and even more joys....

15. Have I mentioned how much my girl loves music class? Look at her- sitting nowhere near me- having a blast!!


16. Fur Real Kitty, "Lulu". Yep- this is Violet's Christmas present. So ridiculous, but she loved it in the store, and she really never loves any toys. She adores animals, but is usually afraid of mechanical, battery-operated ones. I think she might actually think she's getting a real cat. JOY!

17. clean toddlers + kisses = big time JOY!!!

18. vintage Raggedy Ann and Andy sheets! Yeah!! I had to change Ollie's Thomas the Tank Engine sheet off of his bed today and the only other set of twin sheets we own (now that we're out of the crib mattress!!) is this pair- which used to be mine as a little girl! Made me happy. I also have a matching sleeping bag for future sleepovers. hee hee.

19. A moment today. I took the kids to the mall- a quick trip, just to pick up a few things. Piled them in the stroller which they haven't done in a while. I'm sure we are a sight at the mall- our big double-wide stroller, Oliver still in his Spiderman slippers, Violet refusing to take off her mittens or hat yet still guzzling her baba...suddenly Violet scream-sings out, "RUDOLPH THE RED -NOSED REINDEER!". One second passed and Ollie answered, "HAD A VERY SHINY NOSE!".

Reader, they sang the whole song, at the top of their lungs, taking turns with each line of music. Crazy bliss.

20. my follow-up from yesterday. I don't want to make this too wordy, but I also want to really make clear just what a blessing this was.

If I had to name the top five most difficult things about having a child with special needs, one of the things included would be the IEP meeting and all that comes with it. IEP means Individualized Education Program. It's something I'd never knew existed before Violet. It's updated every year, more often if needed, and can include any and all members of your child's team (you as parents, therapists, case manager, etc.).

The difficulty comes here, for me, in twofold:

1. as autism is the one diagnosis that presents itself differently in every child, there are no clear-cut means of treatment; every child is unique in his or her needs.

2. as much as I am fighting for the best for my child, it's the county's job to spend as little as possible. Bottom line.

We've been working on Violet's IEP since she turned 3 in June. We have ABA providers for her that aren't covered by our county; they'd prefer to use their own therapists. Ben and I decided to fight to keep our providers and this has been ongoing. We were told to expect, in this order: 2 meetings, mediation, due process and then court, if needed. We were ready for this, and ready to fight; we felt that strongly.

We had our first meeting the week before Thanksgiving, and it was civil, but no one seemed ready to budge. We talked about dates for the next meeting.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we got an e-mail yesterday.

They're letting us KEEP our ABA. And paying for it. No more meetings, no money out of our pocket, no need for Mama to put on her boxing gloves.

Best. Christmas. Gift. EVER.

getting ready for Halloween!

close encounter with the peacock! I love that they roam around free at the zoo. and check out Ollie's big boy sneakers! Arg.

Oliver's big leg coming down ON the pumpkin. I can't believe the mums are still sitting there, to be honest!

We made a trip to the zoo this past weekend- unfortunately only getting one photo before the camera died! It was a GREAT one, at least! It has gotten really chilly here quickly, so I'm going to have to start being creative with our daily activities.

My friend Kevin (we call him "uncle scissors", since Oliver said what sounded like "scissors" about 50 times when he saw him last) made us these AMAZING pumpkins! So cute and perfect for us. He even put little holes in the front, so with a candle inside, it looks like their names are surrounded by stars....we are so lucky!

Oliver is really into footwear lately- at least comfortable footwear. He brings me his Elmo slippers and Ugg boots throughout the day, and then sits down so I can put them on his feet. Too cute.
The latest in the daredevil news: We came into the living room the other night, and Violet was trying to STAND on her rocking horse. It' so like her- she just learned to get on and off alone, and rock it, and she take it to the limit. Between the bareback riding and trapeze work, we almost certain of a career in the circus now.

the beach!

we got the chance to take the babies to the beach on Sunday- what a fun day we had! we, as knowing parents, had little expectations of the day. we mostly hoped for a chance to let the babies feel sand, see the ocean and maybe grab a corn dog for ourselves. everyone did beautifully! the babes LOVED the beach- loved the sand, playing with their toys on the blanket, digging in the wet sand, running in the water in mom and dad's arms. we had an umbrella and there was a nice breeze, so everyone was very comfortable. the water was ridiculously cold, so we didn't spend too much time actually in it. both babes got a few mouthfuls of sand, which is funny, considering no one is even into the texture of oatmeal yet...We only spent about an hour or so on the beach, and then grabbed the stroller for a walk on the boardwalk (in search of corn dogs). Within MOMENTS, Oliver's hat had fallen over his eyes, and when I went to lift it, I realized he was asleep! This hasn't happened in 10 months! Violet was in the front pack nodding off, too, so we stuck her in the stroller and she promptly fell asleep as well. Ben and I had a wonderful walk on the boardwalk, eating and talking, looking in the shops- what a great day!
a couple of other pieces of good news!
Ben passed his second exam! Wa-hoo- two down, one more to go (Saturday, so send him lucky vibes, please!). The best part of passing his exams will be that in his (very small amounts of) free time he will be able to be with us instead of studying. Hooray!
Secondly: we won a FREE double stroller! One of the twin blogs I visit was having a contest, where you enter your twins' birth date, and the one closest to the blogger's twins' birth date wins. Guess when said twins were born? JUNE 22!!!! Now, yes, we do have a double stroller, but it is SO difficult to get in and out of our little trunk- the photos of this one have the person carrying the folded up stroller like a briefcase! What a relief that will be for me! Here's a photo of our winnings:
Cool, huh? Also, the blogger has a terribly sad story- one of those stories that makes you want to run and hug and kiss your loved ones, and makes me remember that even my toughest day is a blessing. You should check her blog out : http://snickollet.blogspot.com/
Today we are off to try a *sample* Gymboree class. I'm excited- I think it will be a great opportunity to put the babies in a social but safe atmosphere and maybe fulfill Ollie's great need to climb, tumble and jump.
Lastly- can you believe I'm going to blog about the $%^#ing mice again? I AM! The other night one went through the kitchen as Ben was up studying. He grabbed a broom (although later professed to not really knowing what he was intending to do- sweep the mice out?) and chased it into the dining room. I, in the living room, jumped on the back of the couch as it ran in there. I figured it would be trapped, but it ran out and darted up the staircase!!!! Now, for those who haven't seen our house, we have a HUGE set of stairs, like 30 or 40. Who would've guessed a stupid mouse could climb stairs? And, in, like, a millisecond? Ben and I were dumbstruck. Was he in our bedroom? The nursery? Up on the 3rd floor? Again, another night with very little sleep. To make a long story endless...we called Terminex the next day for a FULL REFUND. We'll be starting from scratch again with someone new. Yuck.