Today's Davidism

"Mom, you make friends faster than a hippopotamus poops!"


Feeling less angry already. Off to have a fun girls day out. :)

Anger

I am so full of anger lately. For lots of reasons.
 Today I took David to McDonalds. He wanted to  play on the playplace.  He was playing so nicely with the other kids, he was taking turns, helping the smaller kids. Which, by the way, is a HUGE thing!I heard a couple of the moms making snarky comments about the height limit and "looking" at me. Yes, he is over 4 feet tall. Oh no. Call the playground police. I opted to not say anything, but seriously I wanted to go over and make a huge scene. I really wish they'd had to guts to actually say something to me. If he LOOKED like he had a disability (such as Down Syndrome) would they even think twice about it? Maybe they would. I am just so tired of explaining. He has autism. He functions socially at a kindergarten level. He likes hanging out and doing stuff with kids that are about 5.
He was having fun. We left before I punched someone. Luckily it was a chilly, but sunny day and we went to North Park to play for awhile longer.

I watched this episode of "Parenthood" (WARNING: Swearing--watch minutes 3:12-5:05 & 23:46-25:00)-and could totally relate to the dad. It's where I am right now.
 I am so angry and I don't know what to do about it. I can't go around punching people in supermarkets or McDonalds. :)
On a less angry note, Blair got a job! He started Monday. So things are looking up. Now, just to get the mortgage company to cooperate.
Ok, I'm off and I'm going to try to not be so angry.

Home for Sale

Blair couldn't work at Walmart, he was in a bunch of pain and was living on pain pills, he had to quit.

Our house now has a for sale sign in front of it. I'm sticking to my guns, since the answer to my prayer about being home with my kids was so strong. I'm struggling with it a bit....Ok, let's be honest,I'm struggling with it a lot.I've put so much of my heart into fixing it up and it's our first house. I'll miss my back yard especially. We have some time, at least a few months-so perhaps there is still hope Blair can find a new job before there is no turning back.
 Homeschool has been a challenge with two unemployed grown men hanging around the house. David is so easily distracted (and so am I) that we are falling behind on his work. Next week we really have to buckle down and get caught up. His emotions are all over the place and I've officially decided that I really, really, really don't like puberty, especially in an autistic child.
Broden has straight A's and was recently awarded his Star scouting rank. He's a Life rank away from Eagle scout land.  He's not loving Junior High, but who does? He's doing very well considering it's 8th grade.
Morgan, yet again, has too much on her plate. FFA, NHS, school play, early morning seminary, and a variety of school clubs she joined. But her grades are good, even if she is a bit grumpy.

The truck has been out of commission for 3 weeks. Yes, THREE WEEKS. Blair had to replace the clutch. and the flywheel. and the master cylinder. and the slave cylinder. Oh, and did you know that the '92 Dodge Dakota has a self bleeding system? Guess what that means. Royal Pain in the Bum to get the air out of the line. Three men out in my driveway tonight still trying to bleed the line.Three weeks, I'm not even kidding. Transportation has been a challenge. Luckily, Blair has his motorcycle. Unluckily, once of the buddy pegs (where my right foot should rest) has broken off. So visualize......Not-so-skinny, 30 something female,on the back of a motorcycle which is being driven by a not-so-skinny 30 something male, with the females right leg sticking straight out to the side wearing a bright red helmet and a backpack full of groceries. It's a lovely picture. It will probably show up on "people of walmart" soon. I'll share if I see it.

I'm still working at Maceys, but only as a sub. It's nice not being there all the time. I've been making decent sales with my Mary Kay, but I could do better if I was more proactive.
So that's whats been going on for the last month in a nutshell--or the nut house. :)
Keep Smilin' that's what I'm doing!

Homeschooling update

So far I'm liking the K12 program. It's nice to have it planned out for me, I am a little overwhelmed but we'll hit our groove. There is a lot of work, and he's expected to have online sessions with his teachers each week. Because of his IEP, it's going to be nearly every day. He is receiving psychological services each week as well. We could opt for a web cam meeting, but for now we are driving to Salt Lake every week.
 Today we went to see the moving Vietnam Memorial Wall at the Spanish Fork Cemetery for our history lesson. I wrote a little social story so David would understand what it was about about and how to behave appropriately. It was a short visit, but it seemed to have an impact on him. We checked out a DK book about the Vietnam War from the library and he enjoyed reading through that. Tomorrow we are going to start talking about the Topaz Internment Camp. I checked a book from the library ( love the library!) called Journey to Topaz. We'll let you know how we like it. The Springville art museum has an exhibit of art by some of the prisoners from Topaz until Oct. 15th, so we'll be going to see that after we finish the book.
Morgan has loaded herself up as usual. She's in the chorus for the HS production of Phantom of the Opera, so there's a load of work there. She's in FFA again, as well as in her Young Womens class presidency (church). She's taking early morning seminary again this year-the crazy girl- and has a full course load of classes.
Broden is doing well, pulling all A's so far this term, he's got mixed feelings about school. He really hates the homework, but enjoys learning new things and being with his friends.
Blair is hanging in there at Walmart, not his fave thing, but we're all grateful he's got a job.
Blair's best friend Dave (the one we named our David after) is here staying with us for  a bit. He's a blast. My boys pester the poor guy to death and have a bad case of hero worship. He's been great with them, and we enjoy having his cheerful spirit in our home.
I know I keep saying this, but I will try to blog more often. And I really need to post some pictures. :)

Education Week & Other Fun

My mom, Morgan & I went to Education Week at BYU this last week. It was so fun!A few of the classes we attended were; a  DNA class (which was way over my head), a music theory class which I learned loads in, and a folk dancing class in which I almost died from hauling my sweaty, out-of-shape body across the floor.  I thoroughly enjoyed the gardening classes I made it to. My new fave website I got from the "Enjoying the Harvest" class. Also a family history & internet class. I learned so much this week!
My favorite is always going to the bookstore and meeting the various artists. There are so many talented people there! Last year I found a new favorite artist. Her name is Elizabeth Stanley. She had a painting called "Daughter of God". I fell in love with it. I sat and had a conversation with her, in which she told me the inspiration behind it. Words can't describe how I felt. It was exactly what I was there to hear. My Father wanted me to remember that I am important to Him. That I am His daughter and He loves me. It was one of the most memorable spiritual experiences I have had. She was at BYU again this year, and talking to her for  just a moment reminded me of the things my Heavenly Father had wanted me to know the previous year. I am so grateful my Heavenly Father loves me and reminds me of that on a regular basis. I just need to get better at  listening.

David will be 12 this week. Wow. My baby is 12. We had his party today. I survived! Everyone seemed to have a good time, I didn't have a come-apart and neither did Dave. :) We had a movie night. The kids came over, ate pizza and then watched Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief (a movie based on some of our favorite books) We had an intermission, opened presents and ate cake, and then returned to the movie.  The kids then played with the presents for awhile and trickled home. Success!

School starts this week! Do you have any fun back to school traditions?

Going Private vs Staying "public"

I am seriously considering going back to private settings, which requires you (the reader) to log in each time you visit. What do you think?

HE GOT A JOB!!!!!

Just a quick note-He's got a job at Payson Walmart as night stocker! YEAH! Thanks for all the prayers!!! He's not thrilled, but I'm excited enough for both of us!!!!

Breathe.......

Saturday morning I was cooking the usual toad-in-a-hole for David, when all of a sudden I couldn't breathe, my heart started pounding and I was shaking. "Ok", I think, "I'm probably not having a heart attack. Probably a panic attack, maybe I should call 911,but I can't afford to call 911, ambulances are expensive." So I called my mom. (Thanks Mom!) She (after a few phone calls to urgent care clinics {one of which didn't open 'til 1pm} and to each other, headed on down to Family First Clinic. I had talked to them on the phone (at their local Spanish Fork number and through my strange and panicked breathing,told them I was coming.) Mom had looked up their address and came by to pick me up. She dropped off Dad (thanks Dad!) to sit with the boys who, by bickering and bugging each other were NOT helping my breathing issue) We drove around and around. Couldn't find it. (Not helping my panicked breathing thingy) Stopped at Shopko. Mom ran in and looked in their phone book. Yup-she had the address right. We head back over to where it's supposed to be. Oh, THERE it is! with an itty bitty sign on the door and nothing on the main complex sign. Relieved we've finally gotten me some help, we climb out and head up. Posted on the door is a sign that says, "We have moved to blah,blah University Avenue, Provo. " Ya think they could have said sumthin' on the phone to the lady who COULDN'T BREATHE? They did however want to find out what kind of insurance I had and make sure I could pay them while I was on the phone with them-- they wouldn't see me otherwise. Gave up on Family First (which even though it has a Spanish Fork number and address, isn't actually anywhere near Spanish Fork, in case you were wondering and really wanted to go there for urgent care and avoid the emergency room.)
Mom took me over to the InstaCare clinic in Springville. They were still in Springville, glad they hadn't decided to move on me too. They got me right in, determined I was probably not having a heart attack, but hooked me up to some wires and junk just to make sure. Found out, heart good, stress bad. They gave me a prescription for something to mellow me out, which did, and I could breath OK again! I just can't drive, 'cause the meds make me loopy. But hey--loopy is better than not breathing!

So, ya think that the panic attack has anything to do with (now) 1 shift left @ Maceys and still no working hubby? or more to do with Homeschooling David? (Who informed me today, "Just in case you wondered, I mostly chew with my molars. ) or Morgan beginning driving & dating in the next few months? Or Broden going into 8th grade and deciding girls are looking mighty interesting?
Ok....breathe.......

Best news, I have a new niece! 8lbs, born yesterday, she's beautiful and I can't wait to spend lots of time kissing her chunky cheeks! Congrats Jon & Ezzy!

Mom! I'm bored!

So, are we tired of this refrain yet? I know I am!

Thursday we took a little drive over to Payson to Peteetneet museum. It's a cool building with a neat history, you can learn more here.

I'd been over there a few weeks ago to a quilt show, and wandered into the museum area of the school. The adorable ladies are so excited to show you everything they have, and there is quite a lot! I saw a few of the exhibits and they told me about some of the other rooms. As soon as they told me about the freedom room, I knew I'd need to take my boys to see it.The boys loved it, they were mostly interested in the WWII items, but they did learn quite a bit about other conflicts while we were there. My fave was the western room, if you are into western stuff, go on a Thursday. The lady that knows everything about everything in that room is there on that day.
I think the best thing is that the sweet volunteers walk around with you, give you some history and not just a few personal stories. If you are over that way, take the time to check it out. It's free and very interesting. The worst thing is how hot the building is, there is A/C of sorts, but you mostly just feel it in the hallway. If you're visiting in the heat of summer, dress accordingly. I'd imagine the heat situation is similar in the winter.

Happy 24th of July! Pioneer Day to those of us in Utah. Spanish Fork has its big ole party during the week of the 24th. Full on parade, carnival, live music, as well as lots of other stuff... like the rodeo! We made it to the parade, it was HOT. and LONG. and HOT. Morgan was on the FFA float, so I had to be a good mom and go watch her. She was the best part of the parade. Right after her, my faves were the pipe bands and the color guard (civil war reenactors). Once all that was done, we hoofed it over to the quilt show. Great quilts, fun people. It was HOT. Blair & the boys visited with the blacksmith that sets up there each year while Morgan and I wandered the quilts. I drank a lot of water. Did I mention it was HOT? Headed home, took a very long nap and went to work at the happiest place in Spanish Fork. Only 3 more weeks and I am a stay-at-home mom again. :) ( No, he still hasn't found a job. Please pray hard, I am.)

I actually made it to church today. I know-right? Me, at church! I'm kind of hit & miss lately, but I'm making it a priority. I came home and got busy doing all the stuff I've been procrastinating all week. Made bread (here's the recipe I love), made Broden's tin foil dinner for his camp out, canned 8 quarts and 1 pint of pickled beets, and made peanut butter bars. I just pulled the last of the jars out of the hot water bath and am loving listening to the 'pop' of the lids sealing.

I'm tired, off to bed. :)

Warning: Disgustingness

OK, I am officially tired of poop. Sitting at the computer getting ready to watch Voltron with David. I'm smelling something......I ask "did you have an accident?"
Dave replies; "Yes....I took care of it. It was when I was playing Legos earlier." So, I'm figuring just residual stench. Few minutes later, I'm starting to think, it's kinda strong for an 'earlier' problem. "Where were you sitting, were you down here?"
He says. "Yes, I was on the floor in the family room." I send him to find the Febreze, which I must say is my all-time favorite poop-smell-remover from non washable surfaces and I try to NEVER run out of it. Bad things happen when I run out of it. He can't find it. Oh crap. Literally. I send him in armed with air freshener (you think I'm goin' in there? No way Jose') It helps a little. Meanwhile, I'm thinkin' not just residual stench. I ask him again, " Did you have an accident?" (with a Mom look thrown in for good measure.) He's gets that look, you know the busted look. * sigh* Go take care of it......
NOTE: End of disgustingness (at least for today)

On a less gross note, Morgan's best friend won tickets to tonight's rodeo. So they are downtown checkin' out the cute cowboys. :) I'm glad she got to go, it's one of my favorite things about Fiesta Days. Tomorrow she'll be in the parade with the FFA, which means I have to go watch it. I really don't like parades. I will, however, enjoy walking down to the quilt show. I always enjoy that. Last year I even had the courage to enter some! I have some friends running booths down there too, so I'll have to go say 'hi' to them as well. Then hopefully a nap & off to work, where I expect it will be rather busy.
Well, I'm off to play bejeweled, my current addiction. G'nite

P.S. Voltron isn't as cool as I remember........but David liked it. :)

Davidisms

So...If you are reading this, you probably know David. You've probably met him and spent time with him. Of course, it is possible that you don't, so here ya go. David has Aspergers syndrome. It sounds like a donkey's cheeseburger, but there ya have it. It is a form of high functioning autism, been around awhile but not been 'commonly' diagnosed until recently. He's a crack-up. He's also a pain in the pa-toot. He was officially diagnosed with it as a second grader, up until then we just thought he was immature for his age, and not just a few very helpful people suggested it was a parenting problem. In a lot of ways it was good to finally know what was going on, but there is always the grief that comes with the diagnosis.
Along with his AS comes some fun behaviors and co-morbidity issues (meaning he has other issues besides autism) He eats his shirts. Not kidding, he can trash a shirt in mere minutes. Also has some bathroom issues (see previous posts for that joy) Part of the fun is some sort of hypoglycemic tendency. Now, we're really unclear on whether his blood sugar has dropped or he's just so hungry he's overwhelmed with the sensory implications.Honestly either way we just have to get food in the kid. So this morning he was 'low' (for lack of a better term) and he tells me he wants toad-in-a-hole or ramen. I have 1 piece of bread left, and it's the heel which he normally won't eat. So guess what- I make him ramen. (ick)
I call him down to eat, "Why can't you just leave me alone? I'm not hungry!!!" Doorbell rings, it's hubby's friend asking if I can watch his two little ones for a few minutes while he runs a quick errand-I being completely unable to say no to anyone -say sure... David is still screaming from upstairs, " I can't deal with this, why are there babies here?!?" WHY CAN'T ANYONE LEAVE ME ALONE? I HATE BABIES!" I settle the little ones with the trains and head up the stairs to manhandle David downstairs. I park him on the chair and he, not using an inside voice, "Why did you make me this garbage? This is filth! I'm not hungry!" The little girl, is getting a bit worried, and I told her he's just having a rough morning and don't worry. "I am NOT having a rough morning! Why can't you leave me alone? I'm not hungry!" She goes back to playing and is giggling..."STOP laughing at me!!!" This goes on in circles for about 10 minutes, when I finally reason with him to eat a toad-in-a-hole (made with the heel) After getting food in him, he sits down and plays nicely with the little girl until her dad came back.
Ah, I can't believe I'm going to home-school this child. What was I thinking!?!

" I don't want to see the llamas, I don't like llamas, they spit on everything."--David

Remember this?

Ladybug, ladybug . .

Fly away home.
Your house is on fire
and your children are gone!

We had our 2nd annual ladybug party last night. We had all the family over, roasted hot dogs & giant marshmallows. We then released 4,000 ladybugs into my aphid infested roses. We let them go a little too early, it wasn't quite dusk and we had quite a few fly away this year. It probably didn't help that David had taken them out of the fridge and was observing them, so they were a lot more awake than I would have liked. My sister M took some pics with her cool phone, and as soon as she shares them I will post them. (at least I'll post the ones I'm not in.)

In response to the queries about my hubby's employment status. He is still not employed. I received a pretty strong confirmation in answer to a prayer that I needed to quit & be home with my kiddles. Soooo, I put in my notice and this is a big.....huge...ginormous leap of faith. Please pray for us.
AJ- no quilts actively being worked on, I'm too busy weeding. :)

Maybe I should give up....

I'm not very good at this blogging thing. I see all these super cute blogs that are updated at least weekly if not hourly! It's June and I haven't posted anything since February!

Big changes are ahead for me. I' quitting my job and homeschooling David next year. I've decided to go with the k12 program through Utah Virtual Academy. You can learn more here. I hope to regularly update on here the fun homeschooling adventures we have.

My garden is looking great! My beets are up & looking good, though I'm not exactly sure how big they are supposed to be before I harvest them. I guess I better Google it. I'm looking forward to making my first batch of pickled beets...mmmm. The peas blossoms are gone and starting to get pods. My carrots are ready to be thinned, I should probably do that tomorrow. Something is eating my cukes as they come up, this year it is some sort of insect, last year it was the neighbors cats. Remind me to tell you about those cats one of these days. Oh! I am glad they are gone! Peppers & tomatoes are slowly growing, A couple of blossoms on one of my tomato plants. The plant is still so small, hope it'll do ok. I put some mint in my herb garden this year, I don't know that I'll use it much, but I like it anyway. I've used most of the cilantro that came up from last year, and I have my basil & oregano I use constantly. I think I'll go hang out in the yard tomorrow morning and get some photos of my garden. I'm pretty darn proud of myself. I used to kill anything I tried to grow!
Most of my time is spent at work or in my garden, mostly at work now-my garden needs to be weeded terribly! I guess I should get on that.

January is OVER!

Wow! I can't believe it's already February! January went super fast. In the last month since I've bothered to post:
Morgan has started play rehearsals for Suessical, she's loving it but exhausted! She's in the chorus-much to her disappointment. I'm glad though, she really doesn't need more to do. She's got nearly straight A's, involved in Jr National Honor Society, FFA, and Drama club. (and that's just school!)
Broden is also doing very well in school and maintaining good grades. Since the weather has been unseasonably warm (Global Warming? *snicker*) he's been out riding bikes and playing football with his friends. I'm so glad he's made some friends this year. He really struggles with that. There is a young man in our ward just a bit older than him that has been exceptionally patient with his quirks. I'd like to get him involved in some group activity other than scouting, but his main interests lie in Lego's and Star Wars (best if combined....)
David...ho David...what a joyful little boy! He's always got us giggling about something. He's still struggling with his social difficulites in school. He has good days and bad. He went on a snowshoeing field trip with his class, he was SO excited! I didn't prep him like I should have. He got frustrated with the snowshoes " 'cause they were too big!" then they had a round robin of different winter things, some of which had to do with animal habits & such. He said it was boring 'cause he already knew all of it. It sounds like he held it together pretty well until it was time to leave. Then came the meltdown. The bus was too loud and the other kids wouldn't be quiet and they kept looking at him... and it was the final straw. He had a total come-apart which culminated in a soiling of the pants. I was pretty glad I was already at work when he got home. Dad got to deal with that one. :)
Blair is still out of work, and not having much luck finding anything. It's been tough! I'm so grateful to have my job at Maceys and I love my coworkers. I just wish I didn't have to be away from home so much.I guess it's all part of Heavenly Father's plan for us and I just need to have faith and be patient. Not such an easy thing for me to do! I've been reading "The Proper Care an Feeding of Husbands" OUCH! So painful and true the things she says I'm doing wrong! I know that there are ladies out there that are probably going to hate that book, but the last few days I've been making an effort, I've seen a huge change in my home. For the positive! and lets just say with Blair out of work for 18 months and me being gone 32 hours+ a week in addition to the work of mothering it has been downright UGLY around here.
We got a camera from my darling sister (Thnx AJ!) but I have yet to use it. I want to post pics of some of the quilts I've finished as well as pics of the kiddos. Hopefully soon.
Love to all! Let's hear it for Spring!