A little of this, a little of that, and walla...a LOT of RED!

So, that's the new do (unvixed and wind-blown). I don't think the pics do justice to how red it really is, but you get the idea. Just go down a couple of posts to the spring break pics. You'll see the difference pretty easily.

I'm lovin' the cut. I usually hate new hair cuts until about 2 weeks of the 'settle in, what do I do with it' stage. This time, I liked it the very next day. Very easy to fix and actually makes my hair look like it has some semblance of 'umph' to it. The color? Well, I think I like it better than most, but do I wish it had a little less red....uh-huh. But, it'll fade some with each day and each wash. Seriously, my goal was NOT to be a 40-something wishing I was 20-something. I know someone who's hugely that way, and it embarrasses her daughter tremendously. So, no thanks. I let my wrinkles (smile lines thank you) be my not-so-subtle reminder that we really do get older.

41 and Red.....Red?????

Yep, that would be me. I turned 41 years old this weekend. The tulips (my favs) are from Jim. And here are the things I did:

Decided to get my hair cut and had my niece color it...a proud #22, Cinnaberry. It's quite, uhm, RED! Just when I think I'm getting used it, I look in the mirror and a quick, Whoa!! hits me. I've gotten reactions that range from "I think it's sexy" (from my sweet husband); to "It's butt ugly" (thank for the honesty, FIL. Let's work on the tact.). I like it. And I like the cut. I think it brings out my green eyes. Hopefully, I'll get a pic on soon. So, that's that.

Had lunch with a friend. Got to have an afternoon marguerita.

We went out to eat (Thai food, yummy) and bowling with a group of friends, and had a blast. I actually won a game. I still haven't figured out if Jim let me win or not. I only beat him by 1 point. He's normally pretty good, but I guess had a bad 2nd game. He won the first. Thank goodness for me the other bowlers stunk as bad as me, so my measley 124 looked pretty darn good. Thank you, Kathie, for watching the kiddos for us. Hope your knee feels okay! The first thing Ian said the next morning was, "Where's Kaffie?" He loves you! And so do we! And thank you, Jim, for organizing a great time! I love you!

And I got the sweetest card from a dear friend. She and her 4 children came to town and stopped by for a visit recently. In her card she mentioned me as a hero, mainly referencing having our situation and still reaching out to be a friend to others. That is such a huge compliment, especially coming from her. And although I don't see myself that way, I was sooooo encouraged (and needed it). But, we ALL know that parenting, whether it be to typical or special needs, 1 child or 19, biological or adopted or foster, SAH or working, is THE hardest job on the planet. So, to all you moms (and dads)....you are all heroes!

Avery sayings: 1) We were on our way home one night and I informed Jim that he would be sleeping on the futon that night (because he had allergies going, and it keeps me up....we switch off sleeping on the futon when necessary...don't worry, no problems). Anyhoo, Avery heard and said, "But Mommy, then I'M gonna want to sleep with you tonight." BTW - at 2:30am, I hear the sweet little voice. I think she was just waiting til I was too tired to say no.

2) Long story short, I went to the store with Avery. We went in one end of the store. I forgot that we did, and at the end of the shopping, we headed for the other end of the store to leave. So, we walked around the outside of the store to get to the other side. Avery asked why we were walking to the other end. I told her it was because I wasn't thinking straight. She thought a moment and asked, "Were you thinking crooked?" Hey, she knows her opposites!

Spring Break

We're back from the little cabin in the woods. As usual, we had a great time. The disk swing was the hit of the week. That's about all the kids wanted to do. Ian was able to swing on it all by himself this year. He was sooooo proud! And so were we. Avery just wanted to keep going higher and higher. Benjamin just couldn't understand why he couldn't swing on it by himself. He's our independent wanna-be. A dangerous thing!

The kids were also thrilled because we let them all sleep together this year. We did have to get up 2 of the nights to move Ian to the downstairs room cause he woke up and woke the other kids up. He didn't seem to mind too much.

Jim and I were the only ones who got hurt this year, so that was a plus.....sort of. I missed taking some pictures I really wanted to take; like the kids sledding down the hill (of leaves, not snow), and the lake, and the beautiful daffodils. I figure I'll just take some shots of daffodils around here and put them in as if they were taken there. Who'll know?!

So another spring break is done. We've been conspiring with my in-laws about finding some land with a dwelling for us all to buy. They are sooooo incredibly gung-ho. So, if other things that need to happen work out, we'll have our own 'little cabin in the woods' to go to over spring break. (okay, so it won't be as nice as this one, but we'll be just as happy!)

Avery Saying: I was using a curling iron to try to put some curls in Avery's hair. She saw felt how warm the curl was when I let the iron go and the piece of hair whirled to her face. She said, "Mommy, you're cooking my hair."

little cabin in the woods

This morning we leave for our spring break trip to the 'little cabin in the woods', owned by some sweet friends who have allowed us to vacation there at least once a year since Ian was diagnosed. We've made some great memories there. The family picture to the right is from last year.

This year will be just about as much needed as the year Ian was diagnosed....might be a bit exaggerated. We're once again encountering family issues that are just draining us. I won't go into it all, but I am thankful to be getting away someplace we cannot receive a signal. We need to relax.

Ian and Avery are SO STINKIN EXCITED about going. For days they keep asking, "when are we going to the cabin in the woods?" Usually when we go over spring break, it rains. Well we never prepare for it, so the kids rarely get to go play in it because we've only taken one pair of shoes. HA, this year I AM PREPARED...COME ON RAIN! (not the whole time please) I bought the kids rain boots. I decided if it didn't rain, I would just return them. That way I wouldn't feel like I wasted the money. Well, once I got them home and Avery put hers on, I knew I would NOT be taking them back, rain or no rain. She put them on, quickly got her umbrella, and began to dance around in the boots and twirling her umbrella. So cute! She keeps saying, "Mommy, I'm ready to dance in the rain!" This coming from a girl whose first words when it starts raining are "Mommy, is it going to thunder? I don't want it to thunder." So, for their enjoyment I hope they get their rain.

So, I'll return to the blog world once we return to reality and our home-sweet-home. TTFN!

Benjamin....in school?!

We went to the school district evaluation for Benjamin so he could get into the PPCD program at his 3 year birthday next month (yikes, can't believe he'll be 3!). It was such a strange thing to watch him during the evaluation vs. watching Ian at the same evaluation when he was 3 (3 years ago). Benjamin just seems way ahead of what Ian was....except for language. He did things I didn't even think he'd do, and although his attention span was one to be expected of a 2 year old, it was still greater than Ian's attention span at each task. I have to admit, I was wondering how much he was getting 'right' and how much was just 'luck'. Whichever, he was so fun to watch. He was even quite verbal. He definitely qualifies for the program and services under the language umbrella. They are also going to put him as NCEC (or something like that), which is basically like NOS, until time to re-eval for MR or other needs in a few years. So, now we just have to get his ARD scheduled.

The evaluators kept trying to tell me that he would have to go to his 'home district' school because the school where we would transfer him is full in their PPCD program. I kept trying to tell them that I've already talked to the PPCD teacher and they were going to take him. I think they get upset at that. Oh well. I'll survive. Anyway, sure enough, they called during the day to let me know I would just need to get the principal's okay for Benjamin to transfer in. No problem!

Now my emotions. OMG, by the end of April I will have all 3 kids going to school, and all will be going 5 days a week....mixture of 1/2 days and full days. How am I feeling? Not quite sure. I'm thinking I will be crying to see Benjamin going. He's my baby, and we've gotten A LOT of mommy/son time over this last school year with Ian being in school full days and Avery going 3 days a week. Hmm, I guess we'll see soon.

I know I will get used to it. Although I would NEVER in a million years give up my time with my children, it will be kinda nice to be able to concentrate on getting things done I've been wanting to get done around the house, as well as actually following through at putting school things together for the kids to be doing at home. It will also be nice to know I will be able to go to the kids' parties and programs kidless. Benjamin is such a busy-body that I usually don't choose to take him, although he's gone to one party and one program this year (did great at the program, not so great at the party).

That's about it in a nutshell. Oh, I also wanted to brag more on the kids' dentist. I did write them a thank you card. The day I mailed it, I got a card in the mail from them as well.....well it was actually addressed to and written to Benjamin. They were checking up on him and hoping he was doing well. They also wrote in the note that they hoped Mommy was okay too cause I was so worried about him. How awesome (and rare) is that?! (the note, not the worry)

10K

Jim and I did our 10K run together last weekend. It was great fun. Seriously. Jim decided to get us a hotel room so that we (well, I) wouldn't have to get up at 5:00am (which would take me at least an hour to try to do, leave (no getting ready needed), and find a parking place. He's so sweet. I'd love to say he was thinking of me, but truth be told, he probably just didn't want to be late. :) So, we got a room (quite the dump, but served it's purpose) 2 blocks from the starting point. I'm a night runner, so a 7:30am race just doesn't settle well with me. However, to my surprise, I did quite well at waking up and feeling ready to rock.

We met our goal, which was to finish in under an hour. We weren't really too worried about that since we do it in under an hour on our usual runs. I was a bit worried about the role hills would play. There were some, but not as intimidating as I imagined. He kept my pace, but I could tell he was wanting to go faster. So about the last 1/4 mile, I told him to take off. He's now ready to do a half marathon. Actually, he's quite stoked about doing one. He could probably just go out and do one, no problem. Me, well, I'd have to work a bit harder before doing one. But I'm looking forward to it.

After the race we chilled out, took showers, went out to lunch, and picked up the kiddos.

NEWS BULLETIN: IAN JUST CAME UP AND TOLD ME HE WAS READY TO GO TO BED! LOVE THOSE WORDS!

The Worst Morning EVER

Need I say more?

Last Thursday morning. It started out an incredibly good day. I had the 3 kids up, dressed, fed and out the door at 7:30am for Avery's and Ian's 8:00am and 8:30am dentist appointments. All were in good spirits. About 5 minutes after being in the waiting room, Benjamin falls off a chair. So I do the usual...pick him up, cuddle him, then pull him away to check for blood. Usually it's a minor lip cut or scrape. Not this time. There was blood everywhere. I freaked. Long story short, I handed him to a nurse and gathered the other two up to follow. As I handed Benjamin to the nurse, I noticed it looked like he had a hole in his mouth. I ran back to the scene and yep, there's his tooth...the entire tooth, just as if he had had an extraction.

All kinds of things were running through my brain.....why did I bring all three, how long will he be without the tooth, how much pain is he in, how bad am I throwing the dentist office off schedule, oh what a horrible mom I am, and of course, OMG pictures are coming up!

Again, long story short, they asked if I could hold Benjamin. I couldn't because I was about to pass out. So they got me some water, rubbed my back, asked if I'd had anything to eat, and told me not to look at the blood. I'm crying, crying, crying. Then I notice the other 2 are not with me. Freaked again. They had taken them back out front and said the staff was watching them. Okay, that's good. After about an hour of putting pressure on Ben's gums, they managed to somewhat stop the bleeding and get him (and me) calmed down.

In the meantime, they had managed to get Ian and Avery to go back to the room without me for their appointments. When I walked into the room they had already gotten both kids' teeth cleaned....first time Ian's ever let them brush his teeth! They were just trying to get him to lay in the chair when I walked in so they could look at his teeth. I held him on my lap and he was doing good....until the hygenist put her finger in just a bit too far...vomit. I was done with the bodily fluids! Luckily it was just a little and he never pitched a fit.

Ben has managed to recoup. I have to deal with him having a missing tooth for a couple of years. I guess it was a good thing it was one of the boys and not my girl. Looks a bit more natural on a boy.

I just adore the dentist we go to for the kids. There's actually 2 in the office. The one who happened to be there when all the excitement started wasn't even the one they had their appointments with, but she chose anyway to stay and do all she could to get the situation manageable. I wrote them a thank you card today. They are just awesome!