laurel turns 8!

On Friday after I finished my work day, I came home and got the boys in the car for our trip to Elizabethtown (outside of Harrisburg).  My niece was having her 8th birthday party Saturday afternoon.  Bob was very reluctant to get in the car.  He had been playing with neighborhood friends and didn't want to make the 3 1/2 hour drive.  (I really didn't care if he wanted to go.  We were going.  End of story.)

Bob eventually calmed down (after an hour of crying!!!!); we stopped for dinner and continued the drive to my sister's house.  We arrived at her house around 7:30 p.m.  My parents were already there.  They had been babysitting her three kids since Tuesday.  The boys got out of the car and started playing with my two nephews, Gabriel and Cedar, and Laurel. 

The kids played until bedtime.  Bob came downstairs and asked if we could stay after Laurel's party was over tomorrow.  I had planned on heading home as soon as the party was over.  I told him I would think about it.  Bob feels that I always dismiss what he has to say.  Unfortunately, I do dismiss him occasionally.  I have been trying to actively listen to him more, so I told him it would depend on his behavior. 

Today after the boys woke up, they played with my sisters' kids until it was time to go to my sister's community pool.  That is where Laurel's party was being held.  The water was fairly chilly, but SJ didn't seem to mind.  He went right to their diving pool.  He was doing front flips over and over again.  My brother-in-law asked me where he learned to dive like that.  I could only assume it was from when we had our trampoline.  At our pool, they have a diving block.  The kids aren't allowed to do flips, since the water is only 9 feet deep in the deep end.

The kids were in and out of the water many times.  They also played in the playground, played table tennis, volleyball and participated in all of Laurel's party activities.  About 30 minutes before the party was to end, Bob asked me again if we could stay.  I called my husband and he told me to stay and enjoy my sister's family.  When I told Bob, he was so happy.

When the party was over, I drove my nephews back to my sister's house.  Gabriel's neighbor called to see if his brother and he could come over to play.  They came over and all the boys played wiffle ball until dinner time.  After dinner, the boys watched the Little League World Series and played some XBox until bedtime. 

I am glad that I listened to Bob.  It gave me more time with family I rarely get to see and Bob finally feels that I heard him. 

5th grade orientation

 
Last night was Bob and SJ's school orientation for the new school year.  SJ has been so stressed about who his new teacher was going to be and what the workload will be.  He will have Mrs. Valentine most of the day, but he will rotate to Mrs. Kennedy for Math and Mrs. Dudley for Reading. 

All of his teachers seemed very nice and happy to have SJ as a student.  We got a list of supplies that he will need for the school year.  This is a new one for me.  When Bob was in 5th grade last year, we didn't have to send in anything.  I guess we will be heading to the circle store (Target) on Sunday. 

I told all three teachers that SJ would be the most successful if his seat is in the front of the room.  I also asked that they not place a girl in the seat next to him.  (He still has a strong dislike for girls!)  I also explained to his teachers that visual cues are very helpful to SJ. 

Every time I went into a new teacher's room, SJ would look over at me and he looked so anxious.  "What did she say?" he would ask.  "She is giving me papers about your class.  Everything is fine," I reassured him.  I wish I had a magic pill to take away his anxiety.

His main teacher, Mrs. Valentine, told me about an app for the IPad that may greatly decrease his stress when writing extensively.  He will be able to talk to the IPad and it will scribe his words.  Very cool!

I was so impressed that she was already thinking of strategies for SJ before school even began.  That is a true teacher!  She showed SJ around the room and told him she would help him remember to turn his homework on time (if homework isn't turned in by 9:00 a.m., they automatically lose 50 %.). 

When we returned home later that night, SJ was going through all the papers.  He got very upset when he saw the amount of writing he will be expected to do.  I told him that we would help him and his new aide would also help them.  He didn't seem convinced, but it was enough to get him to go to bed.

new shoes=new skill

As you know, the boys got their new school shoes last week.  When we got home, SJ was very excited to show his dad his new shoes.  My husband decided to give it a go with the shoe tying practice.  I had to run out to do some errands and I got a very pleasant surprise when I returned.

"Show Mom, SJ," said my husband.  SJ sat on the floor and very carefully tied his shoes.  They were super tight, but they were tied.  "That is awesome!" I exclaimed.  My husband was very proud of himself that he "taught" him to tie his shoes.

"So all the practicing I did with him this summer, that didn't count I guess?" I asked him.  "I am not saying that.  I just had a different method," he said.  Maybe his method was better, but it really doesn't matter.  What matters is that SJ can now tie his shoes!

His shoe choices are going to be so much greater now that he can tie his shoes.  We were limited to Sketchers (which are great shoes), but sometimes you want to get a different brand of shoe! (This is coming from a huge shoe lover!)

A few years ago, I thought he may never master this skill.  I thought he would still be wearing slip on or Velcro shoes when he was a 12th grader.  Does it really matter that he learned this important skill five years later than a typical child?  No, it doesn't.  I am just so proud that he finally could manage this on his own.  When you have a child on the spectrum, you are happy any time they master a skill.  If you could see my face now, you would see a very proud mom!

back to normal

After resting over the weekend (we were all exhausted from our short, but activity packed vacation), we got back into our normal schedule. My husband was working from home this week, so I had to keep the boys busy and relatively quiet.

I managed that task by taking them to the pool and out on short errands. We did the pool thing Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It did rain on Tuesday, so our time at the pool was only 45 minutes!

Yesterday, we went school shoe shopping before we went to the pool. I always dread shoe shopping for the boys. Bob is so particular and SJ will only get shoes with Velcro. (We are still working on the shoe tying!) My mom was off yesterday, so she met us at the shoe store. I thought maybe if I had reinforcements if wouldn't be so bad.

We were a little late meeting my mom (neither boy wanted to leave the house to do this non-preferred task). Unbelievably, the boys both found a pair of shoes that they liked in less than 10 minutes. What? Who took my boys?

Maybe they are just maturing. Whatever happened to improve their behavior, I will take it! The only problem was that SJ picked out a pair of tie shoes, not Velcro. "Okay, buddy. We are going to have really work hard now on the shoe tying practice," I told him. "I know. I know," he replied.

After shoe shopping, we went to lunch with my mom. We went to their favorite, Chili's, so lunch went extremely well. After lunch, we drove to Macy's to get my niece, Laurel, her birthday present. She is really into Hello Kitty clothes, so that is what I was looking for. While I was browsing in the girls' section, my mom was trying hard to buy each boy an outfit for school. (This is an even worse task that shoe shopping!)

She kept showing them things and showing them things. "Nah," SJ would reply. "I don't need anything, Grammy," he added. Bob was responding even worse. "These clothes are horrible," he would say. Eventually, my mom wore SJ down. He picked out a tank top and shorts, which he tried on in the store. Bob left with nothing. My kids never want anything when we are out shopping. Sometimes that is a good thing, but it can be very frustrating when they actually need new clothes.

When we were done with our purchases, we drove back to our house and got ready for the pool. My mom joined us at the pool and we had a very nice time. We left the pool around 3:30 and drove home. (My mom needed to head home to beat the rush hour traffic.) It was nice to be on vacation, but I am glad to be back on our normal schedule.

williamsburg vacation-day 4

On our last day of vacation, we started our day by trying out a different breakfast restaurant.  This time we tried the National Pancake House.  It was equally as cheap as the other pancake place, but it was just a little tastier.  After breakfast, we made the short drive to historic Jamestown.

We arrived in Jamestown around 10 a.m.  We were directed by a greeter to go through the outside exhibits first, since there was a storm that was eminent.  We thanked her for the information.  We walked outside and started to explore the site.

We walked through the Native American village.  They had it set up so visitors could see how the Native Americans lived and worked.  After we made it through the village, we discovered the sail boats.  There were three that you could go on and there were workers who were happy to give you information on them. 
The boys seemed to enjoy the boats, but the heat was getting to them.

Next, we made our way to the colonist's fort.  There was a church, work buildings and homes.  There were also cannons for the visitors to look at.  SJ and my husband tried on the armored hat and chest plates that were worn by the colonists.  They really got a kick out of trying those on. 

To escape the heat, we went into the museum to really learn about the settlers.  It was very interesting and the museum was air conditioned.  We finished up the museum and the boys got some souvenirs.  We then made the long drive home.  We really enjoyed our short vacation to Virginia.  Although we were only there for four days, it felt as if we were there for many more.

williamsburg vacation-day 3

On Thursday, we started our vacation day with a great breakfast at the Capital Pancake House.  It was cheap and yummy.  (Who doesn't like that combination?)  After breakfast, we drove back to the hotel to get on our bathing suits.  This was the day we were heading to Water Country USA. 

Water Country USA is a huge water park.  There were MANY slides.  We worked our way around the park and rode most of them.  They also had a very fun wave pool (Bob's favorite) and two (yes, I said 2) lazy rivers.  The one that we used was the Hubba Hubba Highway.

Before we got in to the river, we saw signs that recommended you use a Coast Guard certified life jacket.  I thought that was odd, since it is not usually necessary for a lazy river.  We put them on and entered the water.  Oh my goodness!  The current was so fast that it just pushed you along.  There would be no stopping.  You were moving.  Life jackets were necessary for non-strong swimmers. 

We rode one person (SJ's favorite), two person, three person and 4 person slides.  We stayed at the water park for almost 6 hours.  We were tired from all of the fun at the water park.  We went back to the hotel and got dressed.  Bob wanted to play shuffleboard, so we played a few rounds before dinner.  SJ was on my husband's team and they lost.  I don't think SJ was super aware of the score, because he didn't have any meltdowns over losing.

We returned the equipment to the front desk and then dined at the hotel restaurant, Huzzah! (A very fun name to say...go ahead, try it!)  The boys chose to make their own pizza.  The waitress brought out a tray with pizza dough, sauce and cheese.  They built their pizzas and then wrote their names on a tongue depressor before they went in the oven.

The food was very good and the boys' behavior was the best we had seen all vacation.  After dinner, we drove to Busch Gardens for our last visit.  It was after 8 p.m. and the park was open until 10.  We let the boys play some games and then they rode a few rides.  The boys were on the swings when the fireworks display started.  Bob said he didn't like that he was on a moving ride for the fireworks, but I thought it was pretty cool.

After the fireworks, the boys and my husband rode the bumper cars.  When they were done, he told me to get in line for Verbolten.  I did and it was awesome!  I didn't get off the ride until 10:20 p.m.  As we made our way through the now closed amusement park, the boys were walking as if they had cement in their shoes.  They were so tired.  I knew they would sleep well tonight.

We got back to the hotel at 10:45.  The boys quickly brushed their teeth, got on their pajamas and we asleep by 11.  If that is not a sign of a good vacation day, I don't know what is.

williamsburg vacation day 2

Wednesday was Day 2 of our Williamsburg vacation.  We began our day by trying the continental breakfast at our hotel.  There was a lot of food, but not one thing that Bob liked.  I was able to grab a banana for him.  SJ had two boxes of dry cereal.  My husband and I opted for pastries.  It was very crowded in the breakfast room, so we chose a table outside.  The problem with going outside was there were bees everywhere.  SJ kept going to other tables, but the bees were relentless.  He was getting very agitated, so my husband found us a seat in the lobby. 

When we were done with breakfast, we walked the half mile to Colonial Williamsburg.  It wasn't a bad walk, but it was so hot.  The boys were dragging before we even got all the way to the historic area.  Once we made it to the historic area, we were trying to decide what to look at first.  We chose to go on a tour of the Governor's Palace.  When I say we, I mean my husband and I.  The boys wanted nothing to do with going on a tour of the "fancy" house. 

Their behavior was okay during the tour, but I would have liked them to be a little more attentive to the guide.  After the tour was over, we made our way through the town.  We stopped at the Wheel Wright's shop, the Gunsmith's shop, the Blacksmith's shop and toured some of the "gentry" (well-to-do) houses. 

Bob and I took a few minutes to try our hand at a lacrosse type game.  It was much harder to play than you might imagine.  We could see the boys’ energy was quickly diminishing, so we stopped for lunch at Shields Tavern.  I was nervous stopping to eat at a historic tavern.  I was concerned they wouldn't want to eat anything on the menu and I knew that would aggravate my husband. 

Fortunately, there were a few items on the kids' menu that they liked.  Bob got the Chicken Fife and Drumsticks (chicken tenders and fries) and SJ got the Young Patriots Burger (hamburger and fries).  Bob actually said that the fries were the best steak fries he ever had! 

After lunch, we did more touring of the town and then walked back to the hotel room.  After we got to our room, we made dinner reservations at Chowning's Tavern.  We had a little time, so Bob and I went to play some badminton.  SJ and my husband took that time to rest after the busy day.  I thought I was going to collapse while we played badminton, since it was so hot and humid.  Bob and I walked back to the room and we got ready for dinner.

We decided to take the shuttle bus to go back to Colonial Williamsburg.  We were a little early for our dinner reservations, so we toured some more of the town.  We went into the colonial Courthouse to get out of the sun.  After we left the courthouse, the boys goofed around in the punishment methods that were outside of the courthouse.

I was hoping the restaurant behavior would be at least equivalent to the earlier behavior, but I was wrong.  The menu wasn't as kid friendly at Chowning's Tavern.  Bob was willing to try Gloucester dinner (fried chicken and chips) and SJ again had a Patriot burger (hamburger and chips).  He was very grouchy about having a burger twice in a day.  Bob's behavior was so embarrassing with the chicken.  He acted like he never saw fried chicken before.  I wish they would eat better.  It is so frustrating to have such picky eaters.  (I take full responsibility for this.  I should have made them eat more things when they were younger.)

While we were at the tavern, we were serenaded by a violinist.  The boys did not know what to make of the music, but I thought it was pretty cool.  After we left the tavern, we took the shuttle bus back to the hotel.  When we got back, we drove to Busch Gardens for our second visit.  There were a few rides we hadn't gotten to the first visit and we wanted to try to stay for fireworks. 

My husband told me to jump on Loch Ness Monster (a classic coaster) while he looked after the boys.  When I was done, he told me to go ride Alpengeist (a hanging coaster).  It was quite far away, so it took me a while to find it.  The boys were going to ride the swings again and then meet me at Alpengeist.  I was so out of breath and sweating when I finally made it to the ride.  I texted my husband when I made it there.  He said he and the boys would meet me at the exit. 

There was no wait for the ride, so I told my husband to jump in line.  Unfortunately, the ride broke down and he didn't get to ride it.  We walked to New France and the boys rode Le Catapult (similar to a Scrambler ride).  While the boys were on the ride, my husband got an airbrushed mustache to surprise the boys. 

SJ was so excited when he spotted my husband's new mustache.  He was beaming and pointing at my husband to show Bob.  "Where did you get that mustache, Dad?" he asked when he exited the ride.  My husband told him and said the boys could get one also.  Bob shook his head no, but SJ was all about getting one too.  He looked so funny with it.  What a great moment!

It was about 30 minutes from the scheduled fireworks, but the boys were definitely spent.  We made our way through the park and left to return to the hotel.  My husband decided that we would definitely stay for fireworks the next night.  Even though we didn’t see the fireworks, we had another full day.

williamsburg vacation day 1

Tuesday morning, my husband woke myself and the boys at 3:00 a.m.  Yes, I said 3 a.m.!  We were leaving for our remainder of our summer vacation to Williamsburg, Virginia.  My husband told the boys to go back to sleep in the car.  Bob did, but SJ wouldn't go back to sleep. 

It is a VERY long drive to Williamsburg.  It was just short of 7 hours.  We stopped around 8 a.m. somewhere in Maryland to get donuts for breakfast.  We continued on our journey while we ate in the car.  We arrived at our hotel, The Woodlands, a little after 11. 

Our room was ready, so I checked in and got our tickets.  We placed our luggage in our room and drove to Busch Gardens.  It was somewhat crowded and it was very hot and humid.  The boys were a little crabby when we first got there.  Neither of them wanted to ride anything and there was A LOT of complaining. 

We realized that they were hungry and that was probably the source of the grumpiness.  After eating lunch in Italy, the boys’ behavior improved tons.  We rode some rides in Italy (my favorite was Apollo’s Chariot) and then moved on to Germany.  The boys enjoyed the swings.  We split up then so that SJ could ride a roller coaster, Verbolten, with my husband and Bob and I rode bumper cars. 

After Germany, we walked through England.  Bob really was enthralled with the gray wolves and bald eagles.  We eventually found France and my husband was dying to ride an incredible coaster, The Griffin.  SJ didn't want to ride it (Bob definitely didn't want to ride it...he's afraid of heights!), so we waited near the bottom.  When the coaster came down the hill, there was a huge splash of water.  The boys loved getting cooled off while we waited for my husband to come down the hill!

We left Busch Gardens around 6 p.m.  We made it back to our hotel room and learned there was a pool party for kids.  I took the boys to the pool area and my husband ordered food from a local take out restaurant.  After the pool party, we returned to our room and ate dinner. 

Our hotel had a mini golf, table tennis, badminton, corn hole and shuffleboard.  The boys were super excited to try out the mini golf.  We started golfing as the sun was going down.  It was a great way to end our first day of vacation. 

When we got back to our room, the boys were so exhausted that they passed out almost immediately.  It wouldn't be a typical vacation for us if we didn't pass out from exhaustion.  Three more days that will be activity and fun filled.

more extended family fun

On Monday, my aunt and two sons were still in town.  My husband was working from home, so I decided to meet my aunt's family and my mom.  We opted to meet at the Glow in the Dark mini golf at our local mall. 

My mom, aunt and I watched the boys play mini golf with my cousins, Hunter and Jeffrey.  I had asked Hunter to "not play so well" if SJ was having trouble.  Being that he is 18, he understood.  They all seemed to have a great time.  I was waiting to hear SJ getting agitated, but I never heard him fuss a bit.  Whew! 

After mini golf, we went to Dick's Sporting Goods to get a few things.  My aunt wanted to get a Pittsburgh Pirate's Zoltran shirt for Jeffrey and I needed new badminton rackets.  That stop only took a few minutes and then we drove to Chili's for lunch.

Jeffrey initially wanted to go to Eat 'n Park, but he was fine with going to Chili's.  (Bob is not a big Eat 'n Park fan.)  The boys ordered their normal (grilled cheese and fries for SJ and two pizzas for Bob).  The boys chatted away with Jeffrey while I got a chance to catch up with Hunter.  (He leaves for college this year...I am getting so old!)

After lunch, we said our goodbyes and went home to get ready for our vacation.  The boys enjoyed spending more time with their distant relatives.  I enjoyed the brief break that I got before I had to buckle down and start packing.

heat, dust and lots of family

Last Saturday, we were invited to my mother's father's family reunion.  It was a very hot day, so I was not in any particular hurry to get there.  I had a hair appointment at lunch time, so when I returned we left for the reunion. 

It was at a park close to where I grew up.  It is a very nice park, but as I said it was VERY HOT that day.  The boys were looking forward to playing wiffle ball with some of my first cousins.  Of course, we were late, and most of the guests had already been there for a few hours.  I asked two of my first cousins (who are considerably younger than me...about 20 years) to play wiffle ball with the boys. 

They were reluctant at first, but I asked them again nicely.  Luckily, they agreed and went off to play wiffle ball with the boys on the very dusty baseball field.  The boys enjoyed playing wiffle ball, but everyone was getting drained from the sun after an hour.  They made their way back to the pavilion and they looked dehydrated.  I told them to drink something. 

SJ was fascinated with a grid ground cover that was on the tennis courts.  There were some pieces missing, so SJ busied himself "fixing" the missing pieces.  Bob was playing with Isaac and some of the other younger cousins who were there. 

After two hours, we decided to pack it in and head home.  Bob wanted to stay and play more wiffle ball, but no one was willing to bake in the sun.  We stopped for food on the way home and waited for my aunt's family to come over for an evening visit.

My aunt's family stopped over around 8 p.m.  They visited us until 10 and then my one cousin, John, stayed the night.  He is the oldest of my aunt's kids, but he is still only 21.  The boys went to bed and John stayed up and watched a movie with my husband and me.

It was nice to have John stay with us.  I think it is great for the boys to spend time with extended family.  It helps them know us better and it teaches them about where there heritage comes from. 

our boy babysitter

Last Friday, my husband and I had a double date with a couple we are friends with.  My parents were entertaining my aunt's family, who was in from Virginia, so they weren't available to babysit.  I decided to call our regular babysitter, Nicholas.  Nicholas has been babysitting for us for two years.  Both of his older sisters have babysat for us, but when they got too old he took over.

Nicholas is a great babysitter.  The boys love when he comes to watch them.  Sometimes the boys will actually ask us to go somewhere so that Nicholas can come over.  He plays video games and outside games with them.  Even though he plays with them a ton, he also is conscientious about getting them to eat, brush their teeth and off to bed (if needed). 

We had fed the boys before we went out, so he just needed to entertain them.  The couple's son also stayed at our house and Nicholas watched him as well.  We went out to dinner and went to see the movie, Ted.  We were gone for about 4 hours. 

When we returned from the movie, the boys were partaking in a game of indoor hide-and-seek with Nicholas.  (I will have to speak to Nicholas about probably not playing that game again.  Not a fan of indoor hide-and-seek, but nothing was broken or out of place.  I will have to let it go.) 

The boys were rambling on and on about all the things they did with Nicholas.  They had played video games, kick ball, a war game outside and the hide-and-seek game.  Thomas, the couple's son, had such a great time that he was asking his parents if Nicholas could watch him at their house. 

We have been so lucky with our babysitters.  They have all been fabulous.  Although the boys liked Nicholas's sisters, there is just something about a boy watching boys.  If you haven't ever used a boy to babysit, I highly recommend them.  He has been a great addition to the boys' lives.

summer speech part 8

SJ had his weekly speech appointment on Thursday.  When he was finished, his therapist said they had a very good session.  They continued to work on his writing of his Kennywood story.  She said he didn't need as many prompts as he has needed in the past.  She said he used his visual aid and was able to form his own details.  They hadn't completed it, but it was almost done.  This is an exciting improvement. 

She said he was very chatty with her.  I asked her if he told her about his horrible day that he had the day before.  She said he hadn't.  I was slightly relieved that he hadn't told her, but I then told her about his disagreeable behavior.  She said he told her that we would be going on vacation soon.  He told her that we were going to Williamsburg, Virginia.  He told her that we were going to an amusement park (Busch Gardens) and a water park (Water Country USA).  He was right.  He forgot to tell her we would also be visiting Jamestown, Yorktown and possibly Washington, D.C.

"So I won't be at speech next week," he reminded her.  He was right.  We were scheduled to go on vacation the next week, so I did cancel his appointment.  When I told her that we would see her in two weeks, she again told me how pleased she is with his improvements. 

I love hearing those reports.  It is nice to know that he is learning and digesting what she is teaching him.  I will remind myself of that moment when he is having another not so great day.  Hopefully, we won't have one of those days anytime soon. 

 

i hate my life/why me?

On Wednesday, SJ was having a bad day.  Okay to him it was a HORRIBLE day.  In fact, it was an "I hate my life" day.  Every once in a while, SJ will say that he hates his life if I ask him to do too many non-preferred activities.  After my husband finished up work for the day, we ate our dinner.  Dinner was pork chops on the grill and baked potatoes.  SJ does not particularly care for meat and he really does not like pork.  When I placed the plate in front of him, he started huffing and puffing. 

"Pork?  Why do I have to eat pork?" he asked.  "Because that is what we are having tonight," I replied.  More huffing and puffing followed with some very large alligator tears.  "But I hate pork chops and I really hate baked potatoes," he added.  "You can hate them, but you are still eating them," I told him.  "Why me?  Why is my life so terrible?" he mumbled. 

I did what I always do.  I "planned ignored" him.  I have found that if I give the unpleasant behavior no attention that it stops much quicker.  He eventually settled down and ate the pork and potato.  After dinner, Bob and SJ were back to their electronics.  After a period that I felt was too long (about an hour), I told them to go outside to play.  Neither boy wanted to go outside, but they needed some outside time. 

I wasn't aware that my husband had begun some work in the garage.  The boys were outside whining and complaining about the fact that they didn't want to be outside.  My husband was having difficulty with his home improvement project and the whining was not helping his concentration.  When I went outside, I heard him yelling at the boys to stop. 

My husband doesn't yell often, but when he does it is for a reason.  The boys kept up their complaining, so my husband took away their electronics until the next evening.  Bob was so mad, since he felt that SJ was doing the majority of complaining.  SJ looked like a deflated balloon.  He was sitting on one of Bob's soccer balls and he was sobbing uncontrollably.

"I hate my life.  I hate my life.  I hate my life," he repeated over and over again.  For a few seconds, I felt badly that I had sent them outside.  If I had known my husband was working out there, I would have left them in the house.  But I reminded myself that I was not the one that was frustrating my husband.  It was the boys.  I told SJ to stop saying that.  I reminded him that he has a great life, but he was being punished for not listening.

They stayed outside until it got dark and then they moped into the house.  SJ was still crying, but very softly to himself.  I told him and Bob that they should apologize to their dad.  I told them they should not complain about playing outside and if they do it again they will know what their punishment will be. 

Bob is stubborn, so he didn't feel he needed to apologize.  SJ is smart (and not stubborn), so he apologized to my husband.  My husband shortened the punishment and only took away his electronics for the evening.  I hope both the boys learned something from this episode.  Complaining will get you in trouble, crying is not effective in this house and apologies can help a tense situation. 

meeting anastasia

On Monday, we went to my cousin's house to meet her new baby girl, Anastasia.  She was born on Friday, July 13th.  I had gone out to buy her a few new outfits.  As a mother of boys, I LOVE buying outfits for newborn girls!  It doesn't mean I want a daughter, but honestly the girls' clothing is so much cuter!

Anyway, I had called my cousin to see if we could stop by and she said Monday was a good day.  My cousin has an older child, Fletch, who is 4.  SJ and I picked up a Trio set for him as a big brother gift.  I loaded Anastasia and Fletch's presents in the car and we made the journey to their house.  She lives about 30 minutes from us.

As we are pulling out of the driveway, SJ asked me how many miles it is to her house.  I checked the GPS and told him it was 24 miles away.  He always wants to know exactly how many miles we will be traveling.  It is just easier to tell him, because he will keep asking until you tell him.  When I guess, he sometimes watches the odometer to see if I am being honest.  Many times, I am just guessing.  Bad mom!

When we arrived at my cousin's house, she and Fletch were waiting for us.  Anastasia was asleep in her pack and play.  She was so cute!  My cousin told me I could hold her, but I didn't want to wake her.  SJ wasn't interested in the baby, but he was fascinated by all of Fletch's toys. 

Many of these toys we had a long time ago.  It was as if he was visiting old friends.  It was nice to watch him rediscover the toys he used to have.  My cousin opened Anastasia's present while Fletch opened his.  The boys helped him build his sets.  They played with the sets for over 30 minutes. 

I decided to hold Anastasia.  She slept the entire time I held her.  Bob was playing with Fletch and SJ was playing quietly with Fletch's toys.  Bob kept looking at Anastasia and I could tell he wanted to hold her.  I had him sit down and watched him while he held her.  Bob loves babies!  He was very gentle with her. 

When I thought he was getting a little careless with her neck, I took her from him.  I placed her back in the pack and play and watched the boys playing.  She was still asleep and seemed very peaceful. 

We stayed about 30 more minutes.  We said our goodbyes and started the drive home.  We stopped at Dairy Queen drive thru and I picked up lunch for the boys.  When we got home, I ate lunch and the boys got ready for the pool.  It was hot out, so it was a definite pool day. 

Even though it was only 1 p.m., it was already a full day.  I guess that is what happens when you spend time with a newborn. 

let there be light (and electricity)

Last Friday when I woke I was hoping the electricity was back on.  Unfortunately, it was still out.  I called the electric company and I was told it could still be another 24 hours without electricity.  The boys woke up and were equally disappointed.

"What are we going to do today without the power?" asked the boys.  "When is the power coming back on?" they questioned.  "I am not sure boys," I replied.  "We'll figure something out," I told them.  I couldn't heat up their normal breakfast (pancakes) in the microwave, so I offered them cereal or Pop Tarts.  SJ opted for the cereal and Bob opted for the Pop Tarts. 

Before the electricity had gone out, I had scheduled a friend to come over.  I wasn't sure if I could still have him over.  It was too wet out and they couldn't play their video games without power.  I have an "old-fashioned" phone that I keep for emergencies.  I used that phone to call the boy's mom.  I wasn't sure if she had electricity or not.  Many people in our community had lost their power.

The boy's mom still had her electricity.  When I told her that I didn't think I could have him over due to the lack of power, she kindly offered to have the boys over to her house.  I asked her if she was sure.  I knew she was going to be busy packing for her upcoming vacation.  She said she didn't mind.  She said the boys would keep her son busy while she got her packing done.  I asked her if she minded if we brought our I Phones and IPods over to be charged.  She said that would be fine, so I was very grateful.  (I was down to a half of a bar on my cell phone.) 

Before we made it to her house, I took the boys to McDonald's for lunch.  I couldn't really cook anything at home, so I thought it would be a good solution.  (Plus, we had no air conditioning and I knew it would be cool in McDonalds.)  After lunch, the boys and I ran two errands before making it to our friends' house. 

She told me I could leave the boys at her house if I needed to do anything else.  I ran to the grocery store for get more ice and then to the hardware store for oil for the hurricane lamp.  I was crossing my fingers that I wouldn't need either of these items when I got home.  I picked up the boys and thanked our friend for having them. 

When we got home, we were still without power.  I called the electricity company one more time, but the information hadn't changed.  The boys started playing Sorry Spin.  They played a few rounds of Sorry Spin.  I was listening to them play and they were having a great time.  I was contemplating what I was going to make on the grill (trying to spare some food that I was sure we were going to lose) when the power came back on.  Oh my goodness.  I was so excited!

Twenty six hours after the power went out, it was back.  We were so happy!  The boys were as excited as they are on Christmas morning.  So, normalcy was returned to this very modern, techno friendly family.  I will say it was nice to take an electronics break, but twenty six hours is way too long!

life without electricity

On Thursday, we went to the pool after speech. Rain was predicted, but it was very hot that day. We got to the pool around 1 o'clock. At 3 o'clock, the lifeguards blew the whistle for a thunder warning. Sometimes we wait out a thunder warning, but the sky was very dark and it was extremely windy. We packed up our things and drove home.


When we got home, it still hadn't started to rain. I had just bought ladder ball, so the boys and I started to build it. The neighbor boy was down at our house too. A few minutes into our building time, the boy's mom yelled from her porch that we should go inside. "We're okay," I shouted back. "No, really. You should get inside," she urged. I looked up and saw a very dark sky. "Okay, boys let's just take all this stuff inside," I told them.


As soon as we got in the house, the storm started. And it was a BAD one! The rain was coming down very hard and it was extremely windy. A few minutes later, the lights started to flash. Bob yelled out, "Hey. There goes our swing across the yard." I said, "No way." I looked and sure enough my wooden swing was tumbled over like it was made of plastic. "Oh my goodness," I said.

Bob ran into the office to look at my husband's weather center. The wind rate was rising quickly. It was almost 40 miles per hour! Then, our table started to slide across our deck like tumbleweed. Fortunately, the umbrella got wedged under our other table and it stopped. A few moments later the power went out.

The storm raged on and Bob was getting nervous. I sent him, SJ and the neighbor boy down into our basement. I gave them flashlights so they could see.  Bob was concerned that it was a tornado. He told me that when the wind drops suddenly and the temperature keeps soaring that a tornado is coming.

After 30 minutes, the bulk of the storm was over. I went outside to stand up the table and assess any damages. We were lucky. I had lost some cushions (which were later found at the other end of my neighborhood) and my swing frame was apart. Other neighbors didn't fare as well. They had some damage to their tables and decks.

Others in our community had trees that were struck by lightning and twisted from the winds. I heard on the news (via the battery operated radio) that we experienced a microburst. I called the electric company to report the power outage and was told that we could expect power by Saturday at midnight! That was 2 1/2 days later! I was hoping it would come on sooner.

I was able to use my stove (gas powered) to make dinner and we lit our hurricane oil lamps. The boys were glued to their electronics until their power died. SJ kept whining about when the power was going to come back on. "Soon," we kept telling him. When their electronics finally died, Bob decided to bring down some board games.

This was my favorite part of the power outage. We played Sorry. We played before my husband got home and then again with him. It was kind of nice to sit down as a family and not have someone engaged electronically (I am guilty of this too!). We listened to the Pirate game on the radio and then called it a night.

The house was so quiet. As I was lying in bed, I thought maybe it is nice to take a break from being plugged in constantly (maybe just for a few hours).

summer speech part 7

 We returned to our normal speech session last Thursday.  SJ told his therapist all about our trip to Erie.  She said he spent more than a few minutes giving her details about the trip.  Even though his chattiness took away from some of the therapy time, she seemed okay with it since he was communicating with her. 

He told her about swimming in the lake, riding the rides at Waldameer and enjoying the water park.  He told her that his favorite part of our trip was playing in the waves at the lake.  That was good to hear, but it wasn't what I thought he would have said.  I would have guessed he enjoyed the amusement park the most, so it is interesting to hear what he really feels. 

When she got him back on task, they continued to work on their Kennywood story.  She said they used their Venn diagram to establish more details about rides.  They then used the visual cues to develop supporting details.  She said she had to give him some assistance with the sentence writing. 

I would have thought at this point of SJ's life he would be more independent with his organization of his thoughts.  However, he is still very reliant on his therapist (or school aide) to start him out with sentence development.  Oh well, I am sure he will get more and more independent as he matures.  Fingers crossed!