Doctors Doctors DOCTORS!

This week has worn me out. Going to the doctor with multiple children is a major event and we had several appointments.

It all started Monday when I took Tanner and Eden in for well child check ups. I found that Tanner is becoming quite independant and hard to keep in a waiting room, or any room for that matter. So I chased him around and tried to keep everyone happy long enough to go into the doctors room. The doctors room is a little easier but when Tanner got ahold of my wallet somehow and hid under the doctor's table and took it apart, I just gave up. The kids are healthy and all was well, but then I had to take them next door to get their fingers poked at the lab...so another 20 minute waiting room extravaganza.

Tuesday morning I had made an appointment for a prenatal exam with a new doctor so I called the doctors office to make sure that my records had been faxed over. I made about 10 phone calls last week to make sure it got done after the receptionist from the new office had harrased me three times on the phone and was always totally rude about it. Sure enough, my records were there, but of course, they were going to have to reschedule me for some other reason. That is not a very nice thing to tell a pregnant lady who hasn't been seen for a couple of months due to insurance changes. After all the hype to get my records there I was mad and I was tired of how rude the receptionists were being to me. One of them even hung up on me mid sentence as we were trying to reschedule. I finally told them to forget it. So I spent all morning trying to find a new doctors office so that I didn't have to deal the terrible customer service anymore.

Thursday I was finally able to go to the new doctor for a prenatal. The waiting room was full as I tried to fill out the pages and pages of questionares that I know no one will ever look at while Tanner and Eden ran around the room. The worst part about waiting rooms for me is that everyone watches you as you try to parent your kids and keep them in line. It is like everyone stares at you like you are a reality TV show thinking wow, I can't believe she has so many kids. Since I was being looked at in the doctors office, of course Eden and Tanner both want to be held while we are trying to hear the baby's heartbeat.

So today, it was time for Dallin's well checkup. This time I had all three kids with me in the waiting room and Dallin was doing all he could to make his siblings cry. Again with the stares from other people. Another great things about waiting rooms is when you are trying to make sure everyone is under control and one of the kids does something that makes a stranger jump up to keep them from falling on their head or running out the door or something. How embarrassing. I just want to tell them that this is why I don't go out much with my kids alone, it is not always like this. So then we did Dallin's appointment and then we were sent back to the waiting room yet AGAIN to wait for his finger poke.

By the time we got home it was only 10 AM but I was so beat. Doctor's offices are probably the hardest thing to do when you have a handful of kids and a big belly. Next week we are going to the dentist. I am so not looking forward to that. I am also supposed to go to the lab for my glucose test, but I don't know how in the world I am going to get that done because you have to drink the nasty soda and then wait before they take your blood. This makes me wish we still lived in Oregon where there was family around to help out in these situations. So the real reason that I write this down is so that I can find some humor in the insanity of the situation. I feel better already just writing down the drama. Sometimes I look at my life and I realize that this is one crazy roller coaster we are on. But I will continue to try to be superwoman and overcome every obstacle with a single bound.

Larry King Live

Larry King Live will be doing a show about autism tonight for those who may be interested. He will have Holly Robinson Pete who has an autistic son and the basketball player kid that has autism. Just FYI.

Slaughtering the Pig!

Peter got this big plastic piggybank when he was about 16. It came into our marriage and we have been adding to it ever since. The kids have always loved putting our change in it too. So when it got full they were very exited about opening it as you can imagine. This video is there reaction. I like this video because it shows how much Dallin is talking. We haven't counted all the money yet but we think it is between 200 and 300 dollars. We decided we would just take it to a change counting machine. Peter is going to use the money for his birthday next week.

Lost

I am really loving the new season of Lost. The mysteries are being answered just as fast as new questions arise. It is so intriguing. This is the only primetime TV show I watch regularly anymore, at least until the Office comes back. I usually get into American Idol once they get down to the top 12 or 10. Anyway, I loved last nights suprise ending too. Anyone else digging Lost as much as I am?

Dallin's Special Field Trip

Dallin's class has been doing a lot of bowling in their classroom whenever they can't go outside for recess. The kids loved it so much that the teachers decided that they would go on a field trip to a real bowling alley. Because of cost, it was parent transportation only and they asked us not to bring siblings along this time. The problem for me was that it is pretty much impossible to get a babysitter at that time of day so I was so dissapointed. I called Dallin's teacher and she said that she would drive him if I couldn't find anyone.

So today, I sent Dallin to school and felt like a bad mommy because I couldn't go with him to the bowling. I am pretty sure Dallin was the only one without a parent there. So Dallin rode in a car with his 3 teachers. She said the bowling was so fun and the kids just had a great time. Again, I was so sad that I missed his first bowling experience, but I was glad that he got to go. I guess he just talked to his teachers the whole time in the car and they just loved having him. He felt so special with all that one on one adult attention. Apparently he told them that he wanted some french fries so they decided to take just him to In-N-Out burger on the way home. She said he did great at the resteraunt and at a whole burger, half order of fries and half a milkshake!

As a mother, it is neat to know that your child is loved by those who you trust to take good care of him. He was definately their special guy today and thoroughly enjoyed him. The best part for me was that when he got home, the first thing he told me was that he got a hamburger! Then he went on and on about how he rode in teacher Betsy's car. I try to talk to him about his school day every day and this was the first time he really seemed to want to tell me all about it. He is starting to get talking in past tense too, Yay! So even though I wasn't able to go, I think Dallin had a really great experience and I hope that he always has teachers that special in his life.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith

I was called to be a teacher in the Relief Society recently and I am getting so much out of these lessons as I contemplate the messages in the Joseph Smith manual. It is so neat to apply the teachings to my life and my experiences and to draw connections and make paralells in the gospel.

Last week I taught the lesson on The Book of Mormon. As I read and prepared I was overcome with the knowledge that it is true and that Joseph Smith really did bring this ancienct scripture forth for our dispensation.

A few weeks ago we had the missionaries over to our home to teach one of Dallin's therapists the discussions. It had been a while since I had heard the discussions and I was filled with the spirit as the young men bore witness of the Book of Mormon. I was impressed with how the Book of Mormon is presented right away as something that sets our religion apart from others. It is not something that they just bring up later, it is right there and very key to the discussions.

Then, last week I noticed that the mormon documentary was being repeated on the PBS channel in our area. The first time it was presented I watched a little bit of it and just didn't feel good about what people were saying about the church so I didn't watch much. This time, I became a little bit more interested only because I was curious about how mormons are viewed and understood by the "world". As I watched, I thought, wow we really are wierd! Especially when you look through LDS history. I thought to myself, if I were not a member, would it be hard to believe all that such a peculiar church presents? With 13 million members, and rapid steady growth, there really is something to the gospel that draws people to it.

As I prepared my lesson about the book of mormon I reflected on these two experiences and the quote by Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our Religion. I really felt my testimony increase through really making the connection in my mind that the Book of Mormon is what brings people to the true gospel. It is true and when people read it, they feel the spirit tell them it is true. Without that book, I really don't think our religion would be where it is today. It is true and the Book of Mormon is truly the keystone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Trampoline

Dallin loved playing this game with Daddy on the trampoline. Crazy boys!

Fairytale Town

We had a great time on Saturday at a little place called Fairytale Town. It is a fun place for kids with lots of slides and things to climb on, and animals to see. Of course it all has the fairytale theme, like the three little pigs. The kids loved it all, especially the slides. We were eating lunch and there were a bunch of chickens walking around us. The kids were in awe of them because they were so close.
This is Owls treehouse. Tanner went slide crazy. He would climb up all the stairs by himself and slide down head first. This was a fast slide so we had to make sure to catch him at the bottom. What a little daredevil.

Tanner wasn't really sure what to make of Humpty Dumpty.
Goats.
This was the horses for Cinderella's pumkin carriage.

Cinderella's pumkin
Mother Goose
Eden loved watering Mr. McGreggor's garden.

Tanner enjoying his ice cream. I love the look on his face.

My Big Valentines Date!

That's right, Peter was nice enough to give up a date with me so that I could take Eden out. A couple of days ago, a friend from the ward called and offered to give me some free tickets to Disney Princesses on Ice! I couldn't pass that up. Eden is so all about that stuff lately. It was so wierd because I was at the gym a few minutes before and a commercial came on the TV and I was thinking how much Eden would love that. So for 2 days she and I got all hyped up about it and she could hardly wait. This was great timing, because last month Peter got to take Dallin to the monster trucks. This is the beauty of having both genders.
We had a wonderful evening together. We went to chiles for dinner before and then we were off to the show. It was a 7:30 show so she fell asleep on the way. Once we were there she woke up and remembered what was going on. She sat on my lap and we cuddled the whole time. She never took her eyes off of the skating and was really into it. I couldn't tell if she was enthralled or just tired, but then during the intermission she begged for more. By the end she was so tired and she still wanted more so I had to carry her to the car screaming and it took 10 minutes to calm her down enough to leave. Other than that she was very happy the whole time, even though she was tired. I love having one on one time with my kids, it is so fun and she was such a good girl. She was feeling the "magic". I love having a little girl.

The night before while I was at the doctor dealing with yet another of poor Dallin's ear infections, Peter and the other kids made me some very sweet valentine cards with candy and flowers. In the morning, I got up a litte early to pack Peter's lunch for him. I put a card and candy in for him as well. He is usually on his own for lunches because I am getting Dallin ready for school. Hopefully we will manage to go on a date some time this weekend still.

Prayers

Prayers at our house are quite an experience lately. Take the meal prayer at lunch for example. I will ask one of the two older kids to say it. If I happen to ask Dallin, Eden will protest that it is her turn every time. I usually tell her she can be next. So everyone folds their arms and Dallin will begin his long prayer, grateful for everything he can think of or see at the time, especially monster trucks and race cars. When he runs out of things to pray for he starts saying thank you for things in some made up language. In the mean time, Tanner thinks prayers are great and he starts chiming in with Amen about halfway through. He will continue to say Amen until it is actually time (he does this during sacrament meeting as well). When Dallin is finally done, Eden will take me up on her turn. Her prayers are equally as long except she is more grateful for her babies and for ponies, etc. Then occasionally Dallin and Eden both feel that it is their turn and they go at the same time, with Tanner chiming in with his Amens still. He is a cute one for folding his arms and squinching up his face. It is very fun. I find it hard not to laugh or watch them most of the time. I don't think any of them actually close their eyes either. They need to look around for inspiration of things to be grateful for.

Tubing Video

Here is our video from our Day of Snow Tubing. The kids were so brave!

Snow Tubing

We had a great family day on Saturday. Dallins ABA company hosted a tubing day up at the mountain so it was free, other than rounding up snow gear from the Goodwill for the kids. The weather turned out so great though. It was over 60 degrees out so it was so perfect. We got there at about noon and I thought the kids would last an hour or two. It turned out to be so fun that they went for 4 1/2 hours straight. Dallin could have done another 4 hours.
The tubes were provided and there was a conveyer belt to take us to the top so it made things so easy with our kids. They all just loved the "slide" and begged for more.
During lunch they played snow bingo and Dallin and Eden won. This was probably Eden's favorite part of the day because of the hot chocolate and huge variety of snacks that were provided. I couldn't believe how much she ate. She was also the only one who would want to come in for another snack every once in a while. Dallin kept Peter running the slopes the whole rest of the day. Peter had Tanner most of the time, and never bothered to wipe his chocolate face, just in case you were wondering what that was.

Even Tanner loved the speed. He was definately happiest when he was with Daddy.
We were one of the last families to call it a day and one of the volunteers told me that she thinks our group spent more time in the snow than anyone else. Dallin would even take his tube and go up the conveyer belt by himself.
Yummy Shoe!
I wasn't sure if I would feel safe tubing being pregnant, but it was a very smooth short ride so I ended up going quite a bit. I found another family that was also expecting a baby at the same time and they had 3 little kids the same ages and genders as us. Their oldest was on the autism spectrum as well so it was really crazy. I felt like I was watching us!

Another thing I realized was how blessed we are. Dallin is so high functioning compared to some of the other children there. Several people were suprised because he has such good gross motor skills. He doesn't have any big "stims" that make him stand out and he can communicate pretty well at this point. I felt bad for the more severe children and I really look up to those parents. There is something nice about being with a group of people with a similar life than us too. It was a great day.

So Tired!

I was organizing our videos on my computer and I came across this hilarious one of Dallin. This was on a family reunion vacation in Sunriver in June 2006.

"Nothing is impossible, some things just require more steps"

This rings so many chords to a mother battling autism.

Family with 6 Autistic Kids

I have known about this family for a while because they are in my LDS Autism Yahoo group, but they have really gotten some publicity lately. Last week they were in People Magazine with a huge picture layout and today I found them on a link on the Yahoo main page. Here is a news clip with Diane Sawyer from Good Morning America this morning:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=6330992

This is their website which he runs a business with to make extra money:
http://www.autismbites.com/

I hope that this publicity somehow gets them the funding that they need to get lots and lots of help for their kids. They don't have nearly enough. I know he struggles keeping a job because the demands of home are so high and they are renting a tiny little house. I look at them and think my challenges seem so small. Coverage like this really helps raise awareness which I think is very important so that some day we can have more answers about the mystery of autism.

New Blog Idea

Dallin brought home this great picture that he drew of a penguin. I loved it and added it to my stack of other art that he brings home all the time. As I thought of what I want to do with this stuff, I came up with a blog idea. How about a blog just for my children's art. I had visions of having a book of childrens art printed some day that would be quite a prized posession. So that was the idea that got this started. Check it out.

I know I am becomming a blogger addict, but I really love it. Pretty soon I will have a blog for everything.

The Penguin

By Dallin 1/28/08 - 4 1/2 years

Play Time

The kids are really into hide and seek. They usually hide in the same place every time, but they totally get how it works now and love to find mommy and daddy. I also found this funny video from a couple of weeks ago of them playing with tupperware as masks. I don't really know where they come up with this stuff. Dallin was not being so kind to Tanner.

Jesus Sunbean

Last night as I was putting the kids to bed this was one of the songs Eden wanted to sing! I love how little kids get the words to primary songs wrong. So cute!

What a Bunch of Sillies!

This is the kids favorite activity. They love to climb all over Daddy and get all wound up just in time for bed!

Not Another Potty Post!

I told myself I would lay off the potty stories, but this one is about Tanner so I want to write it down. Yesterday morning Tanner woke up with his diaper totally soaked through so I just took him in the shower with me. Afterward, he wandered off while I was getting dressed and brushing teeth etc before I had a diaper on him. A few minutes later he came back to my room and said "mommy, awe peepee!" So I was like "You peed? oh great now I have to go clean the carpet." When we came downstairs Eden needed help in the bathroom so I took her in and noticed a little puddle next to the toilet with some TP in it. Apparently Tanner has learned from his older siblings what the potty is for. I bet if he were taller he would have made it in. This boy just suprises me all the time how quickly he learns and is talking.