Fairly good day :)

Julian had his halloween party today at his preschool. We took the sandwiches we made (see below) and I hung out cause I signed up to help them out with the party. Several parents and I got put in charge of setting up the obstacle course cause it was raining nad had to be moved from outside to inside. Then we split up again and I got put in charge of helping the kids make tootsie roll pop ghosts :) it was cute! There were a mix of the preschoolers, pre-k, TK and Kindergarteners. They frosted cookies, fished 5 things out of corn to get a prize, made ghost lollipops, ran the obstacle course ( climb under a table through hanging bats, hit little pumpkins with golf clubs through a path then climb through another table with little spiders on the floor and webbing above them.) Then they had to take costumes back off and they had lunch :) it was very cute and a major fun time :)

then tonight after dinner we were getting ready to come back in from the car when I spotted movement in the wet grass (raining again) there watching us was our resident toad or frog.. is kinda neat cause it walks rather then hops :P

Family Bufonidae
Bufo boreas
Western Toad
The most common toad of California is the western toad. It is dusky, gray, or greenish, with warts set in dark blotches and often tinged with rust. It can be found waiting for its prey (moving insects) in or near water. This 2 to 5 inch toad tends to walk instead of hop.

http://www.californiaherps.com/movies/bbhalophilus508.mov

anyhow.. ignoring the rain we hunkered down and shared an Awwwwww moment ;) scooped big bumpy froggy into my hands and julian got to pet it. frog was like.. yeah whatever! lol then inside and washed hands since the last time I held mr frog my hands were icky feeling for awhile. I told julian he had to wash his hands anytime he handled one since some excrete a substance that makes him untasty for other animals to eat :P

he had fun trick or treating at school but we didnt go back out tonight. he made a great lizard even tho the outfit was just to hot. poor kid melted at school! finally stripped him down and put the costume on without clothes lol.

I am a cool mom ;)

Julian and I just finished making sandwiches for his school party tomorrow morning. we cut out bats and pumpkins from bologna, ham and cheese and made bat and pumpkin sandwiches :) it was cute! I cut them out and julian put them together :) talk about fun!

Been awhile...

Sorry it has been so long between last post. Things have been turned upside down with julian out of school and such. The routine we had all fallen into was shattered and I am not sure who is more of a wreck.. julian or I :P

On one hand it has been really rough, as without school julian's behavior is heading back downhill *sigh* combine that with the typical 3yr old attitude *bleah* it definitely has made... for rough times.

With it getting dark earlier, at least on the days he doesn't go to his dad's in the evening he is in bed around 8pm - 8:30pm. It is easier to convince him it is bedtime cause look.. the moon is out ;) :D

Me.. I miss my me time for sure *sigh* but it is fun at the same time cause we do things we normally wouldnt do during the week. and funny boy that julian is, he has discovered mommy is SOoOOoo not a morning person :P

He has been getting up usually before me and I tend to attempt to wake up as he plays quietly or turns the tv on. then I get up and grab coffee and try to wake up enough not to growl ;) Last weekend as I am attempting to wake he comes in and informs me he is poopy.. which is fine since I have been after him forever to tell me right away instead of smelling the whole house up. But I stumbled sleepily into the hallway and changed his diaper. as I was finishing , julian looks at me and says, "you need coffee mom!" smart aleck :P

anyhow.. not much happening other then that. Julian has a halloween party at school on friday so that should be interesting :) I will try and get some pictures.

Halloween decorating with a 3 year old :D... FUN!!

we did art today, julian and I. We found this kit that was suppose to just put together and decorate.. needless to say it wasn't completely "cut out" etc.. so we modified it *lol* alot got left off :P



then julian was estatic over being able to cut out the pumpkin and such all by himself :)

Saying no to 20th Class Reunion

well I decided I am NOT going to my 20th high school reunion but I did go ahead and order the Bio Book to see who is doing what these days. I just cant justify spending a $100 on something that wasnt something I enjoyed very much the first time around.

Not sure I should have even bought the bio book but I am curious about some of my old friends :)

Well.. finally good news :)

just talked with my dad and it looks like Julian can start back to school next week, 3 half-days *dances for joy* I must say the past 2 weeks have been very hard and stressful. I love my child to pieces but after a year of him being in school and 5 days a week for the last 6 months... it has been hard on both of us to be home. He is used to playing with his friends and teacher, burning off energy playing etc. Me, I got used to settling down in the morning and getting things done or just relaxing. Because julian isn't burning off so much energy, his aggression had started coming back :(

If I can believe my ex, things might be a little better as well on the financial disaster I have been posting about. I might see a check in November and December after all.. but he has toyed with my mind and hopes so often I will have to wait till I see the check come before I even hope *sigh*

but yay for school ;)

oh ... and I did hear back from the Library regarding the job positions. apparently they were gathering hire names.. I did make it on the list tho so if they need help, they pull from that list :)

For those who couldn't see the picture I sent out..

Here it is :)

M.I.N.D. Institute's results from study we did

Most of you know we participated in a study with the M.I.N.D. Institute a few weeks back. They were studys 3 groups; autistic, developmentally delayed and normal development. They had gotten julian's name from ALTA with whom we had had services with till julian was 3 due to delays (but no longer delayed) During this time they did 2 tests with him: Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. here were the results :) When they did the tests, Julian was 3 years 3 months old.

Mullen Scales of Early Learning:

Visual Reception - 4 years 4 months (age equivalent he tested at) 98% percentile
*this measures sorting, matching, visual discrimination and memory

Fine Motor - 3 years 9 months (age equivalent he tested at) 96% percentile
*Measures hand coordination and skill development

Receptive Language - 4 years 1 month (age equivalent he tested at) 95% percentile
*Measures the understanding of spoken language

Expressive Language - 3 years 9 months (age equivalent he tested at) 84% percentile
*Measures formulation and use of spoken language

Early Learning Composite:

The early learning composite is a measure of general cognative ability and includes scores fromt he four cogrnitive scales. Julian's Early Learning Composite standard score is 132 adn his percentile rank is 98 which falls into the Very High range

Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale:

Communication - 4 years 1 month (age equivalent he tested at)
*Measures both receptive/expressive Language, and written communication

Daily Living Skills - 3 years 2 months (age equivalent he tested at)
*Measures self-care, functional.domestic and community skills

Socialization- 4 years 6 months (age equivalent he tested at)
*Measures interpersonal relationships, play/leisure abilities and coping skills

Motor Skills - 4 years 1 month (age equivalent he tested at)
*Measures both gross and fine motor skills