can't take a joke

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Not that people with autism have no sense of humor, but unless they know it's a joke ahead of time, they think more literally.

Last night I was teasing Ryan. Somehow we got on the subject of him being "bad." I said he was going to grounded for 3 months. Then I amended it to being ground until 5 am and that he had to stay in bed. He started to get upset and I explained that being grounded or forced to do something you already do isn't a punishment. But he couldn't see it. I had to take back all my teasing before he would smile.


This makes me think back to when I was a child. I was ultra-sensitive to teasing. Did I not understand they were teasing? Of course, my family just thought I was a moody kid.

swizzle stick

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This word just popped into my head this morning while waiting for the bus. I don't know why, I wasn't thinking about mixing a few drinks though a mimosa in the morning is always nice.

So I looked it up and found an entry in wikipedia. Is everything is wikipedia? Swizzle Stick was invented in 1933 as a way to get olives out of a martini without getting wet fingers. Necessity really is the mother of invention.


When most people think of swizzle sticks they probably have an image of those cheap plastic things most popular in the 60's and 70's. These days there are plenty of cool glass and acrylics ones and there is even a store called The Swizzle Stick Store. I know someone who would love those penguins but would never pay the price. (Hi Susan!) I think the mix sets would be more fun and might help people know whose glass belongs to whom. I have these fruit acrylic ones. I am not sure where I got them. Now I just need to have a party. (The set includes 12, 4 of each though I think I am missing one of the grapes.)



I should also note that I love google. When I googled swizzle stick, I found some cool sites, especially if you love drinking. Like this Giant Extremely Large Flask that holds 64 oz!

headaches

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I have suffered headaches practically my whole life. The almost daily ones stopped when I moved down here. I thought it might have been that the weather is more consistent, practically sunny all the time. Though when tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes come around I get a nasty headache.


Lately, I've been getting afternoon headaches, around 4 or 5 pm. I mentioned it to my chiropractor and he said it might be low blood sugar if I haven't eaten in 3-4 hours. Hmm... maybe. Since I have been eating at home, lunch is filling and I don't need a snack. My chiropractor suggested nuts like almonds. I looked at the store the other day but didn't see any snack packs. (Though they were probably in another aisle like with the lunch stuff.) I felt one coming on today and went for some cheese and crackers figuring the cheese was good protein. My headache is still here.



Maybe I am getting headaches from listening to Ryan play mario videos on youtube over and over again? But I still get them when he is at school and it's nice and quiet. And it can't be the podcasts because I don't listen on the weekends but have a headache anyway.



Maybe it's just peri-menopause.

09.06.08

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Egads! I think I have eaten more fruit and veggies this week than in the entire year! Though I didn't want to shock my body too much so we went to Wendy's last night for dinner.


I spent most of the day working on the new site. I think everything is here now. Still need to work on the front page with some loops. No, it won't be as nice as Pioneer Woman's but I am not paying hundreds of dollars either.


I can't believe Bonnie got a pony! Last week she got 2 parakeets after all, each child needs their own. I wonder when she will be getting the horses?


Why is it when I have a hangnail, I can't leave it alone? I have to poke and prod even though it hurts. Now my thumb is swollen and sore and probably infected. I must be a masochist.


Happy Birthday Tina!

composting

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After Gail died, I got into gardening. I planned out the yards and planting some nice beds. I even got a composter. About that time, I was eating healthy ad produced quite a bit of food waste that could be used. I got these cool bags that I would set on the countertop and fill them up through the week.

Of course that didn't last and once I had all the plants I could use, I stopped gardening. Maintenance wasn't nearly as fun and planning and planting. I also stopped eating healthy so the compost just sat.


A few months ago, my neighbor mentioned composting and I told he could have mine. He took me up on the offer and dragged it away with some good compost in the barrel. Around this time, I was buying cut flowers to photograph. I remembered the bags I still had left and told him I would start saving them for his compost. This worked out well as I saw him or his wife most days after school.


During summer, we stopped going out after dinner as it was too hot (and Andy tended not to get dressed unless we went somewhere.) The bags filled up and they sometimes sat too long on the countertop. For the most part, it was OK as the flowers were mostly dry and did not leak through the bag.


Then school resumed and I decided to eat healthy again which meant lost of good stuff for the compost. But it's still too hot and we aren't going out so the bags are filling up quicker and sitting here. I finally put them in the garage but that only made it worse with the warmer temperatures. Yesterday, the bus came and picked up the kids so I decided to grab the bags and take them to the neighbors. But one of the bags leaked. Bad. I almost gagged with the smell.


So what should I do? I looked online for other solutions. I now see that getting the bags I have been using with be difficult at best. There are compost keepers and liners. But do I really want to invest more money? How does this benefit me? It makes me feel good when I can reduce waste and do things for the environment but is it worth it? And will these fruit flies ever go awa

09.03.08

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The bus surprised us today by showing up "on time" just as we were getting into the car to leave. Of course Ryan was happy to go to the bus, Andy was a little upset with the change but would do what Ryan did. I hope they were not too late to get to school and that Ryan's day wasn't ruined.


Not I am not sure what do with myself. Getting into the car and getting them to school helped start my day. I thought about taking those compost bags to Paul but when I went to grab one, found it was leaking and smelled horribly! I had waited to long and it was gross! It even leaked through the plastic bag onto the seat of my car but mostly in the garage. I was starting to gag from the smell so I had to get a pitcher of water to splash on the mesh. I also found an unopened air freshener to stick in my car.

But noe it is after 11:00 and I have little to show for it except I set up yet another blog. Crazy, that.


I do have to go to Target to get some biscuits and wipes. Can I hold myself to just those 2 items. Maybe a candy bar? But then maybe I should look for the last birthday present for Ryan? Oh yes, this is turning into an unproductive day.


later that same day...


Dave the Schwan's guy showed up today! It's been years since I saw him. A few weeks ago, I decided to start eating better which means making lunch at home. Two of my favorite things to cook are salmon and chicken breasts, though not together. I looked at the grocery store but couldn't only find a bag of pre-seasoned chicken breasts and no salmon except "fresh" and smoked. So I went to Schwans and found my favorites, Alaskan salmon & unbreaded chicken breasts. There was a bit of confusion as they never contacted me about the delivery date. (I guess it was a good thing I was procrastinating about getting to Target.) But I love that the salmon and chicken are individually packaged. (The last 2 chicken breast I got from the store were fused together and I had to thaw them both then cook the both.) What I don't like is having Dave show up every 2 weeks. I feel bad if I don't order something. I think I might try some shrimp next time.


I did get to Target and I tried to stay on my list of 3 things: Mario Party DS (for Ryan's birthday), wipes & biscuits. But I went through toys and got Ryan 2 more gifts ($12 total!) and then got some clean shower. OK, I didn't go crazy but still the total was $77! And why can't I remember to take my bags into Target? Though it's OK as I use them for trash bags and therefore am saving a few cents.



08.31.08 habits

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They say it takes 16 days to make a habit. Not so with kids with autism. Show them something once that they like, forget about every changing their minds.


For something that is good. But it seems to work more with the "habits" that probably aren't so good. Like taking drinks to bed. I never let them do it as babies or toddlers. And I'm not sure on how it started but I think one of them was sick and wasn't drinking much. I let him have some watered juice when they went to bed. When he was better, I tried to tell him no more juice to bed but that was met with cries, lots of cries and I gave in. Then the other son saw was the first son was getting and demanded it for himself. Now years later...


Ryan recently switched to drinking from a thermos. He only has one so I have to wash it every night. So Ryan no longer takes his drink to bed. Yay! So I am working on getting Andy to relinquish his. The ironic thing is that Andy doesn't even drink the juice. Every morning he brings a full cup into the kitchen.


Sometimes Andy misplaces his cup and can't find it. I won't look for it especially close to bed time. Last night, he said he couldn't play his DS (because he didn't have his cup.) I told him he could but he was adamant. Tonight was the same thing and of course he gets upset. I am not sure why he feels the need to punish himself like that. But at the last minute, he found his cup and happily grabbed his DS.


I think I will try watering down his nighttime juice. Then I can work on him keeping his clothes on while at home.

08.28.08 the wheels on the bus go oh so slow

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We actually saw the bus this morning. Of course, it was zooming past out street as it was late once again. I don't know what her problem is, she just can't seem to get to our house on time or even 20 minutes late as that is when we leave. And the worse part is that she doesn't seem bothered by it.




At least the boys don't mind the car. Though I wish there was someone to meet Andy at the car loop. After he gets out, I crawl along waiting to make sure he gets in his classroom. I usually have to yell at one of the staff to make sure he gets in. I don't get it, they know who he is, will say "Hi Andy!" but don't know enough to make sure he gets in his class? I guess I am fortunate that his door is by the car loop so I can watch.


I have emailed the school and transportation about the problem. We will see how long it take to get it fixed. At least the boys are getting home just 5 minutes later than their drop-off time. But that it still 20 minutes later than last year. For 3 years they got home at 4pm. Andy can't understand why it is different this year. Neither can I.

08.20.08 growing up, sort of

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Ryan is growing up. You can tell by how he handled the bus being 40 minutes late on Monday & today. He held it together on the bus but once we got inside, he broke down. On Monday, it took us about 20 minutes to calm down, today was only a few minutes and he was fine. I hope this progress continues. I also hope the bus driver can get her act together and not be so dang late!


But then Ryan can be really silly. Especially when I want to take his photo. We played hide and seek today. Basically, he kept trying to hide and I kept snapping away hoping to catch a good photo.




It made the wait for the bus go by faster but after 20 minutes, Ryan wanted me to drive him to school. Andy would prefer to wait for the bus but since he whining is not as loud as Ryan's, he lost out and I drove them.