Monday, March 31, 2008

Spring Break--Day 1

At first I was disappointed that my spring break was a week separate from the kids...then Dan reminded me I'll have more time to myself and Jackson will retain some sense of routine this week. This morning he was thrilled to go to the sitter--no school.

He's had a good afternoon, not dashing outside when I least expect it or running the bath water for hours....He's relatively mellow. I'm so thankful...

Keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of the week goes just as well....

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Tribute Video--"He's my Son"

I spent the last 2 nights working on this music video. Once I started thinking about making one to share for Autism Awareness month, it kind of consumed me....I hope you like what you see...


Don't forget to pause the music on the right side of this page befor starting this movie...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Souls

I have been thinking about April...it's autism awareness month. Last year I wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper. This year I am thinking I'll show a short music video at church a couple of times in church... I was considering making one of Jackson, but a wonderful one is this one worth watching from youtube (bring your Kleenex):
[Be sure to pause my music on the right hand side of your screen].


This is an old promotional video for the Souls Beneath & Beyond Autism book; which I have on my coffee table...

Insomnia, gotta love it; these are the thoughts I have when I can't sleep...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Weighted Blanket Update

The weighted blanket came Monday via our UPS guy. Overall, I am pleased with the quality of the blanket; it's got a super soft fleece backing and the front is blue (not as soft, but it works). Jackson was less than impressed at first, but it does seem to have grown on him. He actually slept with it partly on him last night....he still came into our room in the middle of the night, but seemed to sleep more soundly. Hopefully, he'll continue to use it and we'll see some benefit.

Today, he's agitated and I think it's spring fever...who knows? He's all about being outside, tired of being cooped up, but aren't we all? I think he's not quite sure what to do with himself. He had fun flying a kite earlier and has been shooting hoops, but now he's grumpy! I think I'll sit down and start him on some homework...

Monday, March 24, 2008

Shout out

I'm giving a cyber hug and hello to a mom who let me "borrow" her girls and still makes me feel important--(((Kathy))). Your girls meant so much to me too; I hold them in my heart! I'm thrilled you'll be peeking in on my boys here. I'm posting a couple of my favorite photos of the boys--they're both having fun in the bubble bath at grandmas!
Jackson
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Callahan
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We just got back from Cal's pre-school parent teacher conference. He's doing fine, but he's shy and timid (I'm curious: are they really talking about Callahan?) We're definately going to wait a year for kindergarten, but we're thrilled he's doing well academically and ok socially.

Easter Eggs & Jack-O-Lanterns

Yesterday, I was asked if we colored Easter eggs. I was embarrassed to admit we didn't. It's a combination of things that keep us from it...first of all, no one in our family likes boiled eggs or anything that boiled eggs go into. On a deeper level, coloring Easter eggs and carving Jack-o-Lanterns were just the kinds of things I looked so forward to as a mom. I have such fond memories of doing just that with my own mom...

The truth is, autism interfered with this ritual too. It's just not something Jackson could ever 'handle' doing. The year he was just 2, we carved a pumpkin and he was distraught; though I'm not sure why...it was just before we started wondering what might be 'wrong'. It was such a disaster that we skipped Easter eggs and never got that into the habit...another thing I just avoided to avoid the meltdown/heartbreak. After all, one can go through life without ever decorating Easter eggs and still enjoy life... ;)

I've definately been thinking about this ever since I was asked though, and I can't seem to shake the idea that I've got to try again for Cal's sake. We did carve pumpkins last fall; Jackson could have cared less, but Cal loved it! Next year, we'll decorate Easter eggs and maybe, just maybe Jackson will join us....

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Sunday

This morning, Jackson joined Callahan on a treasure hunt courtesy of the Easter Bunny. It was great to see him engaged in a "joint activity". Though he didn't look for every clue, he looked for most of them. He loved the bubble blowing gun and the Sesame Street T-shirt (it says, "I was raised on the street" gotta love it!)

At church, he really did very well. He loves the music, watching grandpa play guitar and today he seemed to especially enjoy the drums. Having his game boy to play helped him stay quiet and still...

After church, we headed to the lake for dinner with Dan's family. There were extra people celebrating with us, and Jackson actually handled it very well. He seemed relaxed and enjoyed himself. He also engaged in some rough housing with Uncle Mike, teased cousin Riley, actually hunted for Easter eggs with Cal and Uncle Darren, and seemed to generally enjoy himself.

Great day overall!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Vampire Teeth!

Callahan got some of those plastic vampire teeth at an arcade. He got an extra pair for Jackson. This morning I hear "RRRAAHHHH, RRRRAHHHH, RRRRIAHHHH" Hmmm....
Jackson has the vampire teeth in and is playing the part. :-)

Little things like that are truly heartwarming for us!

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Sleeping issues

It's never easy to figure out why Jackson isn't sleeping; since he's not able to tell us, the best I can do is guess. Unfortunately, I think his latest round of fits with sleeping has to do with Daylight Savings Time change and putting a TV in his room (*sigh).

We just ordered a weighted blanket on ebay. It should be here by the end of the week; we'll see how that goes. It's supposed to have a calming effect and should help him sleep...for $150+ I hope he enjoys it...

On a positive note, I took both boys with me today to renew my license; and I managed to get in and out in less than 30 minutes and avoided any outbursts. I armed myself with a portable dvd player and said a prayer and things went relatively smoothly. I *almost* felt normal.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Mac-N-Cheese in the Microwave

Dan found some new Kraft frozen mac-n-cheese packs. Jackson knows just how to make them. He comes straight home from school and zaps one for himself...

We've really got to work on teaching him to clean up after himself!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Art Class without support

Here is an e-mail from the art teacher:

Just wanted to let you know that Jackson did well in art class. I
modified the glazing process for him and he was able to handle that quite well. He chose 2 glaze colors and painted them on to his clay piece. Of course I prompted him on what to do at each step. His team was on clean up and he passed out water bowls to each table. I filled the bowls and told him which person to take them to. That person held up their hand and he delivered them. We wore paint aprons and he didn't want to have anything to do with class aprons but he knew where his special Elmo one was at and went over and put it on. This is a great accomplishment because in past years he won't put one on. His glazing did not take as long as the other students so I gave him some Sesame Street art pages that he colored with markers. He seemed to enjoy this a great deal. His progress has been good. He would not have been able to handle all of this movement in past years without getting very loud and out of control. I was very proud of him.

Of course, we are very proud of him too!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

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Daylight Savings Time ?

Top 10 Reasons Daylight Savings Time is a farse:

10. Who wants to drive to work in the dark?

9. Starting in March? Anyone else still have snow on the ground?

8. Have you tried putting kids to bed while it's light outside?

7. How many weeks does it take the human body to adjust?

6. Ever wonder what happened to that hour?

5. It's not nice to fool mother nature...

4. "Mom, it's not bedtime, it's still light out!"

3. Did anyone ask teachers what it's like to deal with a class of sleepy kids?

2. What is the benefit of this again?

1. Autistic kids have enough sleep problems without throwing this into the mix!

Friday, March 7, 2008

Uncle "D"

My little brother Darren is 7. Jack and Cal both adore him...he's become especially patient with Jax. He's here tonight to spend the night and Jackson wants to be sure he's here to stay. More than once he's said, "No grandpa" and "He's staying with us". When Theresa called to check on Darren, Jack quickly picked up on it and said, "No Theresa, he's sleeping. D's staying with us"

Autism or no, this sweet kid does connect with people. He wanted to be sure uncle Darren was staying. It's small, but it's meaningful.

On a selfish note, I'm glad Darren wants to be here with us, too. Truthfully, it could get annoying for any kid playing with an egocentric 5 year old and and autistic 10 year old.

I'm including an old photo of the three boys sleeping together in Jackson's twin size loft bed.
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Sweet isn't it?

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Magical Music: Priceless

Jackson had a music program tonight at school.

Churubusco elementary has a stellar music teacher who really goes above and beyond with programs. She also has a 4th & 5th grade choir and chimers group. She does a 5th grade lip-sync program that is truly entertaining. ;)

Back to the program. Here's a little history. In first grade, Jack couldn't really even rehearse with his class. By second grade, he could participate, but wasn't ready for an evening performance. Last year, I went to the dress rehearsal and video taped. He did ok, but I didn't think he was ready for all the stimulus of an evening performance. [He really doesn't like going back to school in the evening after school.]

This year, I thought, maybe just maybe he's ready for the night show. It seemed like the "stars were aligned" in his favor. The program was KDYZ radio; music through the decades. They sang songs like the Beatles Yellow Submarine and Footloose. All the kids wore matching t-shirts customized in art class...this all worked in his favor, as he loves pop music and he really associates with 'same shirts' from sports.

I called and talked to the music teacher at length about Jackson participating. We put into place a plan we were all comfortable with. [When it comes to things like this, I'm all about having Jack participate, but I want to set him up for success and provide him with a safety net to fall into if needed]. His aide was available to redirect him if needed and he was surrounded by kids that would help keep him on track.

Well, I went to the dress rehearsal today. He did an incredible job. He was a beat behind on some of the songs and some of his motions were off, but all in all, he did well. So well, I cried. Here is one of the photos:


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I couldn't go to the performance (which was probably just as well) I had a program planned at work. So Dan took him back to school. After several conversations about just going back "to the gym to sing and dance with your friends". I think he finally understood this concept when he stated, "leave your bookbag at home". We also used an ultimate bribe and offered up TMX Elmo (he's been coveting it a week or so).. He actually wanted his dad to be there.


The whole thing went like clockwork. He went in and did some TEACHH activities his teacher prepared ahead of time for him. As soon as the music he sings started, he was ready to join his peers. He fell into place and sang, danced, sat and listened for the next 30 minutes of the program with minimal prompting and redirecting from his aide (who sat with the teachers on the side of the gym except for the few times she needed to be there for him). The boys around him supported and encouraged him to stay 'with' them.
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Can you tell he's having a good time? We truly think he enjoyed himself and managed to hold it together in the midst of all the stimulus

I get goosebumps just thinking about this. Autism has taken soooo much from our family. Tonight, we got a piece of that back. Tonight, Jackson was shining. So many people noticed it. It fills my heart. What an amazing community we live in. What a fabulous school we have.

Monday, March 3, 2008

If your'e a regular here

You'll notice I added music to my blog....thanks to my friend Kari (tarr4.blogspot.com) I added music to my blog today. Most of the songs are Jackson's favorites; which is why the variety seems eclectic. ;) So, now while your'e reading the latest Jackson posts, you can be entertained by some of his favorite tunes.

Jackson went car shopping with Dan yesterday. We're just in the looking stages to replace the 1996 Toyota Tacoma. Jackson seems to enjoy vehicle shopping and it's not so bad to take him as long as we're not test driving. When we bought the van (4 years ago). We test drove it a couple of times and during the second test drive Jackson said, "Buy this van" Which at the time was a really big deal!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Pine Wood Derby

Jackson raced his pine wood derby car for the third time. This year, I was lazy and bought a kit a Hobby Lobby; actually I bought one for both boys b/c last year Cal raced one of Jackson's previous cars and I thought he'd enjoy racing his "own".

The day I brought the cars home, both boys were convinced that we should have the cars sanded, painted, and put together all within 20 minutes. If you know anything about these kits, you know that's impossible...so, we get the cars sanded, paint them and 'quick-dry' them with my embossing heat dryer and hammer in the wheels. Then, we put the cars away...

Until this morning. We're running late (what's new?) and Dan is getting ready to take Jackson [arguing with him about the number of stuffed animals he can take]. I'm rushing to put the graphite powder on the wheels...[don't know what that stuff is, huh? neither did I until a couple of years ago, when we first stated boy scouts...]. Dan finally gets Jackson out the door and I call his den leader to let her know they're running late.

When they get to the track, turns out the kit I bought at Hobby Lobby isn't 'legal' and they're not wanting to let Jax race--RED FLAG. The thing is, Jack doesn't car if his car comes in dead last. He likes being there, going through the motions of racing his car. Once again, his den leader comes to our rescue and lets him go ahead and race. Note to self: wheels on the cars cannot have spokes, they must be solid...

His car didn't come in dead last, but didn't perform as well as his cars have in the past. But, he enjoyed himself and participated; to me, that's victory.

One more interesting thing about the derby. It's always held in Auburn (about 15 minutes away). This is the town we go to for haircuts (the girl who has cut my hair since we've lived in 'Busco moved to Auburn a few years ago; of course we followed her b/c she is great with Jackson). After the derby, Jackson actually asked to go get a haircut!

This is HUGE for a couple of reasons. A.) I cannot believe he was so aware of his surroundings that he realized they were in Auburn. B.) Getting a haircut is far from his favorite thing to do.

Overall, a good day...