So much to do, so little time to do it

I absolutely love this time of year.  But, somehow, even though I know exactly when Christmas is going to occur, it seems to sneek up on me.  It is only 4 days away, and I haven't taken Owen to see Santa yet.  Oh, we tried, but the line at the place we went was ridiculous.  And, I told Owen that we have to find Santa so he can tell him what he wants.  So, therein I created my own problem.  I could have told him that we just needed to write a letter.  But nooooo....I said he has to sit on him lap and tell him.  I will get him there somehow, I will not however be the crazy parent at the mall waiting hours for 2 minutes of laptime and paying $30 for a photo package.  Did I ever tell you the story of how I made Santa's elf cry 2 years ago?  Hmmm...lets save that for another time...not my proudest parenting moment. 

Last Friday, Dec 11th, we had, hopefully the first of many, Christmas party at our house.  We had a great turnout and I believe everyone had a wonderful time.  If alcohol consumption is any indication of fun, then it was the party of the year!  Our huge recycle bin was overflowing with bottles of vodka, tequilla, wine...plus we emptied the Keg!  Everyone was responsible though.  There were designated drivers and some even stayed the night.  That is a very important piece of a great party.  Again, Grandma and Grandpa rocked by keeping the boys for the weekend.  Barclay and I didn't wake until Noon on Saturday!!!  We both didn't feel so hot (surprise) and took it easy all day.  We went out to dinner and to the movies...went to see 2012...please oh please don't waste your money.  If the human race is left to John Cusak we are all in deep trouble.  Sunday was a great day.  I seriously layed on the couch and watched FIVE, yes 5, cheesy christmas movies.  Oh, I  wrapped a few gifts, but that was it.  How lucky am I???

Okay, I'm jealous of myself right now.  I wish it was LAST Sunday :)  I'm trying to get this post done before the boys wake up from their nap because its game on after that.  Levi is into everything now, and such a mama's boy.  I cannot put him down, and forget about leaving his sight even for a second.  He wants to right next to Owen too, and Owen only tolerates him for a few minutes and then pushes him...then Owen gets in trouble and everyone is crying.  In other words, its mass chaos these days around here. 

I want to update everyone on Owen's recent appt at Cardinal Glennon.  I'll give a full report later, but they diagnosed him as still on the Autism Spectrum "but barely".  So, he is right on the cusp.  Which is good, he is improving.  We will take him back in one year.  Okay, I have go!!!! 

A birthday surprise!

This is my feeble attempt to write about the magic and joy of the past 24 hours. I wish I had even an ounce of writing talent, so that I could portray, even a tiny bit, what an incredible gift my husband gave me.


Lets start on Friday. Hubby graciously agreed to get up the wee hours of the morning to do some black Friday shopping together. The weather was crisp and cool. We made a stop at the gas station to grab a cup off coffee and off we went to Sams Club. It was basically empty, and we enjoyed some pretty stress free shopping. Then we made a stop at Burlington Coat Factory, then Target, then Lowes. Really, it doesn't sound exciting, but it was so much fun. I know for the most part he was just going with the flow, except for Sams Club and Lowes. But, he never acted bored with the shopping...though he probably would have much rather been sleeping or watching football. Then, we get home and he put up outside Christmas lights, again my suggestion :). Okay, I'm guessing by this point, you the reader are bored to tears. What I am trying to get across is that my hubby gave me the best birthday present ever...we did everything I wanted to do and he never complained! hahaha.

Okay, we'll fast forward to Saturday, 3 pm. I am sitting minding my own business on the couch (yes grandma...I was actually sitting down and relaxing!) and there is a knock on the door. I go to answer and my good friends Cindy and Aimee are standing there! They say "Surprise, we are here to take you out~!". It didn't register for a long time. I looked like absolute hell and I just couldn't get what they meant. Hubby had to break it down for me. He had planned a birthday surprise which included him driving me and my friends around for a night out on the town and then spending the night in a hotel room! I packed my bags, still in absolute shock, and Barclay drove us downtown. We checked into the hotel, and I finally got into gear and got my party face on. We went for a drink in the hotel bar, then to The King and I for dinner. Then, to The Old Rockhouse to watch an awesome 80's band and dance the night away. I don't think I stopped smiling all night. I felt so loved!~ I refused the shot he bought for all of us, and I think my poor tore up belly at least thanks me for that. It seems so surreal.

I am so thankful for my hubby and Aimee and Cindy, and Grandma/Grandpa who watched the boys so this could all happen. Thank you really doesn't even cut it. You gave me a wonderful memory.

Happy Birthday to me....and grandma!

So, it was my birthday on Tuesday, and grandma's as well.  I turned 34.  Three-Four...I need to let that sink in.  It doesn't seem like I should be that old.  Which I guess is good.  You are only as old as you feel, right?  It just seems that a 34 year old would be much wiser than I am.  Much more sophisticated and mature.  I am starting to get wrinkles, which I never ever imagined I would, so I just need to accept that the years are going to pass and I am going to feel and look older.  Boooo!  3 - 4...it still just doesn't seem quite right. 

On our birthday, Barclay surprised both Grandma and I with flowers and cards.  It was simple but wonderful.  I got mad at him last year because he got me a gift card.  Don't get me wrong, I loved the massage I got out of it, but I wanted a little more "thought" put into my birthday.  So the surprise of flowers was perfect!  Barclay also took his mom out to dinner a movie, a mother-son date.  I'm sure she loved it, alone time with her son.  I would love for Owen and/or Levi to do that for me. 

I've had the most perfect birthday week ever!  Its been so relaxing.  The kids are at grandma/grandpas for the weekend.  We've got some christmas decorations up, did some black friday shopping, and now hubby is making me biscuits and gravy.  So perfect!

Since Thanksgiving was this week as well, I want to take a moment to write what I am thankful for, as cheesy and trite as this may be:  I am thankful for my husband, who provides so much for our family - both financially but more importantly, emotionally.  My boys, even though I get frustrated and annoyed at times, could not imagine life without them.  My health.  My in-laws, they are so loving and a wonderful support system.  My friends.  My dog.  My house.  My iPhone. 

A wreck today

We got rear-ended today.  Just minding our own business, sitting at a stop sign and bam!  A hit from behind.  I got out of the van to have a nice conversation with the driver (who are we kidding, I was ready to kick some tail).  I walked to the car with a WTF look on my face, then saw the driver.  He was a 16/17 year old kid and was clearly scared to death.  My first thought was that he took the car without his parent's permission, but then he called his dad and just started to saying "I'm so sorry".  I felt bad for him.  It was an honest mistake, one that any of us could make as we text and talk on our cell phones all the time while driving.  Luckily, its just minimal damage to our van.  I talked to the kids dad on the phone and he asked if it was really his son's fault.  I was like "well, I was sitting at a stop sign and got rear-ended..pretty cut and dry". 

We have a few rough nights with Levi last week.  Two nights he was up all night screaming.  That honestly makes me re-think the whole idea of more babies...I'm too old for that stuff!  I felt like I was walking through water on Friday, I was so tired!  I took him to the doc and he had a double ear infection, better that then the flu.  The antibiotics are already helping I think.  He slept well last night and seemed in better spirits today.  My throat is starting to hurt so I really hope I'm not getting sick now! 

Well, Tuesday is my birthday.  I went to a work happy hour on Friday and a guy I work with guessed my age as 35.  Men, never ever try to guess a woman's age.  NEVER.  Just say 25.  I don't care if she looks 80.  Unless of course the woman really looks 25 then guess 18.  And if she looks 18, then you really shouldn't even be talking to her cause that is getting into dangerous territory.  Okay, back to me.  I'm not going to be 35...am I?  I seriously forget how old I am sometimes!  Sad!  No, only 34. 

I'm so excited for Christmas.  I really hope Owen is into presents this year...though I'm into presents enough for all of us!

Damn you facebook

So I had a facebook account about a year ago.  I deactivated it because I couldn't handle the flood of memories and feelings that resulted in seeing all these people I went to high school with.  I was not exactly popular and high school was pretty much torture for me.  (It still strikes me as ironic that I married a guy who was one of the most popular in his school and star of his team's state winning football team).  There are lots of reasons I did not have many, I'm sorry I mean ANY good friends in HS....I've gone through hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of therapy to finally "get over" it.  Well, my loving husband took me back to where I went to high school earlier this year and I felt a release of all this anger and saddness of not having the happy-go-lucky, fun, exciting school experience that every child deserves.  And now, its just a part of my history, something that cultivated and made me who I am today...and I've turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.  Now I have the most wonderful friends who I appreciate more than words can say.  So why am I mad at facebook?  Because I felt "healthy" enough to re-activate my account last week....and I was happy to see several old faces and see where life has taken them over the years...it was so interesting to look at pictures...to reconnect with people and not feel any bitterness....and all of this wasted probably about 30 hours of my time :-)  Facebook is a black hole, you log on to "just take a peek" and 2 hours later you've wasted precious nap time in front of the computer!!

A little funny bit about Owen...last night daddy was putting him to bed and he said "daddy can you get the clippers and clip the nail from my big toe?".  O-M-G...I mean seriously, this is the kid who didn't talk in May, and now he is so specific that he gives daddy grooming orders.  Love it.

Okay, gotta go.  I feel facebook withdrawl.

Good morning mister-cranky-pants

Poor Levi, he was just being a happy go lucky 12 month old, then momma took him for his well baby checkup and bam!  He ends up with a runny nose and bad cough...I guess that is to be expected, the doc office is full of germs from sick kids.  Our practice has seperate sick vs well waiting rooms, but they should separate the exam rooms too.  As Levi was crawling all over the floor and putting everything he could find in his mouth, I knew this would happen.  Everything during the apt went well.  He is 30 inches, 24lbs, in the 75% for both height and weight.  He has 6 "words" (dada, papa, bruder (brother), baba (bottle), ba (bath, we know this is bath cause he will point to the tub and say it), baby.  He sometimes says mama but not too much).  The doc didn't give me any grief about not vaccinating, which I was very pleasantly surprise about (we follow the generation rescue protocol http://www.generationrescue.org/vaccines.html).  Overall, a good visit. 

Some exciting news....Levi took his first step today! 

Oh, I have to go...Owen and daddy home from Little Gym and it sounds like Owen is throwing a fit....

Happy Birthday Levi!

Oh, my sweet, precious little boy...I cannot believe you are 1 year old!  You are exactly 1 year 1 hour old as I type this.  I can remember every single second of your birth date.  I woke up thinking I had peed my pants, only to finally realize my water broke!  It was a beautiful sunny day as we drove to the hospital.  (the exact opposite of this nasty, rainy, cold weather we have now).  Everything went very quickly once we got to the hospital.  We checked in, and a wonderful nurse took us to our own beautiful, PRIVATE room.  We got to the hospital around 10 am and by 12:30 I was holding you in my arms!!!  It was such a wonderful experience.  You came out and started crying immediately, and I instantly fell in love with you.  You weighed in at a very large 9lbs 4 oz.  (I thought about going the VBAC route but doc said your shoulders wouldn't have fit through me anyway :) ).  We had such a good experience at the hospital, and as well once we got home.  I learned my lesson the first time around with Owen that help was a good thing, and Grandma stayed to help.  I still got a little anxious at times (as I will probably always do) but this first year with you has been beyond wonderful. 

I can already see in your personality this huge, huggable, loveable heart.  You are pretty much all grins except when you are tired or hungry.  Then you really let us know.  You worship your big brother, and your totally a momma's boy (yeah :) ).  Of course you love your daddy too (thats all you talk about...da da da da).  You've been so patient with us as we have had to spend a lot of time working with Owen this year.  God gives you what you can handle, and your sweet, relatively laid back demeanor is a blessing. 

We are so in love with you Levi, and you have been such a treasure for our family. 

Here are some picts of our morning at BounceU -

Autism Awareness Video

Please take a look at this Video!

http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214

Not what I wanted to hear

I've had to take a few days to process the info from Owen's appointment at Cardinal Glennon on Monday.  I really really was expecting them to look at me like I was crazy for bringing Owen to them, I wanted them to be mad at me for wasting their time, and for them to tell me that Owen was a perfectly normal 3 year old boy.  They didn't. 

Owen has made dramatic, miraculous improvements over the past several months.  Its been a combination of several things occuring...his therapy, his dietary changes, his supplements, his school, his mom getting a handle and not freaking out over everything, his dad getting on board that there was a problem, his grandparents being loving and supportive, and most importantly, our Lord watching over him. 

There are still some issues though.  They said that he has an average of a 20month development for several areas.  He was off the charts in some things (he can count to 60, knows his ABC, can spell his name, knows his months/days...) but way behind in other areas (even though he can count if you ask him "how many" he doesn't understand).  They said he does not have ADHD, but we need to watch for it in the future.  They highly recommended additional Occupational Therapy, which I've already set up.  We are getting a full report soon, and will return in December for another session.  The doctor said it is extremely possible for him to come off the Autism Spectrum in a year. 

So, I felt a little blue.  A little sorry for myself.  Then I walked through the hospital and saw several children in wheelchairs who couldn't even hold their head up.  My pitty party quickly ended. 

Its still a lot to digest though, about our little boy.

We are doing good, we will do everything we need to and ensure he gets the help he needs. 

Okay, enough about that.  Tomorrow is Levi's birthday!!!!!  We are doing a small gathering with Grandma and Grandpa on Saturday.  We are sure he will take his first step anyday now.  Won't that be fun if its on his birthday!?!

Weekend fun with Mommy

Another good day...though...Owen was a little more cranky today since he didn't have a nap yesterday.  He had to go to his room a couple of times, but nothing I couldn't handle. 

Owen slept until 6:20 am though...woo hoo!  (he gets up at 5 am regularly now...again.....ugh!!!)  We got up and went to church.  He wouldn't go pee at home, he screamed that he wanted to pee at church.  Okay, wasn't going to fight that battle. 

Got home and took Mason for a quick walk then ate lunch.  Then we went to his buddy Ryan's birthday party.  Had a good time there.  Got home and got him into bed about 1:30...by then he was so over-tired that he had a hard time going to sleep.  I painted our staircase while he slept (please don't ask why I choose this activity, I really have no idea...I thought it sounded good).  He got up about 4 and we took Mason for another walk, it started POURING down rain while we where walking.  It was good for him, rain never hurt anyone.  We got in the van to take my movie back to redbox (Confessions of a Shop-a-holic....please don't waste your $$), then Owen and I went out to dinner.  It was awesome!  Everyone was oooing and ahhhing over how cute he was, and he behaved so well! 

Then we got home and carved a pumpkin!  I'm not winning any awards anytime soon, but it was fun.  Owen watched Dinasour Train then it was time for bed. 

We've had a great weekend together.  I miss my Levi and hubby (although I'm quite annoyed with hubby right now...long story don't feel like writing about it...but he is in Vegas with his buddies, and, so the story goes...)

I'm off to bed at the ripe hour of 9 pm.  We have Owen's 4 hour long evaluation at Cardinal Glennon tomorrow.  I'm so excited for this apt....6 months waiting finally over!

Happy Birthday Ry-Ry!

Owen and Mommy's Day Out

I just had the most spectacular day with my little boy.  Hopefully I can write it all before I pass out tired in bed.  We started the day with Owen's gym class, then I took the boys to meet Grandma, who then took Levi back to her house so that Owen and I could spend the weekend together.

First, we went into Micheals so that I could buy a pumpkin carving kit.  I also bought a frame (sorry hunny :) (inside joke)).  Then we went to Eckerts Farms, and had the most wonderful time!  We spent 3 hours playing and laughing.  We rode a tracker to see the pumpkin farm...it was breezy and sunny.  Someone even made the comment "wow, what a well behaved little boy". 

We left Eckerts, came home, took Mason for a walk then it was off to a Halloween party.  Owen is Bob the Builder....he walked into the building and loudly proclaimed "I'm Bob da Builder and Levi is Pooh!".  Levi wasn't with us, but he remembered his little brother. 

Here are some picts from our great day!

Batteries do not go in your butt

I seriously can't make this stuff up....

So, today, just another random day in the Nothaus family...only a little stranger, one that prepares me for life with boys.  Owen had 2 batteries in his hand (he likes to inspect things).  He was walking around, playing with these batteries, looking at them over and over.  I walked past him, and noticed only one battery.  I said "Owen, where is the other battery?"  He said "Owen put the battery in butt".  I said "Owen, batteries don't go in your butt, please take it out".  So, he unclenched and said battery came out. 

This, along with the fact that Owen likes to wear my shoes around with house and play with kitchen stuff has Barclay worried.  :-) 

Oh, life with boys...can't wait to see what else it brings! 

Leave the personal hygiene care for home.

This is scary....

"A new study published October 5, 2009 in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics found a parent-reported autism prevalence rate of one in every 91 American children, including one in 58 boys. For more information, click here."

We just started Levi on whole milk.  We are going to watch him carefully, because we found out after letting Owen have dairy products for 2 years that he has an intolerance to it.  Who knows if that had anything to do with why he didn't talk for so long, but I'm not taking any chances.  Any signs of Levi loosing words or backsliding on milestones its bye-bye milk!  Formula is so dang expensive, and I'm looking forward to saving $20 a week!  :) 

I didn't post anything this weekend because we were so dang busy!  Boys at grandma and grandpa's and we rocked out getting stuff done around the house.  We started the weekend with a trip to our friend's house in O'Fallon.  Barclay and his friend Craig stayed up until 2 am drinking (and farting)....I swear they where like a couple of giddy school boys getting to stay up past their bedtime.  We spent the night and arrived home the next morning and got to work.  It is amazing how much one can get done without kids in tow.  We both fell exhausted into bed on Sat and Sun night. 

Barclay is going to Vegas this weekend, so its just me home alone with the boys.  I have lots of plans to get us out of the house, so hopefully everything will go smoothly....though Barclay is the one who gets up with Levi in the middle of the night if he needs it (yup, you read that right) so I might be in for a "rude awakening" :)

Oh, so exciting, Levi stacked 2 blocks today!!  He took the blocks and stacked one on top of the other...yeah Levi!  Only 1 more week till my baby turns 1...I'm gonna cry....he is so flippin' sweet. 

I keep forgetting to write this.  Please don't clip your fingernails at work, at least, not at your desk.  Its just-plain-gross.  Its the same as if I started picking my nose.  No, thats not meant for anyone I know that reads this...but just in case you are one of the people, stop.  Now you understand my title. 

Ahhhh..quiet house

We are so so so so so so so lucky to have awesome grandparents close by willing to watch our kids for a weekend.  Well, not "watching" them but spending time with them...they enjoy doing it (at least thats what they say, ha!).  The house is quiet, its yucky outside, and I am going to take a nap.  Yes, the kitchen is a disaster, laundry needs done, and I'm throwing caution to the wind and napping...mark this day in history!  Love you grandma and grandpa!!!!

Nothaus Family Weekend

This has been a good family weekend.  Just a weekend without too much going on, but lovely in its simplicity. 

Friday night, Barclay and I put the boys to bed, ordered a pizza, and watched "The Soloist".  Movie was decent, a little slow in parts, pizza was great, and just being able to relax with my hubby was awesome.  We went down to the basement and I didn't worry that the dishes weren't done (sort of, okay, it was in the back of my mind but I was able to handle it :) ). 

Saturday morning, Barclay took the boys to Little Gym so Owen could do his gym class.  Almost every 3 year old boy is in soccer, but Owen loves gym (he is the only boy in the class).  I'll have to be careful as he grows up to make sure he is in activities that he likes to do, not because I think he should do them.  I want to expose him to a lot of different things, and let him decide what he likes (yes, I suppose I'll let him try baseball even though it is the most boring sport ON EARTH).  Anyway, it would be so easy for me to slip into this "well, all the other boys are doing soccer so that means he needs to as well".  It wouldn't be a good fit for him right now, and he is very happy with his gym class (did I mention he is the only boy?  see, I struggle even as I right this!  LOL  :) )

While the boys were doing that, I went to Forest Park for the Autism Speaks walk.  Thank you so much to all those who contributed to my team!  I was a team of 1, but I raised $1300!  That is so awesome, and I'm proud to have participated.  There was a great turnout.  Here is a pict of my little friend Kyah.  She took a pict of me too! 

Saturday afternoon, we took the boys to the park.  Both were uber cute and played for an hour/half on the playground.  It was so fun, and again, simple.  Just sitting watching them play on a beautiful day was pure joy. 

Saturday night, I went over to Kyah's house so her mom and dad (our family friends' Donnell and Tim) could go out for a much needed evening together...alone!  We are very fortunate to have Barclay's mom so that we can spend time together, and I so treasure that.  Tim and Donnell do not have family close and have to use all extra funds for Kyah's therapy and just basic living....I understand the importance of mental breaks so I was thrilled to help out.   (Just a side note to anyone reading this...if you know a family with special need children, or heck any children for that matter, and they don't have much of a support network, offer them a free evening of babysitting, you will feel great for doing it and they will appreciate you beyond words!)

And then this morning, we planned to go to church and then the pumpkin patch but neither happend.  Everyone was in a good mood and just content to stay in their PJs (I'm still in mine as I write this at 1:30 pm).  Barclay dug a ditch to stop the errosion in our back yard (great jub hunny, you can spend that $300 in Vegas! :) ). 

Now, everyone is sleeping and I'm cleaning...cleaning is my relaxing activity, don't judge me! :)

(Some random picts...here is Owen helping daddy dig the ditch, Levi's 11 month picture, Owen's 3 year pict in the Farve jersey)

"Stop talking with your mouth full"

I said that to Owen the other day.  If you have been following my blog or know anything about our journey with our little man, you can appreciate just how ironic that statement was.  Owen was eating, and talking so much and with a mouth full of food.  I was standing at the sink doing dishes, as soon as I said it I just stopped.  I wasn't scolding him, I just simply said it.  And then smiled....my 3 year old is talking so much I told him to stop!!!  Wow....in May he was putting 2 words together.  His progress...well, its miraculous.  Early intervention is key!!!  For any parent who ignores warning signs with your kids, your only doing yourself and your child a disservice.  I'm not judging you, believe me, I did not want to accept that there was anything wrong with Owen.  But there was...and now....I'm not sure that anyone would be the wiser. 

Do other parents out there feel so incredibly disorganized?  I was such a put together person pre-kids...car was always clean, every piece of mail neatly tucked away into a specific folder, pictures printed and placed in a photo album, weekly menus and shopping lists created every Sunday....now, I am happy if I can find a place to sit in the van (as the driver you can see how that might be important), mail is doing good to make it into the house (where it lands after that is anyone's guess), pictures from 2 years ago are still on our camera, and I do make a decent attempt at shopping lists every week (it does save $$).  I know its only going to get worse as the boys get older and get into sports.  I still after 3 years of having another human to take care of can't seem to get my organized-groove back.  Its really annoying. 

Barclay and I went to see the Australian Pink Floyd concert on Tuesday.  It was...amazing.  They sounded exactly like Pink Floyd!  If you are into their music, you must go to the concert.  I would have bet my house they where lip syncing, but they weren't!  A great show...and 3 hours long!!  Who plays music that long?  No one!  "Is there anybody out there?"....http://www.aussiefloyd.com/

Today I went to a kids consignment shop to get the boys some clothes.  There is a great shop in St. Louis that only accepts name brand, quality clothes.  I paid $5 for a brand new gymboree shirt...if you are a parent you know that is dirt cheap.  Unfortunately, Owen's hand-me-downs are not going to work for Levi.  "Little brother" is huge and the seasons are not matching up, so that means mommy has to shop....damn. 

We are getting ready to do what parents do on a weekend night after the kids go to bed.  Watch a movie and go to sleep.

Is it me or is Ellen looking more and more like a guy?

Before you send me hate mail or post comments, I absolutely love Ellen Degeneres....but, she is looking decidedly more like a dude. Everytime I catch her show (and by catch I mean its on in the background while I am running from laundry-to dishes-to vacuuming...) she is wearing a flannel shirt, and, her hair is boy short. I have to wonder, just because you are a lesbian does that mean you have short hair and wear man clothes? Or, is it because her partner is ultra-feminine she plays the 'masculine' role? I'm not trying to be demeaning, I just don't get it. Ellen is a very pretty lady, and I don't understand this whole look she has going on.


Today has gone well so far. The past 2 days, not so much. Owen has been in his "mood". Yesterday I had to put him in his room for 20 minutes and let him scream. We also put him to bed at 6:30 pm. Not sure what was going on, but it sure wasn't fun. The bad days are so much worse now that he is doing better. I was used to it before...and when he gets like that now, I'm not as prepared to handle it. This morning though, we went to chick-fil-a with my moms group and he did fabulous. He really listened to me and when it was time to go, he left without protest.

Levi is pointing at everything now. He loves to point at babies and says "baba baba". I think he will walk soon. He can stand on his own.

I'm conflicted....do we get the flu shot? The CDC makes it sound like everyone's life is in grave danger if you don't get one...but I don't want another foreign substance in my children's bodies, or mine for that matter....ugh...

 

Happy 6 year wedding anniversary

Happy Anniversary babe!  Wow, 6 years ago right now we were getting married in Maui...we were mau-ied...ha ha.  We had such a beautiful, blessed wedding day...an absolute perfect way to start our lives together.  I remember asking someone I worked with before we we got married (he had been married 20 some years), "What is the biggest piece of advice you have for married couples".  I of course thought he would say things about being patient, respecting each other, etc.  Instead, he said simply "pick the right one".  I picked the right one.  We definately don't always see eye to eye, and I know I can be a pain, but I know that we will be together until we are old and gray, and I'm still saying "You love my stinky ass".  (Although it may not be funny at that point when you have to change my depends).  Your my best friend, and I'm so lucky to be able to share my life with you.  scratch-scratch 

Can't think of a title

Wow, I can't believe it has been a week since I have posted anything. A lot has happened this past week. We have gotten right back into a nice routine since returning from vacation. I usually have bad post-vacation depression, but I haven't this time. I am glad to be home and back to the daily routine of our lives. I've been feeling so thankful for the little things in our lives lately. I've been "stopping to smell the roses". I think it has a lot with Owen doing so much better. And he IS doing phenomenal! We went to the park today and he literally talked the entire way there. He was saying meaningful, relevant sentences. This is the same boy who would only put 2 words together at the beginning of the summer. He loves school, and I think he is really thriving on the whole routine aspect.


Levi is doing good too, boy does he know what he wants though! He was drinking his bottle today, and when it came to the end he threw it across the room and starting screaming! It was so funny...he was so mad! (its funny for a 10 month old, not a 3 year old). He is pointing at things, and loves playing with Owen. Oh, and today he imitated me clapping 2 blocks together. Its so amazing to see a baby start to just come alive in front of you, to stop being just a human being and really come alive.

We went to the park today and all played on the slides. Owen would tell me what slide to go down with Levi. When we got home, he told daddy "mommy go on pink slide, I go on green slide". So he was totally able to recollect what he did earlier in the day.

Hmmm...anything else going on? I feel like there is so much, like time just goes by in a blink of an eye. Our housecleaner comes every 2 weeks, and every time, without fail, Barclay says "wasn't she just here?". Does anyone else feel just utterly exhausted at the end of the day? By 9 pm, its difficult to force my body to move. I have been getting up in the morning to work out, though I need to work out more cause I gained 4 lbs on vacation! That put me back on my weight watcher goal, hopefully I can loose it all this week!

I'm very tired, I have to go to bed, sorry I don't have more interested things to write about. I did 5 loads of laundry today if you are interested in that....

Oh, thanks for the killer pot roast grandma.....yuuuuuuumy!

Oh, Oh...one last thing. Charter came today to install HD :-)

We are home...

A quick congrats to my good friend Aimee Musil...she has welcomed little Miss Abby, born 9/8. Congrats Aimee, John, and big brother Ryan!! Yeah babies!


Back to the real world! We are home from an awesome vacation. The 1st couple of days were a little suspect...the clientele a little questionable and a TON of kids. We either drank too much to notice after awhile or people cleared out after a couple of days. We actually came back refreshed and relaxed, when does that ever happen on vacation??

Today we had an apt with a DAN doctor (Defeat Autism Now) for Owen. It went great! We talked to the doctor for 2 hours! She was so kind, understanding, and knowledgeable. She did some initial tests on Owen and he showed severe sensitivities to gluten, casein, and...chocolate! So we are totally on the right track with the GFCF diet, but poor guy...now we have to cut out chocolate! He has been talking so much, today I asked for one of his french fries, and he responded "Whats the magic word??"! LOL He seems less toddler and more little boy now. I'm so proud of him! I did almost have to beat down a 10 year old though...before the apt I was sitting in the waiting room. Daddy was in the lobby walking with Owen up and down the stairs. He just kept going up-down-up-down...this little girl walked in petting her fake cat and sat down. She told her mom "that little boy in the lobby is wierd...". The mom just rolled her eyes at me, and said nothing. Of course, my mama bear wanted to come out and say something like "really? why dont you go back to petting your fake black cat".

Levi has all of a sudden just exploded with cool new tricks! He does "so big" (raises arms up), waves, shakes head to no-no-no, crawls like a madman, pulls himself up on everything, and does the "elephant walk". He still pretty much says "dada" all the time :-)

I surrender

My body is waving the white flag of surrender. I have eaten, drank, and sunned more in the week than the past 2 years. It's been great, but we are very ready to come home. We just had a fabulous dinner of beach grilled lobster tails. A great way to cap off the trip. See you tomorrow sweet boys! We miss you like fippin crazy!

Jamaica Day ?? I forgot what day it is...

Sitting in lobby drinking coffee while Barclay in room sleeping. I will try to take pict and post but probably won't work. Today got bfast, went to beach and pool, and tried to drink our stay's money worth. I am actually sick of piña colodas. Wonderfully relaxing. Tomorrow we may go out on a boat. Hard to type on iPhone so I will close.

In Jamaica

There are a lot of elderly folks...kids....smokers...pushy sales Rastafarians...very.large.individuals. I forget my issues with buffet style eating and that isn't working so well here.  But it is very pretty and so far great weather.  We have been eating,drinking, and sleeping.  We miss our boys!!! 
Sent from my iPhone

Headed to Jamaica!

Tomorrow morning...4:30 am....we wake up and head to the airport. We are super excited, well, I am at least. Barclay is moping around like a sick puppy dog tonight because he is sad to leave his kids. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss them too but this sad shit has gotta go...we are going to be on a beach in 24 hours!! Yes, I'm talking to you hunny as you read this over my shoulder.

Do airlines charge for bags these days? Do they charge for bags that weigh more than say a vehicle? I have an entire suitcase full of shoes. Yes, I do. I have over packed. This is our first vacation in a really long time and I have clearly forgotten how to travel light.

Okay, you all must go and see our family picts that our friend Donnell did for us. She is a very talented photographer. She also did our friend Aimee's picts. Go to www.donnellprobst.com

One more thing, if you are reading this and thinking of breaking into our house cause we are on vacation, grandma is actually here with the kids and we have random people coming over to check in on them as well. Barclay didn't want me to write about leaving because of stories of houses being vandalized while people are gone. Our house isn't going to be empty...and we have a very mean and ferocious dog...

Busy days

We've had a very busy past few days...

Owen had his 3 year check up on Thursday. He weighs 33 lbs and is 37 inches tall. The checkup went pretty well, if you consider a complete meltdown in the exam room going well. Owen was just hungry, so I knew it would come and wasn't surprised when it did. The doc was surprised though! See, I had been in her office before concerned about his tantrums. But, the tantrums back then were on a completely different level and most of the time I had no idea where it was coming from. When I was in her office before, she said he was being a typical boy with a lot of energy. So, when he actually showed her what he's got, she was a little taken aback. She looked at me and said "wow" and I just looked her like "what, this? this is nothing!". I'm so used to it now. Owen calmed eventually and we got through the exam. I was kinda glad he threw the fit so she at least knew where I was coming from. After the doc apt we went to Burger King to get lunch. Owen played on the outside equipment, it was a beautiful day! Then, we went to his dentist appointment. I was nervous when they said he would go in by himself to see the dentist, I wasn't sure how it would go. But, he did great!! We've been doing a lot of reading about the dentist and he was excited to go. His teeth looked good.

Friday we went to our friend Heather's house for a playdate. All the kids that morning were in cranky moods. Owen was looking forward to playing with Brady, but he kept pushing him! (Owen pushes everyone now, not sure where that is coming from!) Brady, his little sister Lauren, and Levi all were a little cranky...must have been something in the air. As we were leaving, Owen threw a huge fit (surprise) and I had to hold him down to get him strapped in the car seat. Such a fabulous way to leave a friend's house....want us to come back next week Heather??? :-) Friday night we went out to dinner....to Chuck E Cheese! Woo hoo! Heather inspired me to go out to dinner with the fam...she had just taken hers on an outing and I wanted to be a big copycat. Owen did great!!! He got a little cranky towards the end, but he was just having fun and didn't eat and got cranky.

At this point, I feel like one of those really annoying moms who does nothing but talk about her kids...and then he did this, and this, and this...

So I'll do it some more....

Levi stood today on his own for a few seconds! He went to a parents day out for a couple of hours last week and the teachers there thought he was advanced! Yeah! Not because I think Levi is advanced, but (read earlier post) I was a little worried about his development. He is clapping now on cue and giving me kisses. He isn't cruising yet, but I think that will come very soon.

A quick congrats to my friend Jayna and her hubby Eric and daughter Amelia. They just added a new baby girl, Kaelyn! Congrats!

I need to close and go back to packing...Barclay and I leave for Jamaica in 4 days!!

He Said - She Said

Her Side (as dictated by Suzy):

So Barclay is annoyed with me. Its not the first and certainly won't be the last time. He calls me from Charter (cable company) store to say that because the cable is in my name, I have to give them permission to add HDTV to our service. I ask why we are adding HDTV, and he said well, because we got an High Def TV. I said well, we discussed the TV, but we didn't discuss getting extra cable service. He said, why would we get a High Def TV without the extra service, and besides we DID discuss it. I ask when, exactly, and he said that he asked how much extra the service was going to be and I told him $10. So, anyone following this??? He asked me a question, I answered, and somehow that constituted agreement for said service. Anyway, I feel bad now because he was having this conversation on the phone at the store with this service agent staring at him. We did not get the service.

His Side (as dictated by Barclay):
First of all, I was annoyed with Charter for saying I needed permission to begin with. I said, "can't you just look at the address on my license and compare it to the bill. Or how about you look at the name on the automatic bill payment every month...That's right its me!" The lady informed me of the new policy. So I thought, "no big deal". Whipped out the iPhone, dialed home with a confident swagger in my voice....
ME: "Honey, I'm at Charter and they won't let me add the high-def service because your name is on the account and not mine." Suzy: "What high-def service? What are you talking about? I'm confused.".
ME: (I hold up the universal, one minute please to the Charter lady as I continue to talk). "The $10 a month High Def service to go with the new High Def TV we bought."
Suzy: "We haven't discussed this. Why do we need it?"
ME: "Ummm, that's kinda the point of High Def. What's the point of having high def if we can't see the pimples on Oprah's third chin?"
Suzy: "I think we need to discuss it more."
ME: "Fine."

I hang up and look at the Charter lady, with a pitiful look. She of course apologizes for the policy. I inform her it's not her fault, and maybe someday, I'll be able to spend $10 a month without asking for permission. So I sulk out the door and head home, reminiscing of the days back when I used to have balls.

"Its a beautiful day...."

I have that song from U2 in my head...its on our wedding video too.

I'm feeling very thankful for everything in my life this morning. Its absolutely gorgeous outside, and Barclay is making me an omelet (my hubby is a damn good cook). We have had such a wonderful weekend. The boys went to grandma and grandpas' on Friday (again, I have fabulous in-laws). Owen had a blast playing outside all weekend there. Friday night, I had a bunch of friends over and we drank and talked the night away until 2 am (some ladies until 4 am!). Barclay went out with his guy friends. Saturday, another beautiful day, we did some yard work outside. Barclay got to take a nap, in exchange for us to go see a model home in a new subdivision (This whole house thing is a bit of a sore spot for Barclay and I, but that is a blog entry for a different day, I'm staying positive right now:-)). Then, we went to a late afternoon picnic with a bunch of friends. This morning, we woke up to beautiful weather, and having a cup of coffee listening to some Christian music. We both like contemporary Christian music...not the old school hymn stuff (nothing wrong with it, just not our thing).

I'm so happy right now, just feeling very grateful for my life, family, and good friends.

Levi fell in the toilet

Got your attention? Here is an actual rending of a morning-in-the-life of the Nothaus family. All events are true and factual

-Got up 5 am and went to gym
-Got home from gym in a fabulous mood. Bright, sunny, crisp, cool, morning.
-Got both boys ready to leave for 8 am doc apt across town
-Put boys in van, yelled at Owen because he wouldn't sit in the car seat (good mood over)
-Started drive across town in awful traffic. Wondered why in the hell I made an 8 am apt for Owen.
-Levi starts crying. Doesn't stop entire car ride
-Cursed and moaned that we would be late for 8 am apt even though the doc office is never on time.
-Arrive at doctor office, taking 10 minutes to unpack boys and all their crap
-Race to elevator. Owen screaming "Owen push button"
-Let Owen push button once inside the elevator, pushes button for 3 different floors
-Get off elevator, race to doc office. Doctor is actually standing there waiting for us. I feel like an ass.
-Doc does hearing test. Owen doesn't pass, told we have to come back in 1-2 months. Sends us upstairs for another doctor.
-Go to elevator. Owen screaming "Owen push button"
-Let Owen push button once inside the elevator, pushes button for 4 different floors (nope, didn't learn my lesson the first time)
-Levi gets tired and starts fussing
-Arrive at other doctor apt waiting room
-Receptionist hands me 5 pieces of paper to fill out. Trying to fill out while Levi is fussy and Owen trying to run out the door.
-Owen says, "Go Pee".
-Got to restroom. Put Levi on floor in stall. Help Owen with his pants. Levi crawls under stall door. Hear big splash. Run into other stall, Levi pulled himself up and fell in toilet.
-Owen flushes toilet for 50th time. Run back in other stall. Owen has taken toilet paper roll from stall and put in toilet and flushing it watching it unroll.
-Take boys over to sink to clean them up
-Go back to waiting room. Smash Levi's hand in door when trying to fit stroller through it. Levi starts screaming.
-Receptionist tells me I forgot to fill out a piece of paperwork.
-Get called into tiny waiting room. Owen starts repeating "that one" and Levi starts screaming again.
-Yell at Owen to stop saying "that one"
-Ignore "No Food" sign on door and break out treats.
-Levi dumps treats all over floor
-Owen starts screaming
-Wonder briefly how inappropriate it would be to put duck tape over Owen's mouth
-Doc comes in, gives me a dirty look
-Doc checks out Owen, says ears are fine, make an apt for 9 months
-Notice that no one makes eye contact with me as I am leaving the office

And that was all before 9 am....

Just some stuff

Owen is learning how to use the computer. That is good and bad. Good, because surely he is a genius if he knows how to use the computer at 3 years old right? (joking), bad because he is doing things to our computer that we don't know how to undue. Case in point, he somehow changed a setting on the Internet so I couldn't get to blogspot to create my post, and, yesterday, I happen to look at the computer screen to see an error message "Now erasing your hard drive". It was slow motion as I ran to the computer, the computer was talking to me like that movie War Games ("do you want to play a game...do you want me to erase all your data because your stupid ass left your 3 year old on the computer by himself?"). I think I clicked some button moments before it initiated. To my knowledge, all is well.

So, my husband just looked at my twitter account is now concerned about my "part-time" job. Apparently, I have quite a few followers from not-so-Christian like people...one person had a status of, well, let me just say "love you long time" is putting it nicely.

Okay, so today went well. Levi is over his pooping issues from the other day and was very regular today. Those with little ones know how very important this is. We played ball today, sat on the ground and rolled a ball back and forth. Did I mention before that he said Ball?? Last week he did, it was so awesome! Owen didn't say ball until over 18 mo old. Levi also looks like he is starting to wave and "roll 'em up". My performance development plan is working!

Owen did well at school again. His teachers describe him as very sweet. He is such an Eddie Haskle (Leave it to Beaver), we got home and he didn't want to come inside to I bribed him with a treat. Then he didn't want to go upstairs after lunch so I bribed him with a treat. (notice a trend?). He ended up pooping right after I left him in his room for nap, decided to take off his pants and sit on his chair...and then apparently do some acrabats in said chair. So I got to clean ground in poop off his chair today, good times...good times....

So, I'm on weight watchers and doing fabulous! I have lost 11 lbs so far and today I had my body fat re-tested and I've lost 4% body fat! I'm feeling great and love the program. If you stick to the points, it really does work!

I bought 5 power ball tickets tonight. If we win, you probably won't hear from me for awhile as I will be searching for my own private island to buy.

First Day of School!

Owen's first day of preschool was yesterday. He was so cute with his backpack and new shoes. I didn't get to see him off because I go to work so early on Mon/Tues, but you can tell how excited he is in the pictures. I'm excited to see what this year brings. I think it will be good for him to be around other kids and have to take direction from another adult for a good chunk of time (besides me, dad, gma/gpa). He will go to school M-TH for 3 hours. At first I was really sad he would be gone 4 days a week, but the 3 hours will fly by, and I will get to spend time with Levi.

I'm tired and still need to call my friend back so that is enough for today.

What the #$%^?

Okay, before I write this post, and who knows if I will even post it, here is something to know about me. I tend to be slightly dramatic. My intent of this blog is to be as real as possible with the happenings of our family. That means, its not all picture perfect and puppy dog tails. I'm no where near a perfect, slightly perfect, near perfect mom....maybe mediorce. If you could study for parenthood by golly I would have an A+. I've read just about every parenting book there is, which has gotten me into trouble on several occasions. So, for all family who is reading this, please don't be alarmed at my candor.

What the *(#$ is up today???? It is the day after Owen's bday, and there are new toys and presents galore, and he is being a whiny little....um boy. Barclay is currently scolding Owen for something for the millionth time today and I'm typing on the computer because I don't want to be around him right now. Levi is upstairs crying, the little guy has pooping issues and needs to go to sleep because he has only slept 45 min today. Needless to say, its chaos here today.

Yesterday, Owen's actually bday, went very well. He had a good time at his party, and played with his little friends. Brady arrived and he said "Hi Brady". We didn't open presents because that morning, Barclay and tried to give him our presents and he wouldn't open them, maybe its a sensory thing.

I think its because I have this expectation of how Owen should be. When he walked down the stairs and saw a million presents at the foot of the stairs, he should have done a swan dive into them like any red blooded (or at least a child with my blood) 3 year old, right? So, then I get upset because he's not into the presents...or the Thomas Bike we got for him, even though Barclay warned me that Owen was too young for the bike but I didn't listen and got it anyway....I hate it when he is right. So, Owen is playing with a pooh phone from some garage sale years ago. And Levi is still crying upstairs.

Vodka anyone???

Happy Birthday Owen!

Happy birthday my sweet Owen! You are 3 years old today! I really hope you enjoy your birthday. You get to have a party at Whittle Train station with lots of your playdate friends. You have so many people who care for you and cherish you. You are such a joy to be around. Our road together hasn't always been easy. Daddy says we are like "oil and oil". We are so much alike, and sometimes that gets us into trouble with each other. We are both very active, opinionated, stubborn, strong willed, independent, confrontational, and once we get an idea in our head, we can't let it go. Those traits don't always go well together with 2 people in the same house. And even though I pull my hair out sometimes, I'm glad you have those qualities. Because I know you will never let anyone or anything get you down. You will conquer everything you set your mind to. You are a fighter. Your name even means Warrior, and its so fitting. With all these type-A traits also comes this big heart and a killer smile. You can melt anyone with those sparkling blue eyes. When you run up to me smiling and laughing and throw your arms around me I could die right then a happy person. Gosh, sometimes I wish for you to be older so that its not "so much work", but I don't want that either. I love your innocence, your energy, your pure joy. I love you sweet boy, more than I could ever put into words.

Happy Birthday.

The boys are tired and cranky

Both boys are upstairs crying right now. There is little left to do other than let them cry while I type and try to ignore it. They are both very tired and cranky, and its my fault...well kind of.

The day started off great. Grandma and cousin Wyatt drove over from Carlyle to spend the morning with Owen for his birthday. We all went to the Creation Station at the Museam of Transportation and then rode the train. We went to McDonalds for lunch after.

Both boys were very tired and ready for naps as soon as we got home. That was all well and good, except I had to take them to the Open House at Owen's new school at 1 pm. So they both only got 30 minutes of rest, not good for boys who like their long 3 hour naps (not good for me either). Why in the world did this school schedule an open house from 1 - 2 pm??? I needed to take Owen, so that he is comfortable when he goes on Monday. I'm still annoyed about it, esp as I listen to my 2 guys cry from being over-tired. I'm tired and cranky too. Hopefully they fall asleep soon.

Tomorrow is a big day. Owen turns 3 and has a birthday party at Whittle Train Station. There are lots of little friends coming, but he keeps talking about Brady. He says "Brady is coming to my birthday, I'm going to be 3". Its so cute.

Okay, I think they are calming down. I need to rest. Hopefully I can get a quick nap in when daddy gets home from work.

I worry...

I'm sitting here with a pit in my stomach. Because I don't have enough to worry about, I'm now a little concerned about Levi. I just read a friend's blog whose baby is one month younger than Levi, and he is pulling up on everything, cruising, waving, blowing kisses...Levi is doing none of those things. Well, he is starting to pull up now, but doesn't seem all that interested in it. He is starting to crawl a little more, but still mainly does the military scoot. He is starting to do mamamama now....please please let everything be okay with Levi. I want to cry. I asked the speech therapist yesterday if I had anything to worry about, and she said no. She mentioned to have his ped look to see if he has hip dysplasia (sp?) cause he is only scooting with this right leg. I'm just being paranoid and oversensitive, right?? I started to get worried about Levi when at his last ped visit, she went over a developmental milestone checklist and I answered 'No' to just about everything (crawling, waving, claping, pulling up). She said to call if he wasn't doing those things in 6 weeks. I just need to put Levi on a performance development plan! ha!

Today has been another good day though. Both boys in very good spirits. Owen had My Gym camp this morning for 3 hours, then his last visit with the OT. She was another huge help in our lives. The first time she came, Owen went and sat on her lap. That was nuts because he never even sat on our laps! It was like he knew she was gonna "get" him. She has taught us a lot about his sensory seeking behaviors. Things that used to bug the crap outa me now make sense.

Yesterday afternoon, Owen and Levi played outside in the "water park" and rocket spinkler..here are some picts

OMG - I can't believe it took me this long to bring this up....on the front cover of the Post Dispatch this morning was an article on Autism Insurance coverage (here is a link to the article): http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/politics/story/9306D44B0EA32206862576110000E653?OpenDocument

It makes my blood boil that insurance companies can mandate what they feel is "insurable". From what I understand, companies do not think autism is "curable" so they don't want to spend $$ on its treatment. The last time I checked (and I just googled to make sure this is accurate) there is no cure for cancer...so do insurance companies deny coverage for chemo? And another thing, insurance will cover the cost for gastic bypass surgery.... (okay, I need to stop now because I don't have think enough skin for hate mail :-) ).

Thanks for the e-card hunny, that was very sweet :-)

A great day!

I wish I could bottle today up and just reproduce it and live it every day. I could tell from the moment Owen got up that he was "with it". He is 100% with us today, just a normal very happy (almost) 3 year old boy. We started the morning off with cereal, he played some sesame street games on the computer, and then we went for a walk. He drives his red dodge truck and I walk with Mason and Levi. He did so good! We were running out of time because Miss Sue(speech therapist) was gonna be at our house, so I told Owen we couldn't take our normal route. I was nervous, because Owen fixates on sameness. We have to walk the same route every day. I was ready for a meltdown. He started to go "left" and I said "Owen we have to go straight, Miss Sue is going to be at our house soon" and I just started walking straight, hoping and praying he would follow....and he did!!!! I was shouting "good job Owen, good job listening" and clapping like mad...anyone on the street would have thought I was a crazy person, but this was HUGE for us, HUGE!! And then...we get home and Owen said "Hey mommy, I want to go downstairs to the basement and play with beads, I won't let Levi have any". Okay, can I remind you that just 3 months ago we were happy if Owen put 3 words together? He not only asked to go and play, but remembered me saying to him that Levi was too little for the beads he played with and not to let him have them.

Owen's last session with Miss Sue was today. I'm sad. She has helped our family so much and given such great advise. She has truly helped our family grow. (If anyone in STL is in need of services, please contact her http://www.therapyrelief.com/)

After speech, we packed up and went to Tilles Park. St. Louis has amazing parks, really, I've been here 3 summers now and still haven't been to all of them. This park had a great play area and a little water play area. I had a scary moment when I was doing something with Levi and couldn't find Owen. I eventually found him on the swings, but it was really scary...he is so fast! So here is a mommy thing I did while at the park that maybe wasn't cool, but it had to be done. We got to the park and I got Levi out and he had pooped. I go to change him and opps...no diapers! So I took a wipe and scraped the poop onto the ground and put the diaper back on him :) No, there wasn't a bathroom or a garbage can around. Its just poop on the ground, no worse than the duck poop everywhere....Oh, and then I didn't realize the water area was there, so I let Owen run around in his underwear to play in it. Yes, I am THAT hoosier mom...

I've come home to a spotless clean house. Every-other-Wed my cleaning lady comes and it is by far my favorite day of the week. I used to be a neat freak before I had kids, so I really enjoy the 2 hours I get of a spotless house. I wanted to take a picture to show the house at Noon and then at 4 pm, because it will be a mess by then, but the camera is in Levi's room. Its quiet, the boys are sleeping, the house is clean, I'm in heaven. I feel like I should be on one of those Hersey Bliss commercials right now.

2009 Walk for Autism in St. Louis

I have started Team Nothaus for the 2009 Walk Now for Autism event in St. Louis. I've set a team goal of raising $1000. I would greatly appreciate your support, even $5 is helpful!! Please follow this link to donate and/or sign up for my team!

http://www.walknowforautism.org/stlouis/nothaus

I finally did it!

I got my butt outa bed at 5 am this morning to work out! I did a spin class at Golds...I'm pretty sure the spin instructor thought I was there to train for the navy seals or something. I just wanted a good workout, not to swim in my own sweat. Well, I burned a lot of calories anyway.

Today I worked. I work Mon/Tues at Scottrade, I love my job. It is a fabulous balance between being a mommy and having my own time. Work is a part of my identity. Plus, the extra $$ doesn't hurt. The boys are at Grandma/Grandpa. I have fabulous in-laws who love our boys to pieces. Barclay talked to Grandma and she reported that Owen's cousins came over and he actually played with them quite a bit...yeah!

I have a question...just how many freaking clothes can 2 kids under 30 lbs go through?! I do a load of laundry almost every day, and I can never seem to catch up. As soon as I think I have it all, bam!, there is a dirty onesie. My friend Mindy said she does laundry every 2 weeks, I have no idea how that is accomplished.

Barclay and I had date night tonight. Monday isn't very sexy for a date night, but we are thankful for it nonetheless. We got our monthly massage and then went out to dinner. Yes, we get a massage once a month. I think its important to take care of your body, mind, spirit. And my spirit is soothed by a massage :-) Its actually quite reasonable through massage envy.

I'm off to watch Kate minus John plus eight. I've been watching that show for a long time, and I'm addicted even though I shouldn't give them the time of day. At first, I felt sorry for John, cause Kate can be a overbearing bitch, but his behavior as of late makes me ill. But I'll keep watching, cause even though I am a control freak, Kate is 1000X worse and makes me feel better about myself :-)

Re-calibration Sunday

I love going to church. I almost always feel so fulfilled after going. There are times that I am not so much into the topic, but 75% of the time I am better for going. Barclay and I are non-denominational. We believe in God and Jesus, but we do not have a particular affiliation. We attend Windsor Crossing, which is a great place. They have cool music, and best of all you can roll out of bed and go, dressing up is not required and in fact if you did people might look at you kinda funny. Today, the guest speaker was telling a story about a man whose 7 month old died. I can't even wrap my head around how painful that is to go through, and I never never want to find out. The topic was painful to listen to, but I left feeling very thankful for my boys. I can get sour sometimes, and wonder why things have to be "so hard", but really, its not hard. I don't want God to show me hard, I want to appreciate what I have right now.

The timer just went off for Owen's GFCF choc chip cookies with pureed summer squash mixed in. I put pureed veges in everything. He loves spinach brownies. But, just know they are as awful as they sound, Owen just doesn't know any better. I was doing the mix ins before stupid Jessica Sienfield :)

I am digging the blogging. I love to talk, and this is a way for me to talk un-interrupted for as long as I want....

Last night we gave the boys a bath together for the first time. It was so fun. Oh, as a matter of fact, it was the first time we ate dinner together as an entire family. Levi usually goes to bed at 6. But, he had a very late nap yesterday so we all go to eat together. Barclay made porterhouse and Owen ate a ton of it! The best steakhouse in town has nothin' on my husband's steaks. So, we tried a double bath and the boys had fun. Owen "washed" Levi.

Today after church we went to Target and got the boys (I love saying that) a new outside pool. I wanted to get 2, but we are on a cash only budget now to start saving more $$ so I had to pick between the two...you notice I say "I" had to...most of Owen's toys are for me, not him. I'm on a mission to keep him entertained. The happiness factor in our house looks like this...if the following people are happy in this order, then we are okay: Owen-Mommy-Levi-Mason(dog)-Daddy

Bye Bye Pear Tree

We had our pear tree in the front yard cut down today. As much as I bitched about the thing, I'm kinda sad it is gone. It was a nice tree, but man those pears everywhere in the front were so flippin annoying. So many ants and rodents as a result. Plus, now we have more light coming into our house. It just seems so empty out front. Here is a before and after shot.


Today I went to a special needs fair. I wanted to hear a DAN (defeat autism now) doc speak and I'm really glad I went. At first, I was kinda annoyed. It was like a used car lot with sales people trying to sell something at every corner. Everything from theraputic hot tubes (will insurance pay for that?? :) ) to a new bath tub. I still don't really understand why the bath tub people where there. There was a booth with reps from Washington University, so I talked with them for awhile and that was cool. The conference with the DAN doc, Amy Davis, was awesome. She spoke about nutrition and how a lot of what we are is correlated to what we put into our bodies. Now, I love processed food just as much as the next person, but I'm definately more and more into health food for our family. Sure, it costs a little (okay, a lot) more, but in the long run I think it will actually be cheaper as we will be healthier. She has an autistic son so all of this is personal for her.

When I was listening to her talk, I had an ah-ha moment. Owen has been "stimming" a lot this week and acting really wierd at points (lots of toe walking, and sensory seeking behavior). He is on the GFCF diet so of course we wonder what we fed him accidentally. We couldn't think of anything, and during the presentation the doc was talking about chlorine in our water. HELLO, we have been swimming 4 times this week and I had a mental vision of Owen drinking water at the water parks. So, I wonder if there is something to that. Who knows, I have a tendancy to second guess myself all the time.

I asked Barclay if there is anything else I should report and he mentioned all of the things he has done today so I guess I'll put it in here: babyproofing (gates), cleaned kitchen, made Owen some GFCF bread, built a fort for Owen, and now is making his super yummy steaks. Yes hun, you rule.

Here are some recent (i.e. 5 min ago) shots of us and the boys.

Gentleman, leave the speedos at home!

Owen had swimming lessons this morning, so off we went to the pool. From 10 - 10:30 he is supposed to do the teacher led lesson. Well, maybe he would if there wasn't TEN little kids and TWO instructors. He kept walking off, and I don't blame him cause it looks more and more boring each week. Owen is going to be a bad influence on kids. Yes, I'm going to have that kid that when you ask your son why he jumped off the highest part of the slide, well, "because Owen did it...". So Owen wouldn't stay on the wall, and as a result several other boys followed suit. Swimming lessons end and Owen and I went outside to for Toddler play time. Nothing spectacular there. The speedo incident happened when we came inside. There is a lap swimming pool, and Owen wanted to sit and watch the swimmers. So we did. Then, an old man in the shortest speedos came walking over. Men, do not, under any circumstances wear speedos (unless you are built like Micheal Phelps, then maybe it is okay). Yeah, I get that they are supposed to help you swim faster and all that. But, again, unless you are Micheal Phelps does it really matter that normal swim trunks will slow you down a minisule of a second? The really REALLY funny part is that Owen looks up at this man and says "Daddy?". I'm laughing again just thinking of it. I almost choked. First of all, that Barclay would ever be caught dead wearing them, Secondo of all, picturing my husband wearing them. No, thats not nice to say, but its damn funny!! (You think so too right hunny?).

Its only 2:30 and I'm exhausted. This is our day so far: Golds Gym at 8 am (note that the kids club workers commented that Owen "kept to himself and kinda zoned out the whole time", ugh, not good, but he seemed to come out of it as soon as we left), swimming lessons at 10, Toddler swim time at 10:30, home for lunch and some more outside play, got boys ready for 12:30 nap, tried to calm Owen out of huge trantum before bed, met with Owen's speech therapist at 1, called Owen's special school district to set up apt for open house, very quick shower, and now Levi is awake from Nap. And its only 2:30.

I just asked Levi to say mama and he answered with DaDa. And a big toot.

Happy Birthday Aimee!

My first ever blog

I'm trying this blogging business. I'm so out of synch with the times; I've turned into one of those people that used to annoy me as a kid (what do you mean you don't know who Madonna is? Come on Grandma, its a CD, it plays music...whats so hard to understand?). Yeah, as I am still trying to figure out the IPOD feature on my Iphone, and I still don't get what Itunes is. Anyway, the point is I don't really get the whole blogging thing. But, I'm trying it out. I want a way to keep people updated on my (our) lives and a way to document all the cool and not-so-cool happenings with our kiddos. The time is going so fast, that it is going to slip away and I won't remember a thing. Maybe if I blog, I'll actually have something to reference to remember when Levi first pulled himself up (today!).

I'm going to try to keep this updated daily. Just like I said I would get up every morning at 5 am and run (ha ha, yet to do that...). I'm honored if you take time out of your busy schedule to read this, but just know that I'm not one of those witty writers (bloggers??) you hear mentioned. I'm pretty boring, a bad speller, and even worse at grammer.

Just to bring everyone up to speed (good lord, did I really just say that...I'm sure my work jargon will come out more than once); anyway, Owen is almost 3 years old (Aug 15th) and Levi is a little over 9 months. Owen has some developmental delays and we've had a very busy summer getting him speech and occupational therapy. He has made dramatic improvements. He is now potty trained and talks in senatnces. At the beginning of the summer, he was literally bouncing off walls, wouldn't make much eye contact, and was doing good to put 2 words together. Today, he said "Hey Mommy, I want to go under the rainbow". The rainbow is a spray water park thing by our house. So, I packed up both boys and we headed to the rainbow. Can I say how exhausting it is to watch 2 boys at a water park alone? It is. Anyway, Owen has good and bad days, just like we all do. But, for the most part he is doing really well. I'm so proud of him. I was putting him to bed the other night and he layed his head on my shoulder while I read to him and my heart wanted to burst with love. (1 minute later he got up and sat his butt on my face and laughed, but thats beside the point). Levi is precious. He is a very happy baby. He absolutely LOVES Owen. Owen walks up the stairs and Levi laughs. Its is so fun to watch. He is doing a military style crawl but not 'offically' crawling yet. He is drinking from a sippy cup, and says "Dada" all day. Oh, and now he pulls himself up. He basically just sits all day and smiles. As long as he is fed he is happy. (As a reminder, he was over 9lbs when born and hasn't looked back since!). He isn't the best overnight sleeper. Takes great naps, but still gets up now and then throughout the night. Barclay is the one who gets up with him 99.9% of the time, so I can't really complain (see I am giving you credit babe). I'm not a good night time mommy. I really REALLY like to sleep. Right now its 9:34 and I'm tired. So, I think I'm done for the evening.

Here it is, my first blog.