Moving on up....to the eastside....

It looks like Hubby and I will be the proud owners of a teeny tiny house. We looked at it orginaly as a lease-to-own, and discussed all the things we could do to turn it into the perfect home. It will take time, blood, sweat and tears, but we were willing to put that in.
The person selling the house asked if we mined him having a finance person get in touch with us, just to see, and we said sure, but we doubted anything could be done.
Finance Dude looked at our info, and doubted anything could be done, but got the required stuff together to run it and see-as he said, his job is to try, and he don't make money by keeping people out of homes. Surprisingly enough, we qualify for a FannieMae Flex100-which, btw is not sub prime-it is all on the up and up, and all things looking like the lender will approve us, and we'll be homeowners.
Honestly, the house is ultry tiny-it is a wee little home, but addinf dormers in the upstairs bedroom will open the space up alot, redoing the bathroom setup will help alot, and eventually, we could biuld up a full second level, and even about ten to fifteen feet out into the HUGE back yard. Yeah, that's right, a big ass fenced in back yard!!
So, faithful readership of family and maybe three other folks, watch here for updates on the homeownership!

patience is a virtue....

...that I do not readily posess.
We are looking at new places to live. We have a place we're looking at on Saturday, but to have that place, we would be living with Hubby's Uncle, and having three more kids around on occasion, Granted, it is a remodeled duplex, with six bedrooms, two baths, two kitchens, 2 livingrooms, porches and whatnot, it's still iffy if it's gonna happen. Soooo, I keep looking, I am waiting for a call back from a guy about three different properties-he manages all three, all three are three bedroom houses, all three are much (like 150 or moree) less than we are paying now, all three have their own yards...and I'm waiting and waiting and waiting. I know that it has been less than two hours since I called, he manages a lot of property in St Paul, and feasibly, at least on of the three or four I want will still be available, but I want him to call now!!(insert childish whining and foot stomping here)

I've never quite been this excited about having to move before. Part of it is that a lot of the single family rentals in St Paul and WestStPaul are rather easy to buy, after you've proven you're a good renter, maybe it's because Bloomington has lost it's charm, maybe it's the weather...I don't know, but I'm getting really impatient, I'm starting to think I drank waaaayyyyy too much coffee this morning, and I'm bored!
GGAARRGGHHH!

Playdates and summer break...Oh my!!

I just got off the phone with J__, the mother of Hermes' absolute and possitive bestest friend from school!!! Sh has noticed, as have I, that our sons spend a considerable amount of time talking about each other, and play together almost every school day. She was calling to set up a play-date for next weekend, and so we could figure out some sort of summer schedule with the boys, so they can play regularly.
This will be tons easier since we will be moving soon, to St paul. We are still on the HRA list for Bloomington, but, at the same time, are keeping our options open. Hubby and I realized that his Uncle is still looking for a place-granted, his uncle also has three kids, but once he is no longer living at my in-laws, will only have them every other weekend, and once a week for an evening. We are looking at renting a large, 6 bedroom, house, roughly in-between where my in-laws live, and where my BIL and his fiance live. It would end up being cheaper than where we are now, after rent is split. We will have plenty of space for everyone, and it has a fenced in yard!
So much going on, I'll catch up later.

saturday saturday saturday nigh-igh-ight

This saturday, Buddha, my babiest of babies, turns one year old, and officially enters the age of toddlerhood.
Thor is speaking more and more daily.
Hermes is awesome, and really, very smart. He'll tell you so-often.
When Buddha turns the age that Hermes is now, Hermes will be going on ten...that's DOUBLE DIGITS PEOPLE!!!!
I cannot believe it has been a year, already. I can hardly believe that at this exact moment, one year ago, I was crying on the phone to Hubby, because they were going to make me wait two more whole days before they'd induce.
You still have your Yoda ears, and every now and then, I wonder if you'll for stilted, slightly awkward sentances when speaking you start doing...yes.
I am going to start working on the weekends soon, and wonder if somehow you'll know I was home more with your brothers at this age, and resent me. Then I tell myself it's all hogwash.
Happy first, Buddha, may you remain healthy, happy and strong, and hopefully go basck to being peacefull and serene again. I would much prefer that over the excited shrieking at four in the morning becase Ohmygod!! You're standing, and drinking...at.the.same.time!!!

morning

It's 7:30. The older two are sitting at the table, eating cereal. Hermes is ready to go to the Palace of Learning and Knowledge-rather excited that it's just today and tomorrow, then spring break. He wonders if he'll get extra homeowrk, since he'll be out of school for a week. I assure him that if he runs out of work, I'll be able to find something for him.
Thor is being very quiet right now. He is picking up more understandable words every day, and slowing down when he talks-the combination os stunning. He still asks "Can you hear me?", every now and again. A friend of mine who has an adult son who is much like Thor said that her boy could never quite tell if he was thinking, speaking aloud, or yelling-might be something to look into with Thor. He is doing amazing at eating cereal with milk and not spilling...we can also see that he is this close to finally mastering drinking rom a standard cup.
Buddha is being rather serene at the moment. His moments of serenity are far and few these days-as he is learning and discovering new skills, he wants o try them. He gets frustrated that his meager words cannot describe everything, he is excited by the food he is getting now, and the mobility! If he had the skills, he would write an ode to walking, standing, and jumping. He is also trying to not sleep, unless he is in the crib, so no more convenient for me naps in the playpen, but now I can do things in the main floor while he's napping, without fear of waking him.

Me? I'm good. I put in an application to waitress on the weekend, bring in a little extra cash, get me in a little better shape, all in one fell swoop. Hubby thinks it's great-as it will also force alone time for him and the pantheon. All three boys are at an age where Poppa is the center of their universe, and he wants to milk it for all it's worth, as he knows it wont last long. Granted, it will come back again, but to have all three want him at the same time, though frustrating, is noce, for both uf us.

numbers and personal pronouns!

Thor has finally decided to open up his big bag o' tricks and pull out the numbers up to ten, personal pronouns, and some verbs! It's not consistant yet, he still get quite with transitions, but words are a-comin!
Speaking with his main SHEILD therapist, we know that the sensory integration/seeking issues are going to be a lifelong battle-he'll learn ways to cope, but will never quite process everything the way you and I might, but with words to help us...it will be easier, and in this case, the easier way is the better way!

Happy spring, and other things

7:07 pm-vernal equinox. Happy Spring, everyone. If the weathermen can be trusted, we might actually warm up a bit, mid fifties and rain in just a few days! Granted, there's a;ways the 'Easter Squall' to watch for, as my grandma would put it.
All of the kids are doing fairly well. We are pretty sure that Thor has started saying 'No', and 'I'mmmmm' both of wich are majorly huge breakthroughs. We'll see if the loquaciosnous carries on. Buddha is becoming more and more self-sufficient every day. More mobile, more stable, more gabby. We have conferences for the oh so modest (I'm very smart, you know!) Hermes on wednesday...Hubby and I are really looking forward to it!
I'm in the process of drinking rediculous quantities of water for an ultrasound I am having in just shy of an hour. They want to check for polyps, cysts, and fibroids...on the thirtieth I go in and get the US results, as well as results from the rediculous quatities of blood they took a week and a half ago---hopefully, it will be an issue with my Thyroid-that would wrap everything up in an easily treated package that explains everything. Otherwise, it's more testing...woohoo!

what can, and cannot, be flushed

Thor is at the age where, like most kids, he is discovering what can, and cannot, be flushed down the toilet. So far, he has discovered that plastic cups, himself, shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes, himself, large toys, towels, himself, washrags, and hairbrushed cannot be flushed...did I mention himself? For some reason, he seems rather keen on trying to flush himself down the toilet, and always seems rather sad that it doesn't work. I do not know where, how, or why he picked up the need to try this, but at least once a week, he will have sopping wet jammies or socks and pants, because he STOOD IN THE TOILET trying to flush himself. Maybe he thinks it will be a fun ride.
He has discovered that toilet paper flushes really well, both if you put in one sheet at a time, and if you put in a large portion of the mega-roll at a time. He has also realized that you can put just the end of the roll into the toilet, flush, and watch the paper go flying off the roll, at high speed, down the drain. I remember doing this last one, myself, as a kid. It was rather entertaining.

It is suggested, by the expert, that the interest in flushing things is one sign of petty training readiness. This might be so, but when you have a child who cannot tolerate the way his bare butt feels on the potty, training is alittle harder.
Some autism experts feel that they like the spiral motion objects make while being flushed. This, too, makes sense, but does not bring us any closer to having Thor out of daipers.

Hermes was not fully potty trained until right after he turned four. He could use the potty, and would, but it took a little bit for him to grasp that he was supposed to, regularly, even if he was having fun playing. For the most part, he was three and a half when he had it down good, but if the legos, magnetix, or trains were out, we would have to remind him, regularly, to use the potty, and to make sure that he was all the way done before we got off the toilet.
I will be pleased when Hermes finally decides to use the potty. We have so far tried letting him run around naked, supossedly this is supposed to be a fool proof method. What we have found, when trying this, is that he will just find a corner in which to pee. Not my idea of a good time cleaning.

Sometimes I worry that Buddha will be trained before Thor, but I understand that it will be more dificult to train Thor than a standard kid. I have to make it routine, easy, not scary. I might have to start parking the potty seat in the living room to start, so he has easy access. I don't want to transition him out of pull-ups and into training pants until we have the basic concept down, but maybe that is what he needs to get the concept.

Either way, he is still shy of two and a half, we have plenty of time to work on this.

Hopeefully, he won't try to flush his brothers.

Momma can fix ANYTHING!!

Hubby and I discussed, at great lengths, the double-standard of adults being sick, in our home. When he is ill, I try to make a quiet space for him, encourage the kids to leave him be, and generally get him better as fast as I can. When I am ill, well, they try, they honestly do, but it just doesn't quite work that way. I am Momma, and apparently, Momma means that I am the glue that holds everyhting together, and the wheels that keep it all moving, all rolled into one giant life giving package. When I am ill, the only way to keep the kids from bothering me is to have them somewhere else-they know that when Momma cuddles them, they feel better, so shouldn't it work the other way? I still generally end up cooking, cause that's what I do, and I still drive everyone araound. Hermes looked at me last night, as I was tucking him into bed, and after thanking me for tucking him up, asked why I wasn't better ye? I tried to explain that sometimes it takes longer to get better, but he wouldn't buy it. Hermes insisted that I am Momma, and I can fix anyhting, make anything better, make it all be good.

I love that he has such faith in my abilities, but I also know that the day when I am hated for ruining everything cannot be terribly far off.

Thor knows that something isn't right, he keeps trying to cuddle, to rub my back and hair..once again, the things I do for him, but he cannot sit still long enough, and he forgets to let go of my hair before he walks away.

Buddha will sit quietly and cuddle if I hold him, but he and I are at oppisite ends of the virus lifespan, and I don't want to start his over, being it's mutated between us...

Ah Well...time to bring Hermes to the Palace of Learning and Knowledge, now with tai chi!

it figures

you'd think, that after a virus that came into the house, most likely through me, has run it's course through everyone in the house, that it would go away. No. The virus mutated juuuust enough, while being passed from me to hubby to Hermes(who mixed it with soemthing from school), to Thor (who had it worst), to buddha, that it would be gone. No. It has decided to take up a malingering residence in me. Not as bad as before, but somehow worse for it. It used to have a definitive schedule of suckiness, whereas now, even thoughit is not so severe in it's intensity, it is not leaving. I am truely miserable, but at the same time, I have periods of feeling fabulous, just to be shot down all dizzy and clammy like twenty minutes later.
Ghrrrr

gesundheit!

Thor has learned how to fake sneeze. This came about a little while ago, when we were at the in-laws, he sneezed, and MIL told him 'Gesundheit!", the next time he sneezed, I said 'Bless you". He gave me a look, then walked around making sneezing noises until someone said gesundheit again. Something about the word he likes, so he makes his sneezy noises to hear it. This is actually a really good thing, devolopmentally, as he is learning that certain sounds get certain responses...a prequel to speaking, if you will.
I am finding myself speaking to adults the way I speak to Thor, when someone gets something I request, I reply with "That was good listening. That was good doing. Great job! Thank you!", and get a strange look. We have to break down everything he does into catagories, and when he does good, praise him. If he follows a request to its logical conclusion, he is praised for every step.

Hermes was home ill yesterday. I had him off the computer, and in his room, to rest. He came down at one point to ask to play, and I said no...he replied, "But that's not faaaiiiir!" I was so shocked to hear this, my baby's growing up!

well, he's stopped.

I called the Dr about Thor's issues. Dr asked that I document for a week or two, then call back and give a rundown/schedule and appointment. Of course, as soon as I try to document it, the vomiting stops. This is fabulous, but means that if it starts up again, we are back at square one.

Thor has also decided, out of the blue, that butterred bread is an acceptabvle texture again. Pleasing to eat, and tasty, too.

Buddha is becoming more and more mobile daily. Good, yet frieghtening. It is much easier to keep track of the wee ones when they cannot run or walk, even if it is only about four steps.

Hermes is still doing awesome at school, I cannot wait until mid-late march, for his conferences.

I still need to get more sleep, but maybe after my next Dr appointment, we canfigure out why I have been so tired.

probably don't want to read this before, or right after, dinner

Thor's been vomiting, semi-regularly, for a while now. Only once per day, and generally only two or three times a week, but for the last few months, a pattern has emerged. For a while, we thought naybe it was dogs, as there was often a dog around when it happened, then maybe dairy, then maybe being sick, then who knows what. I realized, though, that there is a fairly definate pattern to the occurances that happen when he is not obviously sick.
Did you know that there was a link between vomiting and autism? Yeah.. me neither. I knew that kids with autism were more likely to have digestional issues, but never kenned to the vomiting. It can be treated, it can go away, sometimes it's fairly permanent. I'm going to schedule a Dr's appt for him for monday to rule out any illnesses or allergies, but it might be symptomatic of the autism. Fun.

Finally!

Finally, something we need is going to be on sale when we actually have the moneys to pay for it!! Our stzate return showed up in our bank this morning, still waiting on the fed (Mom, you will get your check as soon asthe fed shows up, should be less than two weeks.) Menards is having a slae starting tomorrow with shelving units. Units the right size and material to modify in order to make the critter condo! Yay! This will make my life much easier, my house much easier to clean, and much safer for the wee Buddha to crawl around and practice walking in, and in general be a good thing!

Thor is doing amazing! He is starting to use some words regularly again, and is trying to help Buddha with saying things like 'Momma' and 'Poppa' and 'Bottle'. Car rides right now sound like this-
Thor "Mommmmmmmaaaa, pooooppppppaaaa, booootttllllle"
Buddha " Momamomamomamomamoma, pabapabapabapabapaba, bababababababa.phhhbbbllllltttt!"
Thor "Phphphllllbbtt!"
Buddha "Momma!"
Thor "Mommmaaa, gud baayyyybee! Liammmmmmmmm!"
repeat as needed to fill the drive.

Hermes is awesome. I am so pleased with my little man. He had his math placement test at the Palace of Learning last week or the week before, I cannot recall, and out of all the questions on two pages only got 1 wrong. The only one he didn't know how to do! I cannot wait until conferences so we can discuss which classroom he will be doing math in, and with wich teacher. His handwriting is improving daily, as is his motor control with writing and coloring implements. The only concern right now-according to the person who did the vision and hearing checks at school, Hermes might have weak eye muscles, so when I schedule my next exan, which will be as soon as I get the vision card, if I don't decide to go sooner and make the ins. company reimburse me, I need to get him in too. The optometrist needs to check him out, fill out a form for school stating wether or not their is a problem, and wether or not it is correctable/can affect his learning/he'll grow out of it/whatever. It sounds like if there is an issue, it is easily correctable, so no worries!

Unholy cold!

For the last few years, the Winter Carnival had issues with the weather being too warm...people grumbled. How are you supposed to have a winter carnival when the ice is melting?? Well, people are starting to grumble again this year, but for the oppisite reason. It is so cold, that they might have to cancel some events this weekend. It is not going to be above zero at all tomorrow, probably not again until tuesday. Wicked cold, bitter cold, call it what you will, it's just COLD.

Hermes is being picked up from the palace of learning by his Gramma today. Last weekend he was able to spend time with Grammy, this weekend it's Gramma and Dad-dad. They decided to take Hermes overnight tonight, and pick up Thor tomorrow, and take them to the children's museum once again. Behold the power of the Yearly Pass in all it's splendor. An adult might become bored with the display of the season, but not children. Two little boys running around the Bob The Builder display, all the other hands on stuff...they'll be in heaven! The main reason they are going is the unholy cold. Little kids need to burn off energy, or they ddrive everyone around them nuts! Grammy takes Hermes through the skyway, his favorite thing to do with her next to going to the park or a jazz event. Gramma takes them to the museum, his favorite thing next to the park or camping/hiking/fishing to do with them.
We are very lucky to have two sets of awesome grandparents who love their grandkids, and spend time with them having fun.
Buddha is going to have some peacefull time tomorrow, time to crawl/saunter around and explore the house without fear of being run down by an older kid. He will also be having a nice, warm, uninterupted bath, something he rarely gets. The norm for him is to be washed down as quickly as possible, so his brothers don't annoy him/jump in the tub.steal his towel.

Wicked cold outside, but nice inside.

when advertising attacks!!

A couple of twentysomething dudes were arrested in Boston, MA for "Purpetrating a hoax to induce terror". Their "crime", if one wanted to call it such, was placing "bomblike devices" in strategic, high traffic areas. The devices were basicallly flat light-brights. Little boards with diods and batteries and wires which when illuminated outlined a monnenite flipping the bird. If the boston officals had taken the time to ask ohhh.....any nineteen year old male, they would have ventured forth immidiately with the answer..."OMG..It's from Aqua teen hunger force!!" The glowing mooninites are part of a TEN CITY ad campaign by Turner broadcasting, who owns cartoon network, and therefor Adult Swim. LA, Portland Oregon, New York, Texas, none of the other nine cities had any issues, but Boston is trying to press terrorism suits against the two men, Turner, the ad agency who came up with the idea, and any body else...Why? Because they are to stubborn to admit they overreacted. The Boston officials claim that in a post 9/11 society, we need to be more aware of how our actions affect others...I agree...and the officials need to be aware that THEIR overreaction and subsequent pressing of lawsuits is making them look rediculous. Their actions are going to needlessly frighten free-thinking, free-speaking individuals more than a couple of mooninites.

w00t!!!!!!!!111

I just got off the phone with the woman who runs the HRA rental housing list. We have been accepted to program. She will be sending me out a letter next week detailing everything more. The down side, we could be looking at a year or so, but I can live with that. If we find ourselves in a situation where we no longer need it before it's available, no big loss. Also, she said it;s looking like some people will be rolling off the list soon due to failure to report a move out of city and what not.
Either way, it's a good thing. I know that I will want to find a place with six month lease increments, and that it will only be temporary. Life is getting good.

waiting....

I have now entered the month of "waiting". This is a little known month that falls from midway through January, to midway of February. Waiting for the w-2's to file tax returns, waiting for my anniversary, conveniently placed the day before valentines day, so we also celebrate a little early or a little late, but never forget, waiting for the cold that I always seem to have this time of year to go away. This year, I have added a nifty game of Catch to Waiting. This entails me almost losing the cold, and then Thor catching it, when it's about out of his system, it magically re-appears with me. Hermes and Buddha and Hubby all seem to be exempt from this game-not to say they don't have/haven't had colds recently, but they are different. Thor seems to realize that the cold is something special to just him and me, and seems pleased to share something so important with Momma.

Tonight Hubby and I have a meeting with Thor's team, to go over all the gleaned info again, and sign the paperwork for Toddler Group and HomeVisit. I am hoping that these help Thor, but I am also hoping that it will give an outside party a chance to see how splendid he is. I also worry, though, that they will see his improvements in some areas are marked by slides in others, and that it isn't just in my head. None of his backslides are really devopmentally related, but more along the lines of stimming and other activites normally seen with autism. Thor is a very interesting case study, being how everything presents, his age, and that to most knowledge, there isn't a history of anyhting like this in the families. Of course, half of Hubby's family is mystery.

Hermes has started doing simple math at school, something he is quite pleased with. Even though he already knows how to do most, if not all, of what they are working on, it is Math, and he knows you need math to be a train engineer, and astronaut, and about seven other things he wants to be when he grows up. He is finally starting to try and milk "But I don't feel good!" to stay home from school, but I have found the way to cure that. I know which days are Art days, Gym days, so on and so forth, if I can tell him one definitave thing he will be doing, he always feels better. That kid loves learning. i will have to speak with his teacher come the next conferences, if not earlier, to let her know that at much as he likes school, he is starting to get a little bored, and he needs to be challenged--hopefully this will take care of itself, however, as they will be doing math placement tests soon, and he will be getting harder work.

Buddha is so excited in his newfound ability to stand and take one to three steps before falling down, that he has quit napping! Yay!!! Otherwise, he is perfectly healthy.


Oh, and am I the only parent who has had to tell their child that we don't put chapstick on with our feet when it's bedtime?

comfort level

It was pretty cold last night. The house was fairly warm in the morning, by about two in the afternoon, I, she who likes bare feet, voluntarily put on socks. At about 7:30, it was cool in the house, even by the computers and couch, all of which are situated near vents. I trekked down stairs, and lo and behold-the pilot light on the furnace had gone out! We have a gas furnase with an electric ignition, so after shutting off gas and power to the heater for five minutes, we powered it back up and FWOOSH!, there was heat. We have space heaters upstairs in the bedrooms, being our heat is lazy, and doesn't so much rise as let itself get pushed around, so at least the bedrooms were toasty. I have been listening for the blowers to kick in, a sure sign the furnace is working.

Mr. Guy, a friend of ours, watched the younger two while I picked Hermes up from the palace of learning, and while he was here, litterally shoveled out the livingroom, making a nice pile of things for me to go through. He figured it was the easiest way to make space for Buddha and Thor to play nicely together, which for him, they did. Thor is very at ease around Mr. Guy, which is good to know, being Mr. Guy lives six doors down, and is our emergency go to guy. He watched Hermes and Buddha when I picked up Hubby, Thor came with. 4:30 is his normal car ride time, and he was not going to let me leave without him. As much as I say he doesn't have a set in stone routine, that is changing as he gets older.

The weather was interesting to Thor, he really isn't to familiar with snow, was too young last year to play in it, and was dealing with the ear infections, but this morning, after dropping Hermes off at the palace of learning, Thor decided that maybe, the mittens he loves so much serve a purpose other than having Curious George on his hands, maybe, the kep his hands safe and warm for a reason. He bent down, and picked up some snow...he threw the snow, he was pleased. Winter seems to be in his comfort zone! He likes the way fall looks, but not feels or sounds. It is really an abrasive season for him, all sharp and rough and crackly noises and feelings, but winter, it is quiet, and pretty, and smooth, and crunchy. I cannot explain the difference between a crackly noise and a crunchy noise, but it exists, and he has a preference. I am really excited that he enjoys snow, and am looking forward to see how he deals with sledding.

Personally, I am becoming more comfortable daily with having a child who is on the autism spectrum. I am no longer feeling the need to quantify him as being high functioning, or barely on the spectrum, or what have you. It is more apparent, as he gets older daily, that he will have some tendancies for a long hall, but at the same time, he is so charismatic, and happy, and loving, and funny, and well, he's just him. Labeling him doean't make him any less Thor, heck, it even helps to understand some of what he does that makes him Thor. Hermes is trying very hard to act as an interpreter, however, it is hard to believe him sometimes, as I doubt that Thor is always trying to do things in Hermes interests over his own. Few two year olds will relinquish a cookie.

Buddha took two unassisted steps in the playpen the other day! I need to let him on the floor more now that it is clean, and I cannot let Thor's accomplishments overshadow Buddha's developmental milestones, or Hermes amazing progress at school. More and more I am becoming more comfortable with the idea that I can do this.

dreaded evaluation

On thursday, we have another eval for Thor, it was supposed to be last thurs, but with Hermes being home with the mega-cold we had to reschedule. This will be on of the rare out of the house appointments. They want to observe him outside of his 'normal environment'. Sometimes I feel like he is a forign animal. Behold, Thor, in all his splendor, climbing the furniture and stalking the all allusive peanut butter cracker! Not the shunnung of bread...but wait..He'll eat the bread if it has sloppy joe on it? Behold, The Thor, in all it's glory!
Sometimes, I thik they are doing all of these 'pre-treatment' evals, not to study him, but to study me. I get the mental image of the therapy team sitting around at a coffeeshop or bar going, "Yeah...Did you see HW2K trying to come up with a way to describe his speech patterns? How great was that! Or what about when he started talking to the toy, but ignored her completely? And remember how hopeful she seemed when we all pretended to understand him? What a hoot!!!"
I know this isn't what really goes on, but sometimes it feels that way. He is signing more, and talking to other people and things moer, but talking to me less. He gets angry when I feed him the wrong foods, but will not tell me what the right foods are, then when Hubby gets home, will show him immediately what he wanted. A good day for us is one with at least ive clearly communicated concepts. Five times of not guessing, asking, trial and error, five definatives...more, hungry, sleep, all done, monkey. If I get at least these five things, back and forth, it's fine.

Hermes starting to get bored at school. Sistah-girl was instrumental this morning on getting him ready, as for me I would just get the "I'm sick, I'm staying home!". In the car this morning we talked about the testing that is coming up. They are finally getting around to the math placement, and chinese language assesments they were going to be doing pre christmas. Hermes is happy to know that they really truely want to see how smart he is, that they really truely will let him do more math if he does math at a higher level than the other kindergateners, that htey will be very pleased with how much of the language he has learned and they truely want to know. Hermes is starting to realize he's smarter than many, and it's starting to affect his moods towards school a bit.

Buddha is starting to stand on his own, and take one or two daring unassisted steps. I must finish cleaning, I need the space for him.

I would do about anything for ten guilt free minutes alone sometimes, but I wouldn't trade any of this for the world.