Goodbye cyber friends

My computer is going to the shop today. It's had no sound for a few months now and has a few other minor issues, so I need to take it in before the warranty expires. I can't stand to be without it so I decided to wait and take it when we were going to be out of town. So, off it will go this afternoon, and hopefully it will be ready when we get back.

Xander had a fun first week of school. He still likes going, and today he was very proud to be taking Halloween gifts to his bus driver, teacher, and teacher's assistant.


Tomorrow night is trick or treat. I won't be able to post pictures, but I have one of the kids in their costumes from when we took them to the city's Halloween party Saturday night.


It's been a busy week. I'm off to do what every person does after some kind of success.....I'm going to Disney World!

Xander goes to school!

Today was the big day. Okay, it was yesterday. But I fell asleep working on this last night so it still says today. Xander was up at 5-something and we managed to keep him in his room until 7:30. He ate, brushed his teeth and got dressed. Thanks for the cool new outfit Ba and BaDee! The bus was supposed to come at 8:40. Xander was ready to go at 8:20. So we bundled up and went outside to wait. Our neighbor, Mr. Kevin, was leaving while we waited, so the kids were telling him goodbye. The bus came and Xander marched right on. No trepidation, no "goodbye," no hugs. We could barely get his attention for a photo. He had to sit next to another boy but he didn't mind, just waved out the window at me. We're sure his reaction to riding the bus has to do with the E-card Jason's Uncle Ricky and Aunt Chris sent him. It was super cute and showed all these animals having so much fun getting on the bus. That's what I want to think anyway. That's easier to believe than the fact that he didn't act like he was going to miss us. Jordis was very sad.
While he was gone we made him a welcome home sign and decorated his kitchen chair. For our special 1st-day-of-school dinner we had some alphabet pasta and what was supposed to be bus shaped garlic bread. My bus cookie cutter doesn't work so well on bread. I even brought out the china. Jordis was so excited when he came home. She just about knocked him over. He just wanted to know if it was time to watch TV.

Almost time for school!

It's official. We're counting down the days on one hand. Xander heads off to preschool in 4 days. The papers are signed, the bus driver has called, and today.....his backpack came.

(how cute is he in his little Thomas the Train underwear?)

Do you know how hard it is to find a backpack when it's not back-to-school season? Granted, looking "all over town" doesn't mean much when you're in Delaware, but apparently you can't just go to Wal-Mart and pick one up. I thought you were supposed to be able to get everything at the ole Wally World.

So, we asked Xander what he wanted and he said Cars, so Jason found him one on Amazon.com. He's been anxiously awaiting its arrival since he found out that we ordered it the other night, and wouldn't you know the UPS man brought it during quiet time. We put it back out on the porch so Xander could think he was the one who brought it in the house. We opened it and he loved it. It even has a lunchbox you can attach or use separately.

He put it on and Jason helped him adjust the straps.

Then he said, "Bye, I'm going to school" and walked off. And that is when I started to cry. Not a lot, but enough that Jason noticed. Afterall, I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that my little man looked like this....







So Jason told him to come and give me a hug because I was sad that he was such a big boy. And he actually did it, which kind of surprised me. I have no idea what I'll do on Monday morning.

My Fall Crafts Are Finished!

The kids and I have been crafting like crazy over the past month or so. Actually, I've been doing most of the crafting. The kids like to help in the beginning and then part way through decide they're finished so I end up doing the rest.

Here's what we've made this fall:

Jordis' spider



Our clay pumpkins for the banister. These were fun, and we made some Christmas ornaments as well.



Okay, so this isn't technically a fall project, but it was fun. The kids are earning allowance now and they get to split it between a bank for saving and a bank for spending. Xander already had more than one bank, but Jordis didn't, so I made her one for her spending money. It's decoupage and I made it to match her room.



Finally, to see what I did with the black socks I bought at Goodwill (referred to in my post dated 9/24). I know my neighbor Lisa's sister, Katie, has been on the edge of her seat to see what will become of said socks. Ha, ha. They have turned into bats for our front yard tree.

I would like to have more than two bats, so maybe I'll make more next year. The kids liked this craft because it involved playing with batting. I did not like this craft because the glue gun and I had a rough time reacquainting after some years of non-glue crafting.



Last, but not least, are my ghosties. I think these are my favorite. They're not quite as spaced out as I wanted them, but our dirt is horribly filled with rocks and we had trouble getting them in the ground, so they couldn't go exactly where I had planned. But they're fun, and the neighbor's dog likes to bark at them, which is kind of cute.



Jordis likes the ghosts, too!

October in Ohio

Here's what we were wearing on Wednesday (two days ago)...
...and we were hot and sweaty.

This is what we were wearing today....


Ohio....where you need every season of clothing in the closet all year round. See #'s 21, 22, 24 and 31 in this link.
http://www.50states.com/facts/ohio_if.htm

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Today is Jason's birthday. I've spent the past 15 days being 2 years older than him, so I'm glad it's back down to just 1 year. I don't feel so old that way. I can't believe he's moved up 2 more age ranges (by decade) since we met. He was just a teenager then and now he's climbed the ladder enough to be considered "in his thirties" instead of just at the beginning stages. I'm not saying it to be mean, I'm in the same boat myself. Just my way of noticing how time flies. I don't tend to sugar-coat things, it is what it is.

Anyway.....the kids have really enjoyed his birthday. They actually both participated in making him cards. No fighting, no arguing, they even decorated the front AND the inside of their cards. Xander put his signature "X" on the one he made. X marks the spot, you know. And as soon as Jason got up they were shoving them in his face.



After presents....


....the kids "helped" me make Jason's cake. We basically fought over who poured in what ingredients and in which order, then we beat each other with rubber spatulas. Xander got mad that I wouldn't let him stick his spatula in the mixer so he excused himself from the cake-making process and wouldn't even taste the batter. Jordis stayed to inspect my work and then eagerly had a few bites of the remnants that didn't make it into the pan. I know, I know, I fed her *gasp* raw egg. I've been consuming uncooked cake and cookie batter my whole life and it hasn't killed me yet, so I'm not too worried. Rest assured, I don't feed it to them on a regular basis.



The kids went to bed while it was still baking so they haven't seen the finished product yet, but it turned out pretty good. Jason says my making things from scratch is unnecessary, but it's just what I do. I like things to be homemade (with love) whenever possible. And he deserves it.


Now I'm off to make tortilla soup for my beloved's birthday dinner. His wish is my command. Just for today, ha-ha.

A great fall weekend

I love this time of year! Everything just seems more exciting during Fall. It's nice enough to be outside without sweating, but not so cold that you have to be stuffed into a coat that makes you immobile.

We spent Saturday night at a friend's Fall potluck. I've been great friends with Jen since we worked together at Clear Channel. She and her husband just had a new deck put on to their house, so it was the reason to have people over.


We had some great food. Her husband, Vijay, made an awesome sausage and kale soup and there were lots of other tasty dishes. I brought a sweet potato casserole and there was also a butternut squash casserole, homemade mac and cheese, some other potatoes and appetizers and pumpkin desserts. We ended up coming in the house because it was warm enough that the mosquitoes were out. Jen and I have already fixed up our kids as prom dates so when Jordis and Arjun were voluntarily hanging out we had to take a picture.

Yesterday we took a little road trip. There's a park the next county over that I discovered as an adult and always vowed I'd take my kids to someday. It's about an hour from our house, but gas is below $3/gallon right now and the weather was really nice, so we decided to take a chance and head that way. The kids had a really great time checking out the huge wooden playset...





After playing at the park we went up the road to the local ice cream shop in the city of Granville. There's nothing special, really, about this place. They serve Velvet Ice Cream, which I can buy at the store, and they've decorated with black and white marble and pink walls, two things I really can't stand. But it's an old-time parlor which the kids have never seen, so we thought it'd be a nice treat. We even let Xander have dairy products, just to see if the infraction would cause any problems.
We got some grilled cheese sandwiches first, then ordered ice cream. The kids both wanted chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. We weren't sure the sprinkles would stay on if they got a cone, so the waitress offered to make them a clown sundae. They didn't really look like clowns but the kids didn't care.
Xander's our clean eater, but Jordis is an "in the moment" type of gal. She just does what it takes to get the job done.

It was a great weekend!

We did it!

It took 18 months, 3 school evaluations, an outside evaluation and lots of paper work, but Xander FINALLY qualified for the special needs preschool in our district. They are opening a brand new room at his school with a new teacher, so even though the school year has already started he'll be coming in at the same time as the other kids, hopefully October 22nd. There will only be 12 kids so he should get lots of attention.

This also means that he can now receive services from MRDD, so we're super excited to see what that process is going to achieve.

I'm not sure how he'll take to riding the bus, but I guess we'll find out soon. I'll have to stand out in the driveway with my camera (crying, of course) and hope he doesn't do what I did the first week my mom tried to put me on the bus.

I am sad that he's going away (I know, it's a whole 2 1/2 hours 4 days a week), but it will be so good for him socially and will hopefully get him ready to be mainstreamed in the next few years. It will also give me the opporutnity to spend one-on-one time with Jordis, so we may start going to story time at the library. Xander never wanted to be there and I was always trying to keep him from leaving. I think Jordis will love it.