, one of the many conversations that we never really had.  However, my father lived as a hard worker.  He earned his living doing whatever paid money.  He was sick during all of my memory, and I was really too young when he died.  I wish that he could see my children.  This is my biggest regret.  When I was a teenager, he and mom were so desperate to have grandchildren that they would buy gifts for the children of acquaintances and have them call them "Grandpa and Grandma".  And now that I have four beautiful children, they don't have anyone to call Grandpa.  We have pictures... a few with him and Taylor and Liv...  and I try to talk about him to them.  But they will never truly "know" him, it breaks my heart.

Anyway, so Dad's been on my mind, not that this is new.  I think about him when I am driving around alone, every time I drive up to the hospital, when I am standing in any hardware store, or fishing isles... when I am eating a banana split, brats, or baked beans (dad called them pork n beans... I don't, makes me feel like I am eating pig...) I think of him when I see Westerns on TV, or herring in the  grocery store...  Although all of his physical presence has disappeared from the world, it amazes me how quickly the memories are triggered... by such simple things.

Motherhood

My children left their stuffed turtles this way... How maternal?
The perceptiveness, however unconscious, is to amazing to me! My older kids, 7, spend a lot of their time chasing each other around making Star Wars-esc shooting noises and claiming to have "killed" things.  So I am always surprised when I see that my kids really are still sweet, young innocents who really just want to please us and make people smile.

They love their stuffed things... perhaps more than I want them too... I hate finding them all over my house especially covered in cat urine. I think all animals think stuffed things equal litter boxes.  Therefore, I think stuffed animals belong in the stores, or in a pet net, at least... (ironic term huh... pet net, to keep your stuffed things, out of the range of your pets!! haha...)

So if you know me well enough, you know that this post, is a great distraction from what I should be doing right now... studying for my final exam next week...  not that I didn't want to share my kids sweet motherly display also.