Seems like lately, my whole life is random crap. There’s not a lot of synergy or completeness coming my way… Much like that sentence.

There’s a reason the international symbol for Autism is a puzzle piece. Daily I have to rethink and regroup how we deal with Bean. Sometimes it’s exhausting. Like yesterday. I met with his “team”- which consists of three teachers, a psychologist, an OT and a PT, as well as a resource specialist and a supervisor from the school district. All of these people, trying to figure out one. small. boy. He’ll be continuing on in the AIM program for kindergarten, as well as the six-week AIM summer program.  They know Spectrum kids can’t survive the free-fall of summer. Safety net in place. Check.

Four straight days of sunshine! I hesitate to state it, but I think spring might actually be here. Now, I want to be held to it if it snows tomorrow, okay? Get ready to be shocked- I’ve actually been doing some yardwork. Three benedryl seems to do the trick, and if I avoid the rose bushes, it helps too. Granted, I pass out from the drugs after about half an hour, but still, it’s progress! And shhhhhh…. but I may, may even like yardwork  just a tiny bit. Now SHHHHHH!

All three of my fat-headed kids outgrew their bike helmets. ALL THREE! Abby can’t even get Bean’s on- She’s like Dora. Football head. So, I have to figure out how to get three new helmets…

I found my favorite water bottle in the back of the burb! I find I drink a whole lot more water if I haul a bottle around with me all day. Whatever…

I’m thinking of planting tomatoes this year. I haven’t since Bean picked every. single. green. tomato. on the vine and planted them all. It took me a while to figure out what was going on there… He thought more tomato plants would grow.

It’s almost garage sale season! I’ve been saving my pennies and have a small stash of cash squirrelled away- I can hardly wait. I get all tingly inside when I think about it.

Got the car smogged and registered today. Credit cards rock. Sigh… Had fun explaining to Jeffrey what the guy was doing while he molested our car, took my money, and gave me a valuable little sticker back. Fun.

Speaking of Jeff, he read over 300 minutes last month and got a free pizza at Pizza Hut. It was such a rare treat around here that he ate it in the car so he wouldn’t have to share. Meh, he earned it, and Abby would have pestered him to pieces.

Abby has seventeen days till the diapers are done. I solemnly swear, the diapers in this this house are the last pack she gets. Her third birthday (I KNOW!) is on the 25th, and that’s P-Day. I have a feeling I’m going to be cleaning up a lot of pee…

Life is so much happier now that Bean can swing. I can see him out the window as I type, pumping his little legs as hard as they’ll go, peacefully swinging towards the sky and back again. The other night I laid in bed trying to figure out how to make an indoor swing. I think I can do it…

David just got home from the post office- and walked in with another bird. You read that right. That makes three. My husband is insane. At least it’s not a puppy, right? Right? Right…

Things have been insane around here. Beanie is off for TWO weeks for spring break, and Jeffrey is off next week, but they have half days all this week due to parent/teacher conferences. Why even bother? 9-12? It’s more of a hassle than it’s worth.

Abby is sowing some wild oats. She has always had a predilection for coloring on the walls, and all crayons and markers have to be stored up high- like, top shelf high- only someone left a crayon down. There are large red crayon happy faces on the side of Phoebe my buffet, and behind the door in her room. Honestly, (and I know this makes my mom absolutely nuts) I really don’t care- the faces are so stinking cute- she just figured out how to make people, and I love them. Besides, they’ll come off with a magic eraser. I scolded her and put her on a time out. Meh.

At the RS diner the other night, I had the best mac and cheese of my life. I’m scrounging to get the recipe, and as soon as I have it, I’ll share. Seriously. The best.

My piano lessons are going fantastic. Did I tell you that I was taking piano? My backyard neighbor teaches piano, and one day, she gave me a date and time and said “Be there!”. She’s gifting the lessons, and then I’m teaching Jeffrey. I’ve gone from not even knowing where/what middle-C is, to being able to read simple sheet music and plunk out a song! In only a little over a month! It’s fantastic, and I love love love it. A whole new world has opened up. I never realized why the chorister waved her hand around, what a metronome was for, or why some notes went up and down. And now, I do!

Making some steps in my business. Scary, but exciting too. When the time is right, I’ll post details. Getting vetted right now for a trade show. That’s all I can say…

We’re trying to decide if Beanie is ready to mainstream into regular Kindergarten with as IEP, or if he is better off staying at the AIM school. The teachers are going to pow-wow next week and decided. I told them whatever helps him most is my plan.

Congratulations to my sister-in-law who just passed a big test to be certified in her nursing profession. She studied hard, and she did a great job. We’re proud of her.

More to come- things are in the works, and if you hear some hammering and sawing around here, just ignore it. It’s all part of the changing season!

I’ve got five kids this weekend. Mo’s boys are here, because poor sweet Mira is in the hospital with a nasty tummy bug. She’s OK, and I’m sure Mo will update when she gets home, but for now, my house is a house of chaos and testosterone. Abby is doing her best to keep up with the raging river of boy-ness. It’s all Lego, all the time.

I love hospital soap. It’s a strange obsession I’ve kept hidden for years, but yesterday, while sitting with Mira, the smell of the hospital soap was like the best perfume. I must have washed my hands 10 times. It reminds me of when my babies were born. I’m not talking about the industrial smell of hospitals as a whole, but the antiseptic, clean, non-perfume smell of the hand soap the doctors use… So I finally wrote down the name and ordered some. I’m so excited. It’s all mine! Mine, I say!

Our visit with Auntie Heather was fantastic. My children adore her, and, well, I do too. We had planned for a tea party, but I just can’t seem to keep my life in order enough to pull off my plans most days. The tea party went by the wayside, but we did have some nice meals, made some stuff, and just hung out. It was quality and quantity time. Heather and I even got to take off by ourselves for a movie night.

Stella is a boy. We are still calling him Stella. It makes him fit in with the family.

I’ve got a backlog of paintings right now, and I got an order for textile patterns yesterday. It’s not much money, but I have to fill it- by next week. So if you’re waiting, per normal, I’m sorry and I promise I haven’t forgotten about you.

Beanie had his IEP yesterday for Kindergarten. He is going to be continuing on with the AIM program for next year, too. I know he really wants to go to Jeffrey’s school, but his team of teachers say he’ll benefit from another year of extra support and OT/PT/Speech. It’s hard to argue with the growth he’s had, so we’ll go with their recommendations.

Two bunches of broccoli stems in your trash can stink up your entire garage for two weeks, just in case you didn’t know.

We’re in month 14 for unemployment.  Somehow, some way, still hanging on. I try not to think too hard about the ‘how” and just keep riding the wave.

The car goes in to the collision center next week. We opted for going through the insurance, even though the the girl’s dad wanted keep the insurance out of it. That seemed a little too risky for us. We also needed a rental car that holds three car-seats- and staying private ran us the risk of being stuck with that bill- and we need another bill lie… well, you know. So, sorry, Dad Guy. I understand wanting to keep the premium down. Really, I do. Maybe you should have a chat with your daughter about driving while on her cell phone. She’s lucky we didn’t file a police report.

Remember the Birthday Banners? I made pink ones for Valentines/St Hallmark/Tea Party Day. They’re cute, and still hanging over my dining room table. It’s a little bright color in an otherwise too long winter gray season.

Watching the Oscars tomorrow night. It’s the only award show I care about… And I use “care” will flippancy and abandon.

Up this week: Taxes! Woo-hooo!