Recent Funnies...

Last weekend, we were in Salem for a wedding and while eating breakfast, Terry's mom had put some preserves on the table. Well, Brent was proceeding to put some on his toast and Janice said, "You're not putting enough of it on there! You need more than that!" To which, Brent replied, "No, cuz jelly is sugar and I don't need that much sugar. I can taste it and it's fine." Of course, she had Sugar Free jelly, so she proceeded to tell him that it was okay to eat more cuz it was sugar free. *eyeroll* Brent just did his own thing. No biggie. But we started talking about ingredients (and he LIKES to look at and read the labels on things) and so he started reading the ingredient list to us:

WATER**, STRAWBERRIES+, POLYDEXTROSE**, MALTODEXTRIN**, FRUIT PECTIN, LOCUST BEAN GUM**, NATURAL FLAVOR **, CITRIC ACID, POTASSIUM SORBATE (PRESERVATIVE), SUCRALOSE (NON NUTRITIVE SWEETENER)**, CALCIUM CHLORIDE**, RED 40**.

He got the 'water, strawberries' okay. Polydextrose he sorta fumbled through. Then he got stuck on maltodextrin and just stopped reading and said, "Oh, so this must be where they started writing it in a foreign language." ROFLMBO! We laughed so hard at his little comment, that was made in ALL seriousness. But how true is it???
-----

Last night Terry informs me that due to a miscalculation on the part of someone he works with, there was a truck coming in and no one would be there to meet it. So, of course, he volunteered to meet the truck. At 4 AM!! *sigh* He got the call when the guy was close to Perryville and said he'd meet him there. So he gets up and gets dressed and leaves for the plant. This morning he informs me that thanks to his being out in the middle of the night, we now have a dead mole in our driveway. ???!?!?!?

Apparently, as he was walking down the driveway, something darted out in front of him from the van tire. He just instinctively kicked it and sent it sailing about 5 or 6 feet. LOL Not knowing if it was dead or not, and based on the size thinking it was a field mouse, he went over to stomp on it. (I know...G.R.O.S.S.) Well, apparently, he raised his right foot up so high that he gained momentum on the 'up swing' and it ended up causing his left foot to leave the ground too and when his right foot came down ON the critter, rather than 'smashing' it, it just rolled. And with the momentum he had and the rolling motion of one foot, then both feet went sailing out from underneath him...and yep, he landed on his butt. (Of course, the boys thought the telling of this story was captivating, but when Terry got to this part, I thought the boys were gonna fall off my bed, they were laughing so hard!)

So the boys went out to see the mole...while I did some online looking for information about it. We had a science lesson! LOL We talked about WHY their bodies are so hard (to the point of 'rolling' when someone stomps on them...) and why their hands are SO HUGE. Their hands are almost comical in how disproportionate they are to the rest of the body. We learned quite a bit about moles... Brent measured this one...it was almost 7 inches long, and the average mole is about 5 1/2 inches long. So this was either a monster mole, or an old one.

What's really odd is that we've seen NO mole tracks in our yard. So we're thinking he just was out venturing for food or whatever, but can't find anything that would tell us how far from their homes or normal tunnel area they would travel.

Very strange, but very comical. :)
----


I have much much more to update on from the past month. Hopefully I can work on that while the boys are in therapy this week and then I can just post it all at once! But right now, it's just past 11 PM on a Saturday night and I have to get some sleep!

When life gets busy

A couple weeks ago, the boys were in Oklahoma for a week, spending the week with my sis and her family. They got to fly on an airplane (for the first time) and really really loved it. They had a lot of fun while they were there, but I know they were certainly glad to be home. LOL And I was truly glad to have them home. It’s nice to get away but it’s really nice to get home. We drove out there at the end of the week for a dual purpose. 1) to get the boys, but 2) to go to a college graduation for a nephew.

The night of the graduation, we went to dinner with the family to celebrate (and what a GREAT place…..Bourbon Street Café! YUM!) and as we were leaving, I (stoopidly!) didn’t remember that there was a step to get into the restaurant, meaning I would have to step DOWN to get out of the restaurant. L Naturally, I fell coming out and twisted my ankle in the process. (I can’t feel too bad, Brent fell too….) Well, of course, there were about 5 people walking by at the same time as me falling, and they just looked at me and said, “Ooo, I bet that hurt!” Ya think???? Of course, I laughed it off and said I was fine. Terry was there with me and was making sure I was okay….he tried to help me up (good husband that he is) and I was so embarrassed and in pain that I kinda bit his head off (which I later apologized for!) and just got up on my own. Oooooo, it hurt. I got to J’s and got my shoe off and it was swelling. L But the fact that I had to walk nearly ½ mile to get to the car was probably a huge help for it…. *sigh* Hello. I’m Amanda and I’m a klutz.

Well, due to there being a congregational meeting at church that Sunday, we decided to leave on Saturday evening to drive home…we didn’t leave OKC till 7:12 Saturday night….we made it home at 3:02 AM, with a 30 minute stop in Springfield. Yes, I flew. Hello. I’m Amanda and my nickname is Mario Andretti.

We went to worship the next morning and stayed for potluck and the meeting and then came home and crashed. Literally. We slept and didn’t wake up….well, we missed church that night. But we had gone on very little sleep in the previous 3-4 days, so I know we needed it.

The next day (Monday) started our therapies in St Louis for the boys with Dr Worth’s office. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday each week now we will be driving to St Louis and the boys will be getting their therapies. So far, we haven’t been given our ‘home work’ to do on the other 3 days of the week, but I’m told that will start soon. They want to get the boys going on the beginning parts of it and then add things slowly. We’re at the office for about an hour (for now) each time we come up. (In fact, I’m sitting in one of the consult rooms as I type this while the boys are doing their thing.)

I’m trying to find the positives in all this…this 3 hours a week of me being able to do nothing but sit in the office. I’m trying to use this time to work on my Ladies class Bible study. Last week, I used part of the time to organize pictures for National Scrapbook Day this past Saturday. I used another day to work on typing in recipes for people on Facebook that have asked for them. (I’ll also post them here.) I will most likely bring up some crocheting this week too, to make the wash cloths I’ve promised as a prize for the American Idol contest I’m a part of each year on PaperbackSwap.com. I can make one wash cloth in about 2-3 hours, so I figure between the next week or so and perhaps weekends, I can get them done with no problem. (Fact is, I’ve procrastinated terribly about this…I promised them as a prize before AI started this season, so it’s my own fault for not having them done yet.) It’s just so hard to spend 2 ½ to 3 hours a day in the van (driving) and not get tired. I decided last week to get a couple books on CD so we could listen to them as we drive. We started one today…I’ll write a review when we’re done with it. Hopefully I can find more that are appropriate for the boys to hear….there just aren’t that many at our library! LOL (So if anyone has any suggestions for some good ones that are free, please let me know!!)

Last Friday was a bit wild for us. Well, for me and the boys at least. We had what I've heard some call a hurricane come through our area! LOL I know it was really a tornadic system, but there've been some reports of the winds being hurricane strength and the fact that the tornado around our area was so large in size and never touched down is making them call this one differently. The boys and I had errands to run on Friday morning, but there were a couple of storms then, so we waited till the radar looked clear. We first went to the library and only spent about 30 minutes there (where Brent decided to do some reading and a report on "gold" so we looked for books on that subject!) and as we were leaving the library, the sirens went off. So we're driving through town and I'm trying to figure out the best place to go, while C is in the back seat saying "I wanna go home...I wanna go home" and B is there saying, "Mom, you gotta find somewhere." "Mom, where you gonna go?" "Mom?" !!!!! I was frantically trying to find my cell phone to call Terry, but no luck there. Then I was going down main street and saw a tree had blown over and then right in front of me, one of those white plastic lawn chairs was spinning in circles about a foot off the ground. I knew then I HAD to find somewhere to go. So we hid out in the eye dr's office! LOL We were there when the electricity went out and stayed about 30 minutes. After we left, we worked our way across town to go home (No one had electricity in the whole town, which is odd in itself, and so no businesses were open. There was no point in staying out in the fray.) and passed many many trees that were down...blown over from the roots up. Large trees. Old trees. Truly astonishing. There were bits of roofs all over the place and our wonderful people in town were standing around taking pictures instead of helping people! Ugh. Ya gotta love po-dunk towns.

Anyway, we got home (after having to take 2 detours cuz of the trees across the roads) and found that we only had one shingle off the house and sticks and debris in our yard. There was grass and leaves literally plastered to the siding of the house, but no other damage. Of course, we didn't have electricity, but that's no big deal. Or so we thought! LOL Our electricity didn't come back on until 9:30 that night! But it did us good to have no light....no TV, no radio, no Wii, nothing. Just us and ourselves. LOL We went out to dinner, of course, and the restaurants were packed. But even that was dealable.

This week, we also have TKD and ball practice for C, and B has his first baseball game on Thursday (actually, it’s the second, but the first one was rained out). Well, this will be our schedule for the next several weeks, but whatever. We’ll get used to it! This weekend, we also have Cory’s college graduation, so we’re traveling to Salem. I’m kinda looking forward to it….we’ve not been in in quite a few weeks, but I know that Clayton isn’t gonna enjoy it as much as he normally would, simply due to the constant traveling and being away from home these last couple of weeks. I’ll just have to really watch him and make sure that he gets some ‘down time’ with me each day to refocus. It will all be well.

I told terry the other night that I feel like a ‘working woman’….I feel like I have a part time job right now. We’re never home and I’m planning my meals out well in advance, plus I’m having to plan my cleaning and laundry as well. I’m just not used to that! LOL I’ve always respected the many working moms/wives, but it’s been so long since I’ve done it that I’ve forgotten how to do it. Plus I don’t think I did that good of a job when I did it before, anyway. LOL It’s just so hard to keep it all clean and be gone all the time…when what we want to do when we’re home is crash and go to bed! LOL Oh well, we’ll adjust!

Time to go….they are done with therapy. Time to get back in the van and drive home so we can continue with this day. Maybe I can get some house cleaning done to get caught up on the mess that was created over the weekend!

Hello. My name is Amanda and I'm exhausted. :-)

Requested Recipies

Recently, I began my 3-month meal planning strategy and posted here about it...also posted about it on Facebook. Well, I had many who requested some of those recipes, and after finally getting them posted over there, I decided to post them here too in case anyone else could benefit from them! ;)

Almond Chicken

2 c rice
½ T Butter
½ chopped onion
Chopped celery
3 c. cooked chopped chicken breast
1 c mayo
1 c cream chicken soup (small can)
½ c. slivered almonds
Crushed cornflakes and butter

Make rice and set aside. Sauté onion and celery. Combine chicken, rice, onion and celery in casserole dish. Stir in mayo and soup, then almonds. Top with cornflake mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


Creamy Broccoli Chicken

1 can cream of broccoli soup
1 bag chicken breast (frozen, skinless, boneless)
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 cup milk

Place chicken breasts in crock pot and cover with frozen broccoli and soup. Cook for a few hours. Add milk during the last 30-45 minutes of cooking time. Serve over rice.


Ravioli Lasagna

Frozen Cheese Ravioli (need between 1 and 2 bags)
Spaghetti sauce (either jarred or homemade…)
Hamburger, cooked and drained
Mozzarella cheese

Cook ravioli according to package directions and drain. Add meat to sauce and warm through. Layer meat sauce, ravioli, and small amount of moz cheese in casserole dish. Repeat until dish is full. Top with meat sauce and a layer of cheese. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes until bubbly….let set for about 10 minutes and serve with garlic bread.

**The cheese ravioli takes care of two steps here…the noodles and the ricotta cheese mix. It’s not perfect like regular lasagna, but is a good quick version. Terry says it's not as good as my homemade regular lasagna, but he'll take it when he has to. LOL


Ritzy Chicken

2 sleeves Ritz Crackers
1 can cream chicken soup
1 c sour cream
½ c chicken broth
4-6 cooked and diced chicken breasts
4 oz melted butter

Crumble 1 sleeve crackers and pour in casserole dish. Drizzle with ½ of the melted butter. Combine chicken, soup, sour cream and broth; pour over crackers. Repeat bottom layer on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees.


Cheesy Chicken

6-7 chicken breasts (about 1 3-lb bag frozen)
Salt, pepper garlic powder
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup

Put chicken in crock pot and cover with soup mix. Cook several hours until done.
Serve with rice or noodles.


Chicken Rice w/ Green Beans

3 lb bag frozen chicken breasts
1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream mushroom soup
2 cans water
1 package dry onion soup mix
Frozen veggies (carrots, peas, corn, beans, etc)

Place veggies in crock pot on bottom. Cover with chicken. Mix liquids and pour over chicken. Cook for several hours, until chicken is done. Serve with rice.


Nacho Cheese Chicken

3 lb bag frozen chicken
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
1 can nacho cheese soup
1 small can green chiles

Place chicken on bottom of crock pot and pour combined ingredients over top. Cook till chicken is done, serve over noodles.


Aroz con Pollo

4 chicken breast halves (or 6-7 skinless boneless chicken breasts; about a 3 lb bag)
1 onion
1 small red pepper
Garlic
Rosemary
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all other ingredients but peas and pour over chicken. Cook till chicken is done. About one hour before ready to serve, thaw peas and add to mix. Allow to cook that one hour and serve over rice.


Italian Chicken Spaghetti

1 can tomato sauce
6-7 chicken breasts (1 3 lb bag)
1 sm can tomato paste
3 T water
Garlic
Oregano
4 oz mozzarella cheese

Put chicken in crock pot and cover with sauce mix. After cooked, remove chicken and stir in cheese to melt. Serve chicken and sauce over hot spaghetti noodles.


Chicken Cacciatore

1 lg onion, thinly sliced
3 lb bag chicken breasts
2 cans tomato paste
4 oz sliced mushrooms
Garlic and oregano and celery seed

Place onions in crock pot and cover with chicken. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook for several hours till chicken is done and serve over hot noodles.


King Ranch Casserole

1 can cream chicken soup
1 can cream celery soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can Rotel
1 onion, chopped
5-6 (or more) cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 bag Doritos chips

Mix chicken with canned ingredients and pour in casserole dish. Bake for about 20 minutes until bubbly. Crush Doritos and pour over during the last 10 minutes….watch that the Doritos don’t burn, because they will burn quickly! :)

3 Months of Meal Planning

I have taken the time to organize our calendar for the next 3 months and here is a bit of what I have. :)

I have them all written on the calendar, including several that are 'new' to us. I'd be happy to share recipes for anything you'd like! :) I'm listing the meals and basically just know that I am rearranging them each month so that we only have *most* of them one time per month. (I say *most* cuz "Hamburger Helper" is on each month a couple times, simply cuz we LOVE it! LOL There's a particular flavor that my boys really like and it's a pretty cheap meal for us. :))

Each of these meals is written on a 3z5 card that is tucked away in a drawer. When I need to meal-plan, I just pull out this stack and randomly pull meals from the stack and stick them on a calendar. Then when it's time to grocery shop for that week, I look at what's on the menu and pull those cards out and write down what I need from the store for them. That way it serves 2 purposes: 1) I know I will have everything on hand when it's time to cook it and 2) shopping is much easier cuz I've taken the time to make a good list, therefore not as much impulse buying...saving me money! :)

Now, I was asked "what happens when you get to a meal and don't feel like cooking it that night?" No biggie. For me (typically) I will simply bump that night's dinner to another night that week ...and basically swap them. But I still have to cook that original dinner sometime that week. (I say typically, cuz for us right now these will be what HAS to be cooked for those particular nights due to schedule situations. If we're gonna be out all day, I will need a meal that is crock-pot-able. LOL)

Also, if it's a Crock Pot recipe or an item that I will use the Crock Pot for, I'm putting a "CP" by it....

Sloppy Joes
Stroganoff
Beef Pot Pie (homemade)
Turkey breast (CP)
Spaghetti
Foil Packets
Almond Chicken (CP)
Ravioli
Lasagna
Tater Tot Casserole
Creamy Broccoli Casserole
Cheesy Chicken (CP)
Cube Steaks
Ritzy Chicken
Pork Roast (CP)
Chicken Rice with Green Beans (CP)
Burritos
Taco Salad
Nacho Cheese Chicken (CP)
Aroz con pollo (CP)
Chicken Cacciatore (CP)
Italian Chicken Spaghetti (CP)
Beans and Cornbread
Pizza (frozen of course!) LOL
Breakfast

Now, some others that I have on cards that I am not including this time:

King Ranch Casserole
Fried Chicken
Burgers
Lasagna (regular)
Stir Fry
Pork Steaks
Veggie Soup
Chili
Ham
Gumbo

Any questions or thoughts please let me know! :)

The boys are away....

The boys left yesterday to fly out to spend a week with J...mom and dad flew with them. They were SO excited to get to fly...both mom and dad, and the boys! LOL They had a fabulous flight and really enjoyed the taking and landing. So far they are having a lot of fun playing and spending time at the park. Apparently (B called me this afternoon) while playing at the park, he had a couple of mishaps with a stick and another with a slab of concrete. :( He says he's okay and isn't hurting, but Terry and I think he's 'being tough.' :)

We will be going out there at the end of the week for a graduation and also to get the boys...I'm already ready to get them! LOL I've never had trouble like this before when they've gone away, but I know much of it is the distance. But also, I think it has to do with knowing and understanding C at this time. I know that it will all be okay.

I know that many have been reading about the recent 'developments' on Clayton and some we've talked to about it. I've heard all kinds of comments from "he's really not that off" to "I never would have guessed" to "Clayton? On the autism spectrum?? No way." Well, one thing to keep in mind is that just because he has these tendencies of Asperger's or PDD-NOS, doesn't mean he's Rainman (thanks Lee for the analogy! LOL). Asperger's is a high-functioning part of the ASD. Within the ASD there are MANY many variations, and also within Asperger's there are many variations as well. So it's important to keep in mind that even though many of you may not see some of the traits when you're around him, if you will give me a few minutes (if you're interested) I can explain it to you and take you through a step-by-step description of it all. And also, while he has these tendencies, he isn't by any means a most severe case of an Aspie. (It's much like saying, "I have high blood pressure." Okay, well, how high is high?? "Well, mine is 142 over 94." Oh, that's not that big a deal...you can't really tell it. That's nothing...I know someone whose blood pressure is 195 over 115!..... See? Just cuz it's not he worst case scenario doesn't invalidate it. :))

I don't mean this to be a 'smack' on anyone at all. I just think it's important to understand everything and not discount some of it. Ya know??

This week I have many things I want to accomplish. Here's the current list:

• I want to come up with a crock-pot menu for the next 6-8 weeks so that when we're starting therapy and all the driving (along with the baseball practice and games and Tae Kwon Do and weekend traveling for weddings and graduations) I can know from day to day what I'm cooking and what I have to shop for...and not have to even think about it.
  
• I also want to find the disc that has all of our picture files from the old computer on it...so I can get them printed off for National Scrapbook Day (so exciting that I get to go!!!). I'll be working that day on Brent's scrapbook and need to get some pictures printed for it.
• Another project I'd like to get done is to get a few weeks ahead on my Bible class lessons so I won't feel stressed on that front and I will be prepared.
  
• I'm also hoping to clean out my pantry (which desperately needs cleaning out!)...but that one was just added to my list today. I have to contact the State of Alaska and start the process of getting my birth certificate sent to me so I can renew my license this June...ugh, Missouri is a PAIN for making us having to have that when I didn't even have to have that to get married!
• It would be *nice* to get my carpets shampooed while I have no little feet running around when the carpet's wet and needing time to dry. I just don't know if this one is going to get accomplished.
• Not to mention all the cleaning and laundry that needs washed/folded...but that's a never-ending chore, right??
• Another thing that would be nice to accomplish would be to finish painting the kitchen/hallway, but I *really* don't think I will get that one done. LOL
• I also have three appointments this week. And Friendship Sister's on Tuesday, which I do NOT want to miss!

Do you think I could cram anything else in these next 4 1/2 days??? Hehe

Next weekend while we're in OK we'll also be celebrating Brent's birthday with both sides of the family for the very first time! He's VERY excited and I can't wait to post pictures! :)

Learning about Asperger's

Last Saturday when I was blessed to have some time at Barnes & Noble, I did some reading on Asperger's just to have the knowledge. So much of what I read I was sitting there saying, "Have they been in my house watching what we're doing??" LOL It's amazing!

One of the books I read from beginning to end was Asperger Syndrome & Difficult Moments by Brenda Smith Myles & Jack Southwick. Here is an excerpt from it that I copied down, mainly due to its relevance to our situation.
---

The Rage Cycle

Rumbling Stage
~ Signs: Fidgeting, name calling, tensing, increase/decrease of voice volume
~ Intervention: Antiseptic bouncing, touch control, walk & don’t talk, cool zone
a. Antiseptic Bouncing – redirecting actions for a couple of minutes to allow diffusing.
b. Touch Control – touch or being in close proximity can let the child know you’re aware of the situation and allows them time to regain control. Sometimes this can work with just a look across the room.
c. Walk & Don’t Talk – often talking with them isn’t the answer since they can’t express exactly what they are feeling. Just walking with them or holding them for a minute without the expectation to communicate verbally helps them feel secure and reconnected.
d. Cool Zone – create a place in the house or environment that is a safe zone for them to go and focus, cool off, and/or regroup. This give them control of the situation when they often feel no power or control.

Rage Stage
~ Signs: impulsive actions, emotional, explosive, destructive, screaming, hitting, kicking, internalizing
~ **Adult behavior can escalate the crisis – yelling at them, assuming you know what they are thinking or doing, tense body language, sarcasm, nagging, mimicking, insisting the ‘adult is right’.
~ Intervention: remove the audience, get to a cool zone, be flexible (because the child can’t be right now)
~ **Effective Adult Behavior – try to control the ‘fight or flight’ tendency, remember less is more, calm and quiet, deep breaths.

Recovery Stage
~ Signs: sleeping, denial of rage behaviors, apologizing, withdrawal to fantasy world.
~ Interventions: support with structure, don’t continue to reference the rage behavior, give them space, go back to learning slowly (when during school time).
~ **Counter-control is common – if they feel someone trying to be controlling of them they react by being more in control (and often getting themselves in trouble for it).

Teachable moments are at the Rumbling Stage or AFTER the Rage Stage. They can’t learn and understand a teachable moment during the Rage Stage.

NOTE: Aspies don’t enjoy this Rage Cycle. It’s the way their bodies express stress and cope with problems for which they see no other solutions or that they don’t understand.

The best intervention to rage is prevention…through understanding and redirection or restructuring.

Tips for living with an Aspie
~ Parents should have a LASTing word. Many times parents feel they need to have the last word of an argument, but Aspies also have this need to talk even when no one is listening. So instead of making sure you have the last word, make sure your word is a LASTing word. Make sure that what you say is what you mean and follow through with it.
~ Have special 1-on-1 time with the siblings so they can share their feelings and thoughts on the situation. They often have helpful insights for the parent.
~ Have a consistent daily routine.
~ Have a consistent bedtime – this is very important for an Aspie, as their body needs a certain amount to shutting-down-time in order to function properly.

------

As I was reading that, I was just completely humbled at how we (Terry and I) have probably contributed (unknowingly) to some of the meltdowns/outbursts by not realizing how our behavior was escalating his feelings and behavior. And the counter-control? Yeah, all the time. He gets this overly bossy attitude when you back him in a corner and he starts acting all like HE'S the one in control, when if you look close you can see he's really on the edge. *sigh* So much information to take in and absorb!

Last night, I went out with Brent for a little "Mommy Date"...after dinner we went out for ice cream so I could talk to him about all of this. (I am doing the same thing for Clayton tonight.) I explained all of it to him and he asked questions as we went along. One thing that he asked, after we'd been talking about how it's a problem inside the brain that is making things not work right, was "What part of the brain isn't working right?" So I got out a pen and drew on a napkin for him the pictures that Dr. Worth had drawn for us to show him how it all works. It was so interesting how he wanted to know the details so he could understand it. (Such a good big brother!)

One thing that I didn't expect was for him to feel bad. At one point I asked him what he was thinking or feeling about it all and he said sad. I asked him why and he said, "Cuz all this time I've been yelling at him and getting mad at him for doing the stuff he does just to find out that he couldn't help it." Awwww. Of course, I talked with him and let him know that Terry and I did the same things...and that we all do things based on what we think should be happening, but then we find out later that that person had no control over it. It happens and no one is in trouble over it, we just have to be more aware of it from now on and do better. I dearly love that child! He's more grown up for his 8 years of life than some adults!

Tonight (like I said) I'm going out with Clayton and explaining it to him. I won't be able to go into as much detail, but I'm hoping I can explain things to him in a way that helps him to feel better about it all. At this point, I am hoping to give him some ideas on coping skills and ways to deal with himself. We shall see! :)

My surprise on Saturday...

On Saturday morning, I had a baby shower to attend for a girl at church. Such fun! She's having a baby girl and it was just so much fun to get together with all the ladies from church and visit and shower a friend with gifts! Well, when I was leaving, I called the house to let Terry know I was on my way home (like I always do) and B answered. I was told that dad was doing dishes and I was to go 'occupy myself at Barnes and Noble for a couple hours' cuz they weren't done with their errands. Well, okay!! LOL I'm not gonna turn down a chance to hit B&N!

So I went on into Cape and went to the Health Food Store where I found some powdered Vitamin C and also some Essential Oils so I could do some things for Clayton. Then I hit B&N so I could do some research. I got me a frappucino (sp?) and sat at a table for nearly 2 hours reading!! What pleasure! I hit Bath & Body Works too, since I'm NEVER in the mall alone! Oooo, so much fun to go in and smell the new stuff....It's been nearly a year since I've been there. When I left the mall, I called the house and asked if I could come home yet. Terry said they had just gotten home and I could go ahead and make the drive.

I arrive home and the boys met me at the van door and tell me I can't go in yet...they weren't quite ready! So I wait outside and when it's time, I walk in and see the living room is completely clean and the kitchen is clean (minus a few dishes...but come on, I left a TON of dishes that I didn't even expect would have been washed at all, let alone stacked on the counter...so cool!). Plus, there was this on the table:

Along with dinner, which consisted of grilled steak and shrimp kabobs, rice, and veggies. Terry even helped me clean up the dishes after we were finished too! ;) Sweet!

It was truly a blessing to just get to go off by myself for a few hours and decompress and research some things. I had no one asking me questions, no one bugging me, and it was really refreshing!

See, when I least expect it, he really surprises me! LOL

Pics from Sweetheart Banquet in Feb

Back in February, on Valentine's Day, the Junior Youth group held a "Sweetheart" Banquet for the 'grandparents' of our congregation...we asked them to be our sweetheart for the evening. The kids got to sing their Pew Packers songs and visit with several of the members of our congregation.

Above, 2 of the couples that sat at "our" table...the one we decorated... The couple on the right is our new minister, Edd Sterchi, and his wife Julie. (A very DEAR couple, indeed!)

Above left: you can see an overview of how the fellowship room was decorated for the evening.

Above right: a shot of our table with our three couples (before they got fed!!). LOL

Brent volunteered to offer the prayer before the meal...a very proud moment for this mama!! He always prays such heartfelt prayers!

For the dinner (salad, lasagna, bread, and corn) the kids got to do all the serving. They carried glasses (as you can see Clayton is doing) back and forth to the kitchen for filling, they served the bread to each table, and delivered the plates of food to each person at their own respective table. We, as parents, are so proud of these kids!! Remember, this is the junior youth (ages 3 or 4 all the way to 11 or 12, I think) and we were using our best china and crystal for the dishes on the tables. Not one dish or glass was broken throughout the entire evening!! It was fantastic. And as you can see above with Brent, they had plenty of time to visit with the members of their table, which was good too...many times the kids don't take the time to visit with the older members of the church.

Above: during a bit of downtime, we decided to play a game with the attendees. We played Trivia, which is always fun. (Of course, I flubbed it up a bit and had a couple of the answers wrong, but whatever! LOL) While we were doing that and cleaning up the kitchen a bit, the kids came into the classrooms to make a card for the people at their table. And they also got to have a snack...they had been working really hard! :)

Above: when they got done with their projects, they came out and had cake with the attendees. (I don't know what to call them and I don't want to keep calling them 'older folks'...cuz they certainly aren't old!!) It was fun for all....

You can see above the kids got to 'perform' for everyone, doing their Pew Packers songs. If you look at the faces of some of the kids, they are making the goofiest faces when they do the songs that have movements! But they had SO much fun and the parents and grandparents really enjoyed it!

(Except for Clayton that is...He spent his time in the bathroom hiding with what we assumed was stage fright. This last picture above was the only shot with him singing and it was at the very end....)

I think one of the other kids was supposed to do the closing prayer but backed out at the last minute...so Brent gave that prayer as well. And he was oh so humble about it too....rolling his eyes, saying, "Guess I'll have to do this one too." LOL Big goober! He did a good job. They all did. We had SO many compliments about how well the kids did and how fun the adults had.

I think this may actually become an annual thing!!

Our recent Dr. Worth visit

Last Thursday, we went to see Dr. Worth again for the reevaluation and consultation. We knew things were worse with C...and kinda figured B had stayed about the same. (If you need a refresher on it, check here from last year.)

We started out just updating files and Hope took C off to start the testing. Then they took B. While the boys were gone, Dr. Worth came in and talked with us and we just gave him a verbal update on C. We told him about the panic attacks, and when we'd noticed them starting (November). We discussed his bowel issues and how he's on a laxative for 6 months to 'clean him out'...which I explained bothered me some cuz of the unnaturalness of it. (His suggestion was to use powdered Vitamin C...cuz really the only negative effect of too much V-C is diarrhea. So when we reach that point, back off a little. Nice! :)) We talked about how he has lost weight...5 pounds since October. That's just TOO much on a little scrawny thing like Clayton.

Dr. Worth explained that what happens neurologically when you have a panic attack is that it creates havoc and causes the digestive system to shut down. So whether it is the bowels, the stomach, the esophagus, ...it doesn't matter. It makes that part of the body begin to shut down as a preservation. It has to do with that 'fight or flight' issue. So, all these pains in C's chest and constipation issues that he's been fighting for so long are pretty much explained.

We also discussed the night terrors...and the fact that they have decreased in frequency since this started happening in November. He still has them occasionally, but basically they are fewer and farther between. So, I asked Dr. Worth if the night terrors are basically manifesting themselves into the daytime through the panic attacks...and he agreed.

When he went over the testing results with us, it showed that C is even worse in several of the areas than last year. It was one of those tests where the lower the score, the better you are and on C's results his score was already high from last year, but was almost 2 times last years' score. So he's definitely seeing an increase in intensity of the issues at hand, as well as new stuff in the form of the panic attacks and outbursts.

It seems too, that his sensitivity to sound and touch are worsening as well. He seems to have a harder time focusing and 'blocking out' the noises and will even in church hold my hands over his ears during the singing, saying it's too loud and bothers him. And touch: sometimes just the lightest touch on his skin seems to send him down the path of severe irritation..while at other times he's seeking touch in another way.

We're seeing more of (due to the panic attacks) him retreating within himself. It's almost as if he shrivels away and goes into a fetal position and sometimes will cover his head with a blanket. He never wants to be too far away, but he wants to be by himself. And sometimes (when he doesn't have those other things to cover himself with) you can see just this blank look go over him and it's like he's just 'gone away' mentally.

As we were talking, I brought up to Dr. Worth what I had talked with Hope about and our suspicions of C having Asperger's. I told him that I had done some research on it and while he doesn't fit the diagnosis criteria completely he does fit it about 90%. Dr. Worth agreed that C has strong tendencies of having Asperger's or PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified). However, one thing he didn't want to do was to officially write the diagnosis in C's chart due to the long-term effects that that labeling can have. He described how he has seen people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) get an official diagnosis, so that the parents can have insurance 'help' and what happens is that the premiums double due to the added cost of care for the child. And then later in life (adulthood) the child (who's now an adult) has trouble getting his own insurance because of the history and also has trouble getting a job or getting into the military...simply due to a diagnosis being written down in his chart. Especially if the diagnosis is a mild form of ASD or a high-functioning ASD (which Asperger's is)...one that can allow the person great levels of living a normal life once they learn the coping skills needed. Plus, he thinks that with the therapies he's planning, C's will get quite a bit better...to the point that the average person won't think anything is amiss. And he did say that if, at that time, we still have issues and still think that we need an official diagnosis to get some additional help, he'd be more than happy doing that for us.

Well, we've decided to go ahead with the therapies that Dr. Worth has set out for us. One of them is Interactive Metronome which is a type of rhythm connecting treatment that creates pathways in the brain and does this enough that the proteins create a permanent pathway. Another is Hemi-Stem, which we don't know much about yet. With C, Doc thinks he's going to switch some things out and try a different therapy (than we had discussed last year). This one sounds really cool. It basically has a helmet or hat that he'll wear and it has sensors inside it. C will 'play a game' on a TV, but has to think the movements in order to get the computer to do what he wants. He will have to command it mentally to do things. I think it will be cool when he figures it out. But Dr. Worth thinks this one is more appropriate for him now since he's been having the panic attacks. These therapies will require 3 trips to St. Louis to Dr. Worth's office per week for 14-18 weeks and we start the first week of May.

On top of it all, these therapies are not covered by insurance...so please pray that God provides during this time!! LOL We have faith that He will, as He always has, but you know how it gets.... just a little worrisome! :-)

We have great respect for Dr. Worth and great trust as well that he knows what he's talking about. He seems very sincere and it's obvious that he cares about his patients and wants to see them get 'brain healthy' again. It's gonna be a long road, but we'll make it!

A few new things...

Not much new has been happening, but a couple of things have.

After the normal process within the church, Terry (along with 5 other men) is now a deacon at the Jackson church. He and these other men join the existing 'crew' of 8 men doing the work of deacons at our congregation. He's so humble about it all, which is how it should be. It was funny last weekend. We were talking with the boys about how church service was going to go and how it would be different from the normal service... Brent said, "Yeah, I know..daddy gets to become a deacon!" I said, "That's right-" Brent continued as if I hadn't spoken, "I'm so glad he doesn't have to work at TG anymore!" I asked him what he meant and he replied, "Well, being a deacon is gonna take so much time and work that he won't be able to work for TG anymore!" So of course, I discussed this all with him and explained that people who are elders or deacons are like the preachers, in the sense of them being paid for their work. I just thought it was interesting. LOL

But then it dawned on me (in the middle of the service, no less!~) that I'm a deacon's wife now! LOL I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before, but I guess I had just focused on Terry though it. Who knows. Anyway, it's a humbling thing.

The other thing happening is that we are heading to St Louis tomorrow morning to see Dr. Worth again for the boys. Primarily, this is a reevaluation from last year, since we didn't do the therapy that was suggested to us. However, there are also the other symptoms and signs that we're seeing with C that we want to talk about. And it's these symptoms that make us more and more assured that he needs these therapies and so we're going. Hopefully, we'll know more tomorrow night.

March is Gone!

Well, March is now gone and I haven't given any real updates all month long! What a weird and crazy month it was too.

We started the month out with a follow-up appointment for C with the dr regarding his tummy/bowel issues. The Dr. Mark suggested we stay on the laxative for another 3 months to make sure that things are where they need to be. He didn't do an X-ray this time, which kinda bugged me. C's been nearly impacted through all this so far and he said it could take up to 6 months to clear it! So I'm assuming he'll do another x-ray in June when we go back. However, we did ask him about the sick feeling C's been complaining of for some time now. Every time he eats, he says he feels sick and can't eat. So he's been eating less and less, yet when he does eat, we try to get him to eat the right things. *sigh* Mark put him on Zantac pills for 2 weeks. We got a week into them and couldn't do it anymore. They were causing more of an issue to get him to swallow the pills than what it was worth. So for now, we're just waiting and seeing what we can do.

On the 11th of the month, we were preparing to go to Salem for a week (Terry's week off for the quarter). The plan was to leave on Thursday evening and be gone about a week. Well, Brent started running a fever on Wednesday morning. Very low, but fever. Then on Friday, Clayton starts running a fever. Same thing...very low. I finally took Brent to the Dr to have him tested for strep (since we'd been exposed) and they also tested him for the Flu. He was negative for both, thankfully. They just continued to run fever and we kept having to postpone our trip. Well, on Sunday morning, they both woke up without fever so we went to church and then left for Salem.

That Monday, Terry took us all out to the woods so he could cut some logs and do some trimming. It was fun...Clayton found a 'little brown jug' in the woods that was completely in tact. He kept tipping it up and saying he was a pirate! LOL We loaded the truck with wood and went back to the house. A cousin came to play with the boys that evening and I cooked dinner for everyone....fried chicken breast, cabbage, hash brown casserole, etc. Yummy dinner! Then the boys came in and asked us to take a hike with them...so the four of us set out across the field. We walked down across the hay field and back to the house...about a mile. It was pretty much dark by the time we got back, but it felt good to walk outside!

The next morning, I woke up not feeling so great, but figured it was just allergies... My throat was dry and it hurt to swallow. But we went through the day visiting with Janice and just getting things done. That night we went to D's for dinner and had a good visit with her, but as the night went on I just kept feeling worse and worse. I had Terry check my throat...sure enough: WHITE. He said there was more white than pink in my throat. :( So the next morning I started calling around trying to get an appointment to get some meds, and what a chore that was! I really didn't want to go to the ER, as our copay was higher, especially when I knew what was wrong! I finally found an office that would take me and got some meds. Just so happened the Nurse Practitioner I saw was an old buddy of Terry's from high school! :) So while I layed on the table in misery, they got to sit there and catch up on old times. LOL

Well, that was on Wednesday and my fever didn't break until Thursday night. After we got back home. :( So much for a 'spring break', huh?? But boy it felt good to get home...I really wanted to come home on Tuesday, but Terry was making so much progress getting some things done on the farm that I hated to ask him to bring me home. I just sat in the recliner bundled up and watched TV in between naps.

Friday of that week (the 13th) we had a junior youth activity at the church building so that the parents could have a Parents Night Out. We and another couple were chaperone's for the youth group and we ended up turning it into a mini-lock-in for them. It was so much fun...relay races, pizza, games, musical chairs, movie, and the cotton bowl! (This one was really fun...we gave each of them 10 cotton balls and a plastic spoon. Had them divided into two teams and spread them out around a great big bowl. They had to 'flip' their cotton balls into the bowl with their spoon, and continue till all team members' cotton balls were in the bowl. Really quite fun! :))

The next day, Saturday, my cousin came up for a visit and we got to spend the entire day just sitting and visiting. Ahh.... Terry grilled some steaks and we ate and had a great time. We haven't gotten to sit and visit like that in so long....It really was a treat.

Sunday afternoon, the Junior Youth was scheduled to sing at the local Veteran's Home in Cape. They sang some of their Pew Packers songs and did a really great job. The veteran's really enjoyed it.

[Side-note here.... I mentioned before about C saying he felt sick to his stomach. Well, he has also been complaining about his heart beating really fast and it kinda freaks him out. He holds his hand over his heart and just sits there. Well, I've timed his heartbeats and they are within normal range, but it's beating really hard, to the point that it is really pounding in his chest. Terry and I had been toying with the idea that it is almost like panic attacks. So we're at the Veteran's Home and all seems to be well with him...he's chatting with his friends and seems fine. Then it's time to go in and sing....he won't let go of Terry's hand. Terry finally convinces him to hold Brent's hand, but he wouldn't sing and his face was really pale. Well, then they started doing the action songs and Brent let go of C's hand. Clayton quickly put his hand over his heart and just stood there. He was having a panic attack. :( We're really concerned over it all...and just not sure what to do with it. It bugs me though, cuz he's SIX! My 6 yo shouldn't be having panic attacks!]

At the end of the last week of March, we had our home school convention in St. Louis. The boys stayed with mom and dad and had a Lord of the Rings marathon. :) They really enjoyed that! Terry and I enjoyed the convention, but it wasn't as good (for us) as years past. We're thinking that perhaps we don't need to go every year, unless we have a specific need.

The first of April, B had an appointment for his palette expander and we were told NOT to turn it anymore...he gets it off on June 3rd!! ;) Woohoo! Brent is SO happy that he will finally be able to chew gum again! LOL

This past weekend, we had our Gospel Meeting at church with Phil Sanders of Edmond, OK. Phil preaches now at the Edmond Church of Christ and we were so blessed to have him with us. He spoke a couple of different times on post-modernism and it was very eye-opening. Wow.

That brings me up-to-date! Whew... The next few weeks are going to be even busier than these last ones...hopefully I won't get so far behind on blogging. LOL Now, I have to go cook something for dinner cuz Brent has his first baseball practice at 6:30 tonight! :)

We're going again...

PS I have some pictures I hope to post later this week...it will be a post full of pics! :)

What they say and do....

The boys never cease to amuse me when it comes to all the things they say and do. This past week was no exception...they provided again! :)

Wednesday night B overheard me telling someone about our upcoming weekends and how "the boys fly out that day..." His eyes got all big and said, "FLY?" I shushed him and he went to play, but as soon as we got in the van to drive home, he asked me what I was talking about. So I explained that coming up in late April the *plan* is for them (both boys) to fly out to see Aunt J and the family for a week, and then we would come out the next weekend for the activities we have planned, and they would come home with us. Of course, they were ECSTATIC! Well, the next morning, before they ever got out of bed, I could hear them talking, which isn't all that unusual. They occasionally will lay in bed talking for a few minutes before they get up. But they just kept talking and I could hear things being moved around, but they never came out of their room. I figured they were just playing, but it was getting a bit odd, cuz they never wait that long. Soon, here comes B. He walks out, goes straight to the laundry room, gets two bottles of water, and starts to go back to their room. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "We're packing our stuff for the plane trip." I reminded him that the trip wasn't for another 6 weeks. He said, "Yeah, I know...we're just wanting to be ready so it won't take so much time to get ready later on." LOL So I let them....

A few minutes later, C comes out and tells me that he wants to wear a pair of his nights (pull-ups for night time) on the airplane ride. I asked him why and he said so that way if he has to go potty while they're flying, he can just go. I said, "Oh, honey, don't worry...there's a bathroom on the plane so you can go if you need to." He just looked at me funny and said, "So, if I have to go to the bathroom, will they just land the plane so I can get up and go?" :-) Fighting a grin and a laugh, I explained to him that when you're up in the air like that, it's safe to get up and go to the bathroom, but when you're done you need to come back and buckle your seat belt. LOL I love it!

A bit later, they come trucking down the hallway with their stuff in tow: a box and a plastic container of all their stuff that they are packing. They plop it all down by the front door and I had to explain to them that they couldn't actually pack their stuff in THOSE containers cuz they wouldn't be allowed on the airplane...and that we couldn't leave their stuff sitting by the front door for the next 6 weeks! LOL They were sad that they had to unpack their stuff, but they finally did it. Just too cute.....

Then yesterday, we were on our way home from a couple of appointments and B asked me how much slushies cost. I told him and he said, "Okay...then I have enough. When Daddy's off tomorrow, and we're out running errands, I want to buy everyone a slushy." Awwww. :) My baby.... Most times, he can be SO generous and it just warms my heart! :) I love seeing that side of him and he shows it more and more.

Ouch!

Well, we were in Salem this weekend...where 10 inches of snow fell in 8 hours! Wow! It was truly beautiful coming down, but amazed me at it's 'quickness'. The weather for our town had said that the snow would be a dusting or just flurries, so when we left, I didn't bother taking any kind of heavy coats, boots, hats, or gloves for the boys. MISTAKE! Thankfully, it was windy and cold enough that they didn't want to stay out too long in it, but since all they had was tennis shoes, it completely soaked their socks and shoes each time they went out and played in it! The good part was I got to whack all of them with a broom when they were ready to come in so I could 'sweep' off all the snow on their coats and pants! LOL

Another ouch for our economy...another bailout for AIG and now the Dow is down 300+ points to 6700-something. Amazing how we just keep giving money to these companies who have proven (twice now) that they can't responsibly handle themselves and the money we have provided for them.... The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same action and expecting a different result...so is our government insane?? I think so. What's Obama gonna do now?? When's he gonna actually bail-out the American person? That stimulus certainly won't do it!

End of February

There really isn't a whole lot that's new this week! But I feel compelled to write something! LOL

Terry still has a job (thankfully!)!

The boys and I haven't been sick (thankfully!)!

It's been warmer outside (thankfully!)!

We're SO ready for spring! It was nice enough today to go out and play with our neighbor....you'd think I had kept the boys inside for 3 months. Oh! Wait....I did. LOL They were so happy to be outside and didn't even care that they didn't have toys out there to play with...they were happy to play with sticks, leaves, and the wind. :-) It's a proud moment when they are so easily entertained!

We have a busy couple of weeks coming up...well, weekends. We have a ton of things to choose from each weekend and are finding ourselves a bit overwhelmed with all the options! Thankfully, we're getting good at saying no when needed and we're getting good at recognizing when we need a weekend at home. The time will come soon enough when those decisions are taken out of our hands and we'll find ourselves so busy we won't know which way is up!

One of these days I'll get my videos from the Sweetheart banquet on here so you can see what a great job the kids at church did serving others.

Till then!

Nothing new

Nothing new has happened in the last week! I just felt compelled to come here and say that! LOL

We're continuing with school like normal and trying to stay on target with that. Terry is still working his normal 4 days a week. Last week his day off he was sick with fever, even though he got up and ran errands! (Silly man!) The boys and I had a homeschool thing to go to that day, so we were away from the house. But instead of staying in bed and getting sleep, Terry decided to get up and work through his sickness. *sigh*

Last weekend, when mom and dad were here for the Superbowl weekend, mom went out and went sledding with the kids. I got some great videos! :)











The boys (and Terry) also built a snowman in the front yard! He was SOOOO cute!


We had a carrot nose (of course) and Tricuits for eyes (!) and a slice of pink gum for his mouth (quite appropriate I thought!). But it was a good thing I got pictures of him....by the next morning it had warmed up enough that his head had melted away! And by the time we came home from church, he was completely gone. That just may be the shortest lived snowman in history! LOL

These next two are of mom after she and Brent hit the ditch on the sled! We were all laughing so hard!



Coming up this weekend, we have a Sweetheart Banquet at church for the Junior Youth...where they have invited the Senior Saints of the congregation to be their Sweethearts! :) They have songs they will be singing for them and will be serving them dinner and everything. Can't wait! The boys are very excited and have been singing their songs here at home.

***I have no idea why the spacing is SO messed up with Blogger, but recently, that's been the norm! Sorry you had to wade through the extra spaces!***

Newest developments

T's work had a company-wide meeting today letting them know about the newest job developments. So here's the scooop:

It was laid out in greater detail than I will provide here (cuz only parts of it apply to us, thankfully!), but suffice it to say that they are laying off about 20% of their employees...out of about 1,000 people. The rest are still on mandatory 4-day weeks, with the 5th day being a vacation day (so they get paid for that day), but are also now being required to take one week of un-paid vacation per quarter (3 months). We're not sure yet when that will happen for Terry (when his week off will be) but we're already looking at how this is affecting us financially.

We'll be okay...God will provide. He will take care of us. :)

I feel really sorry for the rest of the people who are being laid off. They are regular folk, just like us, and many have families. It's not like they are only choosing the ones who are just couples or single. (Of course not, that would be discrimination! LOL) It's just so scary, cuz we also believe that this is only Round 1....there will more than likely be more coming in the next 3-5 months...so who is next?? Could it be us?? Who knows...

Our First Snow of 2009

Well, we started getting ice on Monday evening about 6. It didn't quit icing until Tuesday night about midnight. Sometime after that it started snowing...and then quit by morning! LOL We got about 3-4 inches of ice packed in underneath 3-4 inches of snow. Wowee! Made for some good sledding today for the kids! But it made for some interesting driving and digging-out this morning for the adults that had to go to work! It took Terry nearly an hour to get out of the snow that was up to the bottom of his car!

Well, I had Terry get some snow from outside in bowls for me so I could make some snow ice cream later. That's one thing the boys have looked forward to...and is a tradition I hope to continue from my childhood onto theirs. But the boys had no idea that it had snowed last night. They knew it had been icing yesterday, but they knew they couldn't play in the ice. So when they finally realized there was snow (about an hour and a half after they got up!) they decided to come up with a picture and a song for me to tell me they wanted to go out and play. Here's the picture:

The song was like this, to the tune of "Jingle Bells":
Christmas time, Christmas time,
It's Christmas time outside!
Snow has fallen, let's all cheerin',
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!

LOL Whatever! They had fun. So I told them that we'd get to go outside, but it would be only after.... And they knew, "We finish our school work." So they took off to the schoolroom and Brent was done with all of his work in like an hour...totally amazed me! When there's motivation, it's amazing what can get accomplished!


So we ate lunch and bundled up and headed outside. I was wearing a pair of boots of Terry's (cuz I have no heavy shoes to speak of) and decided his coat was warmer than mine, so I wore one of his coats. The boys laughed at me cuz I 'looked like Daddy.' :) Here are some random shots of our time outside and some explanation where needed.


Of course, Brent took advantage of the fresh snow to make a snow angel...




At the top of this one on the left you can see his finished angel. Then on the right, they wanted to make a 'path' with their shovels....



Clayton found this large block of snow and decided to offer me some of his 'ice cream'...when I didn't want any he said, "Fine, I'll eat it myself!" and I got a shot of him just as he ate it! Then he went off the porch and decided to clock himself in the head with it! LOL



Clayton decided to start throwing snow up in the air and have 'snow showers'....it covered all of us!



In this one below-right, Brent was getting ready to take a bit of snow when Clayton was starting to throw it in the air...Brent reached up and blocked him...but shoved the snow in Clayton's face! ROFL! He was crying, I was laughing. I know...I'm a great mom!



I have a couple video's to share too...the first one is Brent sledding down our hill. He discovered that he really likes sledding! He kept going down and up, down and up...over and over. Clayton wasn't having any of it. He would watch and laugh and yell, but wouldn't do it himself.





Finally, I convinced Clayton to sled. The first time, I helped him so much that I couldn't get a video of it. Well, he was sitting so far to the back and was so light, that he was FLYING...literally. He was bouncing and popping up off the snow as he was going down. Well, he enjoyed it enough that I convinced him to do it again. This time....



Well, of course, he was crying and very upset. I finally got to him and calmed him down and asked if he got hurt. He said no. Did he get scared going too fast? No. So I had him look at me and tell me what was wrong.... He said, "Why did those people have to put that building there....if it wasn't for that I could have gone farther!!!" He wasn't hurt...he was mad cuz he had to stop!!! But then he refused to do it again! Weird child!


Anyway, Brent continue on sledding and they went on to other things. Then Brent decided to go to the other side of the house and sled down that side of the hill... Clayton decided he wanted to ride down with Brent! So, I helped them get set up and gave them a push....