Survived

So, I'm back from my weekend trip.

• On Friday I had a great afternoon with my Dad! We just talked for hours. Then Mom and I went shopping, that was fun too. Lastly, ended the day with Paul, Celeste, Luisa, Jake & Miranda (plus Bomparents) at El Charro's. Yummy! Oh yes, and watched movie with Bomps, Paul and Jake.
  
• Saturday, awoke to hear from Mies that Aidan had a fever and was instructed not to worry; like that's gonna happen. (Called several times) Got my nails done, hair trimmed, spent time w/ my Aunt Kathy, then more shopping with Momsy, and got ready to G-O, go. Was picked up by the Decker's, headed to the Tin Fish, then to Partridge Creek Hall for an interesting experience; interesting because many people were fascinated with my being a librarian. I was flattered, but...okay, they're right, it IS the coolest job EVER!! Plus, many of the gents were impressed with us residing the Upper Peninsula. It's not that exciting, fellas, trust me. Then the "after" party at the Red Ox. By that time my feet were KILLING ME! Why did I buy heals that high??? Oh and everyone loved my Mom's coat, I got many hugs wearing it. ;) And was truly grateful for Mr. Jerry Decker and his being our "DD" for the evening. Deanna married a gem and a gent, in one person.
  
• Sunday, awoke early w/ lovely headache, called to check-in on Aidan, talked to parents about the night. S-L-O-W-L-Y got myself packed and moving. Had a great lunch with Barry/Scavo crew (bummed not to see Cristina, but hey, she's a popular teenager). Sat in the sunshine for 15 minutes or so. Then hopped in the "Bomps" mobile (a.k.a. Clifford the big-red-van) and headed to the airport. To find out that my flight was delayed, then after finally boarding, waiting for 20 minutes before take off, then circled Eu Claire, WI for 20 minutes only to taxi in MIN/SP for another 20 minutes. Fortunately, I had some time before the flight to Hancock, so I was good. Talked to Mies on the phone for 'while only to find out that Andrew had a fever, too. Then got on the puddle jumper (?? thought they were discontinuing that service and going with DC9's??) and headed home.
• Had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. Still dehydrated. But got to work, drank tons 'o water.

Now back to reality and to start getting ready for Halloween gathering. :)

20 years....

Early tomorrow morning I'll be heading out, by myself, on a plane to DTW, for the weekend. (boy that sentence had too many prepositional phrases, didn't it?)
Why, you ask? Well, it is class reunion time, which seems odd to me to have a reunion this time of year since most reunions happen in the summer, but our class was always a little off.
I am excited to go, honestly. NO, I wasn't a cheerleader or even that popular (yawn), but I was one of those people who got along well with everyone and would like to know how people are doing. I'm not interested in what they do for a living or comparing who has the "better" job/car/house. I'm a librarian, for crying out loud, I have a crap job/car/house. Ok, my job isn't crap, I love my job. My point is, I've never been one to care about frivolous things, I just want to have good conversations. I want to catch up with people I knew at weird time in my cognitive development, it that strange? Maybe.
More to come...

Snow in the forecast...

It is only October 8th and yes all the weather people are predicting snow this weekend. Granted it is not going to stick and stay, but still....snow?

Um, Mother Nature, may I have a word? I mean we had an awful winter that ended just 6 months ago, and not to mention that you gave us a cold(ish) summer. Alright, okay, I'll give you September, cos it was beautiful, but that was 1 month out of 12. However, Mother Nature, fall is the best season up here, so don't rush it with early snow, please. I need the fall smells, colors, coolness to get me through winter!
What's that you say?....I should take vitamin D...well I have added that to my regiment of vitamins, and don't change the subject, honestly, Mother Nature...vitamin D! NO, you listen here, bring some fall-like sunshine for the rest of the month, OR ELSE!
Okay...yes...you're right...I'm sorry...I'll ask...."nicely"...could you PLEASE bring back some fall-like sunshine for the rest of the month?

And...they're off.

Well, the boys started school on Tuesday the 8th and Andrew made it without any "new routine anxiety", as I call it. Mies did take the boys to school the week before classes started and showed them they're rooms, etc, which helped! Plus, Andrew is a big-time 5th grader now and knows the environment backwards and forwards; that too cuts down on the anxiety. Aidan told me that 1st grade, "has a LOT of rules, Mom"! On his first day the class went on an "Arthur" hunt (Arthur the main character of the Marc Brown books) and had to go to the Gym to find a clue which led them to the Art room and the next clue to another room, and on and on until they found Arthur (stuffed animal form) in the office. I thought that was a clever way to introduce the 1st graders to the school.

I am, once again, teaching a section of the "Finlandia Success" course this semester. It is a 1 credit course that assists incoming freshman in transitioning into college life. It is a fun class to teach and I learn many things from the students...I hope they learn something from me in the end.

The new librarian started on Tuesday and so far so good. Excluding the fact that she couldn't log into the computer network and when she finally got access. her CPU....CRASHED! UGH!!! [Breath, Beth, Breath]. I keep reminding myself that work life in academia is slow and that this will all work out! It's my new Mantra. ;)

Lastly, we had a great, albeit short, visit from my Parents. I really appreciate when they come, or any family for that matter. We don't get many visitors up here. My Dad was able to get a new Keweenaw Brewing Company T-shirt and some beer to bring home. My Mom helped with the living room flooring and gave me a new hair-do. Thanks, Mom! They got to meet Molly, our new puppy, but not sure their dogs liked Molly too much. And spent time with the boys. Not to mention that I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Sadly, I think we are the new "Lucy and Ethel" of the family.

Guilty pleasure, job, school, end of summer....

I have a guilty pleasure of reading the tweets of Eddie Izzard, as he jogs his way through the UK (hey that rhymed) to raise money for Sport Relief (part of Comic Relief). I did donate a small amount for the cause. :)

Anyway, that is my "distraction" while into my second week as Head Librarian. I've been asked time and again, "do I like my new job?" The answer is obviously, yes, I wouldn't be a librarian if I didn't want to work in libraries. The responsibility as Head is something that I CAN handle (Yes, I Can); although, it is the adjustment period that is stressing me, at this time. I keep forgetting that I'm now the one who makes the decisions around here. :)

Next week I'll start with the interviews for my old part-time position. I have two local librarians with some cataloging experience which is good news, since the part-time position is mostly a cataloging position, with other duties spread out here and there.

We have just found out who are boy's teachers are, Andrew has Mrs. Aldrich for 5th grade and Aidan has Mrs. Julio for 1st grade. Good teachers!! They don't start school until Sept. 8th, since Michigan law states that school is to begin after Labor Day. The boys have one more week of BHK's Summer Great Exploration Program, and Mies and I are scrambling to find someone to watch them for two weeks. FYI--BHK (Baraga-Houghton-Keweenaw) is an organization that dominates all things children up here. They offer Head Start, Even Start, Childcare, partner with Americorps, they do EVERYTHING. It's hard for many other early education places to compete with them. I have to admit, that their Head Start pre-school program, which is FREE for all local 4 year olds, since we live is a remote and (outside of Houghton/Hancock) rural area, is very good. Both our boys went to a BHK pre-school and loved it. I volunteered many, many, many times and they did an incredible job!

We had a very cool summer this year, that is until August. The local forecasters in the area have all predicated a HOT August. I know that the lower peninsula had a wet Spring and Summer, but up here we are close to drought situations. Lake Superior is down 12" this summer, I guess the other Great Lakes are up, and so it Lake St. Clair. Because it has been very cool and dry, my garden isn't doing so well. We'll maybe get one or two cucumbers and looks like no tomatoes. :( One the positive I planted some lettuce and that is growing, I put it in a large pot, on our second story deck, so the rabbits or deer won't eat it.

Well, break time is over, back to work!

Aug. 3rd, round the corner

For those who do not know, my supervisor is leaving Finlandia U and has taken a position back in her home country of Puerto Rico, and I'm been promoted to Head Librarian. I wish Yesianne all the luck and am very excited for her! She has been a great person to know and work with and have learned many things from her, like how to stay graceful under fire. She will be missed.

I've been shadowing her for the last few days and she has already been training me to "take over" for her, since she knew that being at FU was only temporary, while her husband was getting a Master's at MTU. So, I have a feel of how things go, so far anyway. Well, I'll know as of August 3rd.

I have to admit that I am a little nervous about the transistion, but having been an adminstrator before for a rural school/public one-woman-show library, I do have some experience with directing, and the politics, etc. I have experience in proving worth, as many librarians do, since our services are first to be cut from any struggling budget. I know how to play the game of pushing, but not too much, etc. All that goes on when in an adminstrative compacity. I've already experience the ugliness of that and as always will remember that "nothing is personal", as was said to me numerous times by previous administrator. When really, for him, it was. That is his standard line to several people in THAT organization. But I'm not working for that organization anymore and feel that if I edured hell on earth for six years, then this should be a "walk in the park", so to speak.

Of course, I know there will be challenges and choices and other difficult situations; I'm not niave, am just expressing that I've learned from my past experiences and can apply those lessons in this capacity. So, wish me luck! I'll need it.

Support Group Release!

Last night I went to a support group for parents of children with "needs", so to speak. They have been meeting for a few years, but I was never able to attend in the past due to schedule conflicts. The session was on the topic Behavior=Communication.
Even bad behaviors (i.e. tantrums, hitting, self injury) is communication and that in order to handle these situations adults need to adjust their way of thinking too. So, instead of punishing for these behaviors one should try to decipher what is triggering these actions and try to to alleviate the stress. It was NOT rocket science, but it was insightful. It reinforced a newer concept for me, that when kids who have some type of sensory issue(s) have these "bad behaviors" they are most likely overstimulated in some form and should not be punished, but allowed to decompress.
I sort of lost it when we started discussing how to approach this type of reinforcement in the schools. I was recalling our past school year and all of Andrew's expressions of frustration through hitting himself, pulling his hair, or banging his head on his desk and how we were not being listened to by the teacher. She did give him down time, but never tried to figure out what was the trigger of the problem. I am not sure where these emotions came from last night, but it did feel better to share it with people who understand what it is like to be a parent to a child with "needs" and not being heard or understood by others. It was great to finally be apart of a group who got it, who say to themselves (as I do), "I wish they could see my child the way I do!". I let go of many years of frustration in one two-hour meeting. Plus, I was able to give some insight to some parents who kids are younger, and starting Kindergarten or Preschool in the fall. It was an overdue experience for me and am glad I finally got to go. I will definitely go next month and as many more as I can attend.

Summer?

The weather has been cool this summer, with a few hot days here and there. Today is a warmer day, so the boys and I are most likely going to go to Hancock Beach. We all like it there, the water isn't too deep, there's plenty of playground equipment and the area is small enough that the kids can roam around freely. Plus, many of their classmates are at the beach, which means lots of Mom's to chat with. :)

Birthday Party

Andrew will be turning 11 in 3 days. Time goes too fast. We are having his Birthday party today and invited some boys over. We were going to do outside games; like water balloon toss, three legged race, etc, but it is going to rain this afternoon. So, due to mother nature, we need to come up with a plan B. Normally, I'd have a plan B already in the works, but the indexing has pulled me away from all of that, including our daily routine.
I've had to let the boys do their own thing this week in order to complete to 2,000 images. It has been a little chaotic and Mom has not been very patient. We did go to the public library on Thursday to a special childrens program about the moose on Isle Royale. The Ranger even read a few story books, it was a treat. And yesterday we took a walk to Andrew's speech therapy and back (40 minutes of walking total).
On Sunday, Andrew will be spending the week with Missy and Gordon. He is looking forward to it; a little reprieve from his stressed out Mom and clingly little brother. Plus, he'll be going to a day art camp, which he will enjoy. I'll miss him; well, we will all miss him, but know that he will have a good time. And since he will be gone during his Birthday, I just want to say....

Happy 11th Birthday, Andrew!

Clip Art Crazy

A former employer contacted Mies the other day to help out with an indexing project. She sent us 1000 images to index on an excel spreadsheet. We must index each image under an established Category and Subcategory then come up with a "Friendly Name" aka a title, then 4-15 keywords for each image. Sounds easy, but trust me, it is NOT. Especially when the images are abstract or the same stock image shot from different angles. Plus, we had a bunch of religious icons, statues, books, etc. It is interesting that is for sure.

Summer Vacay...

I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to being home with the boys this summer; I was afraid I couldn't keep them busy, so to speak, and give them some structure to keep up on their studies. Mostly I was nervous, because they are almost 5 years apart and have different interest, but here we are, and it is not as bad I had anticipated. So far, we are having fun. I try to organize one main daily event; a walk, playing soccer in the backyard, lunch-time picnics with Dad, going to the library, etc. I am only one week in, but so far so good(ish). There have been meltdowns and moodiness abound, but with some gently guidance, they push through it. I'm trying to instill in them a sense of perseverance. They seem to give up too easily and that saddens me (and Mies). We are working on it.
For the most part, despite their age difference, the boys get along. There are times when Andrew gets overwhelmed or over stimulated and he needs some down time from everything which is hard for Aidan to fully understand. Aidan feels rejected. I try to explain that sometimes people need some quiet place to retreat to, but Aidan may not be old enough to fully comprehend this. He is learning and I've been helping Aidan by taking Andrew's times for quiet as time that Aidan and I can have together. Time when we can work on writing letters and numbers, reading story books and laughing. Aidan has a belly laugh that is indeed infectious. Please don't misunderstand, I do have time alone with Andrew, too. We share many funny stories, too. And don't get me started on his laughter... :)
So, I have to say, that for all my trepidation, things are going well. And I'm looking forward to see what tomorrow brings.

Hike

We took a long hike in the trails behind our house. We started at Mill Road then took the orange trails to just before Upper Trails where the trail veers down to our street, which is not on the map. However, our street is on the map. :)
The only thing is that our dog, Sasha, wanted to know why we silly bipeds walk curvy paths and not just cut threw the woods in a straight line.

Memorial Day Weekend

Well, we are heading off to my in-law's (well, technically, my Mother-in-law & Stepfather-in-law) for the weekend. They live in Garden, Michigan. It is a quaint little village; they actually live outside of town close to Fayette State Park. Fayette is a neat place to visit in the Upper Peninsula, best around the 4th of July or in early August during Fayette Heritage Day . In the past they have had tall ships come into the harbor area. They always have an old fashioned baseball game, where interpreters dress up as 19th-century players, plus other historical events and interpretations going on. The organizers do a great job.
My in-laws got a puppy recently, a lab mix of some kind. The boys will enjoy playing with the puppy this weekend. They lost their dog a few years ago and were waiting for the "right" dog to come into their lives. I guess they finally found one. It will be interesting, because we are bringing our dog down to visit too (with in-law's approval, of course). Sasha is a social dog and I think will be a good leader for the puppy.
I must return to packing...have a good weekend. :)

Dumbfounded..no other way to describe...

I was completely dumbfounded today, when Andrew tells me that he couldn't finish an essay test that he had today. He had to write an essay (3 - 4 sentences) on explain what a leader is/and does for community, or some such nonsense. I wasn't dumbfounded that he couldn't, having HFA, conceptualize what being a leader is, because for him, and many others in the spectrum, that is a fairly abstract concept (roles in society, or many similar ideas, even though they've been "taught" these roles in conventional education, does NOT mean they understand them. Many societal aspects of our culture, including communicating are lost on people with autism...THEY DO NOT GET IT!!!Not to say they never will, but don't assume) ; I was dumbfounded with his teacher for not allowing Andrew to be pulled out for this type of assignment. And here is why: Mies and I just sat in a meeting last Thursday, with his teacher, the principal, the school psychologist, the school speech therapist AND the ISD's autistic coordinator, about Andrew and what the school can do to allow him to succeed. Some major terms that were placed in his revised 504 plan were that he have writing assignments modified, that he be allowed as use of a "scribe" (i.e. an aid who he can give answers to orally and that person write down or once he expressed his ideas out loud someone to assist with formulating his ideas into sentences.), AND to be pulled out of the classroom and allowed EXTRA time on these type of assignments. Did his teacher allow for ANY of these modifications for him.....NO! And what do I hear, from my son, the minute I pick him up from school..and trust me folks, Andrew doesn't share much with us...that he had a "bad day", that he failed a writing test, that he's stupid and dumb. Well, isn't that the best thing your child can say to you about his day. So, instead of allowing him some kind of modification in an area he struggles in, he is set up to fail.
Now I can here some nay-sayers telling me that in life we need to know failure in order to learn from it, but what if that is ALL he is learning. Where is the positive, why did I sit there in that meeting with those people, only to hear that today it's the SAME OLD SHIT! This infuriates me. I've explained to his teacher, until I'm blue in the face, that one of the deficits (for lake of a better word, it is 2:12 AM people) for people with autism is socialization, the rules of socialization, the roles of socialization. These are things that for most people are learned early on in our lives. We learn as infants watching people interact with one another. But for those with autism, these things are not learned norms of behavior they are abstract ideas. They CAN be learned, but individuals on the spectrum need to work at it. It's is like they have a social disability. So, why can't his teacher understand this?
In order to prevent this from happening in the future, I found some books that I may have to purchase for the school. One book is by Paula Kluth titled, "You're Going to Love This Kid!": Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom. I may even make a bib. of books and websites for next years teacher, so she can review them over the summer. I know teachers don't have much time during the school year, but hopefully she can review some of the items over the summer. I didn't do this for Andrew this year, because his teacher, who has worked with him before, as a long term sub, and with after-school and summer programs, claimed she knew how to help him succeed. But as the year has progressed, I think she has failed him. And I can almost guarantee that she is aware of this, most insightful teachers are, but I cannot ASSUME.

Pictures from Mother's Day.

Mama..

I had a lovely Mother's Day this year. My hubby and the boys took me out for breakfast at the famous Suomi Restaurant in Houghton. Then we worked around the yard; planning our re-landscape for the summer. Lastly, it ended with a pint at the Keweenaw Brewing Company, then a dinner made by Mies. :)
I also applied for a part-time baker's assistant position at Suomi. I hope to get the job; I think it will be fun for a summer.

Meeting

As Mies and I are preparing for Andrew's new 504 Plan meeting, I keep coming across information to use for the meeting. We want to stress that Andrew is an intelligent young man, however he perceives the world differently then the "average" student and learns differently as well. I came across this quote from Jim Sinclair, from his article Don't Mourn for Us, way back in 1993 that is still a great guide today. Sinclair is describing what Mies and I feel to be true about our son, and what so many people miss when they speak of a "cure" for autism.
Here is the quote, "Autism isn't something a person has, or a "shell" that a person is trapped inside. There's no normal child hidden behind the autism. Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive; it colors every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion, and encounter, every aspect of existence. It is not possible to separate the autism from the person--and if it were possible, the person you'd have left would not be the same person you started with."

As a parent I did struggle with this for a long time. I did mourn not having a "normal" child, but really, in my heart, I couldn't love Andrew any better if he were "normal". He brings new meaning to my life and through him I've learned to look at things differently. He has broadened my view on the world and I cannot wait to watch him grow and change over the years, just as he is, as Andrew, my son.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! and some Liz Phair, too.

5 Foster's left

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
My kids are upset to learn that there are only 5 episodes of Fosters. Here is the link to my favorite episode! Because I am Franki and Mac in one, but my kids are Bloo and Cheese.
http://bububear.multiply.com/video/item/42/Fosters_Home_For_Imaginary_Friends_-_Mac_Daddy_Pt._1 (this part is jumbled)
http://bububear.multiply.com/video/item/43/Fosters_Home_For_Imaginary_Friends_-_Mac_Daddy_Pt._2 (this portion really reminds me of my boys) :)
The last portion, which also reminds me of my boys on some level. http://bububear.multiply.com/video/item/44

Last Day

Well, it is my last day at Finlandia University for FY 2008/2009. Now I'm "unemployed" until the end of August. I'm trying to find a summer job here in the Keweenaw and hopefully I can find something close to home and with a decent wage. So far, I've applied at three places.
It is hard since I'm competing with college kids who are coming home for the summer and also looking for work. I'll try econo-foods and Walmart (that one makes me shutter) next. And lastly, I'll look into BHK's Great Exploration Summer Program at Houghton Elementary, maybe I can help in some capacity--the only bad part of that job, is that my salary may be eaten up by childcare costs. *Sigh*

Happy Birthday, Mies

Today is Mies' birthday and he's under much stress, but wanted to let him know that I love him. He is my best friend and am happy to have him in my life.

Happy Birthday!

Weather went poo!

So much for the warmer weather; it's been snowing since yesterday!! This is what I woke up to. Yucky.

Warmer weather

It was nice to be out and about today; we are having unseasonably warm weather this week. Work has been busy, since it is the end of the semester and it seems the students need help with papers, etc. Plus, there is a huge backlog of cataloging to work on.
I'm having trouble deciding what I want to do when I "grow up". I'm not sure I want to stay with libraries, not that there is anything wrong with Librarianship or anything; it's just not exciting to me. My problem is, is that I get bored and want to find something "sexy" in a job, but what is a "sexy" job? Even if I had the most exciting job on the planet, I may still get bored. I just feel I have many ideas and energy and am not able to channel it. I also have too many interests. I love language, composition, history, cultural studies, education (reform) ...what does one do with all that? If anyone out there reads this and has an answer, please let me know.

I've had a cloudy day today, so I had to listen to this song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iknEJf9cPeY
I'm a closet fan of Earth, Wind and Fire. :) I guess, I'm out now. This song always makes me want to get up and dance. Today, I needed some cheering up and so, "September" popped into my head. My boys liked it too. This is their last day of Spring vacation and they are at each others throats; school cannot start up again soon enough.
I have three more weeks of work then my contract is up for this school year. I will then need to find a summer gig, somewhere! Not sure where to go, downtown is going to be torn up and it will hurt tourism and restaurants, etc. So, maybe waiting/tending is out of the question. Stay tuned.

Spring Break

My sons are off school this week for their spring break. We didn't get to go anywhere this year, mainly because my break didn't align with theirs. Mies and I are splitting our time in order to not have to pay for childcare. Since I work part-time anyway, he went to 3 part-time days and took off Thursday and Friday. On Thursday, he and the boys are going down to his Mom and Step-Dad's for the weekend and I (for the first time in 11 years) will be flying solo. I have made no plans as I just want some quiet time to do what I want and not have to be "Mom" for a few days.
I know that by Friday evening, when we usually have "Family Night" activities, I will be missing them horribly.

Out like a lion..

So, it is the last day of March and we're supposed to get 3 inches of snow. I'm not happy. I gave up on the shoveling thing sometime last February. I mean, what is the point. Some did melt in our little warm up a few weeks ago, causing the snow piles to shrink, slightly.

The men in my life (from 1/2007)

I love this picture, it was taken at Mies' father's place in Las Cruces, NM. I took it. They had been wrestling in the "grass" and playing with the soccer ball. It was a fun afternoon.
Knowing that I suffer from SAD, it is little things, like this photo, that help me get up and moving. Even though I may feel like I'm on autopilot, just surviving the day-to-day, there is always something that reminds me of what is important and the day goes on.
It is snowing today, the 27th of March, and I am having a hard day; I just want spring to come and the sun to shine. I need the sunshine. Even if it were cold, yet sunny I could bundle up and just sit in the sun, for as long as I could tolerate it, just to experience some of its warmth. That would help, especially now that our deck is relatively snow free, it may have an inch on it, which can be swept away, as opposed to feet of snow on the deck, which cannot be swept away. I could sit on the deck, all bundled, with my face to the sun, just for a few minutes even...that would help me this time of year. At least that is what I'm telling myself.

"Lonely Teardrops" playing in the background.

I'm not sure if it's the weather that is causing this (has been a LONG winter) or what, but lately I've been extremely homesick. I miss my family and friends. I did go to see my parents, my brother Paul, Celeste and the kids earlier this Month, but was so busy I didn't have a chance to see any friends. And now with things being as they are may not be able to go down to visit this summer. I only work on contract while classes are in session, and only for 25 hrs./week. I'm done here on May 1st and then not sure what to do. I may have to get a waitressing job, or something, to help make ends meet. If I do find work, then I'm not sure we can get away this summer. UGH!!!

Second post.
My oldest son has HFA and APD, he was diagnosed when he was 5 1/2 years old near the ending of his year of Young 5's; the process was not a pretty one. He went through all these IQ tests and other silly things and the report of dismal. Never expect him to do live independently, etc. So, we got another opinion. Since we live in a rural area, we had to travel over 500 miles to a specialist. Their testing procedure was much more child oriented, and although they came to the same conclusion, they said that with assistance through therapies and other agencies, our son would be fine. Now, 5 years later, he is doing well. Every year he seems to progress leaps and bounds. He has no issues with transitioning; seems laid back even. His speech is improving and so are his social skills. I've heard that once a child hit puberty they may regress slightly. Oh, the things to come.

Ok, so I'm new at this..here goes.
I'm working on some more difficult cataloging and needing a slight break from it. My eyes are crossing!
It's a new week, new adventures, wondering what kinds of things the boys will have to do today--school wise.
That's all for now. Lame, I know.