Reverse Vacuuming

Brendan seems to have a knack for doing things in reverse. When he throws balls, he almost always throws them backwards over his shoulder (always makes Pap Pap laugh!!). Lately, he has been enjoying his toy vacuum, but he pulls it behind him instead of pushing it. He'll run in circles around our coffee table. I don't know why he does things this way, but it always makes me laugh, too...

Ultrasound

My big ultrasound was scheduled for Monday, but I just got a call and it has been rescheduled for Wednesday. I'm so bummed...I'm always really nervous about this ultrasound to begin with, and then there is the anticipation of finding out what we're having. I guess a couple of days won't hurt anything...

I guess he was cold...

Yesterday, I changed the kids out of their jammies and threw the jammies on the stairs so I would remember to take them up next time I went. Aidan managed to find the jammies and he brought them to me. Apparently, he has a thing for shirts these days, because he wanted to wear every shirt he could get his hands on...at the same time. He ended up wearing the shirt I put on him in the morning, the onesie and fleece that Brendan slept in the night before, and the t-shirt and pajama shirt that he slept in the night before. He wore them all morning until I put him down for a nap at 1:30. He did feel pretty warm at nap time!

I guess it's better than the naked streak we were having a few months ago...

High Fructose Corn Syrup

Everyone in my family knows how Scotte and I are a little weird about food. Sorry if we get on your nerves with that. But, check out this new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. It shows that much of the HFCS in our foods is contaminated with mercury. See, Scotte and I aren't as crazy as we seem. Now, look at the ingredients in the food you eat and you will be shocked to see how many of the items you purchase are loaded with HFCS. Maybe we're crazy, but I truly think we are a healthier family from trying to avoid food dyes, artificial sweeteners, HFCS, preservatives, pesticides, etc. We are not perfect at this, but I think we have been getting better and better over time. For instance, since I've been pregnant I have been loving pickles. I just discovered that the giant vat of pickles I bought from Costco has yellow dye in it. I'm not going to throw them away, but when they're gone I will only purchase pickles free of dye. Why are they dying pickles anyway? We live in a crazy world. How many times can I say "crazy" in one paragraph!! Here's the article...

MUCH HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP CONTAMINATED WITH MERCURY

Cheese Sticks

By now, most of you know how much I love it when Aidan tries new foods. I always takes photos of the event and put them on here. Sunday's new food (right before we went bowling) was a cheese stick. Brendan snacks on these all the time, while Aidan always says, "nooooo." For some reason on Sunday, Brendan asked for one and then Aidan started asking for one. I gave one to each and he actually took 3 or 4 bites before passing it off to Brendan. Now, we'll see if he ever eats one again...

My Splint

I thought my parents might like to see my splint, since I was trying to explain it last night. It gives me a lot of motion in my hand while still protecting the finger...not too bad, eh?
It's strange how one injured finger can make it so hard to do things. Now, I'm supposed to ice it for 20 mins every hour until the pain goes away...ummm, how do I have time to do that? I'll do my best...

HERE WE GO!!

I can't wait for the Super Bowl!!

Our Bowling Mis-adventure

Today we had a bowling outing with our local Down Syndrome Association. It was geared towards 3-5 year olds, so we decided to go along and see if the kids liked to bowl.

Here was our plan for the day:

First, bowling with friends. Then, off to one of our favorite grocery stores located just near the bowling alley - Trader Joe's! Then, we were going to stop at a local Indian grocery store where they make Samosas fresh in the store and they are super yummy. Finally, we were going to stop into a furniture store because we need to find a dresser for Brendan's new bedroom (baby 3 is taking over his current furniture).

Here is what actually happened today:

First, we drove through a mini snow storm to get to the bowling alley. Then, it was so busy and crazy in there that the kids were a little overwhelmed. They couldn't understand why they couldn't go get a ball and play with it. It took some time for us to get a team organized, at which point the kids still didn't want to sit around and wait for their turn. Finally, it was Aidan's turn. Scotte helped him give the ball a big push down the lane, at which point Aidan started to run after the ball and chase it! Somehow, we didn't anticipate that, although in hindsight it seems very logical. He loves to chase balls. Scotte ran after him and ended up slipping and falling on his behind! Brendan had his turn and thought it was so awesome! Then, it was time to make the kids wait again. They definitely did not understand why they needed to wait! So, while we were waiting, Scotte was chasing Aidan and I was chasing Brendan. Brendan was looking at some bowling balls on a rack and telling me what color they were. He tried to pick one up a few times and I told him not to. I was kneeling beside him with my left hand on the floor for balance. I got distracted and turned my head for a second. At the same moment, Brendan succeeded in picking up a bowling ball. Unfortunately, he dropped it on my hand. Fortunately, it landed on my hand and not his foot. It hurt quite a bit, and the poor kids were fairly upset by the whole thing. Some friends helped us load up the car, and I went to the urgent care and Scotte took the kids home. We felt like the 4 stooges by the time we left the bowling alley!

I have a fractured pinky finger on my left hand, but it is fractured at the very tip of my finger. I'll be going to the doctor tomorrow to be sure that's all that's going on, but because of the location of the fracture there isn't much they will do to treat it. Over the next few days I will need to figure out how to do everything with 1-1/2 hands. It is still quite painful at the moment. It's pretty ugly and is throbbing non-stop.

Wow, I just typed all of that with one hand. All of that excitement today and not one photo to show for it!

We plan on taking the kids bowling again sometime, just as a family where we don't have to follow formal rules. They both really liked the few moments where they actually participated!

Home Health

We are so lucky to have some funding for a home health aide for Aidan, but we have never actually been able to find someone. Well, we finally found someone and she started this morning. We are thrilled with her!! She will just be coming for a few hours a week to play with the kids while I do some chores. Today I folded laundry and put it away and spent some time setting aside items for Goodwill. Aidan is my shy boy, but he took to her really fast. He even gave her a hug before she left, which is unusual for him. It takes him time to warm up to people. So, it seems like we are off to a good start and I am so excited. What am I going to do with 4 hours a week to myself to clean?!!

Prentke Romich Newsletter

Prentke Romich is the company that makes Aidan's communication device (The SpringBoard Lite). Well, Aidan is featured on their website this month in their newsletter. Check it out!!

SEE NEWSLETTER HERE

Raynaud's Disease

Does anyone know anything about Raynaud's Disease? I've been reading some stuff online so far, such as this Mayo Clinic website, but I'm looking for more personal experiences with it. We aren't sure yet what is going on with Aidan, but we've been getting really concerned, especially in this cold weather, with how his feet and hands turn really blue and cold for hours at a time. When they get warmed up finally, such as when we put him in the bathtub at night, they turn bright red. We have a lot of trouble taking him outside in this cold weather because he gets much colder than the rest of us do. I finally talked to our pediatrician today and he seems to thinking it might be something like Raynaud's or some type of "vascular clamping" as he called it. He seemed to think we should try to warm Aidan's hands and feet with warm water as soon as we notice it happening . I think that's a great idea, but I'm quite a worrier and I wonder if we should take him to see a specialist to be sure. A cardiologist maybe? Oh, the worrying never ends when you have children...

Our Visit to Detroit

This weekend we traveled to Detroit so Scotte could go to the auto show with his friend, John. We go every year for the auto show. I know that it's in January, but I think we should skip the auto show in the future and postpone our trip to June. We drove through a crazy snow storm to get there. There were many multiple-car accidents during the last hour of our trip. They got about 7 inches of snow before it was all said and done. Crazy. Almost every year when we go we battle bad weather.

I hung out with John's wife, Katy, and their two girls, Anna and Kate. No auto show for me! The little boy from next door came to visit, and we also visited with some other old friends of Scotte's and their two kiddos. It was a very fun trip. The kids had a great time playing with their new friends.

Aidan had a great time with their dog, Willy. The dog was awesome. If I had a dog, I would want one just like Willy.

For some reason, both kids kept hanging out in the dog's crate. It was so silly; they loved it in there.I keep telling Scotte that we need a 7 year old, because Anna was amazing with the boys. Brendan loves for me to draw him pictures of cars (from the movie "Cars" - luckily he is always happy with whatever I draw), and Anna spent a long time drawing Brendan pictures. It was great.

Brendan also liked coloring with the girls. They were drawing houses and Brendan likes to copy whatever anyone else is doing, so he joined in on the action with a little help from Daddy.Aidan really enjoyed kicking balls with Alex, the little boy next door. They kicked back and forth for about 45 mins.

Brendan was fascinated with the way Anna and Kate's dolls had eyes that open and shut. That was pretty cool...

It's always fun to see the kids together as they grow up. I wish we all lived closer! Thanks, John, Katy, Anna and Kate for a great weekend!

Proud to be an American

With Obama's inauguration today, I feel so proud to be an American. I had a rough day yesterday, feeling really sick with a stomach bug, but somehow waking up today on inauguration day and feeling so much better leaves me very hopeful for the future of our country.

I saw this Superman image during the election, and I worry that many people think Obama will be able to work miracles overnight. I hope people give him time to do his thing. I think he has amazing potential to pull our country together.

Text from Obama's Inaugural Celebration Speech:

"...And yet, as I stand here today, what gives me the greatest hope of all is not the stone and marble that surrounds us today, but what fills the spaces in between. It is you -- Americans of every race and region and station who came here because you believe in what this country can be and because you want to help us get there.It is the same thing that gave me hope from the day we began this campaign for the presidency nearly two years ago; a belief that if we could just recognize ourselves in one another and bring everybody together -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents; Latino, Asian and Native American; black and white, gay and straight, disabled and not -- then not only would we restore hope and opportunity in places that yearned for both, but maybe, just maybe, we might perfect our union in the process.

This is what I believed, but you made this belief real. You proved once more that people who love this country can change it. And as I prepare to assume the presidency, yours are the voices I will take with me every day I walk into that Oval Office -- the voices of men and women who have different stories but hold common hopes; who ask only for what was promised us as Americans -- that we might make of our lives what we will and see our children climb higher than we did.It is this thread that binds us together in common effort; that runs through every memorial on this mall; that connects us to all those who struggled and sacrificed and stood here before.It is how this nation has overcome the greatest differences and the longest odds -- because there is no obstacle that can stand in the way of millions of voices calling for change.That is the belief with which we began this campaign, and that is how we will overcome what ails us now.

There is no doubt that our road will be long. That our climb will be steep. But never forget that the true character of our nation is revealed not during times of comfort and ease, but by the right we do when the moment is hard. I ask you to help reveal that character once more, and together, we can carry forward as one nation, and one people, the legacy of our forefathers that we celebrate today.

Thank you, America. God bless you."

Here we go, Steelers!!

Super Bowl, here we come!! I keep saying that if I have a boy I am going to name him Troy Polamalu Elliott. I'm not sure my husband will go for it...

If you visit the Steelers Fever website you can download all the fun songs (scroll to the bottom).

25 Random Things About Me

I was tagged to do this on Facebook by Jen Franklin Kearns, but if I'm going to spend all the time writing it, it's going on my blog, too!

25 or so Things About MeRules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 2 people to be tagged. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

1. I'm a chocoholic. I especially adore dark chocolate covered almonds and if they are in the house, well, they won't be for long.

2. I've been a vegetarian since I was 11 years old (so, for 20 years now). However, before that, my parents used to bribe me with steak. I loved it.

3. I love to read, and, with a few exceptions, I love almost every book I read. I would be a horrible book critic. I'm easy to please. Right now I'm reading "The Birth House" by Amy McKay.

4. I love the rain. I don't mind being out in the rain at all; I think there is nothing more beautiful than a rainy day. However, I've discovered that I don't like picking Aidan up from school when it's raining. How do you manage 2 kids in a parking lot with an umbrella? I need to hold both kids hands still, they're so little. I always end up with two wet kids and one wet mommy.

5. Most of my current friends met me after Aidan was born, and they would probably be surprised to know that I have a Ph.D. They probably all think I am just a mom. Someday, I might actually use my degree:)

6. I love to travel with my husband, and I think it will be fun when the kids are old enough that we can take them to fun places.

7. Just like Jen Kearns explained, my oldest son has Down syndrome, and I have learned much more from him in the last 3 1/2 years than he has learned from me. I wish everyone could be so lucky.

8. I gave up coffee when I became pregnant with Aidan, and I still drink decaf. I actually feel way better than I did when I was a caffeine addict, so I'll probably never go back. I love the taste of coffee, but if I drink caffeine I get very jittery.

9. I love being outside, but in the summer I always seek out the shade so I don't get sunburned. I can burn in about 5 minutes.

10. I can identify most of the birds that come through central Ohio just by listening for them. Brendan is picking up some of it, too!

11. Someday, I would love to adopt a child with Down syndrome from overseas.

12. I never wear makeup (well, maybe twice a year) and when I do I worry about all the chemicals I just smeared on my face.

13. Speaking of chemicals, I am very paranoid in the chemical department. Check out this website Cosmetics Safety Database. I worry about chemicals in food, cleaning products, beauty products, etc. and do my best to avoid them. Maybe I'm crazy?

14. Speaking of chemicals in food, I like to buy products with just a couple of ingredients. Did you know they make lite orange juice? It has about 20 ingredients, most of which I have never heard of. My OJ just has oranges and vitamin C. Simple.

15. Enough about chemicals. I love using cloth diapers on my kids.

16. I love to watch Days of our Lives, even though it's silly.

17. Before kids, I used to exercise every single day for 1-2 hours. I love to exercise. I look forward to being able to do it consistently someday again. It makes me happy and keeps me stress-free. If I could only figure out how to do it with kids...or figure out how to get up earlier...or stay up later...

18. I love the color gray. Is that considered a color?

19. I love taking photos of my kids.

20. I love cuddling with a cat.

21. I love drinking wine (but not while pregnant).

22. I am very shy about meeting new people or being in big crowds. Once I know people I'm okay.

23. I still call my dad when I have questions about things, just like I've been doing my whole life (sorry Scotte). I call Scotte second, or if I can't get in touch with my dad. My dad knows everything.

24. I like Sesame Street and Laurie Berkner as much as my kids do.

25. I used to clean my house every single day when I was single. I can't say that now...

I would love to hear more about anyone who wants to participate! Leave me a comment if you do!

I'm going to tag Deborah at Sunflower Stories and Sarah and Joyce at Class of 2008.

My Silly Boys

I love when my boys laugh and play together. I hope they grow up to be good friends. Lately, Brendan seems to know exactly how to make Aidan laugh, and I think it's really cute when he sets his mind to it. He usually succeeds! The number one way is to chase Aidan and give him a hug, but number two is to roll around on the floor. I'm not sure why Aidan thinks it's funny...

The Mom Song

I saw this on Renee's blog and LMAO. This is for all the mom's out there...


I'm sure I'll probably sound like that one day. Life is not quite so complicated around here yet.

the wimpy way to play in the snow...

Today we had a snowstorm! Unfortunately, Aidan was already at school when it started, so I had to drive in it to pick him up. I've done my fair share of driving in the snow, as some of you know, but I would happily move to the tropics and never do it again. It was a long trip to school and back, but we made it safely. I love the snow, just not driving in it. There are crazy people on the roads!I am a wimpy mom and didn't take the kids outside to play in the snow. I think it would be really fun with another adult, but not by myself. Plus, the kids don't have proper snow boots. Maybe I need to buy some. Instead, I brought the snow indoors to the kids. They loved it!

We even built a mini-snowman. It was pretty cute until Brendan ate his eyes (raisins)...

The Vaccine Book

I recently read "The Vaccine Book" by Dr. Sears. You can go to the website HERE.

Such a great book! I highly recommend it to anyone with little kids. I've heard so much about vaccines lately, and I really wanted to find out what all the hullabaloo was about. This book is an amazing, completely unbiased reference, which made me think about things REALLY HARD. I'm still not entirely sure where I stand on the issue. On one hand, Aidan gets SO Sick whenever he gets anything that I am so thankful vaccines exist. I'm pretty sure he could have serious complications if he got the bad stuff. On the other hand, I read a few things that really concerned me. One was regarding the aluminum content of vaccines, and another was regarding the timing of some vaccines. For instance, there are some pretty high aluminum levels in some vaccines. Combine 4 vaccines together and they're REALLY high. Much higher than the levels known to be safe. Scary. Also, I think it's crazy that they give 1-day old babies the hepatitis B vaccine. The vaccine makes kiddos cranky and groggy - just what everyone wants when they're trying to figure out how to breastfeed a newborn. Plus, kids aren't at great risk of hepatitis B until they are older.

I've already followed the recommended vaccine schedule for Aidan and Brendan, but I'm not sure I will for baby 3. I personally think most of the vaccines are important. I'm just all in favor of not giving so many at one time, and perhaps delaying some for awhile.

Great read if anyone is still trying to figure out what's going on in this controversy. I highly recommend it!!

Hungry Boy

Aidan is completely over his stomach flu, and now I think we're making up for lost time. He keeps asking me to eat at strange times. For instance, an hour before our usual lunch time, he won't want a snack, but he'll start asking me for lunch foods (e.g. pizza, applesauce, etc.). Then, for 3 nights in a row, just as I was getting ready to put him to bed he started to ask me for dinner again. So, he essentially ate 2 dinners on those nights (really it was more like an early breakfast since he asked for cheerios in milk or rice krispies). I hope the rate of eating gets back to normal soon!

We had our first appointment of the day cancelled today, but we added one at the end of the day. Mondays are so crazy...

Rice Krispies

We were running low on rice krispies, so I picked some up at the store this week. Aidan loves to eat krispies for breakfast. He's my easy cereal boy, always happy with a bowl of cheerios, oatmeal or rice krispies. Well, little did I know the drama that would ensue over this box of cereal. Currently, some boxes of Kellogg's cereal have a small toy in them (one of 12 small stuffed animals from Disney movies). Our box had a small stuffed Dory from the movie "Finding Nemo." Brendan just got the movie for Christmas and is really enjoying it. I let him watch it in the car while we drive around and run errands when Aidan is at school. I opened the box, found Dory, and knew Brendan would love it. Both of our kids love stuffed animals to begin with, especially characters from their favorite shows. Well, Brendan saw me pull Dory from the cereal box, and, yes, he was very excited. However, he then saw the pictures of the other 11 dolls on the back of the cereal box and thinks they are all inside. I've been trying to explain to him for several days that our box only had one prize in it, not 12, and only rice krispies are left inside. I learned a few lessons here. Mainly, I will never let him see where the toy comes from again. Second, I learned the power that marketing has, even over a 2 year old. Just seeing the photos made him want all the dolls.

This is our first experience with toys from strange sources. We are vegetarians, so we never go to McDonald's. The kids have no idea what a happy meal is. Why do they put toys in cereal boxes to begin with? It actually makes me not want to purchase the box, just to avoid the drama...

Photo Books

Every year we give our parents photo books for Christmas with our favorite photos from the year. This year we were so behind that we are just now ordering them. So, grandparents, you should be getting a package in the mail soon!

We took roughly 15,000 pictures this past year (the beauty of a digital camera), which is why it takes us so long to send photo books. We had to pick out our 150 favorite photos from 15,000. It takes time!

Here are my favorite photos of the year...

Brendan...

Aidan...

Perhaps they seem like odd choices, but I really see the personality of each of my kiddos in these two photos. If I can figure out how to do it, I'll post a link to the photobook on here soon...

Mater's Tall Tales

We discovered these little "Cars" cartoons on the Disney channel, and, of course, Brendan loves them. He keeps refering to Mater as "Mater the greater" now. So, Dad and Kelly, I don't know if you've seen these are not. They're only a few minutes long each. Enjoy!

El Materdor



Mater the Greater



Rescue Squad Mater

Aidan's Happenings...

Last week during PT we got out the trampoline, as usual. I haven't been able to put it away this week! Aidan has been sitting on there playing with his Sesame Street friends all week long. They have long conversations, I'm not sure what they're all talking about.

Aidan went back to school today and he was SO EXCITED! He came home giggling and smiling. I'm so glad he is happy in school.

The next part may be gross, so stop reading if you're not interested...
Aidan is fascinated by bodily noises lately. Every time someone burps, he kindly points it out. He'll say, "Momma burp. Excuse me." If he burps, he also lets us know right away and says "Excuse me." If someone is coughing, as we all did for several weeks, he can hear it a mile away and he'll tell everyone who is coughing (i.e. "cough Daddy"). Well, since he has had this stomach virus going on he has had some really bad gas. It's really funny though, I think he actually farted (we call it a "toot" instead of a fart) at least 50 times yesterday, and he told me every time. He seeks me out and says, "toot." I'm wondering if he did this at school at all today. I hope they didn't understand what he was talking about:) He is feeling better though, just a little gas!!

Family Fun

Grammy and Pap Pap came to visit the grandkids last weekend. The kids have so much fun when their grandparents come to visit. I only wish we all lived closer to each other so we could do it more often. Aidan is always looking for a new person to play cards with, and Brendan loves to play cars with people who like cars as much as he does.
For all the grandparents wondering on the status of the kids, Aidan appears to have recovered almost entirely, but he is still not eating the best. Brendan, on the other hand, came down with it last night. He is handling it much better than Aidan did. He's only been sick twice in 12 hours, whereas Aidan was sick every 20 mins for 8 hours straight. I hope this is as bad as it gets for Brenny!!

Side Effects of Therapy

I'm sure that our OT meant really well back when she taught Aidan how to tear paper. It seemed like a useful skill to me, so I didn't question it. We gave him much applause when he accomplished his task successfully! Little did I know he would soon begin to try and tear the paper in the books and magazines I have around the house. Luckily, we have been successful in eradicating that behavior:)

I'm sure Aidan's PT's at both home and school mean well right now as they are trying to teach Aidan to throw and hit a target. It seems like a useful skill, doesn't it? He gets lots of cheers every time!! But, can someone tell me now how to convince him that every object in the house is not a projectile?

With Aidan, people cheer him on so much for accomplishing their goals, then I have to somehow teach him what is appropriate and what is not. It's hard after so much positive reinforcement. The therapists always tell me that it is no different than teaching other children what their boundaries are. But I am here to tell you that it is very different!! Brendan doesn't receive encouragement and applause for tearing paper, and when he started to do it it was quite easy to redirect. Aidan, on the other hand, had someone come into our home and work on these skills and applaud him, only then to have me squash his joy. It's very difficult sometimes!! Any advice???

Overall, I think therapy is worth it. But, I find myself dealing with these sorts of situations frequently...

Another Update From the Sick Ward

Today was a much better day! Aidan slept a lot, and didn't eat much, but otherwise he seems to be on the mend. So far, so good, with everyone else!

Children's Hospital

Oh, I'm so tired of that place. Aidan started to vomit at 2:30am, and, as usually happens when he gets one of these types of viruses, we ended up at Children's hospital. We spent a good 8 or 9 hours there having him pumped full of fluids. He gets dehydrated REALLY FAST compared to other kids I know. He was incoherent when we took him in, and I don't think he even knew what was going on until the last 2 hours we were there. Brendan was a real trooper today. Thank goodness for that. Scotte and I were both up almost all night, so we're hoping to have at least a day to recover before another one of us comes down with the virus. Maybe we'll all avoid it? Or maybe we picked up something else at children's hospital today?

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2009! I am still in denial that another year has passed! We had a very calm New Year's Eve. We took the kids out to dinner, then played at a play area at our mall. Scotte and I put the kids to bed and watched a movie together. It was actually a perfect way to ring in the new year.

Happy New year, everyone. May 2009 be filled with all good things.