I just finished a book called A Child’s Journey Out of Autism by Leeann Whiffen. It was a great book, depressing in the beginning…and slightly depressing in the end because he started off worse than Silas..way worse…then ended up better than where Silas is at this age…but oh well. We’ll get there. They started intervention at two years old.
Anyway, she has this great way of explaining things and I wanted to share a few things with you. I wish I had thought to highlight everything great I saw…but I didn’t.
oooo just wait…Silas said something funny just now.
Silas just said “I go pee pee all by myself mama!!”
and I said “good job Silas you rock”
and he said “rock and roll mama!!”
he he he he he.
ANYWAY
here’s a quote I love.
“We see glimpses of progress-some big, some small. Sometimes we never see it again. Other times it becomes part of his progression. It is like a piece of gold in the water. When the sun is positioned just right, it catches the metallic color and glistens so that we can see it. Otherwise, it looks like just another rock on the bottom of the riverbed.”
That’s the perfect way of explaining the progress of autism. I remember feeling that, a year ago, when life was hell for us. He had hardly any language and then out of the blue it’s like the sun would catch the glimmer and he’d do something profound only to go back into the world of autism moments later.
As I was finishing the book I came across this quote which made me slap my hand over my mouth, giggle, then cry my eyes out.
“‘Clay you’re my star.” I emphasize every word. I feel my throat close off. He continues looking at me in the eyes. ”mom you are my triangle’”
Silas and I had that EXACT same moment about a year or so ago. I said to him “Silas I love you with all of my heart” and then he said “I love you with all of my circle”. He had no clue what we were talking about, he thought we were talking shapes, but you know what? I’ll take it. I laughed my face off and I still do every time he says that. He can love me with all of his whatever-the-heck-he-wants.
I haven’t wanted to talk about autism much on here and I don’t know why. I guess I feel like no one wants to hear about it…but I’ve decided I don’t care…this is where I journal my life and so this is where I need to write about it.
Perhaps I’ll be like Leeann Whiffen and write my own autism book one day.
MyFriendRichard is known as the BlackBerry expert at the company where we both work. I also have the privilege of carpooling with MyFriendRichard. Which is convenient when I have BlackBerry questions. Not sure if MyFriendRichard finds it convenient (we still haven’t determined if discussing work is polite in carpool or not – personally, I think it’s fine when I am the one asking for help/favours).
MyFriendRichard and I have recently been discussing the new law restricting cell phone use while driving. The new law has created several stressors for the driving population (not including the two people in North America who don’t have a mobile phone. “These people don’t exist,” you say; however, these two individuals are personal friends of mine, so I know for a fact that they exist and I also know that they don’t appreciate being accused of non-existence).
The first stressor caused by the new law is the financial burden of purchasing a wireless hands-free Bluetooth enabled ear piece. People are having to skip lunch for at least a day or two in order to afford this piece of critical equipment.
Another stressor is the fashion burden that wearing such a device brings. Not everyone fits into the demographic that finds bionic borg-like devices attractive (one of my sisters calls her a “Dork-Tooth”).
MyFriendRichard provides a hands-free suggestion that many may find helpful; he demonstrates below:
MyFriendRichard's Hands-Free Tech Tip
It’s important that the cap you use has tie straps that will secure the cap firmly under the chin or it’s unlikely your phone will stay in place. In the event that an appropriate cap is not available, a large rubber band may also be used.
Stay tuned for more of “MyFriendRichard’s Tech Tips”.
Please note: the author of this blog nor MyFriendRichard will assume any liability should this hands-free system prove inadequate.
No one wants to hear that their kid is average. They want to hear the big words like “better, best, greatest, most bestest ever”. But hearing this word on Monday COMPLETELY rocked my world.
Almost a year ago my son Silas was diagnosed with autism. The doctor used words like “retarded”, and “non verbal” when it came to speech. A grim diagnosis, perhaps one that would make one lose hope.
I remember the speech therapist trying to assess him. She had numbers on her little pictures and all he wanted to do was look at them instead of looking at the pictures and answering her questions. He quickly grew frustrated, ran to the opposite side of the room and began smashing his head on the wall. Through sad eyes she said it’s impossible to finish her assessment but she’s sure he’s showing autistic like tendencies and his speech isn’t where it should be, from what she could hear.
Six months later I took my Silas back to the same women, seeking help for his speech. I was tired of waiting for the government issued person to call and I had some money set aside for him. She was able to do a speech assessment this time which is already an improvement.
On Monday I got the report! I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Sentence structure – mild delay
Word structure – average
Expressive Vocabulary – moderate delay
Concepts and Following Directions – average
Recalling Sentences – average
Basic Concepts – ABOVE AVERAGE!
Yes, my little boy who, 6 months prior, had been deemed “retarded” in speech is now more average than delayed. It’s been another 4 months since that assessment…I wonder where he is now? I just know his sentences are getting longer, more abstract, more conversational, more complex and more imaginative. Gosh, it was just this summer when he first addressed me as “Mommy”. It was just this summer where he started asking for things properly as opposed to echoing. It was just this fall where he talked back to me the first time and my heart did a backflip and a little cheer. It was just a few weeks ago where he said “mommy, my oatmeal needs to go back into the freezer because it’s still too hot”.
I’ve never had no hope for Silas. I’ve never thought he’d not lose his autism diagnosis one day. He’s going to. It’s not like I even have to hope for it, I know this so deep within my core that it’s something much more than hope. It’s happening.
These test scores just go to show what an amazing little boy I have the privilege of mothering. He’s becoming average and you know, that’s ok with me.
I have big dreams, a head full of ideas, a gazillion links to things I’m interested in making, doing, experiencing. But January seems to be a month for coming home from work and going PLOP. It’s either PLOP on the couch or PLOP in front of Facebook or PLOP in bed with a book.
There’s some stuff I reallyneed to do – like our 2008 income tax returns. But the PLOP keeps getting me … and nothing gets accomplished.
Last night, I decided to overcome the PLOP and do something. It’s not really something that needed done, but I thought that a small success might give me energy to overcome the PLOP and go on to do the important things … like our 2008 income tax returns.
I have no idea if my plan will work, but I’m really pleased with how this one little project turned out..
It’s a placemat for my little Maddie, a 7 month old Chihuahua. The *poor thing* was eating out of dishes placed directly on the floor. Oh, the hardships dogs must face!
This is inspired by both the Towel Rug and the Beach Blanket To Go in Amanda Soule’s book, Handmade Home. I don’t own the book, but I borrowed it from the library awhile back and both projects stuck in my head. By the way, I LOVE Amanda’s blog and books. Handmade Home is about repurposing old materials – a passion of mine. And here’s a neat Flickr group featuring other peoples’ pictures of projects they’ve made from the book.
Maddie’s placemat is made from scraps of fabric, stitched together and backed with an old towel. I’ve never done mitered corners before, nor have I ever cut my own bias tape – so that was all fun fun fun.
I really like how it turned out. And it looks great with Maddie’s little dishes, which I found at my favourite thrift store. Love them!
What’s all this?
A vintage towel for backing and mitered bias tape corners!
Yes I’ve been missing…hibernating…sulking in the darkness.
I had so much fun over Christmas and then, upon getting home, the inevitable sets in and I’m in the post Christmas blues. Normal day to day life feels awkward and weird, pondering why on earth I do life this way. Sulking about not having my mommy to help me (and Jennie’s entire clan and Juliet and Mark and Jilly and Cornelius) out anymore.
So that’s where I’ve been…yes please call me the wambulance…I need to whine some more.
While on the subject of whining. MY BUM BUM HURRRRRTTTSSSS
I had a great idea over Christmas to go snowboarding with Brent. I haven’t gone for like eight years, I had gone about 6 times my first year of college and I had learned to carve and I just loved it soooo much. So snowboarding we went.
I forgot that snowboarding actually required muscles…and a body that’s in relatively good shape…
We got to the top of the hill and my body had forgotten how to carve. It took me about twenty minutes to get into the swing of things again. I landed on my bum sooooo many times and it was fine but then near the end I landed on such an angle, and on such hard snow that it took my breath away.
Being as competative as I am, I couldn’t let Brent see my weakness. I don’t like being someone who’d give up, I don’t like being a party pooper and I don’t like looking stupid. So up I stood to try again and again and soon I was carving in the snow…too fast but I was too prideful to not keep up to my husband, who, never had a problem remembering how to carve…at all.
It wasn’t even close to being the best snowboarding day of my life. My boots hurt me to the point where i wanted to cry by the bottom of the hill…too tight. So I had to fix that and then once i had good boots and I was able to carve and enjoy the hill…well…my legs were killing me. Ya…that whole in shape thing.
It was still fun though. I was proud of myself for being stubborn enough to just go for it despite the fact that I was terrified…I HAD to keep up to my husband. It’s because I have an older brother that I had to keep up with so he’d think I was still cool.
So now my bum hurts, a lot. It’s been like two weeks since I fell and it hurts pretty much the same now as it did the day I hurt it. I hate tail bone injuries. They last FOREVER!!! So I’m going to whine about my my bum for the next few years and you just gotta take it okay?
Today is just a grumpy day. Silas is grumpy, he’s beating on me. Grumpy grumpy grump grump.
We spent the past week at the parents’ house, in weather that fluctuated between about -20° and -8° Celsius (that’s about 4° to 17° Fahrenheit). There was enough snow to do a bit of sledding and cross-country skiing, but not really that much.
Maddie (my Chihuahua) isn’t exactly a snow dog, but she survived. She learned to go potty quickly. She’d still try to explore, but when her paws got too cold, she’d freeze in place, making squeaking sounds and alternately lifting paws. We took her for a couple walks … in our coat . We’d put her down for a minute and she’d truck along happily and then all of a sudden freeze in place. We’d then put her in our coat for awhile to warm her up and then she’d do another little walk. So silly.
I’d giggle when we passed people on the trail while Maddie was walking, because I think they were probably wondering if we were nuts for having such a wee little mite out in that weather.
We avoid clothes for her, unless they’re necessary. Dog boots are ridiculously expensive and we thought they were silly, but after this last week we might have to look into them. I found some patterns on-line, so I might try and make some.
But this video has me wondering how Maddie will handle them. She looks almost exactly like this doggy. I can’t stop watching this – it makes me giggle.
Christmas shopping has been a total bust this year. I just haven’t had my heart in it. Hubs and I usually go away for a weekend in December and do the shopping then, but that didn’t happen this year and it threw me right off my groove.
So, I’ve decided to get a head start for future years…
My sister Jules (am I allowed to use her real name?) loves goats. Baby goats are her favourite. But she hates goat cheese (irrelevent). Anyhow, her busy lifestyle doesn’t have room for any goats, but I thought she might enjoy one of these.
I can’t decide between the white one and the black one. White symbolizes purity and innocence – which are good things. But the black one has just the sweetest expression.
And what’s the most amazing about these beautiful stuffed creatures, is that they’re REAL!
“All of the animals I have to mount have died naturally (such as the lambs and goat kids) or are road-kills. I am not an activist, but so long as plenty of fresh, mountable specimens are available to me without needing to hunt them, I prefer to make use of them. I like to think it’s a very ethical form of taxidermy.”
If you’re interested in doing some of your own advance Christmas shopping, there are squirrels, skunks, and even unicorns available here.
Now that I’ve taken care of my sister … let’s move on to my brother-in-law. He’s been wanting another tattoo, and what would be better than a tattoo designed by his sister-in-law … of his sister-in-law’s eyes (my best feature).
I think it’s quite lovely. Your welcome Brent.
My other brother-in-law should be quite simple. He’s a mountain biker and they like fingerless gloves. When I went shopping for some of these fancy items, I found these:
Well, it would be silly to spend money on such a thing – when I have experience making something very similar:
I’ll just add some felt or something to make them more sturdy.
And while I’m crocheting, I’m thinking my brother Andy could use some hand-made goodness to keep his rifles warm and toasty. (I know, that’s just silly – but a case to keep them from getting scratched would indeed be practical and appreciated). But I can only find an example of a hand gun cozy online:
I’ll have to improvise to make Andy’s rifle cozy.
Well, it feels really good to have gotten a head start on next year’s shopping. If you see any other great ideas, feel free to let me know!
Since it’s the holiday season and people are out shopping, I thought I’d talk about the products I’ve seen around that I just don’t understand, nor do I think one should buy them…for anyone…including themselves…or their hated ones. Pardon the layout…apparently wordpress forgot html…I swear it’s not my fault.
10. The Snuggie. You know the nights when you’re trying to read a book, watch TV or talk on the phone and your blanket just WONT stay in place? Those pesky blankets are just too much to handle and cope with. So these smart smart people came up with the Snuggie. Apparently we all need to fork out some dough for something that is, essentially, a backwards robe. I guess turning up the heat, putting on warmer clothes or actually learning HOW to use a blanket are out of the question…
9. Smelly Laundry Soap, especially the ones labeled “fresh scent”. You see, I’ve figure out a secret. You can actually wash your clothes, in the washing machine, without any stinky stuff and voila, it smells…..guess….FRESH!! Weird huh? Who would have thought fresh clothes would smell fresh? I mean, the craziness of it all. The irony. The madness.
who
woulda
thunkit?
I dunno but next time you wanna smell fresh, just make the clothes fresh…because when they’re clean…you know.
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8. The Bumpit. This one makes me giggle. Mostly because you look really silly with your hair like that. Ya ya ya ya body is nice but c’mon…look at that bump!! I admit I have been tempted to buy this product, just for curiosities sake. But can it really work? Can it stay put in your hair? I highly doubt it. I just imagine women with their bumps so high having a bump at the bottom of their scalp at the end of the night. Now THAT’s glamour. You can get loads more bumpit goodness at bumpitsightings.com which cracks me up. Also, if you know what’s good for you, you must read this blog post about the bumpit and how she found out they’re not edible…kills me.
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7. This one is a beaut. You’ll just have to watch the video. My favorite quote being “a one of a kind spiritual accessory”. *gag*
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6. This one SOUNDS fantastic. I mean, it seems like a good idea. right? It nicely files your dogs nails down for a perfect pedicure look. Easy peasey eggs and cheesy.
Think again…
I had the pleasure of trying out this product at a friends house. I may have had a few too many and, at first glance, I may have mistaken it for some sort of self pleasuring device. Once realizing what it was, I stumbled ran over to their beautiful English Bulldog and tried it out on his nail.
The motor revved, my excitement grew.
I pressed it to his nail and EEERRRCCCHHH. It just stopped on it. I then brought it to the owner, making a joke about the self pleasure thing (because I have a big mouth), and told him it needed batteries. Nope. It just doesn’t work. Don’t buy it.
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5. This next one we’re going to have to give a warning for. Lets just say it’s rated R…or X. Don’t Click Here if you are easily offended…because it’s kinda weird…not dirty…but…ya…But DO Click Here if you’d like a good laugh…and you have a good sense of humour.
Now that the disclaimer is done…lets talk about this…thing. Essentially, it’s a pendent of your own vulva. You can send this woman a photo of your clitoris and labias and she will then make you a VERY realistic looking pendant of it. And then…what? We wear this around our necks?? Like in public? Our own vaginas out there for everyone to see? “Hi nice to meet you, I’m Leah and here’s my vulva”. Perfect conversation piece right? “Oh yes I got it from etsy, she did such a good job making it look just.like.mine!”
Can you imagine if you came across someone who was wearing one of those? Is it rude to stare? Is there a way to politely look with without gawking at them? I don’t know the etiquitte for looking at someone’s huhu strapped to their neck. Any ideas?
If you’re planning on getting one you may need to wait a while. They’re sold out. Someone thinks it’s a great idea. Again I find myself curiously wanting to buy one.
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4. The Tiddy Bear is wrong on SO many levels. “tiddy” is surprisingly close to the word “titty” which is a word some people use to describe someone’s breasts. Unfortunately this bear is also placed face down into a woman’s chest in the commercial. Can’t they somehow make him face up at least?
Also, what the crap is so uncomfortable about a seat belt anyway? Just put it on and quit yer whining!!
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3. I want to do the Comfort Wipe for this one…but I don’t want to be to cliche here. I’ll do something else…this one really gets me. Bratz. I know your daughters go gaa gaa over them. I know they’r like “soooo cool” but lets take a moment and use our brains here. THESE are the image your daughters are seeing as beautiful. Anorexic, creepy-looking weirdo dolls with freakishly long legs and feet, laden with hoochiemama makeup and so much hair that if you wanted to look that way your head would be falling off from the massive expensive weave you’ll be paying for. And well…every girl has cat eyes…right.
give
me
a
break!
How is this good for our little girls? How? Unless you want them to act like her, her or these girls….perhaps you should think twice about letting these whorish little figurines into your home. Like us women don’t have enough trouble feeling beautiful, these completely unrealistic dolls are sure to bring loads and loads more insecurity issues to your daughter. What a FABULOUS idea. Beauty before brains. Yesssss.
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2. This one just makes me chuckle, and gladly not too many people have them. Some of you know how I feel about “pimped rides” aka vehicles with crazy body work done, blinky lights, fancy rims and insanely large spoilers that’ll make any man look like he’s compensating for something. The one thing they do that just does me in…you know those rims they put on that spin? So when they’re driving the tires don’t look like their spinning at all and when they stop they spin like crazy…or something like that. I’ve seen both.
The funny part is that they never work. So Mr Chachy is in his car with the base thumpin and he’s all like “i’m so cool” and one of his dumb rims is kinda spinning, one is stuck, one is spinning backwards and the other is spinning at super fast speeds. So cool because like…it spins. People in Africa are starving but my rims [kinda] spin so I’m like…DA BOMB.
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1. OOOO I’ve been anticipating this one with much excitement. I saw this on TV last week and I thought they were joking. I can’t believe it’s serious. It’s just so FUNNY! The others were in no particular order but I just saved this for last for the very point of highlighting the amazing stupidity of it.
You all remember Chia Pets right? An animal thingy you spread seeds on and it grows “hair” and it’s like…kinda cool. CHI CHI CHI CHIA! Rockin.
You know those odd security checks that pop up here and there on the Internet? The ones where you have to type in some random letters or words? They are designed to prevent spammers from automating their spam – if they make the words barely legible to humans, hopefully a comuter program won’t be smart enough to recognize the words – computer programs can’t make the creative jumps that the human brain can. Anyhoo – I’m sure there’s a wiki article that can explain this better than I can, so I’m not sure why I’m bothering. [break for research]
Of course there’s a wiki article. It’s called CAPTCHA. Read about it here and report back to me if you did as told.
My CAPTCHA
Well, look what showed up while I was spamming someone the other day with FarmVille gifts or some such thing! Totally random.
Isn’t it just the cutest? I think it might be what I title my autobiography, Oftenest Jennie.
I wouldn’t have thunk that oftenest was a word, but apparently it is. And now that I’ve seen it, I’ve come to realize that it’s a good word. It’s a word that you’d use to describe the frequency at which someone brings cheesecake to a potluck. Or the comparative periodicity at which they give you Starbucks gift cards.
This little CAPTCHA made me happy all day long and continues to make me happy. Likely, it speaks to the commonplace nature of my name, which I’ve never been that thrilled about. I graduated high school with 8 Jennifers. There’s 4 Jennifers in my office. But not many abbreviate themselves with the spelling I use, Jennie.
My dad pointed out this spelling to me in grade 2 or 3. He’d seen it on a cashier’s name badge and thought it was cute. He told his little Jenny about it and she instantly became Jennie. She probably dotted the i with a heart … but I don’t remember for sure. Many of my family members still spell it the old way.
Where am I going with this? Um, actually, I think I’m done. I really just wanted to show you my CAPTCHA.
Now, we all know the old standby’s like plopping them in front of the TV, computer and video games. We all also know that’s frowned upon on many levels…even though we all still kinda do it.
Brent came up with this magnificent game that requires us to simply lay there and snuggle one child at a time. It gets them both exercise and keeps them engaged for up to an hour!
Now I must mention, if you’re the type of person who is anal and needs your children to play games “properly”, this isn’t the game for you. You might as well plop them back in front of barney and get back to that good book of yours, or your internet boyfriend…or whatever you do when they’re there….I do many “non-things” when mine are there.
So first you find a cozy spot in your child’s room in the dark. Have the children go downstairs and count. Once they reach the number (they chose it…sometimes Silas counts past 100) they yell “READY OR NOT HERE I COME!!” or Ikey says “REWEE OR NAWT HEEERREE I C…kdfn” then you hear the “thump thump thump” of their cute little feet coming towards you. They come in to the dark room and you yell “ROAR”. They squeal and run back downstairs to do it all over again.
We usually let the kids go one at a time while the other “hides” with us…which means we get a snuggle. If both kids go together bad things happen…like someone gets pushed down the stairs or Ikey gets a knife off the counter top and impales Silas with it…or Silas feeds Ikey dog food…(none of that has actually ever happened…cuz we make them go one at a time).
When laying there waiting, and the wait can be a very long time (Ikey gets distracted), you can snuggle and snuffle your child as much as you want to…because it’s a “game” so they just lay there with you. You can also just close your eyes and snooze. I enjoy whispering sweet nothing’s into their ears and trying to manipulate them into kissing me…along with the snoozing bit.
Now you can let them go together, sometimes one of us zones out on the couch to make sure no blood, fire or death happens when they come downstairs. Or Sometimes Brent and I hide together and we get to sometimes even make out when playing with only one child…which is always fun.
There you have it…the laziest way to engage your children….almost easier than flicking on that TV!!
. We’d put her down for a minute and she’d truck along happily and then all of a sudden freeze in place. We’d then put her in our coat for awhile to warm her up and then she’d do another little walk. So silly.
You know the nights when you’re trying to read a book, watch TV or talk on the phone and your blanket just WONT stay in place? Those pesky blankets are just too much to handle and cope with. So these smart smart people came up with the Snuggie. Apparently we all need to fork out some dough for something that is, essentially, a backwards robe. I guess turning up the heat, putting on warmer clothes or actually learning HOW to use a blanket are out of the question…
This one SOUNDS fantastic. I mean, it seems like a good idea. right? It nicely files your dogs nails down for a perfect pedicure look. Easy peasey eggs and cheesy.
is wrong on SO many levels. “tiddy” is surprisingly close to the word “titty” which is a word some people use to describe someone’s breasts. Unfortunately this bear is also placed face down into a woman’s chest in the commercial. Can’t they somehow make him face up at least?
Bratz. I know your daughters go gaa gaa over them. I know they’r like “soooo cool” but lets take a moment and use our brains here. THESE are the image your daughters are seeing as beautiful. Anorexic, creepy-looking weirdo dolls with freakishly long legs and feet, laden with hoochiemama makeup and so much hair that if you wanted to look that way your head would be falling off from the massive expensive weave you’ll be paying for. And well…every girl has cat eyes…right.
