The Last Few Weeks

I hate that I can't seem to keep up on this blog. I'm gonna do it again...give some quick run downs from the last few weeks:

• At work I've been "assigned" to work with a student who moved from Mexico just a week or so ago.  He doesn't speak a word of English, and I just happen to not speak a word of Spanish, so it's been interesting.  I REALLY like working with him though!  It's fun to work one on one with the students...something I didn't know I would like, but have found that I LOVE.

• Clay has been working his butt off trying to not take a day off work for the rest of the year.  If he doesn't, he'll get a free phone from Verizon....and of course, there's a new phone coming out, so he's hoping!  He's been sick though and had to come home early last night, but he's planning to make up the 4 hours so he'll still be on track.  The things that motivate us!

• Buddy Boy has had his FIRST THREE successes going POOP in the toilet!!  It's definitely not consistent, but it's something.  He's very excited when he has a success and he yells to the world (seriously, outside while other adults stare, chuckle, and yes, even glare), "MOM, I went POOP in the TOILET!!!"

• Munchkin got her first "report card"/progress report from school, and her overall grade is 98%.  We're so proud of her!  She got 100% in all areas except reading comprehension, and she got 97% in that, so we're thrilled with how well she's doing.

• I did a 2-hour filming project with the church a couple of weeks back...it was a segment for the Mormon Messages.  It was a lot of fun, but I learned something about myself: I'm a terrible actor when it comes to lovey dovey scenes. :-)

• Our family received an Ipad2 from a friend!!!  This gal, our Autism Angel, wanted Buddy Boy to have another tool to help him, and because she's had so much success with her child, she knew it would bless Buddy Boy as well.  I bawled for a full day!  We are still in shock over the generosity and love of this Angel, and it's awesome to see how loved that Ipad is, and how much use we're already getting from it.

• Our ward did the Primary Presentation, and both kids did a great job.  It still amazes me to think that last year it was a miracle that Buddy Boy could even talk, and now he's rattling off primary parts without hesitation.  I can't believe how far he's come.  My verbal baby!!

• Munchkin has been very hard at work on her Craft Blog. She's done probably a dozen or so crafts, but we got behind on posting them.  We'll be working hard to catch up before Halloween!

Until next time,

Top Five Reasons You Should NEVER Piss Off An Autism Mom

I came across this list of the Top 5 Reasons You Should Never Piss Off an Autism Mom.  I see a lot of fun write ups like this all the time, but I’ve NEVER found one that I could relate to so completely!  It’s hilarious and sadly, so, so true!  I’ve edited out some of the cussing just because I don’t want to offend anyone, but if you’d like to read the original post, you can do so HERE. (The words that are italicized are the only edits I made)

Enjoy!

Top Five Reasons You Should Never Piss Off An Autism Mom

We’ve all been there.  Every autism mom has had at least one encounter with some insensitive punk who insulted our children or criticized our parenting.  It might have been the perfectly groomed soccer mom who said your child was merely spoiled, or maybe the old biddy that told you to take your screaming kid outside even though you were already dragging him out the door in a Fireman Carry, or maybe just some random mean guy who muttered, “This is why I hate kids” under his breath while your child happily flapped past him.
Usually we just have to mention “autism” and the critics slink away, embarrassed and with their tails between their legs, but every now and then you meet somebody who is such a huge butthole they don’t care if your kid is autistic, they just care that your child’s noise/stim/existence is annoying to them, and they don’t hesitate to tell you about how obnoxious your child is and what a terrible job you’re doing raising him.
Sometimes their callousness shocks us silent, and we sit in the car afterward, thinking of all the retorts we could have made.  Sometimes we take the higher ground and walk away, and sometimes we dig in and defend ourselves. (And sometimes we defend ourselves loudly and with many obscenities, but that witch in the bookstore deserved it!)
These people who attack us are horrible because they have no empathy.  They’re shallow people who probably lead miserable lives devoid of depth and meaning.  They need to learn compassion and respect, but mostly they need to learn to fear us, because autism moms are not to be trifled with.
Top Five Reasons You Should Never Piss Off an Autism Mom
Five.  We’re Already on the Defensive
What?  You think you’re the first person to think I’m a bad mother? Get in line.  People have been assuming I’m a bad mother for the last five years.  I chew up people who think I’m a bad parent for breakfast. You think there’s something wrong with my kid?  No kidding, Sherlock – this panel of physicians and psychologists agrees with you.  Tell us something we don’t know.  Have something new and clever to add?  No? NO?  I didn’t think so…
In other words, we have experience with buttholes like you.
Four.  We Are Not Socially Well-Adjusted
We were real people once, and we will be real people again someday, but right now we’re living on the fringe of polite society.  We have cut ties and discarded the family and friends who couldn’t handle our situation.  We all suffer from severe PTSD. Our houses are messy, our surfaces are sticky, and we know the words to way too many Wiggles songs. We clean up disasters that you couldn’t even begin to contemplate.  We live in semi-isolation, trying to have philosophical conversations with children who only know 18 words.  We wear yoga pants all day. Our lives are not like other people’s lives. Do you really want to make us angry? Or do you want to give us a really really wide berth and back away slowly because you’re scared of what we might do if we snap?  Yes.  Good choice.
Three. We Know How to Fight
Autism moms know how to fight because we practice. We fight all day long.  We fight with doctors about treatment, and then we fight with insurance companies to get it paid for.  We fight with the state over services and we fight with schools about our IEPs.  We fight with our families who won’t come to visit us anymore and we fight with our husbands to let off steam from all the other fighting we’re constantly doing.  We fight with our children to make them keep their pants on in public.   Do you think for a second that we would hesitate to fight with a complete stranger who was totally asking for it?
Two.  We’re Already Angry
Autism moms carry huge amounts of unprocessed rage just below the surface.  We’re mad at god or the universe or fate or whatever it is out there that gave our children autism.  We are furious at the cards we were dealt and indignant that such a horrible thing had to happen to our children.  We are angry about the loss of the child we were supposed to have, and we never truly stop mourning.  We’re angry at the doctors who didn’t catch it early enough and also at the doctors who did.  We hold a grudge against anybody who ever failed us as we tried to make sense of this chaos, and we’re also furious at ourselves, because we constantly feel like we’re not doing enough to help and we’re secretly afraid that it might somehow be our fault in the first place.  We are already walking bundles of resentment…do you want to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back?
One. We’re Sleep Deprived
Some of us haven’t had a good night’s sleep in years. Between the stress, depression, anxiety, and the kid who wakes up screaming for popsicles at 3 a.m., we’re all beyond exhausted.  We’re muddled and short-tempered and irrational and crazy.  Like ax murderer crazy. Like Mel Gibson crazy. There are all sorts of studies linking sleep deprivation to psychosis and that would probably hold up in court if I decided to assault you.  Keep that in mind the next time you fail to keep your opinions to yourself, and beware the autism mom.

September's Transitioning

September was a month of transition.  I don't think we've successfully transitioned yet, but hopefully soon. 

Of course, September tends to be a transition for most families, as kids start school, so I know we're not unique in that.  I'm still gonna share our new schedule, cause hey, it's a big deal to me!

I got a new job in September, and that has been an ADJUSTMENT.  Munchkin started school, joined the after school program for 3 days, and is also enjoying a SIBS of Autism program on Fridays.  Buddy Boy started school and is adjusting well to riding the bus.  We've had two fundraisers so far, one Walk to School Day complete with news interviews, a few PTA and Community Council meetings, one carnival to attend, a lunch date for the grown ups (talk about an adjustment...I don't know the last time we did a date!), etc, etc.  Life as we know it.  September was also the first full month of me eating gluten-free, and although I can feel the difference, it still sucks! 

Okay, so...new job:
     - I started a part-time job working as a Para Educator for 6th grade students at a local elementary school.  Wish is was the school Munchkin was at, but alas, it's not.  My very first day involved saving a student from another student attacking them with a chair, a wrestling match with a substitute teacher and a student, the police being called in, the substitute being hauled off for touching the student, and me being put in charge of the entire class while we waited for a new sub.  I won't lie, I was tempted to quit right then.  Thankfully, the 8 days since then have been much more calm, although there were also incidents involving students trying to stab each other, graphic pictures drawn by students being confiscated, and lots of cussing by kids.  One highlight of the new job is running into a teacher who I recognized...because she was MY teacher from FIRST GRADE!!!  That was pretty flippin' cool!

Munchkin stuff:

     - Munchkin signed up for a "Glee for Me" after school class, a class introducing kids to the performing arts.  The after school staff kept putting her in different classes, and so it took awhile to get it straightened out, and there were tears for the first two weeks.  It eventually was fixed, and now she loves going to after school class!  Last Friday she started attending a Sibs of Autism group, held at Buddy Boy's school.  She has made a lot of friends, and we hope she'll enjoy the social time, the fun, and the opportunity to finally not be the only kid who has a brother with a disability.  She's loving 3rd grade and her teacher is AWESOME.

Buddy Boy stuff:  

     - Buddy Boy has been working on being potty trained for a year now.  He pees in the toilet, but has refused to sit on the toilet and poop  We couldn't figure out why, since he had started potty training sitting.  Turns out the school stopped having him sit, cause it was faster for them to have him stand.  We expressed concern and asked for their help in having him sit on the toilet at school, to reinforce what he was doing at home.  Because he never had a poopy accident at school, they weren't willing.  So we were very, very proud of him when he had two huge poopy accidents at school, ha ha!!!  And what a shocker, the next day his teachers contacted me letting me know that they agreed with me and that they would be helping to reinforce sitting on the toilet and trying to poop in it.  Go Buddy Boy!!  He's loving school and while playing he'll suddenly burst out into song, singing stuff from High School Musical, Justin Bieber, Plain White T's and Bruno Mars.  I'm constantly hearing how cute it is.  He has started saying "I'm so glad to see you!" every time time he gets off the bus.

Other stuff:

     - I was put in charge of decorations for a Walk to School Day happening at Munchkin's school.  Two local news stations came and the kids were all pretty excited about it.   I've been involved with the PTA and Community Council.  We went to the Sahara Cares Carnival for Autism on the 17th, and they did such a great job!  Buddy Boy started having meltdowns about 2 hours into it though, so we had to leave early.  It was fun while it lasted.

Gluten free:  
     - I thought that once I ate gluten free, I'd feel better.  It's crazy, because although there is definite improvement in some areas, there are other issues that have not gotten one bit better.  All the digestive troubles I've had for years are still here, except for the bloating.  I'm SO glad to have that gone!  My migraines have disappeared too. My stomach cramping has not gone away, but it's definitely a LOT less severe.  Going out to eat is practically non existent for me now, but that's probably a good thing anyway.:-)

Clay stuff:
     - So as to not leave Clay out, I'll be sure to share with you that there has not been much new going on with him. :-)  He's been helping his mom "move", but that isn't even news, since it's been going on for a year!  He's really excited for the new year to start so that he'll get an extra week of vacation at work. That'll be nice!