a blended life

I haven't posted in two weeks, which is a bit longer than I usually go. I'm not ignoring you. I'm not trying to avoid posting way too much pictures of my girls or bore you with silly anecdotes of our fairly mundane life. Actually, I had finals and I'm tired. So anyway, here are a few boring anecdotes about my mundane life. I love my life, it's just a bit blasé right now: *I've decided to pull Hannah out of preschool. Her teacher has gone off the deep end--constantly moving her kids around, in and out of this boyfriend's house. I tolerated it for along time but the changes are affecting Hannah now. She keeps wetting her pants at school and has been more fussy than usual. So, no more preschool. It's gonna be a long summer, folks. *Leah wrote the cutest story for school. "I would not like my own room. I would miss my sister. I would be lonely. I would be scared at night. It's good to share." There is a very sensitive soul in there. ...

Let's have a standing ovation for the Spring Break I just survived--without the drama llama showing up too much. We only had: * One tree branch attack at the park (Leah got whapped by a 1st grade boy in our neighborhood. We left the park with a bleeding torso and leg). * One trip to the doctor for an ingrown toenail (Leah again). *One trip to the grocery store with two kids in tow. * One visit to Walmart a few days later to get everything I forgot at the previous store trip (another standing ovation, please). *Two all-nighters with a 101 degree fever (Hannah). * Two free kids buffets at Pizza Pie Cafe--thank you, coupon mailer! * Two rides on Trax. * 8 hours and $50 worth of babysitting (what else is a single mom to do?). * One dumb movie (Mirror Mirror. Skip it.). <--sorry about the bad punctuation * One impromptu hike--because I couldn't find our planned hike destination (anyone know where the Grotto is in Payson Canyon?). * One emergency trip to Litt...

I had to rename these two events and call them what they really are. You know what I'm talking about. These pictures are fuzzy because I lost the battery charger to my camera and had to use alternate technology. Feaster: (Or Easter for those of you who don't understand my imagination. Probably most of you.) Egg Dyeing. No matter what, there are never enough eggs. Baskets. Hannah received some high-quality literature. The Hunt. This year I made things totally random--the eggs were filled with candy and money and the kids were let loose on the yard, finders keepers. It was pretty successful! Comparing finds.  Some pretty new dresses. Thanks Grandma! *please not that the elder is not wearing pink or purple Spring Broke: (Spring Break for those of you who didn't get it) Spring Break came at the same time that summer tuition was due, so the week--which is still in progress--is consisting of free or cheap activities. I asked the girls what the one thing they w...

Outgrowing autism? Study looks at why some kids ’bloom’ I really appreciated this article. Although it's not very conclusive, it's very comforting to me to know that I'm not crazy. Leah was diagnosed with autism when she was three. We took her to University Of Utah's Behavioral Unit and they diagnosed with Autism, Atypical Presentation. If you interacted with her now, you'd hardly think anything was wrong. She has outgrown so much of her strange, repetitive tendencies and speech patterns that she looks and acts very typical for her age. We still struggle in many ways, mostly with her moods and some REALLY loud crying, and she still does some quirky little things that seem kind of endearing--talking to herself, sniffing her food, insisting on doing things in a certain order. But overall she has a bright future. I've wondered a lot how this could be and I'm really glad I came across this article. It's so nice to see that other kids outgrow autistic tende...