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.