MOM!!!!!

Bath night is usually a horrible experience but after a weekend with no contact with overall cleaning, James NEEDED a bath.  I told my husband to concentrate on his neck because it looked like he could have grown the potatoes used to make his beloved french fries on it!!
James came down visually upset... "Mom, I want to give you a piece of my mind."  "OHHHH... which one can I have?" .............. "You know Mom, it doesn't mean what YOU think it means!"

I love IDIOMS!!!!   James apparently has a love/ hate relationship with them!

Don't Confuse Me with the Facts.... is it MINE??

Between me going back to work, the disastrous suspensions during the last two months of school, the end of school, the beginning of summer, our moving preparations and anything else that comes up like the annoying need to sleep every night...  I just don't seem to have the time to write daily.  It looks like I haven't written since the middle of last month.  I just need to get back into the pattern of writing.  For now here is a little tidbit...

Brian and I are taking every free minute during the weekends to go through boxes that have been in our garage since our last move to see what we can get rid of.  In the bottom of one I found a small bottle of bubbles.  Our kitty Kiefer adores bubbles and to keep him off the top of our piles of boxes, I was blowing bubbles for him.  James came down stairs and stated, "Hey, those are mine and you didn't ask!" "James these bubble have been at the bottom of a box in the garage for the past 4 years." "Oh, yeahbut....... are they MINE?"

They haven't even framed the foundation of our new home and I am already losing it!!!

Short and Sweet!!

Talking to James today about going to school and he was upset because at his aftercare program they go out when it is 100 degrees and he hates sunscreen.  I told him today was only going to be 80 degrees today so he should be okay.  He said that he would get a sunburn.  I looked at his very tanned body and told him that he doesn't burn.  I showed him my very burned neck and told him that I have crazy Scottish/ English skin and he has beautiful olive Italian skin.  I told him that people would pay a lot of money to have a beautiful tan like his.  "Mom!  Are you going to sell me?" Ah... Just another day of literal thinking from James.  Gotta love the kid!
This weekend he got upset because a friend just got a phone and he is only 11.  Our rule is 12 before getting a phone.  I told James that I guess that friends family could adopt him and then he could get a phone a year early.  James liked that idea... so I guess I won't have to put him on our plan on his 12th birthday.  I hope he forgets about this plan because I would really miss him but at least he could call me on his 11th birthday on his new phone from his adoptive family.

Another Brief Look into History Via James

Finishing breakfast and Brian mentioned if anyone wanted more toast he could make some.  James was the first to speak:
"You know, there was no toast in the Civil War."

Ah... Okay...
"You know Dad, about Abraham Lincoln in the book and the Civil War?"
Ah... Okay...
"James?  Do you mean to say that there was no toast during the Civil War?"
"Yeah Dad Don't you remember from Abe Lincoln the 14th President?"
I piped in here... "16th President."
"Yeahbut... I was close!!"

Just another day!! 

((Don't Them for Granted))

How often do you see the cyber ((hug)) on Facebook or elsewhere?  I know that hugs can be amazing.  I know that they can feel good.  I know that for those of us with kids on the spectrum, hugs are sometimes an endangered species.  I get very few spontaneous hugs from James.  I can probably count them on one hand if I only had 2 fingers on that hand.  Now don't get me wrong, I get "asked for" hugs all the time.  I demand them and James usually complies even though they are not very heart felt.  I am talking about the burst of joy and emotional need to express that leads to an amazing squeeze with no strings attached.

peacock shirt = hug  (I love this kind of math!)

Yesterday, we were out shopping and James picked out a shirt for me.  It is a beautiful purple T shirt with a peacock on it.  He was so thrilled that he was picking it out for me but by the time we got home he had  forgotten.  I got up this morning and lovingly put it on for my day.  I was thrilled to be wearing something that James had picked out for me.  He came downstairs with sleep still in his eyes.  He slouched in the chair and stared off into nothingness.  All of a sudden, he saw me.  He stood up and came close.  "I like your shirt Mom!" "Thank you James, I like it too and you picked it out for me at the store yesterday so it is special!" And then it happened.  James looked at the shirt and looked  at me and came in for the most delicious, heartfelt hug I have ever received.

I may never take the shirt off!! 

I am the WORST Blogging Mommy EVER!!

I missed my Laughter, Could be the Missing Piece's first birthday!!  Happy birthday baby Laughter! You turned one on April 13th, one week ago today!  Mommy Laughter missed it completely.  No excuses but I was kind of busy with ME stuff getting ready to go back to work after almost two years of being home.  You were conceived as a "therapy" for me and you know your big brother James is just a hoot so I couldn't resist!  
As we go back and celebrate the past year together, I will direct your friends to your first blog post.  I hope we have many years together because you bring me joy.  PEACE baby Laughter!

Autism ISN'T Funny!!! Wanna Make a Bet!!! April 13, 2012

To the lay person, Autism isn't funny.  It is something that is unknown, overwhelming, and looked at as an end not a beginning.  To those of us who love someone with Autism, on the surface it isn't funny either.  We need to peel away the layers, the worlds view of Autism,  the school districts view of Autism, our view of Autism, our perception of our child, how our family now looks at our child, the way we now look at our child, the everyday routines and therapies, the everyday small steps that make us smile, the simple joy of watching our child succeed in something new that make us giggle, the rip roaring hysterical things our kids do that they don't realize that make us cry and laugh at the same time because they are soooooo funny!  This blog is intended to help families in the same position I am in find the joy of laughter again.

I love a child with Autism. He didn't make a conscious decision to have Autism.  As a mum, I have cried, screamed, and bargained with the universe to allow him to have an easier life.  I have gone through depression and spent 1,000,000+ hours of research to make sure he gets the best chance of living to his fullest potential.  In the quiet of my home, I have argued with myself about if it is right to insist that he joins my world even though he is so comfortable in his.  And yet, 5+ years after the original diagnosis, I feel comfortable knowing that he is who he is in spite of all of my efforts and because of all of my efforts. 

My son is funny and he is starting to realize it.  He attempts to say funny things and often stumbles over the humor part so that it isn't funny to anyone else.  It is when he isn't trying that his true humor shines through.  Last night his sister was teasing him at a local restaurant that he doesn't eat cow meat.  He looked her straight in the eye and very seriously said..."Well, when I was a baby, I ate melted cow"... (melted cow ='s milk).  See, funny, and he doesn't even have to try.  

My best advise for the day is to find something that your child does everyday that tickles you and write it in a journal.  This journal will be your "Go To Book" for the days that you are having a great deal of trouble finding joy in anything.  Believe me... there will be plenty of those days!  Your child is exceptional perceptive and sensitive to the environment they are in.  If you are joyful, they are more likely to be joyful.  If you are stressed out... well we all know what that looks like on our kids, and it isn't pretty! 

Laughter, Could be the Missing Piece!! 

He Misses Me!!!

I started back to work yesterday after almost 2 years of being home.  I had prepared James as best as I could getting him used to being at daycare both after school and before school.  I had redone his schedule and shared it with him.  I had talked to him and he told me he heard and understood.  Boy was I WRONG!!!!
I got home today around 6:15 PM to my husband, James's homework behaviorist and James having a difficult moment.  James had been aggressive and non compliant.  He barely acknowledged me when I came in.  He was refusing to do any homework.  I sat at the computer, turned on his spelling word list and started doing what I always do during homework.  It took a few minutes for James to fall into line.  We got through spelling and finished homework by reading.
Later, James found my key card that allows me to get into the office building I now work in.  I told him to put it back in the bag and didn't think about until I couldn't find it.  I asked James to find it but like everything else he loses, he had no idea where he put it.  I told him I was unhappy that he lost it and it would be difficult for me to get into my office tomorrow.  James then showed his hand (it is a card reference).  "Fine, now you can't go to work and my life will get back to normal!!"

I guess it all IS about him!

A face only a mum can love... wait, I am his mum!
I guess I am the lucky one!!