A Look Back on 2011

The past year has brought about quite a bit of change. 2011 was a good year and like Tommy has said recently, we've had better years and we've had worse years. It's not a year that I'm particularly sad to see go, nor am I discouraged or overwhelmingly optimistic going into the new year.

I started out the year commuting about an hour and fifteen minutes one way to work, Tommy worked over nights with a side of some tedious writing work. He was then offered a higher paying job, we paid down and off bills and I was afforded the privilege of  being a stay at home mom. It's been a very good thing for the family. Yes, we have less money coming into the house now but it's all worth it.

Faith started school (Pre-K) this year and it's been going... some days she does really well with it and enjoys being at school, other days not-so-much. That's like most any other kid, though. She's still classified as non-verbal, but we've been working on ways to try to communicate more effectively with her. Like everything else, some days that works out well and other days not-so-much. She's around a lot more kids now and can (sometimes) tolerate more noises than what she used to be able to handle.

Everyday I've been working on potty training with Faith I've gotten her to go at least once a day in the potty chair (yay!) , I consider her just sitting in the bathroom on the potty chair and not flipping out a success. So, in that regard we're getting there. :) She's still against the light, so she's going in the dark too. We do have the hall light on though so we can at least kinda see in there. ;0)

Angelus started 2nd grade and he is still kicking butt and taking names with his God given reading ability. He's been working a lot more this year at trying to learn how to draw. He seems to enjoy that a lot at the moment. He's a great son, brother and person. We've had some challenging times with him this year, but they seem to be getting better and better.

With the new year coming up, I suppose this year I plan on having resolutions ( I don't usually), there's just so many things I don't really like about me that I know I could work on. Such as since the age of 13ish I've never actually liked the way I looked except for around the time frame of 27 going into 28.  This year has brought on a whole new level of not ever liking how I look.  I figure I'll never really like how I look but there's tons of things I can do to become healthier and just a better person. And really isn't just being a better person way more important than how a person physically looks?

Trying to have a better schedule in the house. We're pretty laid back here in the house which I like a lot, but I could do better with some sort of schedules. Excluding getting Faith on a bedtime routine, that's just an exercise in futility and I'm not gonna stress myself out about that.

Tommy and I also didn't really have any wedding photos taken of us in our wedding attire, so he's agreed to do it for our 10th anniversary. For our 9th just seemed weird, but 10th makes sense.

I have been a tad (lot) crankier than what I want to be and what's normal for me, but I *think* I'm doing better with that and want to continue to be a happier person that I'm used to being.

We had so many more Angels sent our way this year as well, it's just exciting to see all of the great and wonderful people that are still out there in the world. There are so many stories of awful things happening to people that sometimes one forgets just how wonderful some people you come across in life are.

Well, there's my "year end" mish-mash of stuff that doesn't really flow very well. One day I'll have another blog post that is actually good writing, but until then....

Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Kind of an update...

Things are moving along here. Faith and Angelus both seem ready for the upcoming Christmas break, of course Faith will want to be getting back out and about before anyone else (she gets stir crazy quicker than anyone else in the house). 

We still have yet to put the tree up, but that's alright. We'll get it before Christmas day. :)

Our little lady appears to be ready to be potty trained. We just have one BIG problem. She's terrified of all bathrooms everywhere. That being said, wish we could figure out a trick or something. I've tried moving the potty chair out into an area she's comfortable with, but she just does her thing in front of the chair. I know I've gotten into the frustrations of it because not only is she terrified of going into bathrooms, she gets absolutely ticked off when anyone else in the house has to go into there for any reason. She appears to be having some kind of an anxiety attack when any of us are taking a bath, going to the restroom, brushing teeth....well anything, really.  BUT she is at the point she takes her diaper and pants off whenever she's wet or yucky. Tommy said the other day she even walked up to him with the wet-wipes for him to change her.  In my not-so-professional opinion I think that this SCREAMS...I'm totally ready for the potty training.

Also, just out of curiosity has anyone ever heated their home with propane and noticed that their extra sensitive family members have a hard time with it? I don't know for sure if this is it or not, but since the weather has been colder and we've turned the heater on she seems to be a lot more up-set more often than not. I can load her up and take her out of the house and she does okay for a little while at other places. Generally we'll get back home and she'll need to find a dark quiet place to hide (it's generally in the kids closet, but we made it cozy with a fluffy chair and everything in there for her).

Angelus turned 8 since the last time I updated. We had a nice birthday party here at the house, he had the three boys who he considers his 'best friends' or 'best buddies' (depending on what day you catch him--what he refers to them as), come over to help celebrate. They're great kids with some great parents. Although he did ask me if I could make two of the three his cousins (one is already his cousin), I explained to him how that would've had to work and that was definitely an impossibility.

Tommy's best friend, Kenny also made the cake and as always it looked awesome and tasted great.

Then we celebrated Thanksgiving here at the house with just us. I was pretty impressed with myself. i somehow managed to make an entire Thanksgiving meal totally gluten free. I'm getting better at it all. Not anywhere near where I need to be, but improving. I've also noticed that I tend to have less stomach issues which I've had since I was around 14yrs old...whenever I'm eating gluten free and also Angelus tends to ask for more to eat whenever I prepare gluten free stuff. We're slowly getting there. :)

Now time to get ready for Christmas, Christmas programs and just enjoying the time with my fantastic family.

'til next time.
Amy

A call Home.

On January 2, 2011 I wrote a blog post about all of the Angels God sent my way throughout this journey.  Earlier this week, he called one of those Angels he sent my way home. I'm so glad I got to know her in this life. She was an incredible person who never seemed to be too busy for anyone.


I used to stop and have dinner with her on my way home from work, probably once a month or so. She always had lots of insight and a laugh to share. When I stopped working away from home, we e-mailed back and forth quite often, until she got sick. I was looking forward to her getting well and reading the e-mails once again. I was able to go visit her the day before she passed away and I'm thankful that I got that. She was surrounded by a lot of friends and family during her final days, that loved her very much.

~How blessed am I that I got to know you and call you a friend in this life?~

Happenings.

We took him out for ice cream to celebrate.

What's been going with the kids this week?....

 

We're proud of him for being him, and this is him.

He got a cool back pack with all kinds of goodies too

He's a little miniTommy. 

Our little Dr. Spencer Reed (?) in the making. ;)

     Just check out the photos. :)

The tent (tee pee) she likes better than her tent.

The tent and tunnel they have for Faith an area

 The room they're working on is still a work in progress, but this is what it looks like so far. I'll have to keep her home again for another day so they'll be able to have it totally finished.

Today was the first time they ever got Faith to fall asleep. She has Mickey from home. Her blanket and pillow brought in from the Pre-K teacher, and in her nice cozy quiet comfy (almost) finished room.

Pre-K floor puzzle fun

Movin' Along...

I'm less "ranty" this week.  That's probably a good thing. Hafta dwell on the good things happening around here, which if I just take a few minutes to think about it, there's always a lot to be thankful and grateful for.

Flexing those creative muscles....

     Angelus was recommended for "Gifted & Talented' again this year, his reading level has grown along with him and I'd say I think he showed even more imagination and creativity over the summer. He said he wanted to do it too.  Yay! The biggest reason I want him to do it, is I know as he gets older they're going to be doing and involved in things he will enjoy tremendously. He's not interested in sports or music for the most part but he LOVES "flexing" those creative muscles in various ways.AND I love seeing what he comes up with. It's such a blessing and joy to watch.

Faith had Mickey in her shoe on the table, I thought it was adorable.

     I have to keep Faith home from school tomorrow because her Aid and the principal want to fix up a room for her. It's a HUGE room right in the middle of the school (easy to check in on)....they showed me some of the stuff they wanted to put in there for her. They got her a really cool looking tent.  It has two tent's connected by a tunnel, then they're also putting up a pretty tee-pee.  It'll also serve as a reading room, for kids that get to do something special for a reward get to go into there. They asked if I'd mind bringing some of her favorite toys/books a few things of hers from home up to the school to try and make her feel even more comfortable in her little area.  I'm pretty excited for her about it. Anyway, they have to clean the room up and set it up and when Faith is there....there is NO down time. You can't let her out of your sight for even 30seconds. I'm also glad they realize this.

If you just look around you, there's an awful lot of "shining rays" of hope.

    Others may have negative things to say about the schools, but they've both been great fits so far for my kids and this makes everyone happy. I really believe they've done great jobs at thinking outside of the box (both schools for both children) and have done great at implementing ideas to help them get the encouragement they both need.
     Obviously, we're still working on challenging Angelus academically, but they keep trying and that's all one can really ask for.

Rants of a Not-So-Awesome...

.....OR even cool and some days probably not even a really good Mommy of a child who is Autistic and one who is considered "neurotypical"....nothing about him is "typical" in my opinion.

People trying to tell me..."I don't think anything is wrong with her". [Sometimes, I kinda wanna kick 'em]
    Yes. She's a sweet girl who giggles, and runs around and enjoys life. She doesn't have self injurious behaviors either. She's a great critical thinker with the ability to "think outside the box" better than most anyone I've ever met.

     BUT those who say this have never had to stay up night after night because your child could NOT sleep (even if they wanted to), they haven't spent 20min. just trying to button one button on her dress 'cause it's just uncomfortable for you to touch her, or had her scream running away from you and throwing her head on the ground so you wouldn't touch it with a hair brush. They've never seen how much she screams at a bathroom light being on (to the point that it sometimes sounds like she's having some kinda anxiety attack with it). Tried to give her a bath in which she screams the whole time and you have to put her back into the tub at least 20x just to get her cleaned up (and that's if she's not too dirty). Then she screams and/or cries a good 30min. (occasionally longer), after the bath.

     They've never had to be the one to hold her down to get the food she pockets in her mouth out of it, then listen to her scream and cry that you took it out of her mouth (even though you KNOW you're doing what's best for her).  She's no where near potty training ready (over 4 she should be).

She didn't black their eye (to the point that a doctor thought their socket may have been broken), just because she was excited and couldn't sleep at 3:00a.m. one day. OR had the top 2 1/2 layers of half of their eye tore off because she started hand-flapping (but I had no idea anything was going on with her at this point).

I can literally tell you EVERY word I've ever heard her say (and even heard about her saying)....how many people can say that about their 4+ year old?
Don't believe me?

Here's ALL them I've ever heard her say:
1.) Mom
2.) Love you
3.) bye-bye (which soumds like di-di)
4.)uh-oh
5.)Leave me Alone (I heard this one time almost a year ago....never again).
6.)No
7.) Boadie
8.)triangle (she's said ONE time)
9.)square
10) circle
11.) Liar (which sounded a lot like lie...yur)
12.) How you doing (which sounds like 'ow you donin').
13.)Dad

...that is literally 18words I've heard her say...and probably 10 or less others have told me she's said that I haven't heard.

Use a Social Story....she hasn't grasped those concepts and wouldn't pay attention long enough to me for a "social story' to work.

So, please don't second guess my actions and please don't make me feel inferior. I am being the best parent I know how to be (and learning as I go).

Miss Wart & Fake

I went to get Faith from school today around 12:35 which is what we'd been doing for about a week. The principal said "I think Faith is ready, but I don't know if Mom is"....but here's the lady with the answers. Huh. I have the answers (and I did). Starting Thursday we're going to let Faith do full days at school (I'll probably not have any excuse now to not have all my laundry done, but it won't be...it never is).

Apparently her classmates call her and her aid miss Wart and Fake, which is hilarious. The aid is Mrs. Ward and Faith. I'd rather them call her "Fake" than "Faye", though. She told the special Education teacher to "hurry!" during lunch time today...apparently Faith wasn't getting her food quickly enough (I've never heard her say the word "hurry!"). AND they said when all the first graders came into the lunchroom she said "hi!" to the kids.

Hopefully today I'll get Angelus' scores for BOTH of his reading tests and can update on Mr. Angelus tomorrow. He and I had a great long weekend together. He didn't have to go to school Friday or Monday, but Faith did. So Angelus and I had some great Mommy and son time. I'm so glad we were able to.

Gifts.

Faith has now taken on two additional hours at school and even gets to do breakfast and lunch there.  It's been very good for her. More recess time, more time to ware herself out and Momma and Dad potentially getting more sleep in. She just seems to enjoy being around the other kids even if she isn't actually playing with them.  Just makes her smile, which makes us smile, when they're around for her to see. Today at school she climbed up the slide and slid down it all by herself.  Apparently her teacher took her and went down it with her last week (I can not for the life of me picture this lady doing that, I would've laughed watching it all play out).

Thursday we had parent/teacher conferences for Angelus. It went well...I know. I'm just as surprised as anyone else. He scored REALLY high yet again on his "BEAR" reading test. I think the teacher even commented that he scored higher than anyone else in the class. I haven't gotten to see the STAR reading scores yet, but probably will this week. Angelus' weakness, if he had an academic weakness, his teacher said was Math (we knew that), but he's carrying a 94% in that. [I want an academic weakness like that] He gets bored easily, and has to be redirected but can take the redirection.  Apparently his boredom will lead him to wandering when he shouldn't be, but for the most part she's came up with creative ways to work around that with him.

Tommy and I went out this past weekend to Norman to a Christian Kane concert....I know, everyone is wondering just "Who is THAT guy?" Well, he played 'Lindsey' in Angel and currently plays 'Elliot' in Leverage. Tommy and I had a great time, the guy was so much fun to watch and told great stories about how he came up with each song. He's also a native of Norman and this was the first time he'd been back in 13yrs to do a concert. He had great high school stories of the area too.
                                                    

Communication device "funness" we got everything resubmitted, including the new letter/recommendation from the Speech Therapist, and apparently while it was 'en route' this time the disc (DVD) broke and they needed a new one. This is the 3rd time we've had to send  the video in. I would just say "let's just call it a 'wash' at this point", but I've SEEN Faith with it so much that I know that's the worst possible idea so we keep on trying. It will come through for her eventually. Just hoping it's sooner than later.

They are growing up on me AND it's pretty exciting.

Starting Thursday Faith is gonna start having breakfast and lunch with her classmates. The principal had already asked her sister if she could borrow a high chair, and then today I asked about her having lunch there. How great it is when the staff and I are both on the same track (which happens to be pretty often). Heck, at this rate she may be ready for full days before Christmas comes.

We also have parent/teacher conference for Angelus this week. He's also gonna go have his first friend sleepover with his cousin this weekend. He's WAY excited about it. Last night he told me he needed to go to bed early before the sleepover happened so he wouldn't be cranky at his cousins house, of course around the time bed time rolled around he didn't want to go to bed early.

I'll try to update after parent/teacher conference and after Faith has lunch/breakfast with her classmates and let you know how it went.

We'll get there.....hopefully.

I didn't do an update last week (shame on me!).  We're getting into the swing of things with school and the extra things we do around here.  It's a new school year and new learning experiences....for everybody.

This is gonna sound silly...I'd love to take my kids to the park or outside even in our front yard and let them just play or have a picnic and just enjoy watching them play.  I can't do that even at home for fear of Faith bolting and going somewhere.  I know she loves being outside and loves parks. I also know she will just keep on going and going and I can't call her back. So, anytime we are outside playing at home or at a park I'm generally chasing her around. It'd be cool to sit down and have a picnic or watch her and Angelus playing on the playground together.  We'll get there....hopefully.



She's been acting like something's been bothering her the past couple of days. I'm not sure if she's cutting teeth, has a tooth ache, has some kind of allergies or hears something in the house we can't hear (the latter has happened at least twice). It'd be great if she could communicate it so we could fix it. We'll get there too....hopefully.


Faith got some cool communication stuff in to assist her with school and home life. She also got the frame to her swing in.  We're now waiting on her stuff for music therapy and the swing part to her swing...also a 'bean blanket' for her to use at school, it's supposed to help her sit longer periods of time. She loves her para, teachers and therapists....it's just seemed to be a great thing for her.
 

Angelus is still doing great on his reading (or at least it appears that way), I've discovered I really don't enjoy helping him at all on his Math homework.  I know that it's a little harder for him, but I also think he's not trying either.  I find that frustrating and it shows. :( He's made a 115% on ALL of his spelling tests so far this year.  {Mr. Smarty} ;)  He also sat by me during all of the church service, Sunday.  He did a great job! He sat still, paid attention, and even commented (to me)on a thing or two the pastor said....so I know he was paying attention. He has decided that he's not quite ready for the 'big church' though. Don't blame him at all. Sometimes it takes all I have not to look like I've got "ants in my pants" for that hour too.






                                               'til next week....or somewhere around there.

I'm rambly....

This was Faith's first "official" week of being a -part-time Pre-k'r.....she has enjoyed it a great deal.  I've seen some Pro's and Con's to it all, but I'm very pleased with how it's all turning out.  She can't handle the hand dryers (even when she's in the hallway and not in the bathroom), they freak her out BUT they are super loud to me too (magnify that by 100, that's probably what she's hearing).  She LOVES playing in the rocks on the playground.  Like most kids, not happy when recess is over.  The other kids seem to want to be protective over her. That's good stuff.

  Angelus just completed his second full week of school (he's our little rocket scientist....ere something like that...in the making). He doesn't like it when he has to get up in the mornings, but other than that I haven't really heard any complaints. He's SOOO not a morning person (and by morning I mean whenever he first gets up, whatever time of day that might be).

It's definitely a schedule I'm gonna hafta figure out how to get myself more productive.  I get the kids up around 7:15 or so, out the door around 8:00 or a little after. Drop Angelus off, get Faith to her school after breakfast and in time for recess 8:30, get back home around 9:30ish (hafta ask and answer questions teachers and I might have). Once back home, I *try* to do something productive such as fix lunch for when Faith gets home, do dishes, a load of laundry, mow on the yard a little....11:00 pick Faith up, come home for lunch and maybe a nap. Off to get Angelus at 3:00, then we're back home at 3:30.  That's how the week has pretty much went. We work Speech in on Monday's (while she's already at school), Occupational Therapy in on Thursday's so she doesn't go to school at all on Thursday as OT is 30min. away for an hour. Didn't make sense to go to school on that day, since she just does the half days.

Being a Stay At Home Momma now, I'm also trying to make myself get out in the community more. For those who know me (and I'm sure most anyone reading my blog knows me fairly well), know it's something I'm fairly uncomfortable with as I'm incredibly shy. I've been accused of being a "snob" and other such things a chunk of my life due to it.....Generally speaking, though....I tend to like pretty much everyone and don't make a practice of "bad mouthing" others (at least I try not too, like everyone I mess up sometimes but I do try not to say mean/negative things).  In my attempt to be more social, and active in this community, I've signed up for Zumba classes which are done in this community, started getting back into church down at the end of our road here, and I also do stuff with the Autism support group. EVERY one of those are actually something that takes a great deal of self talk for me to do because of my insane shyness. 

Just thought I'd toss a photo of Tommy in here 'cause I rarely do.

Zumba has been a great workout and a lot of nice ladies there.  Church is a good thing, 'cause I always feel like a piece of me is missing if I'm not actively going to one. It has about 100-150 people or so there.  My first thought on that is: whoa! That's big. (I know it's not to most, but for what I've been used to it's stinking HUGE). The Support group has just been such a great thing too, I've met some incredibly nice ladies that I enjoy and have learned an awful lot from them and the group as a whole.

Tommy seems to enjoy his job (or at least not actively hate it). It has good hours and we get to see him on weekends and evenings. This makes me happy, and I'm sure the kids too.

  Right now, seems like we're just in a period of adjustment. We'll be in the "swing" of things before you know it. 

Improvements?

As the "year" is coming to an end in the IEP world, and therapy world we're doing an awful lot of assessments and things of that nature to see where Faith "falls" after a year of it.  She scored 13months in fine motor skills, 18months in gross motor skills, 2in sensory processing (there's 5 things they test for and she improved slightly in sensory processing).  She scored pretty much the same after a year, on paper.  The reasoning behind that is she doesn't have good receptive skills, stay on task for 2minutes (that "you" ask her to do)....still, it pretty well all comes down to communication.  Boy, it's so important.  I always heard "you have to communicate if you want a marriage/relationship/friendship to work"....I used to always think in a "deeper connection" when I heard that. Basic communication is the building block to everything.  I have a better understanding of that now, than I probably ever would have if we weren't blessed to have Faith as part of our life.

Angelus started back to school Thursday and wasn't looking forward to it at all.  The first day he was presented with an invitation to a birthday party from one of his classmates (he was the only one that showed up at it too, which is pretty sad 'cause this little girl is super nice and friendly), so he was "sold!" at being back at school. He didn't go swimming all summer because every time I would ask him about it he'd say "I don't wanna go outside, it's TOO hot for that".  Then after going, he was kicking himself in the rear-end for not agreeing to go sometime during the summer break.

We're also a little frustrated at the moment around here.  We're gonna need to find a different place to live soon. An actual fully functioning 3bedrooms, is a BIG thing. I'd also LOVE to have these other things: central heat/ac, roof that doesn't tend to leak (the land lord is good about coming to or sending someone to try and fix it, but it's been a constant no matter what), a bathroom a little more kid friendly, a privacy fence 'cause Faith WILL run and I want it so she can play outside safely (it's more to keep her in, than others out), windows that can be opened....those are my big wishes for another place. I kinda wish we were able to buy, then I kinda don't and there's just not loads of options around the Oaks area, but I want to stay around here because I've been incredibly happy with how the school situation is coming along and with all the therapy's in place for Faith. Angelus' school is a good fit for him too and it's awfully close to Oaks. So.....this is where we are, I suppose. Tommy and I've been talking about it and knowing it's needed to happen because we just need a house (not necessairly bigger 'cause this one isn't super small, it's just laid out weird), where everyone can have their own space.
___________________________________________________________________________
*Weird things Around Here*

-I never thought I'd be using duct tape to keep someone out of the dryer.
-Faith still screams (more often than not) at bath time. :(
-It's pretty well impossible to comb/brush her hair and I've tried all the tricks I was told.  Occasionally I can get it, but not like it needs to be and *if* she'd let me it'd be way easier and quicker. Her O.T. seemed to think she's big enough that I'd need to try other things to try and get her "exhausted" or connecting her neuron receptors in a different way (I still didn't quite understand it even though I asked her to explain it to me and she tried her best), but she's still limited to receptive language skills that I couldn't really "talk her into it". Thank goodness we got permission for her to wear her hats. :)
-Angelus' loves watching television to fall asleep to, but Faith has now taken to throwing televisions, I mean she's done that for a while and we're actually pretty lucky that none of ours are broken at this point.  It does make us watch a lot less television. :)  Probably good for us.

Last night I made a meal that was GF/CF .....the entire meal AND Angelus helped with pretty much ALL of it.  That was so much fun.  I remember when he was littler and I'd help him cook with me.  Last night I was able to just kinda give direction and he did his thing from there.  It was very cool.

Learning a new Language

Just when I think I've got all these new "words" or abbreviations down, someone goes changing them or adding to them.  I seriously feel like I've almost learned a whole new language in the past year. Here are some (a few I already knew, working in the Mental Health field but most of these I didn't), feel free to add to it, if you know some.

*GFCF............................................................Gluten Free Casein Free diet (a diet that individuals with Autism do very well on, but not all)

*GFCFSF.......................................................Gluten Free Casein Free Soy Free diet (same as above).

*SCD..............................................................Specific Carbohydrate Diet

*Feingold Diet.................................................Also a diet some do very well on

*SIB...............................................................Self  Injurious Behavior

*SID...............................................................Sensory Interegration Disorder

*SPD..............................................................Sensory Processing Disorder

*IEP................................................................Individual Educatin Plan

*ELL..............................................................English Language Learner

*ASD.............................................................Autism Spectrum Disorder

*HBOC..........................................................Hyper Barric Oxygen Chamber (I'm not even real sure what this does only it cost about 2grand a month to rent one)

*Chelation therpy............................................A type of  spray or shot or something that's supposed to help rid the body of toxins...(clearly I need more research on this one too).

*Brushing Technique........................................you do every two hours for two weeks AND you have to be VERY consistent with it and it's done with a specific brush overseen by the O.T. (generally, I think)

*Epson Salt baths..........................................Also help to rid the body of toxins (again, that's general consensus and I know they help when your body is hurting).

*Stimming.....................................................Self stimulatory behavior (Faith's is generally spinning, but it changes from time to time)

*O.T.............................................................Occupational Therapy

*SLP............................................................Speech Language Pathologist/Speech therapist

*PT..............................................................Physical Therapy (and obviously sometimes Physical Training for those military folk)

Then there is:
*ABA Therapy, the *SonRise program, *biomedical treatments, a kid having a *melt down--which is different from a tantrum, *sensory over load....I'm sure there are others I'm leaving out  but a lot of this is terminology I've learned in the past year or so.

I was reading on another persons blog where a few of  these popped up and I had no idea what they stood for, so as any good (interested) person would do, I googled them.

In other news, Angelus starts school Thursday. He says he doesn't want to, but once he gets there and ``sees his friends I know he'll change his mind.  He usually does. I took Faith and Angelus to church last Sunday.  They both did great, we plan on trying it again this Sunday. I also downloaded a Bible app to the iPod with different versions so I'm ready to follow along no matter what. :) AND I started Zumba classes this past week. I'll try it for at least the month that I paid for it. The instructor was great with an amazing amount of energy and the ladies there were all pretty new to it too, except a couple. They did great with trying to help us who weren't so good try to figure it out.  I think it'll be a good, healthy "mom" time and hopefully get me in better shape as I go along.

'til next week.
Oh and thanks Christi for the reminder ;-)

Half way.

We met with the school and planned out Faith's IEP. She will go from right after breakfast until lunch time except on Monday's we will have lunch at the school (yes with me along). They are making a space for her too kinda like what she has at home for when she gets overloaded. A darker smaller closet type area. That's what type of area she seeks out when it's been too much for her. She doesn't get to start right when the other kids do because they have to hire a para for her and do background checks and stuff. So, she is gonna be in a regular classroom with a para and have an area in the Special Education room that's kinda her "cubbyhole" for half days and we are gonna meet once a week (with everyone...teachers, principal, speech path, special Ed teacher, and me)to make sure the plan is working and if she needs more or less adjust it accordingly.

Makes me feel good when they say (with sincere genuineness) -I can't wait for her to start school here. I am excited to see how far she is gonna come this year...'cause it was amazing to see how far she came last year.

Angelus was a great big help too keeping his sister entertained while we completed the IEP and letting her chase him around (I could see 'em both the whole time, but it was good he was able AND she let him help keep her occupied. I am pleased with the plan we came up with and I totally felt like my voice was heard and ALL of my concerns were listened to and taken into account.
Can't wait to see what happens this school year for BOTH kids.

Stars, Cars, and Great Big Hearts

It's time to begin thinking about a whole new school year and what that's going to look like for the Brownell household this upcoming school year.  Tuesday we are meeting with the school (I think it will be the principal, special education lady, me, and maybe the other lady who finalizes paperwork for the school) to do Faith's Individual Education Plan (IEP), she will need a para to be with her and I *think* we are going to begin half days with her at school.  I'm really not sure what is best for her at this point, and what she will and will not be able to tolerate.  We'll figure it out as we go along.

In recent weeks I've seen her do more parallel play when she was around other kids.  She has also chased and allowed Angelus to chase her around the house.  She just is becoming more "aware" all the time.  It's really fantastic.

She pockets her food like crazy and it's SOO frustrating.  I've tried the chewey rubber hose for her to "gnaw" at, the little bristle nuk brush, vibrating tooth brush, pickles. sour food, spicy food, carbonated drink (had the most luck with the soda) to get her more aware of her mouth and....now I feel almost as if I'm going to have to resort to the mashed up baby food. She pockets the teethers and stuff too. She's tricky with it too, 'cause it can be hiding in there for a while and I don't know it (I usually know, but every once in a while....).

Angelus hasn't really read like he said he wanted to (he could've been not quite sure of what he wanted, though) this summer.  Guess that's what summer break is all about, though. :)  Last summer he read ALL kinds of things, it was a little crazy the stuff you can find to read off of when you're looking.

Faith, my niece, sister and I all went to Firefly Festival for Families, for a special 'Girls Day Out'.  Now I'm gonna have to find a place for Angelus to have a day.  He said he wants to check out the Tulsa Space Museum.  We'll have to look into that, it sounded really cool.

I plan on trying to update around once a week.  Pretty proud I've at least had a post monthly, but I'm gonna *try* to at least do a weekly one, I mean stuff happens ALL the time and Faith and Angelus do something new each week.

'Til next week.

Field trips....await!

Goodness, you all came up with some great ideas for the kids and me to check out this summer.  I'm excited to go to them.  The Jenks Aquarium, Tulsa Zoo, Philbrook Museum,Tulsa Air & Space Museum & Planetarium, The old Civil War Fort at Ft. Gibson, possibly dinosaurs in Wichita, KS.  of course checking out Terra Studios again (it was amazing how much the kids loved it there).  

Finding a pool area for little kids that's not too busy. If you have any other ideas let me know.  I'm looking toward probably Fayetteville, Bentonville, Tulsa, Joplin, Muskogee....maybe OKC/Norman area even possibly Kansas City (I'm just way more familiar with OKC and how to drive around there).  If it sounds cool enough and doesn't cost an arm and a leg and could potentially educate the kids on some new cool stuff, let me know your ideas.--Please.  So far, you all have delivered some great stuff. 
 

Where are we now?

I started this blog not quite a year ago, to kind of keep those filled in that were curious about our life, and also as a way to kind of "process" through things that I was going through with all the different emotions/feelings/questions I had going through it all.

This was right around when our journey began

Around one year later...Do you notice a difference?

May 29, 2010 we began a journey that has brought so many incredible people into our lives, and just showed how many incredible people we had with us already.  That was the day someone came to visit us and talk to us about what was going on with our littlest one (and confirm I wasn't totally crazy-whew! I'm only a little crazy). Various appointments, and an array of doctor visits all got crammed into about a 2month window.  So many people to see, so many things to do, so many things to learn.  No where near finished with that last one.
     Hard to believe, but June 14, 2010 (it's been one year and one week-exactly) we were given an "official diagnosis" that Faith had Autism with Global Developmental Delay...meaning she is delayed in every area they test, which is 5 of them.
Life started getting a little better after that.  For us. For her. I know. Weird. 
In a year, she still isn't verbal but we've found other ways to communicate with her (that work sometimes--some days not as well as we'd like).  It is no longer the "norm" for her to cry a good 12 plus hours a day.  It's the exception.  She laughs a lot more and we've even seen her brother get her to *kind of* play with him on occasion.  Not nearly as much as he would like, but a little is WAY more than it was.

    She can generally put her own shoes on, we have to help her get dressed pretty much otherwise.  It's the more difficult part she's been able to accomplish.  She has been able to leave her Ninja Turtle toy around and not totally flip out because of it.  She loves playing with her little pink guitar, and thinks its funny when I play it.
She has attempted to say more words, is more okay with bath time...still horrible at hair brushing, or anyone at all in the house turning on the light to the bathroom.  We have learned how to go in the dark.  Yes. Even Angelus.  One of her favorite places to hang out is the closet in the kids room, so I put a little plush Spiderman chair in there and a little cabinet with toys she likes in the drawers for when she sits in there.  Figure I'd try to make her feel as comfortable as possible if she likes hanging out in there so much.
     Right before the school year let up, her therapists stated that while she definitely has Autism, she is easily the most laid back Autistic child they had ever worked with (she gets that from me). ;-)  With school getting underway again in a couple of months I'm really excited to see what more progress she is going to make through the rest of this summer and through the next school year.

       We have been blessed that I now am going to be a stay at home mom.  Tommy got offered a job that pays a lot more, and with the way the school year and therapies are going to be shaping up, we are so grateful I will be able to stay home with the little ones.  The end of this month will be my last day.  They've hired another girl to take my place, who has volunteered and also worked with us a lot.  I'm fairly sure she will be even better at my job that what I am/was (but I don't wanna bad mouth myself too much).  I am so glad about that too.  The company and more importantly my boss and co-workers have been absolutely awesome to me.  They have been supportive and encouraging throughout this whole journey.  Even when I gave my notice, they understood exactly where I was coming from.  I'm gonna miss them, but I am facebook friends with most of them AND I am able to drive to meet people, so there is that. I am looking forward to being with the kids and that being my only "job".

     My "big" plans are to try and get the kids out to the creek a few times this summer, because they love that.  Learn how to bake more things from scratch and gluten-free, work on a good schedule for everyone in the house.  Help Angelus go through the 2nd grade math book he got from Barnes & Nobles (he was concerned he wouldn't do as good in Math as he should next year so we got this to try and help alleviate any concern he may have), try to get the dog and the kids "communication gap" to figure its self out.  They want to play with her and she wants to play with them, but it isn't translating very well. Try to stay on top of having laundry down, yard mowed, and dishes fixed up.  Possibly even try to have a consistent work-out regiment. 

On a completely unrelated note, I was talking to the OT today about Angelus.  He's been going to therapy with Faith and me for the past month or so.  I commented to her that I thought *something* was going on with him, but wasn't quite sure what and I didn't think he needed any kind of professional help for it or anything.  I commented that at most Parent/Teacher conferences the teachers always comment that he is "very bright, gets a long well with everyone, is respectful....and is exhausting."  After she's met him and been around him more, she seems to think if he took an IQ test (which he hasn't) he's most likely score "off the charts"--or something like that. He asks a lot of questions and has another 20 to follow up that first one he just asked you, it's not generally because he got side tracked in the middle of that either.  It's because he actually does process information that fast (sadly, he did not get this from me).  Cant wait to see what this next school year holds for him either.