Tell Me How

How can one child be so loud, obnoxious and whiny that she creates an upset stomach in both her parents, and a migraine in her mother?

Ask Sophia--she excels at it.

After a way over-excited day, and her many tantrums, arguments and tears, Sophie finally went to bed. (And the people--her parents--rejoiced!!) I really need a way to gauge what the optimum level of stimulation is for her. Really. Or my number of gray hairs will triple by my birthday in February.

Sigh.

Breakfast With Mrs. Claus, Mach 2

Today I took Sophia to breakfast with Mrs. C. She seemed to have fun, and loved the smiley potatoes and sausages. Sophie liked Mrs Claus, but was her usual shy self. Story time was a little too long, but overall she seemed to enjoy herself. Unfortunately, the whole experience was a little too overstimulating, and we have had a very difficult afternoon but after some quiet time is back to normal. Tonight, we are going to the fairgrounds for the big light display, so she is looking forward to that. Here are a few pics of today's cuteness (not including me).

The first one has a great view of that toothless grin, and her best friend and lovey cat, Grey (wearing her Christmas ribbon in order to attend this festive occasion). Grey was a present on Sophie's first Christmas from Aunt Terri, and is much loved.




















This picture is of Sophia and I after breakfast.


















This last one I casught during story time. Totally natural smile. Lately her "posed smile" always leaves her eyes closed, so I was really glad to catch this one.

Breakfast With Mrs. Claus

This year I started a new tradition with the girls. Our local museum does a Breakfast With Mrs Claus. Last year I was too late for reservations, so I made them early, for the 1st weekend it was offered. It looked fun, and I knew Sophia would enjoy it. Anneliese, I figured, was still a little young to enjoy it.

Each year, we also go to the fund raiser Santa breakfast at the special needs school (where LeeLee went while in the 0-3 early intervention program. We were sick this year, so we missed it, which was a bummer, as I like to catch up with the people we don't see regularly any longer. Because of missing that breakfast, I made reservations for the 2nd weekend the breakfast was offered. Goodd thing I did. Sophia was so excited she got sick in her bed, and there was no way she was going out that morning. So, I took Anneliese who loved it. I explained to Mrs Claus (while getting Lee her food) that Anneliese was non-verbal but would understand her. Mrs C was wonderful--went and sat with her, got her some grapes, and kept her busy and happy while I waited in the buffet line. Later I found out that Anneliese had been playing with Mrs Claus' hair, so I know she loved the lady. And during the story time afterwards, Mrs C read an Elmo book, so LeeLee was very pleased.

My only (minor) complaint was that after having grapes, Lee didn't want anything else--I think she had three plates full. Here are a few pictures from our trip--the grapes are evident in the 2nd one, and the final picture is from story time.

Now, on the upcoming weekend, I get to take Sophie. I know she is gonna love it too!

All I Want for Christmas....

I realized the other day that this Christmas Sophie will be missing both front teeth. The second one fell out right before Halloween. Here she is, as a bat spider witch with no front teeth Halloween night. Very cute. Anyway, just a brag thread. And you know that I will be doing a LO with that song on it and a picture of my toothless girl, right? It is (in the words of Val Kilmer in Real Genius), "a moral imperative."

And in keeping with Equal Opportunity cuteness, her is Anneliese Halloween night. She didn't want her coat off, so she really looks no different than any other day. But bring on the candy! She is doing her famous "the dog" pose again.

The quest--success

Well, with Christmas around the corner, Santa has been getting a bit stressed out. In October, Sophia decided that the toy she wants Santa to bring is Pat Pat Rocket, from the Little Einsteins. If you remember, back in February, Rocket was Sophie's imaginary friend. Available only at Target, I placed an order Nov 2, and at the time it was stated that it would be arriving December 6-24th. Gee, talk about short notice. I called yesterday and they said they couldn't guarantee Christmas delivery. Nice.

So, I spent the day on message boards and Ebay looking for an available Pat Pat Rocket. Finally, saw a link on the Gotta Deal forums (they are the home of BlackFriday.com) that showed how to check Target store inventory for the elusive rocket. I tried it, and SUCCESS! Apparently Rocket was at our Target as I typed. So, I sent Dave to the store, but I had my doubts--we had just been at Target 2 days before.

Well, he called me all proud. He had one in hand, because apparently there was a huge display of them. After checking a few message boards, it seemed that ALL the Target stores got a shipment this week.

We are totally set for Christmas. If anything, I overbought again. Bought I will have two happy little campers for Christmas.

Finally, scrapping is FUN again

Well, I am 3 pages into the 1st gift calendar I am making. And as I dig through my (not inconsiderable) stash to find papers and flatter embellies, I have noticed that I am scrapping without worrying about page design, all the silly design rules, and whether or not it is trendy. Most of the papers are from my forgotten slabs. Remember that Michaels' Rob & Bob slab (slab 5, I think it was)? And DCWV winter slab 2005. All those mat stacks, etc etc. These LOs are cute, and I hope the recipient likes them.

I think my appreciation of this recent spurt of creativity comes from my spending freeze. I am, stretching my stash, finding lost treasures and playing with them. Frankly, the newer releases are starting to get boring. Other than Mellow and Infuse, most of the new Basic Grey merely looks dirty to me. Tinkering Ink papers? Ewww--what I am going to do with huge graphic flowers & patterns? Scenic Route is looking like same patterns new colors--frankly, how many patterned arrows can a scrapper use in differing colors within one album? I think the only New paper line I have seen that I LOVE is the Imaginisce Candy Cane Lane. But, as I have too much Christmas paper, I will no doubt abstain.

So, I have come full circle. I like my style and stuff. I am having fun and getting creative. I am preserving memories for my family and friends. If there is more to scrapping than those things, I don't know what it could be.

Halloween Costume Vent

You know, I hate having to buy costumes for Halloween each year (in no way am I talented enough to sew or create them myself). It seems like 85% of costumes in little girl sizes are flimsy little knee length nylon witch/angel/princess/fairy things. I hate these. First of all, we live in an area where it is just TOO cold to trick or treat in this. Heck, on a 90 degree someone would catch a chill in these things! Second, I find these totally inappropriate for my children. They are too suggestive, for the most part, as I have no desire to promenade my child in front of the Lord knows who with billowy, shimmery nylon fluttering around. There is no real way to bundle them up without covering the costume, so why buy it in the first place?

So, I was thinking of taking the girls to a Halloween party this year. There are parties at the Natural History museum, at the zoo, and a few local spots. The problem is, Sophia, having the world's best memory and logic skills, will not accept these activities as a substitute for trick or treating. Especially as we have a safe little neighborhood with lots of other trick or treaters.

I never had the opportunity to trick or treat much growing up--we lived in the middle of nowhere, and there was often snow on Halloween. So, I like that my girls get too. But that was back when a costume was pretty much an ugly plastic mask (that the elastic string broke on after wearing it for 15 minutes) and a plasticky smock that tied in the back that you wore over your clothes. I remember walking into the store and looking at the aisle of boxes. Super heroes, clowns, occasional monsters and princesses were the usual selection.

OK, vent over. Just makes this parenting thing a little harder. Do I let my girls freeze their tushies and get too much candy (but be way happy) or keep them warm, take them to a fun party (with some candy) and watch them mope Halloween night?

Maybe I'll get lucky and it will rain. ;-)

Let's hear it for my girl!

Today was a banner day! Sophia has had two wiggly upper teeth for the last month. Today, she came home with 1 in a little baggie. She is way excited about the Tooth Fairy coming tonight, especially as this is her third tooth out. The first one went under her pillow, but the 2nd one got swallowed (oops!).

Here is my girl, with a beautiful toothless grin!

Woo-Hoo! 1st Sentence

Anneliese put three signs together to get her point across. Not oral, but still a sentence. She signed I, the love, then applesauce. Guess what she wanted for breakfast?

I love these milestones, that may seem like small things to the parent of the neuro-typical child. Just one more step on the journey to making herself heard and understood. I am convinced that if we can get a greater level of communication going between Anneliese and ourselves as parents, her tantrums and meltdowns will be cut by half.

Even as overcast as it is, the world seems a bit brighter to me today. :-)

Totally Cool--Dinosaurs!

We took a way cool day trip yesterday, over to the Natural History Museum at the University of Michigan. Little did we know that U of M has the biggest dinosaur exhibit in Michigan. Sophia was chomping at the bit to get over there once she heard where we were going.
























The immensity of the fossils on display was amazing. The first big skeletons you see upon entering the gallery are a mastodon (the smaller one--lived 20 million years ago) and the mammoth (larger, lived 7 million years ago, and is the precursor of the modern elephant).




















Anneliese seemed more amused by the museum than Sophie. She was giggling and running from display to display. This Allosaurus head fascinated her, and I loved this thoughtful pose I caught without knowing it.

















Finally, we saw a "fossil bed " with an Edmontosaurus ( a huge duck-billed dinosaur) and the size again was overwhelming. You can READ that a dinosaur was the size of 2 school buses (or however big it was) but then, when you see the bones, it blows you away. At one point, we stood next to a sauropod leg (I imagine it was an Apatosaurus--formerly brontosaurus) and it was almost twice my height (I'm 6'1"). No wonder Sophia was overwhelmed.

















Well, the day was totally cool, but we had to leave before the tour as the girls were a little overloaded, sensory-wise. I did tell Dave that we needed to go back, just the two of us, as there was so much to explore in the rest of the museum. Yep, I am a total dinosaur nerd, and proud of it!!

How do you do it?

OK, I started to make a calendar last night for a Christmas gift. After finishing my 1st LO, I thought, dang, this is pretty good. Then, I started worrying about what would happen to the LOs after the year is over. And, what about protecting the pages--if the calender were hung in a kitchen, would there be splats and dirt thrown on it from cooking food? And how come there is no way to protect the page? Should I include a 12x12 album to put the LOs in after the year is up? How should I attach the LOs to the calender base without damaging them?

I think I am way too invested here. Who would have thought I would get this involved in my gifts. Last year I made a digital LO brag book for each grandma--cool beans, as I could keep the originals.

Now what? I need to think about this a bit more. I was thinking about getting a digital LO calender made (I use the Top Line Creations Lifetimez software) as I know they have a calender service. But doesn't that defeat the purpose of the cost effective personal gift?

Sigh. Today life isn't quite as good as yesterday. Decisions, decisions. :-(

My kids are seriously cute.

I was just looking at last Halloween pictures and noticed two things.

1. My kids have grown a lot since last year.

2. They are CUTE. Personality plus. Although they look very much like they did last year, so much has changed. Sophie is getting social. Anneliese is getting words (She has 4 now. When you ask her "who's cute" she says "Me.") and a lot more signs that she uses regularly.

I guess some days I forget the good stuff. There are days I don't want to be a special needs mom anymore. I saw a post on Writer Girl's blog (she is also a Sotos mom) stating a similar thing and felt RELIEVED. I felt OK with things after that.

And, the number one thing I keep remembering is that I love these girls the way they are. I celebrate with each little gain and milestone, and stress over any perceived slight. The little quirks that are caused in part by the ASD and Sotos are part of them--parts I love very much. So, no, I guess I wouldn't want to change my children, but I would like the gains to come a little quicker some days.

But, I can deal. And really, with those seriously cute faces, I am finding it easier and easier to do.

Christmas is Coming...

Sigh... I realized today, as I began to plan Christmas gifts for the girls' teachers and aides, that I was acting like the discount stores--planning Christmas before Halloween and Thanksgiving.(Yes, Target is already combining the Christmas and Halloween merchandise.)

So, as I ponder the gift possibilities this year, I want to do more meaningful gifts rather than just rush to the store. I know that Anneliese's teacher has a new grandbaby, so a possible brag book for her. And since this will be the third year of having a child in that pre-school, I don't want to do my usual chocolate/cocoa biscotti basket.

And as far as my folks go, since they are so far away, I want to scrap a photo calender for them. (Yay, a valid excuse to go scrap!) Target had them for $1, and I have enough paper etc for 500 calenders easily. So, I think that tonight I need to organize my scraproom, and get to it. I also want to try a couple little tin/accordion albums, as well as an exploding album.

Yikes! But, this will be fun. We are trying to stay on a budget for Christmas this year, so this is something easy for me to do. Fun, too. But, if I get overwhelmed, you know who you will see shopping on the Sunday before Christmas?

Yep, my husband. I am not going out in that mess. ;-P

So pleased...

Yesterday we went to the 1st Annual autism support group BBQ/picnic. It was at a park, the food was great and there was a lot for the kids to do--both of them painted pumpkins and enjoyed cider and donuts. David took Sophia over to play on the swings/slide/play structure. There were other kids there, and everyone was really friendly when I came up to check on them. I was glad Sophia didn't seem shy around the other children.

I bought a few things at the craft booth, and after eating an awesome BBQ plate, we took the kids home. Last night, Dave and I were talking about the day, and how much fun the girls had. He then told me that when he and Sophie went to the slide, she actually INITIATED conversation with the other kids by introducing herself and asking their names.

Doesn't sound like much, right? Well, maybe not for a neuro-typical child, but for Sophie this was huge. She tends to be very shy and close up around others. I can only credit her month in Kindergarten for the changes so far.

And, Sophia is growing so fast! Her bottom 2 baby teeth have already come out and adult teeth have grown in. Today, I noticed the top two are wiggly. Yikes! And Anneliese has a wiggly tooth on the bottom.

Where does the time go?

Growing up

I created this 2 page LO the other night, after seeing how grown-up my girl is starting to look. Anneliese is getting to be such a big girl! We are up to a few words now--Hi, Bye, Me, Yeah--and she is asking for items with signs. Where did the baby go?

Technically speaking, I know she is a four year old, and not a baby. But with all the physical and verbal delays, she is a year or two behind emotionally. All of a sudden, we have a pre-schooler asserting her independence, and seemingly in the throes of the terrible twos. Yikes!

On the flip side, she is running, jumping, dancing. Her hair is finally growing (thin hair is a Sotos trait) and she has curls and we can do fun things with it. She is cute as a button and loves to play tag with her sister, and ball with anyone she can find.

Emotional Roller Coaster

Well, I have been just up and down over the Sophia school choice. Last Monday (10th) her kindie class had a grandparents day program with singing etc. The noise crowded room etc just stressed her out. Hands over her ears, turning her back etc--my little lost sheep. As soon as the program ended, Sophia went straight for me, crawled in my lap and began to script one of her TV shows. Totally stressed out. After having a cookie, we went outside and she played on the slide. Calm settled on her then. Soon after, class resumed and all the families, including us, left.

Her aide seems very nice, but I was not aware that she is for afternoon only. My first reaction after getting home and thinking about how Sophia reacted was to wrap her in cotton wool and keep her safe. But, I was also aware that the program occurred on only her second day of school.

God was looking out for me that day. I thought to check the answering machine after a while, and there was a message from the specialist's office in Ann Arbor. A cancellation had opened up an appointment. So, I called the office and took the appointment for the following morning.

Dr Tsai was the doctor who had initially diagnosed Sophia in August 05 as PDD-NOS with emergent Asperger Syndrome. After David and I met with him last Tuesday, I was relieved. He gave us a game plan on what to request from the school, how to get OT and her psychologist involved, and a referral to a child psychiatrist locally to get her treated for anxiety. As Dr Tsai is well known as being anti-medication, I did not take his recommendation lightly. Sophia's anxiety permeates everything she does lately--school, going outside, reaction to outside stimulus. He would like her to be treated for 3-4 months, until the school day becomes second nature and she becomes accustomed to the roiutine and noise levels.

So, I now know what the school needs to be doing. I have a great team in Sophia's corner, I just need to get the wheels in motion.

Scrapping confidence

Well, last weekend I had my BFF Larisa to visit, and we stayed up to the wee hours scrapping, talking, and drinking wine (not necessarily in that order). Needless to say, it was fun. I began a theme album I have been planning since the beginning of the year--all my autumn pictures from 2006. It was a fall full of photo ops. We had taken the girls to the orchard for a hay ride and the pumpkin patch. Also, they helped decorate the yard for Halloween, and there were all my fall color pictures. Plus, trick or treating and the loot afterward.

So, I pulled out the kit I had prepared--Daisy D's Gypsy Harvest/Vintage Halloween. I also decided to try a different album size--a 8x12 landscape Baybox album. So, I started scrapping, a little nervous at first because I was still getting used to the size.

Well, I chugged along all week, and finished the scrapbook tonight. It was incredibly freeing to use one coordinated line, and be able to put things together easily. I also realized that about half way through the week, the pages got easier to do, no worries about titles or "design" and I began figuring out ways to arrange my page elements to best showcase the stories I wanted to tell.

In other words, scrapping was fun again. No thoughts filled my head about how to arrange the LO, and I didn't stop to look at an idea book once. Very freeing. Also, other than some Making Memories bling Halloween brads and some Karen Foster autumn loopy brads I bought, everything I used in the book came from my stash. I pulled out old vellum quote stacks from 4 years ago, my bins of brads and eyelets, and used up a bunch of ribbon I have been hoarding. Chipboard alphas? check. Sticker alphas going back 3 years? Check. Stuff I completely forgot I even had? Check. Cricut that is completely ignored? Check.

I need to do this more often. I am trying to go back to scrapping for ME. I noticed as I let myself scrap this book my way, I saw my linear, symmetrical style emerge. It looked GOOD. And I was able to see a few of the famous design techniques there on the pages, without me even realizing it. The one page I got a bit more "freestyle" on is my least favorite.

So, I am feeling "back in the groove." And as I love to say, Life is surely good.

Finally!

Well, today Sophia starts Kindergarten, at School D. Frankly, I am both amazed and relieved.

It has been a long haul to get here! I finally spoke to the head of Special Ed Student Services, JB, last Friday. She assured me she would get back to me Tuesday. I didn't hear a word. So, I called the Principal at School D. No one returned my call. Finally, I talked to SW on Wednesday afternoon--she is the district teacher consultant for children on the autistic spectrum. She go to work, told me she would drive to school D, make phone calls, and get back to me by Thursday morning.

Thursday comes. My MIL and I take the girls up to Anneliese's preschool open house. Get home at 1:o0. No message from SW. So, I call her on her cell. She tells me after a barrage of phone calls to schools with later start times, all the Kindergartens are filled to capacity. So, I asked her what they would do with a new child in the district? Make her stay home until there was an opening. I expressed my frustration, and anger over the lack of returned phone calls, the issues with busing (both last year and this) and my dissatisfaction with this school district in general. SW did assure me she understood, and that her supervisor, JB, was at School D again, insisting on Sophia's admittance.

Well, I cried off and on for the next 2 hours. Then, finally at 4:00, SW calls. Sophia has been admitted to School D, and her busing is arranged, with a pick-up time of 8:00am. YES!!!! Also, the teacher is staying late and would like to meet her. So, I call MIL, and at 4:45 we are pulling into the School D parking lot.

Turns out the teacher is an old family friend of my husband's family. She is great relating to Sophia, and when a fly got into the room, got to see Sophia's reaction to it. So at least she knows what we are dealing with. And Sophie saw the playground--loved it. The play structure has a huge dinosaur on it. (A dinosaur is the school mascot, which Sophie loves. Good Karma anyone?)

So, here we sit waiting for the bus. And Anneliese starts on Monday. 3.5 glorious hours alone are to be mine daily. Lovely!

Memories of my grandfather

Growing up, I lived near my grandparents--a short walk for me in the middle of the country. They owned 120 acres, living on one of the 40s, and we lived on the neighboring forty, with fields and woods in between. Great way to grow up.

I wrote this poem about my grandfather, in college. I think it sums up my memories quite well.

Legacy

I remember walking through the woods with my grandfather, his pace slow to allow my tiny legs to keep up.
I remember the acrid smell of Autumn leaves, falling around us in a multicolored blanket, as he showed me the birch, the poplar and the pine.
I remember the whiteness of Spring lilies, poking up from the denseness of the forest floor.
I remember the patience of my grandfather as he taught me the bird song of the swallow, the chickadee and the robin.
I remember the buzz of yellow bees, flying among the acres of orange Indian paintbrush, purple fireweed, and yellow buttercups.
I remember the sound of our laughter, as my cousins and I played in Nature's bounty, unaware in childhood of what would make this time and place so special to us in adulthood.
I remember the love and acceptance of my grandfather, as he taught me how to understand Nature, and in turn, know myself.

I remember adolescence, with all the tumult and rebellion it brought into my life, and into the lives of those around me.
I remember grandfather, teasing me out of moods and laughing with me about old Danish settlers, taking me into his past with grace and understanding.
I remember spending the night with my grandparents, thinking myself too old for such things, yet loving the time playing cribbage with Gramps long into the night.
I remember feeling more secure in my grandfather’s presence than I would for many years to come.

I remember being twenty-one, hearing with pain of my grandfather’s cancer, knowing he would die too soon.
I remember the cold rain on the day of his funeral, as Nature joined our family in mourning her lost son.
I remember with pain the sound of my grandmother’s voice as she told me not to cry as we drove away from the cemetery.
I remember my recognition of my grandmother’s generosity, comforting me after losing her life partner of 52 years.
I remember finally appreciating the strength of my grandmother as we both reluctantly learned to let go.
I remember a twinge of conscience as I learned to go forward with my life, without the guidance that had led me into adulthood.

I remember my childhood wistfully, seeing now that I was given much more than I had realized at the time.
I remember freedom and laughter, and a peace that sometimes escapes me now as the days fly by.
I remember being one with the woods, in a time when the best friend you could have was a sheepdog named Spike.
I remember the wonder of squirrels and deer, woodchucks and bear.
And I remember my grandfather, knowing that his wisdom and teaching has made me the woman I am today.

Round 1

So, I called the special education director's office today, as I hadn't heard back from them yet. I guess school D has no room in their kindergarten program. Helen (the director's assistant) pulled Sophia's IEP and has been on the phone to various special ed personnel. School D is having a meeting to see what can be done to work Sophia into their program. I flat out told Helen that if School D cannot accommodate my daughter, that I was not comfortable with Sophia's attendance at School H. She assured me that she would let me know as soon as there was new information re the situation. Great.

You know, I am really hating all this back and forth. There needs to be a simpler procedure for special needs education. I am aware that I pulled this on them at the last minute. However, who guessed that Sophia, who LIVED to play outside in April/May would become afraid to step out the door by mid June? Her biggest fear is butterflies. She obsesses about any flying insect landing on her, to the extent that if she sees one she will curl into a standing fetal position and become hysterical. I will not be sending her to school without an aide. If the school will not allow her to refrain from going outside for recess, then they will provide the necessary accommodation so that Sophia can attend school fear free. And I know my daughter--the dread of recess, combined with waking too early, will drain any enjoyment from the school day.

Sigh.....