The oldest child, the one who is 11.5 years old...he went to the doctor today right?
His stats:
117 pounds
5'4"
size 11.5 shoe
His 5'1" doctor lamented, "I've got 11-year-olds taller than me."
I laughed until I realized......
He's taller than me also.
Daaaaaaaaang!
Doc said he hasn't even started his puberty growth spurt. It's not the height I'm worried about.
It's the shoe size.
It's scary to think about.
I finally get to do the Wedding Meme!
Today is ZooDad and my 13th wedding anniversary.
He's called twice. Once for a pick-me-up after a long, hot, and stressful day. The second was reminisce about our wedding day.
I sure miss him.
So here's the dirt on us.
1. Where/How did you meet?
At Applebee's. I was a smart ass hostess working two jobs while going to school for my education certification. He was an Army Captain with a GPS who had no idea that a hostess could know what triangulation was.
2. How long have you known each other?
Let's see...we met in April of 1993
3. How long after you met did you start dating?
Two days? He asked me out the night we met.
4. How long did you date before you were engaged?
Officially engaged, as in ring on my finger and everything?
One year after we met almost to the day.
5. How long was your engagement?
Well, not long. A possible invitation of Haiti meant that we had to move the wedding up a few months. So we were only engaged for 3 months.
6. How long have you been married?
Lucky 13 years
7. What is your anniversary? Today, July 30.
8. How many people came to your wedding reception?
Not many. It was a quickly planned wedding. All we really wanted to do was get married. My future MIL actually did all the planning. ZooDad's Dad was very ill and she couldn't leave him. So we headed down to her to get married and she threw us a wedding. We had maybe 40-50 people at our wedding, but I only really cared about one person.
9. What kind of cake did you serve?
I don't even remember. It was white.
This morning, I took oldest child to the doctor today. He had a repeat of last summer's mysterious baseball bat related hand rash. But this time, I think I know what triggered it.
This time he was holding a balloon and then minutes later, his hands are mottled.
His doctor seconds my guess that the kid is developing an allergy to latex. He has a follow up appointment with an allergist on Thursday. He'll do blood work to confirm the allergy and see if there are any related allergies.
Fun, huh?
Aaaaaaaannnnnd.....then Tricare Appeals called. It seems that they didn't get the message that regular Tricare approved Matthew's OT. Nooooo...now they want some past assessments to see if Matthew has made any progress. So I had to fax them the assessments.
You know they're going to screw this up, right? There's no way that they won't. The question is...just how bad will they screw it up.
Oh...and it's our anniversary. Year 13 has been a tough one. Year 14 is starting out on the wrong foot and will need to make immediate adjustment.
I'm always up for a challenge but you know, sometimes it would be nice to just have things go smoothly. Of course, I'd be suspicions.
Ok...deployment is nearing the end and The Zoo will be moving on to a new chapter in life.
So to honor this change...which is going to be one wild ride, I am planning a blog redesign.
The green and black will be replaced by.....I don't know....something non-green and black hopefully. I have some ideas but no plans yet.
I'm willing to entertain any ideas. ;)
By the way, I'm still knitting away. I'll be posting some of my finished stuff in the next day or two. So check out my knitting blog too.
It's hard for me to explain what life is like with two children with Asperger's Syndrome. Most of the time, it's just part of our normal life and I don't notice that it's anything different from what any other parent experiences.
But some days....I can't pretend it's normal.
Sometimes I experience something that is just a "classic AS moment" that might help someone else understand.
(BTW: I don't do these sort of things as a PVM. I'm hoping that some parent who is wondering or struggling may find some help.)
On Thursday, I called to schedule a carpet cleaning for this coming Tuesday.
I informed the boys that they could play downstairs while the upstairs carpets were cleaned but would have to play outside while the downstairs was cleaned. Then we would all go to my Mom's house while the carpet dried.
No big deal, right? Just a carpet cleaning.
All of you reading can infer why I told them this. It's not a huge event other than getting ready for the carpet cleaners.
Not for Matthew.
He went into instant anxiety mode.
Why was I getting the carpet cleaned?
Who was coming to clean it?
Then came the "wonderings." Oh, how I hate the "wonderings." It's the time where he comes up with reasons why things are happening. Most of the time his reasons are so far off the mark that I don't even know where to begin to correct him.
"I know why we can't be upstairs while he cleans the carpet...."
"I know why we have to go to Nanny's house...."
Unfortunately, none of these "reasons" are correct so I have to tell him the real reasons.
But these reasons I give, don't make sense to him and he comes up with new explanations.
Which are different, but still wrong nonetheless. So we go around and around until I have to put my foot down. I feel cruel just cutting him off but I can't spend hours discussing the logistics of carpet cleaning.
The carpets are being cleaned. It's OK. I will handle everything and you get to spend the day at Nanny's house. OK? That's it. It's a really easy thing. Let's not talk about it anymore, OK?
He nods to let me know that he accepts this explanation but his eyes give away the truth. He's still fretting about it and I have no idea why. I can't even understand why he even cares in the first place, much less how to ease his worry.
And he can't tell me.
I've deleted this post. I need to pull my knit socks up and just be happy.
And that's all I have to say about that.
These aren't my birthday cakes.
They are cakes I made for Sam and Andrew's birthday party earlier in the month. I'm just now getting around to uploading them. (I'm so prompt in doing all things.)
First is Andrew's cake. In case you can't tell, it's a volcano. The boys had a Luau party...their own idea. I think Andrew came up with the party theme when he decided that he wanted a volcano cake.
Next is Sam's cake. It's a Tiki head. This is actually Sam's second cake.
Yep... the second cake I baked for this child in 24 hour period. This was my plan B cake. My favorite part is barely visible....I love the flames on the top of the head.
Why a plan B?
Well.....
The evening before the party, I baked the volcano cake and a standing up Tiki head. Then I carefully, put them away for the next day's party. Sunday morning, I woke up to find that the Tiki head looked like this.......
The tiki head had fallen over into the layer below. I tried to salvage....but as Jacob said....the Tiki was having some cake. It was dead in the water.
To say I panicked would be an understatement. Then I pulled myself together and started baking another cake. I was so glad that I had saved all the icing to clean up later. Woohoo....that was a touch of brilliance.
All three cakes were well received.
I'll add some other pictures to my photo bar on top. You can click on it anytime to go view our fun day.
Excuse me?
"Does Batman have a tail?"
That's what Sam wanted to know this morning as he greeted me with a birthday hug (It's my birthday. I am old today.) poking me with a mini Batman figure. It took me a bit to figure out where this odd little conversation was going. What a way to start my morning. We tend to have the oddest conversations in this house.
Let's check. (I lifted Batman's cape.) Nope....no tail.
"Bat's have tails."
Yes, they have little tails. However, BatMAN is tailless.
"Does Batman have wings? Where he wings?"
Nope, no wings either. No tail, no wings.
"Cat's have a tail. Mango has a tail."
Yep, Mango has a tail. No wings though.
"Then why they call him BATman? Oh...he wears a bat. See. And his cape is he wings. And he have bat ears."
Yep....sure enough.
Glad that mystery has been solved. Currently, Sam is playing with both Batman and Superman. Listening to his playtime conversations is hysterical. He acts out these little fantasies and talks and talks and talks.
I have to work at not laughing.
I can't wait to hear Batman explaining to Superman why he doesn't have wings or a tail but is still a "bat" man. The funniest thing is that I immediately thought of my "Who has a tail?" conversation with Andrew. I'm not sure why my kids have an odd preoccupation with tail.
I don't have anything on the "rush" pile for the rest of the day.
Laundry is down to manageable levels.
The house is clean enough.
The kids are playing outside.
My tutee is not coming today.
My paperwork is all done.
Tricare approved 12 OT visits for Matthew so that weight is lifted.
I ran my errands while MIL was here.
I bought my new scanner/copier doodah and I don't have to make plans to copy stuff. I even bought various colored paper for visual issues for the boys.
Oh, I lost my military ID a week ago. (All the military wives go, "GASP!)
But I found it. (All the military wives sigh in relief.) I sighed in relief too. It was at the commissary. The lady at the lady at the commissary was just as happy for me as I was.
(For the non-military readers, losing an ID card is bad. You have to file a report with the Military Police. Then take that report to this big building that has hours long waits to get anything done. Loosing you ID pretty much means losing a day of your life.)
Since I didn't have to do all that, I got to other stuff.
I took Matthew's glasses to be fixed. My favorite optician was there and it was nice to see him again. He ordered the replacement part and apologised about the time it would take to ship it. Of course, I don't mind waiting for it. This is my favorite eye place and the work is always top-notch.
He asked when my hubby would be home. I was touched that he remembered.
I went to Wal-mart and met a very nice man. He was the Greeter and I greeted him right back and smiled. And he responded, "Your teeth are beautiful. Who did them?" I told him that God did.
He said that I was blessed.
It turned out that he had had a stroke 4 years ago and fell. the fall messed up many of his teeth. He had fought with insurance for some time and they finally approved the work needed to get his smile back to normal. (Having a good smile is the first step to confidence. Dental care is right up there with yearly health care visits in my book.)
He said he was trying to find a good doctor to that.
Well, I knew the name of a good oral surgeon that might be able to help him. I passed that info on to him and wished him well.
Then I headed out to Sam's to search form my copier/scanner where I pondered the new overpass building plans with a very nice man, searched for ink cartridges with a lady who was just as confused as I was, and then ended the trip with another man grabbing my cart when I was done with it.
Then I saw a very odd man with wild hair and jerky movements. When he turned around, I saw he was wearing a shirt that said, "I have issues." I couldn't help but laugh and he laughed with me.
And finally, ZooDad sent me a new picture today. A very handsome close up of him out on a helo ride today. Guess who has new wallpaper.
It's such a good shot of it, that seeing it makes me smile and miss him so very much. (ZD had a good day too. A big boost to his spirits and I could hear it in his voice.)
All these little things, nothing big in particular. Just little things that made me smile.
But God works through the little things.
Whew...we are trucking right along.
MIL will arrive this evening and I'm going out to the bookstore to just lounge and have a cookie and a coke.
Then tomorrow, I will do errands. Including getting a new scanner/copier.
ZooDad is amazing about simplifying my life. If it annoys me and it can be fixed by throwing money at it or making phone calls....he'll throw the money and make the phone calls..
My laptop dies...he orders a new one.
Printer dies....go buy a new one.
Now the old scanner is making the Yeti noise when you turn it on. And I complained about making copies and having to hook the scanner up to a lap top.
"Go buy NEW scanner!"
But they don't sell just scanners anymore. And I need a copier.
"Buy a 3-in-1, buy a 5-in-1...heck buy a 5-in-1. Just get what you need."
But those things are expensive.
"What $400, $500....just buy one."
Sigh
So I'm going to go buy one.
Then I went nuts on Tricare over the two month wait that I have endured waiting for our appeal to process.
I told this to ZooDad and he went even more nuts than me.
So nuts that he called them from Kuwait and I didn't even have to give him the number. I don't know what he said....but the Tricare nurse that approves stuff for the Southeast called me....twice. They never call anyone.
Now Matthew has a referrals for new assessments for OT and PT. Hee, hee.
The man got more done in one afternoon than I did in 6 months.
I once told a car repairman, who was talking down to me, that if he couldn't handle the issue with me that my husband would come handle it. And that when my husband came to handle it....he would really wish that he had handled it with me.
He's a very patient and forgiving man. You can walk all over him. He will tolerate anything. He never even complains. But ZooDad can out "Momma Bear" anybody when it comes to his wife and kids.
It's a beautiful thing. He's like a force of nature when he's ticked off.
And in other news.....
Andrew SWAM! That's right. He can actually swim. It's not pretty but it's not drowning either. He passed the level two class. I am beyond shocked. If I had not seen it with my own eyes...I would never believe it.
And even Sam is close to swimming. He's able to go about 2 feet on his own.
Jacob has mastered freestyle, breast stroke, and backstroke. And he figured out how to tread water.
Not to be out done...Matthew (who can do a very messy freestyle stroke but still can't float.) decided to take on the water slide. He had no trouble at all. He went down, popped off the slide and into the water. Then he swam to the side like he'd been doing it for ages.
Well.
What brave little aquatic kids I have. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure.
Well here we go again with the today's list of activities.
Today began our second week of swimming lessons. Sam greeted the class by asking "Why do we have swimming lessons, and swimming lessons, and more swimming lessons. I already had swimming lessons." To which the swim instructor answered, "Because you can't swim yet." This instructor happens to like Sam a good bit.
Andrew happily started his second week though his instructor is at a loss on how to teach him to swim. She can't figure out how to get him to pull his body up to the surface.
I admitted that I didn't either.
Andrew has gravitational insecurity and difficulty determining his position in space. When you put him in the near weightlessness of water, he doesn't know where he is or which way is up.
I told her that just having him get in the water without panicking was a great achievement to me right now. Once school starts back, we'll consider signing up for the weekly adaptive swim classes for special needs.
It's hard to explain how much this hurts me. I was hoping that swimming class could be a nearly "normal" thing for him
He's in a younger class for ages 3-5 though he just turned 6. I knew he couldn't handle being in a class for 6 to 12 year olds.
I've also conceded that he won't be able to play on the 1st grade soccer and basketball teams with the Upward league. He'll have to play on the 4-5 year old teams. He's just not ready. He won't be able to keep up and he'll notice.
That's the big part... him noticing.
I'm also faced with the reality that this year will most likely be the last year that Matthew will be able to play Upward soccer and basketball. He can play on the 2nd-3rd grade teams because of his birth date. But next year, he won't be on the level of the the 4th-5th graders. And he already sees how he is different from other kids. I won't put him in a situation that singles him out and makes him feel inferior. He doesn't need that.
Thank goodness we still have baseball. All four of them love baseball. And they can hold their own in baseball. It's the best sport ever.
Back to our day....
After swim lessons, we stayed at the pool, baked a while, and got all pruney. We had a "little lunch" to tide us over and then baked and soaked some more. Our pool has several smaller wading pools and a splash park to keep everybody entertained whether they can swim or not.
On the way home, we picked up Sonic for a late, big lunch. (Which is why we haven't had dinner yet.) Then the boys all set outside to find some neighbors to play with.
ZooDad called and my crappy dying phone hung up him after 5 minutes. So he emailed me. "BUY A NEW PHONE!" Not so cute when Sam isn't involved.
I finished a pair of socks and finally, FINALLY masters my kitchener's stitch. I have toes with no seams. I am so proud of myself. And then, in a moment of brilliance, cast on with the leftover sock yarn to make an MP3 cozy. I can knit up a stash of these for Christmas. Sock and cozy combo. It's brilliant!
Tonight, Steak for me. Burgers for the boys. I drug out my VHS of Labyrinth (With David Bowie) for the boys to watch and I'm going to watch the Braves game.
(Next gameless night, I'm renting Pan's Labyrinth.)
I need to clean.
I need to get ready for next school year.
I need to get ready for more swim lessons.
In all honesty, I'll probably have a beer and knit instead.
One day less. Almost time to make a paper chain.
We''re reached a nice milestone number on our Countdown-to-ZooDad's-return here at the zoo.
To memorialize this event and because I have nothing else to blog about...I shall give you a run down of today's events.
We woke up and I cooked a big breakfast including 2 whole pounds of bacon. We ate ourselves sick.
Everyone got dressed and I nagged the boys to pick up all the errant toys downstairs.
I must have told Sam a dozen times to stop singing very loudly to the cat. "Mango, ManGO, Mango, ManGO, Mango, ManGo, Maaaaaaannnnnngo, MangoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Trust me, it's only cute the first time.
ZooDad called and Sam hung up on him.
ZooDad called again and found Sam a whole lot cuter than I did.
Oldest child starting cutting the front yard and Andrew let the dogs out. The dogs are old and are not supposed to be out. Of course, oldest child didn't notice the dogs trotting by since he was busy cutting the grass. Apparently, the mower motor drown out screaming little brother. (note to self: cut the grass more.)
I rounded up the dogs and re-instructed the boys on how to close gates and keep the dogs safe.
We ate lunch then headed out for errand running.
First was Goodwill, where I dropped off a bunch of toys that I tired of picking up.
Then was Lowe's to buy a new leaf blower/Vac and a new set of curtain rods for the kitchen. Sam bent the current one when he tried to hang from them like monkey bars. (He fell and hit his cheek on the table. No ER visit thankfully. I told you...the boy is wild.)
Then Super Wal-mart for groceries, cheap school supplies, and presents for a birthday party tomorrow.
I haven't been grocery shopping at Super Wal-mart since ZooDad left....and they are reorganizing the place. Needless to say, I spent a whole lot of time wandering around and forgot half my normal groceries.
Drive back home and unload the groceries.
Have snacks, because the children can not go more than 2 hours without food.
Blow off the drive way and walkway. Blow off the drive way and walkway again. Curse the Crepe Myrtle Tree and blow the walkway one more time.
Contemplate trimming the hedges and decide better of it.
Yell at Sam again for singing the "Mango Song." MangoooOOOOOOOOO!
Start dinner while fielding questions from various boys. (This is where the Asperger's part gets really fun"
Yes, I'm cooking dinner.
I'm cooking chicken.
Yes, it's the kind of chicken that you like.
No, you can't have a snack...I'm cooking dinner.
You can eat a croissant after dinner. You are eating dinner first.
If I don't flour it, it won't have a crust.
I guess I could make mashed potatoes with the skins on, but you wouldn't eat it.
I don't know who ate the first potato.
I don't know about beans either.
or who invented bread.
Yes, chickens lay eggs.
No chickens fingers aren't fingers.
I don't know why they call them fingers either.
It will be done soon.
I will tell you when it's done.
Let your brother watch you play video games.
No, It's still cooking.
No you can not have a snack while you're waiting.
Ok, everyone come eat.
What do mean you're not hungry?
And my dear darling wonders why I'm so tired.
I know, I know... I've dropped off the face of the blogosphere....I apologize. Not only that, I've also rewarded you by writing my most parenthetical post ever. A personal record, I'm sure.
It's just tough to write when you're counting down. And folks, we've entered the countdown phase.
Countdown phase is so frustrating. It's like living life in some pause mode. "I don't want to start (insert some project or activity) because it's only (some number) days until my darling comes home." I mean why bother struggling to do things when you can just wait for some help to arrive.
Or worse...you end up with this huge list of things that just have to be done before your lovey gets back. Things you want to get done so you can prove that you really could handle it all.
So on the one hand, the ticker seems to crawl by. Ughhhhhh....these numbers aren't getting any smaller. On the other hand, you go to bed each night panicking at the fact that you have one less day to "get stuff done."
It's an awkward time. Oscillating between excitement and panic with a little insanity thrown in there for good measure. It would almost be better to not have an end date. The unknown is sometimes easier to handle than the known.
I'm trying my best to fill the time. The boys are helping.
Sam is especially helpful.
He decided to top last month's bite-through-his-lip stunt by swallowing a steel Magnetics ball. It's totally freaked out Pensguys and her boys. (She did get to see me in "action" though. I get awfully stoic when something crazy happens.)
That was a fun trip to the emergency room. The X-ray tech cracked up laughing at the bright white perfect circle that showed up in Sam's stomach.
Oh. the. joy.
I think he's passed it now. If not, it's sure not slowing him down any. I think nothing short of an elephant tranquilizer would do that.
Then I have 10 days until the new Harry Potter book. So that's something to look forward to. It'll distract me for a day or so. Then I have a couple of other really good books saved up for those final few days...for those nights that I won't be able to sleep at all.
I also have the knitting. I can always knit. I've recently procured....umm.... about 5 more balls of sock yarn which brings my total stash up to enough yarn to knit..... about 50 pairs. So I have plenty to keep me busy on that front
And I have my little eye procedure to occupy a couple more days. I can't even describe how much I'm looking forward to that lovely little occasion.
(insert sarcasm)
By they way, if you are eye squeamish in any way...do not click that link. It won't offend me at all. I freaked out when my mom had it done. The ever helpful ZooDad doesn't even want to discuss it and was horrified to learn that this would be done without any anesthesia other than some drops to numb my eyeballs.
And just planning the logistics for this will take up another few days. (MIL is taking the boys down to the farm on Sunday. My sister takes me to have the procedure Monday. My mom will "babysit" me Tuesday against my will. Then I pick up the boys and take Andrew to OT on Wednesday. I swear, my medical care involves an act of Congress.)
Plus we have another week of swimming lessons as further distractions. (Yep, I have unleashed Sam unto the populace. His swimming coach said that "He's a child that just doesn't get discouraged." That's code for "That little bugger is not giving up on anything. He's a fence rattler.") And that includes daily visits to lounge around the pool and getting brown and wrinkly.
We have a birthday party to attend. I have to get these weekly overview lesson plans finished. I really must finish the trim in the Horse-butt-tan living room and re-decorate. It would also be nice if I could start painting the boys room...but I wouldn't put money on that actually happening.
Plus tutoring two middle school students each week. They are lots of fun. Oh the gaps in their education! (And people wonder why I homeschool. I'm getting paid to re-teach kids from my zoned school. Do you think I'm going to send my kids there? )
(sigh)
I have less than two months to go.
Less than 60 days....though I can't tell you exactly how much less.
Whew....the end is in sight. I can't believe it.
It is almost over.
I would like to say that in less than two months our life will back to normal. But that's not true. We won't ever be back to what we were. That's gone. We're not those people anymore. All of this has changed us. It's hardened us. It has forged us.
In less than two months....we just start something new.
A new life....one that will have us all together.
And that's all that matters.
It's just the waiting part that is so hard.
