Sunny Saturday

 

And while we were having so much fun in the sun outside... well - you know the old saying. "While the people are away, the cats will run Google searches for hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... "

Is that not an old saying?? Well... whatever...  :o)

*

Morning Cuteness Break

Don't you wish you could be this enthusiastic about life at 5:50 a.m.? And she doesn't even need coffee!

*

Save the Hair!

She has such pretty hair, doesn't she? Unfortunately she has started chewing on it. This is part of autism. It's a self-soothing behavior often referred to as "stimming." Some children rock, some flap, some chew and some do all of those things and more. 

Iraq used to suck her thumb. It was her form of stimming, but as she grew older her peers began teasing her for her thumb sucking. (We all know how sweet and accepting children can be... LOL!) In recent months as the school work has become more involved, Iraq's hair has been paying the price. Last Thursday her bus driver, who absolutely adores her, gave her some gum. Within 30 minutes we had a large wad of gum and hair all chewed together. Thankfully I have some hair de-frizzing serum that let me work the gum out (yes - this would be about the 8th time this has happened with Iraq), but I an guarantee it took longer to get the gum out than it did to get it in!

Recent classroom observation by the special-ed staff at Iraq's school found that she is, in fact, stimming in class quite a bit.

I can't be at school to redirect her stimming, but in lieu of sending her off with a pack of gum (ie. "contraband") I have found something called "Chewelry."

I've ordered a pretty, pink heart necklace. I have very high hopes this will spare Iraq's hair from hours of noshing through the day! Not only is this great for kids in the autism spectrum, but I've heard from parents of kiddos with Down syndrome that their kids often have the urge to chew. It hasn't been a problem with The Skink, thankfully - but honestly that's not a huge surprise considering she never allowed anything at all in her mouth until she was almost 2 years old (The Skink had a G-Tube for feeding issues associated with her premature arrival).

So there you have it! We're going to give Chewelry a try.

I also recently made the mistake of putting all of Iraq's clothes back into her room - yes, after her OCD hoarding behaviors led to the wrinkling and near-destruction of much of her wardrobe, her clothes took up residence in the master bedroom for about 6+ months. Not 48 hours after putting her clothes back in her dresser did I find every single item stuffed into one of the 8 drawers! Gah!

We talked about *why* this is not good for the clothes and discussed allowing each type of clothing (pants, shirts, socks, pajamas) to have their own assigned drawer so they could be found quickly and easily.

I'm not holding my breath, but I am hoping. Honestly, we just never know what we'll find in Iraq's room... or where in her room. It's like a strange, Goth Easter egg hunt in which finding an item may bring, joy, relief, frustration or nausea. Just never know!

The Skink, who does not have autism, anxiety, OCD, kleptomania or any of her sister's other major issues, received a purse for Christmas. She loves carrying it around with a set of toy keys, sunglasses and a toy phone it it. Purses are for the little items you value, right? I suppose I shouldn't have been too terribly surprised when I found the remnants of an ice cream cone in there. *sigh*  It did give me a great giggle, though!

*

Technicolor Moments

Every day is like a different color. Some are bright and some rather dull and drab. Some are so saturated with brain-numbing hues they wear you out by noon, and others are a bit easier to look at for a full 18-hour period.

Monday was a blood-red color, I'd say. It was a rough day for Iraq. Transitions are difficult in general, and transitioning from the weekend to the school week can pose some challenges. On Monday, those challenges (in order of appearance) were; getting up, getting dressed, picking a breakfast, getting caught trying to put pills in the garbage, begging to take a lunch-box lunch, getting a coat on, getting out the door...

Yup - that was the look I was awarded with when it was time to get a coat on. It crossed my mind to shove her out the door sans coat in the 20 F chill of the morning. Instead, I took another deep breath.

After school we faded from blood-red to a pulsating fuchsia. Sharing was an issue... but it pretty much always is. The Skink is doing fairly well on the sharing front. Iraq... not so much.

Today was a much nicer pink hue! We enjoyed temperatures in the 50's. Tired of hibernating in our "den" for the winter, we came out of hiding after school for some outdoor fun with scooters, running and chalk. Even the boys came out and did a bit of fix-up stuff by replacing the worn-out flag holder with a brand new one, and a new flag pole!

 

 

Who knows what color we'll get tomorrow?

*

Stylish Blogger Award

Much to my surprise and delight, my blogger friend In Real Life has bestowed the wondrous "Stylish Blogger Award" upon me and my little corner of the padded room. 

First, I must tell you 7 things about myself so without any further adieu...

1. We can be quite certain that my wardrobe played no part in my earning this award! Once upon a time, I worked outside of the home and was in relatively good shape. When cleaned up for a special event, I looked a little like this:

Seven years, 2 additional kids and 100 gallons of cortisol later... not so much. Ya know - I still have that dress, but I'm not sure I could pull it much above my ankles at this point. 

2. My current wardrobe consists of jeans, sweats and in the summer, shorts. Throw in a T-shirt or two and I'm good to go.

3. If I were invited to a formal party or special occasion this coming weekend, I would have to go shopping for something "nice" to wear. 

4. My life currently revolves around my family. They don't care what I wear.

5. I'm going to get back in shape... someday...

6. My children have far nicer wardrobes than I.

7. Finally, I think this award has inspired me to create my own clothing line. I'm gonna call it "Suburban Decay - Clothes you can really let-yourself-go in!" and it will consist of raggedy sweats, baggie jeans, T-shirts stained with spaghetti sauce from little hands and mismatched  socks. There will also be a line of hair clips with some of the teeth broken out. Contact me to get on the waiting list to try my new line!

Now it's time for me to pass along this award to some far more worthy candidates! Honestly, I'd love to nominate everyone I follow, but I'm going to have to close my eyes and point to...

Stephanie from Daily Smiles

Lisa from Living in the Light

LucyAndEthel from The Suite Life of Lucy and Ethel

and Stacia from A New Start

All of whom are probably far more stylish than I   :o)

Pictorial History of The Skink!

 

*

New Doo

I sent The Skink to school with two pigtails and she came home with braids.

Cute, huh?

And in other (more exciting) news, The Skink has been staying dry all day at school AND asking to go to the potty! I'm so proud! Most of the "wet stuff" has been going into the potty, but we're still working on the "other stuff." That usually takes kids a little longer. At any rate, we're getting there!

*

Brandy the Wonder Dog - At WalMart!

Sorry for not posting in a little while... I've been a bit busy. Today the kids went back to school (Yay!) which set off World War III when I tried to get Iraq up and dressed (Boo!), but I was pretty much expecting that. It was all the usual stuff: didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to get dressed, insisted I help her dress, wouldn't pick a breakfast, wouldn't eat breakfast, wouldn't take her medicine, wouldn't get her book bag, wouldn't put on her coat... yes, basically each and every step was a battle accompanied by shrieking, crying, anger, and my cajoling. 

Of course The Skink got up without any fuss at all and was full of excitement when the bus came. Broadway is easy as well, but wasn't quite as excited as The Skink. 

I was able to get some work done before noon, and then crashed... hard! 

This is one of our cats modeling this concept. The only difference is that I didn't fall asleep on my desk... this time.

It was a good thing I have a reminder alarm on my phone set to go off a few minutes before the bus arrives or I'd probably still be sleeping now. If only stress burned calories in the way it wears a person out... heck - I'd be as skinny as a rail by now!

Of course once the girls got home I realized the house was completely devoid of food following the Christmas break. I had planned on doing the grocery shopping today while the kids were at school, but I was... otherwise occupied.

That's when the sinking feeling hit. I was going to have to drag a kid with Aspergers and a kid with Down syndrome to WalMart. Normally I try to avoid doing this at all costs. In the past such visits have always ended with receiving the "hairy eyeball" from the other shoppers over my children's (Iraq's) behavior - or lack thereof. 

In my moment of desperation, Brandy came up to me and looked me solidly in the eyes. I swear that dog can read my mind. Maybe I can read hers a bit too, because she was telling me very clearly that she wanted to go to WalMart.

Mind you, although I have trained Brandy to be a service dog, she has mostly just accompanied us on walks to the park. I have worked her in stores (without the kids) but never in a store so large and busy as WalMart. It was a crazy whim... but somehow it worked!

At first Brandy was a  bit alarmed that we were taking the children into such a huge, noisy place. She tensed up as we went through the automatic doors, and I almost chickened out right then and there. Yet though her doggy eyes were huge as she looked at the motorized cart-mover that was just then moving a few dozen carts into the entryway, Brandy stayed right by my side with Iraq marching along on her other side. 

After a short while, Brandy had calmed down and was taking her job seriously. She stayed by Iraq and her presence helped Iraq stay focused and calmer. Normally Iraq begs and cries for toys, food and other items she doesn't need, but today she was intent on walking by Brandy's side. Usually by the time we get to the checkout line, Iraq is so overstimulated that she won't listen to a word I say. Today she knelt down and hugged Brandy. Then she POLITELY asked me for candy! She didn't whine or go directly to melting down in anticipation of a negative answer... she actually said, "Mommy, may I please have some candy?" In a nice voice, even! Of course I said "yes" even though it was getting close to dinner time.

 Brandy was even kind enough to carry my wallet and keys in her backpack!

The only issue we had with Brandy was when the little boy in front of us in the check out line started teasing the poor dog with the bag of Funions he was munching from. He kept throwing them on the floor near her, apparently to try lure her closer to him. Although Brandy obeyed my "leave it!" command, she IS still a dog. We left the store with long strings of drool hanging from her bully mug. Pavlov's Funion?

So, once again, Brandy passes the test! Further proof that you CAN teach an older dog new tricks. For the record, Brandy will be turning 8 in February.