I started feeling a bit better, and around that time, Ben got up, so I asked him, what he’d rather do…..housework, or go for the groceries. He and Jess went for groceries. I had a “plan” of doing lasagna one night, burgers and hot dogs, etc for lunches, ordering pizza one night, and having a big steak dinner Sunday night if they’re still here. UNTIL…Ben phones on his way to get groceries..”BTW Mom, Kalan is a vegetarian!” Imagine my surprise!! So I have Ben who eats NOthing resembling a vegetable and Kalan, who eats ONLY vegetables!! Now I’m totally at a loss…..I told Ben that he and Jess should “figure it out”! They came home with the addition of 4 veggie burgers. LMAO… so tonight will be Pizza night. We’ll go from there. I’m too stuffed up and tired to be pondering such dilemmas!

I’ve got a sore throat tonight. That’s just ducky! Even though it’s not surprising, as nearly every kid in both classes has been sick. Some, twice! It’s just bad timing. We have a 3 day weekend. I’m supposed to go to a pre-school signing session on Friday afternoon, but now I’m thinking I won’t go. Ben has 2-3 teenagers from B.C. staying here all weekend, so I’m going to be needing to get beds changed and organized, and think about meals, and get some groceries, so with all that going on, I’m not sure if I want to haul myself off to a course on Friday! Especially from 1-4! Blech!

WPEEPS_day6 001

Little Conner is our little autistic boy in the afternoon group. I’ve just been gradually getting to know him, and figuring out the best ways to work with him. The speech path has requested that I work with him.

So far, I’ve learned that I can make him laugh uncontrollably, and that I can most often make him completely “tune me out” when I talk to him. He just doesn’t know that I’ve survived 2 teenagers at home, so I’m used to that, and I NEVER give up.

Today, he was doing crafts at my table with a group, and when everyone was finished, and had moved on to other things, he was still sitting there very quiet and still, just kind of looking at a piece of string, seeing far more in that string than you or I. I held his one hand, and started rubbing his back with my other. He seemed to really relax and calm so, I continued. I moved around behind him, and just kept rubbing his back, and pretty soon, he was fast asleep. He looked pretty uncomfortable, so I scooped him up in my lap and held him there fast asleep until his Dad came to get him. His Dad couldn’t believe it, because he typically sleeps about 4 hours/night. It’s very common for autistic children to have very poor, and interrupted sleep. This child as a 1-2 year old would at times be awake for 48 hours straight! By that age, his mother had had another baby!

This little man is also going through a terrible time at home, although I’m sure he isn’t real certain of the facts, but just that his home as he knows it, is all topsy turvey. His little sister was ill, and ended up in the hospital, and within 24 hours, she had been diagnosed with cancer. She was transferred to the children’s hospital where Sarah works, they did surgery to implant a central line for future chemo therapy. That night she coded! They saved her, but I don’t think she’s doing well at all, although we haven’t heard a recent report.

No wonder the poor little man needed a sleep and a cuddle.

This morning was the worst EVER! One of our little guys has over the past couple of weeks been crying at school, more and more and more, every day. He is very loud, too I might add! Today his mother dropped him off. This of course made it even WORSE!! He cried most of the morning! He would get briefly distracted, and stop for a time, but then it would start again. It was dreadful! 4 times, he cried and screamed until he puked! AND it was contagious! By the end of the day, we had 3 out of 8 children that had not cried! Even the tiniest, quietest little boy of the bunch was signing, STOP to him! LOL

His mother REALLY mambie-pambies him. Now for all you Mom’s who have the tendency to be really overprotective of your kids, DON’T!!! You might get some weird satisfaction out of having a 4 year old child tied to your leg, and wimpering fearfully the moment you try to peel him off, but you are not doing your child ANY favors. This kid was seriously miserable and distressed all morning. From there, he goes to Day Care, and it apparently continues on there. There’s nothing nicer than to see the littlest of our kids come ripping into the room, “Hi!!” all excited and happy, and saying, “Bye Mom!” Wouldn’t you rather be raising a happy, confident little person who can feel completely confident and comfortable in these situations? Out of all 17 of our kids, we have one in each class that howls. The rest are happy to come, and aren’t upset with their parents coming or going at all. (just words of advice from someone who sees the “other” side of raising an over-dependent child)

Today was just the usual Sunday stuff. Laundry, some cleaning, groceries, burgers on the grill. I’ve been attempting to fit in all the premieres tonight. I’ve also been busy working with some of the photos that I’ve taken at school of the kids. I mount them and add a little this and that, and then they go up on the wall at school. The parents love it.

Well tomorrow is yet ANOTHER week, so I best go get ready for it.

Friday’s are easier days at work because we don’t have any kids. The teachers do home visits, and we soon will be doing them as well. Currently we spend the time getting things ready for the upcoming week. But regardless of the relief of Fridays being “kid-free”, all I can say is, “TGIF……..where’s the beer??”

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My little man was very busy sponge painting. Having a blast. Within minutes, he had discarded the sponges, and was just a slopping away in the orange paint. He had it up to his elbows, and then all of a sudden put his hand up to his mouth and licked it. He made the funniest face, and was just covered in orange paint. The teacher wiped out his mouth, and I carried him over to the sink, just as the principal came into the room. She was busy looking at the papers she was carrying, and I said, “Mrs. B, could you hold E for a minute please??” She turned around to look, and just shuddered! “No thank you!!”

Nothing too much going on around here. The morning class is certainly much easier than the afternoon one. In the afternoon, I have this little man, who is very “time-consuming”, and we have a little autistic boy who also is very difficult to contain, and keep even remotely on task, AND Elizabeth who squeals like a stuck pig every time she’s asked to do ANYTHING. It’s OLD already!!! She’s the most manipulative little thing I’ve encountered in a while, and we best have a meeting very soon to all get on the same page as to how we are going to handle her!

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the full moon doesn’t affect the very young. Because, having just spent 7 hours with them, I can guarandamntee you that would be a lie!

This morning wasn’t toooooo bad, but this afternoon was C*R*A*Z*Y*!!

Going to bed now!

Just Another Day In My Life has tagged me.

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy
1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.
2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity.
3. An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug.

List five of your own idiosyncrasies and then tag five friends to do the same.

1. I almost always sleep with the TV on. Usually the whole night.

2. Toilet paper must roll under.

3. I always sleep with 3 pillows arranged in a very precise way.

4. I HATE wearing shoes in the house, and I hate it if anyone else wears shoes in my house.

5. I always have to check my email, icq, blogroll and flickr contacts every time I sign onto my computer.

I’m going to tag you, you, you, you and you!

Recently a “Husband Superstore” opened where women could go to choose
a husband from among many men. It was laid out in five floors, with the men increasing in positive attributes as you ascended.

The only rule was, once you opened the door to any floor, you HAD to choose a man from that floor; if you went up a floor, you couldn’t go back down except to leave the place, never to return.
A couple of women went to the shopping centre to find some husbands…

FIRST FLOOR
The door had a sign saying, “These men have jobs and love kids.” The women read the sign and said, “Well, that’s better than not having a job or not loving kids, but I wonder what’s further up?” So up they went.

SECOND FLOOR
The sign read, “These men have high paying jobs, love kids, and are extremely good looking.” “Hmmm,” said the ladies, “But, I wonder what’s further up?”

THIRD FLOOR
This sign read, “These men have high paying jobs, are extremely good looking, love kids and help with the housework.” “Wow,” said the women, “Very tempting.” But there was another floor, so further up they went.

FOURTH FLOOR
This door had a sign saying “These men have high paying jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, help with the housework and have a strong romantic streak.” “Oh, mercy me,” they cried, “Just think what must be awaiting us
further on!

So up to the fifth floor they went.

FIFTH FLOOR
The sign on that door said, “This floor is empty and exists only to prove that women are fucking impossible to please. The exit is to your left, we hope you fall down the stairs.”