mom23boys

Boy Scouts

2011-03-08T16:33:00.000-08:00

My Oldest Dude is now a Boy Scout. He "Crossed Over" into Boy Scouts last month. We chose a troop that had had special needs boys (they currently have a boy with Aspberger's and another who has focusing issues). Oldest attended his second Boy Scout meeting and there is a funny story attached to it.

Last night, Oldest had his second meeting with the boy scouts. The Hub was a little concerned after the first one (he said stuff about the older boys were popular....boy scouts popular?). Anyway, they had a fun night last night. They were learning about first aid and how to move someone if they are injured. Somehow, Oldest was volunteered to be the injured boy. He got to be carried on a stretcher by four boys (as they were moving him, he shouted, "Go to the hospital!"). Then, he was carried by one boy (so dragged along on the stretcher). He thought that was really funny. The boys 'raced' to see who could go the fastest.

One thing that was interesting....there's been a lot of 'talk' since last week's "Parenthood" (an NBC show) about how to tell your child who has autism, that, they have autism. In the show (I only watched last week's episode, so I don't know much else about the characters), the elementary school boy finds out accidently that he has Aspberger's and the parents figure out how to tell him and explain it to him. There is a boy in the troop who has Aspberger's. Somehow, The Hub got talking to him (and The Hub explained, "My Oldest son has autism, etc"....the boy said to The Hub, "I have Aspberger's and it is autism")....while they were outside doing the races, the boy was explaining to The Hub, "there are x number of fire sirens" and all of the other noises that were outside (he was evidently having a tough time focusing). Anyway, it was interesting that the boy knew all about his Aspberger's and then, could verbalize what it is, etc. As you know, we've never made a secret of Oldest's autism or anything. Oldest, for sure, knows he's different and on some level knows he has autism, but whether or not he knows "this is how it manifests in him" is probably a higher order of thinking.

Pinewood Derby!

2011-01-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is the last weekend in January, which in our house means it is "Cub Scouts" Pinewood Derby time.

This year, Oldest decorated his car with Pascal, the chameleon from the movie, "Tangled". He is obsessed with "Tangled" and Rapunzel. So, he decided to put Pascal in the driver's seat.

Middle Dude decorated his car with Phineas and Ferb. Here's where it gets confusing. See Youngest's Phineas and Ferb ornament fell off of the tree. Phineas was decaptiated. We tried, without luck using several glues, to replace Phineas' head. So, I ordered another one for Youngest. Meanwhile, Middle Guy was having to come up with something to decorate his pinewood derby car. The Hub was able to break (seriously) in two pieces the ornament, keeping Phineas and Ferb intact to use on Middle Dude's car. Phineas and Ferb were able to 'sit' (seriously) in the car.

Everyone loved the Phineas and Ferb car. All of the kids loved watching Phineas and Ferb go down the track. When they were talking about "Most Humorous", all of the kids went "Phineas!".

Christmas Cheer and Presentation Kudos

2010-12-17T14:52:00.001-08:00

First of all, today was Oldest's big explorer presentation. He had to make a poster and give an oral presentation on his explorer, Sir Thomas Cavendish. Yesterday, he gave a practice presentation to the other special needs kids and today, he gave it to the "general education" kids. Totally a big deal, not just for him, but it also validates to his teachers that "yes" he can do the work of the typical kids. They worked really hard with him to help him with the poster and the presentation. I ran into his para pro and she said that she couldn't sleep last night she was so nervous. She said he did a great job and even answered three questions (what was the name of the ship he sailed, when was he born and one other). His general education teacher was so proud of him and said he spoke clearly and did a great job! Whoot!

Today was also Youngest's Santa's Workshop party. Typically, the kindergarteners do a "Christmas in Mexico", but due to time constraints (the Wednesday schedule and snow before Thanksgiving), they came up with the "Santa Workshop" theme.

He had six stations. He made a candy cane mouse. He played 'build a tree' math dice partner game (which I was assigned to monitor). He had a color word reading mini book patterned after "Brown Bear". He made a Santa apple. He played Bingo. He played another math dice game.

Again, I am tired after 'teaching' for a morning. What is wrong with me? I used to teach full days and be full of energy!

Final Conference

2010-12-08T17:02:00.001-08:00

Last week, I had the final conference with Middle Dude's teacher. His conference is always interesting. I realize at these conferences that I have really the WHOLE spectrum of learners. My goal is always to try to understand how to deal with a high cap type kid, which is more challenging than a boy with autism.

Her first comment to me was, "have you had him tested for High Cap?". You know if that conversation starts out with that where the conference is going. We did have him tested last Spring (the first time he could be tested) and he did not pass. There were three parts and he passed one part and he barely missed the other two. She recommended we either have him tested again this year, or if he has anxiety (he's been having some anxiety, 3rd grade is a challenging grade and she said most high cap kids struggle in 3rd grade because they can no longer 'breeze' through it, they actually have to 'prove' that they know the answer).

Anyway, he got mostly 4s. A "4" is equivalent to a 95% or above (crazy above the norm). He would have gotten 4s on addition and subtraction facts, but he got a 93% in addition facts and a 94% on subtraction facts. She said that, even though they are just starting out multiplication, he has basically mastered multiplication. He does have to work on facts, but that is a memorization exercise.

His Reading was also good. I can't remember off hand what his scores were, but they were high. Again, this is a tough grade. He's been struggling with "Reader's Response' (comprehension questions) and she said that if they moved him down a level, he'd still be struggling (she does the same work that the upper group does, there are a LOT of fantastic readers in the 3rd grade). She said that everyone struggles with Reader's Response.

Anyway, she loves having him in class. I had to bring in all three boys and Oldest was going into random third grade rooms and drinking water. Who knows what that was all about. He was supposed to stay in the 'pod' area (where the computers are) and play on the computers.

A Little Post-Thanksgiving Cheer

2010-11-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

Due to last week's snow when the district delayed school on Monday and cancelled Tuesday, Thanksgiving celebrations were postponed.

On a different note, as I was entering the school, I saw Oldest as he was getting off of the bus and he walked me in a talked to me (as in not grunting, talking to me!). Very cute.

Yesterday, Monday, I went in and helped for Squanto's celebration. Youngest had several stations....with me, he and his friends had to decorate their Thanksgiving Day card and do a 'caveman' writing (Man Go Mountain Tree Deer, all in symbols). Then, another mom helped by having the kids 'hunt' for dinner (ie. throw a spear at a 'turkey', "raccoon", 'beaver" and so on). With his teacher, the kids decorated a 'prayer stick' which they prayed for good crops and planted corn. In the other room, they 'traded' toys/goodies like Squanto and decorated a totem pole (of course, Youngest's told jokes instead of telling story, because that is who he is).

Today, the kids did a Thanksgiving play, complete with three songs and the story of Thanksgiving. They each had to memorize a line. Youngest's was "they did not have enough food in the forest". He did a great job. Then, each child had to stand on a box and read their three things that they are thankful for. Youngest said he was thankful for 'my mom, my house, and my movies'. Yep.

It was so much fun...I got to see Middle Dude and Oldest at school, too today. Usually, I see one or two of them. It was so fun to see all three of them.

Winter Weather

2010-11-22T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the winter season has begun. Yesterday, about two inches of snow fell. The good news is that all three boys went outside (the last time we had snow, they did not want to go out or went out for only five minutes) for an extended period of time.

Knowing our district, I was preparing for the worst. Today, knowing our district like I do, even though the snow had melted here, it hadn't on the 'mountain'....well, our version of the mountain. So, school was delayed two hours and a.m. kindergarten cancelled. This was traumatic for me because I was planning on going in to help out with the 'encampment' (trading of goods and such for the Squanto celebration).

Most of the boys did okay with the change of schedule, but Oldest had his moments. He did fine in the beginning and then, his 'internal autism clock' went off ("I have to go to school, I am going to be LATE!"). So, he hugged himself (very proactive of him) and tried to calm down. In the meantime, I emailed his teacher and OT at school and told them about what was happening. Because of the school delay, he was going to miss OT (of course, he knew this because it's a routine thing). He kept saying to me, "I want to see OT Laura!".

OT Laura, being the fabulous OT she is, fit him in to, I think, her lunch hour. Bless her heart. She worked it out with his general education teacher and he was able to go straight to OT this morning. His general education teacher, being the former special education teacher she is, emailed me back (before I knew that OT Laura was fitting him in) and told me to tell him that it was all going to be okay and that teachers are a little 'off', too, today and to just be calm and that they will work together.

Love them. Tonight is another winter storm warning....so, I expect Youngest's Thanksgiving play will be postponed until next Tuesday and I'll go through another morning of Oldest being 'off'. We'll work through it as we always do. The teachers in this district never cease to amaze me at how generous of a spirit they are. We are truly blessed :)

By the way, Oldest had an assignment last Saturday from his special education teacher. He and her looked through the menu of Red Robin and found some new foods he'd like to try. I am not sure he really WANTED to try them, but he was told he had to try something new. So, he tried an onion ring. The first one he nibbled at and then decided he was full (totally fine) and then after the chips/salsa showed up, he decided to try another! He ate the whole thing (minus the onion part, which is fine, neither one of the other boys like that, either). Then, last night, his favorite server, Whitney, emailed him congratulating him on trying something new. She told him how proud she was of him. Whoot. Hopefully, that will encourage him to try something next week!

Mini-Olympics

2010-11-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was the mini-olympics for the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. Each classroom represented a "country". Oldest's class was China and Middle Dude's was Austria. Each class made a flag and cheered for their classmates. The kids had to qualify for the mini-olympics by being the top in their class in several competitions: sit ups, push ups, stair-stepping, rope climb (they had to climb up and down as many times as they could), the shuttle run and the bar hang.

Middle dude qualified by being the best in his class in the push ups. He said he wasn't necessarily the 'best' in his class, but other kids qualified in two events and other kids didn't want to do it, so he qualified by doing 12 push ups.

He got to sit up in the front of the school with his class and then when it was push-up time, he had to do as many push-ups as he could. He did a personal best of 22 push-ups. He got a medal for participation.

Oldest did a good job of sitting with his class (even knowing I was there). So, it was all good!

Whacky Wednesday

2010-11-18T14:07:00.001-08:00

Today was one of those whacky Wednesday. Some good things and some bad things...not really anything in between....

My Oldest dude had to be a part of a play on bullying...he played the part of a student who was to tell the P.E. teacher about the bullying. He had to drop two books on cue and tell the P.E. teacher. He did everything perfectly and made his para-professional cry (love it when it happens). Goes to show you that he can do things.

My Youngest dude had an eventful day, too. He got the two elemetary school t-shirts that we ordered back in September. He promptly took off his t-shirt and put on one and then took that off an put on another. He is so excited to be at the same school as his brothers. He also had an eye doctor's appointment and his vision from February has gone from 20-70 to 20-25. We are still patching (we don't do it everyday, but we do do it 4-5 times a week for a couple of hours). Not as much as we should, but we are doing it.

Middle dude is going through the tweenies. I am hoping this will pass soon. He's just very negative and yells at me. I love him to pieces, but the tweenies are testing me.

We also got to go see "The Reptile Man". Now, Youngest dude wants to be a reptile man when he grows up. He was super excited. He was chosen after he said, "I am desperation" and he got to touch a snake. He was supposed to have a snake around his neck, but he didn't want that. Oldest got to be one of seven who held a banana snake. He did a fabulous job holding that snake.

Conference Week

2010-11-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

On Monday, I had a conference with Youngest's teacher. It went really well. He is reading where he should be, his math is a little behind (not major behind, only because she is having trouble testing him because he claims he is 'tired') and the writing is progressing (he's on an IEP for fine motor). She said he has lots of friends and enjoys kindergarten.

I was a bit more skeptical for Oldest's conference. His teacher wanted him to lead the meeting (seriously, as in 'lead' the meeting, following a plan of information that he worked on and 'lead' the meeting). Oldest has autism, his medications wear off at 3:15, we couldn't get a sitter on the days she could meet. Are you sensing how this would go? All of us would have to go.

However, I was pleasantly surprised. Oldest said his favorite subject was Math (he doesn't really like Math and he's not really good at Math). He wrote the subject that he is not good at is Writing (because it is hard...which is so true, it IS hard for him...he has motor planning issues like Youngest). He said that one of his goals was to read a harder book with Mom. That is something we can totally work on...he read to me part of a book this week that is difficult. I feel like there is so much more in there (now that we got the medication thing under control) that we still need to find out about him. He also had to grade himself. He gave himself low scores on things such as paying attention and finishing his homework. These are things that I am sure he does, but I could see his thought process. All in all, his teacher is so pleased with his progress.

Yesterday, he had to give a presentation with a group of peers and he, evidently, did an amazing job. I was worried because on Tuesday, he was struggling with his paragraph on Aztec clothing and then, Wednesday morning, when he woke up, he walked into the hallway and he started reciting it. Go figure. I said to The Hub, "that's his Aztec report" (in a very tired way, it was 5:30 in the morning!).

Misc "Catch Up" Part Deux

2010-11-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

So, as I mentioned earlier, my Youngest son asked the priest on Sunday if we could cancel church....well, I forgot to mention that he was fussy all during Mass. The priest said to The Hub on the way out, "I guess you are allergic to priests".

Today, I opened the box of goodies from my favorite bath store. It was full of fun Christmas-y bath items (hand soap figurals, plug ins, etc) and I asked the two younger boys to 'decorate' the bathrooms....which they did happily. I let one of them take the plug ins and the other take the decorative soap figurals. Christmas is coming!

Finally, Oldest was struggling with the information for his presentation on the Aztecs (he had to talk about the clothing that they wore). I was a little concerned. However, at 5:30 this morning (which is his usual wake up time), he walked down the hall and gave his whole presentation. Obviously, I didn't need to be concerned. His teacher wrote me a note that he did a fabulous job today on his presentation. Yey!

The First Amendment Discussion at 6:20 a.m.

2010-11-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

So, this morning (a Monday morning) started out very boring. I did get up a little early, which was good because I was busily unloading the dishwasher and watching "The Today Show" online when my Middle Guy came over to me and asked me, "Mom, can I bring my Bible to school to read?" Yesterday, he got this great Bible, the Adventure Bible. On a side note, it is really well done for kids. It has little 'activities' for kids, great explanations, etc. He got it from my church (all 3rd graders get one before their First Communion year). Since yesterday, he has been reading the Bible, from the beginning, starting with Genesis. So, the discussion on the First Amendment began....

Him:"Can I bring the Bible to school?"
Me:"No, you can't bring the Bible to school".
Him:"Why?"
Me: "Well, I'll go to jail" (this is what I tell them when they tell me they don't want to go to school, it could apply here, I could go to jail if someone complained....)
Him:"Why?"
Me:"Well, you can't bring something from Church to school".
Him:"Why? I just want to read it when I would be reading a book".
Me:"Well, there is a rule and you can't bring something from church to a school".
Him:"Why?"
Me:"Well, the Bible is a book like from the church and school is like the state and there is a rule that you can't bring something from church to school".
Him:"Why?"
Me:"There is a rule called the First Amendment and the Bible is something from Church and the school is like the state and there is a separation of church and state".
Him:"Okay. Maybe, I can bring the school to my church and then I can bring my Bible to school".

Who knew I was such a Constitutional scholar at 6:20 a.m. on a Monday?

On a side note, this afternoon, I told Youngest, he could only have one bag of chips (when he brought the second bag and popped it and I said no, he got naked...I had to change his pants because he had Cheetos on his pants, but he stripped down to his undies after his tantrum). What getting naked has to do with chips, I don't know. Maybe, today I am living in the Twilight Zone.

Misc 'Catch Up"

2010-11-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

So, I found out which 'girlfriend' my Youngest son was with on Friday. He was with Anna M., a girl in his class. Evidently, he sat next to her very politely during the movie. Three-quarters of the way through the movie, the PTA gave out free popcorn because there was projection problems. So, Youngest told me afterwards that he helped Anna, 'get more popcorn" and did so in a polite manner. He and Anna walked over to the popcorn window and politely asked for more popcorn.

This last weekend, I went to Portland for the annual MOMS Club Luncheon. I had a good time with friends and as usual, laughed so hard my belly hurt.

Today, The Hub took the boys to the Catholic church for Mass. Evidently, on the way into Mass, he walked up the priest and said, "Can we cancel Church today?". Um, no.

My boys, the heartbreakers part two

2010-11-05T19:34:00.001-07:00

Tonight was "Movie Night" at the school. The Hub and the boys went to it. My Youngest is, evidently, sitting next to one of his 'many' girlfriends. Of course because he has several of them.

Pumpkin Party!

2010-10-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day in our household. Middle Dude had a 'pirate party' because 'parties' are not allowed in schools, so they were kicking off their study of maps. I was unable to attend as I was in the kindergarten helping out with the pumpkin party.

The kindergarteners have been learning about pumpkins (the life cycle for example). Last week, we went to the local 'Roots Garden" to see how pumpkins grow (no field trip money to go to a big pumpkin patch anymore) and see seeds in action. Each group got to pick a pumpkin and this week, they measured them, weighed them and counted all of the seeds!

Today was all about fun. They decorated cookies (they had to 'buy' their decorations ie. m and ms or skittles with ten cents that they were allotted). The frosting and sprinkles were free (bargain basement, you know). The station I was in charge of they were making Pumpkin Potpourri: one scoop popcorn, two pumpkin candies, three candy corns, four raisins, five cheese crackers and six Cheetos (can you tell that I did this many, many times?). I had to dust off my 'teacher skills' and manage with another mom six kindergarteners. The final station was making pumpkin eyeglasses with the teacher. They also went over to the other kindergartener room and made pumpkin lanterns and listened to a story.

This picture was taken at the end of the party with little dude eating his Pumpkin Potpourri and cookie. It was a very fun (but a little exhausting) morning! I am definitely not in the teaching groove and need a little more practice....I did run into Oldest and his BFF...his BFF kept saying, 'it's Miss Katie, it's Miss Katie"...Oldest was just looking at me. Then, I asked, "are you two where you should be?" They then scurried upstairs....

Great job, Writing!

2010-10-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

Today my youngest came home with his usual "I Can Read" folder and his planner. I was putting back his things when I saw a red letter home and a coupon for a McDonald's ice cream cone. Puzzled, I looked further...He got to sign the school's "Success Book" for "great job writing". I was totally excited. He is on an IEP for writing/fine motor skills, so this is huge! He said to me today (before I found this note from the principal) that he doesn't enjoy writing because it's hard. It is hard for him. I am so happy for him.

My boys, the heartbreakers

2010-10-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting to blog.....the first day of school, my Youngest son comes home from school and he said to me, "Mom, I have a girlfriend". I asked him what her name was and he said, "I don't know". He has since learned her name. Her name is Susannah. Of course, he also has another girlfriend named Summer (Summer was the original not known named girlfriend). We saw Susannah who is really cute at the Baller Blast on Friday night and he went over and said 'hi' to her (they were in the same line for a train). He said she was wearing a 'pretty dress" at the carnival.

My middle son has girls who also like him. Last year, he had a girl call him to ask him who his teacher was. The girls in his class, typically, get along really well with him.

My oldest son also has girls after him. For his birthday last year, he invited a couple of his special needs friends (boys) and then he invited two typical girls (no typical boys, just two typical girls--Samantha and Ariel). At the school carnival, after dinner, he saw one of the girls and actually went over to her and said 'hi' to her. He did say 'hi' to a typical boy, Ben, in line, but he actually had to cross over the room and say 'hi' to Samantha.

All I can say is "oy".

New Jersey

2010-09-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

My Oldest is learning about states and state capitals. This week, he is focusing on the North Eastern region. He seems to be 'clicking' with some sort of 'understanding' of the states and capitals. For today's worksheet, he kept answering "New Jersey". I haven't figured out why. I think he just can read it easily and has it memorized, but it's funny. I figure he'll be heading to the Jersey Shore to hang out with The Situation and Snooki. I figure he'll start telling me "GTL" (gym, tanning, laundry) pretty soon. Yes, I had to actually google that because I don't watch the show.

Coat Found and Other Thoughts

2010-09-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I found the coat....it was at school all along. This is not uncommon of my Youngest. He seems to forget things. We call him our little Dory (from "Finding Nemo").

This morning, he was so funny...he asked me (as usual) what I dreamed about. I replied (as usual), "you and your brothers". Today, he said to me, "You should dream about pigs and stuff". Where the pigs and stuff is coming from, I am still not sure. I didn't know he liked pigs. I thought of him more of an "Ice Age" kind of guy.

Last night, Middle Dude had the "Scouter's Olympics" at the pack meeting. He got to shoot a marshmallow with a crossbow-marshmallow gun, shoot hoops, do the long jump, did sit ups/push ups and the bean bag toss. I don't have any pictures because he didn't really want any taken.

Lost Coat

2010-09-09T12:48:00.001-07:00

We are now three days into the school year and so far, knock on wood, it's going well. Yesterday was Youngest's first 'full day" (which is really an early release day) of school (the district is doing this alternate Wednesday-which is really an early release day thing) to help save money. He came home really tired. I don't blame him. Getting used to school starting is hard for me (and I am a grown up). I have been falling asleep at 9 p.m.. I cancelled their swim lessons yesterday because, frankly, they are too tired.

Today, my Youngest got off of the bus without his coat. I have been trying to track it down since. He seems to not be able to remember where he left it. Could it be outside? Could it be inside? On the bus? Who knows. I am trying to find it.

More Pictures from the First Day of School 2010

2010-09-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

Because you can never have enough First Day of School pictures....the First one is the boys outside of our house, the second is Youngest waving (although, I don't think you can tell) while sitting next to Middle Dude and the third picture is waiting at the bus stop (Youngest is on the far right, then moving left, is Middle Dude and then Oldest is on the left....the two young ones are waiting for their bus and the Oldest and I have to go back to the house to catch his little bus).

Addendum and the Other boys

2010-09-07T16:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have to correct something to my previous post....my Youngest son did not put an m and m on his gingerbread man for an eye. He put an m and m for a nose and raisins for eyes. Sorry for that :) And, I solved the mystery of why my Youngest son went to the office. It was to take the attendance book. Fortunately, his teacher thought the story was funny and my question "why did he go to the office, because he couldn't remember"....yes, she knows me really well, so I am sure she's chuckling right now at home.

My Oldest son got off the bus today and declared, "Mom, I had a GREAT day!". I am sure he did (or I'd probably get an email or phone call). I am sure he loved hanging out with Miss Karen. And, he got to share his goggles (he had to bring in something that represented something that he loves to do)....he loves to swim and I am sure he showed them "big arms".

My Middle son also had a good day. He said he took a five minute math test...one side was addition, which he said he finished a hundred problems in five minutes and finished all but three on the subtraction side (I am thinking that is 97). He came home with homework and had to ask me how we derived his name. I sounded like the lamest Mom ever. "Your name came from my Ob's office...I saw another baby with your name and I loved your first name and your middle name is the male form of your Nana's name" (we named our two oldest sons' middle names after a family member, this theory got lost on our Youngest son, who got two new names as my husband was convinced we were having a girl, even though, we didn't find out, the technician was teasing him that it was a girl....so, we never talked about boy names). Personally, I love all of my boys' names, so it doesn't really matter.....and my middle son's first name means 'strong' (plus, it is Biblical and a traditional name). It was very apropos that he was 'named after my mom' because he is a lot like her in personality, looks and interests.

First day of School

2010-09-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

I am back....Yes, it has been a long time since I blogged. So much has happened. But, like the first day of school, today is a new day. It is a new beginning to what will hopefully be a new, incredible year.

As you can tell from this picture, this is a picture of my Oldest and my Youngest. During this picture, my Middle son is trying to convince me to take a picture of just him and make it my wallpaper on my phone. More on the picture of all three of them later.

My Oldest son is starting fifth grade this fall. He'll be doing 'full inclusion', which means that he is spending more time in the fifth grade classroom. The goal is to only pull him out for Reading (which he'll do in the pod area), Math, Social Skills class and OT, all of which he'll do 'downstairs'. I think he can do it. I have confidence in the team and confidence that he'll be able to demonstrate how amazing he is.

My Middle Dude is starting the third grade, which is good because he told me second grade was WAY too easy. He has a great teacher and I am confident that he will be successful.

My Youngest dude is starting Kindergarten with the teacher that the others got. I have confidence that her patience and kindness will help him. He'll have pull out time for OT, since he is on an IEP for fine motor skills. He is already starting to read (not pre-reading, mind you, reading, reading).

Since I have only my Youngest Dude home, I can only comment on his day. I put him on the 'big bus' with my Middle son, which was so cute, although, I do believe my Middle son had an ulterior motive. Youngest waved to me with a huge smile on his face from the window and he looked so small. Too cute. He was sitting next to Middle Dude. He got to school and got to go watch a movie since it was raining. He couldn't remember the name of the movie. He then went to his kindergarten room, where he and a friend went to the office and hung out (I am assuming here that he took the attendance or something because he said he wasn't in trouble, but he didn't know why he was there, this is typical...you gotta understand). He decorated a gingerbread man after hearing the story. He only put on one m and m for an eye because he said he only wanted one eye. He then had recess outside with his new friends and he played on the play structure. He also did art, which to the best I can tell is using markers and a coloring page. He also read a story called, "Kindergarten is...."which he won't read to me until tomorrow, so I still don't know what Kindergarten is. I think that is the cliffhanger.

More later :)

Bus Day!

2010-03-02T13:34:00.001-08:00

Today was Youngest's first day riding the bus. He qualifies for special education because he is a year behind in fine motor skills, so he qualifies for OT, which qualifies him for the bus. I was reluctant to have him ride the bus, but he really wanted to because his best friend, James, a neighbor boy, rides the bus already. So, I worked it out and he'll ride the bus four days a week (the days that special education is offered), but the fifth day, we'll pay (for preschool) and I'll take him in. This will be a nice transition for him for next year, when he'll ride the 'big bus' with Middle boy to school.

For me, I have three different bus times, and two different bus stops. Every morning (that Youngest has a bus), I will put Oldest on the bus first outside my house. Then, ten minutes later, walk Middle boy down the street and come back and put Youngest on the bus at our house. So, I have a busy forty minutes, but then it calms down and I get an extra ten to fifteen minutes on either end (of school) to myself. The problem is that I am so used to taking Youngest with me on errands on the way home, now I have to adjust for that!

February

2010-02-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, once again I lost February, due to illness (I was sick most of February), death (Great Uncle Allan) and drama. Not dwelling on any of those......

Today, we went to see "Walking With the Dinosaurs: the Arena Spectacular" and yes, it didn't disappoint. They had anamatronic dinosaurs, pteradactyls coming from the ceiling and yes, I did learn a little about dinosaurs. Youngest said to me (before the show started as we were just waiting), "This is better than the Wiggles" (I do admit that without Greg, the Wiggles have even lost me). I asked him if it was better than "Go Diego Go: Live on Stage" and he said, 'no, I like that one, too". It didn't disappoint him. All three of them were transfixed on the dinosaurs. We were in row J on the 100 level, and the way the stage was, we basically were looking at the set and only three rows up. AMAZING!

I'll just focus on that, and summarize that my February was amazing!

Perfect Age

2010-01-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

I mean this when I say that every age is a perfect age. There is always something at each age that the boys are doing that is 'perfect', but at the moment, they are all at a 'perfect' age. They all can amuse themselves, can be reasoned with and are without 'drama' in the soon to be coming ages. They all have distinctive personalities and are eager learners. Soon, we'll have the 'teenage' drama. So, yes, we are in the 'perfect age'.

OMSI

2010-01-30T16:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, one of the many (and I do mean MANY) things we did was go to OMSI. The boys had a day off, so we all decided to go to OMSI. I have never taken Oldest, but I have taken the other two. It was a lot of fun. Although, I did lose Youngest (seriously, he was gone for 10 minutes, with three of us searching for him!). Youngest's favorite thing was the rockets. Middle boy loved the vacuum (you use a tv screen to manipulate a vacuum and pick up rubber balls on the other side of the hall). Oldest liked the water area (of course). I am not sure they did a lot of 'learning' but it was great fun.

Youngest's Fifth Birthday

2010-01-17T20:49:00.001-08:00

It's so hard to imagine that my little guy is already five. I have been having trouble with my Oldest being in the Fourth Grade (it is after all, UPPER elementary). But, now, it has sunk in that my Littlest Guy is five. Next year, it will be kindergarten and then in one more year, my Oldest will be in Junior High. It's one of those things that you want them to get bigger, but, yet you don't. I still remember Youngest's birthday....Hub had decided he was a girl (we didn't find out). I had no idea.

We had a 'rolling' birthday all weekend long. We took four of his friends to Chuck E. Cheese's for lunch. He had a great time showing his friends around who hadn't been there before. The next day was the 'family party' with Nana, Papa and cousins. Sunday was his actual day and we had our traditional "cupcake' birthday as my other boys like to call it. Finally, the next day, I took in cupcakes for his preschool friends. The theme of this year's festivities was "Spongebob Squarepants". All of the cakes had some form of Spongebob Squarepants.

The theme is intriguing because Youngest doesn't really watch Spongebob (he is afraid of the pirate). So, why he chose Spongebob, I don't know. As you can tell, it went along with his Leapster.

Happy Birthday, Spongebob Stinky Pants and I look forward to many more...

Wii as a Generational Gap

2009-12-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we celebrated Christmas with Nana and Papa. They each got a Wii game. As I am writing, Papa is playing the Wii with Youngest, helping him ride a 'wave runner' or "bicycling'. What was super cute was that Youngest was sitting on Papa's lap and helping him with the wave runner. Too cute!

Unexpected!

2009-11-17T21:24:00.001-08:00

Today, as I was working on dinner...Middle boy ran up to me from the computer room and said, "MOM! I love my life!"....totally unexpected and unasked for. He also said he loved his mom, his dad and brothers. I asked Oldest if he loved his life and he said, "Yes!". I guess we must be doing something right.

Controversy

2009-11-11T14:44:00.001-08:00

I have always liked the British way of saying it: con-tra-ve-sy. It always makes it so much better.

I know that usually, I post cute stuff about my boys, because, frankly, they are cute and do cute stuff.

My MOMS club just sent out an email....they are having a controversy about an activity in December: caroling at a nursing home. Seems uncontroversial. However, this is the age of H1N1 (aka Swine Flu). So, the controversy begins. Seems a mom wouldn't want to put her kids at risk for any germs. Okay, then don't go. Simple...no. Just last week, my pastor was talking about how many parishioners were requesting that instead of giving 'peace' (i.e. shaking hands and saying "peace be with you" during the service), that he stop doing that. My pastor, being the guy he is, said that he didn't want to do that. Why, you ask? Well, it is a germ factory. My pastor said that we can still do it, but not shake hands (or whatever you feel comfortable or not comfortable doing). For him, it was important, because it was mentioned in the Bible.

I think it is important during this time, that we all use reasonable caution. I, for example, did not go to church (since I go to the 'old people' service). I don't want to share a bug, but I also don't want to get another bug.

Being that we are in the 'high risk group' of people. Because Oldest's autism, his immune system is compromised and should he get the H1N1, he would most likely get it worse then 'usual'. So, we all need to exercise caution, not do things that we don't feel comfortable with and most of all, if we are sick, stay home. That doesn't mean going to weddings if you child is sick. We need to exercise 'reasonable' caution.

Halloween Costume

2009-11-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

We have gotten a lot of use out of the Halloween costumes this year. We have really gotten a lot of use out of Oldest's costume. He sleeps with it, as if it was a stuffed 'friend'. He's really into stuffed friends lately. He's already decided which friend he is going to take with him to Thanksgiving and he has already packed his friends for the trip.

Picture Day!

2009-11-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Today was picture day for Youngest. He was so excited to wear his new Spiderman shirt (a hand-me-down from Middle boy). I always let them pick out their school picture shirts because then they are comfortable, plus they are cute anyway, so who cares?

He said to me when he got in the car, "I got to go to the movie theater (the auditorium) and have my picture taken! Trevor was my friend. I had to stand on the blue X and have my picture taken. I had to wait for Trevor and then hold his hand and walk back with him". I got the WHOLE story! He seemed to really enjoy it.

Halloween

2009-11-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

Last night was Halloween. The boys loved it. They all wore their costumes to Red Robin (Oldest really wanted a picture with Whitney, a special server there). They got a piece of candy from RR. Then, they went out trick or treating with the Hub (I stayed home to hand out candy). Youngest decided that he didn't want any repeat candies and he came home early. They were all decked out in their finery. I managed to find a "TOY STORY" goodie bag for Oldest and Youngest. Middle boy had a Transformer bag (I couldn't find a "Star Wars" or "Clone Wars" one and we couldn't find his Darth Vader one).

All and all it was good night :)

Halloween Eve

2009-10-30T19:59:00.001-07:00

Today, Youngest had his Halloween party at his preschool. He got to wear his 'alien' costume, decorate cookies, play musical chairs (everyone gets a piece of candy when they get 'out') and poke holes (and smell) a pumpkin.

Middle boy told today that he traded his cookie from his lunch to a friend in exchange for a Pokemon card. I asked him if he missed out on his cookie and he said, "no, I got to eat more of my apples". Maybe, that's why he's so skinny!

"Mom, My Hair is Handsome!"

2009-10-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, some days, Youngest does his best at cuteness. Today was one of those days. He insisted that he 'write' a book like Middle boy does. He got out a couple of pieces of computer paper. He has trouble writing, so he dictated his story (including title page) to me. The title of it was "Disney/Pixar Toy Story". Evidently, I did not do it perfectly, I thought he said the main character was Annie, not Andy (I did ask him twice). My middle son corrected me when he read the story.

At bath time, it was hair wash night and he said to me, "I don't need hair wash, I have handsome hair!".

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-23T14:08:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we went to the pumpkin patch for our annual foray in the rain. We went to Pomoroy Farm, which is a local farm (I believe it is a 'working' farm). We went on the hayride, played games (not for prizes), looked at the animals (Youngest was fascinated by the roosters, Oldest by the pigs and sheep...all of them got to feed all of the animals) and got our own pumpkin. The boys also enjoyed pumpkin lane (think pumpkins/scarecrow wearing clothes).

Youngest picked out my pumpkin (a very petite one, but that is totally fine). Hub picked out a humongous one. Middle boy also picked out a big one and Oldest picked out a small one. Youngest was actually able to carry his pumpkin this year, which is cool.

Finishing Up Great Wolf

2009-10-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not getting back to finishing up the Great Wolf Lodge....it is truly a fantastic place...pricey, but fantastic.

Saturday morning of our visit, we went to the water park. Fun, because it was so empty. We played in the water park all morning. Youngest loved going down the 'twin' slides (they are big kid slides), but he also had a lot of fun in the younger play area. Middle boy loves the big, thunderous slides and the big 'funnel'.

Then, we went off site to lunch at McDonald's (not very interesting, but was funny because it was literally two minutes away and the boys wanted us to hook up the dvd players).

The afternoon was spent at the water park, with a continuation of the morning's adventure. For some reason, the boys enjoy watching me go down the 'big' water slides...they say I have a funny look on my face.

Dinner was at a restaurant in the lodge (no french fries for Mom!). Then, it was time for pajamas and 'story time' near the lobby. Story time was a puppet-animatronic show that we really couldn't figure out the theme other than you need to respect nature. That was followed by story time ("No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"), which even Oldest enjoyed.

Sunday morning was back in the water park (we had to give a howl so that the front desk knew that the water park was open) and then get ready for check out at 11 a.m.

Whew.

Autism Equalizer

2009-10-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

Since this was a three day weekend (Friday being the third day), The Hub and I decided to take the boys to the Great Wolf Lodge. For those of you who don't know what The Great Wolf Lodge is....let me explain....think rustic lodge, add a HUMONGOUS water park and add in some games (that, of course, cost money).

The boys have been looking forward to this trip....they advertise heavily in our area because it is about an hour and a half away. The room we have has this little 'cabin' area with three twin beds (convienent if you have three kids) and then a 'parental' room.

Oldest has been looking forward to it all week long...he has been doing his best at school and home so he could go (we'd take him anyway, but we always need a 'carrot'). All he has been talking about is the pool/waterpark.

This complex is huge....when we walked up Youngest looked with his little eyes like something he had never seen. There were huge wolves all over the top of it. He loved it.

So, we checked in, and all we heard was "I want to go to the pool". They loved the water park. Imagine huge waterslides, rides with rafts and rides with tubes, all with a 'lodge' theme. They even have a little kids play area, perfect for Youngest (who doesn't swim, yet).

As far as it being an "autism equalizer'...it's like Disneyland, you really can't tell the kids with autism or the kids who are neurotypical....all you can tell is that the kids are having fun...

Then, they have a special "Trick or Treating' for October....the boys dressed up in their Halloween costumes and went to four different locations and trick or treated. Lots of people thought that our little Pixar "Toy Story" aliens were adorable (especially Oldest in his 3-D glasses) and our Commander Cody.

Tomorrow, we are playing the "Magic Quest" game (another way to suck the money out of you...you have to buy the wand and then the game). It should be fun, once we figure out how to do it (I guess you have to read the instructions and then figure it out....that's not my department).

I truly love places where all kids can just be kids and not labelled as 'special needs' and just be a kid. Those are the times that I cherish. It's not that I necessarily am upset by autism or anything like that, it is just time when I realize I have three boys...not two boys who are neurotypical and one with autism. I treasure those moments because I know that autism hinders Oldest in many ways. For those brief moments, we are just like any other family. Those are the moments that help me get through the bad times (not that we have any of those anymore). I just go 'back to that place' and I remember what a joy all of my boys are (and they are...I wouldn't change anything of my life). Hopefully, that makes sense.

John Travolta

2009-10-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

I know I wasn't going to get 'political' with this blog....sometimes, it just happens. It's more of me working through something, trying to figure out how to deal, as they say.

Last week, John Travolta was testifying in the extortion case down in the Bahamas. He testified that his son had autism. This was an interesting factoid in my world. First and foremost, my heart breaks for John. I feel that anytime a parent has to 'bury' their child, it is a horrible day. A friend of mine had to do that a year ago and I see the pain in her eyes and her daughter lived less than a day. I can only imagine if your child is older.

Jett Travolta was 16 years old when he died. He suffered from seizures (many times a week and many at a time). This is very common with children with autism. Fortunately, Oldest doesn't do that. So, Jett had medical issues, in addition to (it turns out) profound autism. I can't even begin to imagine, first of all. I remember when Oldest first lost his few words he had and I was determined to have him tell me (even if he didn't understand) that "I love you". I remember that was my project. There was no way that that was not going to happen. I know a lot of families who live with this reality, and, again, my heart breaks for them. I have no idea what that is like.

Back to Jett....throughout his life, John and Kelly had denied that Jett had autism. First of all, Jett was 16....he grew up in a time different than it is today. When Oldest was diagnosed at 3 (6 years ago), there were one in 500 kids afflicted with autism. Now, it is one in 94 boys; on in 150 children. I remember when the speech therapist first told me (at our first meeting, mind you) that Oldest had autism, I came home white as a ghost. I remember my mom asking me, "what is wrong?" To me, if you had autism, you were institutionalized, you were in a corner, banging your head. That is not my reality. So, times were different. Thanks to Bill and Suzanne Wright, founders of Autism Speaks, autism is more accepted....there is more knowledge out there.

Also, in scientology (from what I understand), autism is not accepted as a 'disease", even though it is a 'neurological-developmental delay". Yes, I can say that whole mouthful in two seconds flat. I like to think that Oldest 'thinks differently'....his neurons are just not connected the way the 'average' person is connected. Oldest possesses so many things that the 'average' person cannot. I like to think he just has a different way of thinking. From what I understand, scientologists can get medical attention (as in go to a General Practioner), but NOT a psychiatrist, which is who typically diagnoses someone with autism. So, the Travoltas would have to go against their 'religion' in order to help Jett. And, they did.....so I have been told.

They were doing everything correct....being amazing parents, getting him therapies, putting their children first, etc. The picture that always flashes through my mind is the one of John resting on Jett's chest. There is such love in that picture. You can tell John adores Jett. It's not one of those 'fakey' pictures. There is pure love in that picture...something that is rare and something that is pure.

My hope is that the Travoltas channel some of their grief and help others. We all do that as parents of either a special needs child or a child with a disease. We channel our grief for the betterment of others. John has so much compassion to give. It was evident in that picture.

I know others who have 'come out' and done good things for the autism community like Holly Robinson Peete, Gary Cole, Toni Braxton and, yes, even Jenny McCarthy (yes, even she has done good for the autism community). All of these 'celebrities' have a chance to do something good and help others, even in a small way. We all do that. I do what I do for those who come after me....just as the Down's community did a lot before the autism community. We all have a responsibility as a parent to help the next generation and to make this world a better place. We owe that to our children and the children after us.

Good Day in My World

2009-09-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, except for the fact that Youngest might now be sick with THE bug....

As I write (and wait for Oldest to help him with his homework), my Middle son is quietly reading his book (yes, I make my son read 20 minutes every day, not just 4 to 5 times a week because I am the Mean Mom) on the sofa. I just found out today that he is in the 'highest' reading group (last year, he missed out on it by a hair, it was too full). He needs a little 'nudge' and will be working on some great new skills. We've already talked about it might be challenging, but we'll work through it together.

Oldest didn't do his work at school before he got to go out to lunch recess. His special ed teacher told him, he could take it home for homework and do it with Mom (he knew he'd get THE lecture, if he did that, so he stayed in at recess and finished his work). Reaffirming that I am the Mean Mom (I am not really, but they have the fear of God, which works). He also gets to try on his Pixar alien costume when he finishes. He also ran into Middle boy at recess and showed him his "Star Wars" library book.

Youngest, well, he's just cute and keeps calling me "Katie". Yes, he calls me now by my first name (which annoys me) because they are learning parents' first names. But, he's adorable and gives the best kisses (nice and wet) and hugs, so he's forgiven.

Astronaut!

2009-09-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

My Youngest son, when I picked him up at preschool today said to me, "MOM, I got to listen to the Astronaut!" An astronaut from our hometown had a ham radio conference with the middle school kids in our district. He's currently at the International Space Station and our district arranged for a ham radio conference with him (via Belgium!). They watched the video conference.

Youngest has decided he won't be an astronaut, though.

Here's the links....check it out...the kids' questions are pretty sophisticated considering they are 6th graders....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Gvn-599Q

Part two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F84Y0Q&feature=related

It's under You Tube name: glysdi02

This is doubly cool because not only did my town have an astronaut, but my alma mater (UOP) had it's FIRST astronaut on the last shuttle mission. Whoot! Maybe, that's why I am spacey...LOL.

Weird

2009-09-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

I was sitting tonight at 2nd grade cirriculum night. This is my second 2nd grade cirriculum night. That sounds so funny. I was sitting there, listening to the same silly jokes that the principal gives every year, every grade level, thinking, I have a sense of peace in my world.

Now, anyone who has been around me the last 11 days (yes, it has been 11 days since school started!), knows that I am a stressed out puppy. Stressed out, because today was the FIRST day Oldest made it to school on time (and with 3 minutes to spare---WHOOT!). He also got off of the bus at the proper time. What are the odds? Granted, it has been a LONG 11 days....as anyone who is around me will attest. The worst part of starting a new school year? "Training" new special ed teachers, bus drivers and the like. Yes, it is Oldest centric....so much that I delay anything major for 1 1/2 months for a new school year and 3 for a new school. Trust me, I have had experience.

But tonight, I felt at peace. I don't really know why. I found out that Oldest is one of the few special needs kids who do homework regularly. I find this weird. I find it weird because Oldest is behind academically, why wouldn't a parent push their kid to do academics that they are behind in.

I totally understand, a lot of parents are dealing with a lot of things when it comes to autism. I go there 100 %. But, wouldn't you push your kids to do all that they can do?

For once this so far this year, I just feel at peace. I feel confident that we have a chance to have an amazing year. I think that Oldest is going to do great things, socially (we have a long way to go, so we can only go up!) and academically. I feel like Middle boy is going to shine this year. He's going to make great gains. And, youngest, well, he'll start pooping in the toilet (major), he'll make great gains socially, and best of all, academically. He's already asking, "Momma, what letter does my name start with? Does my name have a short sound? Does my name have a 'ck' sound?". WHOOT!

Maybe, we do have a chance this year :)

First Follower!

2009-09-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

I have my first official follower! Whoot!

First Official Week

2009-09-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

Well, they have been in school a whole week (day six here we are!). Oldest still hasn't gotten to school on time (and he's getting home early, what's up with that?). Other than the bus issue (as I have aptly named it), things are pretty smooth. We have some other 'administrative issues' with the new teacher, but we are working on getting him to school (and home) on the right schedule first.

Oldest likes school (I guess, I haven't gotten any feedback from him or his teachers...note administrative issue), I think. His best friend is at his school now...so it's cool...he has some other 'typical' friends there, so life is good.

Middle boy loves school. We've already had two homework assignments (one small one and we're still working on a big one!). Middle boy isn't in the 'groove', yet, but he is enjoying his friends....

Youngest loves his preschool. I should clarify, he loves his preschool's playground. And, if peeing in the potty is what he has to do to play there, he'll do that, too. Who would have thunk that would be the motivator for him. Today, he typed his name (all by himself, mind you) on the computer at school so he could play the Mickey Mouse game. Again, who would have thought. He also loves that his BFF is in his class.

So, life is grand...no major stresses...just 'bus issues'. And, through it all, my bp is low. So, that's a good thing (as Martha would say :)).

Too Cute!

2009-09-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

As I was putting Youngest and Middle boy to bed (Oldest was finishing up his email)....they had a 'race' to see who would be first to be tucked in (this is actually funny because they race for everything and neither wants to go to bed). Youngest said he wanted to be 'first'. He had actually already tucked himself in and tucked in his Night time Pablo (from "The Backyardigans") and his "My First Elmo" (which I think was Oldest's originally and has survived all of the boys). Both of his 'friends' were neatly tucked in next to him. For once, I think that he was actually tired from a week of school!

First Week of School

2009-09-04T14:05:00.001-07:00

This week was the first week of school. We had three days before the Labor Day weekend. So far, everyone loves their teachers and each has a good friend in each of their classes. This is good....that helps to make everyone want to go to school.

Some highlights: Oldest got to take his Disneyland photo album to school. They were talking about their summers and he shared with his friends. He also shared it with his teachers from last year. He made the photo book all by him self (The Hub supervised, but really didn't do much). Oldest picked the pictures, placed them in the album and typed the text.

Middle boy had the same teacher from last year and he has his BFF in his class. He told me he is sitting in between two girls (and then proceeds to blush profusely). He likes being in the same class. His homework from 'back to school' night was to put things that represented what he did during the summer....he took a map of California Adventure Park (next to Disneyland), Disneyland, the Fish Hatchery and goggles (he took swimming lessons).

Youngest is at the 'special education' preschool. So far, only the 'typical' kids are there. There are about 13 kids (so far, more next week of special needs kids) and he loves it. He has told me on the first day, "I didn't make paper, I made play doh" (he attends Papermaker preschool) and that on the second day, he made a "Hey, Diddle, Diddle" book and he told me, "I made paper!". He also used scissors (which they are working with him on) and today they read books about vegetables!

Today, The Hub took the day off. He helped me pick up Youngest and then we went to Who Songs and Larry's (we had a gift card so it was cheap!).

This morning, I got to see my Mom's Club friends for Mommy Time (for moms with kids who are in school) and yesterday, I walked with a friend of mine.

This has been a 'perfect' week (well, minus the bus problems).

First Day of School

2009-09-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from Oldest's teacher....she said he was fine, timewise...okay, he was just outside my door when the bell should have rung.....and I saw the bus at 9:14 and it hadn't gotten to school....

Bumpy Start

2009-09-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school and it's already gotten off to a bumpy start. It actually started yesterday with Oldest wanting to watch his favorite shows "Super Why" and "Sid the Science Kid" before school. I have reassured him that Iwill record them. Still, we've had lots of autism because it's a change in routine and a change in schools (they rebuilt the school, so it's the same school, but it is totally different).

This morning, things were fine (I even got a picture of all of them on the first day of school, which I don't think I have ever done!). Middle boy, Youngest and I went down to Middle boy's bus stop. He got on the bus fine (with the twins next door, all looking out for each other because there are not many kids at this bus stop this year). Youngest and I went down to our house to put Oldest on his bus at our house.

So, the three of us waited and waited and so forth. The bus did not come at the time that it was expected. I called my husband and asked, "at what time should I call transportation?" He suggested I wait ten minutes past the time.

During this time, Oldest, Youngest and I waited, took lots of pictures of each other and waited...by this time, Oldest's autism is kicking in and I am getting pacing and him saying "the bus needs to come, I need to go to my new school, then the bus will come and take me home" and "I need to go to school", over and over and over...gotta love autism anxiety).

So, I waited the ten minutes and then I called transportation.....the nice assistant (as opposed to the mean one who I tried to work out a compromise with last week) said, "oh, I'll call her"....so, she does and she gets no response.....so, she tries again....no response.....she tells me, "I don't know why she isn't at her bus, she doesn't have any wheelchair kids (she does)".....I told her 'well, we'll be here" and hang up.

So, at 9 a.m. when Oldest is supposed to be at school (the tardy bell has rung) and the little bus arrives at my house.......and she still has to pick up two more kids AFTER Oldest (obviously, this is not going well)...this is also 15 minutes after Youngest is supposed to be at his school. The poor bus driver is telling me she has had nightmares about this route for a week. She didn't think it would work. She was assured by the head of transportation that it would work (okay, that was minus children AND getting a wheelchair on and off a bus).

So, I then take Youngest to his school.....we show up and I take him to the potty (see note below) and his teacher says to me, "we were worried about you!" (I am worried about me and Youngest, too).

Youngest did a great job at school. He loves his new school. He told me "I didn't make paper, I made play doh!" (his school is called Papermaker Preschool). He sat nicely, listened to the teacher and they were thrilled with him. Whoot.

NOTE: Youngest started last Thursday peeing in the potty...I am a little more optimistic this time (this is about our third start to potty training and all have failed....). He really loves his new school's playground and I told him he can't stay there unless he goes pee in the potty. So far, so good. He is required to pee in the potty for this preschool...I guess better late than never...it's a special education preschool, so they are used to pull-ups and such, but he really needs to be peeing in the potty at 4 1/2.

Field Trip Week

2009-08-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Because Oldest didn't have one of his classes this week, I decided to take the boys on a couple of field trips.

On Tuesday, I took them to the Zoo. Not only was it my first time taking the boys on a trip, but also it was the first time that we did not have a stroller. Youngest was insistent that he did not NEED a stroller.

Today, we went to the Fish Hatchery and the Bonneville Dam. The boys and I had a good time. They got to run around and look at the fish. We saw Herman the Sturgeon (who is a really big sturgeon!). We got to feed the fish (of course, in the process, Oldest got so excited that he threw his map into the water). Middle boy called it "an aquarium without the turtles".

One thing that is tough about here is that we are not near an aquarium. The closest one is three hours away (Newport) or four hours (Seattle). The boys love aquariums and they love watching fish. It calms Oldest.

As far as taking them by myself. It's so nice this age...I can talk to them about expected behavior and they can follow it. I can also ask them what they want to see and we can see it. Kind of nice :)

Mom, We Can Get My Balloon!

2009-06-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

As we were driving up before Father's Day to Nana and Papa's house....out from the back of the van came youngest saying, "MOM! Now, we can get my balloon!!!" (refer back to a previous post in May when we were at the Cascade Station Red Robin and the balloon debacle).

Dining With Dad

2009-06-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Today, middle boy had "Dining with Dad', when Dads go in and have a little fun with the kids in 1st grade. It is culminated by the Dads going out to recess.

Middle boy had a great time. He made Dad a paper vest, a paper tie, a poem about "1st Place Dad" and an "I am not a..." book. Then, Middle boy and Dad got lunch and ate in the classroom. Finally, Dad got to go out to recess and played tether ball with Middle boy (middle boy had never played tether ball before).

Evidently, it was a good time and Middle boy loved having his Dad come and visit.

I Need Love

2009-06-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

For a couple of days, middle boy has had the bug that we all have had. The first two days are a fever and sore throat, followed by never ending congestion and other intestinal irritations. The fever doesn't go away until the third day. In fact, nothing works on bringing it down. Typically, they lie on the sofa, lethargic and do nothing for two days, except feel miserable.

Middle boy turned to me yesterday and said to me, "Mom, I need love". So, we went and snuggled on my bed. What was so cute was that he asked (he thinks he's all grown up) and he just needed snuggling.

"We Got To Go To Seattle!"

2009-05-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

Last night, we were at a different Red Robin (becauase that is the only restaurant oldest goes to). Our Red Robin was closed because the water tank was broken. So, we went to the one at Cascade Station. It was fun, however, what's scary is that we knew the manager from the Mill Plain one. We also recognized a waitress. Scary...we've been going to RR way too many times!

Anyway, we got outside, with the boys holding the balloons and, of course, youngest let go of his accidently. Then, he said, "Mom, we have to go to Seattle and get my balloon!" (out of the clear blue sky, he said that, no coaching involved). Later, at bedtime, he said, "Mom, we have to go see Nana and Papa and get my balloon in Seattle!". Obviously, he loves them and knows they live in Seattle.

Special Olympics

2009-05-07T10:39:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was the oldest's Special Olympics' regional competition. He was entered in three races. The first race was his specialty, the 25K Freestyle. Once again, he looked at the depth of the pool and had trouble racing. He was more focused on the depth of the pool than swimming.

Then he raced in the developmental assisted race. He had trouble because he is so used to swimming by himself. He also raced in the walk, where they walk across the pool. He couldn't figure it out and it was hard to explain it to him to just walk...he wanted to swim, swim, swim....

It still was successful. He learned about waiting his turn and that the swim lessons lead to 'something'.

Young Athletes

2009-05-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Young Athletes is a sub-division of "Special Olympics". My youngest had the opportunity to participate in this during his preschool time (he is in a special education preschool, but not counted as 'special needs").

It was so much fun. They had the 'opening ceremonies'. They walked around the gym to a music fanfare. Then, they went to different stations. The first station, he volunteered to go be the example and it was an obstacle course. They had to 'bunny hop' over a little bar and on numbers. Then, they went to a station where they had to throw balls over a net. Then, they went to a station that they had to hit a tennis type racket towards the wall. Then, they had to walk on stars (and then run on the stars). Finally, they went to a station that they had to play with scarves.

Youngest got a t-shirt, a gold medal and a snack. He really liked the shirt. He kept showing it to me.

When we walked back to the room and youngest said, "That was SO much fun, it was AWESOME!!!"

I am so glad I went and love the Special Olympics program.

Mommies, Muffins and Manicures

2009-05-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Today was Mommies, Muffins and Manicures with middle boy. When I went with oldest, it was different, in that he and I hung out together.

First thing, middle boy escorted me into the room and said, "will you come with me?". Then, he escorted me in and sat down. He then gave me a back rub. He then went and gave me a muffin and juice. Then, he gave me some lotion and a manicure (I got smart this year and brought my own nail polish). He then read a poem with his classmates and sang a song with his classmates.

Middle boy had been practicing his manners and painting finger nails. They practiced on a piece of paper. It was too cute.

Mommies, Muffins and Manicures is probably my favorite day because I get to spend time with my boys in their classes and also just one on one time. The whole time, middle boy was blushing. He enjoyed being the 'center of my attention'.

Easter and Such

2009-04-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Easter was a great day. We did our famous egg hunt and ate the much anticipated bunny cake. Hey, I even threw in a homemade brunch and Easter dinner to boot.

Today was one of the first 'warm' and sunny days of the year. Wonderful. The boys and I headed outside. Oldest decided to play "Bolt" (he was Penny on a scooter and youngest was Bolt and he was telling youngest, "Bark, Bolt, Bark!!". Too funny. He also said he was Pete Doctor (one of the directors/producers of Pixar). In one of the 'outtake" reels, Pete Doctor rides around Pixar Studios on a scooter. He kept saying to me, "I'm Pete Doctor!". Of course, no one gets it but us.

This morning, out of the blue, middle boy says, "Momma, I love having my brother at my school". I ask him if he sees oldest and he says 'yes'. He told me that he sometimes sits on the swings with oldest and tells him 'hi' and swings with him. Cool.

Pre-Easter Festivities

2009-04-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have psychoanalyzed myself. Because of our Christmas snow, lack of an oven and I couldn't get out of the house...I am overcompensating. 150% for Easter.

This morning, the boys and I decorated the much anticipated bunny cake (minus coconut and licorice because my boys and I don't like them; also, I changed it to a 'black and white' bunny and a chocolate cake). I made the changes, not to buck tradition, but because I get tired of eating the whole bunny cake every year by myself. Also, instead of jelly beans, we used Easter M and Ms. I realized I made a mistake by leaving out the M and Ms because Middle boy and Youngest were running around on a sugar high. Seriously.

We also made a new recipe (which I will modify for next year)...Easter nests made of dark chocolate and Rice Krispies with little M and M eggs in them.

All three of the boys got totally got into them. We waited until Oldest's dentist appointment was done to finish decorating the cake. With the nests, Middle boy refused to help until the last minute and then, oldest ran over and said, "Momma, I put the egg in the chocolate" and he did! All three of them finally helped and placed the eggs in the 'nests".

I have just finished making my "Grandma's beans' and the Easter egg casserole. Tomorrow morning during the egg hunt, I will bake the casserole and cinnamon rolls. Then, we'll have Easter dinner of ham (low sodium, of course!), Grandma's beans and rolls. True, the only ones eating any of the food will be hubby and I, but it is the fact that the food is available. Middle boy has said he'll try the cinnamon rolls. I am sure he'll like it because he is a sugar fiend.

Cub Scouts!

2009-04-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, oldest and I went to the cub scout meeting (as usual). This month's theme is "Jurassic Park", which I had hoped would pique his interest. We had the best time ever. Typically, cub scouts is very difficult for him. It is a very social activity and, obviously, he has low social skills. This time was different.

I don't know if he had the promise of seeing "Hannah Montana: The Movie" this weekend or if he was just really into cub scouts.

We started out cub scouts by doing a word search. Oldest and I worked on it together. Then, we listened to the leader discuss dinosaurs from the Jurassic period. Oldest listened quietly. They chose dinosaurs to write a report on a dinosaur. Initially we had chosen a Brachiosaurus. By random choice, we were given the Brachiosaurus. Then, he and I made a dinosaur slide for his scarf. I pounded out the slide and then we made an imprint of an 'egg head' dinosaur. We are letting it dry until the next cub scout meeting (when we will paint it). Finally, we colored 'dinosaur' eggs (Easter eggs).

Oldest didn't have any behavior problems, I didn't have to remind him to focus, it was an amazing cub scout meeting!

Ferry Ride

2009-04-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

On our final day of our adventure, we decided to take it easy and take a ferry boat ride from Edmonds to Kingston. No, there isn't much in Kingston, except for a very cute McDonald's that the boys love to go to that has an indoor play area. The boys also love riding the ferry. The youngest boy stays inside, while the oldest goes outside (much quieter and not claustrophobic). Middle boy goes in between.

We had a great time on what youngest calls, "boat ferry".

April Fools!

2009-04-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

On April 1st, Oldest boy woke up (he was so cute sleeping on a very plush roll a way bed) and said, "Nana, it's snowing!" and it was. The rest of us thought it was an April Fool's joke. Nope. No such luck.

Vancouver Aquarium

2009-04-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

As stop two on our aquarium tour (I think it will be renamed the "water tour"), we went up to Canada and spent two nights at the hotel, going to the Vancouver Aquarium in the middle. The boys love the hotel part of the stay. Having 'tried' out the hotel pool once, we decided it would consistently be 'broken'. This did not stop middle boy from telling me, "why would you stay at a hotel that has a broken pool? That doesn't make sense.". Leave it to him to question authority.

On the 31st, we went to the aquarium and the boys had a great time. The aquarium has belugas, dolphins, a rain forest type room and lots of interesting viewings of animals like sharks and turtles. One particular room, has an aquarium where the you can have a huge turtle swimming above you and sharks above you. That is a favorite.

Youngest and Oldest enjoyed the beluga show from below (much quieter), while middle boy enjoyed it from above. I think he was hoping to get 'splashed' in the "Splash Zone".

All in all, it was a fun day.

B.O.B. the Blob

2009-03-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not know...one of the 'signs' of autism, is that the child does not have good 'play skills". This is one of the reasons they diagnosed my oldest and ruled out autism for my youngest. "Play skills" involve the ability of the child to 'play' (ie. imaginative play....play 'kitchen' or take an object and create a dialogue as in a story or play with little people and create a story...you get the idea).

Last night, in the bathtub, my oldest took his McDonald's toy, B.O.B. from the new Dreamworks' movie "Monsters Versus Aliens" and was playing with him. While this isn't new, I always relish in it because it is a concrete, if you will, example of how far we have come. Oldest couldn't do it when he was a toddler. He had no idea how to create a story or do imaginative play.

Oldest had B.O.B. and he was treating him like a little pet and talking to him. "B.O.B., we have to get you clean (while rubbing bubbles on him), B.O.B., we have to dry you off, B.O.B. we have to make you nice and clean". You get the idea.

You have to realize that B.O.B. is a blue blob. Literally.

Aquarium Tour

2009-03-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

Today, was the first day of our Spring Break Aquarium Tour. We went with Papa to the Aquarium and he had a great time. The boys had a good time (they always do). I got some cute footage of Papa playing tag with the boys, too. They loved to touch the sea stars, sea anemone and urchins.

Astronauts

2009-03-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I am so excited with the lift off of Kazakhstan rocket. Aboard, an astronaut, who is from my hometown. Turns out, he had spent most of his time growing up at the local science museum. Kinda neat.

Spring Program

2009-03-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Oldest and Middle boy had a Spring Program for their school. What their school does is instead of singing, they do a 'routine' (a P.E. routine). For example, Middle boy's class (along with a paired class) did a P.E. routine with scarves. This year's theme was "DISCO NIGHT". This year, Middle boy didn't lose his shoe (this happened last year, but he quickly recovered without missing a beat).

However, Oldest has trouble with this performance. During the dress rehearsal during the day, he ran out of the gym. He got in trouble with me and his special education teacher. He got in trouble for not being safe, not for not being able to perform. He has trouble because A)it's noisy in the gym, B)it's not in the gym he is used to, C)there's just too many people in there and D)he just can't focus. When he got home, he did tell me, "I wear my red shirt (his outfit for the program) and I dance with Mom". Primarily, I focused on the safety issue (the running out of the gym).

All in all, it was a good time, even with the minor 'speed bumps'. Those are just par for the course.

Snipping

2009-03-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today, I got a phone call from oldest's special education teacher. She said he was having a great day, BUT, during a Reading project (where he was putting pictures in order), he used the scissors and snipped a chunk of hair. It was a non-issue and he did get a lecture "we use scissors to cut paper NOT hair". I told her that I laughed and it was not a problem. She said she was glad to hear that because on her inside, she was laughing, too. She said of all of the kids, he was the LAST one of her students she would have expected to snip his hair.

It is pretty noticeable. There is a spot at the top of his forehead that is pretty, not bare, but noticeable. He has sort of a 'bald spot"although, there is some hair there....

MNO

2009-03-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, we had an adventurous MNO with my MOMS club. It was totally crazy. We met at the Starbuck's and were given 20 things to take a picture of (for example all of the Team Members in a dressing room) and 20 things to get (such as a pink or blue balloon).

The two teams were incredibly competitive. I have never laughed so hard. Here we were, about 13 Moms looking for cheap entertainment in the pouring rain! It was crazy.

The worst part was explaining to my six year old when asked what did I do: "I went out with my friends and had to take pictures of stuff and collect stuff". He looked at me like I was crazy.

Unfortunately, after the MNO, we went to Ruby Tuesday's and several of the moms have been worshipping the porcelin bowl this week. Not good :(

P.S.MNO stands for Mom's Night Out.

"The Lion King"

2009-03-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, middle boy and I had a Mommy/middle boy overnight. We went to out to Applebee's (which is highly unusual in this house), instead of our usual Saturday night trip to Red Robin. He had cheeseburger sliders (hey, it was half price because it was happy hour) and a side order of fried shrimp. Where middle boy puts it is another question.

Then, on Sunday, I took him to see "The Lion King". He was at the perfect age. He watched in amazement as the animals came down during the opening "The Circle of Life" (of course, I started bawling because that song gets me every time...it reminds me so much of when my Grandma died....it's one of those weird associations). Throughout the whole musical, he was engrossed in the story lines (lots of 'bad guys' to keep him occupied). He loved the stage production and the music.

When we left, he said that maybe he could join us for our season ticket of musicals. Only middle boy would ask. He said he loved going to musicals. Maybe he's going to be my boy who joins me for musicals when he is older :)

Valentine's Revisited

2009-02-17T20:04:00.001-08:00

Since youngest was not at school last Thursday (when his preschool had their 'valentine's celebration'), he got his valentines today. This is the first year when he has really 'understood' valentine's day. Although, on the actual day, I asked him if he would be my valentine and he said, "Momma, I am not a card". Anyway, he went through each valentine and had me read it. Then, he counted lollipops and candy that he got. He got very excited with each one and said, "is that for ME?".

Friday the 13th!

2009-02-16T20:29:00.000-08:00

The boys had a day off from school (a lovely four day weekend). On Friday, I decided to bake valentines cookies and finish up their valentines (to family members and each other). We had a lot of fun and the boys enjoyed picking out valentines.

For once (this was before the 13th), I am not in valentine hell. Valentine hell is when I am overwhelmed because the boys don't really help out doing their valentines and who ends up doing it? Moi. Middle boy got his valentines list really early, so he had his Star Wars valentines done by the beginning of February. Oldest got his two lists around the first part of February. This was the first year, when he got his Special Ed list, he wrote his name. He had so much fun picking out his Wall-E valentines for his friends (we had a little tougher time with his typical friends, but that is okay, we had a blast with the special ed class friends). Youngest got his list the last, but he sat down and he picked out each one individually and decided which Star Wars valentine his friends would get.

WOWZA!

2009-02-16T20:25:00.001-08:00

The other day, oldest was doing valentines for each other (ie. they were doing valentines for each other). Not only did oldest sign his name, but he also spelled and wrote his brothers' names correctly! WOWZA! Made me speechless!

Here We Go Again!

2009-02-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

Next week, youngest will start Speech Therapy again. No, he doesn't have autism, he just has a little artic problem (ie. he has a Bronx or Jersey accent and is a little difficult to understand). I had non-IEP meetings a couple of weeks ago to discuss his speech and to discuss a possible sensory problem.

The end result is that they (the team) would recommend a little private speech therapy and the results of a sensory profile is that he has some sensory issues....nothing that prevents him from learning, but enough that they are aware of it.

For me, it's a 'here we go again' moment, even though most likely autism is not involved. More than one of the professionals has not noticed any sign of autism. However, I am reminded of all of the therapies, testing etc that we went through with oldest. In many ways, it makes me more determined to help families who are going through the process for the first time. That is why I try to help them and do whatever I can legislation-wise.

So, wish me luck, I have dealt with the pediatrician (to get a referral), the speech therapist, teachers and OT. Lord help me if I have to deal with the insurance company.

Not Much Goin' On

2009-02-03T12:46:00.001-08:00

Hey, I'll take it that life is pretty quiet (trust me, my next week is Whacky!).

The interesting thing about my life is that sometimes I have to 'dangle the carrot'. You parents know what I am talking about. You set a goal, usually something that highly motivates your child about a week in advance and "dangle the carrot' in front of your child. I have had to do this the past two weeks with Oldest. He has wanted to go see "Paul Blart:Mall Cop" and "Hotel for Dogs". He has also had something going on in his brain. So, what do I do? "Dangle the carrot" (one movie per week) and remind him, get his teachers involved, etc. Not exactly my best parenting moment, but you know....

Pinewood Derby!

2009-01-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

This weekend was the Cub Scouts' pinewood derby race. Basically, the cub scouts each get a block of wood to shape into a car and then they weight it and race it on a long track (a hill track).

Oldest and Middle boy both created a car. Oldest's was a Wall-e car and Middle boy's was a "Clone Wars" car. They had fun with hubby making the cars. The most incredible thing was that oldest painted the car. Yes, this is the boy who HATES art. He still hates art. He painted it yellow on the body and grey/silver on the top. Middle boy's car was silver. Both had stickers of their respective 'theme' and Oldest's car even had a pipe cleaner eyes (like Wall-e). Oldest's car came in 4th (last) both times. Middle boy got a 2nd and a 4th. So, both were eliminated.

HOWEVER, Oldest got the pack award for "Most humorous' as voted by the adults. Not bad for a boy with autism. They only gave out about 6 'special' awards.

Inauguration Wrap Up

2009-01-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

Just a final note....middle boy told me that they got to read a book on Barack Obama, watch the Oath taking and see McCain go up in the helicopter. I reminded him that that was actually 'former' President Bush and he said, "whatever". Obviously, it was 'awesome' to see President Obama sworn in, but 'whatever' to see President Bush leave (that's how we all feel....LOL).

Inspired!

2009-01-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have been re-inspired. I do (advocate for autism legislation and fight for things in my district), not only for my son, but for those who come after me. I do it because of the Down's community who fought for things before me. Today, I was inspired by President (yes, PRESIDENT) Obama's speech. Here's a snippet explaining why I do, what I do:

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

------President Barack Obama; January 20, 2008; Inaguration Speech

I do it to shape a BETTER future. I do it because I believe in it. I do it to help others who can't otherwise, help themselves. I do it because of those who have come before me and those who come after me.

I will try not to be so political on future posts.

I just found out that middle boy (who is my Obama boy) got to see the taking of the Oath. Man, I am so happy. If there had been a way to have him see it live, I would have done it. He told me when I asked him if he liked it...he said, "it was awesome!". Yes, it was.

"Skating"

2009-01-16T18:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, youngest did one of my favorite preschool activities. In the motor room, they put the blue mats down and put shaving cream on it and the kids 'skated'. Last year, when youngest did it, he giggled the whole time. This year, he was swinging on the ropes (duh), and skating on the mats. I am sure he was laughing. I know when oldest did it, he really didn't like it because it was so 'tactile" and he has major sensory issues. Middle boy didn't quite know what to make of it all. He did think it was fun. Youngest, though, loves to be rough and tumble. He loves to be very physical and loves to swing on either the trapeze or ropes.

Am I In The Next Grade?

2009-01-14T07:21:00.001-08:00

Since we had an unusally long Winter Break (yes, because of the snow).....Towards the end of Winter Break, middle boy would ask me, "Am I in the next level? Is Mrs. A my teacher?" The answer was no....you're still a 1st grader. She's still your teacher. I love the middle boy's mind...

No Sleep for the Wicked and Other Tales From My Week

2009-01-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Last night, our downstairs toilet overflowed. Not a little bit, but a MAJOR overflow. Sewage everywhere. I was able to contain it, fortunately. However, hubby was unavailable. So, being the 'executive' that I am (LOL), I decided I will see if I can wait overnight and if it will go down.

This morning, I was awoken by my big monkey (at 4 a.m., mind you) by "MOMMA, the potty is FULL!". Realize for a moment, that oldest as autism and routines are important, so an interruption of the potty not being able to be used, is a little bit of a problem.

Now, I am grateful that the monkey can speak. There was a time when he couldn't, but not really at 4 a.m. because this meant I actually had to deal with an issue. I somehow coaxed the boy into my bed (which is taboo, but at 4 a.m., I didn't really care) and he fell asleep at 5:15, which wouldn't be so bad, that is UNLESS my alarm didn't go off at 5:25 a.m..

What was a little more difficult was that they couldn't use the bathroom that they typically get dressed in AND middle boy was 'afraid' of the darkness upstairs and refused to go without an escort and this went against oldest's routine.

All's well that ends well...they got off to school (dressed and all) fine.

Stand for Something or You Stand for Nothing....

2009-01-13T13:26:00.001-08:00

This is just a rhetorical question. It came to me as a result of my friend's post. She has a boy with autism (in fact, it is oldest's BFF)....she did a post that she doesn't feel the 'need' to put a 'tag' on her facebook page for something like "Autism Speaks" or do an autism walk a thon (she has been in the Peace Corps, writes grants for NPOs, works for social causes, but not for autism). In fact, it sparked some controversy.....okay, well for me. My feeling (and how I deal with oldest's autism) is that I feel a responsibility as a parent with a child with autism (or insert any disability or even just as a parent, because if I wasn't doing work to help children/families on the spectrum, I'd be working for the Children's Defense Fund or on behalf of children in Africa), I have a responsibilty to leave this world a little bit better for my children or other children than I found it. Now, you can insert any cause that you'd like.

I am a big believer in the theory or saying that "to much is given, MUCH is expected". I believe it is a Biblical phrase (perhaps if anyone out there knows, that would be helpful....but alas, according to my husband, no one reads my blog, so maybe I am talking to a wall, LOL).

Barack Obama ran on that issue when it comes to healthcare. I remember pondering it and thinking about it....For everything I have been given in life (and it is a lot), shouldn't I be expected to give back? I think so. In my example, I am expected to help the newly diagnosed families, create a system for better healthcare, better education...all while raising my boys. I am totally cool with that awesome responsibility....

As we go to Martin Luther King Junior's birthday....I leave you with this thought....
"I have a dream, that one day my children will not be judged on the color of their skin, but on the strength of their character". To me, that is the epitomy of what I want for all of my boys. I want my boys (especially my oldest with autism) to be judged on who they are as humans...the good things that they do, works that they represent, NOT by what they look like (or in oldest's case, by his autism). We, as a society, can do that. I hope.....

I just hope that President-Elect Obama can continue to inspire people to do one thing. It doesn't have to be a big thing, little things count! We need a leader who will encourage us to help our neighbors and create a better sense of community.

youngest's birthday

2009-01-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, my little boy turned 4 over the weekend. He had a great day. On Friday, he took in cup cakes for his preschool (evidently, the district wide nutrition program doesn't apply to preschoolers) decorated with little Diego cup cake rings. We picked them up on Thursday and he kept running out to the van checking on them and going "Wow, those are my Diego cup cakes!".

On Friday, we picked up the Diego cake, which we promptly put into the fridge. Youngest knew he couldn't touch it and he would go in and peek and come back out and go, "Momma, it's my Diego cake!". He wore his crown from school all afternoon and went to the bus stop with me and gave his brothers a 'goodie' bag that he gave his friends at preschool.

On Saturday, we had a rolling birthday party. Because of the floods, we weren't sure who could make it. Aunt and Uncle made it in the morning and we had breakfast rolls and cup cakes. Youngest wore his crown from preschool and his Diego shirt.

In the afternoon, Nana and Papa showed up and he had another party with more singing, candle blowing, etc. Then, we went out to dinner to (obviously) Red Robin. He was so excited to have them sing to him and eat his ice cream sundae.

The good news: oldest has been so excited to have his birthday at Red Robin (typically, the song is too noisy for him). He said to me last night, "Momma, I want them at Red Robin to clap and sing 'who's birthday is it?' Brian!' to me."

LOL/LMAO

2009-01-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, I had a moment this morning....I was going through my usual yahoo news (as I do every morning in addition to my MSNBC news) and ran across a story. If I could figure out a way to publish it, I would.

Basically, it was asking the question, "Is Facebook Good for Moms?". The reporter asked a psychologist friend of hers (who was interested in this question also). The answer was, "YES!". LOL. Here's why (summarized, of course): happy moms are better moms. Moms who did something 'short' like Facebook are happy moms. Why? Because they feel connected to the world (yes, our society is isolating), especially for SAHM. The bigger issue is whether moms are doing Facebook while they should be doing something else (like engaging in a conversation with their children at dinner). Like everything in life, moderation is the key.

We'll see what hubby says after this post (and watching the interview). LOL. I have the backing of a psychologist that a happy mommy is a happy house.

SAHM

2008-12-27T01:29:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, that is an acronym of "stay at home moms". I just finished reading a book by Meredith Efkin called, "@ Home for the Holidays". This book is a series of emails or 'emails from a sahm loop' of moms who are supporting one another. I realized that this is the second book in the series, but it was a good enough stand alone.

Again, I apologize that this is a diversion from my usual stories about my boys, but it does explain a lot of things about my life. I know my blog will never be *important* or "well-read" or "popular" as my husband pointed out to me yesterday, but the purpose of my blog has never been to be any of that. It is meant for me to tell those who are closest to me about my boys and about my life. Who I am, essentially.

I am a sahm. I do so by choice. I am far from being a Martha Wannabe or a Stepford wife as you can be. My house is messy (but sanitary), my boys are well-fed and cared for. I am also not one of those "MOMS Club" moms who think that staying home with your kids is the only option. For me, it is the best option for many reasons.

I stay at home because I want to. For me (and for only me, probably), staying at home is the best option. It is so because I can't imagine going to work. Again, this is not a working mom versus stay at home mom thing. My skills are best used at home. That doesn't mean that I don't get burned out and need a break. If I said I was wonder woman I would be lying. I remember the first few years of mommyhood and I was burned out. I felt as if I had to do everything (gotta love my type-A, perfectionism). I never had a babysitter unless it was my folks those first few years. I just didn't believe in it. I believed I made the choice to stay home, so I should always take care of my children.

I have since learned how wrong that is. Not tooting my own horn, but there is a lot that had I not stayed at home, oldest would not have made the type of progress that he did had I not been home. I have learned that in order for my boys to make progress, it is a team effort. I have also learned that a rested mom is a happy mom. If mom is not rested and in 'low' stress mode, then things do not go smoothly in this house. THAT does not make me a bad mom. That makes me a realistic mom. That makes me a person who knows and accepts her limitations. That is good.

One thing that I thought was interesting is husband said that things such as Facebook and email (including email loops) are the 'worst things for housewives" (he just said this yesterday). I think these are the best things for SAHM. First of all, we have a support system. For example, I have an online support system for moms with a child on the autism spectrum. Is that a bad thing? Nope. We share ideas, give supports before IEP meetings, bounce ideas, etc. In the 'old days' this type of thing would not be available to moms like me. So, it would be better to be like it was when I first became a mom, feeling isolated and alone? No, I don't think so. Will I ever meet these people? Probably not as we are all scattered around the country. I know that if I didn't have this support system, I would probably be lost. I also have one locally. So, is the internet bad for SAHMs? No, I don't think so. What it has done is created a way for us to quickly interact with each other.

I also think that there is a 'label' that the working parent has for the SAHP (that's stay at home parent). This was briefly touched upon in my book that I just finished. What's interesting is that I know the working parent thinks that we just 'email, play on the internet and eat bon-bons" (hubby has said this, so I know that this is true and it was mentioned in the book when the SAHM became the breadwinner and the father stayed at home). I think that there is a lot of misunderstanding of what the SAHM does.

I actually consider myself a manager of my boys' schedules more than I consider myself a "homemaker' (in fact, I loathe that term). For example, I think my husband manages his subordinates, manages clients and reviews work. He'll probably tell you that he does more. What do I do as a SAHM? Well, I manage sub-ordinates (children), manage clients (teachers) and review work (of my boys' homework or of repair people/house cleaners, etc). So, my 'job' is not so far off of his job.

Why do SAHM get such little respect? That is the big question. Why do teachers get paid so little? First of all, it is a predominately female profession. As a 'typical' female profession, both have traditionally do not have respect of our society. Why is that? That is a good question. We both 'touch' the future of this country. Where would our next generation be without teachers and parents?

Now, I am not saying that you cannot be a working parent and not be involved in your child's life, but for me, it is the best option. For me, I would miss those 'little moments'. I have found something that 'fulfills' me. I know that I am lucky that I am able to stay home with my boys. I know that not every parent has that ability (financial or otherwise) to do so. Staying home means a lot of sacrifices. I realize that. I do not have my 'head in the sand' and think that every mom can do it or that the working parent does not want to stay home. However, it is also important to note that part of the SAHM's job is to support the working parent. It is also important that the working parent support the SAHM. Raising children is a team effort. I am just lucky enough to be the stay at home parent.

I also think that with my situation, it is best if I stay at home. As a parent of a special needs child, I cannot imagine getting him to the activities that he needs to go to while having a job especially since he needs routine and structure. My other two also need someone to tootle them around the place. I have become the typical 'soccer' mom in my few years of 'mommyness'.

My purpose of this blog post is not to show you, "this is what I do and my job is purposeful'. Rather, the purpose of this post is to let you into a little bit of my world. I read this book and it touched me. It was interesting how misunderstood SAHMs are in this world. I also think the working parent is also misunderstood. I think that is the new 'war' (when I had oldest it was the working mom versus stay at home mom, now I think it is the SAHM and the working parent). I don't really understand why we can't just all get along and focus our energies on raising our children to be good citizens...

"Best Christmas EVA!"

2008-12-27T01:27:00.000-08:00

Yes, that was proclaimed by youngest on Christmas day. Granted, he has only had two other Christmases and he got pink eye on Christmas day, but still "it was the best Christmas EVA!".

I think he was happy because he got three dvds of his very own (he kept declaring them "HIS") and he got his own set of "Star Wars/Clone Wars" McDonald Happy Meal toys from Santa.

Homebound Hell: Day 8

2008-12-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am in Homebound Hell. We are surrounded by a foot or two of snow. We've had snow since last Sunday (so eight days ago). The only day I have been 'out' is last Tuesday, when there was school. Other than that, I have been with my 'little darlings'. They have played in the snow, run amuck in the house (which irritates me to no end).

Over the weekend, we had a big wind storm in addition to the snow. This has created drifts or what the boys call, "hills" in our backyard and front yard. Oldest loves going in the backyard and running into the hills and making snow angels. Middle boy loves to do the same. These drifts are probably about several feet high.

When they are not running around outside, they are getting on each other's nerves inside. They do this via the game 'keep away' as in 'keep away' each other's hats, so that they have to run and get it (screaming of course) from each other. Of course, this is unacceptable in my world and they know it. In fact, last week, they had a triple time out (all three had a time out at the same time because they were just being crazy monkeys).

Today, I sort of 'hit the wall' as far as being in the house so much. It's not that I don't love spending time with my boys, it's that I have had too much togetherness. Usually, I just send them outside, but we can't with all of this snow.

I am trying to find the joy in this situation. I know that it is a rare chance to spend just a few moments with my boys. I know that it is a rare opportunity to do something just as a family. Unfortunately, I am a little tired and having trouble with that. I am also having trouble trying to do 'the perfect' Christmas. Not that Christmas has to be 'perfect', but that things are changing and it is hard to not necessarily 'meet' the expectation, but to not be too disappointed.

I know that family is what is most important at this time of year, so I am trying to focus on that. I do have a wonderful life and I am grateful for that everyday. I just need to focus on that 'little' bit of optimism and make it grow like I usually do.

Sorry this entry is a little downer. I hope you all hold those dear to you a little closer. They may make you nuts, but isn't that good? That means that you love them.

Another Snow Day!

2008-12-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

This morning, our district cancelled school because of the threatened snow storm (or as the television stations have been calling it, "Arctic Blast").

As the snow began to fall, the boys were very excited. Youngest kept asking me, "is it Christmas, yet?". I think he associates Christmas with snow, which is very smart of him.

About 11 a.m., oldest came in from being outside and said, "Momma, I lay down like this (and he laid down on the ground) and move your arms like this (as he was making a snow angel motions)". I asked him, "who taught you that?". He told me it was his OT and his ST (I am not quite sure which).

Then, middle boy and youngest decided that it would be fun if THEY did it. So, they bundled up themselves and headed outside and made snow angels. Oldest had fun showing the others how to do it. And, they did.

I must be speaking Farsi...that's the only explanation

2008-12-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

I am convinced I must consistently be speaking a foreign language so foreign to my boys that is why they don't understand me.

Consistently, my youngest feels the need to jump on the sofa. I keep it simple, "no jumping on the sofa". It must be coming out in some foreign language because he still doesn't get it.

Today, our second snow day was the worst for my six year old. He was bored (that is the only other plausible explanation) and I told him to "leave his brothers alone" and "not to touch his brothers". He told me he understood. He even nodded, 'yes' and said that he understood what I said. I must be speaking Farsi because he didn't understand. As a result, his terribly expensive glasses got broken because he was 'teasing' oldest and decided to keep his favorite Dash hat. As a result, oldest pulled his glasses down and bent them. With him, I do see military school in his future if he doesn't change his attitude. I thought I was at least 6 years away from the 'teenage attitude'.

If anyone can teach me plain English, that would be helpful so they could understand.

Catch up, again!

2008-12-14T19:51:00.000-08:00

Of course, it is December and things are busy, busy, busy. So, I will try to catch you up on the latest goofy antics of my boys.

A few weeks ago, youngest had a cool idea for Mommy to play light sabers and dinosaurs. What does this entail? Well, youngest lines up his dinosaurs while Mommy and youngest take the light sabers and knock all of the dinosaurs down. This conflicts me on two levels: first of all, there weren't light sabers during the dinosaur times. I know, it is a technicality. Secondly, it is a little violent. I do let the boys play light sabers, only because it isn't guns or looks like a real gun.

Today was the Christmas pageant and our church. Middle boy was in it last year. I felt as a good board member of the youth advisory board, I should have at least one child in the play. Oldest couldn't handle it, youngest would have goofed off and middle son said he didn't want to do it. So, here I am, the Sunday School representative (the Sunday School put on the play) and I have no one in the play. I am a bad member of the board. The redeeming thing is on the way out, middle boy said to our Pastor and the Family Minister "Merry Christmas' without balking and said it in a booming voice.

The other day, I went in to work in middle son's 1st grade class. The teacher (who knows that I used to be a teacher) had me helping the groups with their reading (they switch rooms for reading class, so some of the students are not in her class). I realized that I haven't been out of the teaching profession WAY too long. The kids she has are the slightly below grade level kids. I am convinced there are a couple with special needs. I did my best to teach them something 'a different way' to help them understand how to do their work.

Decorating the Christmas tree

2008-11-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe that here we are on November 30th, we are decorating the Christmas tree...It's not even December!

Hubby took the three boys to the boy scout lot (we have to support the boy scouts, with middle and oldest being cub scouts!) in our town. They came home with a beautiful tree....hubby had already gotten out of the ornaments, so he was ready to lead the way....

When they got home, they took the 'traditional' picture with the Christmas tree (in front of the minivan on the street) with all four boys. Then, we got the tree in the house, got the tree in the tree stand and hubby put the lights on the tree and the whole family got involved putting ornaments on the tree.

We have a tradition of getting an ornament of something that they have done this year. So, obviously, youngest has the fewest ornaments (some years, the boys have gotten more than one). He was the most enthusiastic of all. He wanted to put all of the ornaments on the tree if he could. Middle boy helped youngest put the hooks on the ornaments that didn't have them and let youngest put some of his ornaments on the tree. Oldest got into it all and had a great time putting his Pixar ornaments on the tree (usually, he doesn't let us do this).

Our tree looks beautiful, although, there are a couple of spots that you can tell that youngest put the ornaments on the tree (they are close to the bottom), but that is okay. Middle boy tried to put most of his "Star Wars' ornaments up so youngest couldn't reach them.

Conference #2

2008-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

Conference #2 (for middle boy) went really well. He is excelling in all areas (developing in writing, but we knew that). His teacher asked if someone in his family is good at Math and, of course, hubby is. Middle boy loves to do Math about money....again, go figure...

What was even funnier was that his teacher on the way out said to me, "You should be a teacher, you have such a kind spirit". Had to let the cat out of the bag on that one (actually, hubby did).

I typically get a daily update on youngest, but his teacher did say that he has changed a LOT since last Spring. So, that is good.

All in all, all of the teachers love my boys. That is an improvement from this time last year (even my friends have noticed a difference in me!). Makes me realize how bad things were last year.

This year, I am grateful for all of the wonderful teachers!

Whoo hoo!!!

Conference Season is Upon Us

2008-11-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year when we have conferences with the boys' teachers. Tonight, we had a conference with oldest boys' teachers. This is always a nerve-racking experience because it is with his special education teacher and his 'regular' teacher.

We learned a lot about oldest. He is doing really well, he has adjusted really well. They are very pleased with him socially, academically and behaviorally. He still seems to have a small amount of 'learned helplessness'.

We also learned that his special education teacher has 'connected' with him. She allows him to add his 'Pixar' contributions and be okay with it. For example, she wants him to do calendar...if he is good, she'll let him mention that on November 18th "Wall-E" comes out (and how many days until that).

Time Waster?

2008-11-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

I know this blog is supposed to be about my boys, but today, I am going to take a pause and post about me. I have found a new way to spend my time. No, it's not Facebook (although, that is my second biggest time waster in my world, that's how I communicate with all of my MOMS club moms these days). No, it is called being a member of the ad-hoc sub-committee of my citizens advisory board. I don't even get a title. I am a non-member of the sub-committee of the citizens advisory board of my local school district.

I got this job because I was talking to a neighbor of mine at the back to school breakfast for my development. I was telling her how happy I was that oldest boy was attending the 'local' school again (he was moved to another school last year) and how our district moves the special needs kids. I wasn't even complaining. We got to talking and turns out she is a member of the citizens advisory council (they report to the school board) and she has taken on the cause of not only the boundary changes (her main cause for getting on the council), but something about the special education program really hit her. She also got another cause of the alternative high school from another neighbor.

Evidently, at the last meeting, they got to talking about special education and another member got interested, also (so, two out of the 20 members). Of course, boundary issues were also a huge issue, but so did special education. Our district is known (in a good way) for its special education programs. However, there has been some issues with the growing needs of our district for special education.

So, I have been spending my time either connecting up with other people in different programs (which I have learned a lot that we all don't really know what goes on in other segments of special education or understand the others' programs) and explaining the different programs to these two council members.

I guess it is not really a time waster...I am working for the children of the structured inclusion program and the special needs kids at large. It has been an interesting experience (in a good way). I have found we have a lot more advocates than I thought we had (we are all good advocates in our own individual right, but there are a lot of 'typical' kids' parents who really support special education (yey!). This has also been good for me this week because I have been sick, so I sit on my computer and explain to others the various programs, answer emails, provide answers, etc. I guess it really isn't a 'time waster' as much as I think it probably is. I am serving as PR person for special education and contact person for others who have children in special education.

I still would like a title, though :).

Election Day

2008-11-04T15:00:00.001-08:00

Today is the big election day in the country, but yesterday the two older boys voted at their school. Middle boy's chant is "I want Obama, not my Momma" (his Momma doesn't want to be president, either!). Even oldest boy voted (which I think surprised his para-pros, but he did). He said he voted for Obama.

Barack book

2008-11-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

Tonight, my middle boy chose the book, Barack, for his night time story. It was an interesting biography about Senator Obama. In part of it, it said that Senator Obama stood, where Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his speech, "I have a dream that my four children will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character". That is always my favorite quote mainly because I want my oldest not to be judged by his autism, but by who he is. Obviously, I want that also for my other two.

Sorry for the serious tone of the last couple of posts. This election is getting to me, I guess. I am in a constant state of prayer for this country and for God to give us all the wisdom as we vote in this election.

Barack Obama

2008-11-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am trying not to make this a political blog...but today, a favorite great aunt and uncle gave my boys a book entitled, "Barack". Needless to say, that middle boy inhaled some air when he saw the book. He was so taken, he had to sit next to it on the car ride home. His eyes lit up and he has claimed it as his own.

Halloween

2008-11-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween came without a hitch. Middle boy had a 'hibernation' day at school. They got to wear their pajamas to school and take a favorite teddy bear. They rotated classrooms and had different stations in each classroom to do activities related to their study of bears (polar bears, grizzly bears and brown bears). Middle boy loved it. Youngest was trained on the fine art of 'trick or treating" (knock on door, say 'trick or treat", get candy and say 'thank you"). The one thing we forgot to ingrain in head was that he needed to walk a little faster to keep up with oldest and middle boy.

Halloween

2008-10-29T19:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are two days away from the 'big day'. I have costumes ready, candy ready, but most of all, the buckets are found and put in a place that is easily accessible. Yes, I know it is weird, but they each have a bucket. Unfortunately, they are from last year (hey, I invested about $4 a pop on them, they have to last more than one year!) and match their last year's costume, except for middle boys'. Middle boys' bucket is a Darth Vader....his costume? Darth Vader. Oldest's bucket is a CARS-the movie (he was Lightening McQueen from the movie), but he is satisfied with it (this year's costume is Wall-E). They are both Pixar-right? Youngest is going to be the most random...he has a Thomas the Train bucket (he was Thomas last year). Much to my chagrin (I was THIS close to having him be Thomas again), he wanted a Diego (from "Go, Diego, Go") costume. He's happy though with his Thomas bucket.....

The Virtues of HSM

2008-10-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I last posted (life is busy, you know!).

For something completely different, I thought I would post about HSM (for those of you who have been living under a rock, that is "High School Musical").

HSM is a story that was originally a Disney Channel movie aimed at the 'tweenies'. It has since been branched out to merchandise (dolls, clothes, etc), ice show, broadway play (yes, "HSM-The Musical") and many, many more forums. If Disney can dream it, it will be done.

It is the story of a boy (Troy, a basketball star) and a girl (Gabriella, the genius) who meet at a ski lodge new year's eve. Turns out (surprise) that Gabriella is moving to Albuquerque and is going to Troy's school after Winter Break. They reconnect and try out for the high school musical, but their friends all pooh-pooh them because Gabriella is a genius and Troy is the star basketball player and why would they ever want to do the drama thing? Bottom line is that they try to conform to peer pressure and not 'want' to be in the musical. In the end, they also 'fall in like" (they don't kiss until HSM 2 and that is all they do). The moral of the story is to do your own thing, without peer pressure.

Along the way, they unite their friends (of course). They also sing, dance, have amazing chorographed numbers and learn about what 'THEY" want.

Of course, there is the 'evil' character (although, Sharpay is not so 'evil' even by Disney standards, she does join in with them singing and dancing). She does try to undermine Gabriella because she wants the musical to herself (and Troy, too).

My question is...isn't the moral what we all want for our kids, to listen to their hearts and find their own way? In HSM-1, even my 6 year old picked up on the line that Troy's dad said (at the last moment of the state championship), "I want you to have fun". Isn't that what we all want for our kids? To find something that they enjoy and have fun?

Yes, it is cheesy, but who cares. There was not a single person (including myself and my mom) when I saw the musical (which was my introduction to HSM) that wasn't singing and clapping their hands. Yes, my husband did inopportune giggles during HSM 3, but it WAS full of cheese.

Final thought: Besides all of that cheese, the best part of HSM is that it brought my boys together with me. We watched HSM and HSM 3 together. We all enjoyed it. Oldest was singing and dancing during HSM 3 at the theater (he had seen the videos online and knew ALL of the words). It's something that has allowed him to be on the same level as his peers (okay, the girls, but that is fine). I wish I had had a videotape recorder and could have recorded it. I haven't seen him so happy and giggly like that in a long time. He had such a great time.

Middle boy growing up....

2008-10-19T14:57:00.001-07:00

First, I must give you some background. Oldest boy is in cub scouts (primarily to help him with social skills with 'typical' kids), but we have found that cub scouts is a great organization and that middle boy would probably love it, too.

So, we signed up middle boy, too (so, now we have TWO boys in the same pack: oldest is a 'bear' and middle boy is a tiger cub). All I can say is that cub scouts is made for middle boy. He attended his first 'pack' (all levels of boys) meeting on Wednesday. He came home 'pumped' up for cub scouts. He is eager to earn as many badges as he can. If he could have slept with his tiger cub book, he would have (he took it to church today and read it during the service).

Yesterday was his first event. He and his den went to the World Forestry Center in Portland. They rode the MAX train in and visited the center. He had a blast. Afterwards, he went to lunch with his new friends (including a new friend in our development!). Then, he went to the cub scouts store and purchased his uniform.

Today, he went to our local Fred Meyer (a grocery store), suited up and sold popcorn (the fundraiser. I can't tell you how handsome he looked in his new uniform. I almost cried. He looked so grown up and handsome. He had a grin from ear to ear in his new uniform.

All we have heard for the past five days is, "how do I earn a patch?". He is so highly motivated to earn patches (I may be able to get him to do more chores for me, remember, a cub scout is a helper around the house!).

Oldest boy is also motivated. He saw middle boy in his uniform and really enjoyed it. This happened recently, when middle boy was learning the same stroke as oldest in swim lessons. It really motivated oldest to push himself a little further to achieve the goal.