Thoughtful Thursday, Family Friday, All on a Sunday!

O.K. So I am so behind. I have a hard time getting out my usual Thursday and Friday posts on time because they are usually busy days where I don't always get the down time to write. I really need to just write them ahead and schedule them, but I usually forget. So I will do a combined post today.

Thoughtful Thursday

I started reading Asperger's Syndrome A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Tony Attwood this week. The first chapter deals with the diagnostic process. The second chapter has been very enlightening so far. It is all on Social behaviors. I am still working on this chapter, but wanted to share some of my insights.

First was on playing with others. Jesse wants to be friends with people many times, but struggles knowing how. Other times he wants to play by himself and this describes him perfectly: "The child appears to play in a 'bubble' and can resent other children intruding into their activity. When the child intends to play on their own and other children are inquisitive or want to be sociable, they can be quite abrupt or even aggressive in ensuring their solitude. They often prefer to be left alone to continue their activity uninterrupted." This happens almost daily between Jesse and Faith. He can get very upset when she tries to play with him or sometimes even sit by him.

Another thing that stuck put was the lack of social codes of conduct. This situation is so familiar to me, "On occasions the person may appear ill-mannered; for example, one young man with Asperger's Syndrome wanted to attract his mother's attention while she was talking to a group of her friends, and loudly said, "Hey, you!" , apparently unaware of more appropriate means of addressing his mother in public. The child, being impulsive and not aware of the consequences, says the first thing that comes into their mind. Strangers may consider the child to be rude, inconsiderate or spoilt, giving the parents a withering look and assuming the unusual social behavior is a result of parental incompetence. . . It is essential that other people understand that the child is not being rude, but did not know a more tactful alternative or appreciate the effect on other people."

Mr. Attwood describes the use of social stories to help teach proper social conduct. Once children with AS understand the proper conduct, they will almost become police in enforcing it. For example a few weeks ago we were playing tag at the end of scouts. Faith ran into the person who was "it" but everyone else continued to play as if she hadn't. Jesse became upset and stopped the game saying that Faith had touch the person and now was it no matter what. The social stories are very descriptive, showing what the situation should look and sound like for the child.

I wanted to share a few poems found in the book as well:

One foot in and one foot out

Is what Aspergers is all about.

Sometimes I think why me;

other times it's the best way to be.

A little different from the rest

makes you think you're second best.

Nobody quite understanding

a hard life which is very demanding.

I look like any other child

but little things just make me wild. (Vanessa Royal)

People everywhere,

Talking, wearing bright colours.

The talking is like the pounding of horses' hooves,

The bright colours are blinding,

The talking hurts my ears,

The bright colours hurts the eyes,

Oh why can't people be quiet and wear dull colours. (Dianne Mear)

The second one really describes Jesse feeling towards loud noises. Every time we try to have music on, he tells us it hurts him to listen to it. He sits through music class in school with his hands over his ears. Even as a little kid he would run out of sharing time because it was to noisy and he couldn't handle the others kids talking.

Family Friday

This week has been another busy week. Tyler had district for track on Friday where she ran the 200 meter hurdles. It was her first time running the race since she was injured a few weeks ago. She did a great job and I was nervously watching hoping she wouldn't fall again and reinjure herself.

We also finally got the lawn mowed and flower beds weeded after all the rain. Our yard was really looking bad! I also got the rest of the garden planted. Some stuff is still a little early, but I figured I would cover them if they came up before the last frost.

This morning I found I had an e-mail from 5 minutes for moms saying that I won an Elliot Lucca Ellene satchel. I was shock to win such a big giveaway. My one question is where do you wear a bag like this? I am sure I can find some place though!

Family Friday- Festivals, Gardens, and Floods Oh My!

So It has been another busy week. Last Saturday I worked on getting part of my garden planted. My peas, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, and broccoli are in. I planned on planting my potatoes and carrots today, but the rain ruined my plans. My tomatoes are also planted in containers. In between gardening I took Tyler and Britain to their festivals. Tyler participated in cello and piano while Britain did piano. For Tyler she had a memory lapse on her cello in the morning and I think she then freaked a little on her piano because she just couldn't do it with out her music. So she will not receive a score this year (if you use music you can't get a score). Britain hit a brick wall hard with one of his pieces and couldn't get past it the month leading up to festival. Instead of saying anything he just refused to play it and do to conflicts he went several weeks without lessons. About a week and a half before festival we changed that piece of music so he could at least participate. He worked hard and memorized it, but it wasn't up to performance level yet so he received a Very Good rating this year.

Two weeks ago Britain also went on another cam pout to Givens Hot Springs. He had a great time, but did come home with a nasty burn from picking up a hot poker from the fire. He was very proud because despite his fear of heights, he climbed Devil's Ladder (I think that was the name of it).

Sorry for that brief interlude, now back to last Saturday. That evening we went to a ward party of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I got the time wrong so we were late, but the kids had a great time playing all the games. Tyler went home with her friend Katie and went with her to her first stake dance!! There is no way she should be old enough to do that!! Very scary. She had a great time and danced with a few boys. She has decided that she is going to every dance. SHE SHOULD NOT BE OLD ENOUGH FOR THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday night my friend Jill told us about a cello and bass concert. It was in a ladies home to support Caldwell Fine Arts. I decided to take Tyler and Britain because it is such a rare opportunity to see a cello and bass duet. It was AMAZING! The group is called The Bottom Line Duo and they are extraordinary. The kids were so excited that it rejuvenated their love for their instruments. We spent quite a long time talking with Spencer the bass player. I am hoping to order some music from them so Tyler and Britain can do some duets together.

Tyler and Britain had their last track meet on Monday. Tyler then made it to district in the 200 meter hurdles so she will have another week of track. She was injured two weeks ago on the hurdles so I am hoping mentally she will be ready to jump again.

On Thursday we also found out our sprinkler system has sprung a leak somewhere. The crawl space ended up with quite a bit of water in it. We will be pulling up the vapor barrier today to help with the drying process. Our sprinkler people where supposed to be coming out today to work on it, but with the rain I don't know if they will make it.

Yesterday I was able to go with my good friend Carmen to the temple on our monthly trip. It was great to spend some time together. Since she moved this is the only time we see each other. I then went to a Money Matters class for Elder's Quorum which was informative and motivational. Overall it has been a busy time, but what else is new.

Family Friday- Busy as Usual

So another week has come and gone. Some of the things that have happened around here are continuing of the remodeling (hopefully the light is at the end of the tunnel with that), cello lessons, another track meet, temple service, YM/YW, Dr. appointments, the brakes went out on my car, etc.

This weekend I am hoping to get my garden beds finished and maybe planted (I need to figure out if the water has been turned on yet). We still need to get the peat moss and dirt to fill the beds and then we can plant.

I have been feeling a little down the last few weeks. I think a lot of it is due to just the stress going on right now between the remodeling and other financial worries that keep popping up. A big factor to it all to is that Jesse has really been struggling lately and it is continuous battles with him daily. I think I am just so emotional exhausted that it has led to just being down and feeling like I am ready to fall apart at any minute. I need to go reread some of the conference addresses about hope in times of trial. Hopefully this next week will bring some good news of some kind and some happier days.

Family Friday- Can We Say Chaos?

So life around our house has been crazy lately. At the top of the list is the our house remodeling. The bathroom is almost done and the hallway just needs to be sealed and caulked and it is done! I will write more of this later.

On Tuesday Jesse had his 2nd/3rd grade music program. I was really worried about this as he is highly sensitive to noise and music. Usually when music is playing in the car he begs for it to be off because it hurts him. He spends all of music class with his hands over his ears, but he wanted to go to his concert. In the evening he also struggles because his medication wears off. HE DID SO GOOD!! I was near tears the entire concert because he was able to stand up there and sing (although not joyfully- I think he smiled once) and did great.

On Thursday Tyler and Britain had a track meet in Mountain Home. It was crazy because they didn't get home until 11:45 pm. I was glad they didn't have school the next day. They both felt they did good in their events. Faith also had a fun time dressing up in Jesse's shoes and running up and down the ramp of our friend's trailer.On Friday I had a great evening at my friend Tanya's house for her baby shower. It was great to be able to go sit and talk with friends and relax.

Today Robert and I were able to attend the temple. Jesse and I had a great night going to Clayson's baptism. He then went to Clayson's house while I took Tyler to a concert for the Boise Baroque Orchestra and Choir. We had a great time listening to the Passion according to St. John by Bach. Our friends the Belnaps gave us the tickets when they weren't able to use them and it was a great night out.

Throughout the week we also worked on our Easter activities. We weren't as good as the past because of the craziness going on, but some of the things we did was talk about the events of the last week of Jesus' life and create a picture wall of it, have our LOA wall, carried a beam across the yard, touched thorns, dyed eggs, made Resurrection rolls, and are excited our Easter activities tomorrow.

Family Friday

This has been a very good week, I just forgot to get pictures of it. Each day this week we tried to have some fun after chores were done. So on Monday we went to Settler Park in Meridian. We love this park because it is big enough for all the kids and had a wide variety of things to do. We then went home and rented a movie from the Redbox for the night.

On Tuesday we waited until Robert got home and then headed to Boondocks, I mean Wahooz, to have some fun. The kids decided they wanted to play video games so it ended up being cheaper than usual there. After we had our fill of video games we went back and played at Settlers Park for awhile.

On Wednesday, Tyler went to her friend Katie's house to help her take off wall paper and for a sleepover. The boys and Faith had an afternoon of Wii. In our house this is rare since they only get a limited amount of time each day on it and only if all chores are done first. They had a lot of fun playing.

On Thursday we weren't able to do anything because of me going to the temple. Today we spent the day cleaning and preparing for Tyler to have a Twilight party with her friends while the boys and Faith had movie night. We had a lot of fun this week, we hope everyone had a great spring break!

Family Friday- Always Going

This was a very busy week, so I will try to remember some of the things we did. My sister was visiting from Pocatello and spent the weekend with us. She got the great joy of helping us do some yard work Saturday morning. We finished pruning the roses, took out some plants, and started moving some rock before it was time to get ready for Tyler's school festival.Jesse and Faith found some of my costume pieces from the plays I used to do each year at school. They kept switching the different masks they wore throughout the morning.Tyler tipped over the wheelbarrow and ended up having to clean it up. OOPS =)!Kassie and I went to watch Tyler's festival. Robert was going to stay home with Faith and Jesse, but he got a call that morning asking for help moving a family at about the same time as festival. So while Kassie, Tyler and I went to the school for Ty's warm-up, Rob let Faith take a nap with the plan to bring them when he had to leave which should have been just after Tyler's solo piece. However the Tyler's judge was running about a half hour late, so Rob waited in the hall until we were done. Then we took the kids with us so Robert could go. We waited around for Tyler's ensemble piece which was with the same judge so it was also a half hour late. I was going to wait in the hall with Faith and Jesse so Kassie could watch Tyler, but in the end Kassie volunteered to take them outside so I could hear Tyler. What a great sis. In the end Tyler did very well and got a superior with both pieces.Tyler and McKenzie warming up before their solos.Tyler's solo.Tyler's ensemble group.Jesse hanging out in the hall.Hannah and Faith hanging out while waiting.

Britain was gone for the weekend with the youth at the Bishop's cabin. He had a lot of fun going tubing and hanging out at the cabin. However he froze during the night since the girls where in the cabin and the boys were out in the shed to sleep.

Tyler had Standards Night on Wednesday. It was a great program all on the importance of temple marriages. This is such a wonderful, eternal message that is so essential for kids to understand. I am grateful for every chance they have to hear it again.

On Thursday Tyler and Britain had an orchestra concert. I ended up not going to the temple and because of the concert Robert and I didn't go to class either. We all were going to go to the concert, however Jesse and Faith were really struggling before the concert started. Robert decided to take them home instead of fight them for the next two hours. The concert was great (even if Tyler had an impromptu solo during a rest, oops) and the kids did a great job.

On Friday I was able to spend the morning with my good friend Carmen. We went and did some of her families names at the temple and then went out to lunch. It was great to get away and relax with her. All in all it was a great, but busy week.

Family Friday- What We Are Up To

This week I bought a sensory box for preschool and filled it with water. Faith loved the box! She played with it for hours playing with all the toys in the water. She would play with it, take a break and do something else for a while, and then be right back at it. Even Britain and Jesse wanted a turn playing in it.

Faith is also a very independent girl. This is her wanting a drink and taking it upon herself to climb up on the counter, get a cup, and then fill it with water. I think her favorite saying is "I want to do it myself!" What a crazy girl!

This week also brought a return to the temple after it being closed for winter cleaning. On Thursday I worked my early shift again because I forgot to let them know that I could work my usual shift because my class was canceled. So I figured I would work and then do some initatories and come home early. Fat chance! The evening volunteers didn't show up. After Irene (the sister I work with) called the Bishop and tried to get volunteers there for an hour and a half, they finally sent one person. That meant that I needed to stay until closing to help out. I was just glad it was on a week I could stay otherwise I would have felt really bad for Irene.

We have also been experimenting with Jesse's diet in hopes of some improvement. We tried this before we put him on medications with little success, but decided to try it again. It has been going good until this evening when he had some major problems. Hopefully we can continue to success through.

Britain is off this afternoon on a YM/YW campout and tubing trip to our Bishop's cabin. He has been very excited all week to go. He had a lot of fun a few months ago when the scouts stayed at the cabin. Britain had to choose between participating in an orchestra festival and the trip, I don't think it was a hard choice for him.

Tyler was pretty upset that she wasn't able to go. She had school orchestra festival tomorrow and 8th graders are required to participate. She will be performing a solo as well as an ensemble with some friends.

The good part about her staying home is that she will be able to spend more time with my sister who should be here in a few hours. I hope you all had a great week. Ours has been busy aw always, but good.

Family Friday- A New Dress and Some Trees

This was an exciting week at our home. On top of Tyler's birthday, Faith received a fun package from Grandma Hamilton. It was a cute bunny dress with some accompanying dolls. Faith fell in love with it the second I opened the box. She had to wear it right then and as you can see Ellie it fit perfectly. She loved the dress so much that she wouldn't take it off. Each time she has seen it come out of the laundry since, she has to immediately wear it. Thanks Ellie, the dress was a huge success! We also had the usual scouts, Young Women, piano, etc. Tyler had an additional cello group lesson where she got to practice her recital piece for next week. Tyler's friend convinced her to wear her new makeup and she is doing really good at applying it so that it enhances her natural beauty instead of distracts from it.Friday I went visiting teaching, we had fun having some of Faith's friends over, and Tyler had a fun afternoon with her friends over doing a science project (doesn't she look like she is studying), and I went to a Elders Quorum social (minus Robert) that dealt with surviving the coming crisis period financially. It was an excellent class that gave me some new insights.

Today was a great day. It started off with the stake women's conference (more in a later post). Then I was wanting to do something as a family, but couldn't figure out what. Everything we thought of involved money. Finally we started talking about the garden and how we wanted to do it. We decided last year that we wanted to do raised beds in our yard, but with so little space it will be difficult. So I suggested we take out the four trees on the side of the house and we can do some of the garden there (Rob has been wanting to take out the trees for a long time and I didn't want to =P). So we all headed outside. First we had to move a wood pile so we could get to the trees. Then the fun began.Jesse and Faith had fun playing with the turtle while we got the chainsaw started. I had Jesse empty out the little bit of sand left in it so we could refill it. Tyler must like being in jail since she decided to hide behind bars.Britain just had to play it cool.

After all the trees were cleared, Tyler and Britain raked the ground to clean it up some.

Jesse tried to wrangle a piece of wood sticking up off the stump.Britain used the stumps to go exploring.Then we worked at moving another wood pile. Jesse wanted to move some of the boards himself with his own creative method.In the end I even got some of the rose bushes trimmed before it got to cold to stay outside. What a fun and busy day!

Family Friday-What Did Happen This Week?

This week has been pretty busy and seems to have flown right by. However as I sit down to write this, I can't think of what actually happened. Some of the highlights I guess are that on Monday the kids didn't have any school and my cafeteria supervisor needed extra volunteers to help with cleaning the cafeteria for the temple shut down. So I spent several hours helping to clean on Monday. Tyler also had cello lessons that night. Tuesday I finally got bread made like I have been planning to. Wednesday Faith and Jesse had an asthma appointment and Jesse is off of his steroids and Faith will hopefully be at the end of winter. Yeah for remission! Thursday Tyler was very excited to go with me to Ann Mannings baby shower for her twins. Today Robert gathered some wood for a friend and we then headed to Boise for Jesse's psychology appointment.

Of course there were a ton of other things happening, but at this point who knows. All is now quiet in the house after Friday Night Movie Night where we watched Madagascar 2 and I worked on my lesson for Sunday. I am nervous for Faith as she has been trying to get sick all week and she isn't sounding to good tonight. I am hoping it doesn't trigger her asthma since she struggles so much when it does. Tomorrow we will celebrate Tyler's 14th birthday (wow so scary!) that is on Wednesday. She wants to watch movies for her family activity and picked out a couple of movies tonight. I know I am just rambling right now and I am sorry for that. I feel as if my brain is fried and gone at this point. Hope everyone had a great week and hopefully next week I can be better at remembering things.

Family Friday- Life as Usual

Well it has been a pretty normal week around here with school, preschool, homework, work, church things, etc. But here are a few highlights:

Tyler had a disappointing day on Monday when one of her favorite teachers informed them that due to some students disrespect and dishonesty as well as some administration changes she would no longer be doing the fun incentives and teaching that she has been doing. She will now have to teach solely out of the text book instead of the novel studies that the kids have loved. It is so hard when the actions of a few ruin it for the rest. Tyler also had fun on Saturday at the Rollerdrome with several of her friends. They helped to teach her friend Joella how to skate and they all had a blast.

Britain was able to spend some alone time with mom on Saturday at the C of I basketball game. Our friends the Littlewoods gave out free tickets to the event. Jesse didn't want to go and I didn't want to fight Faith, so since Tyler had the chance to be out with her friends earlier in the day she stay home to babysit while I took Britain. Once we were there he spent most of the time with a friends, but oh well. Brit is really excited because tonight he is leaving for the Klondike Derby with the scouts. I am sending a disposable camera with him so eventually I will post some pictures about his first winter camp out. I am glad it is him and not me!

Jesse had a fun scout meeting last night. His leaders played games with the boys since it is Jesse's last week as a Wolf. Next week he will turn 9 and will join me with the Bears. He is really excited about his upcoming birthday. Unfortunately when he gets really excited it can negatively affect his behavior. Hopefully he will be back to his cheerful self soon.

Faith has been her usual three year old self. She is still working on potty training and stays clean most of the day. In an effort to cut out the cost of pull-ups we are trying to work on night training as well. Last night was the first night and it was a struggle so we will see if she is really ready for it or not. Faith has been having fun doing her preschool homework (my older class is learning to write their names) and loves the fact that she has homework like everyone else.

Robert is getting a little break at work right now. At IBI work is finally slowing down and he is back to 40 hour weeks instead of 60. It is great to see him a little more and good for him to have a few more hours to relax and unwind. Although with him he quickly fills that time with projects around the house. I don't think he could sit still if he wanted to. He is such a hard worker!

I have been busy with preschool and keeping things going around the house. Robert and I started a Strengthening Families class last night which should be really good. I am looking forward to hearing some new ideas and a reminder of old ones to help when problems arise at home. I also finished a must read book called One Tattered Angel. If you are wanting a really inspiring story to read check this book out! It brings such a loving spirit and a resolve to be better.

I hope everyone had a great week. There should be some fun things in store for next week!