Gobble, Gobble!

I'm not certain I'll have a chance tomorrow to send my holiday wishes to all of you wonderful folks...so I'm doing it now.

Without further ado...HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM BOO'S CLAN! :)

Keep Striving

Yesterday evening, my husband and I, along with three (yes, three!) of Parker's teachers attended a speaking event at the illustrious Blennerhassett Hotel. The speaker of note was autistic author and journalist, Sean Barron. Mr. Barron was diagnosed with classic autism in 1965, at the age of three. Also speaking was Mr. Barron's long-time girlfriend, Barbara (I never caught her last name), who was diagnosed with autism at age 2.

It was a thought-provoking and inspiring evening on many levels and I'm so glad we went. Because we were a few minutes late arriving, I was only able to purchase one of his books, Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships, which he co-authored with Temple Grandin.

Following the question and answer segment of the event, Mr. Barron autographed his books. When I arrived at the front of the line, I told him what an inspiration he was to parents and grandparents of autistic children. I told him about Parker's diagnosis and subsequent recovery (which isn't complete...but we're getting there), and I told him what a wonderful influence Parker's sister, Autumn, has been for him.

In response, he wrote this in Parker's book:



It reads:


To Parker,

I hear from your mom that you're a pretty cool guy. Keep striving.

Kindly yours,
Sean Barron

I must confess, I got a little teary-eyed when I read that passage. What an incredible man. If any of you are interested in knowing what autism is like from an 'insider' point of view, I suggest Mr. Barron's books. I'm certainly a fan. :)

...and then she was 5

I'm not sure how it happened.
I mean, everybody always told me it would happen.
Indeed, I even tried to prepare myself for it.
But now that it has happened, I feel a myriad of emotions...happiness, excitement, sadness, loss, and most importantly, a love so encompassing it knows no boundaries.

Happiness that my little girl reached her fifth year as a happy, healthy, sunny child.

Excitement which I caught from her...like a contagion.

Sadness that my little girl is one step closer to not needing me quite so much anymore.

Loss for the infant who resided in my womb and the toddler who toddled her way into my heart forever.

And love. (No other words are needed here).

Yes, Autumn turned five years old on November 16, 2009. As she's been saying quite frequently since then, "I'm a big girl now."

**She pronounces 'girl' like 'gill.' Sooo cute!**

As usual...I have pictures! I'll include brief descriptions for each.

Autumn's birthday party was Friday the 13th (gotta love that!), to accommodate schedules. This is how she looked for her party. Beautiful, yes? :)






She requested a puppy theme for her party. This is the puppy paw banner we found for her...


Her balloons...which were lavender, pastel blue, and lime green.



More puppy decorations. :) It wasn't the easiest theme to find around here. LOL

After a dinner of East of Chicago pizza, Autumn opened her cards and gifts.

Obviously, she likes Strawberry Shortcake now. :) This is most of her loot. [More coming from Washington sometime this week.]

The Cold Stone Creamery cake! We couldn't find a puppy themed cake, so we just got a standard birthday cake and added a puppy candle. Hey, it was the best we could do! :)

And yes, the 'A' in Autumn does look more like an 'R.'

Autumn chose chocolate ice cream and devil's food cake. Appropriate for Friday the 13th, don't you think?

After her party, she stripped off those confining clothes and instead, confined herself in a 'cage.' A cage made of balloon strings, that is. ;)

Yes, she's been carrying this balloon around since Friday. Gah!

I think the colors are just lovely...

On her actual birthday, she decided she wanted to wear the same shirt because it's so 'pretty.' She also received pink carnations, a birthday balloon, and a birthday bear which sings "Happy Birthday" from her grandparents.

Then she decided she needed to draw a picture of her bear...and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed!

Autumn also requested to go bowling on her birthday...so we did. Here are their scores.

Parker = 84

Autumn = 72

(Please note, Parker got a spare in the second frame.)

And...

Autumn = 76

Parker = 65

So they each won a game! Perfect! :)

After bowling, we had dinner at Bob Evans. Once we arrived home, Autumn enjoyed more of her ice cream cake.

Overall, I think she had a very memorable 5th birthday. I hope so anyway. :)

Happy birthday, baby girl. Mommy loves you oodles!

Meet Our Turkey-Peacock.....Parker Jr.

Last week, Parker's first grade teacher sent an 8 x 10 turkey picture home with instructions to decorate it however we saw fit. The key was to get as many family members to participate in the decorating as possible. Everybody who helped was instructed to sign their name beneath the turkey.

So yesterday, since Parker didn't have school in remembrance of Veteran's Day, my mom came to visit and we made the trek to Craft 2000 for supplies. Parker and Autumn picked out most of the items they wanted to use to decorate 'Parker Jr.'

Yes. Parker named the turkey Parker Jr.

After finally finding a glue gun and glue sticks, we paid for our purchases and headed home to create a gobbley masterpiece. Mom was in charge of the glue gun as the rest of us took turns carefully adding each decorative piece.

The end result?

It looked like a peacock.

But Parker was thrilled by the stunning good looks of Parker Jr., and even said, "Wow, check him out, maw-maw!"

So without further ado, dear friends, meet ::errr:: Parker Jr!!!

I also had to include this adorable picture of my little man doing his homework. He's so cute.

Happenings...

I haven't really posted anything of substance for awhile now. Our lives have been rather quiet...and, frankly, that's not a bad thing.

So today, I thought I'd write a short update of our comings and goings. :)


* We've been watching our West Virginia University Mountaineer football team every weekend. Although their record thus far is 7-2, they're a pretty stinky team. Of course, I say that with lots of love in my heart. ;) But boy, do I ever miss Pat White.

* Parker has been getting his methyl b-12 injections for over a month now and...W.O.W! What a difference! Everybody has been noticing the changes which have since resulted. He's talking more and the words are spoken with more clarity. He's more affectionate. In fact, he comes downstairs every evening just to snuggle on my lap. He also calls his grandparents every night to chat. His speech therapist told me this past week that suddenly, everything seems to be clicking for Parker. He's even started going to the gym each morning to sit with his 1st grade class! He's never done that before because it's a very loud environment with the entire student body chatting and laughing. The school principal pulled me aside last week and told me she'd had a short conversation with Parker too. She said, "I passed him in the hallway and said to him, 'Hi Parker. How are you?' " He replied back, "I'm good. How are you?" She told me this with the biggest grin on her face. The staff of that school just adores Parker. Of course, how could they not? The kid is a gem.

* Unfortunately, despite having insurance and Medicaid for Parker (which he qualifies for because of his autism diagnosis), we cannot get these injections covered. It's a huge frustration for me. Although they're not super expensive ($56, including shipping, for 10 injections...Parker receives a shot every third day), it's just another thing added to our monthly budget, which is already straining at the seams.

* My herbs are inside the house...all 19 of them. It doesn't matter that we're now unable to use our dining room table or that we can barely walk through our living room for fear of tripping over a green, leafy being. I must take care of my herb babies...love them! I just really wish I had a greenhouse.

* Autumn's 5th birthday is in just 8 days. She's asked for a puppy theme for her decorations and an ice cream cake. Due to budget constraints, we're just having a small family get-together. I honestly can't fathom that my baby is almost five years old. But she's growing into such a sunny, happy, beautiful little girl. It's a joy to see.

* I'm currently reading the sixth installment of the House of Night series, Tempted, by P.C. & Kristin Cast. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is waiting in the wings.

* Doug is doing amazingly well in his college classes...he currently has all A's! And he seems to have a real interest in geology. Yes, friends, my husband enjoys studying rocks. A pagan-in-training, perhaps? :)

* Doug's best friend, Lenny and his wife, Stephanie were blessed with their first child in October. Welcome to the word, Brennan!

* I avoided a root canal, thankfully. Unfortunately, even after the permanent filling was added, the tooth is still sensitive to cold and even to chewing some textures. I really hope it passes...it's quite inconvenient and annoying. And just an FYI, I'm no longer getting the silver, mercury-filled amalgams. Mercury in our bodies is bad, bad, BAD.

* It's supposed to be in the 70's here today...sunny and beautiful. So it's time to get off this computer and get this day started.

* And finally, I am officially CAUGHT UP on all your blogs! Yay! How long did it take? Only three weeks? Bah! That's nothing. :) Nevertheless, I'm glad I'm reading current entries and not ones which are 4 or 5 days old for a change. :)


Have a beautiful Sunday (or Monday depending on where you are in the world)!

Runes, Runes Everywhere!

I don't normally do this....but because I desperately want my very own set of runes, I'm doing it today. :)

Two equally lovely ladies in blogger-world are giving away runes this month! It couldn't have come at a better time, frankly. I've been pricing them the last few weeks and trying to find the perfect set.

The first giveaway, compliments of Domestic Witch, is a set of rose quartz runes. They're just lovely.





The second set was lovingly crafted by the author of Mother Moon's Message, and her husband. They also come with a handcrafted, custom designed box. Simply amazing!

Please check these giveaways out...won't you?

Our Samhain/Halloween Season In Pictures...

...and a few words thrown in too!

You didn't really think I could publish an entire entry without rambling a little, did you?

I hope you all had a blessed Samhain. Happy new year to my pagan friends! Thank you to all of you who helped make October such a successful, interesting, educating, and just plain ol' fun blogging month.

And now for some pictures:




Parker & Autumn visiting their grandparents. Their 'dad-dad' put this little pumpkin display together just for them.

**********

We received an amazing little package in the mail from Jen at Rue & Hyssop. And it wasn't even a giveaway! She's just a kind-hearted soul who wanted my kids to have some fun Halloween coloring and craft books. Oh, and stickers too! Plus, she included a lovely card and a little note to me too. I was even given the opportunity to see her beautiful face! Yay!

Can you tell Autumn's excited to do some crafts? :) She's been coloring away in the coloring books, Jen. You did good!

**********

And this, my friends, is the beautiful print I won in Mrs. B's 31 Days of Giveaways. Thank you to Emily Balivet for participating in the giveaways and offering such a beautiful piece of work. I'm trying to find the perfect frame for it now. :)

**********

And this! This was the very cool gift I won from Wendy at The Halloween Tree. The actual prize was a Halloween CD, but she also sent some Halloween stickers (which my kids went crazy for), and Halloween pencils and paper. Wendy, you had the CD wrapped so beautifully, I hated to rip the paper! :)

Here's the CD...we've listened to it non-stop since it arrived in the mail. It's VERY good. And Wendy is even the photographer responsible for the amazing artwork on the front cover!

**********


And finally....this is the AMAZING hand-painted gourd I won from Haunted Swamp Designs. How adoarble is he? This little guy will definitely be sitting in my home year-around.

**********

My two little clowns on 10.30.09, the morning of Parker's school parade.

She's such a ham...

Big, floppy footsies.

I'm not convinced he can see around that big, red nose.

**********

This is a pumpkin Parker painted with acrylic paints and covered with clear glitter at school. The picture doesn't do it justice. It sparkles like a diamond in the sunlight. Please note my spearmint and chocolate mint in the background. :)

Of course, Autumn had to make some too after seeing her brother's.

Ta da! We couldn't find clear glitter...so we had to use silver. And because it's hard to tell in the pictures, Autumn's pumpkins are purple.

**********

Autumn at Parker's school, waiting for the parade to start. She calls that 'her tree.'

The witchy principal at the start of the parade, marching to the beat of such tunes as Thriller and Ghostbusters.

Post-parade...with his autism teacher.

**********



And finally....Samhain night! Trick or treating we go!

Showing off their pumpkin artwork.

Our little front porch. Living in a townhouse, we don't have much space to decorate, obviously. The herbs on my front porch are a bay leaf, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, lemon balm, thyme, and Italian parsley.

Happy Samhain! (Please ignore the garbage we were taking to the dumpster.)

Our little family.

Trick or Treat!

I thought these trees were so pretty!

Doug's pumpkin creation...can you tell what it is?

And the other one....

And finally, (sorry for the photo heavy entry), Autumn checking out her loot...and daddy checking it out too, making sure it's not opened or obviously tampered with. Parker had already eaten one of the milk-free peanut butter balls I bought especally for him, since he can't eat normal candy. (FYI, to help recover Parker from autism, we have him on a gluten/casein-free diet.)

It's been an amazing month and I'm so happy I have you all in my life. Thank you to all of you for taking the time to get to know my family and me.

As a sidenote, I watched the remake of Halloween last night, the one directed by Rob Zombie. I wasn't impressed. After that, we watched Day of the Dead. It was kinda fun. :)

Guess Who's Rocking His School Pictures?

It's my little peanut butter boy, Parker, with his striking baby blues and his big boy front teeth.

Check it out, won't you?



[Please notice the rockin' hair his mommy lovingly styled for him.]

And for a comparison, here is last year's school picture. He still had all his adorable baby teeth then....

::sigh::

They really do grow up fast, don't they?



I'm so proud of you, Parker. Don't grow up too fast, okay?

A Friendship For A Lifetime....

Meet Brittany....one of my very best friends.




We've been through so much together...including pictures which showcase our my double chin.

She's like the sister I've never had.




I even love her pooch, Moogie [pronounced Moe-gee].

Our time together was amazing. Sunday evening, we spent nearly eight hours together dining at the Outback Steakhouse, having drinks at a local sports bar, getting/giving a tour of my townhouse, and even stinking up the bowling alley with our gutter balls.

Although our activities for the evening were mundane, doing them together made them extraordinary.

Brittany even spoiled me rotten with spectacular gifts which included:

A bottle of wine...



...called Bitch. :D



A Vineyard tart warmer (with Vineyard tarts included), from Yankee Candle...



...which is sooo me. The girl knows me well.




And this is the exciting part...having lived in the Boston suburbs the last few years, Brittany and her boyfriend, Anthony, travelled to Salem one last time before their move to Missouri.

This is what they generously chose for me at Laurie Cabot's shop, Crow Haven Corner [and yes, I even kept the bag]....

...a Salem Witch Bottle which protects against dark magick, evil, and mischievous spirits.

Included inside is Atlantic sea salt; soil from Naumkeage, Massachusetts; a rusted iron nail; a DOMUS DEFENDIO charm; and herbs of clove, rosemary, and sage.



And finally, she chose for me some beautiful glass jars. I haven't decided what to use them for yet, but I'm thinking of maybe making bath salts with some of my harvested herbs included.

She also brought me a copy of one of her photography prints...a stunning view of Provincetown.

Like I said....spoiled!

But who's complaining? Not me!

On Monday morning, we had breakfast together and said our good-byes. I'm definitely not referring to them as final good-byes, because we plan on hanging out again very soon. Britt and I are two peas in a pod...and so are the men in our life. Doug and Anthony were quoting Seinfeld episodes to each other all night long. And one point during the evening, they both started singing a Tom Petty song at the exact same time.

Yea, freaky.

To end this post about my amazing Brittany, I thought I'd share this little gem I recorded while we were at the bowling alley. :)

I love you, Brittany, and I'm so glad we were given this opportunity. Here's to next time!

They say it's your birthday...

...it's my birthday too!

My blog's birthday, that is.

Yes, indeed, I started blogging on AOL journals on October 26, 2003. The title of my journal at that time was My Life With A Toddler and Parker was 18 months old.

After Autumn's birth in 2004, the title changed to ...And Then There Were Four, via popular vote.

And finally, during my transition to blogger, the title became a play on a show that's since become an embarrassment to American television...but we won't go there. :)

I couldn't let this day pass without at least mentioning the birthday of what has become an incredible part of my life.

Happy 6th Birthday, Doug & Boo + Two!


**Sidenote**
My laptop is fixed, I'm done running around for a bit, and I will be blogging in full force starting tomorrow. Also, expect some visits from me to your blogs as well!