hotel room 2

our hotel room

Molly outside

Dirty kids

Our overnight away was awesome!

We had our first overnight stay alone since Parker has been born. It was heaven. This is our room: http://www.bwbayshoreinn.com/accomodations.html It was even nicer than I thought it would be. We went out to dinner, did some shopping and just had a good time together. It was so nice. I hope we can do it again sometime later in the year. The kids did great with the respite worker and everyone had a great time! It was awesome! I loved the way the room looked so much that I had to go out and buy a new bedspread. I think I'm going to totally change my room. I want it to look more relaxing and nice. Now how can I slip in that fireplace and jacuzzi, lol.

We are having our first respite overnight

We've never been away from Parker overnight. I know it will be fine though. I'm excited but I have a lot of cleaning to do. I want the house to be really clean today when the respite worker comes.

Things have changed..

We are not moving right now. We can't afford it. Our van broke down on Wednesday and we can't afford to fix it. It was the head gasket. Now we are trying to figure out what to do. I don't want to stay where we are, but this would not be a great time to move. I just am going to have to think positive and think that these things happen for a reason. I'm going to have to trust in God and know that he will provide. It's going to be hard to have only one car for a while. I can't even drive Bobby's at the moment because it's a stick shift. I hope to learn but I wouldn't be able to drive it much anyways. He works a 25 minutes away and I am not driving him to work at 4:30 am. Parker is staying home today with me. I can't get him to school. For the next two weeks of school my mom is going to loan me her car. I don't want him missing that much school. As for my college in the fall and what school Parker goes to, I'm just going to have faith in God and pray that things will work out. It's funny, I kind of have a peace about everything anyways.

Do you tell them?

We are planning on moving in June. We are looking for a place right now. Do you tell perspective landlords that your child has autism? Would that turn them off? We have a place we like, but they have a maintenance person who mows the lawn. Parker is deathly afraid of lawnmowers. I would like to know when this person is going to mow so I can get Parker out of the house. How do I ask these perspective landlords without throwing them off by saying Parker has autism. People that don't know about autism can be afraid of it, or I mean a person with autism. I'd feel like I had to sell Parker to them. I'm not sure what to do.

funny

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cough cough...

I have a sinus infection and maybe bronchitis. I knew this coughing was hurting too much. I have a sore throat too. My mom and sister made me go to the dr. today. It was actually quiet and peaceful, lol. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a house to possibly rent. I hope it's nice. I'm tired so that's about it today.

Funny, but not....

I have pictures of lawn mowers and weed eaters strategically placed around my house.


No really, I do! Lol! As part of Parker's ot for his noise sensitivity, we are slowing introducing him to the things that scare him. Lawn mowers and weed eaters are big ones. The first step is to get him used to pictures of them. He is actually ok with the pictures. I forget what the next step is. I'm not sure we really planned it. I think it might be touching a lawn mower in sears or something. He doesn't mind the ones in stores. It's going to be step by step until we work up to him watching one that is running I think. I think I'm going to get to know lawnmowers very well. I think I've mentioned it before, but he also has a cd that has songs about things that make sounds that kids with autism are sensitive to. It has the sound of the thing in the background. It's supposed to desensitise them to the sound. Here's hoping!

My cat Jack is pushing his limits.

He's always liked people food. My other 2 cats don't like it. The only people food they will touch is tuna. Jack will eat almost anything. When he was tiny it was kind of funny to feed him and see how much he liked people food. It's not funny anymore. Yesterday he reached an all time low. Parker was sitting at the table, eating lunch, when I heard him say, "Jack's eating my food". What! I looked and Jack was on the table, eating out of Parker's bowl! I yelled to Parker to push him off the table. He didn't want to, he enjoyed having a buddy to eat with. I had to get up and get the cat down. Jack got a good scolding and Parker didn't like it. He was lucky it was me home and not Bobby. He would have thrown him outside for the rest of the day. Now that is one brave cat. I better not see that again! The gall of some cats! This is even worse than the time Pepper decided to use warm cupcakes as a napping spot. She is very lucky that they were extras!



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Tuesday!

That's the only title I could come up with this morning. My throat hurts a little today. I'm thinking it might be from coughing though. I have this weird cough. I don't have anything planned today. I guess cleaning is on the agenda. How does my house keep getting messy, lol. It's so nice to clean when the kids are in school. No one to go behind you and make another mess. I was supposed to look at house today, but decided not too. It's really more than we want to pay. We have a lead on another house that someone we know recommended to us. Please pray it works out. I'd love to move soon. I'm actually really excited about being closer to everything. I'm even excited to go through our stuff and weed out all the stuff we don't need. We have way too much stuff. Parker has a closet stacked to the top. His closet will be the worst but most satisfying. I just have to make sure I don't throw anything away that he loves. I think if he hasn't seen it this long, he should forget it. Well, I better get the kids ready for school.

Another taco meat post...

Parker loves taco meat. In fact, it's one of the few things he will eat right now. We have to make a big pan of it, cool it off, and put it in freezer bags for him. I freeze it so he can have his taco meat for at least 2 meals a day. I know this isn't healthy, but I can't get him to eat much else. Here is his list, since he's recovered from getting sick. He ate more things prior to being sick.

Taco meat
Nalley chili with cheese
Pepperoni
Salami
Strawberries
a few McDonald's french fries. (Only the ones without the pointy ends)
certain hot dogs, no bun
Hershey bar

This is his food list right now. Can you imagine how hard this is for me to feed him. I worry constantly about his health. I am so hoping he goes back to some of his old foods he liked. Hopefully we can introduce them back to him slowly.

I can't believe it!

Parker ate taco meat with a different kind of seasoning! He will normally only eat it with taco bell seasoning. Today the store was out of it. I told him they only had this other kind. I made it, fully thinking he would refuse it. Plus I was afraid it would turn him off yet another food. I added a little salt to it because it made it taste better and he ate two bowls of it! Yay! This is a breakthrough!

A quick funny!

As I was walking out the door to go to the post office, I grabbed a garbage bag for cleaning out the van. The minute I hit the back yard, I smelled a beautiful smell. It is a beautiful day and I could smell beautiful flowers. The funny thing is, I don't have beautiful flowers. I looked around my yard and all I could see were weeds. I thought, it must be from one of the neighbors yards. I stood there smelling the beauty, when all of a sudden, my garbage bad rattled in the wind. My beautiful pink, flower smelling garbage bag. Lol! The lovely smell was coming from my scented garbage bag. What a nut, lol! I felt pretty stupid after I realized that!

procrastinator, school bus, and shorts....

The first thing that got me thinking this morning is that I hate that I'm a procrastinator. I put things off as long as I can. I have paperwork to fill out for Parker's summer school. Have I done it yet? No, it's in a pile on my desk that I haven't gotten too. Why can't I do things right away? I don't like that about myself. Now, the school bus. Parker doesn't really like riding the school bus. Today he looked scared and said he didn't want to ride it. I told him he would be ok, and he reluctantly got on. If only he knew how much it pulls at my heart. It kills me to think he is stuck on that bus when he is scared. If the school wasn't a half hour away, I would take him today. I know he has to get used to things, but it is so hard on me. I wish I could keep him from every fear or every hurt. I know it's not healthy, but that's the way I feel. Now, on to the shorts. Parker has a hard time every season when we change the types of clothes we wear. It takes him forever to get used to shorts and tank tops. Oh, and let's not forget sunscream. I mean sun screen, lol. He refused to wear shorts yesterday. When he got home he was sweating and hot. He put them on finally. This morning I got a pair on him without him really noticing. It's 8:30 in the morning today and already 76 degrees out. Then came the sunscreen. He whined the whole time. Then he said he was wet. I assured him he would dry soon but he didn't look like he believed me. Then we had to brush his hair and teeth. He hates brushing his teeth. I don't know why, but it's always a struggle. Now, maybe later, we will work on tank tops.
This morning, as I was getting clothes out for Molly, I went through her dresser. I swear, half her shirts didn't fit her anymore. I have a huge pile of clothes sitting on a chair. Oh well, just another excuse to shop I guess, lol.

Good day!

Today was a really nice day. I applied to go to college in the fall. I looked online and I see some classes I really want to take. I made cupcakes for the kids. I ate delicious watermelon. It's in the high 70's here. I have fans on and there is a nice breeze. It's just an all around nice day. Molly's been in her bathing suit since she got home. She and a neighbor girl have been playing with the hose. Parker has been obsessing on his monster trucks, of course. He's watching a monster truck video while lining his monster trucks up in front of him. I hope everyone else is having a nice day.

What to do?

When your kids are having trouble with someone at school? As a Mom, I would love to just fix everything for Molly, but I know I can't. What do you do when your kids are having trouble with someone who just won't let up? Molly is having that trouble right now and I don't know what to tell her. I've told her to just walk away, when she does the girl says, "All you do is walk away, you baby". The weird part is, the girl is less popular and kind of weird. She was the one with no friends and Molly be-friended her. Now Molly wants to play with other kids and the friend is getting really upset and mean about it. Any suggestions? It's upsetting Molly so much that she wants to be homeschooled the rest of the year. She just can't win with this girl. This girl is even turning other kids against her. I know things like this make her stronger if she can deal with it, but it's so hard as a Mom to just stand by and watch it happen. I'm talking to the principal today because Molly is just not happy. Who know's if she can help because this girl will just lie and say everything was Molly's fault. She only has a couple more weeks of school, so that's good.
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Thursday ramblings...

Here is a little update:
The kids are well now, yay! Molly got sick on Sunday but was fine by Monday. Parker is back to enjoying school. I had a nice day to myself today. I saw my therapist, paid bills and went to the mall. I'm looking forward to tomorrow since it's respite day. On Tuesday I went to an autism support group. It was so great to talk to other Mom's who just understand. Some of their stories were heartbreaking and some were not. It just lets you know that you are not alone and that you can overcome and get through things. I left there feeling really good about Parker and the progress he's making. I thanked God for the little angel he has given me. I just love both my kids so much. Saturday Molly is going to be part of a sibling study for one of Parker's therapists. She is writing her thesis on siblings of children with autism. She is going to get her PhD soon and leaving us. I'm really going to miss her. She is so smart and so nice. She is going to do so great! Sunday we are going to my brothers house for mothers day. That should be fun. That's about it.

A haircut and babysitting my Mom's dog.

This weekend we babysat my Mom's cute dog Lucki. She is so adorable and had so much fun with us! She loved chasing our cats and playing with the kids. Isn't she cute! I wish we could keep her.

On to the haircut. Parker hates getting his haircut with a passion. I decided to ask my neice who is a hairdresser if she thought I could do it myself. She did and told me how. I didn't do the best job, but it looks so much better. I'm pretty proud of myself. It's probably crooked, but his hair is very forgiving. Yay! Now I don't have to take him to get it cut so much, I can do it myself! He only had about 2 tears and then he realized it wasn't so bad! Yay!

Lucki

My Mom's dog Lucki

after haircut-Mom's first

Before haircut

I need to vent!

Autism makes life hard! I just need to get it out today! I'm sitting in my house with Parker plugging his ears. He won't go outside because, as usual, someone is mowing their lawn. I get so frustrated! I love him to death, I know it's not his fault, but some days are really hard. It was hot in the van but Parker didn't like the wind on him. He wanted french fries but would only eat the ones without the pointy ends, so he ate about 7 fries out of a medium, which is the only size he wants. I want to rest a little but I know it won't happen. He is constantly getting videos out and laying them all over the house. Trucks are everywhere. He's on edge with Molly. I had a rough day with my Mom. I just want to let it out today! Autism is hard, no matter how much you love your kids. I can't wear a pony tail much because Parker doesn't like them. I can't wear certain night gowns around him. Molly can't have an electric toothbrush. I have to blow dry my hair when Parker isn't home or endure him being afraid. I have to avoid parties and things if I know Parker won't like them. It's hard and I just want to get it out. Sorry you had to listen to my vent.

Thank you Jesus!

Parker is not sick today! He hasn't thrown up all day! He's drank all day and ate 4 small bowls of Top Ramen! I am so happy! He is so happy! He's sleeping in his bed tonight and I couldn't be happier! I was so worried about him. I hope I never have to see him that sick again!