Happy Birthday to me!

Next week, the big 4-2. Sigh. But this next year is off to a great start. One of my best buds came for the weekend--after a day of bookstore hopping in Ann Arbor and a fab lunch at Smokehouse Blues Memphis BBQ, I am pooped. We also did a movie last night--National Treasure Book of Secrets. Way fun!

On the 8th, another best bud and I are going to an all day crop. Way cool. I think the best gift anyone can get me anymore is some grown-up chick time. It is great to be someone besides "mom" for a few days.

Definitely my daughter!

Let me preface this post by saying that this year I created an Amazon.com wish list for people to see I might like for Christmas. Mostly fun frivolous books or DVDs I probably wouldn't pick up for myself. One of these items is The McCartney Years, a 3 disk collection of performances and music videos spanning the almost 40 years of Paul McCartney's solo career. I have always been a fan, but the last five-6 years (since his wife Linda died) have not produced any new music I thought was worth listening to. That is, until the 2007 Starbucks release Memory Almost Full. Awesome disk--very Wings-like, and it renewed my McCartney interest. Hence my desire for the McCartney Years.

Well, the last week I put disk 1 into my DVD player and began checking it out. Sophia was in the room, and was interested. The first 5-6 videos were very basic--photos and home movies of Paul and Linda and their young family. Sophia began asking who various people were, then went back to playing. When a video for "Mamunia" (a song off 1973's Band on the Run) began, though, she got interested. Merely a rough cartoon, something about it attracted her.

Then, the other night I was watching McCartney live at the Olympia on A&E. Sophia, who was playing her computer game with her back to the TV, asked what I was watching. I told her a singer in concert. "Oh, the 'Mamunia' singer?" I told her yes. After I told Dave about this later, he laughed but wasn't aware of Sophie's new found McCartney love until I put the disk in for Sophia Sunday. She sat to watch "Mamunia" and when Dave saw the big grin on her face he was amazed. Then I went to turn it off, and she asked to watch more of my music. So, we watched the whole DVD.

Very cute to see. I started my McCartney fan-dom at age 12, so she has me beat by a few years. But, at least her first rock n roll music love is not the Sex Pistols, right?

Best Artichoke Spinach dip ever!!!

OK, I hate Mayo (and miracle whip). It's a fact. Nothing grosser than mayo, for me, except HOT mayo. So, I did a search on Recipezaar (where you can search recipes excluding ingredients) and found a hot spinach dip that looked awesome. So, I made it last night, adding some sauteed onion and garlic to the recipe as written. It was divine.

Olive Garden Hot Artichoke Spinach dip
(click link for reviews)

2 8 oz packages light cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz bag grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz sour cream
2 small cand artichoke hearts, chopped fine
1 10 oz box frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 tbls olive oil
1 tbls marjoram (I omitted this)
cayenne to taste
garlic salt to taste
( I added 1 tbsp chopped garlic and 1/4 cup onion)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Combine with all ingredients except cayenne and garlic salt. Once well combined, season to taste with garlic salt and cayenne. REcipe says to put under a broiler, but I put it in a small crockpot till it was hot.

YUMMMY!

Tell me why?

OK, I have a whining, griping, angry post here. Sophia will be 6 soon, is 54 pounds and about 4'3." Also, long waisted. I noticed her Old Navy jeans (size 6) were pretty much sitting at bikini level and getting snug, so I took a look online to see if there were any denim sales. There were. Plus, they now carry a regular rise jean, "the Girlfriend," and a low rise, "the Darling." So, we hop over to Old Navy (45 miles away) to get her 3 pair of the regular rise. There is a huge display along the back of the store with both jean types labeled--probably 30+ feet of denim. Not a single pair of regular rise jeans, other than 3 or 4 slim sized pairs. After a 15 minute hunt for a sales person, I find one who tells me all the jeans they have are on the sales floor. I told her (snidely, I was mad) that maybe Old Navy ought to re-think their purchasing strategy, because if all the jeans left are low rise, then maybe mothers don't want their pre-pubescent daughters showing everything to the world. She blinked obliviously.

I am planning on writing a letter to Old Navy, because it will make me feel better.

And I finally found Sophia some modest, regular rise jeans--Old Glory jeans at Walmart. Stretch jean, adjustable waist tabs, boot cut--$9.84. And they FIT her. Amen.

Another interesting Christmas

Well, we have definitely hit winter. The beginning of December, Anneliese had bronchitis and I had tonsillitis. Fast forward--mid month, Anneliese gets a cold, and we both get the flu. Then, the weekend before Christmas, Sophia runs a fever we can't get below 100.5 even with drugs. Anneliese breaks out in spots. I am getting paranoid--last Christmas day we were all in the ER with strp throat. So, I call the pediatrician Monday (Christmas Eve) morning, tell him about Anneliese's spots, following her flu and low fever, and he tells me rubeola, and she'll be fine. OK. I call back that afternoon, after we realize Sophie's fever is steady. He tells me that she is probably getting the same thing, just give her tylenol.

So, we go to mom's Christmas Eve night, and after meal and gifts, Sophie is exhausted and ready to go home. We wait a while to visit, then leave. She comes home and goes straight to bed. I have a restless night, and seem to be getting a sore throat. I wake up, take liquid Tylenol for my throat and we do Santa gifts. After opening most of her gifts (Sophie was SO not excited--very lethargic) I start feeling nauseous, and proceed to get sick in the bathroom. I sleep 8 or 9 hours all day, and can't stay awake. I run a high fever the same as Sophia. Sophia, meanwhile, is getting a red rash all over her chest and back.

So, the next morning we go to see the doctor. My doctor is on vacation, so I am planning to go to Express Care. After looking at her, Dr. H says he suspects Scarlet Fever, as she appears to have strep, the rash and the fever. After her strep test is positive, he gives us both antibiotics. He did a mandatory peek in my throat to justify the scrip, and wrote mine out. I had told him about my doctor being on vacation, so I was grateful.

Today, we are all healthy again. No temps, no sore throats, and pretty much no problems except a little cabin fever. Let's hope for a healthier new year!

Tell Me How

How can one child be so loud, obnoxious and whiny that she creates an upset stomach in both her parents, and a migraine in her mother?

Ask Sophia--she excels at it.

After a way over-excited day, and her many tantrums, arguments and tears, Sophie finally went to bed. (And the people--her parents--rejoiced!!) I really need a way to gauge what the optimum level of stimulation is for her. Really. Or my number of gray hairs will triple by my birthday in February.

Sigh.

Breakfast With Mrs. Claus, Mach 2

Today I took Sophia to breakfast with Mrs. C. She seemed to have fun, and loved the smiley potatoes and sausages. Sophie liked Mrs Claus, but was her usual shy self. Story time was a little too long, but overall she seemed to enjoy herself. Unfortunately, the whole experience was a little too overstimulating, and we have had a very difficult afternoon but after some quiet time is back to normal. Tonight, we are going to the fairgrounds for the big light display, so she is looking forward to that. Here are a few pics of today's cuteness (not including me).

The first one has a great view of that toothless grin, and her best friend and lovey cat, Grey (wearing her Christmas ribbon in order to attend this festive occasion). Grey was a present on Sophie's first Christmas from Aunt Terri, and is much loved.




















This picture is of Sophia and I after breakfast.


















This last one I casught during story time. Totally natural smile. Lately her "posed smile" always leaves her eyes closed, so I was really glad to catch this one.

Breakfast With Mrs. Claus

This year I started a new tradition with the girls. Our local museum does a Breakfast With Mrs Claus. Last year I was too late for reservations, so I made them early, for the 1st weekend it was offered. It looked fun, and I knew Sophia would enjoy it. Anneliese, I figured, was still a little young to enjoy it.

Each year, we also go to the fund raiser Santa breakfast at the special needs school (where LeeLee went while in the 0-3 early intervention program. We were sick this year, so we missed it, which was a bummer, as I like to catch up with the people we don't see regularly any longer. Because of missing that breakfast, I made reservations for the 2nd weekend the breakfast was offered. Goodd thing I did. Sophia was so excited she got sick in her bed, and there was no way she was going out that morning. So, I took Anneliese who loved it. I explained to Mrs Claus (while getting Lee her food) that Anneliese was non-verbal but would understand her. Mrs C was wonderful--went and sat with her, got her some grapes, and kept her busy and happy while I waited in the buffet line. Later I found out that Anneliese had been playing with Mrs Claus' hair, so I know she loved the lady. And during the story time afterwards, Mrs C read an Elmo book, so LeeLee was very pleased.

My only (minor) complaint was that after having grapes, Lee didn't want anything else--I think she had three plates full. Here are a few pictures from our trip--the grapes are evident in the 2nd one, and the final picture is from story time.

Now, on the upcoming weekend, I get to take Sophie. I know she is gonna love it too!

All I Want for Christmas....

I realized the other day that this Christmas Sophie will be missing both front teeth. The second one fell out right before Halloween. Here she is, as a bat spider witch with no front teeth Halloween night. Very cute. Anyway, just a brag thread. And you know that I will be doing a LO with that song on it and a picture of my toothless girl, right? It is (in the words of Val Kilmer in Real Genius), "a moral imperative."

And in keeping with Equal Opportunity cuteness, her is Anneliese Halloween night. She didn't want her coat off, so she really looks no different than any other day. But bring on the candy! She is doing her famous "the dog" pose again.

The quest--success

Well, with Christmas around the corner, Santa has been getting a bit stressed out. In October, Sophia decided that the toy she wants Santa to bring is Pat Pat Rocket, from the Little Einsteins. If you remember, back in February, Rocket was Sophie's imaginary friend. Available only at Target, I placed an order Nov 2, and at the time it was stated that it would be arriving December 6-24th. Gee, talk about short notice. I called yesterday and they said they couldn't guarantee Christmas delivery. Nice.

So, I spent the day on message boards and Ebay looking for an available Pat Pat Rocket. Finally, saw a link on the Gotta Deal forums (they are the home of BlackFriday.com) that showed how to check Target store inventory for the elusive rocket. I tried it, and SUCCESS! Apparently Rocket was at our Target as I typed. So, I sent Dave to the store, but I had my doubts--we had just been at Target 2 days before.

Well, he called me all proud. He had one in hand, because apparently there was a huge display of them. After checking a few message boards, it seemed that ALL the Target stores got a shipment this week.

We are totally set for Christmas. If anything, I overbought again. Bought I will have two happy little campers for Christmas.

Finally, scrapping is FUN again

Well, I am 3 pages into the 1st gift calendar I am making. And as I dig through my (not inconsiderable) stash to find papers and flatter embellies, I have noticed that I am scrapping without worrying about page design, all the silly design rules, and whether or not it is trendy. Most of the papers are from my forgotten slabs. Remember that Michaels' Rob & Bob slab (slab 5, I think it was)? And DCWV winter slab 2005. All those mat stacks, etc etc. These LOs are cute, and I hope the recipient likes them.

I think my appreciation of this recent spurt of creativity comes from my spending freeze. I am, stretching my stash, finding lost treasures and playing with them. Frankly, the newer releases are starting to get boring. Other than Mellow and Infuse, most of the new Basic Grey merely looks dirty to me. Tinkering Ink papers? Ewww--what I am going to do with huge graphic flowers & patterns? Scenic Route is looking like same patterns new colors--frankly, how many patterned arrows can a scrapper use in differing colors within one album? I think the only New paper line I have seen that I LOVE is the Imaginisce Candy Cane Lane. But, as I have too much Christmas paper, I will no doubt abstain.

So, I have come full circle. I like my style and stuff. I am having fun and getting creative. I am preserving memories for my family and friends. If there is more to scrapping than those things, I don't know what it could be.

Halloween Costume Vent

You know, I hate having to buy costumes for Halloween each year (in no way am I talented enough to sew or create them myself). It seems like 85% of costumes in little girl sizes are flimsy little knee length nylon witch/angel/princess/fairy things. I hate these. First of all, we live in an area where it is just TOO cold to trick or treat in this. Heck, on a 90 degree someone would catch a chill in these things! Second, I find these totally inappropriate for my children. They are too suggestive, for the most part, as I have no desire to promenade my child in front of the Lord knows who with billowy, shimmery nylon fluttering around. There is no real way to bundle them up without covering the costume, so why buy it in the first place?

So, I was thinking of taking the girls to a Halloween party this year. There are parties at the Natural History museum, at the zoo, and a few local spots. The problem is, Sophia, having the world's best memory and logic skills, will not accept these activities as a substitute for trick or treating. Especially as we have a safe little neighborhood with lots of other trick or treaters.

I never had the opportunity to trick or treat much growing up--we lived in the middle of nowhere, and there was often snow on Halloween. So, I like that my girls get too. But that was back when a costume was pretty much an ugly plastic mask (that the elastic string broke on after wearing it for 15 minutes) and a plasticky smock that tied in the back that you wore over your clothes. I remember walking into the store and looking at the aisle of boxes. Super heroes, clowns, occasional monsters and princesses were the usual selection.

OK, vent over. Just makes this parenting thing a little harder. Do I let my girls freeze their tushies and get too much candy (but be way happy) or keep them warm, take them to a fun party (with some candy) and watch them mope Halloween night?

Maybe I'll get lucky and it will rain. ;-)

Let's hear it for my girl!

Today was a banner day! Sophia has had two wiggly upper teeth for the last month. Today, she came home with 1 in a little baggie. She is way excited about the Tooth Fairy coming tonight, especially as this is her third tooth out. The first one went under her pillow, but the 2nd one got swallowed (oops!).

Here is my girl, with a beautiful toothless grin!

Woo-Hoo! 1st Sentence

Anneliese put three signs together to get her point across. Not oral, but still a sentence. She signed I, the love, then applesauce. Guess what she wanted for breakfast?

I love these milestones, that may seem like small things to the parent of the neuro-typical child. Just one more step on the journey to making herself heard and understood. I am convinced that if we can get a greater level of communication going between Anneliese and ourselves as parents, her tantrums and meltdowns will be cut by half.

Even as overcast as it is, the world seems a bit brighter to me today. :-)

Totally Cool--Dinosaurs!

We took a way cool day trip yesterday, over to the Natural History Museum at the University of Michigan. Little did we know that U of M has the biggest dinosaur exhibit in Michigan. Sophia was chomping at the bit to get over there once she heard where we were going.
























The immensity of the fossils on display was amazing. The first big skeletons you see upon entering the gallery are a mastodon (the smaller one--lived 20 million years ago) and the mammoth (larger, lived 7 million years ago, and is the precursor of the modern elephant).




















Anneliese seemed more amused by the museum than Sophie. She was giggling and running from display to display. This Allosaurus head fascinated her, and I loved this thoughtful pose I caught without knowing it.

















Finally, we saw a "fossil bed " with an Edmontosaurus ( a huge duck-billed dinosaur) and the size again was overwhelming. You can READ that a dinosaur was the size of 2 school buses (or however big it was) but then, when you see the bones, it blows you away. At one point, we stood next to a sauropod leg (I imagine it was an Apatosaurus--formerly brontosaurus) and it was almost twice my height (I'm 6'1"). No wonder Sophia was overwhelmed.

















Well, the day was totally cool, but we had to leave before the tour as the girls were a little overloaded, sensory-wise. I did tell Dave that we needed to go back, just the two of us, as there was so much to explore in the rest of the museum. Yep, I am a total dinosaur nerd, and proud of it!!

How do you do it?

OK, I started to make a calendar last night for a Christmas gift. After finishing my 1st LO, I thought, dang, this is pretty good. Then, I started worrying about what would happen to the LOs after the year is over. And, what about protecting the pages--if the calender were hung in a kitchen, would there be splats and dirt thrown on it from cooking food? And how come there is no way to protect the page? Should I include a 12x12 album to put the LOs in after the year is up? How should I attach the LOs to the calender base without damaging them?

I think I am way too invested here. Who would have thought I would get this involved in my gifts. Last year I made a digital LO brag book for each grandma--cool beans, as I could keep the originals.

Now what? I need to think about this a bit more. I was thinking about getting a digital LO calender made (I use the Top Line Creations Lifetimez software) as I know they have a calender service. But doesn't that defeat the purpose of the cost effective personal gift?

Sigh. Today life isn't quite as good as yesterday. Decisions, decisions. :-(

My kids are seriously cute.

I was just looking at last Halloween pictures and noticed two things.

1. My kids have grown a lot since last year.

2. They are CUTE. Personality plus. Although they look very much like they did last year, so much has changed. Sophie is getting social. Anneliese is getting words (She has 4 now. When you ask her "who's cute" she says "Me.") and a lot more signs that she uses regularly.

I guess some days I forget the good stuff. There are days I don't want to be a special needs mom anymore. I saw a post on Writer Girl's blog (she is also a Sotos mom) stating a similar thing and felt RELIEVED. I felt OK with things after that.

And, the number one thing I keep remembering is that I love these girls the way they are. I celebrate with each little gain and milestone, and stress over any perceived slight. The little quirks that are caused in part by the ASD and Sotos are part of them--parts I love very much. So, no, I guess I wouldn't want to change my children, but I would like the gains to come a little quicker some days.

But, I can deal. And really, with those seriously cute faces, I am finding it easier and easier to do.

Christmas is Coming...

Sigh... I realized today, as I began to plan Christmas gifts for the girls' teachers and aides, that I was acting like the discount stores--planning Christmas before Halloween and Thanksgiving.(Yes, Target is already combining the Christmas and Halloween merchandise.)

So, as I ponder the gift possibilities this year, I want to do more meaningful gifts rather than just rush to the store. I know that Anneliese's teacher has a new grandbaby, so a possible brag book for her. And since this will be the third year of having a child in that pre-school, I don't want to do my usual chocolate/cocoa biscotti basket.

And as far as my folks go, since they are so far away, I want to scrap a photo calender for them. (Yay, a valid excuse to go scrap!) Target had them for $1, and I have enough paper etc for 500 calenders easily. So, I think that tonight I need to organize my scraproom, and get to it. I also want to try a couple little tin/accordion albums, as well as an exploding album.

Yikes! But, this will be fun. We are trying to stay on a budget for Christmas this year, so this is something easy for me to do. Fun, too. But, if I get overwhelmed, you know who you will see shopping on the Sunday before Christmas?

Yep, my husband. I am not going out in that mess. ;-P

So pleased...

Yesterday we went to the 1st Annual autism support group BBQ/picnic. It was at a park, the food was great and there was a lot for the kids to do--both of them painted pumpkins and enjoyed cider and donuts. David took Sophia over to play on the swings/slide/play structure. There were other kids there, and everyone was really friendly when I came up to check on them. I was glad Sophia didn't seem shy around the other children.

I bought a few things at the craft booth, and after eating an awesome BBQ plate, we took the kids home. Last night, Dave and I were talking about the day, and how much fun the girls had. He then told me that when he and Sophie went to the slide, she actually INITIATED conversation with the other kids by introducing herself and asking their names.

Doesn't sound like much, right? Well, maybe not for a neuro-typical child, but for Sophie this was huge. She tends to be very shy and close up around others. I can only credit her month in Kindergarten for the changes so far.

And, Sophia is growing so fast! Her bottom 2 baby teeth have already come out and adult teeth have grown in. Today, I noticed the top two are wiggly. Yikes! And Anneliese has a wiggly tooth on the bottom.

Where does the time go?

Growing up

I created this 2 page LO the other night, after seeing how grown-up my girl is starting to look. Anneliese is getting to be such a big girl! We are up to a few words now--Hi, Bye, Me, Yeah--and she is asking for items with signs. Where did the baby go?

Technically speaking, I know she is a four year old, and not a baby. But with all the physical and verbal delays, she is a year or two behind emotionally. All of a sudden, we have a pre-schooler asserting her independence, and seemingly in the throes of the terrible twos. Yikes!

On the flip side, she is running, jumping, dancing. Her hair is finally growing (thin hair is a Sotos trait) and she has curls and we can do fun things with it. She is cute as a button and loves to play tag with her sister, and ball with anyone she can find.