New Years!

Happy New Year!!!!!!

Our New Year was quite quiet.  And peaceful.  Very relaxing.  We don’t seem to get a lot of those kind of days, this one was perfect.

A few days ago we bought an old snowmobile.  She ain’t that purdy but I’m sure the boys will have a blast.

The seat needs reupholstering but we purchased it from a friend who is a mechanic.  It’s loud, but runs great.

We had full intentions of inviting the neighbours over for snowmobiles rides, having a large bonfire and roasting hot dogs.  Except it was –10C and windy … oh, and we are wimps.  We cancelled the neighbours and lit the fireplace instead.

As you can see, Randy was still wanting the hot dogs.

Here’s a better view.

I brought down a feather duvet blanket for the boys to lay on in front of the computer.  They are expanding their viewing repertoire without being afraid.  We are onto YouTube video clips of Franny’s Feet, Dinosaur  Train, some Barney, SuperWhy, etc.   The boys have had a hard time not being afraid of watching full episodes on TV so that is where YouTube is fantastic.  It shows a couple of minutes of a show, or just the opening song, and they move on to another cartoon.  Or they replay it over and over to memorize the words.  They are still building language and this works really well for that.

I fell asleep well before midnight (hey – my kids are up by 4:30am!) but was woken up by the fireworks in the area.  They were very loud.  Reminded me of being at the hotel across from Disneyland and hearing those fireworks.

H

Taking Applications

So! Today is the day that my “BFF” left to go to Argentina.  She took her daughter with her.  Tried to corner her as to when exactly she would be back.  She was non-committal.  So, therefore, I am taking applications for a new “BFF”.  I have received 17 so far and will keep accepting until January 4th.  After which time I will choose the top 10, perform introductory interviews where I quickly assess their resumes and see who impresses me the most.  After which time I will bring the final 5 in for in-depth interviews.  I am expecting good things.

H

PS  Haven’t decided whether Heather will be eligible to apply or not.

A new leaf!

Or more probably an older leaf that I am realizing a reality.  I stopped this blog because I felt I was whining too much about autism.  Now I realize that I was really sharing my grief.  A grief that most people want tucked away somewhere that they don’t want to hear about.  Sorry buddy.  This is my life, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Welcome to the life of a parent with children afflicted by autism.

Most blogs are about people sharing only the beautiful things about their life.  And even though there are lots of things beautiful in my life with autism, not everything is rosy.  And I don’t want to have to only share the ‘happy’ parts.  That is not real.  That is not what life is about.  There are ups and there are downs.  And I am going to share them all.

I still want to blog about quilting (man I wish I could do more of that!)  I still suck at it but really enjoy the process (ok, most of the process).

We are heading into the Christmas season here (perhaps well into the Christmas season actually).  The boys are much more interested in the Christmas Tree this year.  Nate more so.  Josh just loves the music.

Randy has taken them for rides on the motorcycle through the field this fall and now yesterday, they went for rides on the quad.  We are considering getting a snowmobile.  I’m sure they would love that!

Preschool is going well.  Not sure if I mentioned that each of the boys has a worker there this year.  It is really paying off.  The goals for preschool are more so social in nature.  Which is fantastic.  Nate is very social and Josh is starting to approach the kids now and doesn’t leave when others come up and sit at his table.  We have a few little girls in their class which really help them.  When the boys don’t want to listen to their aids, they have the little girls tell them what to do.  The class has 16 children, which is great.

The progress they have made since last year is amazing.

I’m gonna try to figure out how to set up categories so I can talk about specific treatments and things we have done to help the boys progress.

All for now.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Holly

The bright side ...

My life isn't always bright.  Sometimes it down right sucks.  Then a glimmer of hope happens.

Today on the way home from preschool the boys wanted 'Christmas music'.  Yes, I am aware we are at the end of January, but we work on language by using things they love.  Anyway, they wanted "Silver Bells".  Got Josh yelling "Want Silver Bells!!!".  So I played it again.  This time, together, they sang "Silver Bells" and I sang the echo.  They didn't yell at me to stop.  They thrived on it.  Looking in the rear view mirror I thought their eyes were going to pop out of their heads with excitement at all of us singing together.  It was bliss.

H

It's my blog and I can post if I want to ....

OK, I can post whenever I want to.  Cause ... really ... who is gonna stop me???

My best friend is leaving me.  HEATHER is going to Buenos Aries for something like 4 or 6 weeks.  I've been in denial about her leaving but she gets on that damn plane tomorrow morning.  She "claims" we'll still be friends when she comes back, but I'm sure she will readily replace me with someone who fluently speaks Spanish.  I'm gonna miss her.

That is probably another reason I am having a sad couple of days.  That coupled with PMS really doesn't help.

H

Reality Check

Yesterday DH and I took the boys to their preschool field trip.  It was to an indoor soccer field for an hour.  Was looking forward to meeting the other Mom at preschool with the twin autistic boys but the teacher said she couldn't make it.  Thought we could have each others backs.

The boys had a blast.  Running, chasing each other, but not engaging with class activities or the other kids.  It was difficult to see how far apart they are from their peers.  The other moms looked at us with awkward smiles.  I hate that.  Sooooo not looking for their sympathy, perhaps they could cut us a break and not treat us as aliens.  They huddled together and made no attempt to talk to us.  I tried a little, but it is exhausting doing all the work ... what seems like all the time.  Again, not looking for sympathy, just venting.

This cold won't go away, which isn't helping.  Sleep happens sporadically at night. Which doesn't help my sanity either.

Fear of the future.  Or shall I say that some days it seems like getting a hold on today is overwhelming ... let along what will happen tomorrow.

H

The Last Christmas Quilt

This is the last one.  I made it for my MIL.  We invited them to join my side for Christmas about 1.5 weeks before the day.  That kinda put the pressure on to finish it.  It is a modified Turning Twenty - modified because I used 12 fat quarters and the border is 1.5" finished, not the 3" on the full size.

Had MANY challenges with this one.  Probably because it was so rushed.  Probably should have quilted it denser too.  But she seemed to like it.

H