you're hurting me taking my blood!

Well, I finally took SJ to get his blood work yesterday. I had lost the prescription for a few weeks. After I found it, I was in no particular hurry to get it done. SJ HATES getting his blood work done. His specialist runs a battery of tests on his blood. He checks metal and mineral levels. He checks his gluten (Flour) and casein (milk) levels. He also checks his cholesterol and a few other things I can't decipher.

Usually, I take him to Children's Hospital. It is a great place, but it is a pretty far drive. Our local hospital had recently opened a satellite office nearby. I had just been there last week to get a sonogram on my thyroid and I asked if they did blood work. They gave me a list of things they can't draw. I checked the list yesterday and it appeared that they would be able to draw for each tests.

I had called in advance and talked to a super helpful lady. She assured me that they would be able to do the blood work. I told her that we would be there within an hour, but truly it was closer to 90 minutes. As soon as I told SJ that we were going to get his blood work done, he started throwing a fit! He started crying and asking not to go. "Can't we go tomorrow?" asked SJ. "No, they are not open," I lied. He always wants to put off anything non-preferred to another day.

We got there and I registered him. It took them quite a while to get the tubes labeled and ready. The tech came out twice to reassure us that she was almost done. Finally after waiting 42 minutes, we were called back. "Does he do okay with getting his blood work?" she asked. "As good as can be expected," I replied. She asked me to hold his arm still and she put the blue band around his arm. "You're hurting me," yelled SJ. She hadn't even put in the butterfly needle yet. "You're fine. She didn't even do anything yet," I told him.

I told him to look away, but of course he didn't listen. "Ow! You're hurting me," yelled SJ again. "Stop taking my blood," pleaded SJ. I told SJ to stay calm. "See, there is only one needle and 5 tubes. That is so much less than they usually take," I told him. When we go to Children's Hospital, they take about 13 test tubes. However, they are much skinnier. These tubes were fairly bigger and they took more blood. After the second tube was filled, he asked if she was done. "Not yet, honey. Three more to go," the tech said. She tried to talk to him to distract him, but he was having nothing to do with that. "Make her stop, Mom. It is hurting me," he cried. "It is almost over," I reassured him. At one point during tube four, SJ let out an ear piercing cry. "Stop yelling like that," I said. "You will scare the old people in the lobby."

Finally when she got to tube five, he was just whining. "Do you want to stop for a treat on the way home?" I asked him. "We could get a donut," I added. "It is not Sunday," said SJ. The tech gave him some stickers and told him he did a great job. "Sorry for his behavior," I said. "He is on the spectrum." SJ said, "My brother says I am autistic, but I am not." I said, "Yes, you are." He said, "No, I am not." She looked at me and said, "Don't worry about it. My son is on the spectrum too." Now I know why she was so patient. You have to be patient when you are raising a child on the spectrum. I told her good luck and she said the same to me. I will take any luck that I can get!

christmas day and all the trimmings

Well, the boys had woken up at 6:34 a.m. on Christmas morning.  They woke up my parents, Uncle Greg, my husband and I.  "It is Christmas.  It is Christmas.  Get up everyone," SJ shouted at the top of the stairs.  My mom had hurt her leg the night before, so she hobbled down the steps before the boys ran her down.  The rest of us made it downstairs a few minutes later. Bob was still pretty tired, so he said SJ could open all of his presents first.

SJ started opening.  He got a few Lego sets, a 1000 piece puzzle, and a calendar.  He went to open what he said was a "clothes box".  "Just clothes," he sighed.  Then, to his surprise it was three new plushies: Doug the dog from "Up", Bullseye from "Toy Story" and Dr. Doofenshmirtz from "Phineas & Ferb".  He continued to open his gifts.  He picked up a big box and shook it.  "Not more Legos," complained SJ.  He opened it up and saw that there was just a handful of Legos and a smaller wrapped box.  "Oh, Santa tried to trick me," said SJ with a smile.  He opened the small box and it was a new IPod.  "Finally, I got my IPod," he said out loud as if he had been waiting for one for years. 

Bob opened his presents.  He also got some Legos, a puzzle, Yahtzee Flash and a calendar.  We didn't see a smile until he opened his Domino Rally game.  Finally, I thought to myself.  Then, he opened his camera to use with his PS3.  This was another favorite of Bob's.  He opened the rest of his presents and seemed to melt away any tiredness that he had in him. 

We had the boys open their presents from my parents (a Helicopter and more Legos) and then the adults opened their presents.  We all had breakfast and then the boys started to play.  This went on for the remainder of the day until it was time to go to Isaac's house (my cousin's kid).  They were excited to go over there.

We stayed there for a few hours.  The boys love playing with Isaac.  We were playing Jeff Foxworthy's You Might Be a Redneck if...game.  SJ, Bob and Isaac were in hysterics as they were reading the questions to us.  After we left there, we headed over to my husband's cousin's house.  Bob always stays near us since he is so shy.  SJ, on the other hand, is the complete opposite.  He just goes from room to room chatting away to my husband's relatives that we only see occasionally.  So much for being socially awkward!  After a while, the boys played with the kids that were there and SJ did his best to keep their dog away from him.  My husband brought in the board game and SJ was entertaining the adults with the questions.  We stayed there for a couple of hours and then headed home. 

The boys fell asleep pretty quickly after we returned home.  A good day was had by all of us that day.  We hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

christmas eve festivities

Well, we had over both our immediate families for Christmas Eve.  As our guests arrived, the present piles got bigger and bigger.  We never open presents until after we eat.  We had the traditional spiral baked ham (I wanted to do a filet of beef, but it was WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!!!), coleslaw, green beans almondine, corn, mashed potatoes & gravy, rolls and salad.  The ham was a little overdone (SJ walked into the kitchen and asked my husband why we were making bacon-LOL!), but everything was still delicious. 

We always start with the youngest to begin the gift opening.  That is always SJ. SJ got some Lego's and a few gift cards.  As soon as he was done opening his presents, he took off to his room to build them.  After SJ, it was Bob's turn.  He also got some Lego's and gift cards too.  Then we moved on to our nephew, my sister, I, my brother-in-law, my husband, my sister-in-laws, my parents and then my sister-in-law's mother-in-law. 

SJ was upstairs for a while building his Lego's, while Bob was playing video games with our teenage nephew.  It was a lovely night for the adults.  We had great conversation, good food, good drinks and a lot of laughs.  When all of our guests left except our overnight guests (my parents and Uncle Greg), SJ told me that he was going to sleep in Bob's room.  He had already set up his sleeping bag and pillow in Bob's room.  Of course, he had his bin of plushies too!  The boys had put on their new Christmas pajamas (another yearly tradition) and I had them sprinkle the reindeer dust on the front walkway.  They went to bed around 10 p.m.  I told them not to go downstairs in the morning until they woke my husband and me up.  They aren't allowed to get us up before 6:30 a.m.  I thought since they went to bed so late they might have slept in until 8:00 a.m.  No such luck!  They were up at 6:34 a.m. 

christmas prep

Every year, we have a Christmas Eve party. It is always with my husband's family and sometimes my family comes too. This year both sides were coming. We had a lot to do to get ready. I had done most of my food shopping on Wednesday and Thursday. The boys were spared from that frustrating task. We had a 3/4 school day on Thursday. When the boys and I returned from school, my husband informed me that his brother Greg would be staying with us.

My parents were going to be spending the night as well on Christmas Eve, so I asked SJ if he would be willing to give up his bed for Uncle Greg. "But where will I sleep?" said SJ. "I don't know. Either in the playroom with Grammy and Pappy or in Bob's room," I replied. He couldn't decide then, so I told him that we could just decide on Christmas Eve night.

Christmas Eve eve I had the boys helping my husband and I clean up the house. I was actually happy that Greg was staying with us (not that I wouldn't normally be), since it was an even better reason to clean out SJ's room. I got all the small toys put away and then moved on to the bigger stuff. I stripped his bed and surprisingly not a single complaint was heard. I got the whole room dusted and vacuumed. (This is usually a very difficult task due to all the small treasures that he keeps around the room.)

After we had the boys' rooms done, we moved on to the remainder of the house. We managed to finish most of the house on Friday, except for the bathrooms (which always get done the day of the party). I had thrown all of SJ's plushies in a bin and they were sitting in the hall. "Where am I sleeping tonight?" asked SJ. "In your room," I said. "But what about my plushies?" he asked. "Just take a few in your room, but put them back in the bin when you wake up," I said. It hadn't occurred to me that he thought he wouldn't be able to sleep in his room that night.

Overall, I felt the boys were very helpful. I guess they know that Santa is coming and with him comes presents. Too bad Santa doesn't come every night!

portal north pole

So, the other day my mom had a message sent from Santa for each of the boys. It is on a sight called Portal North Pole. You type in some information about your child (or grandchild) and they get a personal message from Santa. He starts off by saying their name like "Hello Bob. I see you’re from Pennsylvania and you are 11 years old." He gives them something to work on (like being nicer to your brother) and tells them one thing he is bringing. Then, he has some elves check if they are on the Naughty or Nice list. After a few seconds, the green or red light turns on. Both boys were on the nice list.

You would think this would make them happy, right? WRONG!!! They were both upset. Bob was pouting and said to us, "I shouldn't have told Grammy that I wanted a big bucket of Legos. She must have told Santa that. I don't want that now. I want a camera for my PS3." I said, "You never said you wanted a camera for your PS3. How was Santa going to know that?" He went upstairs to pout some more. I know he sounds so spoiled. In all fairness to him, he truly couldn't decide what he wanted. We were just trying to guess at what to get him.

It was the same with SJ. Every time we asked him what he wanted, he would say he didn't know. "I'll think about it next week," said SJ each time we asked. SJ got upset over the video too, but not for the same reason as Bob. Santa told him he was getting a Wii game (not sure if Santa really is). He went upstairs to cry in his room. When I went up to talk to him, I asked him why he was crying. He said, "I am not crying. I am sweating from my eyes." He said, "I don't just want a Wii game. I want some plushies, Legos and an IPod." I said, "When has Santa ever brought you only one gift?"  That seemed to calm him down a little.  Well, Santa is bringing plushies and Legos, but not an IPod. "Santa may not have time to change his list since it so close to Christmas," I told SJ. He continued to "sweat from his eyes".

Now, I thought the video from Santa was a great idea. I don't know why these two were so upset over it. So, if you have kids who aren't as "sensitive" as mine, maybe your kids will enjoy it. Good luck and happy holidays!

swoosh, swoosh, swoosh

On Saturday, my husband took SJ skiing at Hidden Valley Resort. In Pennsylvania, they have a ski program for kids in 4th and 5th grade. For a small fee, these kids get a few discount lift tickets at the various local ski resorts. My husband has always loved skiing, so he naturally would like the boys to ski with him.

Last year, we took both boys out of school for the day and took them skiing. We got them lessons. Bob opted to try snowboarding and SJ stuck with skiing. There was hardly anyone there, so they got a private lesson (although we had paid for a group lesson). SJ was giving the instructor some difficulty, but thankfully the instructor was super patient and determined. After their lesson was over, we spent a couple of hours on the bunny hill practicing what they learned.

After we took a break for lunch, we got them on one of the lifts and made our way down one of the green hills (beginner hills are labeled as green). Bob did not like the lifts AT ALL! He was so scared of falling off the chair and getting hit with the chair as he was attempting to get off. This seems reasonable to me, since these are my fears as well. Needless to say, Bob was not too keen to go up the lift again. He decided to stay at the bunny hill. SJ and my husband went up the lift a few times without us. Once SJ got a handle on the "French fries" (going straight) and the "pizza" (stopping yourself), he seemed to really enjoy it.

When it came time to sign the boys up for the ski program, SJ was super excited, but Bob opted to not sign up. My husband tried to talk him into it several times, but he is a stubborn little guy. A few months ago, my husband took SJ to get skis, rental boots, a helmet and other ski accessories. When we got a few snowflakes a couple of weeks ago, SJ was ready to go. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough snow in the mountains to ski.

This past weekend we did get more snow. SJ was ready to go again. My husband checked the ski report and they did have some snow at Hidden Valley. They were having an opening day special, so the lift tickets were reasonably priced. They left early in the morning. My husband said there weren’t many people there, so it was a great day for SJ to start skiing again. They didn't have all the trails open, but they had enough to satisfy SJ and my husband.

They did one or two runs on the bunny hill and then got on the lifts. SJ did such a great job. He had a little trouble getting off of the chair the first time, but after that he did much better. They started off with a few green hills. SJ was skiing so well that he would ski right up to the lift line. He fell at one point, so he called for my husband to help him up. As my husband was trying to help him up, he almost fell on SJ. SJ managed to get up and started skiing down the hill. When my husband caught up to him, he said that they should try that again. "I almost fell on you, SJ," my husband said. "Yeah, it was fun. Let's do that again," said SJ. "No, we aren't going to that again," said my husband.

They went up the lift again and this time SJ wanted to try a blue hill (medium difficulty). SJ did pretty well on it, but then they stayed on the green hills. My husband said the day was great except for the fact that it was so cold. After they skied for a few more hours, they came home. SJ was very excited to tell me about the trip, but he was also very tired. I am glad he has found something else that my husband and he can do together. What a great bonding day!

flashback to SJ in kindergarten

I work in our local kindergarten.  For the past 6 or so years, they have been playing The Polar Express at Christmas time.  The kids get to come to school dressed in their pajamas.  They get their ticket and watch the movie.  After the movie is over, they return to their rooms and have cocoa and treats.  They also receive a bell (just like in the movie). 

When SJ was in kindergarten, I thought he would be so excited to go to school on Polar Express Day.  (We had already seen the movie and he loved it.)  A few days before Polar Express Day, he started getting agitated about going to school.  My husband and I couldn't understand why he was so upset.  He eventually told us that he didn't want to go to school on Polar Express Day.

"Why?" we asked.  "I don't want to get on the train," said SJ.  "What train?" we asked.  "The Polar Express," he replied.  SJ thought that they were going to get on the train from the kindergarten and go to the North Pole.  Once we explained to him that he was just going to watch a movie, he was much more relaxed. 

Now, every year when they watch this movie, I remember SJ's thought.  That is the difference between a typical child and one with PDD.  The typical child doesn't always take things so literally, but children on the spectrum sometimes do.  I am happy to report that SJ can see more gray in situations now.  He is not a strictly black and white person   I am glad that is one area where he is breaking free of the autism world.

after school speech part 13

On Thursday, SJ had his weekly speech session.  He was pretty crabby about having "double speech", but I reminded him that he would be taking a break from speech during the holiday.  I decided that since we are having a vacation from school we will take a break from speech too.  He seemed pleased when he heard this news.

He wanted my husband to take him to speech, which was fine with me.  I am in the process of making the many dozens of cookies that I bake each Christmas season.  I was working on chewy chocolate peanut butter chip cookies and making truffles that night.  My husband said that his therapist said he had a good session.  She finished the testing, but she didn't have the calculations done yet.  She said she would have them done when he returned in the new year. 

They worked on Sequencing and Predicting Outcomes.  She said he had some trouble with the sequencing.  He wasn't given visual cues.  He was just given a situation, such as how do you wrap a birthday present.  (In all fairness to SJ, he has never wrapped a present a day in his life.  However, you get the example situation.)  She said she had to give him some prompts and then he was able to do the sequences. 

On the predicting outcomes worksheet, he did a little better.  The one that he had trouble with was this example:  Your mom put water in a big pan and turned the burner to high.  What happened next?  He could have answered that the water boiled or I added some ingredients.  He didn't know how to respond.  That could be my fault, since I don't usually involve the boys in my cooking.  I am always worried about the boys getting burned. 

So, SJ is speech free until January 5th.  I don't know how we are going to fill our Thursday evenings, but I bet I can find something for us to do!

i'm not going to grammy's

On Saturday evening, we had dinner reservations at the Grand Concourse. We were celebrating my sister-in-law's 50th birthday. The Grand Concourse is a very nice restaurant in Pittsburgh. Some people take children there, but it is more of an adult restaurant. Since we weren't taking the boys, they were going to spend the night at my parent's house.

An hour before we were to leave, I told SJ to go pack his things for the sleepover. He started whining and telling us that he didn't want to go. "I don't want to go to Grammy's. Maybe I will go next weekend," said SJ. As if this was an option! My husband said, "SJ, we are celebrating aunt DJ's birthday tonight. Not next weekend." A very teary SJ yells that he is not going. I said, "You have 5 minutes to go pack your things or I will pack them." He stormed off to the playroom, where he began to play some game on his Wii.

After 5 minutes, I went upstairs to again ask him to pack some things. "No, I am not going to Grammy's. Just get a babysitter, "said SJ. "We are not getting a babysitter. You are going to Grammy's," I said in a very frustrated voice. He wouldn't pack his things, so I packed them for him. I told him if he didn't pack his plushies then they would stay home. "They are staying here and so am I," he declared. "No, you are not. Go get your shoes on and get in the car," I told him. He stomped down the stairs crying the whole way.

When the rest of us got into the car, he was still complaining.  My husband told him to cut it out. He said Grammy and Pappy love him and they would feel said to know he was complaining about having a sleepover. "Next time you and Mom go out can you get a babysitter?" he asked. "Maybe we will SJ," my husband replied.

He continued to whine the whole way to my parents' house. "Can you come back for me after dinner?" SJ asked. "Depends on how late we are out. You don't want us to wake you," my husband said. "I just want you to come back," SJ said. "We'll see," I said. I knew there was no way we were coming back, but it calmed him down.

I told my mom that he was in a mood and she said he would be fine a few minutes after we left. I called her from the restaurant to see how he was. She said he was still complaining right after we left, so she put him in the corner (her tried and true punishment). She told him he could come out after he stopped complaining. She said he lasted about 5 minutes and then the complaining stopped. She told him she was going to get their dinner and asked if he wanted to come. He said, "No, I will stay with Pappy. I will take 2 hamburgers no pickle, medium fry and a Hi-C orange. You got it." She said, "Yes, I have your order." She and Bob left to get the food and there wasn't any more whining from SJ for the night.

He seemed quite fine when we picked him up the next day. I will remind him of this the next time he starts refusing to go somewhere. Do you think it will help? Doubtful, but I can try!

after school speech part 12

This week my very kind husband took SJ to speech. I had tons of cookies to bake for a cookie swap, so I appreciated the break. SJ's normal speech therapist was not there, so he had a substitute. He had this substitute therapist before and he was comfortable with her. The nice thing about SJ having a therapist that he hasn't had in a while is that they can see the vast improvements that he makes. She told my husband that she could hardly get a word in edgewise, since he was so talkative. (I love hearing that my PDD child is talkative. Only 6 years ago, he was constantly silent.) She finished up his testing and then she worked on more Why questions with him. She said he had a good session.

After speech, my husband and SJ went to McDonald's for dinner. After they finished that, they made two stops to get things for Christmas. He was smart to get him fed first. SJ is notoriously difficult to take shopping if he is hungry. When they returned, I had finished my 11 dozen cookies. SJ told me that he had a different therapist and where they went to shop. He was in a good mood. I was glad that he wasn't nearly as difficult for my husband as he was for me the week before. Only one more session before Christmas break.

after school speech part 11

My, oh my, angry SJ was back on Thursday!  When I told him it was a speech day, he started sobbing on the way home from school.  As soon as we got home, he ran into the house and right up to the playroom.  I told him not to get involved in anything long, because we were leaving in 10 minutes.  Did he listen to me?  Of course not!  He started playing Mario Cart Wii.  When it was time to go, he started yelling that he wasn't going.  "Maybe tomorrow," he yelled down the stairs.  I yelled back, "No, speech isn't tomorrow.  Speech is today.  Now let's go!"  He stomped down the stairs to the main floor and then down the stairs into the basement.  I reminded him to get his coat on.  He yelled that he wasn't cold.  (I guess 30 degrees isn't cold to SJ!)  "Too bad,” I said. "Put your coat on!"  More stomping and then I heard the car door slam. 

Then he proceeded to cry and whine for 10 minutes of the 30 minute drive.  Give me strength, I thought.  Thank goodness for the IPad.  He started playing a game on it, which settled him down.  We were two minutes late (pretty normal for us) and he ran right in.  He said, "Where is she?"  I said, "She will be out soon."  He asked to go to the bathroom, so I told him to go.  She came out to the reception area 30 seconds later and asked where SJ was.  "Bathroom," I replied.  She said she was going to try to finish the testing after he came out of the bathroom.

When his session was done, she said he completed most of the test.  He only has two more questions to complete.  She said she would be out next week, so her substitute will finish the testing.  He has had this sub before and he likes her.  She assigned him some Why questions for homework.  I have already asked him a couple.  He seemed to answer them easily, but maybe I just picked easy questions.  Hopefully next week there will be a lot less crying, whining and yelling!