Brandon's Big Day

Yesterday was the Special Olympics for Brandon. His whole class went and a large portion of the school. It was really fun, but really hot. I think it was in the 90's. Brandon was in the 50 meter race, the standing long jump and the softball throw. He got a ribbon for third place in the race. He ran the race in 8 seconds. Afterward I took him out for ice cream to celebrate.

Brandon's Dream Blocker

Lately, Brandon has been having a lot of trouble sleeping. Not normal for him. Can't be the med, if anything they almost need to be raised again. He has taken to wearing his camo bandanna to block the bad dreams from getting in. So . . . I'm thinking it's from a rash of bad dreams. When Arion went through this, it was from something that was going on that was freaking him out. Guess I need to figure out what it is and stop it to stop the dreams.

Brandon's Independence in the Tub

Last night I told Brandon that he needed a bath. He announced to me that he was doing it himself. My first thought was GREAT. It took me all of two minutes to start to worry. Was the water too hot?? Was he going to use the right stuff on the right part. I then sent Jim up to see how things were going. Apparently Brandon threw him out saying "I need my privates". Of course he meant privacy, but it made us both laugh. From what Jim could see, all was well. I stuck my head in after about 15 minutes to find him standing in the tub washing his hair with soap all over his body. I was also kicked out. 10 minutes later Jim went back up and helped him rinse his hair and got him out of the tub. Brandon then dried himself off and got on his PJ's by himself.

Now before you get too excited, I learned why Brandon had a sudden desire to do it himself when I went to tuck him in. He started talking about a friend that had written on his arm to give himself a tattoo. He said it was in ink and he was wondering if that was a good choice or a bad choice. I told him that it was more of a bad choice, but if he wanted a tattoo, we could go out and get one of the one put on with water. I then asked if that was why he wanted to give himself a bath. He nodded his head. I thanked him for telling me. I tried to explain about the ink soaking into his skin and how that may not be to good for him. I think he understood. He really is growing up. Anyway, he did prove that for the most part, he can give himself a bath. Just needs to work on the rinse.

Trip to the Movies

Yesterday I had off and decided to take Lauren to see the new Hannah Montana movie. Brandon decided he wanted to go so he went too. Here lies the problem. When I first asked, he didn't want to go. Too girly. We got there early and made it into an earlier show. Sat down in good seats and I gave them some gum to keep them from starting on the candy before it started. About half way through I noticed that Brandon was having a hard time keeping still in his seat. I kept having to stop him from kicking the seat in front of us. Then he would lean forward over the seat and I would have to pull him back. I really wish no one had sat in front of us. Then I realized that he hadn't had his meds. My fault. Didn't think he would be going, so let it go. We don't always give them to him if he's not going to school or somewhere he might need them. I finally put him in my lap. Good thing he's still small enough. Anyway, things went pretty good. They both liked the movie and had fun.

The Big Hunt

Lately things have been crazy with Brandon and Arion. You would think Arion was a little kid they way they play. Right now they have a thing going where Arion keeps trying to steal Brandon's little animals. He then holds them up to his ear and tells Brandon that they are saying that they love him (Arion). Brandon, in turn, has been trying to hide his animals from Arion. The first two attempts that I observed did not work out so good. The one night Brandon was showing me where he had hid them and Arion snuck into the bottom bunk and reached up and grabbed on from the wall side of the bed. Brandon layed in bed awake for the next hour trying to come up with a new plan. The next night Brandon tried hiding them in his pillow case. While giving Brandon his good night kiss, Arion found them again. Last night, I told Brandon I had a plan. We hid them in-between the two blankets on his bed. There is a lump, but when Brandon got up this morning, he was beaming from ear to ear because Arion hadn't found them. He even came up and gave me a big hug and kiss and said "Thank you Mom".

My Lovely Ham Dinner

Lately Jim has been complaining about the amount of chicken and turkey we have been eating. It's his fault really. He and Arion are the one's with the high cholesterol. They both have been told to eat more white meat. So when I asked what he wanted for dinner, the response was "anything but chicken". So while at the market, I saw a large ham on sale and grabbed it. Jim's mom came over and I made my usual big Sunday dinner. So here we are, I have a big ham, garlic & parmesan potatoes, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a salad with the red onions he loves. I pulled the ham out and asked Jim to carve it then started trying to get everything else on the table. Next thing I know Jim has disappeared. I didn't pay much attention, just started carving it myself. Then I noticed Brandon couldn't get into the restroom for his pre-dinner pee. Next thing we know I hear the distinctive sound of Jim barfing. Long story short (too late), he was unable to eat my lovely dinner because he had snuck out and had a Frosty and then ate the french onion dip and chips that I served before dinner. Next Sunday, he gets chicken.

Conversation with Brandon

Mom: How was your day?

Brandon: Good, I dyed Easter eggs.

Mom: Great. Where - at school or the sitter?

Brandon: School.

Mom: What color?

Brandon: The same color.

Mom: No, what color did you dye the eggs?

Brandon: Blue and Red. It was funny. They turned blue and yellow.

Mom: You dyed them blue and yellow?

Brandon: No, yellow.

Mom: You dyed the egg yellow.

Brandon: No. I fingers got dirty.

Mom: You turned your fingers yellow.

Brandon: No. The egg.

Mom: Did your fingers stain the egg when you where holding it.

Brandon: Yes, it was funny.

The funny thing is that all I could think was that 2 years ago, we never would have gotten that far. It may still take a while to figure things out, but I do and it's really cool.