Random Updates

It has been a while since I (Clay) have done an update on the blog. There has been a lot going on lately, so I thought I would finally give an update. Evelyn has been working at Munchkin's school, and she seems to really enjoy it. One down side is getting to know really what happens at schools. There are a few disabled kids at the school and she sees how they are constantly picked on. Kids will tease and tease until the disabled kids has a blow up, the bullies act like they are doing nothing and the disabled kids get in trouble for having a "blow up." Evelyn knows about their tricks and cracks down on their teasing, but it makes us worried about Buddy Boy's schooling future. This is his second year at Pingree, so next year he will be in Kindergarten. We met with a person from Granite School who is in charge of placing disabled kids into their program. According to her they have two types. Normal, or disabled. She observed Buddy and said he would go into the "Normal" category. The trial period is Kindergarten in case there was an incorrect placement. He has made a lot of progress that we are very happy about, but we notice he has more to go. Evelyn submitted Buddy Boy for Spectrum Academy. There is a lottery, and you have to hope for the best. We felt like we won the lottery when we found out he was accepted. It will be a little of a drive to go to Bountiful every day, but well worth it. We took a tour of the school and Munchkin said she wanted to go there as well. They take 30% "normal" kids to help role model. We will have to see what happens with that.

 We finally decided Buddy Boy should have his own bed and room.  We tried to make it as exciting as possible for him.  Got a new bed with drawers,  and a soft mattress.  The first week was a little tough.  He would make it through the night 50% of the time.  It is now week #3, and last week he made it every night but one.  He has been complaining that he doesn't like his new room, but he does not like change. 

Munchkin has been up to her usual playful self.  She has been wanting to go on hikes and explore the world.  While it has been cold we would have a nature walk on the canal drive, then to the park.  She has explored a blown down tree and calls it "Old Finger Bone."






On our latest hike,  Buddy Boy had a meltdown in the car, and out of frustration she said she wished he was normal.  Trying to find a positive outlook I mentioned how he follows her and obeys her especially when she plays school with him.  Munchkin will pretend she is the teacher and teaches Buddy.  She will read him books and do spelling and math and any subject that comes to her mind.  He loves being taught by his big sister.

Teaching him dancing and drawing below.

Easter was a couple weeks ago.  Kids had a blast.  Munchkin had a cold, so she wasn't able to go to church.   At church the primary kids sang a song, and I encouraged Buddy to go, but he didn't want to.  I'm sure if Munchkin was there he would have followed her up.   As the kids started to sing he then said he wanted to go sing, but by then it was too late.  A major meltdown then came after.   Here is a picture of their new Easter clothes.

On my end,  my work is changing to be a business department,  which normally would be good, but my schedule will change which means problems for Evelyn to keep her job.  At least they were able to get me the ultimate phone Droid Razr Maxx.  ~Clay

5 Good Things

Five good things about last week:

• Going running for the 1st time in years.  (Yes, YEARS)

• No more cold, flu, or strep throat!!

• Doing a photo shoot for a Deseret Industries promo, and the director telling me how nice it was for him to work with someone like me, a professional model!  Oops, guess the joke's on him!

• The kids enjoying a hike at the Rocky Mouth Trail. 

• Breathing in the sweet scent of apple blossoms first thing in the morning.

Happy Autism Awareness Month!

So, April is Autism Awareness Month.  More specifically, April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day.  Blue has become the color associated with this day.  I don't typically expect people outside of the Autism community to do much about/with that information, but of course, it's a big deal in our house.

So imagine my surprise to find this beautiful basket outside our door on the morning of April 2.  I (incorrectly) assumed it was from another "Autism Mom", but it was not.  What a sweet friend, huh?  Turns out these do-gooders took baskets to at least 2 other families in the neighborhood as well!!

We may not live in a fancy neighborhood, or in an expensive one, but we really have some fantastic neighbors (with the exception of our next-door ones, ha ha!)

Blonde Haired, Blue Eyed, Broken Armed Buddy Boy

About a month ago, Buddy Boy was jumping on the trampoline (which does have a safety net, thank you very much!) with his dad and sister, and he landed funny on his arm.  Not crazy funny, in fact, it was almost a completely normal loss of balance.  It was even normal in that he started screaming bloody murder.  (He always screams like his arm has fallen off when he gets bumped, even when it doesn't hurt.  He's simply offended.)

Anyway, we brought him in the house and doctored him up to make him happy, and it worked, and we figured that was the end of it.  And it was, until the next night when he complained that his arm still hurt.  What???  We couldn't believe he was still offended a day later!  So we wrapped it (I thought we were going overboard, but kids love that kind of stuff) and he was happy.  Over the course of the next two days he took the wrap off then complained of the pain a few more times.  We decided that being the over-protective parents that we were, we'd take him in to the doctor, simply because he was still complaining about it (a little, at least).

Yeah.  We suck.

His arm was broken, and he was in a cast for 3 weeks.  It was actually probably the best break he could have had, in that it was so remarkably fast to heal, and that it was a fairly common break.  He's so happy to have his cast off!

In Our Own Words...

Recent quotes from Buddy Boy:

(frantically) "My hair is bleeding!!!" (said when his hair got wet in the tub)

"Mom, you loosed your mind or something?"

Autism and Autism Moms

I love these:

Ketchup (Catch Up)

Well, dang it, I've once again let time slip away without updating this thing. My apologies. I have so many thoughts running in my head all the time, and so I have a dozen things to write about, but for now I'll do a few catch up (ketchup) posts with pictures, and work on all the deep thought posts as I find the time. (Cause you know, I'm a really, really deep thought-type person, right?) 

 Anyway.... One thing that's been new is the program at the U of U that we've joined called U-FIT. It's a 7-week program that is for kids with disabilities and their siblings. I heard about it and the cost was amazingly reasonable for the services, especially compared to other programs for kids with autism and other conditions. So what the heck, I decided to try it out, and it's been one of the most positive experiences we've had, in my opinion! It was SO worth it! 

 Basically, the kids get to spend one-on-one time with a volunteer (college students) on Friday nights from 6-8 pm for the 7 weeks. One of the two hours each night is spent in the pool swimming and playing in the water. This is a BIG deal for my kids: while Munchkin loves the water, she isn't very confident in it and has had a hard time with swimming lessons because of her lack of confidence. Buddy Boy, on the other hand, is scared TO DEATH of the water, and HATES getting his head wet. Washing his hair in the bath is a battle every time, and it's miserable. 

 The other hour can be spent with the volunteer doing different things: playing games in the gym (like soccer, bowling, frisbee, parachutes, etc), playing XBox, arts/crafts, and dancing. They are free to do any or all of the different activities going on. 

 Meanwhile, parents get a break. There is a room specifically designated for reading/relaxing, and there are yoga, spin, and pilates classes provided. They are considering offering a Zumba class next time!

Over the last 6 weeks, I've seen both kids grow SO much more comfortable in the water, and that alone has made it worth it! The pool has definitely been the highlight for both kids, and it's awesome to watch.

The other thing that makes this program amazing is 
the volunteers. We just happened to get paired up with two of the very best! Munchkin absolutely adores her new friend, and they have a blast with their games, girl talk, etc. Those of you who know Munchkin well, know how much she loves her girl talk.

Buddy Boy's volunteer has been so patient, so kind with him. Buddy Boy calls him his "Brother Buddy". A couple weeks ago, I was walking around with him and his volunteer, and we were talking about gender. I was asking him, "Is Mom a boy? Is Logan (a kid from school) a boy?" and such. I asked about the volunteer: "Is Chris a boy?" Buddy Boy replied, "NO!!! He's a brother!" It was awesome.

Anyway, there have been memories made that will last a lifetime, and I'd highly recommend the U-FIT program to anyone who might want a fun activity for their child(ren) to do! You can go here to learn more about the program. I'm gonna cry my eyes out when it ends this weekend, but we'll definitely be back next semester!!