Overheard Conversation on the way to Scouts

Brevin: Mom, why is Kristi so interested in me? (Our ABA behaviorist who keeps tabs on him 3 hours a month, but who is now on maternity leave so her boss Kelli came to observe him at Scouts today).

Mom: Because you're a pretty interesting kid!

Brevin: Is it because I used to have autism?

Mom: What do you think?

Brevin: Probably.

Andrew: (Brevin's best buddy) What's autism?

Brevin: Oh, it's something I was born with that my parents learned about when I was about 3. It's a disability, but I grew out of it. Well, I still have it a little.

Andrew: But what is autism like for you?

Brevin: It helps me concentrate. Actually, did you know that everyone in the whole world has to have a little bit of autism or they wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything! (I like that explanation!)

Andrew: Cool! That means I have austim too because I can concentrate on a lot of things all at the same time!

Brevin: Who's your favorite Pokemon character? (Boys will be boys).

Sometimes it is a double edged sword having a son who is so high functioning--enough to know the difference and yet able to communicate how he feels about it all. He is very concerned about our baby having autism (probably overheard me talking to my mom) and has had nightmares about it. I keep reminding him that if our baby has autism, we will know what to do and we will give him the help he needs just like we did for Brevin. "I hope he doesn't have any disabilities because I really want to play basketball with him when he gets older." You still can, buddy boy.

ACE is the Place

Lindie and Brevin transferred to a new school a week ago. It's a co-op school with about 100 students. The name of the school is ACE--Alternative Co-op Education. Each class is a combination class. Lindie is in a K-1-2 combo class and Brevin is in a 3-4 combo class. The teachers are amazing and my kids have transitioned so well! I think having music playing as the kids line up in the morning helps--how can you not be happy when "Lollipop, Lollipop" is playing in the background as you start your day? The music changes everyday. I love it!

What I love the most about this school is the homework. No worksheets! Each week of the month is designated towards reading, writing, math or project week. Lindie just finished her project week. She got to choose whatever she wanted to do and she chose to make sugar cookies! She wrote out the recipe, made the grocery list, went grocery shopping, made the cookies and I photographed each step of the way. She made a book out of the pictures and presented it to her class--complete with the cookies! She came home BEAMING! I can't think of a better way to teach kids self-esteem. Brevin just finished his reading week and he had to write down everything he read that week. Quite a varied list. And now we are beginning our Fall Break of no school!!! Yippee!!

We close escrow on our house on October 14th. The owners move out October 25th and in exchange are leaving behind their 5 barstools to go around the kitchen counter and their beautiful area rug for the family room. Looks like we get to come up with real furniture--non-gifted couches!! Wow. I really feel grown up now. We move in on Halloween!

The great thing is our new house is only 5 minutes from ACE. It really is the PLACE.

Wonder of Wonders, Miracle of Miracles

Randy and I bought a house this weekend!! It was the strangest thing. We have been trying to find a house in our current ward so our kids could stay at their current school and have minimal change with a new baby on the way, etc. And then we saw "the" house. It is in another ward, another school, out of the historic Vacaville area that we love and into the Brown's Valley area of Vacaville. And yet, it feels so right!

"The" house still has three bedrooms, but we like the idea of having our kids share rooms for the rest of their lives. It has a "princess staircase", nice size living room, recently remodeled kitchen complete with granite counter tops and white country looking cabinets, the kitchen also has a walk-in pantry, and the kitchen opens up into a gorgeous family room. "The" house has a fully landscaped backyard with about 15 fruit trees and a garden with tomatoes and peppers ready for us to move in and pick. We have no rear neighbors. It is in a nice, quiet neighborhood at the edge of town.

Randy and I keep pinching ourselves. Did we really just buy a house? A house that is beautiful and that we can afford? How did this happen?

So, as of Nov. 8th, just two days before my due date (PLEASE BE LATE BABY), our new address will be:

821 Monaghan, Vacaville, CA 95688.

MIRACLE!!

Big, Fat and Pregnant

Does anyone have a polite response when people ask when you are due, and you tell them in two more months, and they GASP, and their EYES POP OUT, and they ask, ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT HAVING TWINS???

I must be getting grouchy and uncomfortable because I am so tempted to make a T-shirt that says, "Due in two months, and I'm not having twins!"

We found out the owner we have been renting our home from is going into bankruptcy and foreclosure, so guess what I get to do when I'm BIG, FAT and PREGNANT--pack!!! Oh, the tears I have shed in my many conversations with my husband on what we should do--stay in this home, or get something bigger? Buy or rent? I am beside myself with worry. We decided to change realtors in the process, because the one we've had for the past 3 months just isn't that knowledgeable. And if I have to see another smoker, pet infested home again I will cry again!!!

So I'm going through everything and making a big D.I. pile--something that needs to be done anyway.

To escape from it all, I'm reading a delightful series from the library by the author "Miss Read". All of the books are about a school teacher in rural England and her associations with the other members of the community. It reminds me of the Mitford series of books because of the strong emphasis on characterization. Ah, escapism.

A good book and a husband who just came home from a Thai dessert run for me--mango sticky rice. Yum. Maybe I can survive the last 10 weeks of this pregnancy afterall.

The Grand Re-Re-Opening of the Nut Tree

I can remember "the original" Nut Tree when I was little. I have pictures of myself on some of these same rides that my kids now enjoy. Well, the opened the Nut Tree a few years ago, only to have it close last winter. On Saturday, they opened a few of the original rides and moved them closer to I-80 so passers by can see them and hopefully stop and enjoy the rides. This was a free event, and we all enjoyed it! Here is Lindie on "Rose" the ostrich on the carousel.

Randy, Lindie, Brevin and Michaela getting ready to ride the train. I squeezed in after the picture too.

Brevin next to the giraffe.

Michaela on the rocking horse.

Lindie on the rocking horse.

It was a great morning together as a family--one of the reasons we love Vacaville--it is definately a family community. We ran into so many friends from our stake, it should've been a stake activity!

First Day of School

This is what Michaela did while both kids were away at school all day long. She said, "Mommy, I want to make a mask." So she did! She had fun scaring me with it.

Here they are! The big 3rd grader, 1st grader and preschooler. Brevin has Mrs. Grow this year--an artistic/science loving teacher. He came home from school SO excited! "It feels like I've been a 3rd grader forever and I love it!"

Lindie's kindergarten teacher "looped" up to 1st grade with her. Maybe it was the LONG first grade day, or the fact that she's still getting over her week long virus of high fever, because she came home saying "School was so BORING. All we did was work, work, work."

Michaela's Co-op Preschool in Dixon doesn't start until after Labor Day--the way it should be! I'm excited because her teacher will be the same one Lindie had at her UCDavis preschool!

Overall, it was a great day. The kids came home exhausted. They spent the afternoon creating things out of paper and crayons. Brevin made some awesome origami, Lindie made "the tallest ladder in the world" that led her to the top of a Redwood Tree where she told us everything she could "see." She also made a quilt out of paper. Michaela made more masks! They told me about their day over brownies and smoothies. I missed them! And we do it all again tomorrow....

Whirling Dervishes

We had a Robertson Family Reunion on Sunday. A member of my mother-in-laws ward asked if she could stop by after church to let the girl cousins choose some dresses her mother had made before she died. It turns out her mom was quite the Daisy Kingdom seamstress. This member of the ward brought the dresses and presented them on a hanging rack so the four girl cousins could choose their favorite dresses. It was better than Christmas! Here are the cousins putting on a fashion show. The princesses from left to right are: Sonya,7, Michaela, 3, Lindie, 6, and Emma, 9.

More twirling and whirling. All the dad's were so encouraging and had all the right things to say to their princesses. It helped the girls feel comfortable putting on their show when the boy cousins were there watching too.

Beautiful cousins! Sonya, Lindie, Michaela and Emma.