Oh My Word!

Right now I'm in my kitchen, typing on the bread drawer. Surrounded by everything we own. Beds, dressers, clothes, toys, tools, etc. It's been one crazy 24 hours.

The carpet laying guys are here, and getting started. I'm so excited!!!!!!

I can't wait to be able to move in my house again.

Working

We are working hard to get my house in order for new carpet. Actually it's more like out of order. I've got a stack of boxes in front of the fireplace. I've got a ton of garbage ready to go to the dump. Bins, Bins and more Bins!!!

At the moment I'm working out of my kitchen. This should be an adventure. I think I'm going to have to go buy some more Popsicles because Jason is going to be bugging me all day for the next couple of days for them.

Brett has started the process of cleaning out our family room, the kids and I have started the process of boxing up their rooms. My room is partially boxed up. I feel like we're moving........Now I know why people put new carpet in before they move into a house.

Duncanism

We were watching Nitro Circus on MTV, which is one of my favorite shows. Travis jumps a motorcycle off a ramp into a canyon and free falls until he's clear of the bike and then pulls the cord on his parachute.

Duncan then says, "If that were me, I'd die of Scaredom."

That one is still cracking me up.

This weekend

This weekend ended up pretty mellow. We kind of had a mental and physical break from all the home improvements.

It was my little sisters 30th birthday, and her sons 3rd birthday. So they had a fun bash at their church. It was so much fun, and I can't believe that Mitch is 3, let alone that Kris is 30. Which makes me......?????

Then Sunday we went to church, and then to my in-laws. We tried to stop by my parents but were just a little late. 8:30pm bed time is quite hard to work with. LOL!!

Today has been ultra busy. I should have probably done some other things over the weekend. I had a meeting at the lab, we fed the Missionaries, and I'm working into the night. Hopefully tomorrow will look better. My schedule seems a little lighter.

We should be getting our carpet on Friday!!! We are going to be busy after hours ripping, boxing and moving stuff so that they can carpet my house! WooHoo!!!!

Jason's friend Jean

Jason had Jean Delangelo come and visit him today. She brought a friend who is a student teacher. (I feel terrible, I can't remember her name.)

Jason didn't seem too interested in playing today. I was wondering if we over did the therapies this week. However, Jean went and sat on the stairs with Jason and drew some pictures. That pulled him out of his fit. Then I turned on the vacuum and got him upstairs. Yes! Jason LOVES the vacuum. He loves to have the extending tube suck on his belly, his hair, but mostly his hands. He sticks his fingers down the tube. Kind of silly, but it worked.

Then she video taped Jason and I playing with the drawing board, and then his bead play cube. He loves to have me make funny noises as the beads go up and down the wire.

Jean pulled out a pop-up tube to see if Jason would climb through it, or throw the ball through it. Instead he tried to stand on top of it. Since it was a pop-up tube it didn't hold his weight very well. So instead we put it over his head and played peek-a-boo. That worked.

At this point Jason seemed to be done, and went into the kitchen to ask for a Popsicle. Jean also liked this. She loved to hear him vocalizing.

Jean was very impressed with Jason's progress. She liked his vocalization, and his eye contact. He was also gesturing more then he was before. Very encouraging!!!

Social Sensory Playgroup

We had our Playgroup this morning. On the way up the ramp to the door Jason actually clapped and said YAY! Gotta love it!

He ran in and immediately went for the kitchen. Then switched gears and ran over to the discovery table. He threw the lid off, and then threw a major fit when we put the lid back on. When the rest of the group started to show up, he settled down and went back to the kitchen.

Circle time was tough again. Jason doesn't like to be pulled away from what he's doing. If he changes FINE, but don't make him switch it up!! We sing "Hello, Jason. Hello, Jason. Hello, Jason we're glad you came to play." We wave the whole time. Finally at the end through his tears and fits he started waving. Progress.....

Then free time. He went back to the kitchen and as we were directed I focused on following his lead. It's quite difficult to join in the clean out the fridge and put it on the table game, but I tried.

Then it was structured playtime. He freaked out again, until we went to the table. She had put out some contact paper and had some pom-pom's, feathers, and sequins. He thought this was the BEST! Jason's paper was the only one that was mostly full. He went to town!!! I will have to get some of this stuff for sacrament meeting. Kerianne tried to get involved with him when it was obvious that Jason was just doing his own thing. He would make a little eye contact but other then that he just wanted to make his picture.

Then free time. This time he got trucks and rolled them down the slide. I was happy to have him change his mind, and switch it up instead of going back to the kitchen. When the discovery table had the lid come off, he ran over there and found all the letters and put them on the table. Once he was finished he put them all back in and buried them. He wasn't so bad when we put the lid back on this time, and went back to the slide.

Then closing time. He freaked out again. The fun thing was he would kind of cry and laugh at the same time. Something would strike him as funny in her story, so he would giggle. Then we would cry again, because he wanted to go back to the toys.

He seems to be improving. It's nice to go talk to other grown ups that know what we are dealing with, and encourage what you are trying to do.

Possible Peace

Jason has been a little crazy the last week or so.

When I say crazy, I don't mean ornery. I mean happy, and beyond controlling. I have uploaded a video of my boy being too happy for words from the Pinewood Derby. This is just a very small example of his self stimming.

I haven't really been able to figure out what was wrong with him, or how to calm him down. So, yesterday I took him over to Lisa our Nurse Practitioner and she looked at his ears for me. Nothing.....they looked beautiful......So, I told her, "He's been acting really weird, and he hasn't been sleeping. Even the Melatonin isn't totally helping."

So she checked his throat. BINGO!!! Dumb, Mom!!!! He's got Strep, along with a few more in our family. That didn't even cross my mind.

So today, we went for a walk, came home ate lunch, and went to bed. All without any fits or issues. THANK YOU, LISA!!!!

Jason's Friend Joel

Joel the Occupational Therapist, from Early Intervention came today to play with Jason. He is a really nice guy and sits right down to play with the kids and start the therapy session.

Of course I had to show off my AWESOME find with Jason's new swing. I found it at laceandfabric.com, he confirmed that it was a STEAL!!!

The first thing Joel did with Jason was "Brush" him. You take a soft fingernail brush and with long strokes brush his arms, legs, feet and back. Then he did joint compression. You just push his joints back together. That one seemed a little weird but he seemed to enjoy it.

Next he brought out an exercise ball and just bounced Jason on top of it. Jason thought this was pretty cool. This might be a purchase I will have to make in the near future.

Next he brought out some therapy putty. Which had the look and feel of silly putty, except silly putty is a bit more stiff. Jason thought this stuff was great, and Joel just played with him as he talked to Brett and I. Joel then put some beads into the putty and Jason and Joel pulled them out as they found them and then put them back in to play again.

Then Joel pulled out a puzzle, Jason's very good at puzzles. It was a different kind of puzzle, with big tall blocks. Since Jason seemed to have the puzzle aspect down, Joel tried to switch it up and build blocks with them. That didn't go over well. Jason had his first melt down here.

Then he brought out a Pound-A-Ball toy. You put the balls on top of the toy and have to actually push them to make them go down the maze. He had good eye contact with Joel as well as saying please for Joel to give him back the blocks. When Joel put away this toy, again Jason had a Melt down.

After that he pulled out a Pop Tube. You stretch them and they make a loud popping noise. Jason liked this for a few minutes, but only if Joel would help him with it. He did have a really hard time getting it to stretch.

Last he pulled out a Slinky. A big plastic pink one. Jason thought this was cool and played with it for quite a while. We discussed our focus until his next visit, which is to do the Brushing and Joint compression. We'll see if this helps to settle him down a little.

I love Early Intervention!!!

FHE

For Family Home Evening last night we put up the lovely Jelly Decorations. The kids had to tell something they loved about the family or each other individually to put up one of the decorations. It was kind of fun.

Duncan's new room

Grandma and Grandpa Siddoway have a vinyl cutting machine and have made these awesome skateboarders for Duncan's room. I think he is going to be excited!!!!

Rough Housing

It doesn't matter what I say, my bed will forever be the wrestling mat!

The house is a bit confused

We are in the process of getting our house ready for new carpet. Which means a lot of boxing and putting in the garage. The beautiful thing about this is, it doesn't necessarily have to come back in. If the kids don't notice it's gone it will stay gone.

We are getting closer everyday to having the kids moved downstairs and my office moved upstairs. Then we will be getting Jason's room in order and hopefully give our little sensory seeker a safe place to play and cut loose.

I'm finding it hard to contain my spending on Jason. The kids room it is necessary to spend a bit of money. Duncan's room is brand new and the girls room will need to have the closet redone and new blinds. As well as a fresh coat of paint.

Jason's room does need to be painted. Duncan picked a hideous blood red color for their room when Jason was born, so I think we will be painting his room sky blue, and sage green. Other then that he has a closet and a lot of stuff. I want to help him get his energy out though, so every time I see something that looks remotely entertaining to Jason I have to completely still my spending needs.

We'll see how long it takes to get everything settled again. I'm so excited to have new carpet and have the kids settled in!!!

Pine Wood Derby

Last night was the Pine Wood Derby. Life has been so hectic that Scouts has kind of hit the back burner. So Brett and Duncan started his Derby Car on Tuesday. Brett did the Dad thing and let Duncan use power tools to do most of the work. I figured if Duncan cut off a finger Brett would have to take him to the Hospital.

Duncan cut it out, sanded the wheels, put the axles and wheels into the car, screwed down the braces that kept the axles straight. Brett helped him with the chisel work because his chisel wasn't very sharp so it was really hard to get it to cut out the place to put the weight. They painted it, and put the stickers on.

Brett figured it would do ok, because he made sure it was exactly 5 ozs. However, since Duncan did most of the work that it would probably not win the whole time.

Duncan's car went undefeated. The little punk took first in everything. He was so proud of himself, he could hardly contain it.

Funny thing was Jason loved watching the derby as much as the Scouts did. He even clapped and cheered when the races were all done.The first video is a full race, Duncan's car is the green and silver one. Second video was of the first place race. Brett wanted to capture the photo finish. Duncan's was on the far side. The last video is of Duncan and the girls car in a race. Brett threw together the lovely yellow car Wednesday night and finished it up minutes before we left the house. The girls are lovingly calling it the Banana Peel Racer.

Duncan's New Room

Well, we decided that the new room was to small for both girls to not have a bunk bed, so the new room is now Duncan's. Changing can be hard for Duncan so he was freaking out! I think I convinced him that his room would be way cool, and that he will enjoy it. He also won't really notice the difference because there will be only him in the room instead of Jason and Duncan. We'll see how well he does.

Here is the paint job so far. The only thing left on painting is to touch up where the red went over. The rest of the walls are a very light gray. You can't really tell, but Duncan wants Silver???? So we are going to put some metal flashing up. It should be a good room to grow into.

Social Sensory Playgroup

Jason and I went to Playgroup this morning. It was as crazy as I thought it would be. Except I think I was well prepared.

Jason was excited to be there, he remembered it from last week. He went straight to the kitchen. We had gathering time, which is just a free play time until everyone showed up. There were only 3 kids there today, usually there will be 5. There was a sweet little girl that was a very hyper active one. She wanted to knock over and take away what Jason was playing with. The Mom was concerned about this, and I said "He's ok!" As long as she's sharing and playing he needs to learn that as well.

Then we went over to circle time. Again, I was prepared. He screamed the whole time, "Tuck, tuck, tuck!" Which is his way of saying "I'm stuck let me go!" We told him he did a GREAT JOB, and let them go to free play.

He was a little angry, but it only took him a few minutes to calm down. He went straight back to the kitchen. The head person Kerianne, went and played with him for a minute. He would hand her things and then push her hand to the table. So she switched it up and pretended to eat it. He surprisingly didn't get frustrated, just smiled and waited patiently till she was done and pushed her hand toward the table again.

Then we went back to a structured activity and did Ring Around the Rosie. Again, Jason freaked out. The first time I held him. The second time I put him down and took his hand, and dragged him around the circle. The last time he still cried but eventually he walked on his own.

Free time again. This time they took the lid off the a "Discovery Table" which was filled with sand and rice and little animals were buried. He found all the animals and put them in the barn. Then he took the animals out of the barn and we buried them again.

At the end we had a story, which Jason had to be prompted through everything but he settled down pretty good. They had bubbles, which he would watch and then try to run back to the "Discovery Table" so I'd grab him and try and direct his attention back to the bubbles. Finally I just held him a tickled him.

As soon as I said "Let's go bye-bye." He started waving, like "YES!! I'm Finished!!!"

He's sweet. I think it will be very good for my boy.

Jason's Friends Jean and Joan

Jason had his evaluation today with Jean Fowles and Joan the RN. I answered a bunch of question basically. Which was very satisfying today! From last year he progressed, regressed, and progressed even more! His motor skills are on the 36 month level, his fine motor skills are 33 months, his social is about 24 months, and his language is about 18 months.

But to be able to say, "Yes he is speaking" is so wonderful! Maybe he doesn't say the words exactly accurate but I can tell you that "Cu-cu" is Popsicle, "Tuck" is Stuck, and "MEEESSSS" is Please.

I was also very gratifying to see that the RN was confused as to why we thought he was Autistic. His eye contact was good, he was being social......to which Jean immediately responded that he had withdrawn completely, and had worried her greatly. The RN looked at me and said, "Good Job!"

I have an Audiology appointment coming up in the next few weeks. We'll be able to see how much he has improved or regressed in his hearing as well.

Love my Family

We spent the night up at the in-laws again. My Sister-in-Law was going home so we brought the kids up to spend some time with there cousins.

Jason was being my overwhelmed little monkey, but he was doing ok.

He spent some time doing puzzles with Grandma. He takes your hand and makes you show him where the piece goes. Even though, he really can do it all by himself.

He then spent some time with Uncle John sticking the pegs into a peg board. Jason would put them in and then he would grab Uncle John's finger and make him count every one. Then they would say "Yaaa!" and clap. Then it would start all over again.

Then we were getting ready to leave and Jason was freaking out, because he was just too tired. My cute nephew came over to try and help, so I showed him what Jason really likes. He likes to be knocked on, his feet rubbed, and his joints pulled. So I had a good circle around him as we rubbed his feet, knocked on his chest and pulled his joints. My nephew actually picked up Jason's foot and started rubbing it. At one point he stopped and Jason put his foot up to him as if to say, "Hey, you stopped!"

It's nice to have people who love your kids!

Jason, Samantha, and Tori Update

The kids had an appointment with Dr. Dries today. Tori had her eyes dilated so recently that Dr. Dries didn't want to do it again.

Samantha did awesome, her vision has only changed a slight amount. We are going to be patching again. Not too much, just an hour a day. She also got new glasses today. Her prescription is intense enough that it will take about a week to get them back.

Jason was a royal pain!! He drove me nuts and killed my back. He didn't want to be anywhere I wanted him, even if there were toys. He was exhausting. Good news is his retina's are good and he doesn't have to have glasses yet.

That's about it for now!!

This Weekend

A bit crazy, and mild all in one.

We spent Saturday cleaning, cleaning. We are going to be getting new carpet soon, and I'm so excited.

The big problem is cleaning out the 8 years of accumulation so that the carpet can be laid. I'm just going to pretend we are moving into a new house. De-junk!!!

Sunday was spent with family. An unexpected visit from the sister-in-law made my kids night. They spent all day running and playing with the cousins they don't get to see that often.

Monday is here again, and it's back to life as we know it.

Jason is starting to talk

Jason has been saying Popsicle all day. Ok, well it's more like Co-co. But it's the same every time. I signed Popsicle and he nodded and said "Co-co". He said "On" when he wanted to get on the bed. He says Daddy, and Mommy.

He's also giving 5. These things are so AWESOME!!! I can't believe how satisfying it is to have him say what he wants.

Sensory Social Play Group

I went to an orientation last night for Jason's soon to be Play Group. It's only 8 weeks long but I think it will be very good for my monkey. The way I would explain it is Nursery on Steroids. It's a VERY structured experience.

I think the first 4 weeks will be keeping Jason in line. Structure is not something that Jason likes, unless it's what he wants. I think Circle time will be exhausting. I think stopping him from doing one activity and going to the next is going to be stressful. However, I think pushing him out of his comfort zone is going to be a good thing.

Jason came with me and played with the toys. He was really good as we talked about what the class would be about. His little OCD tendencies were showing though. He took every toy out of the toy refrigerator and laid them all out on the table. He didn't leave one toy in the fridge. He then took all the chairs that were stacked up and lined them up. Not in a train, in a straight horizontal line.

As I was chuckling at my boy, the teacher asked me what his issues were. I explained that he has a hearing loss and he's Autistic. She nodded and was unsurprised. However one of the other Mom's said, "Oh come now, he's just being 2."

That statement gets a little old. I know he's 2, I know he is doing 2 year old things. However, there are some extreme behaviors in my boy that need to be addressed. I think he will be on the more high functioning side of the Spectrum. I don't worry about Jason, as long as we help him progress and improve I think he will be FINE. I just don't want to wait and see what happens if we leave him alone.

I guess that's why all parents do things differently.

Everyday Stuff

Yesterday was pretty normal. Brett and I worked, Jason played, the other kids went to school and dance.

The one thing that was a little different is I ordered a swing for Jason's room. I'm sooooooooo excited!!!

I got it from laceandfabric.com. He will LOVE it!!! It is right up Jason's alley.

Here is the Youtube adverts. Spinning, bouncing, swinging......what more can my boy want?

Relief Society

I actually went to our Relief Society meeting last night. It was quite nice to leave the kids with Brett and take a break. I must say, the only reason I really went though was because I signed up to bring a casserole. I made Shepherds Pie. It's my families favorite and it's fairly easy to make. When I make it I put my own twist on it. We make Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin the day before and add the left overs. It is awesome!

Here's the recipe's.

Bacon Wrapped Pork loin

Pork Loin
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 T finely chopped rosemary
¼ lb bacon
1 cup of liquid to de-glaze the pan.

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Season pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sear pork on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes total. Remove from heat.

Rub pork with chopped rosemary, wrap with bacon, overlapping strips slightly. Tie pork roast with kitchen twine. Roast in oven, basting occasionally with cooking juices, until internal temperature is 145◦F on a meat thermometer, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven. Transfer pork to a serving dish.

Make pan sauce. Place the roasting skillet on the stove top over low heat. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan. Skim off the fat. Reheat to serving temperature if necessary.

Easy Shepherd’s Pie
1 ½ lbs ground round beef (I used 1 lb ground beef and left overs from the bacon wrapped pork loin. Diced the pork and bacon and added it to the onions.)
1 onion chopped
½ tablespoon fresh rosemary
1-2 cups vegetables-chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 ½ - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
½ cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper, other seasoning of choice
Fresh Parmesan Cheese.

Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add Rosemary. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked. (I used 1 lb ground beef and left overs from the bacon wrapped pork loin. Diced the pork and bacon and added it to the onions.)

Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth if necessary to keep moist.

Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, and fresh parmesan cheese, season to taste.

Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.
Cook in 400◦ oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes)
Turn it on Broil the last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Sorry I'm a Slacker

Brett was home for almost 2 weeks, I loved the holidays and not for that reason alone. Because it was the holidays there wasn't any scans done, which means there wasn't any work for me. I got a glimps of what life would be like without a job, and sadly I really enjoyed it. "Sadly" because that just isn't reality. I've gotta work. Maybe someday..........

Now life is back to normal. The kids are back at school, and Jason and I are back to our normal life of sitting in front of the computer and watching Blues Clue's.

A few things have been going on since Christmas. Brett and Dick, my father-in-law, are building the girls a room!!! Downstairs, in the "Room of Doom". It' is going so well!! I'm sooooo...excited!!!! I'm hoping that this will help out with my schedule. I think it will help Jason a lot to have his own safe room.




I have a lot more pictures showing more progress but they are still in my camera. I'll post them as soon as I get them loaded.