Day 12 ~ post op, and I'm doing pretty darned good! I haven't had to take much medication today (just a dose of naproxen this morning), despite running around the yard picking up stuff.

Our neighbor with the bulldozer came by today for a few hours. I am amazed at the difference already! We've watered down the dirt for hours, in several places, and it's paying off! Our neighbor really knows his stuff! He's able to get some huge boulders up and pushed off out of the way. After some more dozing tomorrow, we should be closer to being ready to pour some concrete. In the meantime, the dozer gets rid of weeds, sage brush, and thistle in an instant! That makes me pretty happy!

Chicken update: We're down to 7... Sometime during my week away, two went missing. I do suspect that we have two hens a-laying now.

I have to say that, during the past 2 weeks, I'm glad that I took lots of pictures. I have this thing that happens, anytime I have to take narcotic pain reliever, that I have gaps in my memory. Looking through my pictures during the past 12 days, has been a little bit of a surprise! Not only that, but when we all arrived home yesterday, I took a peek in the fridge, and there was zucchini that I had forgotten that my cousin had given me before the surgery...It's all very bizarre to have gaps in my memory.

As for an update on Bowen, the Opthalmologist has said that he does not have amblyopia after all. So, that's a relief! His eyeglass prescription is correct, and there's nothing to be concerned about as far as his eyes are concerned. Great to know!

At this point, I've found a couple of books about Asperger Syndrome (AS) that I think I'll end up adding to my library. The OASIS Guide to Asperger Syndrome is the first, and the second book is Asperger Syndrome and Sensory Issues. The first book seems to be an encyclopedia for the topic, and the second book is a very practical look at how Asperger's affects the behavior of someone with AS. For a long time, I blamed myself for being a bad mother, assuming that Bowen's odd behavior must be due to something I had done wrong. I'm relieved, not only to know that there is a reason for this behavior, but also that there are other parents out there who have faced the same parenting difficulties. Ultimately, I'm concerned not only with raising an AS child, but how to handle the dynamics between Bowen and the other kids. Anyway, that's all for now.

Just for fun, I've added this picture, taken by my friend, Kara, of Emma and Jimmy driving a little Jeep. It was June of 2006, so Jimmy was 3 1/2 and Emma was 18 months old. They grow so fast!!!