Happy Thanksgiving!

Don't have much time, but I just wanted to give a quick update.

I'm still working through The Explosive Child. My goal is to have it done by the end of the weekend so I can give it a review. So far it seems to be pretty good. It definitely fits Sarah and has given me new insights into her behavior and what seems to be wrong. More later.

One of the girls, for the first time, took a shower instead of a bath. This is huge. The shower has terrified both of them and I thought for sure they would never want to take a shower, ever. This is a terrific milestone and I'm absolutely thrilled.

Rachel's speech is improving every day. She's using phrases with more intention than before, though lately she's been stuck on her birthday and the associated party. It's driving my husband and I a little nuts. Hopefully, by making it part of the advent calendar, we'll help give her a better sense of time regarding the event.

Sarah has been very helpful and her willingness to interact has increased. We're having some problems with the nature of that interaction at times because Sarah has a tendency to act first, talk later (and I get the feeling that's a personality trait and not part of the autism). However, I think that's something that will improve with time as well.

Finally, my baby is due this weekend, so please don't be surprised if I disappear for a few weeks. I'll update my other blog because homemaking doesn't stop, even for a baby, but my work with Rachel and Sarah will be temporarily suspended. I will probably start blogging again about mid-December at the earliest, more than likely it will be close to or right after Christmas.

Until then, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas (just in case)! :)

Where I have been

Busy, busy, busy.

We have a baby coming.

Rachel and Sarah had quarterly evaluations and that took up more time than I thought (we do them at home with a digital recorder and a number of forms). In case anyone is wondering, they're doing very well. I've been able to zero in on some problem areas that wouldn't have appeared before if I had been doing this on a more informal basis. We're also at the point in our progress where we can reason with Sarah most of the time. And we're learning better how to help her during the times when she's unreasonable. Rachel's speech has improved and she's becoming more involved and engaged than even a few months ago.

Progress is good. :)

We had a bit of illness come through over the weekend, but because of the herbs and trying to focus on health, it didn't hit us nearly as hard as it could have hit us. We had three girls actually come down with it, but the rest of us are still upright and doing okay (crosses fingers).

But the biggest thing after Rachel and Sarah has been preparing for this baby and taking care of my health before the Big Day. If you want a little more info on that, feel free to visit my other blog, Homemaking Cents where I also discuss a change in my church's policy that I wasn't aware of until recently.