Happy Birthday Jim

Today is Jim's birthday. Unfortunately, we don't have any big plans. He had to buy a new cell phone, so we called it his present. I am planning on making a cake with the kids. The weather sucks right now. It's raining and I can hear thunder. I guess a day at the pool is out. Oh well, I will figure out something. Anyway, if your reading this, I hope you have a good day and enjoy another 41 years.

Tea, Glorious Tea

I wake up. The kids are gone on a overnight. What time is it? Why am I awake so early? It's the call. I want it. I need it. I try to egnore it. I can't. SHIT. I have to get up and go get it. It's TEA. I must have it. I don't need to get the kids till 9:00 am and here I am, 6:30 am, waiting for the kettle to blow. I have become my Mother. I remember my Mother having to have her tea. You didn't mess with Mom till she had her tea. During the day she would drink it often. When I have family over I put on the kettle and keep it going. When I go to their houses, they do the same. I try not to have more than 2 cups of caffeine a day. The rest is all de-caff. My Mother learned to drink tea because they would put it in her milk and added more and more till it was tea with milk. It was an English thing. I learned to drink it on my Mother's knee, sipping from her cup. Both my boys have learned the same way. Lauren won't try it. In the winter I have to make Arion his own cup because he was drinking to much of mine. Of course, for my kids, they must pay the toll, a kiss on the cheek. Brandon loves to yell for Arion to "pay the toll".

OK, the kettle has blown and I have my tea now. Have a nice day.

I Found It

I was beginning to give up hope. I have been looking for a shower curtain to go with the paint for the new bath and was about to give up and just get white and then I found it. It's perfect. The green is perfect and it has black and gray in it too to go with the sink and black boarder I plan to do in the tile. Now if we can just get the tile. Hint Hint Jim. I plan on going tomorrow. By the way I found it at Target and they had the perfect color towels and a comforter for Arion. I do love that store.

What That Mean??

This phase has become dear to me. Brandon has been using it a lot lately. It used to be that if he didn't understand what you were saying, he would just let it go and say nothing. Now he is asking "What that mean". This morning I have heard it twice. Once when I said I expected him to behave in math today. His reply was "What that mean - espex". I then signed that I wanted him to behave and then used other words until he said OK. Later he brought me a dollar and asked "What that mean - washington". I then showed him the man and told him it was his name. I think it's a big step for him.

Response to Phil

Thanks Phil and no, your comments don't upset me. I would rather deal with the issues then run and hide. Any help is appreciated. Brandon has been tested by both the school and by his neurologist. He attends a special school for special needs children that is great. He does receive Autistic services, although he is not considered "autistic". There he receives speech, OT and other therapies. These are both in group and individual. They even have guidance people at recess to assist in interaction with playmates. The progress he has made has proven that it was good that I fought so hard to NOT have him main streamed. My school district is not so good with special needs children. I am constantly fighting with them for Lauren.

As far as insurance things, Brandon qualifies for Medical Assistance. It can be used for additional therapies. The school can also bill them for the services they give him.

I have been thinking lately that Brandon new issues would be considered more "autistic". If they get any worst I will probably call his neurologist and discuss it again. I guess it depends on how things go when regular school starts up again.

By the way. We really don't work to much around Brandon. I try to have a schedule but, our life seems to change on a dime.

Thanks for the comment

Brando's World Of Schedules

Brandon, like many kids like him, do not like to vary there schedules. Things should be the same and done at expected times and places. This has been apparent with the current problems at school and also with this morning. You see, I wanted to let him sleep a little extra before church. Turns out I should have just woke him up. Let me explain. Pop Tarts are SUPPOSED to be eaten at the counter. Because I let him oversleep, I needed him to eat it in the car. But "that's not right" they are only to be eaten at the counter. This rule is only broken by him and only to eat in front of the TV when Mom is not looking. This simple act threw him off for most of the morning. After church we went to Mary's house for lunch and a movie. This was fine until the movie turned out to contradict Brandon's reality. It was an old movie called "Short Circuit". In the movie, the robot comes to life and runs away. Here is the problem. Robots don't come to life. Something about it just didn't sit right with him. In some ways I will be glad when we get back to our regular schedule. As crazy as it is, it is predictable. I do feel that I should try to push the schedule now and again though. Life is not predictable and things happen. As he grows up he will have to get used to this and learn to deal with it.

A Day With The Girls

Yesterday, Lauren and I went to a amusement park with her Brownie troop. They had earned the trip from their cookie sales. We had a great time. I was really impressed that she went on so many rides. She usually is scared. She went on the log flume 3 times and would have kept going if I let her. Of course she didn't want to do the roller coaster, but I think she was at least thinking about it. (We keep saying "baby steps".) There is another girl in the troop who has the same type of fears like Lauren that wasn't doing so good at first. At one point she and I were discussing her fears. You know, like she was going to fly off the ride, or that her skin would peel off her. Yeah, like that. All in all, they had a great time. At the end of the day we stopped at one of those dress up studios and had her picture done. By the time we got home I thought I was going to drop. My legs still are achy this morning. Here are the pictures.

Go Fly A Kite

Yesterday Brandon came home with a kite and a ribbon. He was so excited, that we had to go out and try to fly it right away. Lucky I got out of work early. Here are some pictures. We had a little problem, but the was a time or two that we had it up for a while. The wind was not cooperating.

List is Coming Along

Arion and I are really try to work on this list the school has given him. Yesterday he had his first TB shot read and got the second one. On Friday he will have that one read and have all the blood work done. That should take care of the medical part. He finished the background check and I will mail it today with the forms to reserve his books and order his scrubs. The big thing now is sending a check and finding shoes. I any one knows where I can find a pair of size 14 men's nursing shoes, please let me know. Not an easy thing to find. My sister is supposed to be checking an outlet down by her. Now we have to figure out what else he needs for his dorm apartment. Not sure what he should take for the kitchenette. Jim suggested a pizza cutter. We have sheets and towels. Any ideas????

Dumb Bird Thinks He's A Bat

I don't know what's going on here. Do animals, as well as people, lose their minds when they enter my house. The bird has now taken to hanging upside down in his cage. I thought it was an accident the one time I saw him do it, but now he seems to do it all the time. The kids have decided that what we really need is another one to keep him company. When I said I wasn't sure, Lauren and Brandon decided that they would pool their money and buy one themselves. GREAT.

Toilets and Driving

Well yesterday went well. After Arion got his first shot we stopped at the K-mart overflow parking lot and Arion got behind the wheel. In case I didn't mention it, Arion finally got his drivers permit on Saturday. He did OK. He needs to work in the brakes a little, but not a bad first lesson. I stayed calm the whole time.

After we got home can ate a quick dinner I had the kid take Jim to the pool, Oh, I mean I had Jim take the kids to the pool so they weren't in my way. Yeah, that's what I meant. While they were gone, I was able to get the new toilet installed with the help of a very big washer. I gave up on the new flange. After talking to several people it was clear that we were screwed and would need a plumber. Anyway, we now have 3, that's right I said 3, working toilets in the house. Next is to paint the trim and start on the tile.

Wax Ring - Part II

Some might remember when my sister asked me to come over and help her replace the wax ring on her toilet and we ended up redoing a large portion or her bath. We this weekend seemed very familiar. Jim took the kids to the movies and that gave me time to do the toilet switch. I started out great. I got the toilet from our bath out and installed with no problems into the hall bath. I was so proud. I did it first try. I then went to put the new toilet into our bath. Let me tell you, first this thing weighs a ton. I didn't think a toilet that was 2 inches taller and 2 inches longer could weigh that much more. I got the whole thing unpacked and went to place it. I got the bowl in place first try. I went to bolt it in and had some problems with the nuts. They didn't want to screw down all the way. Jim was supposed to pick up a new mirror (the one we had was defective) and I had hoped he would call me and I could have him get some other nuts. I started putting the rest of the toilet together. Everything was fine till Jim got home with the new bolt sets. That's when we figured out the the bolts had not connected right on the right side the the flange. The problem is the flange. The slot is broken and the bolts just pull out. OK. So I need to replace the flange. I can do this. I get the parts on Sunday and go to remove the old one. WRONG. The problem is that it's not installed like it should be. It should be screwed into the floor. They cemented it to the existing pipe. So I still have only 2 toilets. I will need to consult some people to figure out how to get it out. I'll let you know.

We're Back . . . . With A List

We got back from Arion's orientation on Monday night. What a trip. I am so glad that Shannon came along. We had some fun and she helped with the driving, which was great. Unfortunately, she didn't get to spend a lot of time at the campus because of Danny. Things went well. It did feel like he was pulling away from me. We ate one lunch seperately. Most of his stuff was different from what I neede to do. We also got to see more of the dorms, which are more like apartments with kitchenettes. One thing was that they gave Arion a new list of things that he needed or needed to do for college. Why they couldn't of given us this list 2 months ago I don't know. We had already done a medical form, but he needs another one for the nursing program is more shots. We knew about the books, but he also needs scrubs, shoes and a nursing kit. He also needs to complete a CPR course and a Federal background check. Looks like the next month will be a busy one. We will start this weekend looking for those size 14 men's nursing shoes. Wish me luck. Monday he starts the shots.

I Need More Time

I was really hoping that I would be able to get the bathroom to a semi-usable state before I left for this weekend. Unless the fairies are at the house, it's not going to happen. I picked up the baseboard last night but didn't want to put it in because the kids were sleeping. I still need to paint the cabinet and trim. The toilet will then be able to go in. At that point I think I can get the kids out of the powder room and back into their bath.

This weekend Arion and I will be heading to his college for orientation. Thank God Shannon is coming too. I hate driving all that way by myself. Emory and Danny are coming too. It will give Emory a chance to see a college campus. We will be back Monday night.

Brandon Has a "Feber"

This morning Brandon was convinced that he had a fever. Of course he says "feber". I think something is up at school. He might be having trouble adjusting to the new teacher in the summer class. It's only the first week of summer school, so I guess he is still adjusting. Yesterday he had a problem and ended up having to spend time with the behavorial specialist. After that he was fine. Today he wanted to stay at the sitters all day. I checked his head and he was fine. I sent him to school and I hope things are going OK.

Good Progress Made

Yesterday we made good progress on the bathroom. I had hoped to do more, but ran out of steam. After I put the floor in my knees were killing me. I started with the 2nd coat of paint at about 8:00 am and then put in the sink and finished with the floor. The floor was a pain in the ass. For some reason the glue was getting everywhere. I kept having to wash my hands because my fingers were sticking together. Now a need "goo be gone" to get it off the floor. It seems to be around all the seams. I does look good and the paint and floor seem to make the sink have a greenish tinge.

Brandon's New Things

Brandon has started a new thing, and I don't like it. I'm not sure why, but he has started sucking on material. It started with his blanket and has now moved to his shirt. It's really gross to find him with a soaking shirt and know it's all spit. On Sunday it was the collar and the bottom. I wish I knew if it was a tactile thing or an oral fixation. Hopefully it will stop soon.

The other problem is the fart noises. He loves to make them and has taught himself to make them in many ways. There's the regular raspberry way, the both hands backwards over the mouth way, and the classic armpit way. He is constantly doing it in one way or the other. At times it's funny, but mostly annoying. By the way, if your reading this Tim, Shannon thinks it funny and loves it. Feel free to comment.

Camping Builds Character

Specially when you do it in the rain. Well, that's what we told the kids. Shannon and I took the kids camping Thursday and Friday nights. Of course things were going great. We knew there was a chance of rain, but we hoped it wouldn't be so bad. We got there and got set up. We added a extra rain tarp to the big tent. We had pre-made dinner packs and they were great. After dinner and clean-up it started to lightly rain. We had put up a rain tarp over the table so we sat there for a while with the kids discussing how long it would last and what we were going to do. We ended up putting everyone in Shannon's van and driving around the whole park. We told the kids were we scouting out stuff for the next day. The rain just kept coming and harder and harder. Thank God there really wasn't very much thunder and lighting. After driving around we went back to the site and saw that the girls tent was surrounded by water. Oh Crap. We had let the girls pick their spot and really didn't pay attention to where the water would run. Turns out it ran to their tent. Shannon and I left the kids in the car and took a look. There was about 1-2 inches of water under their tent, but most of the contents were dry. We grabbed what we could and went to the big tent. It was in better shape and we decided that we could all fit. It was a little tight fitting 6 in a 5 man tent, but 3 were small. We manage to get everyone in and ready for bed. Shannon and I didn't sleep real great. Danny had everyone up at about 1:00 am yelling "MORE MILK" at the top of her lungs. The next morning wasn't so bad. We got everyone fed before it started to lightly rain again. We cleaned up and headed out again. Shannon and I almost gave up but the ranger station said it was suppose to end and just be cloudy. No rain was planned for Friday night. We took the kids to town and had pizza. When we went back We went canoeing and they did great. Brandon had one melt down about a turtle. It was fine till the turtle went under the water and then he freaked. I guess he didn't like not knowing where it was. Later that night Jim came up around dinner time. We manage to get everything dry and set up another tent. We did have fun. The kids did great. I took pictures, but I need a new camera. They are all grainy.