Darts, anyone?

Well, our game room/library is starting to take shape nicely. Although Jase spent all day Saturday refinishing our side gate, he found a tiny bit of energy to also hang up our new dartboard cabinet. We bought this on sale last week and I've been dying to play with it since Jase gave me a new set of darts uniquely designed just for me last week--isn't he the BEST husband ever?! So, now we actually have one game in our "game" room---yeah! Darts, anyone?

Slip-n-Slide--remember those?

These slip-n-slides have really improved since my day! Now they include an intertube to slide on, water features shooting out the sides, and a waterfall at the end with fountains cascading everywhere. A pretty amazing thing that you simply plug your hose into in the backyard--cool. It starts to get pretty warm here in May, so this was our first outdoor water activity of the summer. As you can see, the kids had a blast! Our grass is still recovering, however...

Mommy's Lil' Helper

I finally found a job around the house that Bug can do! He's shredder boy now! He LOVES putting receipts, paper...you name it... in our shredder. Of course, we've taught him how to do this so he's safe, but I can't believe how much he gets a kick out of it. It's hilarious!

Mommy's Day

Mother's Days are always unique at our home :) Jonah started it off right by making me a surprise "treasure hunt". He gave me clues and at each clue location I found a toy that we could both play with together. It was the cutest thing! The boys also both made me crowns at church that I got to wear home and for the rest of the day I was treated like a queen---literally! I finally had to tell Jonah he didn't have to keep bowing down to me anymore every time I passed. My Mother's Day gift was a movie ("The Five People You Meet In Heaven"--highly recommend) and some floating bookshelves we saw in a contemporary art museum in Scottsdale. We finally got to clean up our books laying around in the living room since we moved in---which is a huge deal for a neat freak organizer like myself. THANK-YOU FAMILY! I LOVE YOU!

Photo Montages Were Never So Easy!

I just found out about this awesome website named www.animoto.com wherein you can create unlimited 30 second videos with photos, music, the works! So, basically I'm out of a job as a montage creator :( It's really cool. I made a quick sample for you guys to check out. I love it!

Happy Mother's Day

I dedicate this flower to all of the mothers that mean so much to our family. The other day Jonah walked in from outside, after playing with a friend, and gave me a little handful of picked flowers --- nothing fancy, he just wanted to make me happy. "Here Mom, these are just for you!" Of course, I promptly put them in a prominent position in my kitchen and display them proudly. I'm sure he'll never know how much that little gesture meant to me or that I'll always remember that he spent an extra few minutes thinking of just me just because.

Likewise, as Mother's Day draws closer, we'd like to thank some pretty spectacular women that we have had the privilege of knowing in our life for always having done so many "little things" for us. We hold thousands of meaningful little gestures, glances, laughs, selfless acts, hugs, counsel, and shared emotions within our hearts and would like to express gratitude for all of them, from the bottom of ours.

OUCH!

Well, if he looks miserable it's probably because he IS! Our little boy took a tumble the other day while racing a neighborhood kid on his bike---foot missed the pedal and it was all history. I guess we each have our stories about bike accidents, learning the hard way to wear a helmet, etc., etc. Don't worry, he has been plenty pampered and we're gradually nursing him back to health :) So, the good news is: He will survive!

Garden Cam Cont'd

This whole gardening thing is pretty amazing! We can't believe how fast our corn is growing. Jase recently put up some supportive netting for when it is 5' tall....which might be next week at the rate it's going! We're super excited to be "farmers" now and frequently start each morning greeting our other "babies" (seedlings), pulling a few tiny weeds here and there, and then sipping hot herbal tea as we dream about the day when we'll no longer have to run to Sprouts 3 times a week. Ahhhh....the miracle of nature.

More Cuteness

So, I ran upstairs after hearing Jonah yelling "Mom! You'll want to see this!" (and after they were supposedly taking a nap---yeah, right.!) to find Ash in Jonah's bed snuggling, giggling, and giving kisses---I about died and went to heaven.

Washcloth Ritual

It's now becoming a ritual that Asher and Jonah will "request" a damp washcloth ("wah-ah") in order to fall asleep :) They love to play "run" or tag before bed and tend to get hot and sweaty, so I think it helps cool them off a bit and relax. Who knows! But I just had to document this little quirk in our daily lives that I find absolutely adorable.

Autism Diet--Take 2

So today is the 2nd day of Asher trying the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)--which is a little more strict than the GF/CF Diet. He was doing well these last 2 months GF/CF and we did notice some improvements with eye contact, being able to be re-directed easier, learning, and attitude...but he was still having "gut" issues with loose stools, visually "stemming" (getting stuck looking at lines, furniture, shadows, etc.), having eczema rashes, and his language hadn't improved much either. So, I began doing more research and learned that the SCD was originally the first "GF/CF" diet officially and that it doesn't just alleviate symptoms, it can heal the gut and improve the gut/brain connection. It does this by only allowing simple carbohydrates in the form of fruits, vegetables, and nut flours (among other things) that are easily digested by those with Crohn's Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Colitis and...Autism. In the last 2 years, this diet has received significant press due to the incredible strides children with autism are making once on it even when no progress was reported from the GF/CF diet. Anyway, if there was any chance that it could help heal Ashy, of course, I had to try it :) So, we're in the trial phase to see if he has any improvements whatsoever.

For additional information, please visit www.breakingthevisciouscycle.com or www.pecanbread.com. There you'll find the background information for this way of eating, the list of allowable foods, and the incredible testimonials of parents whose children no longer have symptoms of autism. Wish us luck!

Karate Tournament III

On Saturday Jase, Jonah and I all attended a karate tournament together in Wickenburg. It was the first time I'd gotten to go with them...so pretty exciting :) Crystal, Asher's hab worker, came early to stay with Ashy and "do hab" and we left at 7:45am and didn't get home until 3:45pm--so a long day! Jonah and Jase both competed in two events: Kata and Kumate (sparring). Jonah won a medal (4th place) in Kata and a 2nd place trophy in sparring! Although a kid hit him in the ribs, he forged on to take 2nd place! Jase also got a 3rd place trophy for Kata! I was so proud of them---they did a great job!

Garden Cam

Just had to take pics of our sprouting seedlings! They're coming up quickly--seeing as how we only planted last weekend. So far we're seeing corn, watermelon, canteloupe, garden beans, okra, camomille, basil, red hot poker flower and swiss chard lettuce. It seems that our Arizona sun combined with well placed drip lines are a good thing for gardening! Wish us luck :)

Why We Love Da-da

He's cute, he's silly, he's just a kid-at-heart really---he's our DA-DA!!! Jase has to be the Best Dad E-VER! He's always ready to play with the kids, joke around, show love and affection, do anything really for any of us at any moment. He's dedicated, self-sacrificing, and truly a good person. I have so much respect for him--the father of my children-- that I wanted to just take a moment to say "thank-you for being who you are and for loving all of us so much...everyday."

Spring Baby

Well, Ashy turned 4 yesterday (the 21st) and we couldn't be happier. I started off the day with decorations in the dining room and my famous GFCF applesauce pancakes with scrambled eggs and herbal tea. We let Ashy open a gift with each meal--that way it got spread out over the day and he could focus on each toy individually. This year he received, from adoring fans: a musical car, 3 Bumblebee developmental videos, a kite (from Jonah), a Jack-In-The-Box, and a toy guitar. A big "thank-you" for all of your expressed love, notecards, gifts and thoughts for Asher on his birthday. The cake was a true experiment (GFCF vanilla from Sprouts and I made the chocolate frosting). Surprisingly, the homemade frosting was the best part about the chalk...I mean cake. The dairy-free ice-cream left room for improvement as well. But Ashy LOVED it all--which is really all that mattered. Besides having to re-learn what "hot candles" means (he got slightly burned :(), he had fun singing "happy birthday" to himself all day and practicing his blowing! We finished off the day going to his favorite place--the Surprise park. Three was a rough year for Ash and all of us--one with lots of discoveries, changes, tears, and adjustments, but also hugs, love and laughter. We appreciate all of our your love and support for us. THANK-YOU!!!

The Soil Is In!

This was our "fun" last weekend. We were determined to finally fill our SFG raised planter beds with soil and feel like real gardeners. Jase finished the beds weeks ago, but we've been hunting down the crucial 1/3rd part needed to complete the Mel's Mix: course vermiculite. Once we found it, Shane Elsberry, Jase's sacrificing little brother, lent us his time and truck and picked it all up for us. It was interesting hauling all those bags of compost, vermiculite and peat moss over to a tarp, mixing it all together, and shoveling it into beds...but we got it done (thanks to Jase's upper body strength, for which I lack any!). Whew! Are we done yet?