umm, i will add text later, I’m worn out from uploading all these pics.

Cinderella, Optimus Prime, and a Little Red Riding Hood that I couldn’t get to stop moving…. (yeah yeah, Mommy’s camera skills are a little rusty after a few months of chemical equations and DNA replication).

my girl. Olivia. So sweet. It’s saturday morning and the darling is still asleep, 9:29am. This is not an everyday occurance. But, every once in a while she does this. It is ironic, because she went from SUPER OVER stimulated last night at a loud pizza restaraunt to sleeping until 9:29am. (which in our house is late). I just wonder if this happens to other children like Olivia. From a super high UP to a super LOW.

Will have to think about this one.

My little baby Josephine is turning into a scavenger. No drawers or cabinets are safe from her adventurous little hands. She knows what she wants, and she goes after it. Watch out, Jackson! Baby sister is catching up!

hey! i have to wean myself off of caffeine for a little while. (Was disappointed with the decision at first, but am now enjoying the alternatives.

So, I bought a few caffeine free teas. and have discovered a DELICIOUS, mellow, calming, smooth tea… it’s Meditative Time by Yogi Tea (sold in the organic section at Kroger)…. I highly recommend it!!! It is grrreat. It contains lavender, chrysanthemum, blackberry leaf, sage, skullap leaf, lemon myrtle, Nettle leaf, and a few others.

It’s excellent… here’s a link if you choose to hunt for it in the store, Meditative Time by Yogi Tea

they say it’s “blissful” and it really is!

i swear I’m not getting paid for this.

The following was sent to me by a dear friend, thank you to all who have provided encouragement, support, and often a shoulder to cry on. I would not be where I am today without you.

If by Rudyard Kipling

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man my son!

Guess what!?! Baby is still alive, I guess we’ll never know if it’s because I switched to BPA-Free bottles… ha ha ha. Anyway, I previously posted that I had purchased a Dr. Brown’s BPA-free bottle. Oh wait, I purchased 2. Naturally 2 bottles were not enough. So I went back to Target and browsed through their bottle section again. Apparently they started stocking up on the new-wave bottles. They had glass BornFree bottles, and a basic Evenflo 3pk for only $2.99. Since the BornFree were about $10 each, I opted for the Evenflo.  

One of the other changes I made, about 7 months ago, was a switch from plastic dishes for the kids to non-toxic, lead free enamel ware. Oh, now I can’t remember the name, oh yeah Golden Rabbit enamelware for children. I love them, and particularly because they have a vintage look to them. 

I also went to the added expense months ago to purchasing some Sigg sports Bottles for Olivia and Jackson. We used them for quite a while, and I was sending one to school with Olivia everyday. However, they’ve since been lost and one even got left out in the curb and was subsequently squished under someone’s tire. They were cool while they lasted, I haven’t seen them for sale locally, but I haven’t really looked either.  

Living a life with an autistic child can, at times, feel like an isolated existence. Ironically, if you think about the characteristics of autism, which include social impairments, then I suppose you could call the whole family Autistic, right? I say this with a chuckle. (Only endearment here!). Anyway, I was just reading another mom’s post about a recent trip to a restaurant with her family. She has a daughter with Asperger’s syndrome, and fears restaurants. She frequently depends on her own parents to accompany her and her three children on these over-stimulating, messy, and loud excursions. She expressed that her most recent experience was actually a joy and she came home proud of her children, including her daughter for being so well behaved. She also mentioned that she often feels alone in her wild little world, as if her daughter is the only one who acts “autistic”. Ha! My response to her was that little does she know, I am with her, sitting in my own little autistic world on the other side of the restaurant. It makes me wish that the next time I enter an eating establishment, I could ask at the door “anyone in here autistic? Anyone? Great! Nice to meet you.”