Today was the best, if not the strangest, afternoon I can remember having in quite awhile. It was a great day but with the number of other autism moms I saw today (amongst only a few moms total), it also served as a reminder of the prevalence of autism.
First, we started off by going to the dentist. Both kids behaved fairly well. That is, if you don't count the timeout Reiss got for banging on the side of the aquarium in the dentist's waiting room. It was not very hard but certainly hard enough to scare the bejeezus out of any fish unfortunate enough to call the tank their home.
In the waiting room, it was nice to recognize and talk with another autism mom whose children used to go to the same physical therapy office where my children went. Her boys' appointments coincided with my kids' appointments and we used to chat each week. Our insurance allotment of appointments ran out mid-year last year and I kinda lost touch with the mom, other than the occasional passing of one another on Facebook.
Our visit to the dentist's office reminded me once again of my spectacular memory, or rather, the lack of it. The dentist found a somewhat large cavity in one of Milla's teeth but it was nothing new to me. He told me about it on the last visit but I forgot to make an appointment to have it fixed. It was only after the dentist examined Milla on this appointment that I remembered that she had a small cavity. That small cavity is no longer small.
When Milla was finished with her exam and had picked out her Princess and the Frog toothbrush, her ABA therapist took her to her social skills group. Cavity-free Reiss and I then left and headed to the Y.
At the Y, I hadn't even taken my coat off when I saw there was another autism mom I know. This one I knew from her son and Reiss being in the same developmental preschool. We started talking, or maybe venting is a better word for it. We both feel lost about where to send our children for kindergarten next year. Another mom heard us talking and came over and joined in our conversation.
Thank goodness for eavesdroppers, especially when they are other autsim moms!
I felt especially fortunate for this other mom listening to our conversation because when she joined us, I learned that she is not only in my school district but, with a son who is ten years old, is also experienced in dealing with my school district's ways - two traits that I have found particularly difficult to find simultaneously occurring with other autism parents I meet. We hit it off immediately and an added bonus is that she has a daughter Milla's age. We exchanged phone numbers and I am excited at the prospect of having a new playmate for Milla.
As if all that excitement was not enough for one afternoon, another mom I have seen at the Y on occasion came over and spoke to us. She has two nephews with autism. We talked for awhile and she offered that her nephews recently went gluten-free and have shown amazing improvements.
While all this was going on Reiss played and played and played for nearly two hours straight with minimal intervention on my part. He played so wonderfully that I doubt anyone realized Reiss is just a little different than other children. Had it not been for seeing so many other autism moms, I may have even felt like any other parent just having an afternoon out at the Y. I think, just maybe, I may have even relaxed a little bit....
Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Friday, October 29, 2010
Just a Bunch of Pics
Reiss preparing to wrap Milla's birthday gift in wedding shower wrapping paper. (Because we're fancy like that!)
Milla trying on her new Tinkerbell costume she received as a birthday gift.
Sassy!!!
Reiss getting into one of Milla's gift bags...
Notice the legs coming out of the bottom of the bag?
Birthday cake!!!
This is what a sixty-nine-year-old man (my dad) looks like jumping on a trampoline.
Reiss trying on his chef's costume for Halloween that I have not been able to get him to wear to either of the two costume parties we have gone to this week. Thank goodness, the tags are still on it....bwahahahaha!
Milla in her peacock princess costume...
We went to a Halloween dress-up/family fun night this evening at the preschool where Milla goes a few mornings per week. Here, Reiss is high-five-ing one of the teachers in Milla's classroom.
LOVE this photo! Reiss, Milla, and Christina, Milla's lead teacher in her preschool classroom.Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Here You Are, June!
With my last post I hoped for warm weather and the arrival of June and now, here it is, the month of sunny days and strawberry picking in the Hoosier state. June is not only here but close to a third gone. My apologies for sounding cliche but seriously, where does the time go? What's more is it has been close to three weeks since my last post. Needless to say, I have become quite the blogging slacker. Not to be confused with a general slacker, which by far, does not describe me, despite my wishes to be able to do less and relax more.
So what have we been up to these last few weeks?
We have gone to downtown Indianapolis and rented a paddle boat on the canal. The photos from that outing.....
(To be read to the same beat as "Five Little Monkeys") Two little monkeys rolling down a hill, one got grass stains on his knee. Momma didn't worry and she didn't fret. She just let them play and frolic with glee.
Where might the photos of the actual paddle boat be, you ask? Well, long story short, paddle boats do not come equipped with seatbelts. Or at least, the paddle boat we rented did not come with them. Between trying to paddle the boat in a semi-sane path of travel through the canal and making certain none of our belongings - to include our backpack and children - fell overboard, conducting a photoshoot fell to the bottom of the priorities list.
Two weekends ago, we went to a USDA certified organic farm to "see the cows." There was not much to see but the man working the tiny little store there was nice enough to walk us out to the barn for the kids to see some calves and the bull. We purchased a few potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. We also bought a pound of ground pork and much to my disappointment, they were out of veal at the time. We have a few photos from that little outing but as with so many things in our house, they have gotten lost in the shuffle. Actually, there is a pretty good chance they are still on the camera waiting to be downloaded. Guess I will find out next time I use the camera.
We have also gone to a neurologist appointment, a DAN! appointment, and spent countless hours doing ABA, occupational, and speech therapies.
We had a laugh-so-hard-I-cried moment here on Monday evening. I'm not quite sure why I decided to set up the pool that day, as it was quite cool for a June day but for some reason I asked the kids if they wanted to set it up and (stupid question, huh?) of course they did. It was one of those impulse decisions that was not well thought out at all and coaxing either child into the water meant boiling water in a big pan in the house several times and pouring it into the pool. (Yes, I always make them get out of the water when we pour the boiling water in....give me some credit, will ya?)
Anyway, Reiss had gotten out of the pool and walked around in the grass and the driveway a bit before coming back to the pool and stepping in, only to yell "There's a SNAKE in the pool!" loud enough for the neighbors on the next street to hear. My husband went over to inspect where Reiss was pointing to discover our "snake" was a dried up dead worm that was two inches long if it was a mile. He pulled it out, held it up, and then discarded it into the grass. And then that is when my laughing and snorting and, eventually, the tears began to stream out of me.
As I am sitting here, I just remembered Reiss has also GRADUATED since my last post. Yes, I know, this seems like a rather big thing to forget but in my defense, a lot happens in three weeks and I have slept since then....even if only a little. His graduation produced several adorable photos. However, many of them have other children in them and due to privacy and blah, blah, blah...they are not on here. Here are the photos I can post. Enjoy....
So what have we been up to these last few weeks?
We have gone to downtown Indianapolis and rented a paddle boat on the canal. The photos from that outing.....
(To be read to the same beat as "Five Little Monkeys") Two little monkeys rolling down a hill, one got grass stains on his knee. Momma didn't worry and she didn't fret. She just let them play and frolic with glee.
Where might the photos of the actual paddle boat be, you ask? Well, long story short, paddle boats do not come equipped with seatbelts. Or at least, the paddle boat we rented did not come with them. Between trying to paddle the boat in a semi-sane path of travel through the canal and making certain none of our belongings - to include our backpack and children - fell overboard, conducting a photoshoot fell to the bottom of the priorities list.
Two weekends ago, we went to a USDA certified organic farm to "see the cows." There was not much to see but the man working the tiny little store there was nice enough to walk us out to the barn for the kids to see some calves and the bull. We purchased a few potatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. We also bought a pound of ground pork and much to my disappointment, they were out of veal at the time. We have a few photos from that little outing but as with so many things in our house, they have gotten lost in the shuffle. Actually, there is a pretty good chance they are still on the camera waiting to be downloaded. Guess I will find out next time I use the camera.
We have also gone to a neurologist appointment, a DAN! appointment, and spent countless hours doing ABA, occupational, and speech therapies.
We had a laugh-so-hard-I-cried moment here on Monday evening. I'm not quite sure why I decided to set up the pool that day, as it was quite cool for a June day but for some reason I asked the kids if they wanted to set it up and (stupid question, huh?) of course they did. It was one of those impulse decisions that was not well thought out at all and coaxing either child into the water meant boiling water in a big pan in the house several times and pouring it into the pool. (Yes, I always make them get out of the water when we pour the boiling water in....give me some credit, will ya?)
Anyway, Reiss had gotten out of the pool and walked around in the grass and the driveway a bit before coming back to the pool and stepping in, only to yell "There's a SNAKE in the pool!" loud enough for the neighbors on the next street to hear. My husband went over to inspect where Reiss was pointing to discover our "snake" was a dried up dead worm that was two inches long if it was a mile. He pulled it out, held it up, and then discarded it into the grass. And then that is when my laughing and snorting and, eventually, the tears began to stream out of me.
As I am sitting here, I just remembered Reiss has also GRADUATED since my last post. Yes, I know, this seems like a rather big thing to forget but in my defense, a lot happens in three weeks and I have slept since then....even if only a little. His graduation produced several adorable photos. However, many of them have other children in them and due to privacy and blah, blah, blah...they are not on here. Here are the photos I can post. Enjoy....
Friday, March 5, 2010
Where ARE You, Supernanny???
Today has been one of those days where the suggestion of having a lock on the outside of my son's door no longer seems like a joke amongst a group of moms discussing their children but like a really great idea.
Not so long ago, Reiss and Milla and I used to go to a group gathering on Friday mornings at a local church. All the mothers would share some fellowship while our children played in an adjoining room. Quite often the conversation would turn to discussing our children and the funny things they had done recently and sometimes the not-so-funny problems of disciplining children. A few of these moms told me, in all seriousness, that they had switched the door handles on their child's room to make it so the lock was on the outside of the door. I used to laugh at such a notion....
No more.
ABA therapy cannot begin soon enough for us. I was hoping it would have already begun but unfortunately, we do not have enough therapists lined up yet. Actually, there's a little more to it than that but that's the long and short of it. We should be up and running within the next two weeks. If not, my sanity may not last.
Some days we have these really great days and then other days are just maddening beyond belief. We have already started going to a social skills group associated with the ABA group we are using and Reiss does really awesome there and pays attention fairly well to the other kids' therapists who take charge of the group. Once we are up and running with our own in-home ABA program, our therapist will go with us to the group as well. Until then, I take Reiss and Milla and he has to do what the other therapists tell him to do.
Yesterday was quite interesting. We went to the social skills group. Reiss behaved pretty well but did have his moments of non-compliance. When he gets a timeout with the ABA therapists, he is generally very compliant and does his "time for the crime." Overall, yesterday was no different, with the exception of one instance where Reiss put up a bit of a fuss before his timeout. The therapist wasn't having it and seconds later, Reiss was sitting quietly in a timeout.
Fast forward to about an hour later when we got home and he did something to get a timeout here and being the observer I've learned very quickly to be, I did everything exactly as the ABA therapists, only to be met with a four-year-old putting up a fight equivocal to that of maybe someone three times his size just getting him over to the designated timeout area.
Seriously, I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I can do everything exactly the same (or, at least, I'm pretty certain it's exactly the same) as the ABA therapists, even down to the detail of showing no emotion. However, what works like magic for them most often results in kicking, screaming, pinching, hitting, and total lack of cooperation to sit in the timeout area. Reiss will sit quietly in a timeout for therapists and for his teacher at school a lot of times, yet I can't even get him to stay in the same place in a timeout when restrained in a booster seat. The only way to keep him in one place for a timeout at home is to put him in a booster seat that has buckles on it and also to restrain the booster seat to something else so that it cannot move. We have, well had - we need to refasten the straps - our booster seat sitting on the floor for safety and strapped to the posts that make up the railing around our stairs leading to the basement.
If it doesn't sound safe, I can assure you it is safe. There is no way Reiss can fall over, strangle himself, fall down the stairs, or whatever else anyone may be thinking. And just a note for anyone who may be thinking of calling Child Protective Services on me, I've checked, this is not only safe but actually what is recommended for keeping a child safe during a period of timeout.
I just keep thinking if my sanity can last until the ABA begins, we will all be fine. Reiss took non-compliance to a new level today. He peed in his pants twice. He pooped in his pants three times. He went through several pairs of pants and then fussed and complained and harassed me endlessly for two hours about how he has no pants that fit him. His ideal pants are Goodwill purhased, been through who knows how many children, faded beyond belief jeans....or home pants, as he calls them.
Now, I have nothing against secondhand clothes - they are practically all I grew up with and I still continue to buy from Goodwill occasionally when I can find something I like. However, for Reiss to say that he has no pants that fit him is simply ludicrous considering the fact that his size 4 and size 5 wardrobe has been complete since before he was even three years old, due to the fact that I exclusively buy him Gymboree clothing when it is out of season and on clearance and during Gymbucks earning and redemption periods and with coupons and using my Gymboree Visa and Gymboree Rewards program and on and on and on.....my method for getting Gymboree clothes for next to no money out of pocket is a whole 'nother post all its own and I won't bore anyone with that sort of thing today.
Needless to say, it breaks my heart when I see several pairs of excellent quality size 4 Gymboree jeans with those little marked down pricetags still hanging from them getting pushed to the far reaches of Reiss's closet all while he complains about having no home pants clean because all his crappy Goodwill jeans that cost more than the Gymboree jeans are dirty because he either pooped or peed in them.
And all this going on while Milla is trying to take a nap and keeping him at a low roar is like getting an elephant to tread lightly on a glass roof....
So going back to my original question....
Where ARE you, Supernanny???
Of all the lucrative ideas people have come up with to swindle parents of children with autism out of their dwindling financial resources, why hasn't someone come up with the idea of being a Supernanny-type professional exclusively for children with autism? Now that would be someone I would hire...
Not so long ago, Reiss and Milla and I used to go to a group gathering on Friday mornings at a local church. All the mothers would share some fellowship while our children played in an adjoining room. Quite often the conversation would turn to discussing our children and the funny things they had done recently and sometimes the not-so-funny problems of disciplining children. A few of these moms told me, in all seriousness, that they had switched the door handles on their child's room to make it so the lock was on the outside of the door. I used to laugh at such a notion....
No more.
ABA therapy cannot begin soon enough for us. I was hoping it would have already begun but unfortunately, we do not have enough therapists lined up yet. Actually, there's a little more to it than that but that's the long and short of it. We should be up and running within the next two weeks. If not, my sanity may not last.
Some days we have these really great days and then other days are just maddening beyond belief. We have already started going to a social skills group associated with the ABA group we are using and Reiss does really awesome there and pays attention fairly well to the other kids' therapists who take charge of the group. Once we are up and running with our own in-home ABA program, our therapist will go with us to the group as well. Until then, I take Reiss and Milla and he has to do what the other therapists tell him to do.
Yesterday was quite interesting. We went to the social skills group. Reiss behaved pretty well but did have his moments of non-compliance. When he gets a timeout with the ABA therapists, he is generally very compliant and does his "time for the crime." Overall, yesterday was no different, with the exception of one instance where Reiss put up a bit of a fuss before his timeout. The therapist wasn't having it and seconds later, Reiss was sitting quietly in a timeout.
Fast forward to about an hour later when we got home and he did something to get a timeout here and being the observer I've learned very quickly to be, I did everything exactly as the ABA therapists, only to be met with a four-year-old putting up a fight equivocal to that of maybe someone three times his size just getting him over to the designated timeout area.
Seriously, I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I can do everything exactly the same (or, at least, I'm pretty certain it's exactly the same) as the ABA therapists, even down to the detail of showing no emotion. However, what works like magic for them most often results in kicking, screaming, pinching, hitting, and total lack of cooperation to sit in the timeout area. Reiss will sit quietly in a timeout for therapists and for his teacher at school a lot of times, yet I can't even get him to stay in the same place in a timeout when restrained in a booster seat. The only way to keep him in one place for a timeout at home is to put him in a booster seat that has buckles on it and also to restrain the booster seat to something else so that it cannot move. We have, well had - we need to refasten the straps - our booster seat sitting on the floor for safety and strapped to the posts that make up the railing around our stairs leading to the basement.
If it doesn't sound safe, I can assure you it is safe. There is no way Reiss can fall over, strangle himself, fall down the stairs, or whatever else anyone may be thinking. And just a note for anyone who may be thinking of calling Child Protective Services on me, I've checked, this is not only safe but actually what is recommended for keeping a child safe during a period of timeout.
I just keep thinking if my sanity can last until the ABA begins, we will all be fine. Reiss took non-compliance to a new level today. He peed in his pants twice. He pooped in his pants three times. He went through several pairs of pants and then fussed and complained and harassed me endlessly for two hours about how he has no pants that fit him. His ideal pants are Goodwill purhased, been through who knows how many children, faded beyond belief jeans....or home pants, as he calls them.
Now, I have nothing against secondhand clothes - they are practically all I grew up with and I still continue to buy from Goodwill occasionally when I can find something I like. However, for Reiss to say that he has no pants that fit him is simply ludicrous considering the fact that his size 4 and size 5 wardrobe has been complete since before he was even three years old, due to the fact that I exclusively buy him Gymboree clothing when it is out of season and on clearance and during Gymbucks earning and redemption periods and with coupons and using my Gymboree Visa and Gymboree Rewards program and on and on and on.....my method for getting Gymboree clothes for next to no money out of pocket is a whole 'nother post all its own and I won't bore anyone with that sort of thing today.
Needless to say, it breaks my heart when I see several pairs of excellent quality size 4 Gymboree jeans with those little marked down pricetags still hanging from them getting pushed to the far reaches of Reiss's closet all while he complains about having no home pants clean because all his crappy Goodwill jeans that cost more than the Gymboree jeans are dirty because he either pooped or peed in them.
And all this going on while Milla is trying to take a nap and keeping him at a low roar is like getting an elephant to tread lightly on a glass roof....
So going back to my original question....
Where ARE you, Supernanny???
Of all the lucrative ideas people have come up with to swindle parents of children with autism out of their dwindling financial resources, why hasn't someone come up with the idea of being a Supernanny-type professional exclusively for children with autism? Now that would be someone I would hire...
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
IEP's, Dinner For Dummies, and Other Ramblings
This evening my husband and I have a meeting to go to regarding the ABA center we are helping another couple get started. Actually, that makes it sound like we are playing some major role in the opening of a fabulous ABA facility but in reality, all we are doing is providing word of mouth to others in the autism community and a place for the couple to hold their presentations to get families interested in their center.
I'm very excited about it all but I'm also very tired. We have been going and going and going for around two weeks now and I just want a nap.
This morning was Reiss's case conference for his IEP and I gotta say, it wasn't nearly as bad as some of the nightmare stories I hear from friends who go in with a "team" of people ready to do battle. Of course, I don't have the same problems many of them have. We do have problems with Reiss running out of the classroom on occasion but luckily, it has not been out the door leading to the parking lot, but rather, the door leading out of his classroom and into the hall. We don't have problems - that I am aware of - with his teacher or aides giving him food that is not on his diet. And since we provide a box of snacks for him from home, they would have no reason to do so. We don't have problems with unfair punishments or have to deal with forms of discipline that some consider torture like so many parents of children with autism have to read about. Yes, it really happens...just look HERE if you don't believe me. By the way, that particular school system is notorious for incidents with their students in special services classrooms. Not long ago they also had one little girl with autism who was bitten in the classroom and force fed. I am, however, too lazy to go dig up a link for that as well though. So have at it, go Google yourself silly if you so desire.
Anyway, the only changes we made were to have Reiss's IEP written to include his dietary guidelines and his Diastat injector - just in case of another seizure - under the Health guidelines section. Because they have been having some behavioral problems in the classroom recently, there were also some behavioral modification plans made to accommodate for when Reiss fully rejects their current form of discipline, which is a combination of popsicle stick pocket pulls, 1-2-3 Magic, and timeouts. It sounds like a lot but it's basically 1-2-3 Magic adapted to a classroom setting. His teacher feels it is only effective for him a small part of the time and we will soon need to move on. It's amazing how this is exactly what she told me usually happens around mid-way through the year with the majority of the children, and although this is a little past midway, she was exactly right.
Moving on...
Today I made muffins. THIS is the recipe I used, as I often do. This recipe should have been more aptly name No-Fail Muffins or Muffins for Morons because it is so darn adaptable. These muffins simply cannot go wrong. They call for applesauce but I have also substituted the applesauce with bananas, zucchini, squash, and pumpkin, all with spectacular results. Today's applesauce sub was zucchini. They're so well-packed with good fats, proteins, and fiber that I don't even have an inkling of remorse serving these for a meal with a little fruit or something on the side. Because we have to get dinner on the table and out the door in a hurry this evening, we are having these muffins, some bacon, and whatever fruit we have on hand. I think there are some pears and apples that need to get gone, as well as some kiwis that Reiss will probably hoard all to himself.
Today we had carpet installed in our bedroom. I know, I know - don't tell me about all the harmful crap they put in that stuff. We purchased this carpet around a year ago when we had just begun making dietary changes, getting chemicals out of the house (we're still working on that one!), and frankly, we were just plain ignorant. If I knew then what I know now, we would have gone with running the wood laminate floors on into the bedroom or gone with a "green" carpet free of chemicals. What's the saying? Hindsight is 20/20 and considering the expense, it's not something we were going to just cut our losses and chalk up to experience.
After nearly a year straight of off and on (a lot of "on") people working on this or that in our house, I am ready to take a break. I am ready to close our doors and not have anyone work for us anytime soon. Ironically, we are getting ready to start our in-home ABA program and there will be people in and out of here every single day and for even more hours than all the remodeling projects put together but at least these are people working on a totally different aspect of our lives and not on our house and leaving messes in their wake when they leave for the day.
Thankfully, you can barely tell anymore that this is a 1974-built house. Other than the main bathroom, every room on this floor has been totally updated or had major modifications made to it to bring it into this decade from a decorative standpoint.
These monkeys are waking up from a nap. Reiss conked out on the chair in here during a phone call I was on earlier and Milla is on the couch. If you have read this far and are not bored to tears, I'm not sure whether to applaud your ability to focus or feel sorrow that you must have a really boring life that you could find my ramblings and my own mundane life ventures entertaining. At any rate, thank you for reading and leave a comment if you feel so inclined - I do read them and very much appreciate them, even if I don't acknowledge them as often as I would like.
I'm very excited about it all but I'm also very tired. We have been going and going and going for around two weeks now and I just want a nap.
This morning was Reiss's case conference for his IEP and I gotta say, it wasn't nearly as bad as some of the nightmare stories I hear from friends who go in with a "team" of people ready to do battle. Of course, I don't have the same problems many of them have. We do have problems with Reiss running out of the classroom on occasion but luckily, it has not been out the door leading to the parking lot, but rather, the door leading out of his classroom and into the hall. We don't have problems - that I am aware of - with his teacher or aides giving him food that is not on his diet. And since we provide a box of snacks for him from home, they would have no reason to do so. We don't have problems with unfair punishments or have to deal with forms of discipline that some consider torture like so many parents of children with autism have to read about. Yes, it really happens...just look HERE if you don't believe me. By the way, that particular school system is notorious for incidents with their students in special services classrooms. Not long ago they also had one little girl with autism who was bitten in the classroom and force fed. I am, however, too lazy to go dig up a link for that as well though. So have at it, go Google yourself silly if you so desire.
Anyway, the only changes we made were to have Reiss's IEP written to include his dietary guidelines and his Diastat injector - just in case of another seizure - under the Health guidelines section. Because they have been having some behavioral problems in the classroom recently, there were also some behavioral modification plans made to accommodate for when Reiss fully rejects their current form of discipline, which is a combination of popsicle stick pocket pulls, 1-2-3 Magic, and timeouts. It sounds like a lot but it's basically 1-2-3 Magic adapted to a classroom setting. His teacher feels it is only effective for him a small part of the time and we will soon need to move on. It's amazing how this is exactly what she told me usually happens around mid-way through the year with the majority of the children, and although this is a little past midway, she was exactly right.
Moving on...
Today I made muffins. THIS is the recipe I used, as I often do. This recipe should have been more aptly name No-Fail Muffins or Muffins for Morons because it is so darn adaptable. These muffins simply cannot go wrong. They call for applesauce but I have also substituted the applesauce with bananas, zucchini, squash, and pumpkin, all with spectacular results. Today's applesauce sub was zucchini. They're so well-packed with good fats, proteins, and fiber that I don't even have an inkling of remorse serving these for a meal with a little fruit or something on the side. Because we have to get dinner on the table and out the door in a hurry this evening, we are having these muffins, some bacon, and whatever fruit we have on hand. I think there are some pears and apples that need to get gone, as well as some kiwis that Reiss will probably hoard all to himself.
Today we had carpet installed in our bedroom. I know, I know - don't tell me about all the harmful crap they put in that stuff. We purchased this carpet around a year ago when we had just begun making dietary changes, getting chemicals out of the house (we're still working on that one!), and frankly, we were just plain ignorant. If I knew then what I know now, we would have gone with running the wood laminate floors on into the bedroom or gone with a "green" carpet free of chemicals. What's the saying? Hindsight is 20/20 and considering the expense, it's not something we were going to just cut our losses and chalk up to experience.
After nearly a year straight of off and on (a lot of "on") people working on this or that in our house, I am ready to take a break. I am ready to close our doors and not have anyone work for us anytime soon. Ironically, we are getting ready to start our in-home ABA program and there will be people in and out of here every single day and for even more hours than all the remodeling projects put together but at least these are people working on a totally different aspect of our lives and not on our house and leaving messes in their wake when they leave for the day.
Thankfully, you can barely tell anymore that this is a 1974-built house. Other than the main bathroom, every room on this floor has been totally updated or had major modifications made to it to bring it into this decade from a decorative standpoint.
These monkeys are waking up from a nap. Reiss conked out on the chair in here during a phone call I was on earlier and Milla is on the couch. If you have read this far and are not bored to tears, I'm not sure whether to applaud your ability to focus or feel sorrow that you must have a really boring life that you could find my ramblings and my own mundane life ventures entertaining. At any rate, thank you for reading and leave a comment if you feel so inclined - I do read them and very much appreciate them, even if I don't acknowledge them as often as I would like.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Because ONE Day Would Just Be Too Much To Ask....
I admit it. I envy parents of typical children. I envy how seemingly easy it is for most of them to just pack up the kids, pack up the car, and go out for a day of fun. I envy how they can think nothing of going to a movie their child has wanted to see or a restaurant for a special family dinner or heck, even just to the post office to mail a package.
I feel like my family's life is all about just wanting ONE day of knowing what it's like to have typical children. One day where we don't have to deal with autism. One day where I can look back at the end of the day and think "Wow, this must be what it's like to be a regular family." But apparently, one day like that is just too much to ask because I'm still waiting for it.
Packing up the kids and packing up the car for a day of fun (and I use the term "fun" very loosely because most of these outings for us consist mainly of chaos control and tantrum prevention) does not happen very often for us. Doing so means packing up food that fits our specialized diet, making sure we have enough clothes changes should we have any "accidents" with a child who would probably be potty-trained by this age, if he was a neurotypical. Don't get me wrong...I know it's not his fault he has autism and I do know we are lucky that he is "mostly" potty-trained, considering I have friends whose children with autism are seven, eight, nine years old and older who still wear diapers.
My kids do not watch tv so going to a movie is out of the question. It's not that we do not allow tv viewing in our home, they simply have no interest and no attention span to sit still for watching tv. Ask a typical child who their favorite cartoon character is and immediately they will spout off some silly Disney or Nickelodeon character. Ask my children who their favorite cartoon characters are and they will stare blankly, not even knowing what you're talking about.
Going to a restaurant? Ha! First of all, my children can't eat most of what is served in restaurants and again, there's the won't-sit-still factor. We could take our own food but then we have to talk to the manager of the restaurant. Then there's dealing with Reiss who has that wonderful aspect of autism that involves rigidity to sameness (although he uses this selectively, as you'll read later about fits involving me and giving him what I think he wants at the time) gets bent out of shape if his plate looks any different than Daddy's plate, so James can't really eat the food offered in the restaurant either unless we sit there with the whole restaurant patronage looking at us while our child throws a fit.
Going to the post office isn't impossible but it's no walk in the park. Typically, I try to do this, when needed, when Reiss is in preschool. Until about two months ago, Reiss hadn't even been in a post office for almost two years. I simply didn't want to deal with it.
Am I complaining? Yes, actually, I am and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm not blaming anyone or blaming my child but yes, I am complaining. I get tired of all the challenges of autism and how it invades every aspect of our entire lives. Although I don't really pay attention anymore to the stares out in public, I do still get tired of them.
I get tired of every single day, nearly every waking moment being a challenge.
I am tired of politicians in high places cutting funds for services (i.e respite care....can I get a "Hell, yeah!" from those of you who know what I'm talking about???) families like mine desperately need and then offloading billions to people who have entered my country illegally. Yeah, I said it!
I am tired of trying what all the behavior "experts" whose clients are parents of typical children say to do for behavior modification and it not working with my child. I wish all these "experts" would walk a day in my shoes and understand that their Supernanny methods, 1-2-3 Magic, positive reinforcement, giving choices, and just about everything else imaginable doesn't always work with children with autism the way they swear it does with typical children. While all those are good methods and we have had limited success with each of them, the fact still remains that children like mine are wired differently. It's not just me saying this - it truly is a fact. Even my child's own preschool teacher understands that none of these methods will work consistently and for very long with a child with autism. So why don't these professionals who are getting paid multiple times more than her seem to get that?
I get tired of being judged for everything - how I handle situations with my children, the way I feed them, the treatments I choose to work towards recovering my children from autism, and on and on and on. Just this morning I was speaking with another mom of two boys with autism who told me her extended family swears that her sons' improvements towards recovery have nothing to do with the biomedical treatments (that are, coincidentally, very similar to the ones we use) she has been doing, but rather, her sons are simply "outgrowing" their autism. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry because we - my husband and I - have both heard things along the same lines.....
"Oh, it looks like Reiss is really starting to outgrow this..."
and
"Just give it a few years and he'll outgrow it."
I am tired of nearly every encounter with my child being a struggle. Reiss may want his pancake cut up today and then throw a ten-minute tantrum tomorrow because I cut it up. This evening I may give him a fork at dinner and then have to listen to him have a meltdown about "Why'd ya' give me a fork, Mommy?" when just yesterday he wondered why I didn't give him a fork. It's like no matter what I do, I have to think about my actions before doing them and recall what it was that made Reiss happy in the same situation ten minutes ago or this morning or yesterday and then recreate whatever made him happy, only to be met with a tantrum because this time he wanted it differently......again. Ignorant people call this being bratty. In my children, it's autism.
Yes, I'm complaining. And yes, I hate autism. And yes, I hate living in a world that's not made for people like me or my children. And yes, I am having a bad day. Yes, I would love to be one of those mothers of children with autism who just puts on a happy face all the time but that's not me. And honestly, I have a feeling that it's not really how those moms feel either......they just save their unhappiness for more private moments. I don't know of a single mom who will say they love autism or the challenges it creates.
I'm done....that's all, folks. Back to the grind and tantrums and challenges and endless paperwork for services for my children and therapies and phone calls to therapists and finding a babysitter who truly "gets" it and finding that magic combo that willsave me my sanity improve my child's well-being.....
I feel like my family's life is all about just wanting ONE day of knowing what it's like to have typical children. One day where we don't have to deal with autism. One day where I can look back at the end of the day and think "Wow, this must be what it's like to be a regular family." But apparently, one day like that is just too much to ask because I'm still waiting for it.
Packing up the kids and packing up the car for a day of fun (and I use the term "fun" very loosely because most of these outings for us consist mainly of chaos control and tantrum prevention) does not happen very often for us. Doing so means packing up food that fits our specialized diet, making sure we have enough clothes changes should we have any "accidents" with a child who would probably be potty-trained by this age, if he was a neurotypical. Don't get me wrong...I know it's not his fault he has autism and I do know we are lucky that he is "mostly" potty-trained, considering I have friends whose children with autism are seven, eight, nine years old and older who still wear diapers.
My kids do not watch tv so going to a movie is out of the question. It's not that we do not allow tv viewing in our home, they simply have no interest and no attention span to sit still for watching tv. Ask a typical child who their favorite cartoon character is and immediately they will spout off some silly Disney or Nickelodeon character. Ask my children who their favorite cartoon characters are and they will stare blankly, not even knowing what you're talking about.
Going to a restaurant? Ha! First of all, my children can't eat most of what is served in restaurants and again, there's the won't-sit-still factor. We could take our own food but then we have to talk to the manager of the restaurant. Then there's dealing with Reiss who has that wonderful aspect of autism that involves rigidity to sameness (although he uses this selectively, as you'll read later about fits involving me and giving him what I think he wants at the time) gets bent out of shape if his plate looks any different than Daddy's plate, so James can't really eat the food offered in the restaurant either unless we sit there with the whole restaurant patronage looking at us while our child throws a fit.
Going to the post office isn't impossible but it's no walk in the park. Typically, I try to do this, when needed, when Reiss is in preschool. Until about two months ago, Reiss hadn't even been in a post office for almost two years. I simply didn't want to deal with it.
Am I complaining? Yes, actually, I am and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm not blaming anyone or blaming my child but yes, I am complaining. I get tired of all the challenges of autism and how it invades every aspect of our entire lives. Although I don't really pay attention anymore to the stares out in public, I do still get tired of them.
I get tired of every single day, nearly every waking moment being a challenge.
I am tired of politicians in high places cutting funds for services (i.e respite care....can I get a "Hell, yeah!" from those of you who know what I'm talking about???) families like mine desperately need and then offloading billions to people who have entered my country illegally. Yeah, I said it!
I am tired of trying what all the behavior "experts" whose clients are parents of typical children say to do for behavior modification and it not working with my child. I wish all these "experts" would walk a day in my shoes and understand that their Supernanny methods, 1-2-3 Magic, positive reinforcement, giving choices, and just about everything else imaginable doesn't always work with children with autism the way they swear it does with typical children. While all those are good methods and we have had limited success with each of them, the fact still remains that children like mine are wired differently. It's not just me saying this - it truly is a fact. Even my child's own preschool teacher understands that none of these methods will work consistently and for very long with a child with autism. So why don't these professionals who are getting paid multiple times more than her seem to get that?
I get tired of being judged for everything - how I handle situations with my children, the way I feed them, the treatments I choose to work towards recovering my children from autism, and on and on and on. Just this morning I was speaking with another mom of two boys with autism who told me her extended family swears that her sons' improvements towards recovery have nothing to do with the biomedical treatments (that are, coincidentally, very similar to the ones we use) she has been doing, but rather, her sons are simply "outgrowing" their autism. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry because we - my husband and I - have both heard things along the same lines.....
"Oh, it looks like Reiss is really starting to outgrow this..."
and
"Just give it a few years and he'll outgrow it."
I am tired of nearly every encounter with my child being a struggle. Reiss may want his pancake cut up today and then throw a ten-minute tantrum tomorrow because I cut it up. This evening I may give him a fork at dinner and then have to listen to him have a meltdown about "Why'd ya' give me a fork, Mommy?" when just yesterday he wondered why I didn't give him a fork. It's like no matter what I do, I have to think about my actions before doing them and recall what it was that made Reiss happy in the same situation ten minutes ago or this morning or yesterday and then recreate whatever made him happy, only to be met with a tantrum because this time he wanted it differently......again. Ignorant people call this being bratty. In my children, it's autism.
Yes, I'm complaining. And yes, I hate autism. And yes, I hate living in a world that's not made for people like me or my children. And yes, I am having a bad day. Yes, I would love to be one of those mothers of children with autism who just puts on a happy face all the time but that's not me. And honestly, I have a feeling that it's not really how those moms feel either......they just save their unhappiness for more private moments. I don't know of a single mom who will say they love autism or the challenges it creates.
I'm done....that's all, folks. Back to the grind and tantrums and challenges and endless paperwork for services for my children and therapies and phone calls to therapists and finding a babysitter who truly "gets" it and finding that magic combo that will
Friday, February 5, 2010
Therapy, As An Extreme Sport
Some parents overload their kids' schedules with football, soccer, softball, basketball, karate, gymnastics, dance, hockey and whatever else their children come home begging to partake in. But not me. Nope, Reiss has never begged to be in any of those things and other than the occasional passing by the tv and noticing Daddy is watching "Colts guys" - which consist of any football players, doesn't matter whether it's college, NFL, or a fictional movie like Rudy - I would venture to say he is not even aware of the existence of many types of sports.
Oh sure, we play outside quite often. We throw balls around. We get the hose out and these monkeys play and I get soaked and slightly irritated. James and I take Reiss and Milla out to the swingset and sandbox to play around for awhile. We ride our bikes. Or, more precisely, James and I ride our bikes and Reiss and Milla ride in the bike trailer. Reiss does ride his bike with training wheels but his bodily movements (kinetics, kinesthetics, neither of those are the right word. Where is the right word when I need it???) need some work and his pedalling is not fluid in motion. In summertime, quite frankly, I think Reiss could easily be persuaded into living outside if I lost all my marbles and thought it was a good idea as well. That, however, is not the case. I still have a few marbles rolling around up there and furthermore, I have no plans of chucking the house for a nest or den in the backyard woods.
Ramble, ramble, ramble....point being this: Organized sports are not something Reiss participates in at this time. Milla, well, she is definitely too young for that sort of thing just yet.
So instead of sports, we have therapies - my new pastime. Well, actually, my part in all of it is doing the research, finding the resources and professionals to carry out the therapies, waiting around (when the therapies take place in an office setting) while the therapies are being performed, and a whole lot of praying that all of it is going to result in some real and visible changes.
If my kids' therapy schedules were to be laid out in a format similar to an event program at a sporting event, it might look something like this:
Reiss:
Developmental Preschool (Preschool through the local school system for children with learning challenges)
Miss Emily, The Toy Doctor (Private Occupational Therapy)
Talking Doctor (Private Speech Therapy)
and coming soon....Applied Behavior Analysis, the in-home program version
Milla:
Miss Laura's Visit (In-home Speech Therapy through Early Intervention)
Miss Emily and Her Swing (Occupational Therapy)
Jill and Her Toybox (In-home Developmental Therapy through Early Intervention)
Miss Ashley and Her Potato Head Couple (Private Speech Therapy)
I never wanted to be a soccer mom. My friends with older children always told me to never let my children play baseball or softball because the innings are so long with children who have no skills playing and it makes the game last all day. No mother wants to be this kind of mother: the Therapy Mom.
But that is exactly what I have become.
The silver lining to this storm-sized cloud though, is that I have already seen improvements in both children in just the two short weeks from when we began with Reiss only being in preschool and Milla only receiving in-home speech therapy. Reiss actually wants to go to the "toy doctor." Milla is using "I" phrases more in place of her usual "me" demands. They are both gaining exposure to adults outside of their usual regimen of Daddy, Mommy, teachers, and occasional grandparent visits.
Now, If I could just get more of their appointments in sync with one another, I could possibly become that mom I have wanted to become for a very long time: The Bookworm Mom. Oh, how I miss reading. Reading, that is, during daylight hours and not at three in the morning because I am awake worrying about all I didn't get done the day before or all that needs to be done in a few short hours or wondering if today will be the day that Reiss goes poop on the potty again and not in his pants or how I could have handled things the day before when tempers started tantrum-ing or hoping to find peace in the hours that will follow when one or both children are not behaving in a most desirable way or......or......or.................blah, blah, blah.
In my case, perhaps the title of "Therapy Mom" should also mean some of it for myself as well.
Oh sure, we play outside quite often. We throw balls around. We get the hose out and these monkeys play and I get soaked and slightly irritated. James and I take Reiss and Milla out to the swingset and sandbox to play around for awhile. We ride our bikes. Or, more precisely, James and I ride our bikes and Reiss and Milla ride in the bike trailer. Reiss does ride his bike with training wheels but his bodily movements (kinetics, kinesthetics, neither of those are the right word. Where is the right word when I need it???) need some work and his pedalling is not fluid in motion. In summertime, quite frankly, I think Reiss could easily be persuaded into living outside if I lost all my marbles and thought it was a good idea as well. That, however, is not the case. I still have a few marbles rolling around up there and furthermore, I have no plans of chucking the house for a nest or den in the backyard woods.
Ramble, ramble, ramble....point being this: Organized sports are not something Reiss participates in at this time. Milla, well, she is definitely too young for that sort of thing just yet.
So instead of sports, we have therapies - my new pastime. Well, actually, my part in all of it is doing the research, finding the resources and professionals to carry out the therapies, waiting around (when the therapies take place in an office setting) while the therapies are being performed, and a whole lot of praying that all of it is going to result in some real and visible changes.
If my kids' therapy schedules were to be laid out in a format similar to an event program at a sporting event, it might look something like this:
Reiss:
Developmental Preschool (Preschool through the local school system for children with learning challenges)
Miss Emily, The Toy Doctor (Private Occupational Therapy)
Talking Doctor (Private Speech Therapy)
and coming soon....Applied Behavior Analysis, the in-home program version
Milla:
Miss Laura's Visit (In-home Speech Therapy through Early Intervention)
Miss Emily and Her Swing (Occupational Therapy)
Jill and Her Toybox (In-home Developmental Therapy through Early Intervention)
Miss Ashley and Her Potato Head Couple (Private Speech Therapy)
I never wanted to be a soccer mom. My friends with older children always told me to never let my children play baseball or softball because the innings are so long with children who have no skills playing and it makes the game last all day. No mother wants to be this kind of mother: the Therapy Mom.
But that is exactly what I have become.
The silver lining to this storm-sized cloud though, is that I have already seen improvements in both children in just the two short weeks from when we began with Reiss only being in preschool and Milla only receiving in-home speech therapy. Reiss actually wants to go to the "toy doctor." Milla is using "I" phrases more in place of her usual "me" demands. They are both gaining exposure to adults outside of their usual regimen of Daddy, Mommy, teachers, and occasional grandparent visits.
Now, If I could just get more of their appointments in sync with one another, I could possibly become that mom I have wanted to become for a very long time: The Bookworm Mom. Oh, how I miss reading. Reading, that is, during daylight hours and not at three in the morning because I am awake worrying about all I didn't get done the day before or all that needs to be done in a few short hours or wondering if today will be the day that Reiss goes poop on the potty again and not in his pants or how I could have handled things the day before when tempers started tantrum-ing or hoping to find peace in the hours that will follow when one or both children are not behaving in a most desirable way or......or......or.................blah, blah, blah.
In my case, perhaps the title of "Therapy Mom" should also mean some of it for myself as well.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday Messes
My day began by cleaning up spilled apple juice that I had poured into a "cup without a lid" and given to Reiss during breakfast. He reached for it to take a drink, somehow missed, and that was how we got Monday Mess #1.
Immediately following the cleanup of the overturned apple juice, Milla was asking (I'm so nice to call it "asking" - it was more like whining at a fever pitch) for some milk. So I got the foil-pack carton of Almond Breeze out of the refrigerator, started to shake it, and next thing I knew I was being showered with almond milk. As was the entire westside of my kitchen. Monday Mess #2 was born.
Reiss finished breakfast and went off to play in the master bathroom with a - unbeknownst to me at the time - toy aquarium. He filled it with water and came walking down the hall asking, "Mommy, why's this thang got water coming out?" That is not a typo. He really does say "thang."
Well, Reiss that would be because it's a toy aquarium, not something we actually fill with water. Monday Mess #3 made its appearance and in a grand way, all the way down the hall, through the bedroom all over the carpet in there, and on into the bathroom where a puddle approximately the size of Lake Michigan awaited my maiden skills and already sopping wet towel I was scooting down the hall with to clean up.
After removing the aquarium from the bathroom and establishing a new rule: No filling toy aquariums with water - I returned to the kitchen to find Milla and Monday Mess #4. Milla had turned her cup of apple juice over as well. All this action before 8:30 am. Do I know how to live it up or what?
I suppose it's a good thing I don't give them very much juice when they have cups without lids.
So why don't I just give them cups with lids? I could. And I could also listen to them tantrum themselves into a tizzy for a few minutes. I'll take cleaning up a mess now and then over a tantrum anyday. Honestly though, I can handle the tantrums. There is more to my excuse for giving them cups without lids and it includes having teachers in preschools who prefer to have them able to drink with a regular cup when they begin attendance. They also asked me at Milla's IFSP evaluation last week if she can drink from a cup without a lid so I guess that is something that is expected of a two-year-old??
I don't know. You tell me. I don't even know what "normal" behavior is anymore so I don't know what to expect.
Monday Mess # 5 came this afternoon within five minutes of Reiss and I throwing a big party for him having pooped and peed on the potty. It was naptime for Milla and Reiss had just finished eating his reward treat for pooping on the potty. He left the kitchen, then returned five minutes later, and told me he had poop in his pants.
Seriously???
So much for rewards. His reward this time was a diaper. Not a disposable pull-up. A regular old Huggies tearaway-tabs-on-the-side diaper. And he didn't even mind.
Reiss has been pooping in his pants several times the last few days and yesterday we told him if he did it again, he was going to wear a diaper. He wanted no part of the diaper scene again and threw a fit simply by the mention of him wearing a diaper. Today, he didn't care.
Really, I don't know how I am supposed to potty-train a child who doesn't even care. Why, oh why, does everything have to be so difficult? Just as I start to get comfortable in anything and thinking, hey, this ain't so bad, a monkey wrench gets thrown in. It almost never fails.
I really do try to stay positive with having a child with autism but it's so hard when nearly every aspect of every day is difficult in some way. And before I get the people coming out of the woodwork telling me:
"He's four. What do you expect?"
"These things happen sometimes."
"Oh, that's normal. He'll be potty-trained before you know it."
Or any other attempts to make me see that this has nothing to do with autism, let it be known that I'm not saying Reiss is not potty-trained because he is autistic. Although, I do think that plays a part at the very root of the problem - even our DAN! doctor has given us information pointing to that regard. But it has to do with gut and bowel issues and is not something average people who don't spend nearly every spare moment away from their children reading about the science behind autism would find interesting.
And I'm not saying Reiss does everything he does because he is autistic. What I am saying though, is that there are a lot of things Reiss does because he is four years old and is a boy and then there are also a lotta lot of things he does because he is autistic. When you add them together, the sum can be some extremely difficult days to handle. Frankly, it's exhausting. I want those carefree fun kind of days so many other people get to enjoy.
Speaking of carefree fun...We went outside in the freezing cold weather today so I could pull these monkeys around on the sleds. While Reiss waited on Milla to be pulled, he whined that he wanted her sled, which is for babies and too small even for her. While Reiss was being pulled in the baby sled, Milla was crying loud enough for the neighbors three streets over to hear her. Regardless...I pulled them around like a pack mule and tried to make it fun for them. I don't know if it was just their moods or just too cold but they didn't seem happy and then Reiss wanted to come back inside.
And that was about as carefree as we got today. Oh wait, I did let them empty out nearly a full bottle of glue on pieces of construction paper while I loaded the dishwasher. No, that is not my idea of a craft. They were supposed to be making snowmen from craft pom-poms and glue on paper. Instead, they just sat and watched as the glue streamed out of the bottle on their sheets of paper. But I got the dishwasher loaded and that was an accomplishment.
Here's to hoping Tuesday is more carefree and less messy.....
Immediately following the cleanup of the overturned apple juice, Milla was asking (I'm so nice to call it "asking" - it was more like whining at a fever pitch) for some milk. So I got the foil-pack carton of Almond Breeze out of the refrigerator, started to shake it, and next thing I knew I was being showered with almond milk. As was the entire westside of my kitchen. Monday Mess #2 was born.
Reiss finished breakfast and went off to play in the master bathroom with a - unbeknownst to me at the time - toy aquarium. He filled it with water and came walking down the hall asking, "Mommy, why's this thang got water coming out?" That is not a typo. He really does say "thang."
Well, Reiss that would be because it's a toy aquarium, not something we actually fill with water. Monday Mess #3 made its appearance and in a grand way, all the way down the hall, through the bedroom all over the carpet in there, and on into the bathroom where a puddle approximately the size of Lake Michigan awaited my maiden skills and already sopping wet towel I was scooting down the hall with to clean up.
After removing the aquarium from the bathroom and establishing a new rule: No filling toy aquariums with water - I returned to the kitchen to find Milla and Monday Mess #4. Milla had turned her cup of apple juice over as well. All this action before 8:30 am. Do I know how to live it up or what?
I suppose it's a good thing I don't give them very much juice when they have cups without lids.
So why don't I just give them cups with lids? I could. And I could also listen to them tantrum themselves into a tizzy for a few minutes. I'll take cleaning up a mess now and then over a tantrum anyday. Honestly though, I can handle the tantrums. There is more to my excuse for giving them cups without lids and it includes having teachers in preschools who prefer to have them able to drink with a regular cup when they begin attendance. They also asked me at Milla's IFSP evaluation last week if she can drink from a cup without a lid so I guess that is something that is expected of a two-year-old??
I don't know. You tell me. I don't even know what "normal" behavior is anymore so I don't know what to expect.
Monday Mess # 5 came this afternoon within five minutes of Reiss and I throwing a big party for him having pooped and peed on the potty. It was naptime for Milla and Reiss had just finished eating his reward treat for pooping on the potty. He left the kitchen, then returned five minutes later, and told me he had poop in his pants.
Seriously???
So much for rewards. His reward this time was a diaper. Not a disposable pull-up. A regular old Huggies tearaway-tabs-on-the-side diaper. And he didn't even mind.
Reiss has been pooping in his pants several times the last few days and yesterday we told him if he did it again, he was going to wear a diaper. He wanted no part of the diaper scene again and threw a fit simply by the mention of him wearing a diaper. Today, he didn't care.
Really, I don't know how I am supposed to potty-train a child who doesn't even care. Why, oh why, does everything have to be so difficult? Just as I start to get comfortable in anything and thinking, hey, this ain't so bad, a monkey wrench gets thrown in. It almost never fails.
I really do try to stay positive with having a child with autism but it's so hard when nearly every aspect of every day is difficult in some way. And before I get the people coming out of the woodwork telling me:
"He's four. What do you expect?"
"These things happen sometimes."
"Oh, that's normal. He'll be potty-trained before you know it."
Or any other attempts to make me see that this has nothing to do with autism, let it be known that I'm not saying Reiss is not potty-trained because he is autistic. Although, I do think that plays a part at the very root of the problem - even our DAN! doctor has given us information pointing to that regard. But it has to do with gut and bowel issues and is not something average people who don't spend nearly every spare moment away from their children reading about the science behind autism would find interesting.
And I'm not saying Reiss does everything he does because he is autistic. What I am saying though, is that there are a lot of things Reiss does because he is four years old and is a boy and then there are also a lotta lot of things he does because he is autistic. When you add them together, the sum can be some extremely difficult days to handle. Frankly, it's exhausting. I want those carefree fun kind of days so many other people get to enjoy.
Speaking of carefree fun...We went outside in the freezing cold weather today so I could pull these monkeys around on the sleds. While Reiss waited on Milla to be pulled, he whined that he wanted her sled, which is for babies and too small even for her. While Reiss was being pulled in the baby sled, Milla was crying loud enough for the neighbors three streets over to hear her. Regardless...I pulled them around like a pack mule and tried to make it fun for them. I don't know if it was just their moods or just too cold but they didn't seem happy and then Reiss wanted to come back inside.
And that was about as carefree as we got today. Oh wait, I did let them empty out nearly a full bottle of glue on pieces of construction paper while I loaded the dishwasher. No, that is not my idea of a craft. They were supposed to be making snowmen from craft pom-poms and glue on paper. Instead, they just sat and watched as the glue streamed out of the bottle on their sheets of paper. But I got the dishwasher loaded and that was an accomplishment.
Here's to hoping Tuesday is more carefree and less messy.....
Monday, December 21, 2009
The No Nonsense Zone
I will be the first to admit that sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble. Sometimes I say things that just don't need to be said and other times I say things that probably don't need to be said but, at the same time, some people need to hear. My no nonsense approach may have been handed down to me from my mother. Maybe it was acquired when I was in the military. Or perhaps it may just be a side-effect of my own concrete way of thinking. I don't know how I got to be this way but this is me and this is a No Nonsense Zone.
Just this evening was a good example of one of those times when I opened my mouth and said something I think some of the people needed to hear. Unfortunately, I don't think what I was really trying to say is what was heard by those who really needed to hear it.
Off and on today whenever I was on my computer and scrolling through my "live feed" on facebook, one message kept appearing. Several of my facebook friends said it. They all used a different way to say it, but it was the same message all the same: I want Christmas Break - or to be more politically correct, Holiday Break - to be over and I want my kids back in school.
I shot back with a comment of my own on my profile stating:
"(My full name).....thinks it's interesting how people will brag on how cool their kids are during regular school scheduling (when they are away all day) and then, a break comes along and every other comment on my fb feed is how they want their kids to go back to school. Let the flinging begin! If I can handle one w/autism & another w/dev... delays, I think I can handle the backlash this one might cause."
Depending on where you live in the country if you are in the United States, it's likely that today, December 21st, is the first day of a two-week (or more for some) break from school. When I see people complaining about wanting their kids gone and back in school on the very first day of a holiday break, I can't help but wonder what is so bad that they are looking forward to having their kids gone after such a short period of time. Worse yet, I wonder how their children feel. Seriously, that kind of attitude must radiate outwardly - and not only in the form of a facebook update for all to see.
Some people may think I'm judging and maybe I am. I don't think so. When a person comes right out and says that they want their child back in school, after only having them around for a little while...well, honestly, I think it is really sad and it pains me to wonder what kind of parental image the child involved has of their parents.
My husband and I deal with a lot of stress and a lot of challenges on a daily basis facing what we do with one child with autism and one with developmental delays. And yes, there are days when I need a break and the only break I am afforded is the three hours that Reiss is in preschool. So I'm not saying I never want a break and that I have to have my kids around me all the time (For the record though, while Reiss is at preschool I still have Milla so it's not much of a break.). Really, I am normal. I want a break now and then just as much as anyone.
That said, even as stressful as things get to be sometimes around here and as exhausted and rundown as I get, I still don't wish for my kids to be gone. I look forward to getting mommy breaks just as much as the next mommy. But I don't tire of their behaviors so easily that I wish for them to be gone for forty or more hours per week, as in, wanting them back in school after only a few hours of the first day of break.
I know some people will read this and still think I am judging. Or they will think that I'm saying my situation is worse. I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is that I think we all - myself included at times - so easily forget how good we really have it.
From around November of last year to around June of this year, I experienced a seemingly insurmountable level of stress and depression. This is actually very common for parents who find out their child has autism. It is a time of an almost-mourning type of behavior as the parent adjusts to the diagnosis of their child, the challenges it presents, and the emotional loss of what may have been for their child. Or, at least, what they - the parents - envisioned as what may have been.
During those months of depression, I was mad at the world. In some ways, I still am. I am mad because my husband and I waited until we felt we were mature enough as adults to have children. We waited until we were financially and emotionally stable. We tried for years to get pregnant, facing three years of infertility. Then we were finally blessed with that little positive sign on the pregnancy test. We prepared for years for everything regarding having children.
Except for autism. We didn't prepare for that.
And I was mad because so many irresponsible people in the world who don't possess even an inkling of foresight or the ability to plan - people who should be poster children for birth control - were out there having kids. And not just having kids - having healthy, typical kids.
Having a child develop autism was like a punch in the face to us.
Anyway, getting off track here but not really because I'm trying to make a point of how we planned and prepared for everything and it all got thrown off-course. It wasn't fair to me and I was mad. I kept doing all the reading I could about autism and treatments and anything written by parents who have gone down this road. Actually, I still do. Right now I'm reading Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway.
With all that reading, I began to hear what needed to be said...We are very fortunate for what we have, even given the many challenges we have been given. We should always be thankful for our children and what they bring into our lives.
We love Reiss - autism and all - more than life itself. I can't imagine a life without him. I always wanted to homeschool any children James and I had and I would still love to homeschool. Right now, I don't feel I have what it takes for homeschooling a child with autism. Maybe someday, but as it it right now, it's just another dream fading away. When I think of how much I cherish Reiss and how much I would love to have him home, one can only imagine how I feel when I read of another parent wishing their child away at school and away from them.
I don't know if I've articulated my true feelings here. After all this, I know some people will still walk away thinking I beg for pity for our situation and that I think we have it worse than others. I don't want pity from anyone, and especially not from anyone who refuses to be thankful for what they have been given. I just wish for other children that their parents desired the company of their children as much as the children desire the parents' love and attention. And isn't that really all children are trying for when they carry on and try to drive us over the edge?
Just this evening was a good example of one of those times when I opened my mouth and said something I think some of the people needed to hear. Unfortunately, I don't think what I was really trying to say is what was heard by those who really needed to hear it.
Off and on today whenever I was on my computer and scrolling through my "live feed" on facebook, one message kept appearing. Several of my facebook friends said it. They all used a different way to say it, but it was the same message all the same: I want Christmas Break - or to be more politically correct, Holiday Break - to be over and I want my kids back in school.
I shot back with a comment of my own on my profile stating:
"(My full name).....thinks it's interesting how people will brag on how cool their kids are during regular school scheduling (when they are away all day) and then, a break comes along and every other comment on my fb feed is how they want their kids to go back to school. Let the flinging begin! If I can handle one w/autism & another w/dev... delays, I think I can handle the backlash this one might cause."
Depending on where you live in the country if you are in the United States, it's likely that today, December 21st, is the first day of a two-week (or more for some) break from school. When I see people complaining about wanting their kids gone and back in school on the very first day of a holiday break, I can't help but wonder what is so bad that they are looking forward to having their kids gone after such a short period of time. Worse yet, I wonder how their children feel. Seriously, that kind of attitude must radiate outwardly - and not only in the form of a facebook update for all to see.
Some people may think I'm judging and maybe I am. I don't think so. When a person comes right out and says that they want their child back in school, after only having them around for a little while...well, honestly, I think it is really sad and it pains me to wonder what kind of parental image the child involved has of their parents.
My husband and I deal with a lot of stress and a lot of challenges on a daily basis facing what we do with one child with autism and one with developmental delays. And yes, there are days when I need a break and the only break I am afforded is the three hours that Reiss is in preschool. So I'm not saying I never want a break and that I have to have my kids around me all the time (For the record though, while Reiss is at preschool I still have Milla so it's not much of a break.). Really, I am normal. I want a break now and then just as much as anyone.
That said, even as stressful as things get to be sometimes around here and as exhausted and rundown as I get, I still don't wish for my kids to be gone. I look forward to getting mommy breaks just as much as the next mommy. But I don't tire of their behaviors so easily that I wish for them to be gone for forty or more hours per week, as in, wanting them back in school after only a few hours of the first day of break.
I know some people will read this and still think I am judging. Or they will think that I'm saying my situation is worse. I'm not saying that at all. What I am saying is that I think we all - myself included at times - so easily forget how good we really have it.
From around November of last year to around June of this year, I experienced a seemingly insurmountable level of stress and depression. This is actually very common for parents who find out their child has autism. It is a time of an almost-mourning type of behavior as the parent adjusts to the diagnosis of their child, the challenges it presents, and the emotional loss of what may have been for their child. Or, at least, what they - the parents - envisioned as what may have been.
During those months of depression, I was mad at the world. In some ways, I still am. I am mad because my husband and I waited until we felt we were mature enough as adults to have children. We waited until we were financially and emotionally stable. We tried for years to get pregnant, facing three years of infertility. Then we were finally blessed with that little positive sign on the pregnancy test. We prepared for years for everything regarding having children.
Except for autism. We didn't prepare for that.
And I was mad because so many irresponsible people in the world who don't possess even an inkling of foresight or the ability to plan - people who should be poster children for birth control - were out there having kids. And not just having kids - having healthy, typical kids.
Having a child develop autism was like a punch in the face to us.
Anyway, getting off track here but not really because I'm trying to make a point of how we planned and prepared for everything and it all got thrown off-course. It wasn't fair to me and I was mad. I kept doing all the reading I could about autism and treatments and anything written by parents who have gone down this road. Actually, I still do. Right now I'm reading Cowboy & Wills by Monica Holloway.
With all that reading, I began to hear what needed to be said...We are very fortunate for what we have, even given the many challenges we have been given. We should always be thankful for our children and what they bring into our lives.
We love Reiss - autism and all - more than life itself. I can't imagine a life without him. I always wanted to homeschool any children James and I had and I would still love to homeschool. Right now, I don't feel I have what it takes for homeschooling a child with autism. Maybe someday, but as it it right now, it's just another dream fading away. When I think of how much I cherish Reiss and how much I would love to have him home, one can only imagine how I feel when I read of another parent wishing their child away at school and away from them.
I don't know if I've articulated my true feelings here. After all this, I know some people will still walk away thinking I beg for pity for our situation and that I think we have it worse than others. I don't want pity from anyone, and especially not from anyone who refuses to be thankful for what they have been given. I just wish for other children that their parents desired the company of their children as much as the children desire the parents' love and attention. And isn't that really all children are trying for when they carry on and try to drive us over the edge?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Breakfast with Santa Claus
Reiss, Milla, and Daddy at one of the craft tables. They made little reindeer ornaments with popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, and googley eyes.
Reiss getting ready to tell Santa Claus to bring him a Colts shirt, please - with buttons! We're still trying to figure that one out.
Reiss surprised us with his willingness to sit on Santa's lap. Milla wasn't having any of it!
Another surprise.....Reiss not only did not throw a fit about the horse, he was very willing to check him out and even give him a little pat. If I sound pessimistic, I don't mean to. I'm just going by most of our experiences with animals. Reiss and Milla are both terrified of most animals - even Grandma's chihuahua. In their defense though, Grandma's chihuahua is yippity-yappy and more hyper than Reiss doped up on candy bars.
Dancer and his merry red-painted hooves. This was the last photo I took before we all went on a very, very chilly carriage ride.Yesterday was our breakfast with Santa Claus. The event was held at a church not far from our house and was sponsored by our county's autism support group. Although we had to take our own food in order to be able to stick to eating GFCF, it was nice to be around others who "get it."
No one around to point, stare, and whisper if our children began having an all-out meltdown over something as trivial as a drop of water getting on their shirt or having to have the food wiped from their faces (as was the case with us). Really, I'm not prejudiced against people who only have typical children but I do get tired of the looks we receive. If pointing and staring at children like mine is the example these parents are setting for their own children, it's no wonder why their kids grow up to be the ones who bully kids like mine once they are in school.
I will not go off on that tangent though. This is supposed to be a positive post!
Reiss and Milla got to eat breakfast at a table decorated with Christmas decor and marshmallows for snow, work on crafts, see Santa Claus, use bathrooms away from home (which is the whole reason we went there, right?), and take a carriage ride. It was incredibly cold yesterday but fun was had by all. Other than the mouth-wiping incident, I would say it was one of our best outings in quite some time.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Little Fingers, Big Actions
As you may have already read, last night I had a big long post typed out and was still typing when POOF! My computer screen went black. My sweet little Milla had hit the reset button and I lost everything except for the title of the post. Guess that's what I get for typing on my dinosaur in the basement instead of the laptop I love.
It's probably for the best, as it was all just a random bunch of rambling, part of which could have been classified as complaining......like the part about how it took four (yes, four!) employees - one of whom made a snide comment that amounted to it being my fault that it was taking so long - and nearly twenty minutes to do a simple return transaction for me at a store over the weekend. But I'm not going to get into that again because everything happens for a reason and Milla turning off my computer was obviously a reminder that I should not be complaining.
Earlier this afternoon I was on facebook and one of the groups I belong to is dedicated to parents of autism. To be more specific, it is actually the facebook homepage for Laura Shumaker's book, A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism. Occasionally, Laura poses questions to group members and her latest question is, "What is your child's most frustrating behavior/quirk?" I was reading through the responses and was comforted in knowing that many of the behaviors Reiss demonstrates are right in line with many other children with autism.
I realize that may sound strange that I am comforted by other parents experiencing what can be some really annoying behaviors in their children - and not just annoying, but some that are downright dangerous. It's not some weird sadistic streak in me - it's just that none of the autistic children I know personally exhibit many of the same behaviors as Reiss. For example, one of Reiss' dangerous behaviors is that he runs off a lot of times with no regard for his own safety. Discipline has proven ineffective in curbing this. And if it's all my bad parenting to blame, then that doesn't really explain why he continues to do it at school when his teachers discipline him for it as well. What comforted me in reading some of the responses though, was that many, many parents replied that their children do the same thing - will run off without any regard at all for anything.
If you have a facebook account, I highly encourage you to check out and join the homepage I mentioned. Even if you don't have an autistic child, there is a lot to be learned from those of us who are living it every day. I don't pay attention to the nasty looks in public near as much as I used to but if I can educate just one person about autism and how it can sometimes make children appear simply as spoiled brats, then I've done something worthwhile. Anyhoo, here is the link: A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism I'm not really sure what you'll be able to see if you don't have a facebook account....probably nothing. If that's the case, go here: Laura Shumaker Going there won't allow you to read about the daily experiences of parents of autistic children, but it is a pretty good resource for finding other websites about autism.
Welp, that about does it for my rambling for the day. I've got a meatloaf in the oven and the aroma is to die for!....kids are napping...the wind outside is fierce.....it is a perfect Autumn day for comfort food and apple pie......Alas, I just began dieting again today, so no apple pie for me. Not that there is one, anyway.
It's probably for the best, as it was all just a random bunch of rambling, part of which could have been classified as complaining......like the part about how it took four (yes, four!) employees - one of whom made a snide comment that amounted to it being my fault that it was taking so long - and nearly twenty minutes to do a simple return transaction for me at a store over the weekend. But I'm not going to get into that again because everything happens for a reason and Milla turning off my computer was obviously a reminder that I should not be complaining.
Earlier this afternoon I was on facebook and one of the groups I belong to is dedicated to parents of autism. To be more specific, it is actually the facebook homepage for Laura Shumaker's book, A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism. Occasionally, Laura poses questions to group members and her latest question is, "What is your child's most frustrating behavior/quirk?" I was reading through the responses and was comforted in knowing that many of the behaviors Reiss demonstrates are right in line with many other children with autism.
I realize that may sound strange that I am comforted by other parents experiencing what can be some really annoying behaviors in their children - and not just annoying, but some that are downright dangerous. It's not some weird sadistic streak in me - it's just that none of the autistic children I know personally exhibit many of the same behaviors as Reiss. For example, one of Reiss' dangerous behaviors is that he runs off a lot of times with no regard for his own safety. Discipline has proven ineffective in curbing this. And if it's all my bad parenting to blame, then that doesn't really explain why he continues to do it at school when his teachers discipline him for it as well. What comforted me in reading some of the responses though, was that many, many parents replied that their children do the same thing - will run off without any regard at all for anything.
If you have a facebook account, I highly encourage you to check out and join the homepage I mentioned. Even if you don't have an autistic child, there is a lot to be learned from those of us who are living it every day. I don't pay attention to the nasty looks in public near as much as I used to but if I can educate just one person about autism and how it can sometimes make children appear simply as spoiled brats, then I've done something worthwhile. Anyhoo, here is the link: A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism I'm not really sure what you'll be able to see if you don't have a facebook account....probably nothing. If that's the case, go here: Laura Shumaker Going there won't allow you to read about the daily experiences of parents of autistic children, but it is a pretty good resource for finding other websites about autism.
Welp, that about does it for my rambling for the day. I've got a meatloaf in the oven and the aroma is to die for!....kids are napping...the wind outside is fierce.....it is a perfect Autumn day for comfort food and apple pie......Alas, I just began dieting again today, so no apple pie for me. Not that there is one, anyway.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Random Ramblings
Yesterday morning........
I'm pretty certain I have mentioned on here a time or two (or three or thirty-three) that Reiss does not watch television. He cannot and will not sit still for it. While having a child who is not a couch potato would be a relief for many parents, and overall it is for me too, it can also be annoying since I rarely get a break where I can just plop him and Milla in front of the tv to pay a bill or make a phone call or gather my thoughts or whatever.
Although Reiss does not watch tv, he is generally pretty awesome at pretend play and that is another area of real progress he has made. Pretend play is not something he has always done and for quite a long time I don't think he even understood the concept.
When we are driving in "the Daddy truck" (*see below) Reiss has a steering wheel that went to some video game that we don't even have but that he uses to help Daddy drive. Yesterday, as we were clearing out some toys in his room, I found the steering wheel pictured above and we got it out to put in James' truck for Milla so that she and Reiss can both "drive" while in the Daddy truck. In the meantime, they had some fun with it by pulling up chairs to the table and driving in the kitchen.
I posted this one on my facebook page and a friend made a comment that it looks like Milla is bracing for impact, which I thought was pretty funny. That hadn't even crossed my mind and that, in itself, reminded me how differently one person can perceive something when looking at the same thing as another person. Often times I have to remind myself of this, but that's an entirely different post....
This is one of those pictures that turned out great and totally by accident. I was moving around and accidentally hit the "take picture" (what is that thing called, anyway??) button. I only wish Reiss' head hadn't gotten cut off because it looks like he may have actually been facing the camera.
Milla waving "Bye!" to everyone as she and Reiss prepare to leave on their trip. She is driving and Reiss is looking unsure of whether or not that's a good idea. (I have to agree. She's a little flighty sometimes...I'd worry about her driving too!)
This morning........
"Hello...I'm trying to work here!"
"Okay, I suppose I can take a break for a moment to pose."
I'm pretty certain I have mentioned on here a time or two (or three or thirty-three) that Reiss does not watch television. He cannot and will not sit still for it. While having a child who is not a couch potato would be a relief for many parents, and overall it is for me too, it can also be annoying since I rarely get a break where I can just plop him and Milla in front of the tv to pay a bill or make a phone call or gather my thoughts or whatever.Although Reiss does not watch tv, he is generally pretty awesome at pretend play and that is another area of real progress he has made. Pretend play is not something he has always done and for quite a long time I don't think he even understood the concept.
When we are driving in "the Daddy truck" (*see below) Reiss has a steering wheel that went to some video game that we don't even have but that he uses to help Daddy drive. Yesterday, as we were clearing out some toys in his room, I found the steering wheel pictured above and we got it out to put in James' truck for Milla so that she and Reiss can both "drive" while in the Daddy truck. In the meantime, they had some fun with it by pulling up chairs to the table and driving in the kitchen.
I posted this one on my facebook page and a friend made a comment that it looks like Milla is bracing for impact, which I thought was pretty funny. That hadn't even crossed my mind and that, in itself, reminded me how differently one person can perceive something when looking at the same thing as another person. Often times I have to remind myself of this, but that's an entirely different post....
This is one of those pictures that turned out great and totally by accident. I was moving around and accidentally hit the "take picture" (what is that thing called, anyway??) button. I only wish Reiss' head hadn't gotten cut off because it looks like he may have actually been facing the camera.
Milla waving "Bye!" to everyone as she and Reiss prepare to leave on their trip. She is driving and Reiss is looking unsure of whether or not that's a good idea. (I have to agree. She's a little flighty sometimes...I'd worry about her driving too!)This morning........
"Hello...I'm trying to work here!"
"Okay, I suppose I can take a break for a moment to pose."While Reiss was at school - or work, as he prefers to call it - this morning, I was on and off the computer and phone all morning trying to get some things done and necessary calls made. Milla gathered up all this stuff and yes, she had a little help organizing it but otherwise, all items were gathered and placed on the table all on her own. She has her personal phonebook, laptop, cell phone, and snack (salted pecans in a ramekin). She just sat and worked and worked.....at getting my phonebook to look like a preschool scribble pad.
*My husband drives a Ford F-150 that has an extended cab with a backseat that is suitable size for placing safety carseats.....Just wanted to point this out, as I know many people can be very vocal about putting young children in trucks.
*My husband drives a Ford F-150 that has an extended cab with a backseat that is suitable size for placing safety carseats.....Just wanted to point this out, as I know many people can be very vocal about putting young children in trucks.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Blah, blah, blah, blah, and BLAH....
This morning when I picked up Reiss from preschool he asked me, "Why'd you have to pull a stick?" Again, if you're a newbie here this is Reiss' way of asking "Why did I have to pull a stick?" And the sticks he is talking about are the popsicle sticks on the disciplinary chart at school.
I'm not privy to all the fine details of the "stick" system at school (or work, as Reiss calls it) but I think it boils down to their form of 1-2-3 Magic. It looks like they start out with three sticks and the child pulls one when they do something wrong. I don't know.....I figured I would wait until things have calmed down from all the new-ness of the new school year and then bombard the teacher with all my questions. You know, just as she is feeling like she can relax.
Monday evening Reiss and James made brownies together. They used one of the Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes we received from BlogSpark. I've got a ton of pictures fromthe mess that evening but have not downloaded or uploaded (or whatever!) them onto the computer. After the brownies cooled a bit, we frosted them with some leftover frosting I made for a cake last week.
Yesterday, as I was trying to do some dinner prep in the morning, I scorched the brownies to a crisp. The pan of brownies was sitting with foil on it on one of the back burners on the stovetop. I needed to use that burner and moved the brownies to the front burner and then turned on - what I thought was - the back burner on "High." But no, it was the front burner where the brownies were sitting and I soon began to hear a sizzle accompanied by a nice aroma of charred brownies. It wasn't pretty....at all. Actually, it was so bad that I threw the pan away - and that was after letting it soak for awhile. This is a big thing because I don't throw anything away unless it really cannot be used again. I even told my husband as I was carrying it to the trash can, "Watch this because you won't see it very often." Even knowing me as long as he has, I can still shock him.
We are getting ready to get a new bathroom in our master bedroom. This was something I really didn't want to do until next year or the year after. However, as is almost always the case, our house had other plans. Our shower took a turn for the worse and started leaking water through cracks in the tile walls and into the ceiling of the finished part of our basement. We could just repair the damage. Or we could spend a little more and get a new shower. Or we could even spend a lot more and get a new bathroom. Woohoo.....what can I say.....things never happen as we plan for them to and I'd rather get it all out of the way now than do one thing now and then have construction people back again in another year or two.
In other areas of our lives......I think I mentioned awhile back that Reiss is now getting B12 shots. We are to give them to him every three days. I am so proud of my husband or maybe I should clarify and say that I am so thankful for my husband in that he has taken on this duty with gusto. I have not had to give Reiss a single shot. And speaking of Reiss, he has taken it like a big boy. He loves "pokey time" as he calls it.....I just hope he doesn't ever say this very loudly out in public. Goodness only knows what people will assume he is referring to.
Anyhooo.....
Since this is just a random post, I'll just add this in here. I don't watch "Jon & Kate Plus 8" anymore because it's just become so darn depressing but sometimes it comes on after another show is playing and I'll hear the beginning of it. Am I the only one who wants to vomit every time I here the part in the opening of it where Jon says, "We're a family and we're in this together." Yeah......before you decided to go dropping your pants all over the place. Seriously..........
I'm not privy to all the fine details of the "stick" system at school (or work, as Reiss calls it) but I think it boils down to their form of 1-2-3 Magic. It looks like they start out with three sticks and the child pulls one when they do something wrong. I don't know.....I figured I would wait until things have calmed down from all the new-ness of the new school year and then bombard the teacher with all my questions. You know, just as she is feeling like she can relax.
Monday evening Reiss and James made brownies together. They used one of the Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes we received from BlogSpark. I've got a ton of pictures from
Yesterday, as I was trying to do some dinner prep in the morning, I scorched the brownies to a crisp. The pan of brownies was sitting with foil on it on one of the back burners on the stovetop. I needed to use that burner and moved the brownies to the front burner and then turned on - what I thought was - the back burner on "High." But no, it was the front burner where the brownies were sitting and I soon began to hear a sizzle accompanied by a nice aroma of charred brownies. It wasn't pretty....at all. Actually, it was so bad that I threw the pan away - and that was after letting it soak for awhile. This is a big thing because I don't throw anything away unless it really cannot be used again. I even told my husband as I was carrying it to the trash can, "Watch this because you won't see it very often." Even knowing me as long as he has, I can still shock him.
We are getting ready to get a new bathroom in our master bedroom. This was something I really didn't want to do until next year or the year after. However, as is almost always the case, our house had other plans. Our shower took a turn for the worse and started leaking water through cracks in the tile walls and into the ceiling of the finished part of our basement. We could just repair the damage. Or we could spend a little more and get a new shower. Or we could even spend a lot more and get a new bathroom. Woohoo.....what can I say.....things never happen as we plan for them to and I'd rather get it all out of the way now than do one thing now and then have construction people back again in another year or two.
In other areas of our lives......I think I mentioned awhile back that Reiss is now getting B12 shots. We are to give them to him every three days. I am so proud of my husband or maybe I should clarify and say that I am so thankful for my husband in that he has taken on this duty with gusto. I have not had to give Reiss a single shot. And speaking of Reiss, he has taken it like a big boy. He loves "pokey time" as he calls it.....I just hope he doesn't ever say this very loudly out in public. Goodness only knows what people will assume he is referring to.
Anyhooo.....
Since this is just a random post, I'll just add this in here. I don't watch "Jon & Kate Plus 8" anymore because it's just become so darn depressing but sometimes it comes on after another show is playing and I'll hear the beginning of it. Am I the only one who wants to vomit every time I here the part in the opening of it where Jon says, "We're a family and we're in this together." Yeah......before you decided to go dropping your pants all over the place. Seriously..........
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Big Man On Campus
Today was the first day of preschool for Reiss. Well, the first day of this school year. Reiss tested and was placed in developmental preschool in the middle of the year last year and began attending in February.
This year Reiss is in a new classroom - and a much more fun environment - with a new teacher. We loved his teacher last year as well, but the classroom didn't have anywhere near the amount of "stuff" in it as this one. In this year's classroom, there are all sorts of stations for the children to go to for learning and play and it's just better...in my own opinion, of course.
Reiss posing outside before we entered for his first day of school. The wall behind him is a circular wall and makes up the outer wall of his classroom. A semicircular classroom....how cool is that?!?
And another photo of Reiss before his big day at "work" as he calls it. I was so proud of him for not fussing and for actually looking at the camera and smiling. Seriously, I think there must have been some sort of stellar alignment that was just right this morning.
Sunday afternoon's pool party. This photo is too small for most people to see extreme details but if you look closely, you may notice Milla has her tongue sticking out. Notice how she is only in a swim diaper in almost all the pool photos I've posted? Why again did I buy her a bathing suit?
Reiss and Milla in the pool. Daddy's leg in the foreground. Yes, it's like a family affair when we all get in that tiny pool. That sad little pool has seen its last summer, I think. James has patched so many holes in it with duct tape and modge podge, he probably has more invested in the patching materials than the pool's original pricetag.
This year Reiss is in a new classroom - and a much more fun environment - with a new teacher. We loved his teacher last year as well, but the classroom didn't have anywhere near the amount of "stuff" in it as this one. In this year's classroom, there are all sorts of stations for the children to go to for learning and play and it's just better...in my own opinion, of course.
Reiss posing outside before we entered for his first day of school. The wall behind him is a circular wall and makes up the outer wall of his classroom. A semicircular classroom....how cool is that?!?
And another photo of Reiss before his big day at "work" as he calls it. I was so proud of him for not fussing and for actually looking at the camera and smiling. Seriously, I think there must have been some sort of stellar alignment that was just right this morning.
Sunday afternoon's pool party. This photo is too small for most people to see extreme details but if you look closely, you may notice Milla has her tongue sticking out. Notice how she is only in a swim diaper in almost all the pool photos I've posted? Why again did I buy her a bathing suit?
Reiss and Milla in the pool. Daddy's leg in the foreground. Yes, it's like a family affair when we all get in that tiny pool. That sad little pool has seen its last summer, I think. James has patched so many holes in it with duct tape and modge podge, he probably has more invested in the patching materials than the pool's original pricetag.Friday, June 5, 2009
Finally Friday!!!
Hello, my little neglected blog! I have not purposely deprived you of my passion for writing these last few days - it's just that it's finally Summer here in Indiana. Well, not technically if you look at the calender, but if you go by the weather alone, the warm temperatures have finally arrived and are hopefully here to stay for a few months time.
Reiss is out of school for the summer and we are busy already. Between playgroups and therapies and everything else we have going on, we are going just about every day. Not all day or even every day but a lot of the time and it makes the time fly by. This week seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.
One day per week Milla has speech therapy and we both love her therapist, Miss Laura. Miss Laura pulls up in the drive in her SUV that's "just like the Mommy truck" as Reiss calls it. She unloads her bags of toys and puzzles and learning activities and comes in to have Milla immediately pop a squat in her lap. They click so well together that it only serves as a reminder of how lucky we are to have chosen someone who does such a great job. I hear from other mothers how they went through ____ (fill in the blank) therapists before finding the right fit for their own child(ren). Had I done a "Thankful for Three Things Thursday" post yesterday, this would have been something worth mentioning.
Reiss is also doing a therapy of sorts in a group setting. A friend who has two sons with ASD has a therapist come into her home to do ABA therapy with her youngest son who is a few months older than Reiss. The therapist comes one day per week for one-on-one therapy and then another day for therapy with other children present. We go on the day when the therapist is there to perform group therapy. We only started going this week but I am very optimistic and looking forward to seeing the benefits Reiss will reap from this type of setup. Not only do I get adult conversation and a mommy break, but the therapy is free of charge for us since it is my friend who is being charged. (In my defense, I did offer several times to compensate her for some of their charges but she refused.)
Tomorrow we have a wedding to attend at 9:30 a.m. No, that is not a typo and yes, you read right. Nine-thirty. In the morning. On a Saturday. Seriously, who gets married at that time? Need I say more? Probably not. But I will.
This is my nephew on my husband's side of the family who is getting married. I made a comment about the time of the wedding to my husband, who then made a comment to his mother, who then made a comment to my brother-in-law (her son), who said that the time of the wedding is because the bride's mother was making all the wedding arrangements and in order for them to get the "lower rate" on the wedding and reception hall, they had to make the time of the arrangement in the morning.
Ooooookaaayyyy.....Now anyone who knows anything about me knows I am all about saving money and stretching a dollar so tight it will flip you in the head when you let go of it, but come on, is it really necessary to be such a tightwad when doing so comes at the inconvenience of so many others involved? Really, how much of a savings could there possibly be? And I know we can't be the only people who think this is an absolutely ridiculous time for a wedding so again, I ask....SERIOUSLY, who - in their right mind - gets married at that time?
Guess we won't be having "Pancake Saturday" (for the first time in nearly four years!) tomorrow morning.....
Reiss is out of school for the summer and we are busy already. Between playgroups and therapies and everything else we have going on, we are going just about every day. Not all day or even every day but a lot of the time and it makes the time fly by. This week seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.
One day per week Milla has speech therapy and we both love her therapist, Miss Laura. Miss Laura pulls up in the drive in her SUV that's "just like the Mommy truck" as Reiss calls it. She unloads her bags of toys and puzzles and learning activities and comes in to have Milla immediately pop a squat in her lap. They click so well together that it only serves as a reminder of how lucky we are to have chosen someone who does such a great job. I hear from other mothers how they went through ____ (fill in the blank) therapists before finding the right fit for their own child(ren). Had I done a "Thankful for Three Things Thursday" post yesterday, this would have been something worth mentioning.
Reiss is also doing a therapy of sorts in a group setting. A friend who has two sons with ASD has a therapist come into her home to do ABA therapy with her youngest son who is a few months older than Reiss. The therapist comes one day per week for one-on-one therapy and then another day for therapy with other children present. We go on the day when the therapist is there to perform group therapy. We only started going this week but I am very optimistic and looking forward to seeing the benefits Reiss will reap from this type of setup. Not only do I get adult conversation and a mommy break, but the therapy is free of charge for us since it is my friend who is being charged. (In my defense, I did offer several times to compensate her for some of their charges but she refused.)
Tomorrow we have a wedding to attend at 9:30 a.m. No, that is not a typo and yes, you read right. Nine-thirty. In the morning. On a Saturday. Seriously, who gets married at that time? Need I say more? Probably not. But I will.
This is my nephew on my husband's side of the family who is getting married. I made a comment about the time of the wedding to my husband, who then made a comment to his mother, who then made a comment to my brother-in-law (her son), who said that the time of the wedding is because the bride's mother was making all the wedding arrangements and in order for them to get the "lower rate" on the wedding and reception hall, they had to make the time of the arrangement in the morning.
Ooooookaaayyyy.....Now anyone who knows anything about me knows I am all about saving money and stretching a dollar so tight it will flip you in the head when you let go of it, but come on, is it really necessary to be such a tightwad when doing so comes at the inconvenience of so many others involved? Really, how much of a savings could there possibly be? And I know we can't be the only people who think this is an absolutely ridiculous time for a wedding so again, I ask....SERIOUSLY, who - in their right mind - gets married at that time?
Guess we won't be having "Pancake Saturday" (for the first time in nearly four years!) tomorrow morning.....
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Thankful for Three Things Thursday
Today's three things may seem like odd things to be thankful for but as I explain each one in further detail, you will see why what would normally be unfortunate circumstances are actually blessings in disguise.
This week I am thankful for:
1) My Dad having prostate cancer. Yes, I understand cancer is not something to be thankful for but, again, stay with me here and I will explain. Yesterday, I found out my father has prostate cancer and from the research I've seen and the few men I've known to have had cancer, prostate cancer seems to be the kind to get if you're going to get a cancer and retain a positive outlook for the future. I don't know of any prostate cancer patients who have ever died from it. That's not to say there aren't any out there - just saying the ones I've known to have had it are all still with us on Earth and living healthy lives. My next door neighbor is one of them.
2) Milla showing an interest in watching television. While this might seem like a parent's nightmare - having a child become so addicted to tv they need to be pulled away kicking and screaming - we are not actually at the scary stage as yet. I am thankful for Milla being happy to sit in front of the tv for maybe five or ten minutes at a time so I can pay a few bills, do some uninterrupted dinner prep, brush my teeth - whatever. Reiss is not interested in watching tv and has a difficult time self-entertaining so when he is at school, it's a comfort to know I can get a few things done, however minute those things may be, at least they are crossed off the To Do List for the day.
3) School will be out for Reiss in a few short days. Although Summer Break means the absence of speech therapy, which he receives while in school, and while I truly hope he does not lose any communications skills, I also have plans for his break for all sorts of fun activities. It will also give us a chance to work on improving his potty-training skills. And an added bonus: he will not have to get up so darn early. Have I ever mentioned he has to be at school at 7:50 AM? Absolutely ridiculous! For a high school student, not so much, but that is just way too early for a preschooler, in my opinion.
In other news...remember week before last when I was afraid to get on the scale on Friday? Well, it was for good reason. I not only did not lose any weight, I gained. I don't remember how much - a few ounces or a pound - no obscenely high amount. Then last Friday came and I got on the scale to discover a 3.2 pound weight loss - so that is another thing for which I am truly thankful. We'll see what tomorrow's weigh-in brings....
This week I am thankful for:
1) My Dad having prostate cancer. Yes, I understand cancer is not something to be thankful for but, again, stay with me here and I will explain. Yesterday, I found out my father has prostate cancer and from the research I've seen and the few men I've known to have had cancer, prostate cancer seems to be the kind to get if you're going to get a cancer and retain a positive outlook for the future. I don't know of any prostate cancer patients who have ever died from it. That's not to say there aren't any out there - just saying the ones I've known to have had it are all still with us on Earth and living healthy lives. My next door neighbor is one of them.
2) Milla showing an interest in watching television. While this might seem like a parent's nightmare - having a child become so addicted to tv they need to be pulled away kicking and screaming - we are not actually at the scary stage as yet. I am thankful for Milla being happy to sit in front of the tv for maybe five or ten minutes at a time so I can pay a few bills, do some uninterrupted dinner prep, brush my teeth - whatever. Reiss is not interested in watching tv and has a difficult time self-entertaining so when he is at school, it's a comfort to know I can get a few things done, however minute those things may be, at least they are crossed off the To Do List for the day.
3) School will be out for Reiss in a few short days. Although Summer Break means the absence of speech therapy, which he receives while in school, and while I truly hope he does not lose any communications skills, I also have plans for his break for all sorts of fun activities. It will also give us a chance to work on improving his potty-training skills. And an added bonus: he will not have to get up so darn early. Have I ever mentioned he has to be at school at 7:50 AM? Absolutely ridiculous! For a high school student, not so much, but that is just way too early for a preschooler, in my opinion.
In other news...remember week before last when I was afraid to get on the scale on Friday? Well, it was for good reason. I not only did not lose any weight, I gained. I don't remember how much - a few ounces or a pound - no obscenely high amount. Then last Friday came and I got on the scale to discover a 3.2 pound weight loss - so that is another thing for which I am truly thankful. We'll see what tomorrow's weigh-in brings....
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Zooday Tuesday: Pterodactyls Are NOT Extinct!
For weeks now, I had been dreading today. See, today was to be a very special day. Today was the family zoo trip for Reiss and his class and the class across the hall from his. What joy - a day at the zoo with twenty-some three, four, and five-year-olds. And as an added bonus, some of them - Reiss included - had their siblings with them. Maybe "dread" is not the right word for how I had been counting down the days to today. Perhaps "very cautiously optimistic" is more appropriate.
Before I go any further, I'll just preface this story by stating if you were to ask James how the zoo trip went, you will get a totally different story than mine. Keep in mind though, James is not the manic mommy I am and he also was not the one accosted by THE bee....more on that later.
Our day started out like most days when Reiss goes to preschool, except for today Reiss was not going to school. Because Milla and I were going on the zoo trip as well, Reiss was to ride with us instead of on the bus taking the children to the zoo.
As I was getting everything ready to go - lunches packed, extra clothes in case anyone had an "accident" (I'm pretty consistent so I didn't pack any clothes for myself.), check the diaper wipes container, make sure the kids' cups are full, James called and said he wasn't terribly busy at work and did I want him to go with us? Uh....how am I supposed to responed to this? I didn't want to jump on it with an overly-excited "YES!!!" but I also didn't want him to feel like he was neglecting anything at work. I opted for the old stand-by, "It's up to you, Dear." And it was decided James would go with us and we would pick him up from work on our way to the zoo. As if we weren't already running around like a bunch of crazies to get out of here - or maybe that was just me since Reiss and Milla were running around getting underfoot - I now needed to pack more lunch food in the bags, more drinks, more everything. But I'm not complaining because James was going and that meant I would have help!
It was about the time I got off the phone with James when Reiss started asking for the phone he's been playing with for a few days now. We must have twenty toy phones around here but he needed this specific phone that is a cheaply made little thing from Dollar Tree. Forget all the phones specifically designed for toddlers to have a "learning experience" with all their colorful buttons on them that make the phone talk, sing, dance, and whatever else when you press them! No, Reiss wanted the one that looks like a real cell phone and was made in China by someone who probably gets a cup of rice to eat every other day. Don't blame me - Grandma bought it!
We could not find the stupid cell phone and it was time to leave. I had a bad feeling from the get-go that I should just risk being late to the zoo and look around until we found that phone but the other voice inside me said I needed to get our rears out the door and on the road. Bad decision.
After fetching James from work and a remarkably uneventful drive to the zoo (it's downtown - enough said), with the exception of listening to Reiss go on and on about the cell phone, we arrived just as the children from Reiss's class were unloading from the bus. Except for James, our admissions were prepaid with the permission slip that was sent home on Tuesday of last week and needed to be back by Thursday. Seriously....Reiss only goes to school on Tuesday and Thursday, so you'd think they would not only give a little more advance scheduling with the form being sent home but more time in which to return it. Oh well, we're responsible parents and got it turned back in on time so I guess no foul, no harm or however that saying goes.
We were prepared to pay for James to get in but somehow it worked out that he was able to just walk in, as well as another parent who had not planned on coming prior to today and had not prepaid either. Maybe Miss Kathryn gave the zoo admissions people a really charming smile or something.
So we all got in the gate and it was like the gunshot at a horse race and all the horses bolt down the lanes. All the people in our group bolted off towards the dolphin pavilion for the show that was going to take place within the half hour. Meanwhile, James, Reiss, Milla, and I were trudging along at a crawl with Reiss crying and wiping his eyes because he didn't get his hand stamped like Mommy and Daddy did by the zoo admissions lady. James rubbed his stamp on Reiss's hand and some of the ink rubbed off on his little hand. That seemed to satisfy him for a bit but then as we were making our way towards the dolphin pavilion Reiss started in again about wanting the cell phone. We did not go to the dolphin show. I knew Reiss wouldn't sit still for that long and especially not when his only focus was on wanting that %$^&*# phone. Yes, we tried giving him my real cell phone. It didn't work. Even Daddy's cell phone with it's really cool little built-in camera was a no-go.
We walked, Reiss talked....about the phone. Then he was hungry and we brought out the animal cookies. Wasn't that appropriate - animal cookies at the zoo. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who thought that was kinda cute. Reiss talked about going home to get the phone. I threatened to leave the zoo and go home but somehow it didn't have the effect I was hoping for since Reiss wanted to go home. He got the lecture about not talking about the phone and not running away and behaving and if the stars were aligned just right, we would visit the gift shop as we left. Occasionally, we saw an animal here or there as we walked.
Now I don't want anyone to think I had an absolutely miserable time at the zoo but I will admit that I find it a bit pathetic that my biggest joy was not in seeing my children's reactions to the animals, but my own reaction to the little meerkats frolicking around in the "Deserts" exhibit. They were so cute and playful and friendly. One came up and sat right up against the glass wall separating them from us. Reiss did say something funny about the meerkats and I'm ashamed because I don't remember what it was. It's not that I am focusing on his tunnel-vision for wanting the phone, it's just a fact that the phone placed such a wrench in our enjoyment today.
In past trips to the zoo, Reiss has shown little interest in the animals at the zoo but I can't help but wonder if things would have been different today had we just stayed home a few minutes longer and found that phone. He would have had it with him, probably would have lost interest in it after a few minutes, and most likely would have tossed it into the basket of the stroller. Maybe, just maybe, he would have been satiated by the phone before we even got to the zoo and been more attentive to the animals that we were there to see.
Moving on....
We went to eat our lunch under a huge outdoor tent that normally has chairs and tables under it. Today it only had tables, no chairs. We plopped down in the grass to eat our lunch only to have a bee the size of my head take an obscene interest in me. It flew around me. It hovered around me. It landed on me. Several times. As this was going on, I grew progressively more concerned and by the time Miss Kathryn came over to tell me that it was just a carpenter bee and only the males/females (sorry, can't remember which) have stingers, I was shaking uncontrollably. Thank you, Miss Kathryn, but that isn't much comfort when
a) I don't have an entomological degree and therefore, cannot tell if said bee is female or male.
b) my father is nearly deathly allergic to bees.
c) I haven't been stung in so long that I don't know if I'm allergic or not and hence,
d) I don't carry an epi-pen.
We have carpenter bees around our property all the time and they're nothing new to me but they usually don't stalk me for ten minutes either. The ones we usually see also aren't the size of Texas and make me question the extinction of pterodactyls. Yes, it was that big. Don't believe the propaganda - there are ancients amongst us and pterodactyls roam the skies.
Right after what seemed like an insanely long time spent trying to get in four or five bites of my salmon salad on a bed of greens, Reiss took off running. My lunch was over and I finally caught up to him about a hundred yards into his sprint. Just as I returned, Milla crawled under the tent's side canopy. After retrieving Milla, James wisely declared he thought it was time to leave. Less than two hours into our trip to the zoo that was to be a four hour trip, we headed for the exit.
We did not visit the gift shop on the way out.
And oh yeah, I forgot to mention the blueberry my little angel, Milla, so delicately placed down the backside of my pants.
Before I go any further, I'll just preface this story by stating if you were to ask James how the zoo trip went, you will get a totally different story than mine. Keep in mind though, James is not the manic mommy I am and he also was not the one accosted by THE bee....more on that later.
Our day started out like most days when Reiss goes to preschool, except for today Reiss was not going to school. Because Milla and I were going on the zoo trip as well, Reiss was to ride with us instead of on the bus taking the children to the zoo.
As I was getting everything ready to go - lunches packed, extra clothes in case anyone had an "accident" (I'm pretty consistent so I didn't pack any clothes for myself.), check the diaper wipes container, make sure the kids' cups are full, James called and said he wasn't terribly busy at work and did I want him to go with us? Uh....how am I supposed to responed to this? I didn't want to jump on it with an overly-excited "YES!!!" but I also didn't want him to feel like he was neglecting anything at work. I opted for the old stand-by, "It's up to you, Dear." And it was decided James would go with us and we would pick him up from work on our way to the zoo. As if we weren't already running around like a bunch of crazies to get out of here - or maybe that was just me since Reiss and Milla were running around getting underfoot - I now needed to pack more lunch food in the bags, more drinks, more everything. But I'm not complaining because James was going and that meant I would have help!
It was about the time I got off the phone with James when Reiss started asking for the phone he's been playing with for a few days now. We must have twenty toy phones around here but he needed this specific phone that is a cheaply made little thing from Dollar Tree. Forget all the phones specifically designed for toddlers to have a "learning experience" with all their colorful buttons on them that make the phone talk, sing, dance, and whatever else when you press them! No, Reiss wanted the one that looks like a real cell phone and was made in China by someone who probably gets a cup of rice to eat every other day. Don't blame me - Grandma bought it!
We could not find the stupid cell phone and it was time to leave. I had a bad feeling from the get-go that I should just risk being late to the zoo and look around until we found that phone but the other voice inside me said I needed to get our rears out the door and on the road. Bad decision.
After fetching James from work and a remarkably uneventful drive to the zoo (it's downtown - enough said), with the exception of listening to Reiss go on and on about the cell phone, we arrived just as the children from Reiss's class were unloading from the bus. Except for James, our admissions were prepaid with the permission slip that was sent home on Tuesday of last week and needed to be back by Thursday. Seriously....Reiss only goes to school on Tuesday and Thursday, so you'd think they would not only give a little more advance scheduling with the form being sent home but more time in which to return it. Oh well, we're responsible parents and got it turned back in on time so I guess no foul, no harm or however that saying goes.
We were prepared to pay for James to get in but somehow it worked out that he was able to just walk in, as well as another parent who had not planned on coming prior to today and had not prepaid either. Maybe Miss Kathryn gave the zoo admissions people a really charming smile or something.
So we all got in the gate and it was like the gunshot at a horse race and all the horses bolt down the lanes. All the people in our group bolted off towards the dolphin pavilion for the show that was going to take place within the half hour. Meanwhile, James, Reiss, Milla, and I were trudging along at a crawl with Reiss crying and wiping his eyes because he didn't get his hand stamped like Mommy and Daddy did by the zoo admissions lady. James rubbed his stamp on Reiss's hand and some of the ink rubbed off on his little hand. That seemed to satisfy him for a bit but then as we were making our way towards the dolphin pavilion Reiss started in again about wanting the cell phone. We did not go to the dolphin show. I knew Reiss wouldn't sit still for that long and especially not when his only focus was on wanting that %$^&*# phone. Yes, we tried giving him my real cell phone. It didn't work. Even Daddy's cell phone with it's really cool little built-in camera was a no-go.
We walked, Reiss talked....about the phone. Then he was hungry and we brought out the animal cookies. Wasn't that appropriate - animal cookies at the zoo. Hopefully, I'm not the only one who thought that was kinda cute. Reiss talked about going home to get the phone. I threatened to leave the zoo and go home but somehow it didn't have the effect I was hoping for since Reiss wanted to go home. He got the lecture about not talking about the phone and not running away and behaving and if the stars were aligned just right, we would visit the gift shop as we left. Occasionally, we saw an animal here or there as we walked.
Now I don't want anyone to think I had an absolutely miserable time at the zoo but I will admit that I find it a bit pathetic that my biggest joy was not in seeing my children's reactions to the animals, but my own reaction to the little meerkats frolicking around in the "Deserts" exhibit. They were so cute and playful and friendly. One came up and sat right up against the glass wall separating them from us. Reiss did say something funny about the meerkats and I'm ashamed because I don't remember what it was. It's not that I am focusing on his tunnel-vision for wanting the phone, it's just a fact that the phone placed such a wrench in our enjoyment today.
In past trips to the zoo, Reiss has shown little interest in the animals at the zoo but I can't help but wonder if things would have been different today had we just stayed home a few minutes longer and found that phone. He would have had it with him, probably would have lost interest in it after a few minutes, and most likely would have tossed it into the basket of the stroller. Maybe, just maybe, he would have been satiated by the phone before we even got to the zoo and been more attentive to the animals that we were there to see.
Moving on....
We went to eat our lunch under a huge outdoor tent that normally has chairs and tables under it. Today it only had tables, no chairs. We plopped down in the grass to eat our lunch only to have a bee the size of my head take an obscene interest in me. It flew around me. It hovered around me. It landed on me. Several times. As this was going on, I grew progressively more concerned and by the time Miss Kathryn came over to tell me that it was just a carpenter bee and only the males/females (sorry, can't remember which) have stingers, I was shaking uncontrollably. Thank you, Miss Kathryn, but that isn't much comfort when
a) I don't have an entomological degree and therefore, cannot tell if said bee is female or male.
b) my father is nearly deathly allergic to bees.
c) I haven't been stung in so long that I don't know if I'm allergic or not and hence,
d) I don't carry an epi-pen.
We have carpenter bees around our property all the time and they're nothing new to me but they usually don't stalk me for ten minutes either. The ones we usually see also aren't the size of Texas and make me question the extinction of pterodactyls. Yes, it was that big. Don't believe the propaganda - there are ancients amongst us and pterodactyls roam the skies.
Right after what seemed like an insanely long time spent trying to get in four or five bites of my salmon salad on a bed of greens, Reiss took off running. My lunch was over and I finally caught up to him about a hundred yards into his sprint. Just as I returned, Milla crawled under the tent's side canopy. After retrieving Milla, James wisely declared he thought it was time to leave. Less than two hours into our trip to the zoo that was to be a four hour trip, we headed for the exit.
We did not visit the gift shop on the way out.
And oh yeah, I forgot to mention the blueberry my little angel, Milla, so delicately placed down the backside of my pants.
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