ASTAR Auction

Hot Mama and Dada...

Priceless....

Tickets to ASTAR charity auction benefiting Autism: $300
Dress, Shoes, Scarf for auction: $200
Dry cleaning for A's Suit: $35
Manicure, Hair Style, Make-Up Application: $100
Babysitter: $75

Getting ALL dressed up: PRICELESS
Spending a fancy night out with my husband: PRICELESS

Showing our love and support for dear friends and for all families who have Autistic children:

I can't even begin to put words on exactly how PRICELESS this is.

Wow... what an emotional and moving event we went to last night. As some of you may know, close friends of ours have a daughter who is autistic. Olivia is a BEAUTIFUL little girl who is special in so many ways. When our friends mentioned this benefit auction to us, Anthony and I knew immediately that we wanted to go. Mainly, to support our friends and to show them that we care (and also to have a REAL night out). :-) Our friends have been through SO much. They are good people who just want the best for their daughter (and other families living with Autism). Yes, it was costly... but what FUN to get all dressed up, have a fun night with A, and support our friends.

Hearing the stories of these children and their families is just heart-breaking. I think the hardest thing about it all is not knowing... Why does my child have this? How did he/she get it? Is he/she going to get better? Worse? How many more treatments and therapies can we try?

We all were in tears by the end...

To Robert, Julie, and Ms. O,

We LOVE you so so much and are here to help and support you in any way we can. You are AMAZING parents and people. I so admire you both!

Olivia is one lucky girl and you both are two lucky parents.

10 Coolest Small Towns

And I am proud to say... that I've never heard of any of them! Budget Travel published this list of up-and-coming towns that "guarantee a fun detour on your next road trip."

If only I had the time to travel to America's top 10 coolest small towns!

• Millerton, NY
• Milford, PA
• Yachats, OR
• Waitsburg, WA
• Pa'ia, HI
• Parkville, MO
• Silver City, NM
• Peterborough, NH
• Tuscumbia, AL
• Collinsville, CT

Rumor has it that you can get the house of all houses in these towns!!!

Picture of the Day

Laura: "Logan, what the heck are you doing?"

Logan to Mama (looking like I am dumb or something) in his very matter-of-fact voice: "I'm climbing up the doorway. Cool, huh?"






And yes, he did climb this with his own two feet and no help!

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Hhhmmm... could it be Lo and Le?!?! Yes, I do think so. Kids are great- everyone is happy, healthy, compliant, and behavior is great (for the most part). EXCEPT, both Lo and Le have been waking up at night. Like 2 or 3 times each night. They usually call out for us and will not settle down until we go in to check them and reassure them. I don't know why they are waking up. Bad dreams? Bodies running and running? Growing pains? Adjusting to new routine? Who knows! Luckily, they will (usually!) go back to sleep after I go and check on them. However, it is a pain to fall into a nice relaxing sleep, only to be woken up- 3 or more times a night!

Well, this is my only complaint these days. All in all, life is good and the kids are great. We are settling into our routines and both kids love school! They are so happy and proud that they go to school. It makes me SO happy to know that they love school and are confident and secure to be away from us during this time.

In another month, we will be pre-registering for KINDERGARTEN! What?!?!?!? Crazy...

Things That Bug Me

1. Coming home from vacation to find my car COVERED in sap from our lovely pine tree out front. Anthony and I spent- honestly- about 4 hours total removing the damn stuff from my car. Not fun and not a good use of our time. At all.

2. School parents who call me on the second day of school complaining about their child's teacher. Second day. Enough said!

3. Not knowing if Logan's little foot is fractured, broken, or just sprained. (It's a long story... drop me an email if you want to hear it). Come on people, is it really that hard to read an X-Ray?

4. All hell breaking loose (whining, crying, the "I wants" and the "I needs") every time (well, maybe about 60% of the time...) I walk in the front door. (After big smiles and super hugs, that is.) Hhmmm... what does this mean?!?

5. Cleaning up all the sand that the L kids tracked into the kitchen... thinking that my cleaning duty is done for the day (HA)... only to walk downstairs to see the play room covered in Kix cereal. Fun. Yes, a lot of fun. It's a good thing my kids like to vacuum. They did not, however, like the long time out they had after they cleaned up.

6. Having a certain "friend" of Logan's (who is almost 2 years older than him) be so excited to play together, begging for Logan to come over, and then completely throwing a fit and telling Logan that he is not going to invite him to his birthday party when Logan says he wants to play outside instead of inside. My Lo and my Le are FAR from perfect, but, come on kid, grow up. I know it's not a big deal and kids are kids but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

7. It's even more annoying when the mom of the same kid just smiles and laughs at her son, making excuses for him and completely ignoring the fact that this 6 year old is acting like a 2 year old. Again, I know, I know, kids are kids and maybe I am being over sensitive but still!!! And don't worry- it's no one who would ever read this blog.

It's just been one of those days...

Life... and stuff.

Here I am again, thinking, man, where did the time go? Am I really that busy? I know I am an organized person... just ask anyone who knows me real well!! Yes, I am working part-time, raising (along with Anth) a 4 year old and a 2 year old, and doing work for Big6/Super3, but when you look at our calendar, it seems (somewhat) empty. The day to day living (laundry, cleaning the house, more laundry, dishes, packing school bags and getting ready for preschool, playing with and enjoying my wonderful family, laundry (yet again), and grocery shopping is really keeping Team Robinson busy... and Anthony is pretty good about helping out!

All in all, life is good and I don't mean to bitch and complain (again having 2 beautiful and healthy kids along with a supportive family is more than enough) but, boy, I would love to come home from work and take a nap... would love to watch the latest episode of Oprah... cook a really nice meal instead of "throwing" stuff together... read the daily/weekend newspaper instead of recycling it... etc.

I love being a mom- it is simply the best... but it is also the hardest thing ever.