Last August, we took a vacation; I was gone for almost 2 weeks. I got this email from David:
Subject: i miss you.
Body: That is all.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
It's been a while ...
... since I posted anything. How time funs when you're having a good fly!
To back up a little...
Birthday Party
We hosted the usual birthday bash for the boys this year, with the usual bounce house and Baja Fresh. This year, the boys' other grandparents were able to make it to the party. We got together and got them new portable game consoles - Mom did the actual shopping; we got off easy by writing checks. Their actual birthday was Friday, and I was there when they opened them.
David always has a list of things he wants - and they are starting in TRUE teenage fashion to be EXPENSIVE things, so he didn't get everything on his list.
When we asked Mikey what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Foxy." (Foxy is Aunt Evie's dog.) Well, we couldn't give him Foxy on his birthday because Labrador retrievers with nice big claws are not compatible with plastic-based bounce houses. So we had Foxy over the week before. And Mikey got in all his play time then.
The day was absolutely gorgeous. And the folks who showed up all had a nice, pleasant times with the boys and with each other. Even clean up and put away (of the bounce house) seemed to go very well this year. I guess the stars were aligned.
Disneyland, Disneyland and more Disneyland
We have passes to Disneyland. And we have taken full advantage of them. When I say, "We" I mean primarily Mom, the boys and I. (Grandpa and I have made it over there together once or twice.) The four of us have gone together, and I've taken Mikey separately - and don't remember but think I took David one day, too. Mom has been able to take David on days when Mikey is in school.
David has been getting bolder. He finally went on the Haunted House, and has tried several other rides that used to scare him, including at least one roller coaster - this is terrific progress!
Mikey is interesting. He focuses on a couple of rides at a time, and rides them over and over and over again. Most recently, that has been Pirates of the Carribean. So each time we go, we ride it 3-5 times.
One of those times, he looked at me and said, "Blue Bayou." For those of you who have never been to D'Land, the Blue Bayou restaurant is probably the finest dining establishment in the park. It is inside the ride area, and forms a part of the Louisiana bayou atmosphere. It is a sit-down restaurant, and unless you've reserved a table 3 weeks in advance, you are unlikely to be seated in the summer.
However, Grandma gave in and checked on it for lunch. We had to wait about 5 minutes but we got seated. I did tell Mikey this was a "nice" restaurant and he had to use his manners. He behaved very well. Service is not fast, but they did bring bread fairly quickly - they brought four good-sized pieces of bread - I had one and Mikey had three BUT he used his knife and napkin. He mostly used his fork with the salad and he used his utensils with his main meal. That took quite a while to arrive. I took the precaution of handing the waiter my Disney pass (for the discount) and credit card, and asked him to ring us up right away. Which was a good thing. Mikey was very good throughout the meal, and with a little coaxing, waited for me to finish (oh and he at half of my Monte Cristo along with his own lunch, including the asparagus!) But when we were done - he was ready to go.
We had one minor incident on the way out - Mikey got hiccoughs and decided he needed water. So he grabbed a water glass on a table where people were sitting! They looked startled; I apologized and I think they saw that Mikey had special needs ... they were very nice and said not to worry about it.
Will try to catch up more soon.
To back up a little...
Birthday Party
We hosted the usual birthday bash for the boys this year, with the usual bounce house and Baja Fresh. This year, the boys' other grandparents were able to make it to the party. We got together and got them new portable game consoles - Mom did the actual shopping; we got off easy by writing checks. Their actual birthday was Friday, and I was there when they opened them.
David always has a list of things he wants - and they are starting in TRUE teenage fashion to be EXPENSIVE things, so he didn't get everything on his list.
When we asked Mikey what he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Foxy." (Foxy is Aunt Evie's dog.) Well, we couldn't give him Foxy on his birthday because Labrador retrievers with nice big claws are not compatible with plastic-based bounce houses. So we had Foxy over the week before. And Mikey got in all his play time then.
The day was absolutely gorgeous. And the folks who showed up all had a nice, pleasant times with the boys and with each other. Even clean up and put away (of the bounce house) seemed to go very well this year. I guess the stars were aligned.
Disneyland, Disneyland and more Disneyland
We have passes to Disneyland. And we have taken full advantage of them. When I say, "We" I mean primarily Mom, the boys and I. (Grandpa and I have made it over there together once or twice.) The four of us have gone together, and I've taken Mikey separately - and don't remember but think I took David one day, too. Mom has been able to take David on days when Mikey is in school.
David has been getting bolder. He finally went on the Haunted House, and has tried several other rides that used to scare him, including at least one roller coaster - this is terrific progress!
Mikey is interesting. He focuses on a couple of rides at a time, and rides them over and over and over again. Most recently, that has been Pirates of the Carribean. So each time we go, we ride it 3-5 times.
One of those times, he looked at me and said, "Blue Bayou." For those of you who have never been to D'Land, the Blue Bayou restaurant is probably the finest dining establishment in the park. It is inside the ride area, and forms a part of the Louisiana bayou atmosphere. It is a sit-down restaurant, and unless you've reserved a table 3 weeks in advance, you are unlikely to be seated in the summer.
However, Grandma gave in and checked on it for lunch. We had to wait about 5 minutes but we got seated. I did tell Mikey this was a "nice" restaurant and he had to use his manners. He behaved very well. Service is not fast, but they did bring bread fairly quickly - they brought four good-sized pieces of bread - I had one and Mikey had three BUT he used his knife and napkin. He mostly used his fork with the salad and he used his utensils with his main meal. That took quite a while to arrive. I took the precaution of handing the waiter my Disney pass (for the discount) and credit card, and asked him to ring us up right away. Which was a good thing. Mikey was very good throughout the meal, and with a little coaxing, waited for me to finish (oh and he at half of my Monte Cristo along with his own lunch, including the asparagus!) But when we were done - he was ready to go.
We had one minor incident on the way out - Mikey got hiccoughs and decided he needed water. So he grabbed a water glass on a table where people were sitting! They looked startled; I apologized and I think they saw that Mikey had special needs ... they were very nice and said not to worry about it.
Will try to catch up more soon.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
What IS it with soap, anyway?
For various reasons, and because I'm not currently deployed on a contract, I've been providing some extra help with the boys over the last couple of weeks. I was at their house - Mikey was already at school - and David was getting ready to go somewhere.
"Go to the bathroom, then wash your hands AND face," I told him.
About 30 seconds later, he was back out. "David," I said, "Go back and wash your face WITH SOAP!"
With body language and stomping indicating exactly what he thought of this, David stormed back into the bathroom, muttering on the way, "What IS it with soap, anyway? It gets in your EYES."
"Go to the bathroom, then wash your hands AND face," I told him.
About 30 seconds later, he was back out. "David," I said, "Go back and wash your face WITH SOAP!"
With body language and stomping indicating exactly what he thought of this, David stormed back into the bathroom, muttering on the way, "What IS it with soap, anyway? It gets in your EYES."
Sunday, July 25, 2010
What do you want for your birthday, Mikey?
Last week we asked Mikey what he wanted for his birthday. He responded, "Presents!" (DUH! on us, I guess...) We did try to press him for something more ... descriptive. He finally said, "Foxy."
Foxy is Aunt Evie's dog - she's a chocolate Labrador retriever. We are planning to have the bounce house for the birthday, and dog claws and bounce house material are not - compatible. So we asked Aunt Evie to come over a week ahead of time, with Foxy. (Foxy lives in the condo - she has a small side patio but no yard and she loves Grandma's yard.)
So Foxy came over mid-day, and she chased Mikey all around the yard. I did some bubbles, but neither the dog nor the boy were interested. (However, David came out and chased bubbles for a good half hour!) We did get him to throw the ball to her a bit - she retrieves (she's a retriever, remember?) and you have to tell her to "Drop it" or she keeps the ball (or whatever) in her mouth.
Foxy loves water - later we got out squirt guns. The boys actually squirted each other - then both of them squirted the dog. The dog - who loves water - did not like this, so we stopped. Except David, who is hesitant around the dog, did use the squirt gun not to squirt her, but to get her to leave him alone.
Mikey went inside for a while to play on the computer, and came back out later. However, he had tired the dog out ... so they didn't play too much. We did try to get Foxy to give Mikey kisses before she left; Mikey would put his face forward but shy away and giggle before the actual kiss took place ...
We think he enjoyed his early present.
Foxy is Aunt Evie's dog - she's a chocolate Labrador retriever. We are planning to have the bounce house for the birthday, and dog claws and bounce house material are not - compatible. So we asked Aunt Evie to come over a week ahead of time, with Foxy. (Foxy lives in the condo - she has a small side patio but no yard and she loves Grandma's yard.)
So Foxy came over mid-day, and she chased Mikey all around the yard. I did some bubbles, but neither the dog nor the boy were interested. (However, David came out and chased bubbles for a good half hour!) We did get him to throw the ball to her a bit - she retrieves (she's a retriever, remember?) and you have to tell her to "Drop it" or she keeps the ball (or whatever) in her mouth.
Foxy loves water - later we got out squirt guns. The boys actually squirted each other - then both of them squirted the dog. The dog - who loves water - did not like this, so we stopped. Except David, who is hesitant around the dog, did use the squirt gun not to squirt her, but to get her to leave him alone.
Mikey went inside for a while to play on the computer, and came back out later. However, he had tired the dog out ... so they didn't play too much. We did try to get Foxy to give Mikey kisses before she left; Mikey would put his face forward but shy away and giggle before the actual kiss took place ...
We think he enjoyed his early present.
Evil Mistress of Math
- Point 1: When I am David's math teacher, I often refer to myself as "Mrs. F--, the Evil Mistress of Math." David is amused.
- Point 2: David, like many teens, does not like to concentrate on things which don't amuse him.
- Point 3: Sometimes, the math concepts take concentration.
I'm not sure in what order this happened, but ... he also semi-yelled, "Bad Job, David!" when he didn't get something right away. I guess he didn't get what he wanted from me then either (likely, sympathy) - I responded in a sharp voice, "I don't allow any one else to speak to you that way; YOU may not do so, either."
Eventually, the quiet, EMOTIONLESS, continuance of the lesson won. :-)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Fears and Age Appropriate Behavior
The boys spent the night with us this weekend. Because of elopement and other issues, we split the boys up. David generally sleeps on an air mattress in a room with Grandpa, and Mikey and I share a room with twin beds.
This post focuses on David. David is very high functioning. He is home-schooled. Most of the time, he can be reasoned with. However, he has fears that are exceptional. To spend the night at our house, he requires 2 nightlights and we had to leave the bathroom light on, with the door partially closed.
At David's house, there was a TV with some kind of short or something; it would seemingly come on of its own accord. Mom referred to it as a "TV Ghost." David does not have a TV in his room; he got semi-hysterical until Grandpa unplugged the TV.
He also - at nearly 14 - still sleeps with stuffed animals (as does Mikey).
He normally reads a bit in bed (as do I!) before finally settling down for the night. I asked him if he'd brought any books; he said, "No," so I suggested he find some from our set of books downstairs (which includes many books for kids). His reading list was interesting:
I also asked him last week - and he forgot - to notice and compliment one thing about someone - for example, Mom or Nana. We'll see how that goes - I'll send him some email reminders. Stay tuned ....
This post focuses on David. David is very high functioning. He is home-schooled. Most of the time, he can be reasoned with. However, he has fears that are exceptional. To spend the night at our house, he requires 2 nightlights and we had to leave the bathroom light on, with the door partially closed.
At David's house, there was a TV with some kind of short or something; it would seemingly come on of its own accord. Mom referred to it as a "TV Ghost." David does not have a TV in his room; he got semi-hysterical until Grandpa unplugged the TV.
He also - at nearly 14 - still sleeps with stuffed animals (as does Mikey).
He normally reads a bit in bed (as do I!) before finally settling down for the night. I asked him if he'd brought any books; he said, "No," so I suggested he find some from our set of books downstairs (which includes many books for kids). His reading list was interesting:
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom storybook
- Popeye Storybook based on the movie
- No, David
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
I also asked him last week - and he forgot - to notice and compliment one thing about someone - for example, Mom or Nana. We'll see how that goes - I'll send him some email reminders. Stay tuned ....
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Some updates ...
Mikey
I completed a contract late in June and have nothing lined up for a while! Just as well; Mikey was on summer break. Various services for the boys have been cut back, and I was able to provide a little extra help.During the first week, Mom had some "banked" hours she was able to use on Monday through Wednesday. On Thursday, I took Mikey to Disneyland, all by myself. This is something I've attempted only a couple of times, and only for a short amount of time. It seems to get better, especially since we establish the "rules" up front. And Mikey knows the routines better.
What's really funny with Mikey is that he has exact notions of what he wants to do on any given trip. One time, he wanted the Haunted House, which we did maybe five times. And on other trips, we have gone back-and-forth between California Adventure and Disneyland.
This trip, he did not want California Adventure at all. When I asked him what he wanted, he said (authoritatively), "Splash Mountain. Pirates. Tarzan's Treehouse. Jungle Cruise." So we went back to Splash Mountain first - and it was closed. There were attendants who told us they were still "testing" the ride and it should be open by Noon. I was very apprehensive - thought Mikey might have a melt down - but he took it rather well.
Since we were in the vicinity, I convinced him to ride the Haunted Mansion. Then we did Pirates, the Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. It was about 10:30 a.m.
And Mikey said, "I want home, please." !!!!
"Do you want Grandma's house?"
"No; Mama's house."
Now, this was a twist ... usually, it's hard to get him to go home. And Mom had other plans, so it wasn't really a good idea to take him home quite yet. We went on Pirates again, then walked around a bit and I finally talked him into going back to Splash Mountain, and it had reopened. He loved it. (He had not been on it before.) I then asked him if he wanted to ride Winnie the Pooh - he said, "Winnie the Pooh. Then Splash Mountain." So we did.
BTW, using the Guest Assistance pass usually means going in via the Fast Pass line. There is no Fast Pass for Pirates. Mikey said he wanted to go on Pirates again, so we went back towards the Exit, which is where you go for wheelchair access. The line was all the way out to the street! which means there were probably 80 people in the special access line - I told Mikey that Pirates was "closed" for the day - that's how he understands something is not available to him.
He then wanted to go home again; I asked him if he wanted lunch; he said, "no." I then asked if he wanted lunch in the Rainforest Cafe and he said, "YES!" I am here to report that, after a brief (< 5 minutes) period of "running around," he sat at the table with me the whole time, waited for his food, ate, etc. All in all, a terrific day!
The following day, David had a karate advancement ceremony and I took Mikey to the Santa Ana Zoo, and then he asked for Aquarium of the Pacific. We did both!!
David
We have not slowed down math. In fact, if anything, it's accelerated. He completed Algebra I and is now on to Geometry. He has completed 54 pie pieces (lessons) in 3 weeks, and aced an assessment! Now, part of this is that there is a lot of "review" presented as new material, such as finding the perimeter and area of a circle. But still, that is a lot of work to do.David is growing UP. Literally. He is as tall as my husband and outweighs him by 25 lbs. at least. He is doing very well with his home schooling. His issues are primarily social, and he's always had an unusually broad set of fears, many of which he's learned/been taught to deal with.
And he's a teen. So, between the Teen-ness and the Austism, he doesn't really think a lot about Other People. I tasked him, last weekend, with finding one thing nice to say to someone (giving examples like, "See what Nana's wearing and compliment her if it looks nice." (Nana is his other grandma.) We'll see how he did with this assignment ...
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