Today I attempted to make the ultimate sacrifice for my family. I went to Home Depot and interviewed for the position of "cashier". Why would I do that? Well, apparently the only two companies in the world that have insurance that pays for Cooper's ultra expensive ABA therapy are Home Depot and Microsoft. I am thinking it may be a little tricky for me to get a job at Microsoft, Home Depot is totally doable though. So I went and interviewed and they were about to hire me, but then they mentioned that they were only hiring "temporary employees" which is code for "no benefits". So I didn't take the job. Maybe I will try again later, the manager said that in a few months they may be hiring for actual permanent jobs. Oh well, it was a good idea. I am not sure how I was going to find the time to work at Home Depot and take care of my family and myself anyway. It sure would have been nice to have that therapy paid for though.

I hope that job goes to someone who needs it to put food on their table. There were a lot of people there interviewing that looked like they needed it. It sure says something about the economy when that many people show up to interview to be a cashier at a home improvement store.

This morning I watched Cooper's class. He did good as usual. He did imitate patting his head a few times during his one-on-one time with his teacher, which is big. He also waved once during the "Hello" song but then realized what he was doing and stopped mid-wave. What is up with that? He is soooo painfully shy. He was very cuddly with all his teachers today though, I could literally see their hearts melting through the two-way mirror :) They had an outside teacher observing today and after class she came up to tell me how adorable Cooper is. She didn't say that to any of the other parents ;) My boys are both adorable, that is one gift they have been given to help them on their journey through this oh so difficult life.

Cooper amazes me. He is getting so good at saying his numbers, but tonight he was playing with this teething toy which used to be like a necklace but broke so now it is just a plastic string about 12 inches long. He arranged it on the sofa so that it looked like a "6" and said very clearly, "six"! Now that is crazy smart for any 2 year old, but absolutely ridiculous for a non-verbal two year old. And it isn't just numbers, yesterday he made it back into a circle and said "O" and tonight I think he was saying/making a "D".

Quinn apparently had a great day at school today. His teacher wrote that he seemed much more alert and interactive and he actually signed "more" for them today! That is big, he has never signed anything at school before.

I had my parent training at KKI this morning on PECS. It was very interesting and I think I am going to make books for both boys. The woman giving the training said that Cooper might especially respond well to having the words printed bigger on the each picture after I told her about his interest in letters. I always thought of PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) as an alternative to speech, but today I realized that it can also be a gateway to speech as well as an aide for teaching reading. So the same system could do different things for Quinn and Cooper and seems like it is worth a try. At the very least the boys will like looking at all the little pictures and playing with the velcro :)

Water Park Pictures!

Quinn taking a break from swimming.

Cooper having a great time in the pool.

He is such a fish!

Playing with the number fish Grandma Jan bought him.

Quinn just loved the hotel beds!

And the hotel television.

Cooper cuddling with Grandpa Don.

Some wrestling.

Where's Quinn??

Cooper was not himself today. I watched his class this morning and he was visibly tired. He kept yawning and his teacher commented to me that his eyes just looked tired. I have no idea what is going on, he must be getting sick. He survived his afternoon therapy but when he got home he fell asleep on the sofa. Of course he kept getting woken up by his brother and dog, but he kept falling back asleep. That is very unusual. He went to bed a little before 7PM without eating anything and went right to sleep, also very unusual. I don't know if he will be going to school tommorow, we will see what he is like in the morning. Poor Baby.

Quinn on the other hand is feeling much better. He ate non-stop all afternoon and night, I guess he is making up for not eating at all this weekend. He also got into all kinds of trouble so that means he is feeling like himself again. He didn't have school today because of the 2-hour delay but tommorow should be fine, then after we have horseback riding. I think it will have to be inside this week though :(

This weekend we headed out to Lancaster, PA and spent the night at the HoJo's. Why would we do that you ask? Well, this particular HoJo's has an indoor waterpark and Grandma Jan and Grandpa Don insisted we take the kids there. It was nice, like a mini (and much less expensive) Great Wolfe Lodge. It was not however 84 degrees as the sign outside promised, it was much chillier than that. Cooper didn't care one bit though. He had the time of his life splashing around the pools and going down the water slide over and over. His poor knees and feet are all scratched up now from his hours of romping around in the scratchy pool. He also really enjoyed the fact that there were numbers printed along the sides of the pool, that kid just loves his numbers. Quinn had a great time too. He seemed to like spending some alone time with Mommy and Daddy (Cooper rode with the grandparents). He loved the hotel room, he always has loved hotel rooms it's kinda wierd. He did enjoy splashing around in the pool but seemed to prefer to hang out in the hot tub, just like his mother. Matt had a good time going down the super fast waterslides, no little kids allowed on those. I survived a lovely night of constant vomiting in the equally lovely HoJo's bathroom. Seriously, it brought back fond memories of an unfortunate White Castle experience when I was pregnant with Quinn in a hotel room in Ohio. Apparently I got some of Quinn's stomach virus just in time for vacation :( We are both feeling much better now though, hopefully Cooper will be spared. Thank goodness for well timed snowdays! Pictures from our trip are on their way, just waiting for Grandpa Don to send them.