First Day of School

Tuesday marked the first day of school. All three kids were very excited, but of course there is a law against 15-year-old boys actually saying they are excited.

The Skink's bus comes the earliest - at 6:15 a.m.  As worried as I was about the early hour, she was already up playing when I went into her dark room. After getting dressed and ready, she finally got to put on her new back pack. It was a very exciting event!

And then we all admired her lovely back pack and well coordinated outfit (I actually didn't plan on dressing her to match her back pack.... we just have a LOT of pink).

Then, before the sun was even up, we went out on the front porch to wait for the bus... which was late. So The Skink took matters into her own hands and called it. That is, when it didn't show up in a timely manner, she started actually Calling "BUS! BUUUUUUUSSSSS!"

And then it finally came! The Skink proudly claimed her seat right behind the driver, helped put on her seat belt and off she went for the next 9 hours!

Then it was Iraq's turn. She had been awake since 3-something in her excitement to go to her new school. We had the opportunity this year to have her go to a new (very outdoorsey and hands-on) trial program which happens to be starting out at the same school The Skink goes to! No brainer, there! It's an environmentally-based program that includes a lot of gardening and visits to the surrounding forest.

A couple of weeks ago, all Iraq's clothes were removed from her room when stuffing them all in one drawer became a strange compulsion that simply wouldn't go away... resulting in wrinkles and even small tears when some of them spilled over into the track that holds the drawer in place and got repeatedly "run over" by the edge of the drawer. (If you are a regular follower of my blog, you may remember a post not too long ago where I mentioned we thought we had finally seen the end of this compulsion. I was sadly mistaken.) At any rate, all the clothes have ended up in the master bedroom which is a pain in itself... but better than just standing by and watching the wrinkling and destruction of all those innocent clothes.

So anyway, I had laid out Iraq's 1'st-day-of-school outfit the night before. By the time we had seen The Skink off on her bus, Iraq was already dressed and ready to go... NOW! Of course "NOW" happened to be about 20 minutes before the bus was scheduled to arrive. Eating was out of the question, which worried Mom to no end. Just before running out the front door, Iraq finally agreed to eat... a green pepper. Yes - it happened to be a green pepper we grew in our own garden. Iraq has taken to picking them, rinsing them off and eating them like apples.

So off we went to the bus stop, green pepper in-hand!

Green peppers... The breakfast of Champions!
And of course because Iraq's hair is naturally straight, she made me set it up in curlers the night before so she could go to school with bouncy curls!

And then Iraq noticed the camera, and did what Iraq does best...

Until the bus came :o)

Last but not least, it was Broadway's turn. "Really, mom? You're gonna take my PICTURE?"
(Oh, YES, I am!)

Iraq was the first to get home in the afternoon. Her new school received a glowing report and she said that her class is comprised of mostly girls. Then she exclaimed excitedly, "And they all PLAYED with ME at recess."
*sigh*  That part broke my heart a bit. I have to wonder how long it will be before that changes. Even at summer camp it was not long before the other children distanced themselves from Iraq. Somewhere between her insistence on doing things a VERY CERTAIN WAY, her "unique" little compulsions, a few random outbursts and the fact that occasionally she will shut down completely - refusing to talk, look at people or be touched - other children eventually stop playing with her.
I continuously talk with her about social interaction... sharing, allowing others to decide how the pretend play progresses some times, why children become upset when she has outbursts or shuts down... but I don't think it's something she has full control over yet.

At home, Iraq's compulsions over-ride any fears she may have of punishment. Just like with the clothes - doesn't matter if we make her re-fold them all again, throw away a favorite shirt that got a hole in it or threaten to take them all away... something in her just seems to *make* her repeat the behavior over and over and over and over and...

The Skink was next to get home. I was sure she would be exhausted from her very long day, but NO! She bounded off the bus bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to play. The teacher sent a note saying that The Skink had a very good 1st day of school - Yayy!!

Broadway missed his afternoon bus and I had to go pick him up. School was "fine" and he was excited to have just found out he'll be taking Robotics this year due to a computer glitch. OK - that just sounds like a really cool class! We were hoping he would be taking drivers-ed, but apparently he's saving that until spring.

Anywhooo - otherwise, we are all doing quite well. I'm still figuring out what to do with my new-found freedom while all 3 of my little angels are off at school for the whole day. Yesterday I kicked off the school year by un-gardening... meaning I pulled up the jumbled pile of tomato plants by the side of the house that were done for the year. Today, perhaps I will focus on the potted tomatoes.  As a side-note, we started some pumpkins a few weeks ago and they are growing well in the spot we had the cantaloupes earlier in the summer. They may not be ready by Halloween, but we'll see. At very least, we should have pumpkins by Thanksgiving... mmmmmmm... pie!

The gardening project has been a good thing for Iraq, although by the end of summer rearranging the potted plants (into neat, straight lines) had become more interesting than watering them. Whatever. At least the experience provided her with breakfast for the first day of school!

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The Skink's New Back Pack & Shoe Tying Lessons

Yesterday I took Broadway and Iraq to Target during The Skink's nap time. Daddy doesn't care much for shopping, so he was more than happy to be the assigned baby-sitter!

All 3 kids needed new shoes for school, and The Skink needed her first full-size back-pack (and I figured she probably trusted me enough to choose one for her). Iraq found some shoes rather easily. She has always worn either slip-on shoes or the ones with Velcro closures. Up until now she has had little interest in learning to tie her shoes (this is one of those fine-motor coordination things that some kids in the autism spectrum have a hard time learning). Well - she found some shoes she just HAD to have, and guess what? They have real LACES! She couldn't have been more proud... and I couldn't have been more nervous about the upcoming tie-your-shoes-lessons!

When we got home, The Skink (now awake from her nap) was presented with her brand-new Hello Kitty back-pack (thank-goodness the thing was on sale). She was so excited about it, she wore it the whole evening.

And the good news is that if she ever gets tired of wearing it, we can just put her inside of it, zip it up and carry her about. Yes - - it IS as big as she is :)

Now... notice what is going on in the background...

I sat with Iraq and worked on shoe-tying for a while. Just when I started feeling a little frustrated and like we were going nowhere fast, Broadway stepped in and said, "Mom, let me try. I remember learning to tie my shoes... I bet you don't."

He had a point!

How cute is that? By the end of nearly 40 minutes, Iraq had successfully tied her shoe once! Yay!!

Unfortunately by this morning, poor Iraq had forgotten what she had learned, and was running about with her laces undone. Yes - she learned that doing that was not such a great idea when she stepped on a lace and fell. Perhaps I can sweet talk Broadway into a few more lessons for Iraq... I hope!

Also, one of the other moms in the blogosphere has proposed "Me Time Tuesday." With any luck I'll be reporting on my Me-Time adventures once the kids are in school. Now to figure out what to do!

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School is Starting Soon!

While I realize that much of the rest of the country in already in school, my 3 will start on the day after Labor Day. I just got their bus schedules... Broadway gets picked up around 8:15 and comes home just before 4. Sounds good. Iraq gets picked up at 7:17 and gets home just before 3. Cool. The Skink gets picked up at 6:15 and comes home at 3:20... say WHAT??

The Skink? That's my 4-year-old! Pre-K! Special Ed! Isn't that kind of a long day for a Skink? And what will I do without her? And what will I do with all that FREEDOM? I haven't had that kind of freedom... since, like, college?

I have a feeling this is going to be a bit of culture shock for me. Then again, I have a long list of things I've been wanting to do, if only I had more... TIME! I know this lady - one of The Skink's therapists from before she went to school - and she has a HORSE! Do I see more horse in my future?

And there are a few books I've been meaning to write, and some exercise I've been meaning to get, and a house I've been meaning to clean, and some groceries I've been meaning to buy, and oil I need to have changed, and laundry... OK - so maybe I'll have plenty of things to do.

Yesterday we went to the lake for some fun. The Skink LOVES the boat. She LIVES for the boat :o)

Like you couldn't tell from the picture... right?

And after dinner, the kids all took advantage of Mimi and Pop's front yard which has a lovely slope I'm glad I don't have to mow! In Texas the children never played in the grass due to the nasty little critters known as fire ants. A fire ant bite feels much like a bee sting, and if you happen upon a fire ant, you'll know they like to travel in packs... and bite in packs.

Thus, this whole VA play-in-the-grass thing is a newly found joy for the kids.

And exploring is a great way to get a bunch of grown-ups to test their running abilities...

If you look in the background, you can see Broadway bringing The Skink back from her adventure.

So - Happy Weekend!
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On Broadway...

Iraq tends to be the most photogenic person in our family. Of course, before we go to Philadelphia, we have to have shots of Broadway, too. Broadway is going through that awkward phase we all go through in our first years of high school. He's growing and changing so fast he barely knows where his body is. Of course, he's also a 15-year-old male, so smiling is stupid. On top of that, he hates having his picture taken.

Boy - doesn't this sound like a fun assignment??

Once again, we need votes for your top 3 favorite pictures, via comments, email or FaceBook. So in no particular order, I present you... Broadway!

(You can click on any image to enlarge it)

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So there you have it, folks. I'll be taking more in the future, but this is a start, and your opinions are paramount in my not looking like a buffoon at the November Conference.

What have I gotten myself into??

About a week and a half ago as we were driving in the car, and advertisement for ProScout came on the radio. Though normally I might have tuned it out as just another blah-blah advertisement, Iraq piped up from the back seat, and almost screamed, "IT SAID I COULD BE A MODEL!" That was all I heard about until we reached our destination.

I never really thought about getting my kids into that industry - I mean, it's almost right up there with kiddie pageants in my book of things to avoid like the plague... but...

It's true. Any time a camera comes out, Iraq is there "workin' it!" And BOY can that girl work it! I can take 100 photos of her, and 99 of the pictures I take will be lovely. I somehow missed out on the "photogenic" gene. You can take 100 pictures of me, and approximately 3 of them won't send you in to fits of giggles... if I'm lucky.

So I figured, what could it hurt? If we go to ProScout and they do that vague smile & nod thing, pat us on the head and tell us "Don't call us, we'll call you," then we haven't wasted anything but an hour or two of our time. It won't hurt MY feelings - I mean, what mother out there doesn't think her children are the most glorious things ever created? And I knew all those other moms and their glorious creations would be there to to help us with our little reality check.

Just before I left I asked Broadway if he wanted to go too. He said "sure" in that I'm-so-over-you bored teenager tone and schlumped out to the car with us.

There were hundreds of people there. As we waited for our turn to meet with one of the ProScout scouts, more and more people left. Then it was Iraq's turn. She marched right up to that desk, stuck out her hand and said in a bold voice, "HI! I'm Iraq!" The guy asked her why she was there and she looked him in the eye and proclaimed "I want to be a MODEL!" Then he asked her if she'd ever thought about doing advertisements or acting... she said "I don't know. I guess that would be fun, too." He asked what TV show she would like to be on - and her instant reply was "SpongeBob!" LOL!

The scout gave her a big smile and asked if he could take her picture - of course she yelled "SURE!" and gave him a great little smile and a pose. Yeah - that's my Iraq! He handed her the Ace of Hearts card and told her he thought she'd make a great model. Yes - this is when my Iraq put her head to the side, looked him in the eye and said, "I know."

Broadway wanted to go up on his own. I could see his personality coming out from where I stood - and then the scout handed him a card too.

Holy Cow!

So my two older kids have been invited to meet about 40 representatives of international modeling agencies in Philadelphia in November. Road Trip!

Broadway was at his grandparent's house this weekend, so I started taking a few shots of Iraq. We need some decent head shots and some other shots to try to impress the agents into flying us to the Bahamas for a week-long photo shoot  (I can dream, can't I?). So this is one 10 minute photo session in our front yard wearing clothes I picked up at a second-hand shop. I figure the more I take, the less likely we are to need to get professional photos done... because there is NO way we can afford that right now!

Here's where YOU come in! I need you to leave me a comment, email me or let me know on FaceBook what your top 3 pics are. I like certain ones, but I'm the kid's mom, so my opinion may be a little swayed :)

And here they are:

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OR:

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 OR:

I have each one in both color and black & white. Your input is HUGELY appreciated because I don't want to look like a completely clueless idiot when we meet some agent from the Ford Agency... an idea which makes me want to pee myself, really...

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Little Smarty-Pants!

Don't you love it when your 4-year-old outwits you? She has figured out how to open her bedroom door and escape during nap-time and at night. Having a Skink wandering about one's house in the middle of the night is not necessarily a good thing...   So...

Yes - bungee cords have many wonderful uses in our house. If anyone wants to buy the Pack-n-Play crib sitting in our hall upstairs, please let me know. I'll give you a good deal on it!

Another random thing I need to mention is that for her 4th birthday, The Skink got a singing cow from my mother. It is by far The Skink's favorite toy right now, so much so that we have to take it away from her at nap time and night time... or she'll make it sing "Blue Mooooooooon" all night!  The following picture was taken right after my mom gave it to her...
More bars in more places...

And apparently children who go to camp learn to do the chicken dance! No matter what music is playing these days, we get a visit from our resident chicken.

Even though it's been really hot lately, I took the kids to the park the other day. We have a great park within walking distance, but there is another one that is a short drive away - I like it better because it is completely fenced in! I can set The Skink loose and I don't have to run after her the entire time. They also have these neat little play houses for the kids, and the whole park is beautifully maintained. 

Remember, the bars are for YOUR safety!

I have often told people that Iraq has an amazing amount of patience when it comes to The Skink. This morning she got really mad at her little sister when The Skink wandered into her room through the un-latched baby gate and "messed up" one of the lines of matchbox cars. If you have read my blog before, you know that Iraq has a form of Autism called Asperger's syndrome. She is super-high functioning, but has some quirks - one of which is lining up all her toys in perfect lines. This is how she "plays." People with Asperger's often have these strange forms of OCD - like compulsions to do things other people may not understand. To Iraq, having one of the cars moved out of it's place in line is... BAD! She can't explain why it's bad, but it just is. Kind of like how germaphobes know in their mind they won't *die* if they don't wash their hands, but they are compelled to do so... over and over and over.

So, The Skink apparently moved a few of the cars which resulted in a massive, pre-camp melt-down. It was about the angriest I've seen Iraq get with The Skink, but she still did not resort to any physical actions. The Skink looked horrified and ran from Iraq's room with her hands over her ears.

Iraq's compulsive nature can result in some positive things, like how she organizes her shoes. Other compulsions are just a little random, though...

This is actually a BIG improvement! Leaving the drawers open "just-so" is fine with me, really! She used to take ALL the clothes out of the drawers and put them in a single drawer. Talk about wrinkles!!

The compulsions that cause problems (like wrinkled clothes, permanent pen marks on things, nasty smells or general destruction of property) well, we work on those things a day at a time. We make sure she understands why we don't want her to do those things, and when necessary, temporarily take away toys or privileges as punishment... but one time is usually not enough. If it is a true compulsion, we will see it over and over and over, no matter what the punishment is. The all-the-clothes-in-one-drawer thing lasted months, so you can't imagine how excited I am to see the drawers as you see them above! YAYYYY!

Sure, it can be stressful for everyone involved, but we love her to bits no-matter-what! There will always be some people who believe their children to be perfect. I will never be one of those. My children are perfect for who they are. That is how they were made. It's my job to help them find their way in this world as best I can... that, and keep them alive...
Yeah - it's all in a day's work.

Have I mentioned how good Iraq is getting at Hide and Go Seek? She used to hide under her bed every time, but look how creative she is getting!!

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