Update on my soldier!

I got a text from my soldier son yesterday. He's getting promoted to Private First Class next Friday! He also made soldier of the month. He is doing so amazing. I truly believe this is what he was meant to do. He is flourishing. He is doing pretty good in school too, they are letting him take college courses in the evenings at the local university where he's stationed. I'm so proud of him!!

Updates

Well, the foot ended up in a cast that next Monday! My nerves couldn't take the falling and unsteadiness of the boot. He has fallen six times since he broke it and this past Monday hurt his other foot and has been unable to walk on it much. We go back to the doctor on Monday. Pray it's healing and he can start putting some weight on it!

Owwww!!

It hurts me to even look at it. He swears it does not bother him. I promise it did not look this bad even two days after his accident. Last Friday, my young aspie fell off the bus when he got to school. The nurse tried to get me but I was at the doctor all day so she got my husband instead. It was not even bruised that day. I did not see it until the next morning, I had stayed all night at the hospital with a sick aunt, another story for another time. When I saw it, it was swollen, but I didn't not see the bruise right away.



I had my f-i-l, who is a physician, come wrap it and we put it in the boot that we had from where he broke his foot last spring. He was getting around fine, swearing it didn't hurt all weekend.



Sunday he went to a friends house in the boot and fell again. He skinned his knee pretty bad. I looked at his foot that night and I saw the black bruise under his ankle, along with some swelling. This is what it looked like then,

I kept the boot on and just figured it was sprained. He still promises it does not hurt. Wednesday night I look at it closely again and the first pic is what I saw. Of course I am a worrisome mother, but please, black toes.... We had to go get an x-ray Thursday morning first thing.

Probably needless to say, but the doctor was not happy with me. The dern thing is broken very bad. I had to beg him not to cast it. It is hard enough for him to get around in a boot. We had to rent a knee-walker, which is very cool by the way, and he cannot put an ounce on it until we go back at the end of the month or he will cast it, and he is not coordinated enough for crutches.

There are several bright sides to this though. First, he's not active anyway, so it's not going to change a lot. Second, it does not bother him at all, although the doctor seems to think it will. I didn't bother picking up his pain meds. The school is picking up the scooter rental since he broke it at school and insurance won't cover it. The best thing of all is that the Occupational Therapist had recommend we get him a scooter, although not to this extreme, that it would be the first step in him learning to ride a bike. He's learning to maneuver around the house pretty good and actually got out to go to lunch with us today;)

Here We Go Again!

Well, I have another IEP meeting scheduled in the morning. If it goes as I expect it to, I will be handing them a letter of my intent to file for a due process hearing. Wish me luck!

100 Things

Okay, so Argon One had posted a list of 100 things asked if had ever been done. I decided to copy and put my own answers on my blog. Turns out I'm pretty boring. I guess have a lot to do to catch up!!!

01. Start your own blog -- Yes
02. Sleep under the stars -- No
03. Play in a band -- No
04. Visit Hawaii -- No
05. Watch a meteor shower -- No
06. Give more than you can afford to charity -- Yes
07. Go to Disneyworld – Yes, a few times
08. Climb a mountain -- No
09. Hold a praying mantis -- No
10. Sing a solo – Yes, when I was very young
11. Bungee jump -- No
12. Visit Paris – No, but would love to!
13. Watch a lightning storm at sea – No (unless you count on tv ;
14. Teach yourself an art technique -- No
15. Adopt a child -- No
16. Eat sushi -- No
17. Walk to the top of the Statue of Liberty -- No
18. Grow your own vegetables -- No
19. See the Mona Lisa in France -- No
20. Sleep on an overnight train -- No
21. Have a pillow fight -- No
22. Hitch hike -- No
23. Look at the rings of Saturn through a telescope -- No
24. Build a snow fort – No, just a snowman
25. Hold a lamb – No, but my son has
26. Climb to the top of a lighthouse -- No
27. Run a Marathon -- No
28. Ride in a gondola in Venice -- No
29. See a total eclipse -- Yes [both solar and lunar]
30. Watch a sunrise or sunset – Yes
31. Hit a home run -- No
32. Go on a cruise -– Almost, had a death in the family the day b4 we were supposed to go.
33. See Niagara Falls in person -- No
34. Visit the birthplace of your ancestors -- Yes
35. Visit an Amish community -- No
36. Teach yourself a new language -- No
37. Have enough money to be truly satisfied -- No
38. See the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person -- No
39. Go rock climbing -- No
40. See Michelangelo's David -- No
41. Sing karaoke in public -- No
42. See Old Faithful geyser erupt in person -- No
43. Buy a stranger a meal at a restaurant -- No
44. Visit Africa -- No
45. Walk on a beach by moonlight -- No
46. Ride in a helicopter -- No
47. Have your portrait painted – Yes, by my grandmother
48. Go deep sea fishing -- No
49. See the Sistine Chapel in person -- No
50. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris -- No
51. Go scuba diving or snorkeling -- No
52. Kiss in the rain -- No
53. Play in the mud -- No
54. Watch a movie at a drive-in theater -- Yes
55. Be in a movie -- No
56. Visit the Great Wall of China -- No
57. Start a business -- No
58. Take a martial arts class -- No
59. Visit Russia -- No
60. Serve meals at a soup kitchen -- No
61. Sell Girl Scout cookies -- Yes
62. Go whale watching -- No
63. Get or send flowers for no reason -- Yes
64. Donate blood, platelets or plasma -- No
65. Go sky diving -- No
66. Visit a Nazi Concentration Camp -- No
67. Adopt a pet from a rescue shelter -- Yes
68. Pilot an airplane -- No
69. Save a favorite childhood toy –- Yes
70. Visit the Lincoln Memorial -- No
71. Eat Caviar -- No
72. Make a quilt – Tried to
73. Stand in Times Square -- Yes
74. Tour the Everglades -- No
75. Visit the Viet Nam Memorial -- No
76. See the Changing of the Guard in London -- No
77. Drive a race car -- No
78. Ride on a speeding motorcycle -- No
79. See the Grand Canyon in person -- No
80. Publish a book -- No
81. Visit the Vatican -- No
82. Buy a brand new car – No
83. Walk in Jerusalem -- No
84. Have your picture in the newspaper -- No
85. Read the entire Bible -- No
86. Visit the White House -- No
87. Kill and prepare an animal for eating -- No
88. Hike the Appalachian Trail -- No
89. Save someone's life -- No
90. Sit on a jury – Yes, was the foreperson!
91. Meet someone famous -- Yes
92. Join a book club --No
93. Own an iPod -- Yes
94. Have a Facebook page -- Yes
95. See the Alamo in person -- No
96. Swim in the Great Salt Lake – No, but saw it
97. Cross country snow ski -- No
98. Hold a snake -- No
99. See DaVinci’s Starry Night in person -- No
100. Read an entire book in one day – Yes, quite often actually

To the Police!

I understand that we live in a city that is rated one of the top two in the nation. I also understand that you see this stuff everyday and that you really don't care. However, you could at least give us the courtesy of pretending that it does.

To the Crooks!

I find it very pathetic that you would kick in the door to someone's house, scare the dog half to death and take things that do not belong to you. But the one thing I find most deplorable is that you would take a child's video game system that was just bought one week ago and leave him totally devastated.

Two Calls Today!!

My son called me twice this morning from Bootcamp. The first time I had just turned the ringer on my cell phone up thank goodness. He said they were up all night doing night shooting until the sun came up. He was exhausted. He did make expert marksman this week, woo hoo,

He said that today was a free day and he could do whatever he wanted so he was probably going to sleep and go to Taco Bell. He said the whole platoon got into trouble this week and had to go back to red phase for a few days. They were supposed to be cleaning and when the DS came upstairs every single one of them were asleep. He said they are doing grenade training this week. 31 Days to go

Letters

I got my first letter from my son today! I am sooo excited. He actually wrote it. I was expecting a form letter from the drill sargent but this was an actual letter from my son. He wrote it before I got my phone call last week, so it wasn't anything I didn't already know, but just the fact that he did write to me and did tell me that he loves me..... only a mother knows :)

He Called!!! :)

It's been five whole days since I got to talk to my son. My phone has not left my side the whole time. Last night he sent me a text that he had "stole" his phone back. He told me he is bald, had gotten five shots and was very bored. He got to call today. They are letting them use their phones until they go to their actual BCT unit next Wednesday. He said there are 1000 of them there and only 16 pay phones. He told me once he starts training he will only be able to call maybe once. It's going to be a long nine weeks.

In the Army Now

Well it's official. I am now the mother of a soldier. There is such a mixture of emotions that goes along with this, pride and depression seem to be the dominant two. Pride for the man he is becoming, depression because he is grown and leaving me. We were allowed to stay with him and watch the final swearing in and eat lunch with him. It's amazing to me that out of thirteen recruits, only four had families there and my husband was the only dad.

Now begins the waiting game. Waiting for the mail and the phone calls.

Life is just not fair.....

Life is not fair. We learn that early in life. However, when life is not fair for a child who has a disability and will have a difficult enough life, it makes it especially hard. Why is it that the people who are supposed to be educators and care about each child individually are the one's who want to take the easiest way out without giving the rough patches a chance to work themselves out? Let me explain....

My aspie son was put back into a regular classroom for this fifth grade year. He has essentially gone from having no homework and very little classwork for the past three years in special education, to having a full load along with changing classes with twenty other children. Because his aggression seems to finally have become under control the IEP team decided last May to put him in the regular classroom this year full-time. This is a child who will only give you as much as you require out of him on the front end, never more.

The school feels that because they have been punishing his behaviors daily, behaviors which are typical of an aspie child when placed in a stressful social situation, they have been accomodating and are wanting to have him placed back into the special ed classroom. The new behavior analyst assigned to my son has not had a chance to complete his report and give them his recommendations, although he did tell me that he does not think "they get it". The teachers have not made any effort to shorten assignments nor help him deal with the social situations that cause so much stress for him and for which he has never had any training even though it has been requested NUMEROUS times.

In short my opinion is this, when they punish a child who has Asperger's for things like making noises in class, or even making threats to other children (who were probably picking on him in the first place), then it would not be any different than punishing a child in a wheelchair because he or she cannot walk. When social skills are the main manifestation of this disability and then those skills are never taught, how can they possibly think it is just bad behavior and punish him accordingly??? Why does it have to be a daily battle? Why do they put our children in typical classrooms but not require the teachers to have any training on how to deal with them so that a lot of these things can be avoided???

Those are my thoughts for the day.

8 Things About Me

Here are the rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their 8 things) and post these rules. (If you don't have a blog email me.)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged and to read your blog.

********************Random things about me**************************

1. I'm not a morning or a late night person.
2. I love italian food.
3. I am a chocoholic.
4. I love to read.
5. I don't like grumpy people (including kids and teens) .
6. I love my new job!
7. I am a couch potato
8. I can no longer be a couch potato because of my back.

I won't tag anyone, since I don't have 8 people who read my blog, but if you do decide to post please leave me a comment and let me know :)

Recent Happenings

Boy has it been crazy for the past month around our house, which by the way has still not sold after almost 300 days, but the good news is two people are looking at it today.

The IEP team has decided our little one is ready to go back to a regular fifth grade full-time next year. He has matured so much and come such a long way socially and behaviorally. I am finding the more independant I make him, the more he wants to be independant. The little bugger told me last week that he could do his own bath all along, it's just that I "always get in there first so he let's me do it." He will be going to six flags next weekend with a friend of his and their parent's and he can't wait!

My oldest is now a Junior in high school :(. In less than a year and a half he will officially be an adult. I just put him on a plane alone to go visit a girl and her family that we met last summer on our vacation (they have been in contact daily ever since). I totally trust her family and I hope we are not wrong about that. The security would not let me walk him back to the gate since he is already sixteen, but I thought that it was not fair, it should at least be eighteen when you have to let them go......(of course he was happy about it). I've been totally useless all day tracking his flight to NC, but he just landed twenty minutes ago so I might be able to breathe again until Tuesday when he gets back on a plane.

My Baby Turns 10 today!!

My little one is officially in the double digits now. Wasn't it just yesterday we were bringing him home for the first time ?!? Where does the time go. From a 20-1/2 inches bundle of joy to a 5 foot precocious boy. He has matured a lot over the past year too. He told me the other night that he really doesn't care about presents this year, he only wants his friends to come to his party to play.

I am sooo Bummed out!

I have been really really busy lately and have not been able to post, but I just have to get my frustrations out.

I have discovered that Goodwill has an auction site, can you believe that?!? I have found so many great deals and bought many wonderful, some brand new things for practically nothing. Well, yesterday afternoon in those last few minutes before the workday ends, when it's too late to start working on something, but too early to go ahead and leave, I was browsing the website. What do I find you might ask? Well, I found a 43 pieced set of my great-grandmother's china for $9.95. I am missing several pieces of the set, so this would be perfect to complete it. Granted the shipping was $40, which is a little steep, but for that much antique china it would have been a steal.

Well I put my bid in with a max of $15, with only two hours to go and no bids already. I left work and went home where the power had been out since early that afternoon. I didn't think anything of it because no one was bidding on the china, so I thought I was a shoo in. The power did not come back on until 4:30 a.m. this morning, so I did not get to look at it anymore last night.

When I got in this morning and checked, I had lost the set by $1. Can you believe that????? One lousy dollar. This totally depresses me because now I have looked at what the pieces are going for seperately and it will cost a small fortune to complete the set piece by piece.

On the bright side though, this is the third time I've seen the set, once at an antique shop, once at my local Goodwill, and now online, so hopefully it will turn up again :)

Up Up and Away!

This week I flew to New Jersey on business. This was the first time I've flown in over ten years, so things have changed a lot. The first thing of course was going through security with my shoes off. Now, first thing in the morning I can see where that would be okay, but late in the day when people have had them on for a while I imagine it gets a little bit smelly. Next thing I noticed was how quiet everything was. Gone are the days when family and friends can see you off or wait for you at the gate. Only passengers with tickets are allowed past security so I had no trouble getting a seat in the waiting area.

This was also my first time up north in about twenty years. It is very different up there. Since I was only there for an overnight trip I'm sure there is a lot more that I would find interesting, but the one thing that I could get used to that we do not have here in the South would be not having to pump my own gas. They have state employees that do that in New Jersey. You pull up and they take your payment and take care of everything right there.

Another thing they have up there that I have never seen down here in the South are Cheese Doodles. We have Cheese Puffs down here but they are no where near as good as the doodles. My favorite author writes about these in her books and I had no idea it was not a ficticious name until I got there. The morning before I flew out I saw them in the machine and I just had to try them, after all Janet Evanovich wrote a whole book around them. So that's what I had for breakfast that day. Next time I go up I will have to try the Tastykakes she is always referring to in all her books. I can see me telling my boss she has to send me back up there so I can try them.

Oh well, back to reality and trying to get fit and healthy with all my blogger friends. Gotta get some work done now :)

Oh My Valentine!

My Aspie son has his first crush, although he doesn't actually know he has a crush yet. Let me explain...

There is a young girl in his classroom that has taken a liking to him. The first few weeks of school she would tell everyone that she was going to marry him. He would grin but say he hated her. Several people have teased him about her to the point of him declaring he "hates ugly so and so". He has been picking on her every chance he gets since then.

I dropped him off one day and was talking to his teacher. As soon as he put his things away he went right over to where she was and sat down. I mentioned this to the teacher and he said it was like this all day long, either him going over to her, or her going over to him.

Well, last Tuesday I was filling out his Valentines and I kept asking him to come and help me. He said he was not giving one to her. I told him if he did not come and help me then I would write her a card that says he loves her. Well that got his goat. He stomped over and plopped on the couch. I suggested we find the least "loveable" card to give her. That seemed to pacify him. We went through what each one said and go to one that said "I hope you have an Enchanted day" or something like that. He asked me what that meant and for lack of a definition on the spot I said it was sort of like falling in love or something. He said good, he would put on there that it was so she could fall in love with someone other than him (the little stink).

Well, he called me that next day and he had gotten in trouble at school and had to stand in the corner. When I asked him what for he said it was because he tried to hit the girl. Mom was in the background telling him to tell me why he did that and he said it was because she tried to kiss him. Of course I explained to him that we never ever hit girls under any circumstances. He said he would do it again if she tried to kiss him again.

Ahh young love!!!

On the older love drama, my oldest son came home with a hickie. He said "we just did it to see if you would get mad about it". Well let's just say he found out the answer to that and I don't think he'll be seen within a mile of her dad anytime soon.

Till next time :)

I've Been Tagged (I think)

Okay, so Mom's Baggage (see link to the side) has tagged me, I think. I've never done this before so I am unsure how to go about it. It's supposed to be a MeMe post of Thursday Thirteens (although I am a day late), so here goes.

I am: Very happy I got an A on my final
I want: Lunch, I skipped it to go get a manicure
I have: a wonderful family, even though they are very irritable today
I wish: My house would sell soon.
I hate: When people are moody all the time
I miss: having our own house.
I hear: Typing and muffled talking (I work in an office)
I wonder: what my kids will grow up to be
I regret: not going to college right after high school
I am not: as organized as I would like
I dance: very badly.
I sing: in the car, mostly when I'm alone.
I am not always: neat
I make with my hands: meals and desserts when I can.
I journal: By blogging and Scrapbooking
I confuse: my husband
I need: a vacation
I should: be working right now :)
I start: any thing that interests me.
I finish: just about everything, it just may take me forever.

I'll tag three of the blogs I read regularly, which are Hick's, Mike's and Cathy's.

Daily Report

Teacher's comment on my Aspie son's daily report:

"Mr. 'I love mornings' ended up having a good day"

:)