Team Hussey!

I'm so proud of my family and friends who joined together to do this walk Now for Autism In Boston  I am so proud to say that to this date Our Little team has raised 637 dollars!!!!!  and the cool thing is...we can continue to accept donations!!!

So if you want to help our team raise even more
please check out our team page TEAM HUSSEY 
You can click on General Team Donation
Or any of the individual walkers listed on the right :-)

Now I would like to talk to you about The walk, what we liked and what we thought could use some improvememnt :-)

So Next year what we will do different:

Next year we will start our quest for team members earlier :-)
Wouldn't it be great to have a lot more family members and friends all together it could be a big Party! :-)

Nest Year we will also start fund raising earlier :-) Maybe we can do some wrap around events That would be fun!

Next Year we will Not be using iron on t-shirt transfers to make our own t-shirts, instead we will be sending out our t-shirts to be made by professional t-shirt makers  OR we will just have Emily make them all with her fabric markers :-)

Next year we will get there early, we will look around and investigate things before going in, we will Stop and get Team photos done, Now that we know they do Team photos, and also  because we will be there early we will have time to pose for team photos :-)

Next year we will eat early, before we let the kids get all into the crafts and things :-) because spin art and face paint is cool, but missing out on the free food is not cool KWIM? LOL

Next Year I will make sure I have the right lens on my camera before I grab it LOL


My pictures were taken with a telephoto lens
i will post some of DH's pics when he gets them up, he remembered the right lens!
meanwhile enjoy these:

Moo black and white

 

                                 the big kid!
      

                           My Friend Deb!

                            Puzzled

                                   Emi-Moo

                          close up!

                     The firetruck tires were BIG like Moo

                            Playground!

                            Team Hussey the younger set!

                           Team Play

                         Team Work

                                When she walks she means business

Bring on the school year!

the fam
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Our Stay-cation is over, we had a lot of fun, now it's time to wind down and get ready for school.
we are working on schedules and chores and such. We need to do a couple old fashion visits to the school playgrounds :) get these kids excited about school right?



Moo is in the afternoon class this year, THAT is going to take some getting used to LOL

apparently the boy got himself into some poison sumac or something. so he is very itchie! and my computer is not working, which makes me nervous I am praying DH can recover my pictures! other than that, everyone has been doing pretty good!

This is the calm before the storm. When school starts we will see how it goes :-)

This blog post is full of hope! ;-)

my prison is...
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Jessica started a new thing yesterday that took us by surprise.
She has been doing so good lately everyone has seen improvement. she seems happier, she has back and forth conversations....it doesn't always make sense but it's a start and gives you hope that she may do well. But I think we have put too much into the recent improvements, I think we forget about the word finding disorder. we started expecting too much.
The troubles started when I asked her to put on her shoes, she has a new pair of sandals that have sparkles n them that she loves. She started pacing around the house. Dennis said "Jessica! mom said to put your shoes on!" she groaned and started pacing faster---this should be a signal to us that she is agitated, but we missed it ...usually we note it after "we should have figured she was upset since she was pacing" or "we should have known she needed the bathroom since she was pacing"
Everyone was busy getting ready to leave and Dennis said "Jessica we told you to put your shoes on. She stomped her foot, we have taught her to stamp her foot when she is angry because it was better than punching out! Then she sat down hard into the chair and started growling and hitting herself :( I hope this was a one time thing, I can see her frustration and I can do nothing to give her peace :(
It turns out after much investigating that she didn't want to put her new sandals on because they hurt her feet, but she could not tell us that.
Well the rest of the day went well, we got her her sneakers and we all went out to enjoy the day... But seeing your child trying to hurt herself is quite upsetting!
I will say she had a major meltdown later in the day, and did not hit herself which is a good sign.

I need to learn to be more in tuned with my daughter.

Our Stay-cation is almost over, and we are getting ready to get back in the groove of schools, and schedules, I think I am too distracted.
Hopefully we can get back on track, hopefully we can improve communication, hopefully this transition to 2nd grade will go smoothly.

See I can honestly say that this blog post is full of hope!

Summer sun!

balloons 2
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

We are a busy family trying to cram a summers worth of fun into two weeks..
here a a shot from the balloon rally in Pittsfield NH
we will remember to go here next year.

Hope your summer is going well!

school starts soon.

A New Box of Crayons

In our family there is not much that is more exciting than getting a new box of Crayons!

first we need to admire the box with it's shiny wrapper and promises of beautiful colors.

once you open the package you get the experience the smells

                                     and the colors Oh boy the colors

and then, well I don't know about your family but in my family, some lining up has to occur

 it has to be Crayola too no other crayons smell like, or have as deep and rich colors

 maybe we should do a commercial
the kids are coloring :)

Trying to stay out of sight

Trying to stay out of sight
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

This summer has not turned out as planned....haha what ever does right?
I had visions of getting projects done around the house, spending time with friends/family, going to zoos and museums and I really wanted to introduce Moo to an art museum SHE will love it! But things happen, sometimes communications get mixed up, or kids get sick, plans get changed
ESY makes it hard, they call it special needs summer school in my town but I will stick with the term "extended school year" thank you :) its every day until 12:00 J gets home about 12:30 so no plans can start until after that.
plus there is the dreaded summer packet for The boy's school, we had originally planned on adding work to it, but I forgot he has ADHD and Asperger's even if it's not too difficult it will be hard for him to stay focused and get things done :-( even working on it every day I'm not sure he will even finish it :(

It hasn't all been bad, we've has some fun time I just seem a little removed from it all.
Now the focus is on back to school shopping. blah I'd rather shop for summer things :-)

what really have I been doing?
I think it's time to admit that maybe I need a little help....

Care to join me?

Care to join me?
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I'd really love another cup of coffee
I feel like it will be the ticket to losing this headache

I had a rough morning this morning. i did not want to wake up, I was slow to move, and then the jack hammers hit....I know I am not normal, but i cannot think when jack hammers are grinding away. I couldn't even make out what they were doing, so I called the bus company to pick J up at the end of the street, by the time I came back from putting her on the bus the workers were all gone. Is it funny that the headache remains?


so glad I don't live in the city anymore HAHA
Jessica has autism and she didn't mind the jack hammers, I felt like a prisoner in my own skin! :( while we are talking about this....why is it that she cannot tolerate the coffee grinder that isn't that loud, but she doesn't care about the really loud noises????

one more questions I will probably never get the answer to.

OK now it's quiet I have my coffee and I might just sneak in a nap before Jessica gets home from ESY Dh is home from work sick. I'm sure he can keep an eye on the little one :-)


who am I kidding I have a list of chores to do, but it's nice to day dream :-)

have an extra cup of coffee today.

danger too cute!

danger too cute!
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Don't you hate those blog entries
where the person apologizes for not posting in a long time, and something about life getting busy and they promise not to let the blog go again, and then you look at the date and find out that this blog entry was posted two months ago.

Well this blog entry is not like that!


I've decided to hijack my own blog and take it over :)


Oh here is a picture of my baby she is 4-1/2
don't let the shirt fool you, she only has a bad attitude at home ROFL

colby's birthday

Dumpr - Photo Fun

fun with photos

Dumpr - Photo Fun

Mapboy Geometry

Mapboy Geometry
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

Dh took this
i love it!

The awful Normals

J actually poses
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I watched a movie last week called Phoebe in Wonderland
I wont tell you about it but to say that you should see it! It is on the instant Netflix.

here is a quote from the movie that I cannot get out of my head.

"At a certain part in your life. Probably when too much of it has gone
by. You will open your eyes and see yourself for who you are. Especially
for everything that made you so different from all the awful normals.
And you will say to yourself, "But I am this person." And in that
statement, that correction, there will be a kind of love." ~Miss Dodger Phoebe in Wonderland

remember when she had all the curls?

Messy had her very first school picture day today
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

This is J when she was in Kindergarten, since she cut her hair the curls have not come back, but....we are starting to get some curls back :) here are pics of her with the curls and the non curls, but we got a book on curly hair, and we do believe these curls are starting to make a comeback :)

a couple more layers

Tonight I went to the drug store to pick up My daughter's prescription. I pulled into the parking lot my brain thinking only about this being a step I had not thought of, My daughter is going to be taking a medication for her behavior, How much denial can you be in when your kid is taking medications for her autistic behavior, and Epilepsy? I pulled into the first empty spot, next to an enormous white van that towered over my mini van. I started to get out of my van, and I felt very uncomfortable, like that big van was going to swallow me up! I got back in and felt a bit silly about it, but I backed out of that spot and drove a little further into the middle of the parking lot where my car had no neighbors at all Silly I know but I told myself it would be safer to keep myself in full view....right?

then I went into the store, I usually like going to this store, it's open 24 hours so I like to go late at night and take my time perusing the isles, but this time was different....there right in the isle I was wanting to go down was one of those floor polishing machines, and the man was pushing it right toward me, and it was loud. My first thought was that something was broken on the machine and it was louder than normal, but I looked at the other people and they didn't seem phased. OK this must be how my kids feel, when they get overwhelmed by something that doenst seem to bother anyone else---I felt like he was going to suck me up in that machine, it was all I could do to keep myself from running away from it! WORSE was that he wasn't making sense, that man was pushing it up isle 2 and then he went over to isle 7, and then isle 4....I could not plan to avoid him and his loud machine! I tried to shop I was in the summer isle and checking out the bubbles I'm thinking my kids would love one of these big wands that makes the mega bubbles HERE COMES THE LOUD MACHINE....so I walk over to the section that has cups and pick up one of those ceramic coffee cups that looks like a disposable paper cup....Ive been looking at this for awhile, most coffee travel mugs are made of plastic and I just don't like drinking from plastic LOL HERE COMES THE NOISE MACHINE....So I go over to the magazine section flipping through First magazine to see if they published my picture....its sad really that they paid me for a picture but did not use it....why does that make me sad? I don't know I got my 100 bucks for it LOL HERE COMES THE NOISE MACHINE!!!! ARGH!!!!! That is it I am just going to go and get my prescriptions and go home Yikes there is a line and yeah here comes that loud machine again! "why is this not bothering you?" I wanted to ask the woman in front of me. I held my tongue and waited my turn, finally I got my prescriptions and I high tailed it LOL
of course somehow I bought some bubble stuff, a ceramic cup and a magazine, but HAHA maybe my kids do get their issues from me. oh did I also mention I got a bar of chocolate :) mmmmmmmmm

a slideshow of some of my DH's pics on flickr

J in may

J in may
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

Today I went and got J from school, the teacher had called and wanted to know if she was feeling sick, or had stayed up all night, that she was having behavior issues and now she seemed very tired, she told me she was having trouble keeping her head up and no learning was happening. as I drove I thought about how J acts after a seizure so I asked when I got there "did she act confused at all, did she seem cold and shivering, did she seem clumsy?" No they said but she had thrown a book at one of the kids and yelled at everyone repeatedly to stop talking, maybe she had a headache

*sigh*

I took her home and she slept all day and even slept in the car to pick up her brother at school.


now of course it is bedtime I'm not sure she will sleep.

I am thinking she may have had a seizure and no one noticed

why can't it be easy?

I cut My girl's bangs last night

She has been such a pill lately major meltdowns over things that don't seem to really be happening
The woman from the school, helped me write the list  with pictures of course depicting everything we were going to do, with a check mark for J so she can finish her list, and in the morning not have to stress about things like before....We had had a terrible morning where J had had a meltdown and took off her clothes and shoes and hid them, we ended up being late for school.  funny that I can chuckle about it now :) We had  instructions that we could not stray from the list, so when we picked up the boy from his friend's house we had to be strong about not staying longer :( 

but I forgot to include homework in that list, so when I tried to take it out and get her to do it....

 anyway totally my fault *sigh*
we had to get  back on track :)    dinner-dessert-bath  then she saw an ant that upset her, she seems to be the only one who is still seeing ants  but she got a sponge and started scrubbing the table I told her that she had to stop cleaning the table and I went back to combing her hair then later I was helping Moo with her hair and J went in and dumped the bottle of dish soap onto the kitchen table, I guess to clean away the filthy ant,  I don't know but I sent her to her room, which sounds like a punishment for her but it's not,  it's more designed to give me time to try and figure out if what she did was just because she didn't understand or if she was being bad KWIM?

So anyway I decided that she just didn't understand and called  her down and had her sit while we looked for ants that we could not find, and we talked about why using dish soap is not going to keep ants away and that she was not to use the dish soap any more.

But while we were sitting there I realized that her bangs go past her nose, that I have been putting off cutting her hair because I want to find someone who knows how to cut thick curly hair and make it more curly and less thick and easy to manage LOL  so I asked her if she wanted me to cut the hair away form her eyes and she said "yeah"  So I cut her bangs, which is not easy she squirms a lot LOL

but she can see now....wouldn't it be nice to find out that she was being a pill because her hair was in her eyes and bothering her> HAHA






 I'll post pics later

mapkids

mapkids
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

April 2 hiding behind red

April 2 hiding behind red
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

April 2M and D

April 2M and D
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

April is Autism Awareness month
We all dressed in blue today
It was also Good friday!
there was no place to go to spread awareness :)

the weather was beautiful we played outside
cleaned up the yard a little
Life is good!
Sunshine is good!

we talk about the meaning of Easter
I wonder if I am doing a good enough job leading these little ones to God .
Happy Easter Everyone!

moo in piggy tails

moo in piggy tails
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

a new shirt

a new shirt
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

I finally got the boy the shirt he wanted :)

not supposed to feel this way but....

Somedays I'm ok with everything, but sometimes...a child that is J's age catches my eye, or does something that seems extraordinary and I realize that this is ordinary, what we have is not...

Or J's little sister does something that I can never imagine J getting to the point of doing...these things make me feel.....ah I don't know...I try to push these feelings aside because I know I am not supposed to feel this way....but sometimes it's just too hard.

Yesterday was one of those days We went to the Upwards basketball awards.  looking at all the little kids who play basketball and Moo asked when she will be old enough to play basketball...I told her that she has to be six and she pointed out to me that her sister is 7 and doenst play basketball yet.....So then we stood in the crowd and talked to a few people and was asked a couple of times about J playing basketball....she looks pretty typical when she isn't acting out.....so I had to explain to people I haven't seen in years that she has Autism and it was hard, because well to me it's obvious it seems kind of awkward saying it.

Ok so now I admitted how weird I am :) I have to tell you something J said this morning that was AWESOME!

When I woke up and opened the door to my bedroom J was standing outside the door, so i asked her what she was doing and she said :

"Today is Sunday.....The sun went across the sky....and now its morning time!" 

 

 

 

more on the Epilepsy front

Isn't Epilepsy a weird word?
We went to Boston Children's Hospital and got to see the Neurologist. He asked a boatload of questions about the episodes J has had. Now I have posted about them, and told all my friends and gotten the opinion of some of them that they are "Complex Partial Seizures" from what I have read I agree, but one of her Doctors all but convinced me that she probably only had some sort of inner ear infection.

Well we were right. according to this Doctor, who should know, that is exactly what they were. he did some examining of her and ordered some tests....yeah I cannot remember the name of the genetics test, I swear I should take a video of the doctors appointments so I could remember all the things he tells me, he uses those big words and I can't remember them LOL but also ordered an MRI and an ambulatory 24 hour EEG.

So we will have some fun in the next few weeks :)

Moo Foot Art

Moo Foot Art
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

Love it! taken by DH

what a nice day!

March 7th
It's midnight now so the day is over
18 years we've been Married
the weather was so nice today :) it poured out 18 years ago :)
Today we came from church and went out for a pizza the whole family :)
then a nice walk :) the bike path was busy with smiling people
my family had a blast today. :)

really I wanted to share my new header picture with you :) taken today by DH :)

Happy anniversary to us!

:)

a day of downs and ups

I was really feeling quite down this morning
sort of a sorry for my self down in the dumps/why can't my kids act like those kids/wish I got my trip to Italy kind of feeling! really silly but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like it from time to time.

I must say that I have some great friends and family who without even knowing it cheered me up and made everything alright :)

so thank you!

Lets talk about the dreaded rotary

Rotary
–noun
a circular arrangement constructed at the intersection of two or more roads in order to facilitate the passage of vehicles from one road to another.

OK when you come up on a rotary you must yield to the traffic that is already in the rotary.
If you don't believe me, then just look at that sign right there as you enter, the one that says "YIELD"

Don't just rush in there without looking and hoping that whoever is in there will stop.

while I am at it, I would like to say one message for the ones who are in the rotary, if you see a car entering the rotary, please do not freak out and slam on your brakes putting in danger the lives of yourself and whoever is behind you in the rotary! do not yield to them, it gives them a false sense of superiority. makes them belive that they should plow on ahead, when in fact they should yield to you!

these are the reasons people do not like rotaries this is why they take out rotaries and put in ridiculous intersections that don't make sense!!!

there now I feel better!

Who cares? Who cares? WHO CARES?

Today while I was running errands and taking kids for lab tests and listening to the radio and they are talking about Tiger Woods, he will speak today, his fans are angry, he will speak today, who can't ask questions, in rehab...Ugh I do not care about Tiger Woods!

I thought in my head that I would post a blog about how the media is making me crazy about Tiger, who cares? why do they have to waste so much time talking about it.

but imagine my surprise while I was giving my insurance information to the receptionist at the Children's Hospital Lab when I heard the woman I was talking to say "Oh My God here is Tiger!" I turned aroudn expecting to see some little kid who may be there often and is popular wiht them, but I saw the big TV they had on the wall and understood. Some other woman there behind the desk said "Is he talking I want to see" it took every ounce of will power for me not to make a comment like "I don't know if he is talking, but I was talking!" OK I thought it in my head, but I was a good girl! :) it was amazing, all production stopped! everyone was staring at the tv! maybe the "media" is on to something, at least the people who work in the lab care huh?
OK well finally I got the woman to take my information and went to the waiting room, luckily I sat next to a very nice lady who distracted me by talking about her life and her son who has Aspergers and ADHD! I find it amazing who God puts in your path some days :) ! got my girl's tests done, exchanged emails with the lady and got back in my car to hear all about Tiger again finally I just put in a CD. I do not care about Tiger Woods! All day long I have heard nothing but Tiger this, and Tiger that! Who believes him, who is hurt by him, who was there to hear him speak , who was not...WHO CARES?

let the guy go on with his life, and let the rest of us who have lives move forward! LOL

Really I would much rather hear about ice dancing.

Ok stepping off my soap box.

D and M

D and M
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

a better picture, but not as good....if you know what I mean!

D and M 2

D and M 2
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

he was playing the keyboard for his little sister :)

Moo

Moo
Originally uploaded by machris (Mary-Ann)

a teeny tiny Moo :)

Epilepsy

it is a part of our lives that I don't think about much, I've been known to say "yeah she has epilepsy, but we don't see any seizures." as if that made the seizures any less bad, like the surge of electrical activity in her brain is less damaging, because we don't see when it happens. today I witnessed it, today I had to shed another layer of that thick coat of denial I wear so proudly.

what does it all mean? I don't know I'm still new at this stuff :)
we spend a good amount of time at the doctors, and at the lab getting blood tests and now we are still waiting for the doctors to call us back, and life goes on, we are off to basketball practice for the boy. imagine life without the joy of cell phones and blackberries :)

Dental health

after much neglect to their dental health I have gotten all my kids to the dentist
the dentist was nice and did not give me a hard time about having waited too long between visits :)

let me start out by saying that I should probably start a savings account now and start tucking away money to pay for my kids different dental issues :)

The boy has no cavities but some gingivitis he needs to come in in March to get sealant his overbite is going to need some help if you know what I mean :)


The middle child has what the Dentist calls "a deep bite" she grinds her teeth which will cause problems but there is really nothing we can do to stop her :( no cavities though...take the good where you can find it :)


The youngest child has some damage due to years of being on antibiotics for her kidney reflux. No cavities but the start of a cavity the Dentist told me that she is going to need braces, which is funny because she is the only one that doenst look like she will need them LOL but the report is that her teeth are too close together which looks nice now but when she gets her grown up teeth it will be an issue.

While we were there there was an emergency and in came a girl of the same age as my middle child with similar medical and developmental issues, she had an infected tooth and was in a lot of pain, it broke my heart to watch this little one, who didn't understand why her mouth hurt and was fluctuating between crying and angry outbursts, the mother kept apologizing to me and trying to explain herself So I told her that I understand, told her about J's issues and I even gave her my phone number and email :)
ok if you know me you know this is a big deal :)



onward to talking about the facebook addiction....seems that the rumor of admitting you have a problem being the first step is wrong HAHA


Oh yes I did have a long talk with my kids when they asked me why that little girl was crying....lets just say there will not be any forgetting to brish teeth KWIM

Mapboy 2

Mapboy 2
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

taken by Dennis

Moo Posing with a Great Smile

Moo Posing with a Great Smile
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

taken by Dennis

Messy Neon Flowers

Messy Neon Flowers
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

taken by Dennis

Moo Face 4

Moo Face 4
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

Moo making a cat face

Taken By Dennis

Motley Sisters 3
Originally uploaded by dennisgg2002

My Girls

Mary-Ann's return to Blogging

I'm back...did you wonder where I was? I was facehooked LOL I swear that is addictive :) So I have neglected my blog far too long and I miss it
So I am back and will start blogging more regularly...I know where have we heard that before? :)


let me sweep up and clean things up around here and I will be blogging shortly :)

Man is it Dusty in here....where did I put my broom?

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 :)