Friday, September 28, 2007

It's Done!!


my paper is done
ten whole pages are written
my brain is sore now

literacy and
the factors that impede it
in the preschool years

now to print it out
turn it in at class tonight
a day early too!

noon on a Friday
all school work is completed
what shall I do now?

cook some mac-n-cheese
eat and catch up on some blogs
they're so addicting!

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Haiku Friday


Catch up on blogs or
Write paper due tomorrow
Choices, ugh, choices

I don’t like papers
I must motivate myself
Write, write, write, write, write

It will soon be done
Then I can enjoy my day
And catch up on blogs

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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Christmas?!?

Dear Retailers,

Is it asking too much that we get thru at least September before we start seeing Christmas stuff up on the shelves? Can we have, umm, I dunno, Halloween stuff staring us in the face when we walk in since, umm, I dunno, that's the next holiday to get excited about?

Sincerely,
Someone who would like to enjoy and get all caught up in the holidays, ONE holiday at a time

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Monday, September 24, 2007

Happy Birthday, My Baby


Today my Son is 9. Wow. 9 years old.

He has informed me that as of today I can no longer call him My Baby. But no matter how old he is he'll always by my baby.

For each day for 9 years (and 9 months before that) I have kissed, loved, held and nurtured him. I find it truly amazing how each day is so perfectly wonderful, yet each day is more perfectly wonderful than the one before as he continues to grow into an amazing person.


Happy 9th Birthday, My Baby

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Friday, September 21, 2007

To Clean Or Not To Clean, That Is The Question.....

I have a house to clean. I have a 10 page paper to write. I have some baking to do. I have clutter to organize. There are loads of laundry to do. And you know what? I do not feel like doing one bit of it. I want to curl up and watch TV (what is it about TLC that is so addicting?!?) or read a book or surf the net. But then I feel guilty. I have stuff that NEEDS to get done. But I just can't motivate myself to do it. But I should get it all done. Then I can enjoy my weekend with no 'chores'. Then I won't be trying to work on a 10 page paper while also starting a new job next week. But I just don't feel like getting off the couch today.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I Got It

The job. The one I really, really, really wanted. It was confirmed this morning. I was pretty sure I got it. The interview started with 'Well, you are everything we are looking for!" But I didn't want to jinx it. I'm basically Super Nanny for families with a child on the Autism Spectrum. I'll go into their homes and help them out with whatever help they need - behavior plans, schedules, strategies, etc. I'll also be participating in any school meetings. I'm the parents cheerleader and advocate. I'm the child's advocate. Just because you have a child on the spectrum doesn't mean you get the handbook to go with it. I can't think of anything more rewarding than helping families to be families. Enjoy going to the park. Being able to run to the grocery store for that one item you ran out off and it just can't wait till the next day. Being able to sit down and have dinner. Most of the work will be from my house with weekly visits to in their home to model. Hours are set by me, and I can pick up as many or as few families as I want at a time.
I'm sooo excited right now!!!

In other news Son had a playdate this past Monday. It went great. Lots of give and take. Both boys had fun. But then it took Son 5 hours to do his 40 minutes of homework, eat dinner, shower, and feed the Gecko. Will have to work on post-playdate stuff now.

And yes, we did have a night to ourselves. Son had the best time at my sisters. He and my brother-in-law stayed up till 1am playing videogames. And me - I missed him. A lot. It just wasn't the same not having him tucked in his bed at the end of the hall. I had 2 dreams that I had lost him while we were out in public. Maybe now that I know he had a good time I'll be better the next time.

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Thursday, September 13, 2007

Pointers For An Interview

Pointers from Son for my interview this morning:

Son, "Mom, you do know what the two most important things are, right?"
Me, "No, what do you think they are?"
Son, "Well, first of all, be polite. And second of all, remember your eye contact."
Me, "Thanks. You're right - those are both very important. I'll be sure to remember those!"

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Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Rain Can Be A Good Thing Sometimes

I have an interview folks!! And I really, really, really hope it goes well, because it's for something I think I'd really enjoy doing. There is a private school for special ed kids (it's mostly for contract services - the county pays the tuition) but also some parents elect to send their kids there on their own and foot the bill. They are looking for an Autism Spectrum Specialist to provide in-home consultation. It's part time - I pick up as many families/cases as I want and set my own hours with the families. Part of the school is a large home support component, however their social workers do not have much experience in autism, which is a growing population in their school.

And, while I was on the phone with the lady from the school, another job prospect called. I had applied for Educational Coordinator at the Children's Hospital (psych unit). Basically coordinating IEP's of kids coming (short term or long term) into or out of the hospital with their base school. But unfortunately job sharing isn't an option, and the hours are 7:30-4:30 so I would need daycare before and after school. Not an option. But that person said he would keep my resume on file and get back to me if something else came up or if by luck someone else wanted to job share along with me.

Both positions would great - totally in my field of experience and totally out of the classroom doing direct teaching.

And, last night at Back to School Night, Son's teacher didn't need to talk to me about anything with son!!!

And, I signed up to be Room Mother. I'm already chairing one of the PTA committees (see why part time AND flexible is needed?).

Wow, when it rains, it pours. And speaking off, it is. Which means although my grass won't be yellow anymore, I"ll need to cut it soon :(

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Monday, September 10, 2007

Umm, opps....

Oops. It's been a while. Oops. Really didn't mean for that to happen. Son started school last week. Figured that would make for a good post. But nope. Not really. He likes school, or rather he loves school. He's in the best mood in the morning and when I pick him up. He gets his homework done right away (4th grade seems to be a completely different ball game - reading, math and writing assignments from day 1!!). No major meltdowns (where is some wood to knock on?!?). Now, don't get me wrong it hasn't been absolutely perfect. But it sure has been nice. Best start to a school year we've had so far.

On the 3rd morning he said he didn't want to go because it was all so overwhelming to be with so many people. And I thought about it. He's right. He's stuck in a room for 6ish hours with 25 other people right next to him being told what to do all day long. When he does leave the room there are other groups of 25ish people walking around in the hallways with him. Recess - the whole grade - probably 150 kids. Lunch - the same thing. For all that working people complain of having cubicles instead of offices, at least they have SPACE - even if it's not much, it's still space. That got me to pondering about how we expect kids to function like this and learn. No major thoughts on it - but got me to pondering about it.

The afternoons have been pretty good. We stop at the playground across the street from the school before heading home. There is a tire swing (he loves a good long spin) and the thing where you hang on this thing with your hands and you're feet don't touch the ground and it glides you across. At home we're seeing a lot more stemming. He repeats things a lot more and for longer times. He spends more time in the basement (which has a ball pool, trampoline, futon music, loud music of his choice and some other sensory stuff). He's tried playing a few times with the neighborhood kids, but hasn't been that interested and has been a little moody with them. But he says he thinks he'll be ready for some play dates in the afternoon next week. Weekend was nice - he played with neighborhood kids, slept in, played Playstation, read, took some Tae Kwon Do classes and played with his cousin. Normal kid stuff :)

I have no idea how he has been doing at school - academically or socially. Tonight is Back To School night. Although not a time for conferencing hopefully I'll get a chance to ask for a quick update. On the other hand, his teacher hasn't contacted me, so no news is good news right?

As for me, I'm just chugging along with my assignments for class. It's a full 3 credit grad level class, but it's 8 weeks long instead of 16. I'm taking 2 this semester, but because it is 8 weeks, there is only 1 class at a time. And wow is it moving at a fast pace! But I'm loving it. A lot. House projects that have been put on hold for way too long are getting done. Cleaned out our storage area and found some boxes that haven't been opened since we moved here (um, like 5 years ago?). I do need to say it's been really weird not doing work. I've never not worked - started in high school, put myself thru college and have continued ever since. I miss it because of the money (lets be honest) and the adult interaction. But on the other hand, it's been really really quiet here during the day and I'm not minding the free time to read, surf the net and just get caught up on things. Son and Husband are loving that it's just me after 3:30 - no planning, grading, making stuff for school (most curriculum for low incidence students is hand made). I too, am really enjoying it. I feel spoiled. I feel guilty.

On a completely different topic I think Husband and I are going to finally have a night on our own. For various reasons we've just haven't done this yet. But I think I'm ready. Actually that's not true. Twice last year Son went to sleep over. But I didn't sleep all night wondering how he was, if we were going to get a call, etc. So, I don't really count that as a night on our own. Yea it was, but we certainly didn't take advantage of it like we should have. But I think this weekend we are. My sister who lives in the area now has a kid of her own. She has offered to take my Son for a night. And I'm surprisingly ok with it. And Son is ok with it. He loves hanging out with my brother-in-law playing video games. Husband has been ok with it for quite a while. So I think this weekend we are going to take her up on the offer and send him there and have a real night alone. A movie out. A nice dinner out. Back home to a kid-free house. Some parents do this often, some never. My sister has spent quite a few nights away from my niece (some social out of town stuff, some business). It's amazed me how she was able to do this from the start. If you've ever had a night without your child, how did you come to the decision? Was it a tough one or a no-brainer?

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Sunday, September 2, 2007

A Time For Reflection

I was never one for making New Year's Resolutions and reflecting on the past year on New Years. It never made sense to me. Yea, it was a new calendar year, but nothing else was beginning new. To me, the week before school starts is a time of reflection. As a teacher and parent, that to me is a new beginning. A time to reflect on how much my son has grown over the past year, to wonder again where the time has gone.

School starts for Son on Tuesday, so this past weekend I've been doing a lot of reflecting. A lot has changed in the past year. Last year was the best school year for him academically and socially. This past summer was the best summer for him socially and maturity. For him, he loves school now. He can't wait to go back to learn, and get this - to see his friends! We went to Open House on Friday. He did well. He likes his teacher (and she is the one I was hoping for). He knows the kids in his class - by face and name. Last year was the first time he could name all the kids in his class by face. (Unlike 2 summers ago when he went to Mad Science camp and was utterly amazed that on the last day of camp when the kids all said goodbye to him - by using his name. In the car he asked how they knew his name. I told him because he had just spent 2 weeks with them and didn't he know their names? No - why would I need to know their names Mom?)

Unfortunately when we came home he paced the house for a full 30 minutes. Through the living room, dining room, kitchen, down the hallway, up to his room and back down. Repeat. 30 minutes. But after that he was fine. Husband and I need to remember that during times of transitions, or whatever he perceives as stressful it takes more for him to stay in-sync. We need to remember to give him time to pace, bounce, whatever it takes. We try not to put extra demands on him, stay calm and patient - model it. I'm noticing more sensory issues this weekend, but so far he isn't regressing big time - just little stuff here and there. I need to remember the first week or two of school he's going to need his space and time here and there. But, if he has a successful transition he'll remember it as such. Next September he'll still be anxious, but hopefully not as much.

This year has been a huge 2 steps forward with small steps backwards. I'm so proud of him. I'm proud of my husband and I for working together to help him be successful. He's definitely on the Spectrum. He'll always be. But unlike previous years, this weekend of reflection has been peaceful and positive. Here's to another year (even though it's not New Years)!

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