Larry

Larry
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Today I am thinking of a quote I read from Dr Temple Grandin

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a good teacher.

Temple Grandin
Last year at this time I was dealing with a lot of issues our Son was miserable! his school work was unacceptable, I picked him up from school everyday mostly in tears, bullies picking on him, we did homework until dinner and then until bedtime most of the time not finishing.
we decided not to sign up for boy scouts or anything else keeping only Upward basketball because we loved it. but there was very little playing, very little fun, it was a lot of work and fighting and more work, and more fighting No one was happy. when I visited his classroom I saw the kids all together and my son separate...alone, and very sad.

fast forward to now....a lot has happened he is part of a social skills group in school where he has made a few friends and is learning some of the things that other kids just get naturally but he doenst. they put him in a new class with a male teacher who is um a little less conventional he knows several kids in his new class, one from social group that he has made friends with, one from way back at homeschooling, one from elementary, he finished his project early he has never done that before, and did an extra credit project today I went to his classroom and he was right there with the other kids, making paper airplanes and laughing and smiling and Happy. The 30 minute per subject method of homework has us free to do fun stuff at night, we are even going to join scouts

and well It may be too early to call but I must say I think this is going to be a good year, and I think the teacher is doing a lot for him. we will see

he thinks he is getting a distinguished on his report, that translates to an A for those of you that don't know. he may be highly upset if he doenst get that Distinguished.

No I am not fooled into thinking he is not having issues I know somethings have not changed he still blurts out things he shouldn't, he still has to get up at times because he can't sit still but I am hopeful and it is really cool playing cards with your kid just because you can :)

another oldie but goodie

The Bus was Late again
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I chose this image because I love it
I took it a few years ago when the boys school bus was late and I was so stressed out because I found out that you can't call the school after hours and I didn't have a number to call to check on the bus! LOL

I have been stressed a little too much lately
I am trying to organize the whole schools thing, as soon as I am done here I will be reorganizing my files of all the schools papers--it's a mess
DH went to the ILP for the boy, I tried to make him understand that this meeting is a regular school thing where the kid is supposed to present his goals for the year and it is not a time to discuss special needs services---alas he did not listen to me
oh well
Larry is enjoying school this year
Curly is reading some words
Moo is loving school

the world is good
God is good
Now off to organize and clean! :)

504 meeting

The next American Idol LOL
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I think I already posted this picture? there just are not enough pictures of Larry are there?

the 504 meeting went well

I had them take out more than i had them add LOL
can you believe they had it on their that when Larry is called on but can't get his thoughts out, the teacher should have him write out his thoughts...HUH? you are going to make the kid who hates to write, write when everyone else can just speak the answers? I don't think so.

anyway it is overall ok the only thing I forgot was the whole reacting to bullies thing not sure what they can do about that but...

a wild flower

a wild flower
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I am busy lately with the kids all starting school.
and preparing for a 504 meeting with Larry's school.
it's very difficult for me, but I need to push aside my feelings that I was tricked and work with them. Last year when we had a meeting to determine if he needed and IEP they made me sign a paper saying that I agreed with their findings that he didn't need an IEP I asked them about the private testing e were having done, "what if they give him a diagnosis?" they told me they would take any test results into consideration and reevaluate his needs.....so when we got the diagnosis of Aspergers for him, I wrote asking the school to reconsider an IEP and got a call from the principal and the first thing she said was "well you signed the paper" needless to say I was not really nice to her and I still get angry thinking about it, but I need to put it aside.anger is not going to help me get what we need.

I do not care if they call it an IEP or a 504 what I care about is that the kid will be able to function in school on a level with his peers. That he is not going to be punished for being bullied, that he wont be alienated because of his disorder, that he be able to succeed, I cannot read that word without hearing Sacha Baron Cohen saying "there will be no sucking of seed going on here!" ROFL

So wish me luck, say a prayer, and on we go :)

First day of school for Moo

first day moo
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Preschool is so much fun :)
we had an uneventful first day of school for her, except we learned it takes a lot longer to get home from school....need to find a quicker way :)
she was all smiles on the way in, and all pouting on the way out.
she really likes her school :)

a slightly different perspective

a slightly different perspective
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

another shot from the sprinkler park last week
got down on the ground and shot at an up angle.



Today we went to go meet Curly's new teachers the time they gave us was 1-2
we got there early and parked up from and played eye spy until a group had formed at the door waiting for them to open, so we got out and we waited with the group. You know I do know that she has Autism but I have never really seen her act shy before, I observed her watching the other kids and I could tell she wanted to talk or play but what she did was take a step toward them and then cling to me.
Until today I have never seen her like this, it was always her being totally happy to just play by herself by choice, but now today I saw her unable to approach the girl she wanted to play with, it was strange.

So then the crowd started growing and it got louder and louder and she was getting more and more agitated In the future I think I will ask them to let us go in a few minutes earlier....maybe

Now I had explained to her over and over again what was going to happen I warned her that she will see some of her teachers from last year, and some of the kids and she walked into that building with a smile on her face, we got past the main office, and last year her room was to the right and she started to automatically head that way and I stopped her and told her the first grade classes are over here to the left, she became hesitant but walked with me, and then a teacher came over to her and bent down saying in a squeaky high voice "hi _curly_ it's so good to see you" She went right down flop! right in the middle of the hallway I momentarily got her up and into her classroom where she went down again well lets just say that it didn't go well :(

I should have been more prepared, I should have brought the PEC cards with me the worst thing in the world was that nothing I tried would work...I felt inadequate :( I was trying so hard to have a positive attitude that I forgot to be prepared for the worst :(

*sigh*

lets just hope that tomorrow things go better
bus will pick her about about 8:30

sprinkly park

sprinkly park
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

here is a picture from last week Larry at the sprinkler park
I thought the picture would look good as a black and white but when I converted it I didn't like it I am not very skilled at editing black and whites :)


Today is the last day before school starts
I am taking Curly to meet her teachers at 1 actually I am planning on taking her earlier because I want to get a parking spot and get out early LOL I figure we can eat lunch in the car and then go in and meet the teachers :) get out and on my way :)
really why can't they design schools with bigger parking lots?

Larry and Moo stayed over night at my sister's house so they could go play with their cousins.

he was supposed to have a drs appointment today but I canceled after he heard me talking about how we were missing the get together today :( he was all sad because he wanted to go so I relented :) Drove an hour to drop them off yesterday, and hour home with Curly, and will drive 2 hours to get to My nephew's house today and then 2 hours back.

So why wont the boy get off the video games and socialize with his cousins?



I do know I need to make the trip down there more often I miss my family :( and I never get to see them anymore.

the thing I miss abotu homeschooling is the ability totake a monday off and travel down there to see them.

big eyes

big eyes
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

So the bus company
they left a message on the voice mail it sounded like a woman who has just had dental work, mumbling it was really hard to understand We played the message many times.
"this is *mumble mumble* from North *mumble* transportation calling to verify that Jessica "mumble mumble* pick up *mumble* call 978-333-1212" OK I know this is not right, but I only listened a few times before Larry came up with the idea to look at the caller ID ROFL

So I called them back and the same mumbled voice answered
"Hello *mumble mumble* how may I help you?"

so I said " need to call and verify that my daughter is going to get picked up and dropped off for school"
Deep sighs on the other end "What town!" she said angrily
I tell her and she gave another deep sigh and said "You need to call your towns school and get the information through them"
I paused and thought how interesting it was that the mumbling stopped when the anger started
then I said
"Um you left a message on my phone asking me to call you at this number and verify"
her turn to pause LOL
her anger was gone and she became sweet and nice sounding "Oh are you calling about a short bus or a long bus?" I said "small bus"


well apparently they have had quite a few calls from people who are stressing out trying to figure out bus pick up times LOL

and the mumbled part I didn't understand was that they were verifying her address LOL
So every thing is cool :)

but it was funny

I'm just glad I didn't laugh out loud :)

haha while I was typing this up, I got a call with the bus drivers names and pick up times :) she is going to have one 2 different drivers one will be her last yeah driver the one will be her summer driver so that is really good :)

check out my blog makeover---last week of summer freedom

I have so much to do
I can say that the list I made of things to do with the kids over the summer went largely unchecked :( but we had a lot of fun anyway.

and my kids are going back to school

mixed emotions
Moo, Larry And Curly

Moo will be in the same class as last year but they changed the time to start earlier
not sure how I can do that...we need to wait and see what time Curly's bus picks her up before I stress about that LOL

Curly is going into the *gasp* first grade she will me mainly in a regular first grade with an aid to help her and with a back up special needs classroom, they will pull her out into if she gets overwhelmed or starts doing things to upset the flow of the class...I think the school is wonderful but now I am seeing that our goals for Curly are different....they want her to be like the other students, and to a point I want that too, but I am more concerned that she is getting what she needs
*sigh* I realize that I am not making that point, but I cringe when they say things like "we need to get her to stop playing in the dirt because the other students are noticing her dirty fingernails, and teasing her" when playing in the dirt is one of the things she finds the most joy in.

*sigh* so much of what they are working on is to make her not stand out in the class, and I know that this is good, but part of me is sad by that KWIM? I'm finally starting to understand the other side of the argument, the side of "don't cure autism, accept it" it's all so complex.

we had her evaluated for speech to see if her seizure meds are helping her, since her seizures are in the left cortex they tested her before meds and then 8 months after being on the meds

her understanding of speech is less---so she is losing speech even though she speaks better...its pretty confusing even after they explained it to me I still am not sure I quite grasp what they are saying...after we see her neurologist I'll have better info
where do we go from here?...it all depends on what the people at the insurance company think can it really be cheaper to try a new med for 8 months and then retest her than to just do another EEG?
I think 8 months is a long time in the life of a child, but
what do I know?

Larry is going into the sixth grade

more on him later because I need to go take him to his piano lesson

So how do you like my blog's new look?

sometimes I feel like I will never understand it.

So Curly's favorite book used t be "Piggie Pie" by Margie Palatini.
She brought it home form the school library and she liked it so much that Santa included it under the tree :)
I read that story to her morning noon and night, every time she had a chance no one else could read it either it was only mom who did the voices and all :)
then one day we couldn't find the book, we searched for it and searched for it and she cried and cried and we read different books and life goes on right?

fast forward about 3 months and

Today I found it stuffed in an old book bag in the back of the closet...I thought she would be so excited. I walked down the stairs saying "Look what I found!"

she screamed and ran and hid cowering in the corner....huh?

of course Moo wanted me to read it so I read it to her but Curly ran to her room with her hands locked onto her ears :(


what?

I will never understand it!

*sigh*

Day two of no school

Day one didn't go so well, but today we had planned on doing things
piano lessons, shopping, if the weather was right I was going to go look for a sprinkler park that wasn't too busy LOL

instead we have a sick 3 year old.

we are watching cartoons and changing couch covers that Moo got sick on :(

Blog entry- - The problem as I see it.

It seems to me that for some people, if Autism touches their lives in any way, they believe themselves to be an expert on autism...The truth is that they are only an expert on how Autism touches their lives.

I don't believe there really is such a thing as an expert when it comes to autism.

Messy Hmm

Messy Hmm
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

Dennis took this and I like it :)

blog entry -Yesterday was an interesting day.

got locked out of the car at the boy's doctor and my spare key is missing
so we had to walk home.

in my mind the way home was shorter and paved with sidewalks, I would never do that again!
*sigh*
Mary-Ann needs to learn how to let go of her issues about asking for help, or taking help from people.

the good news is we made it home ok, we played in the sprinkler for a bit and htne we broke into our house :)
still can't find my spare keys so we had to wait until DH got home from Maine to get the van.

also
the boy believes this to be one of his greatest adventures and we talked about turning everyday situations into adventures...anything can be fun depending on how you look at it :)

I have a lot to do today
the boy is going to his friend's house to "hang out" ROFL

before that we are off to Lowes to get some keys made :)
then we have to clean because my house is a pig sty with all the searching for the missing key that went on yesterday :)

So lessons learned?

1) ask for help when you need it
2) accept help when it's offered
3) never let the Moo-ster play with your keys (knew that one already just lost my brain for a bit)
4) Check and make sure you have your spare keys instead of assuming they are where you think they are.
I know there was one more but I can't remember it....hmm I guess that means I didn't learn it so, NEVER MIND! LOL
Now off to face the day.

ugh why am I not blogging?

what is the reason for neglecting my blog
I love blogging

hmmm

busy

sick

busy
and same thing as always

too many things going on at the same time

a mega blog entry coming up soon all about our troubles with Aspergers

I have it saved in a draft I am just not done typing it up yet *sigh*

Oh deer!

Years ago I lived in Seymour CT
ask me what I liked best about living there, and first I will say that we had the greatest neighbors ever!
the second best thing was the wooded backyard
we would see all kinds of creatures, our dog loved to chase them, it was fun!
every morning we would watch a family of deer walk across our back yard
every evening we would see them walk in the other direction.
I used to play MUD games online then and I had my whole group envious with my stories about the deer family LOL

Years later when we were searching for a house, we don't want to say that seeing deer in the yard had something to do with our buying this house, but it wasnt a negative to us, yes I do remember the movie Funny Farm "Que the deer" ROFL

So then they did the route 3 project and the deer stopped coming

well this year they are back

we've seen them several times...havent gotten any decent shots of them yet LOL

I love Deer


but

they eat EVERYTHING!!!!!!!

they ate all my sunflowers *cry*

they didn't even get to grow up, they never got even close to flowers and they are GONE

also I'm thinking they ate the blueberries too

on a good note they eat weeds too

so do I try to plant new sunflowers or just give up>?

:)

tonight I will have the right lens watch the deers not come back :)

So this morning we had a drama filled morning

first Moo (the three year old) had a toy that Curly (the six year old) wanted....take..yell...scream...time-outs

Curly has decided that she wanted some flavor of poptart that we do not have, scream...yell...timeouts...

after all was settled down...Moo holding the desired toy, and Curly standing off in the distance pouting...did My ears and eyes really see this?

Moo said to Curly "if you want a toy you have to ask for it properly!"

Curly just looking at her not saying anything, and then Moo put her hands up near Curly's face the way I to to help her to look me in the eyes and said "Curly Look me in the eyes and say 'may I please have the toy' and then I'll give it to you!"

Curly said it, and Moo gave it to her and they hugged.


what a weird feeling, to be both proud of your 3 year old for acting so grown-up and worried that this is damaging her psychologically KWIM?

the woman that comes here once a week from the schools, she told me this would happen
said that when Moo is older we really will need to give her some special time just for her to compensate.

life is weird huh?

today your money is a little safer than it was...???

OK this is a reoccurring theme on my blog, it bugs me, so I will blog about it.

Corrine Stephen

I blogged about her before

the foster mother who got 8 years in prison for killing a 4-year old little boy in her care.


and today they gave the guy who stole some money 150 years in prison

I'm not saying that Madoff should not have gotten what he got, I'm not saying that I am not outraged by the Ponzi scheme or whatever you call it!

but listening to the people outraged on the news about Madoff and thinking back, just wondering who remembers Corrine Stephen's name? How many of you will always remember Madoff?

who remembers the story about little Dontel Jeffers I am just wondering how much money is equal to the life of a child?

I'm tired of hearing stories about people who got out of prison only to kill again...well you can be sure that guy wont steal millions of dollars again huh?

whew so glad I can invest money again.

ok now off to play with my kiddos :)

kindergarten program and apologies

I've been in a blog drought, but I am trying to get going on it.

Sorry to all my tens of followers ROFL


here is the lyrics to the songs Curly sang at school Yesterday

well Her class sang them You KWIM LOL




First Grade, First Grade
A graduation song, sung to: "New York, New York"

Start spreading the news
We're leaving today
We want to be a part of it
First Grade, First Grade

We've worked very hard
We're ready to go
We're gonna be a part of it
First Grade, First Grade

We know our ABC's and our 1,2,3's so well
We've worked at sounding out words and stories to tell

Just asked us to rhyme
We'll say tens and pens
We've learned to share and get along with all our friends

So now we made it there
We'll make it anywhere
We're on our way
First Grade, First Grade
---------------------------------------
Chorus:
Each of us is a flower
Growing in life’s garden
Each of us is a flower
We need the sun and rain.

Each of us is a flower
Growing in life’s garden
Each of us is a flower
We need the sun and rain.

Verse:
Sun, shine your warmth on me
Moon, cool me with your night
Wind, bring the gentle rain
Earth, take my roots down deep.

yes the woman who never leaves the house without her camera actually forgot it to her daughters kindergarten program LOL
oh also the woman who is rarely weepy cried like a newborn LOL

Curly did good, she didn't freak out until after the show when everyone went back to the classroom LOL
she needed some alone time in the s3 (special education classroom)
she recovered quite well after a short time and that was impressive she has come a long way in a school year :)


so proud of my baby :)

AND her special needs teacher is going to be her Summer school Teacher which is A HUGE good deal :)

after a stressfull evening...

after a very stressful evening of Curly doing all kinds of things to break my heart, like refusing to hold my hand, not letting me touch her, only wanting to hold Daddy's hand, only wanting to sit next to daddy, not listening to me, and not looking at me,running from me, I drove them home and opened the door to let her out, she stood there in the van, stretched up to her tip toes, peered into my eyes, MADE eye contact with me and said "hi mom it's good to see you" and then gave me the biggest hug

Now that was AWESOME!

*sniff*

IEP?

So I got a phone call the other day telling me that the boy's meeting has been schedules for May 13th and was that a good time.
I said ok and today I got a call from the psychologist
"Is he on Medications?"
"Does he receive therapy?"
she said "I'll send this to the school and they will come up with a date for the meeting" I told her the day was set for May 13th and she said "nice of them to let me know "

HUH?

these are surely not the nice and helpful people who were on Curly's team

Now I am scared.
Now I understand all the chatter I have heard from everywhere about how dreadful IEPs are

I swear Curly's IEP was a pleasant picnic! no kidding they sent me an invitation with a notice of everyone that would be there, and I had a ton of time to prepare
this is different. they don't even know what they are doing.

So when I went to go check the mail there was a letter form the school, I thought maybe that would be more info

no it's the forms to fill out for next year

I still do not know what we are going to do.

:(
should he stay in the charter school? should We put him in the public?

repeat the fifth grade, or advance to the sixth?

*sigh*

as I sit and listen to my daughter cry for auntie Nan ...I just wish...

she loves her Dad
she loves her brother,
loves her sister
loves her teacher
her aids and helpers
her class mates
her therapist,
her specialists
her aunts her cousins
the dog next door...

I am her Mother!

vacation

no time to blog but will update later

I still have not figured out how to blog from the blackberry
soooooo
I know you will miss me :)

Bandages and Focalin

Soo I went to pick up the boy at his school early yesterday to take him to the doctor's For a medication check. They called him out of his room and he came down to me clutching his elbow "I got hurt someone pushed me over at recess" So I look at his elbow, and it's just a really big scrape, but the nurse had put a teeny tiny bandaid on it.

So I was glad we were going to the doctors because that nurse took one look at that pathetic job the school nurse did and got the stuff, cleaned up the wound and bandaged it right. *sigh* so I would like to ask "don't they have a first aid kit at the school?" So I went out to Walmart and picked up a package of knee and elbow bandages to give them, but WOW I was kind of surprised at how it was handled, not that the cut was bad, but the little band aid and the blood dripping all over the place, I could see bits of dirt in there...kind of shocking KWIM? I know he is in middle school now but I can't imagine them expecting him to clean a wound himself. *shrug*

so back to the ADHD stuff\

He needs a med change and homework is impossible so the psychiatrist recommends him changing to several doses a day instead of the once a day extended release
*sigh* of course the two doctors don't agree, but I am going to take the word of the Ped TYVM So they increased his dose.
Sometimes I get so upset, I wish we didn't have to give him medicine, I wonder about how it all affects him :( I've evn tried taking him off a few times, one time they sent him home from school...it's obvious he struggles so much without it :(

anyway we are hopeful that the new dose will help.

IEP is coming up :)

funny stories are always nice

I asked my kids the question at dinner

"what is the most fun you had at today at school"

Messy (who's new nickname is now Curly) was the first to tell me
" today I had a time out in school"

Ok the fact that she answered my question was thrilling, I guess we need to teach what "fun" means :) but we are still thrilled that she answered, and was the first one to answer :)

Moo (who will keep that nickname) took some coaxing to get her to answer, she is upset because I put the macaroni and cheese in the green bowl, and she had wanted broccoli in the green bowl, and the mac and cheese in the orange bowl hmmm you know she is just copying her sisters issues right??? after telling us several times that she had absolutely no fun at school today, she finally admitted that she slid on the slide and that was fun LOL

Mapboy (who's new nickname will be Larry) said that he had a quiz on Africa and he was only supposed to write in 20 countries he knew 32 and he also knew the capitals which are supposed to be extra. after several minutes of bragging about how awesome he is at Geography I reminded him that he needed to do his Language arts homework LOL


my kids ROCK! I complain about them a lot, too much they are pretty cool kids :)

So the nicknames results are in!

did you pick up on the names?

Moo Larry and curly :)


it is going to be a long spring if I am going to have to forgo redsox games so the kids can do homework ARGH LOL

I've done a few posters since the last blog update I'm just going to paste them over form flickr :)

Autism the real deal

I have changed a lot in the last couple of years, I used to be the mom in the grocery store who thought " man that kid is really spoiled rotten the parents must not know how to discipline" Now I'm the mom who thinks "oh that poor kid is really struggling" I guess that is why I almost never say anything to people who make comments and things. Thank God I never said anything to anyone back when I was unaware...but hey I can't go back in time and change how I used to think, only how I think now.


So we have to go to a new place to get the girl's blood test now, the nurses at the Peds office don't want to anymore, frankly I don't blame them but it makes things harder for us.

So we go to Children's Hospital and they don't really know us yet so I had to warn them when we got there "she has autism and puts up a fight for the blood test" I do that because it's easier than just saying "she puts up a fight" when you use the word autism it makes them understand that you really mean it KWIM?
Don't get me wrong, they are great there, they are fast, and accurate, none of that wiggling the needle around trying to find the vein KWIM? and they are very nice.

So the phlebotomist kept taking Messsy's face and looking in her eyes...I was pretty sure I knew what was coming next...the old "she doesn't have autism" thing sure enough this woman is convinced she has been misdiagnosed
Why? she talks, she is smart, and she is a girl...apparently girls don't get Autism LOL I have to be nice, the woman is really just trying to help. And after all one of Messy's Doctors doesn't believe she has it either.
Me I've excepted it. she needs an aid to help her or she would be a total disruption in her class, she spins around, she paces, some times she will throw herself on the floor and start screaming with her hands over her ears for no apparent reason, she needs help walking down stairs, she doesn't like to hold my hand, but does like to hold her dad's, she has to draw a picture and take it with her before we leave the house, she will pick up a knife, a razor, a candle, a hot coal she never remembers what is dangerous, she would run out into the street with cars coming if she saw a blue jay, not that she does these things I just think she might if we didn't watch her every second of every day. I gotta say that if she doesn't have autism I'm Rachael Ray...and we all know that I am NOT RR LOL


You all know that April is Autism awareness day right?
I hope my vast number of followers, I think I have 5, don't get sick of my autism posts
because all month I am going to talk about autism and Messy and what I want/hope/pray for.

hey isn't that the whole reason I started this blog in the first place? to talk about Messy :)

I am the MEANEST mom LOL

How many times have I told the boy not to leave his homework out

you don't even know

it's not funny
anyway last night I told him three times to clean up his homework off the table and he didnt, he also left out his pastels that is DANGEROUS with those girls LOL

So meanie mom took the pastels and put them into my cabinet (the place I put stuff they are not going to see again either ever, or for a long time) and I scooped all his homework up with his sisters papers and told myself that when he asks for it I will give it to him with a little "when will you learn your lesson" kind of talk.


problem

he never asked me for it

and

I totally forgot it was sitting with his sisters papers.

So he got called for the WCC work completion center its just a fancy way of saying he has to stay after school.

OK I still didn't remember until I went to go through the papers and separate artwork, from school work

So the boy is staying after school
because I can't pick him up at the same time as his sister I have to send him to the after school program


it cost 16 dollars to send him to that


We will be billing the boy

don't worry he knows it we have discussed this before, there is no way I can be in two places at once and the after school program is the only way

*sigh*

he is not going to be happy for sure

a little part of me wanted to say NO and rush his homework to him, but really, when is he going to learn his lesson and keep his homework where it is supposed to be?

what happens when I forget to blog for a bit

I can't remember what I blogged about and what I didn't LOL

I got a call from the kindergartner's teacher yesterday
she has been having lots of trouble with sensitivity to noise
Whistles on the playground, morning announcements...any normal noises have her rocking with her hands over her ears

I know that that is what she does doesn't necessarily mean her ears are bothering her.
I tell the teacher this and she agrees with me, but is also concerned that she might have an ear infection because she also has a runny nose and, well you know the deal right? they don't want to start behavior modification if she is doing it out of real pain, or if she is really sick. Autism really stinks sometimes

So I took her to walk-in and the NP says that she has fluid in the ear
OK I am holding a pamphlet in my hand about how you shouldn't treat fluid in the ears with antibiotics...but the NP is pushing for them so the school can get going on the Behavior modification. OK OK I get it! I just wish I was one of those really smart strong mothers who has all the answers and knows what to do....you know who they are right?

anyway Dh is away until Friday so we are going to busy all week :)

now I am off to make homemade pizza with the kids, well semi homemade...I bought the dough

sometimes I miss them

Here is a picture from the past!



OH those curls!

What kind of day has it been?

Well The Messy Girl has a book to return to school I really need to find another nickname for her I am starting to really dislike "Messy"

I can't find it

and I wonder is this a typical problem with kids?
do kids that don't have issues with autism hide things? whenever there is something that has to be returned to the library or the school, she hides it and she is really good at hiding things, then she forgets where it is, sometimes she hides her favorite toys and she can't find them. it's maddening!



anyway I can't find the missing book, and the moo-ster peed her pants right when it was time for Messy's bus So I rushed around changing Moo and getting Messy on the bus and then getting Moo off to school *sigh* My head is pounding

I drop moo at school, late again...I think we are late more days that not, but that is because we can't be in two places at once KWIM?

Then I zip to the grocery store to pick up a few things I need, get home to see Messy's lunch box and thermos on the table
So I zip over to her school to drop it off
zip back home and start taking off the couch cover

see we have these loveseats that have the removable covers, and we got extra covers
two loves seats and two red covers, two black covers, and then we found a zebra striped cover in the "as-is" room for 5 bucks Messy LOVES the zebra cover I wish we had a second one because I like it when things match but....

Ok I got sidetracked there didn't I?

anyway the red covers need to be washed so I started taking of one had to stop to zip and pick up moo who had a great day at school today :)

got home get her lunch and finished taking off the cover
Got the zebra cover lined it up and pulled it on smoothing it out, got it just perfect, I just needed to put the straps on it to keep the cover on and Moo climbed up on the couch all excited "ohh zebra" So I said "please get down, I still need to put on the straps" "ok mama" she got down and sat on the floor.

The cover slips in between the back and seat and the straps run through there


so I go to push the the cover in between and it felt wet

Yes she sat on it for 1 minute and peed on it. and what is the deal with the pee accidents? twice in one day for Moo, yesterday Messy had three pee accidents ????

So I went to clean her up and thought "well she needs a shower anyway, why don't I do that now" So while I was showering up Moo the phone rang.

Guess what? IT was 12:30, and the boy had a half day, I was supposed to pick him up at 12:15

so I had to whisk a wet and drippy moo I dried her off dressed her up and wrapped her up in a blanket, it's nice out, but not THAT nice out KWIM, off to pick him up *sigh*

all I can say is...it's got to get better :)


I guess I'm not going to make it to the library LOL

anyone have any advil? ROFL

Oh I made up a good dinner

I took the leftover corned beef dinner and I made a good casserole

I sliced up the potatoes and carrots really thin
cut up some of the meat into realy small cubes

I started with a layer of veggies
layer of cabbage
layer of tomato sauce
sprinkled some of the meat
layer of mozzarella

veggies
cabbage
sauce
meat
cheese

sprinkled some Italian seasoning
and Parmesan cheese

baked it about 20 minutes

and it was awesome

The boy loved it, the hubby loved it, I thought it was pretty darn good

girls wouldn't try it because it looks like "Basagna" and while they both know that Garfield LOVES "bazagna" they don't so.....

I must say the boy has been less fussy about his food lately :)


now if we could only get the kid to do his required homework.

sick kids and kids who don't have homework, but....

Moo is still sick, she sounds awful when she is coughing still clear mucus but if she isn't better by Monday I am taking her in. at least her fever is gone.

Messy is feeling better, she barely got sick huh?
Boy is driving me nuts with his "I have no homework, oh yeah I have to finish this project for my..." stuff. he got just a little sick too weird

Next week we will start my "no more missing church" campaign it was supposed to start this week, but they are all sick
Me I feel pretty bad, if Moo feels half as bad as I do I feel bad for her

the thing with Moo is she hardly ever gets sick
I know they say antibiotics don't prevent colds and things, but I swear she never gets sick, she is three and is learning about covering her mouth and how to blow her nose.

Ok the boy finished his NON homework project so we are going to eat lunch.

*sigh*

Yesterday we went for a drive and caught a majorly awesome sunset

here are a few pics

officially sucked in

I know I said I wouldn't watch Idol this time

but I have now put it on the top of the tivo list.\


Today Moo is still sick

and my blackberry is dead

I got a replacement phone it's just a phone though, so it's not like I can go on facebook or anything LOL


starting to change the way we do our food planning


hopefully stop wasting money and food

Am I like the worst blogger eveh?

LOL

It's wednesday

I'm really sad that I am not watching Idol this time around.
I keep reading updates and wishing I had watched :(

I'm keeping the little one home from school today

she is coughing a lot
she seems fine, and never get sick, so I am sure she is ok, I just am not used to her coughing like that...we need to work on the "cover your mouth" thing some more, she just doenst get the practice her siblings always get LOL

I do need to go to the laundromat, so maybe keeping her home wasn't such a good idea, but I knwo I wouldn't want to be the teacher with a coughing kiddo who doenst always remember to cover KWIM?


SHE of course is angry at me for not letting her go to school

ROFL

she is so funny :)

like my new header?

it means those cute kiddos need to park themselves in their own beds thankyouverymuch ROFL

--------------

homework should not take 3 plus hours

-----------------------------
I had an non productive day

BUT the good news is, I have not taken one Advil all day

no knee pain (well just a little)
no tooth ache
No back pain
no headache

Lets party!
it has really been awhile since I could say that

Monday blues

spring is gone and winter has fought it's way back for a brief time
the birds seem confused
I put out extra food for them
the kids are happy
it's been a week since I last blogged

I didn't get to write about the beautiful weather,
or our anniversary
no time for reflection
it's Monday
not enough time to do what I need to do

yet here I am blogging

LOL

Happy Birthday Peter and Paul

Why do I remember this day?

someday I will be...

44 years of fun and excitement :)

Well so the birthday didn't go as planned but... well that is what life is all about right?
we all got ready to go to Church the girls were super excited because I had matching butterfly dresses for them, and then we were just about to leave when Messy had an accident....most kids a quick change into another dress would be fine, but not her :( she really wanted to match her sister, and even her french poodle dress (her favorite) was not en0ugh to let us get to church on time :( I was a bit disappointed.

we spent the rest of the day getting DH's car fixed, and shopping for a new haircolor, they don't have mine anymore ...actually according the the website they still make my color, but they are not to be found anywhere.

made dinner, birthday person gets to pick, so I picked breakfast...breakfast for dinner was one of my favorite dinners as a kid so.... it sort of loses it's fun when you are the one cooking it ROFL but it was still good :) I got many birthday wishes.

then the boys went down to watch Indana Jones and the girls and I frosted the cake :)

we sang Happy Birthday, and then we ate cake, Moo just licked the frosting off, Dh got pics of the kids with chocolate frosting all over ROFL

oh Dh got my flowers

that was my birthday
I wish I had gotten to church, but other than that I had a good day with the kiddos

:)

Next week we will celebrate our anniversay!

I'm planning on making a something special...but I am not sure what yet ROFL

thanks to all my friends for all the wonderful wishes

random stuff

time flies

the boy is having trouble at school

same kid

never ending lies

yes I know ten year olds lie

which 10 year old is?

detention he said, but no call from the school

weirdness I just want to pull him out and back into the safe walls of our home
The dr says "to bad you can homeschool him again, he did so well back them"

*sigh*
I think we have established that...I'm just not able to do that very well...
If I must be honest I don't really want to do that :(
failure sucks

bullies sucks

autism sucks

but the girl is doing well
she likes school
she talks about school
she makes eye contact
answers questions...well sometimes
she likes her teachers
likes her "friends"

even draws pictures of them and talks about them by name

amazing


the little one seems to have forgotten how to use the potty regularly
Nothing I can't handle but I sure wish my washer was fixed LOL



Dh has been away all week, we are doing OK, mornings are hardest, but we have pulled it off :)
I've been pretty whiny all week more than I should be
no excuse for my bad attitude

My birthday is coming up, I don't really care about that

my mom died 4 years ago

*sigh*


I can hear the red wing blackbirds

spring is coming

time to move on :)

what did you learn today Moo?

I love three year olds :)

today I jsut realized Moo has a wicked boston accent ROFL
so I picked her up at school and we went to the grocery store, and I asked her what she learned at school



"candy is NOT a good choice for healthy dinnah"


"when a biggah boy pushes on my backpack and wont let go, you Postah say 'sxcuse me but please don't push on my backpack cuz moo don't like that' cuz dah teachah will smile, and if you yell the teachah will be sad!"

"feets don't think"





ROFL

a little creativity please?

So after watching the girls play in a doctors waiting room, they lined up the little beanie babies and then Moo took her coat and draped it over the toys and claimed that they were now at school.

I thought up an idea for them, I have some cardboard boxes I tucked away when I got my Ikea love seats

so when the girls did not want to leave their "school" I mentioned an idea to them

"at home I have a big box, we can decorate it and make it into a school for your animals" they loved the idea


when we got home I told my idea to MB

to decorate the box to make it a school


So the boy who can't focus, can't stick to a project at school, the kid who is having so much trouble staying on task, spent the whole day building a school, he went through the recycling bin and cut up cardboard to make rooms, desks and even a printer...the school has everything even a gymnasium.

ADHD is such a confusing thing



I mean this is truly a work of art


how come he cant get school credit for this?

the poor kiddo

hairstyles

someone left a pair of giraffe scissors in the crayon box
no scissors are not supposed to be in wiht the crayons, scissors come under the same catagory as paint, playdoh and such. adult supervision required


girls sitting at the table coloring

me cooking dinner with my back to them

it's not like I left them alone, I was in the room with them, but I was busy.


anyway Moo now has a new haircut

luckily her hair is curly so it's easy to hide

oh Barbie got a new hairstyle too
and one of those dolls form the happy meals too LOL

I can laugh

:)

giraffe scissors are now locked up

You can take pictures of eagles fishing as long as...

OK so we were at Bear mountain and we were driving along and the boy saw a tank we pulled over and Dh took a few pictures of the tank, it was on display at the entrance to some military base. then as we went to drive off Dh noticed some big birds out on the ice, so we pulled over to have a look YES it was an American Bald Eagle family, it seemed like the parents were teaching the young ones how to fish...but really I am no expert in animal behaviour, but that is what it seemed like. DH took out his camera, I got mine and we were happily snapping away what an awesome find!

until New York state's finest came buy

did you know that it is illegal to take pictures of fishing eagles if there happens to be a nuclear power plant on the other side of the water? also I had taken a couple of shots of the building not really knowing what it was I'm dumb like that and didn't know it was a power plant, not that I would even have thought it wrong to take a picture of it. I have the most respect for police officers, and he told us over and over again that he in no way thought that we were terrorist but since 911 and the anti-terrorism laws it is illegal to take pictures of a nuclear plant or a military base...Dh told him that he didn't take pictures of the base, just the tank displayed on the lawn....most of the pictures were of eagles fishing (awesome by the way)


So we had to delete some pictures Dh argued with the guy a little he told him that he tried to keep up on laws about photography and he was not aware of the law, the officer told us to look at the USA dot gov website to read the law *sigh* I searched and searched I can't find the law.


I'm ok with it
I don't have a problem with having to delete the pics, I really am it's just a small thing plus we were allowed to keep all the eagle pics, they came out pretty crappy due to the fact that I was way too excited seeing eagles so close up ROFL


but I am saddened

I don't think it makes sense
I wish someone could explain how me taking pictures is dangerous

:(

I need your help~~~~help me come up with a name

We need a new nickname for Messy

she isn't messy any more
it doenst fit anymore

so I need a new name

can you think of any neat nicknames for her?

preferably one that starts with an "M"


Thanks

photo funia

Well the plumber was ok

She made the clog only a slow drain but she is trying to perfect her closet auger use :)

our phone died

it says "line in use" but no lines are in use

I tried to fix it but my telephone repair skills stink LOL

so today I am just the cleaning person and waiting for the telephone repair person, and occasionally taking a minute to try my Closet auger skills ROFL

I know my mom is smiling down on me for that one ROFL

The plan LOL

I got this idea from a friend

The job market is pretty pathetic

but I did always say that if all my kids were in school, I would get a job...problem is that the little moo-ster is only in school 2 hours, and with the cost of child care, any job I could get would cost the family money at this time. and that is a bummer, a complete punch to my tiny self esteem "hey you are not skilled enough to even bring any money into the family!" *sigh*



SOOOOOOOOoooo to boost my ego, and help me to keep things organized and get LONG overdue projects done LOL :)

I have decided to hire myself to myself

The pay is FANTASTIC! I work two hours a day, and my boss doesn't mind if I drink coffee on the job WHOO HOO!

today I hired a plumber "Mary-Ann's plumbing...expert at getting toys out of toy-lets"
any time left over will be spent studying to get my electrician's license ROFL soI can have a new lighting put into my kitchen :)

love the internet!


I do know that this is cheesy but it's about time I admitted it cheesy works for me ROFL

nothing can destroy a bad mood better than watching JBMS with the kiddos :)

snow snow snow

Mom says "OK kids because of the snow we have no school today"

Mapboy says "whoo hooo can I play the wii"

Messy says " no I wanna go to school.... can I have my crayons?"

Moo "but I want to sing songs"


So I let the boy have his Wii
I give the girl her crayons and paper
and I sing some songs with the little one

HAHA Am I the best mother ever????


ROFL
actually the boy out in the snow
the girl is drawing
and the little one is watching "Jacks big Music Show"

I have a surprise I have been saving for them
someone gave me some kidnex sets
maybe we can have all three doing the same activity at the same time???

I just found out my niece is going to have a baby and I am SOOO SOO happy for her

The Clarinet???

That is the advice we got from the psychologist

get him a band instrument and get him some lessons and get him into a band

he asked me if I ever saw "Music Man"

said something about 76 trombones and keeping kids out of pool halls, I think he was disappointed that I didn't know the reference *shrug* now I need to rent it LOL
so we should have got the kid a clarinet instead of a guitar.

what he means is that the boy needs to find a niche, something that gives him a feeling of belonging, and fitting in, and since he loves music and piano, he may love a band instrument and get into a school band and fit in.

he also wants the boy to have a neuropsychological assessment

hehe how much ya wanna bet that isn't covered on the insurance? LOL

he talked a lot about the dad/son relationship how much the kid adores his dad and wants to do things with him...that was kind of weird, he was talking about them building a go kart together or getting an old car or something to refurbish...I felt like I was transported to the Brady bunch for a second LOL



moo had a great day at school

we are supposed to get snow tomorrow

I hope there is no school, because I do not want to drive them LOL

hope you are doing well

I haven't really been keeping up and reading my favorite blogs lately :(

catching up

I've been so busy I forgot to blog LOL

lets update :)

Mapboy is doing the same we are still trying to find out what the right thing to do is for him
boy if I were wealthy I would pay a tutor to help him with his homework, and organization *sigh*

Messy is doing GREAT! I went to her Parent teacher meeting and got the scoop on how well she is doing, of course while I was there I most certainly heart her pitching a fit in the hallway *sigh*
right now they are dealing with the kindergarten switch, her class was morning kindergarten, and afternoon special needs class....now it's switched and that is hard for kids with Autism, but she is doing pretty good :) we are waiting for results of her test to see if her lamictal (seizure medication) levels are good and we can start testing to see if the medication is helping her speech, which will mean it is controlling the seizures. I feel like DR house (not really)

Moo is doing awesome lol she is 70 percentile in weight and 20 % in height so she is short and fat LOL must take after mom LOL

Moo is now a preschooler, she started school on Monday and Had a blast, although she got cold feet when I went to drop her off this morning, literally since she has taken her boots and socks off in hopes of not being taken in LOL I don't think she was really scared of school, she just didn't know the woman who was taking her in...she just needs to meet all the helpers and she will be fine I am sure :)


Me? I'm Ok just trying to rework the budget to include the cost of preschool sheesh LOL



I'd like to say a prayer for a friend...I know you have heard it a million times, but really READ the words (((hugs)))

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

the story of the guitar

Well the boy has been asking for a guitar
I bought a used one from a friend's son for him for Christmas, it was small and scratched up so I only got it for 5 bucks but I told mapboy that if he shows interest in it, I would upgrade to a better one next year. well after the initial excitement he had to restring it because "mom left handers have to string it backwards" who knew?

then the discoveries are made
the missing screw, the other missing part that I don't know what it's called apparently without these things the guitar cannot be tuned properly, so we went looking around a bit...to get it fixed would cost about 20 bucks.

well we found a guitar brand new on clearance because hte packaging was ripped 20 bucks at Christmas tree shop

of course the kid is now vry happy LOL

change is good

handling it all

So today is a half day at school, so when Messy gets home we will go to Children's hospital to get a blood draw...blood draws are difficult

did you ever see the movie Underdog?
well in that movie the evil scientist steals away all of Underdog's power with a needle
she thinks they are trying to take away her power

what is her power?
I'm not sure, but it is wonderful and she doesn't want people with needles taking it and can't understand why her mother is letting them do it. the place we usually do it is the pediatrician's office, they wont do it anymore so we must take her to children's it's actually been awhile since we did a draw...maybe she wont give us such a hard time this time?

we have had a lot of blood draws she has had Thrombocytopenia it means her platelet count was low, it improved, but you have to keep checking it, plus blood draws to test her epilepsy medication levels, and all the genetic testing they do on her.

everyone wants to steal her power

*sigh*

the end of the month we have an appointment with the Hematology department to go over the results of the platelet count

we will wait for a call from the Epilepsy clinic to hear how her levels are

after we get her blood drawn I need to take her somewhere fun

where?

anyone have any ideas?

she hates C E C it's too noisy

maybe we will just go and buy her a new box of crayons?

well snow

Church was snowed out today, MapBoy is not allowed to play Wii until the driveway is shoveled

it's not like there is 10 inches, just a couple I'm not mean right?
he thinks I am

*sigh*

I love the way the snow sticks to the tree and brightens up the world.

I love the overload of woodpeckers we get at the feeder on snowy days
I almost got a picture of the woodpecker at the feeder with MB in the background shoveling, but the bird flew away just as I was about to take it :(

I don't like driving in the snow
I don't like sliding on the ice


a few weeks ago we were walking the mall, and the girls were talking with Dh about the mannequins "he has no head" "he has no face" well now Messy has taken to drawing them...I sure do hope the teachers at school don't think she is weird...I might have to drop them a note in case she starts drawing headless people ROFL my little "Paula Picasso" :)


basketball starts
The boy is excited about it, and anxious at the same.


I am enrolling Moo into preschool
she has been asking to go ever since Messy was in it, I told her she couldnt go until she was three, and now she is three
she really needs to be around other kids, it's not like when the other two were that age, we were involved in everything, now moo is basically alone with me all day. Funny how we change huh?

I think it's funny

first you have to understand that we do not use the kids nicknames usually at home....I may have occasionally called Mapboy "Mapboy" because...well he is always reading maps but it's not what we say usually.




Today he is showing me his racing game

"mom look at this it's so cool, you drive right into the volcano, and I'm so boosted up Nothing can stop me!"


little moo standing on the sidelines says in the same kind of voice "Nothing can stop the MAP BOY!!"

ROFL

that was very funny



I have a whine

Messy is on Lamictal for her epilepsy
we have been increasing her dosage slightly every week
can the doctors write the prescription for the maximum dosage instead of the beginning dose?

so every time we run out the insurance company wont refill the prescription because the thing says to take less than I am giving her *sigh*

and every time I call the Dr's office they always phone in another prescription for the same dosage, no matter how well I explain it to which the insurance company wont refill because it is just a prescription for the same thing, and she should have lots left over

*sigh*

So I need to call the Dr's again and get them to write a NEW prescription for the higher dosage before the insurance will pay...it's like an endless cycle

But it is not endless because we are now at 100 MGs a day and hopefully the blood test will tell us she has the right amount in her blood stream :)

just thinking out loud

I can't do all the things I need to do while the kids are in school

so should I save a trip to the laundry for with the kids, or grocery store?


I think that the laundromat is easier with kids than the store


I can sit them down and give them some paper and crayons, boy can have his DS



I really dislike it when DH works the weekend

Hey there

Just busy
finally got the kiddos to school

now I am trying to clean the house

how the heck did Christmas ornaments get in the toy box?

*sigh*

:)

hope you are all doing well

be prepared

I figured out how to upload my blackberry videos :)

new furniture *sigh*

I want to share a story from way back when Mapboy was a baby

what I sight we must have been Dad and mom both fat sitting on what we through was a pretty cool futon.

we heard a crack and were both on our backsides laughing up a storm

it took us weeks to decide what couch to buy
we sat in ever couch in ever furniture store
we wanted one that would be comfortable for 2 hours since that is how long a movie is
we wanted one where we could sit comfortable, and a place for MB to sit when he got older

we ended up buying a recliner sofa, with the pull down table Perfect for us, a place to put our cups and the table flips up to make room for the boy when he got older.

little did we know...out family was going to grow

we were able to squeeze 2 kids onto the couch with us, but not all three, someone always has to sit on the floor KWIM?

plus we have holes, and broken springs

it has been WAY past time to get a new one

SO tomorrow Ikea will deliver our two new love seats :)

and we will have enough space for the whole family to sit at once :)

I'm very happy

but I will miss the old couch

how many pictures do we have of the kids sitting on it wiht it's green background?

how many movies we watched? how many naps? how many times we had to lift it up to look for a lost remote? how many sick kids sleeping there? how many episodes of "House" have I fallen asleep watching on that couch? LOL

I will miss the ugly shade of green that looked so nice when it was new, but hasn't looked that great since the time we rented a steamer to clean up so vomit off the couch ROFL
the rough texture that seemed so great when we bought it, but lately feels like sandpaper

since it developed a hole in it I always have to say "don't put you finger in it!"
how many times have I said "the couch is not a trampoline" you know I will still be saying that...maybe we could have saved money if we got one couch and one trampoline and then the kids could jump while the grown ups sat?

ROFL

in truth the new love seats, are not the style of my dreams, but they were afordable, and they will give us something we have nto had EVER :)


*HAPPY SIGH*

on the eleventh day

of Christmas..what has our family?
1 strep throat
1 sinus infection
2 kids home from school
1 Dennis home from work
5 phone calls to make
3 errands to run
5 grumpy family members
4 real bad colds
3 doctors appointments
2 antibiotics
and a Moo who isn't even sick


hey if you can't have fun with every day how can you have fun at all?