Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Name that Tune

G's latest occupation: holding a number placemat and singing first "This Old Man" (one to ten) and then "There were ten in the bed and the little one said, Roll over" (ten back down to one). He has found the ultimate, never-ending song!

Our college student who comes in the afternoons is out of town, and my sanity is already a fragile thing. I am plotting to go to every store which has the carts which will hold two or three kids (Target, HEB, Randalls, there must be more). I've been working hard on getting them to walk with me in public, but I still need a "strapping in" option when I've got all three of them. It feels so strange to me that I can't take my kids out by myself. When they were younger and slower-moving, I could, but these days it's just not safe. Everyone tells me this will get easier, and I just have to assume they are right!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Dr's Visit

I took B. into the pediatrician today to get a vaccination. We split them up by a few months this year, not because I think vaccines caused their autism, but just because ??? Who knows? It just felt like a good thing to do.

Our pediatrician is finally back in the original office, after months of repairs from Hurrican Ike. As far as I can tell, they spent a huge chunk of the insurance money on the mother of all fish tanks. They've always had a tiny one, and the only interest B. has shown in it was watching the bubbles rise.

Well, today he could not stop bouncing around and staring at it. Then I realized he was saying, "Goldfish, goldfish, what do you see?" (from the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, by Eric Carle, which G. recites in its entirety frequently throughout the day). I was so excited, because B. never used to show that he was noticing things in the environment, not to mention knew their names! I kept smiling proudly, as he jumped around the waiting room. Other people looked uncomfortable, and didn't meet my eye, and I can see that he was acting weird, in terms of usual waiting room behavior. But I was so happy!
Then, when the nurse was about to give him the shot, she said "One, two, three...", and he said in the saddest little voice, "four, five, six". He also slapped her hand when she said "give me five", and said "bye, bye" when I asked him to. I was walking around with a goofy grin for an hour or so afterward, I'm sure.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Calmer Times

First of all, a picture of J. and his best friend-- also adopted internationally, and every bit as silly as J.
My last post summed up how I feel at many times...overwhelmed and hoping for some kind of a break. Tonight I'm feeling more positive, probably because I've gotten out of the house quite a lot in the last week. Friday night I played Bunco (or Bonko, as J. refers to it, which I prefer) and this evening I went to hear a speaker on parent advocacy.

It was my second time subbing with this Bonko group, and I'm glad I gave it another chance. Last time I was very, very sleep-deprived, to the point where even the mindless game of Bunko seemed too hard to follow. This time I was only tired to the point of silly goofiness, so It worked out better. I did not talk about autism for the entire evening, and I think that was really good for me.

Having my younger sister visit was also a wonderful break. We took the kids to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (not the rodeo part). There were all sorts of animals, but the most popular events with the boys were sitting in new Ford pick-ups, and riding the merry-go-round. Hooray for sisters who visit even when you move all the way across the country!! My other sister is planning a visit in August, so there is another glimmer of hope for my sanity.