Recent Projects, Baby Hannah, and Sam with Water

I recently made Maya two skirts using an Oliver and S free pattern. You can make your own using these very EASY directions:http://www.oliverands.com/blog/2008/08/lazy-days-skirt-free-pattern.html

The bottom skirt is made from a great remnant I got at the fabric store and some pretty blue ribbon. The top one is polka dot Riley Blake fabric with ric rac trim. Maya LOVES them and has worn them every day this week. I think I will need to make a few more soon. SHe calls them her big girl skirts and tell me she is going to wear them to school.

The project below is a knit necklace I made my sister for her birthday. The kit is from Jimmy Beans Wool (http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/). the yarn is a beautiful silk/merino blens and the tiny beads are glass. I designed some simple earrings to go with it to make a nice set. I hope they wear well.

We have been adjusting to life with three children. Hannah is a pretty easy going baby as long as mommy is in sight. She does not get through the night without nursing a few times but I don't really mind. She goes to bed in her crib and then after her first wake-up she sleeps with me. She is growing FAST. At five months she was 17 lbs 6 oz. Since she was born earlier in the year than Maya and she is growing faster my goal of trying to only re-use Maya's clothes is not going to work out (I got her a few things of her own at first but I was hoping to limit the shoppingas much as possible). I caved and bought her more short sleeve items to last into the early fall. There she is on my lap.

Maya loves to be a big sister but she has some jealousy to manage. She also wants desperately to play with Hannah and finds it hard to be gentle. She is not displaying anything out of the normal range of sibling adjustment. Whenever I take a picture of Hannah, Maya wants in on the action.

Sam loves water as much as he did last year. He has a water table on the deck which I fill a few times a day. He has various items thathe dunks and then lines up on the table or the railing. He also has Mega Blocks (like large legos) that he lines up on the table upside down. THen he sucks up a mouthful of water and fills each block to the brim. Then he knocks them off the table and repeats. The only problem with the water play is that he ends up drinking a lot of the water. He pees and pees all afternoon and then wets the bed at night. I think I am going to have to cut off the water play at 4 from now on to see if that helps. He refuses to go back to pull ups at night (and I don't really want to anyway). Here is my tall handsome boy with a selection of water filled items:

Watching through the window and simple goals

Summer is winding down and I am feeling that mix of emotions that comes with "back to school" time. I anticipate the extra fatigue of having to get the girls and myself out the door by 7am after interupted nights. Then I will teach all day, pickup the kids, manage Sam's afternoon therapies, try to keep up with the house and grading only to go to bed expecting, at best, an hour or two of sleep at a time. I feel sad about not being with the girls during the day. I feel guilty about NOT being sad about time away from Sam ( I don't know how you homeschooling moms do it). I feel frustrated before Sam's school year even starts because I am pretty sure we will see little progress again this year. Who knows, maybe Sam might be able to get to 3 whole minutes on his "waiting" program. (insert sarcastic eye roll here)

I also feel a little down that yet again we have done nothing away from home as a family. I have been watching through the window while neighbors pack their bags and their cars and head out to make memories at the beach or in Europe or at a campsite. I am not dreaming of a a resort vacation but a day or two at a lake or the ocean would be nice. My mother, my sister (with her husband and son) and my father all ended up on holiday in England (my parents are British) this summer. They were there at different times but they got to see the places we lived/visited when I was a child. They got to see where my grandparents ashes were scattered. jealous. jealous. jealous. I was so jealous I felt sick to my stomach. I know it is selfish and stupid when considered along with all the real problems in the world but that it how I felt. Yet again this year I thought about buying a bathing suit but didn't. Yet again I didn't need it. I can't blame it all on autism. We couldn't have afforded a trip even if Sam were typical.

So, can we pick up your mail? Sure, we are not going anywhere. Can we pick up the papers? Sure, we are not going anywhere. Keep an eye on the house? Sure, we are not. going. anywhere.

* * * * * *

I have been keeping a mental list of simple things that would make life a little nicer here at home. I am hoping to add these into Sam's home program over the next year. Some of these goals are more about me than Sam

1. I would like to be able to take a walk - a long one. I have had three kids now and I need some excercise. We actually started this one already by teaching Sam to hold the stroller and walk with me. He gets Skittles every so often if he "walks nicely". If anyone has a more natural alternative for Skittles please tell me. They gross me out but Sam won't go for jelly beans or gummies with natural colors and flavors. He has done pretty well. A few block is he starts jumping up and down osessively and hooting but we will keep at it.

2. I would like to be able to sit together at the table for more than 2 minutes.

3. I would like to be able to have something to drink with dinner. If I bring a glass of water to the table Sam will either steal it and spill it, stick his hand in it, or break the glass. If I use a plastic cup he will go bananas wanting to play with it.

4. I would like to put the books back on my bookshelves and know that Sam will not destroy them.

5. I would like to be able to take Sam to the grocery store and not have him try to knock all the cans off the shelves.

6. I would like to be able to spend a day at a beach next summer - any beach. I don't expect to get any relaxation from this but I want to girls to have summer memories that include sand and water.

I had more goals on my mental list but I can't recall them right now. Sam has been up since four and the baby still nurses during the night so that might have something to do with it.