Frivolous Indecision

Current Mood: Cool

Well, here we go!

Jo will have: Dance on Mondays and Tuesdays. Act. Girls or (in Feb) YW on Wednesdays. Karate on Thursdays

This girl is packed. But she is stoked and she has the drive to do things. I told her she is going to have to stay organized. She is starting out good…we will see. LOL

Campbell will have: Karate on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays Scouts on Wednesdays

He really wants to get back into Karate full swing. I am so proud of him for being so dedicated and since golf and swim is over he says he needs something to keep him active. Yes, he actually said that. That kid cracks me up!

Mallea has piano, her aspie support group and her online courses. Along with that she wants to build a website. I’m proud of her to wanting to delve into different projects. She also has been really interested in film so she and I are going to come up with some projects that will challenge her.

Payne has his behavior modification implementor coming 3 times a week.

G and I decided that I need to leave every day at 1pm. We both felt it was important that I was home in enough time to get a few things done with Mallea and be around for Payne. As well as have a bit of time before the onslaught of the afternoon once the kids get home.

I hired someone to help nanny/care for Payne as well as help me with house work and organizing things around here. This last week has been AMAZING! To be able to depend on someone to do things for me that I don’t otherwise have the time to do has been truly a blessing! My house has stayed cleaner all week then it has all summer! I can come home and actually do other things rather then come home and clean. (Cleaning up after an autistic kid can really be time consuming.) G had been asking me all summer to get a house cleaner. Now I am wondering why I didn’t do this a long time ago. LOL

Now something for fun:

I am grateful for… 1. friends who are so helpful and kind. 2. a good hard workout (yes I said that…I LOVE how I feel after a hard exercise session) 3. my sisters 4. pretty toenail polish 5. cute purses. LOL

Current Mood: Cool

Sometimes all you need is a song, pictures, and a little video to express how life is….

Current Mood: Playful

So Graigg and I got our trip pushed back by a day. (thank you very much stupid Chicago O’Hare and American Airlines! Grrr!) Anyway, I decided it would be fun to just be frivolous and take CW to see Toy Story 3 for his birthday. So I took Jo and Campbell. They were THRILLED and enjoyed the popcorn, nachos, and candy for dinner. LOLK

Goofball Jo!

My Birthday Boy!

Some of our favorite parts…. ~ The monkey with chimes ~ The flamanco dance. ~ Barbie and Ken – everything. LOL ~ The ending (I won’t spoil it) ~ Tortilla!

…just to name a few.

I have to post this because I LOVE this song! One of my favorite parts of the entire movie! And, yes, I cried….again! I’masentimentalsap.

Current Mood: Cool

Father's Day

A summer's night swim

Current Mood: Cool

Current Mood: Cool

A few pictures from Friday. =) Graigg was out of town and I got pizza and the kids just had a ball in the pool. This is what summer around here is all about.

CW and Mallea chillin' together.

Jump CW! Jump!

Pooh Bear doing the cannonball!

The dancing dive....that kid sure has grace and style! LOL

Current Mood: Cool

Look ma! No hair!

Current Mood: Cool

So Graigg took CW on his first father/son ocean fishing trip. They went here to fish and stayed in a resort condo. Graigg said that CW was so good! He got on the boat first thing Sunday morning and was ready to go!

They started out and CW hooked a gruper. However, under “survival of the fittest” he ended up with a 25 lbs. Barracuda! He was STOKED!

He sat in the chair the rest of Sunday morning. Hooked a few smaller fish but nothing more exciting then the Cuda.

They then decided to go for tarpon that evening. Capt. Andy was amazing and they hooked up quite a few! The best catch was a 145 lbs tarpon!!! They are getting it mounted. CW was SO excited because he got it hooked on his line! Graigg said he fought that fish for 30 minutes straight!!! He got a little tired so he handed the rod over to Graigg and he pulled it in. Andy said it was the biggest fish they had caught so far that season and that they normally only get about 3-4 tarpon that size a season. My boy!! LOL

They decided to forgo the bass and snook the following morning and they slept in and relaxed until they went back out Monday night for more tarpon. They had another good evening but nothing like what they had the day before. Overall, they had a wonderful time. Andy was impressed with CW and his ability to stay with the fishing. He didn’t complain and he was insistent on fishing and loved being out on the water. He said he had never had a kid CW’s age behave as well or be as consistent with fishing.

They got home Tuesday evening and here is a picture of the measurement of the tarpon they caught compared to CW’s height. I have to say, I’m a little proud.

Overall, a great father/son trip and they can’t wait to do it again next year…lor whenever. LOL I think it was a wonderful experience for the two of them to have and only strengthened the bond they have. Graigg said they talked about a lot of things and he was glad they got a chance to just hang out together as “men”.

Current Mood: Cool

We got the information from our attorney yesterday. It looks like our court date for guardianship is April 2. We were given the name of the court appointed attorney that has to come out and interview Payne. They will be contacting us in the next week. We were also told that a sheriff will be coming out to serve Payne with “guardianship papers”. That ought to be interesting. haha! The attorney will determine if Payne is capable of testifying in court. I am glad we started this process back in December. The court date is 2 weeks after his 18th birthday and that was the soonest we could get in. This will be a challenge not that it will be hard to prove that we need complete custody of him but just having to do something like this is never really fun, is it? lol It really has been a long road with him. While I wouldn’t take anything back with him, I can’t deny that it has been hard. As much as we have missed out on so many “normal” things what we get in return of him being in our lives MORE than makes up for it. It is hard to explain and no one really understands it unless they have a child like this. It changes your entire being….as a parent, a person. It changes your perspective on life, emotionally, intellectually, physically, in every aspect. I do wish things were easier on him. I see the struggle in his eyes daily. I hear it in his voice. I know he has so much that he wishes he could share but he can’t. What touches me are the people in our lives that truly make an effort to get to know him. Who aren’t afraid of him. Or who take the initiative to have a relationship with him on his level. We have had people who have taken the time and effort out of their own schedule just to be around him, knowing that he may not respond. We have had people willing to change things just so that he can be included. We have had friends willing to have gatherings at our house just so we can all be included. We have had friends who know and understand his limitations and have been very considerate of our limitations because of him. Coming out to Kansas City has given us a network of support that has no comparison and I am grateful for that every day of my life. When friends give so much of themselves in order to be a part of our lives and help us they truly become family in so many ways. No matter what has happened with him in the past year especially, medically, physically, developmentally, I have the best level of support and understanding from those close to me I have been able to talk to about the struggles, the trials, the concerns, the joys, the funny, the sad, and the frustrating. As I start this new phase of our lives that include guardianship, medical issues, disability, social security, medicaid, transition into adult programs among many other things I am so glad I have people who care, who make the effort to know what is going on with this amazing boy young man, whom I can lean on as well as laugh with; I know that I am so fortunate to have such generous and compassionate people in my life here where I feel so much as home.

Now if we can get him to leave the house I will claim success on my parenting! LOL

Here are a few of his favorite songs that he likes us to sing to him…. *This one he listens to ALL the time….I have it on his Ipod for him.*

He will sing this with the music…I love it!

This is one from when he was very little….He LOVES this song!

These songs really tell you the kind of person he is.