Weekend Trip

This weekend we took a Family trip with friends to Big Bear, CA.   It was BEAUTIFUL!!! Lately I have not been the most positive and happiest person.  To be honest I was not that thrilled for this trip.  My husband, kids and friends were ES-TACTIC.  So relentlessly I packed up the family, shopped for food, loaded the care and we all headed to the hills.

We were very blessed to stay in this great time share with friends and EVERYONE had a blast.  I have four children so too say my life is relaxing would mean my children are non-existent.  No matter where we are the requests for food, whining, etc... still come.  What am I to do?  I can't sit and pout, whine, or get annoyed (as I do sometimes).  I have to just go with it.  I am blessed that overall my children LOVE each other, are so happy to have one another and have a constant play mate.  These are a few of things that I remembered, and relized this weekend.  I only have my children for so long, so deal with it and enjoy it.  They did not choose to have 3 other siblings to each other they should'nt be punished in my attittude.  I am happy that we are able to take them places with four.  Yes it's challenging with K still young and still my cling-on and S's need for comfort when we go places but there are smiles that are on the faces and that is what matters. At the end of the night and during the day it was beyond words to watch them laugh with their friends and us adults enjoyed talking, playing board games, and having fun.   It was a very much needed time.

During the ride to Big Bear I managed to finish reading a Young Adult novel called Mockingbird by Kathryn Erksine.   It is about a young lady who has Aspergers.  Her brother's death causes her to search out Closure which she cannot quite understand.  The book is done through her point of view with her thinking a lot in her head about how people talk, interact, and what they do.  It gave me an interesting look into my daughters perspective on life.  The way she sees things and lead to a few topics on things that we have noticed and are trying to understand with S.   Super easy read for ages 9-12.

LIfe and Books

First I would like to note that this post has taken me FIVE DAYS


This three day weekend was busy, I took the kids to the FREEZING cold beach one day and the actual hot day we spent playing at home all day.  Things have had been up and down.  The norm I should say.  We had our adoption investigation for S and M.  A lady came to our house and interviewed me for about a half an hour while watching them play with Daddy outside.  After that they all came inside and met her where she asked Daddy about his work.  She then had S and M show her around the house.  She said that she would come again in a couple of weeks to speak one on one with S and M.  All in all I felt that it went very well.

This is the last break before Summer Break.  I am excited for this time to just do fun things and of course a little apprehensive.  I spent today enrolling S and J in Arts camp that will do Vocal Music, Hip-Hop Dance, and Drama.  J loves to watch plays and music.  However he could use a little help on the dance front.  I am hoping for some confidence in this area and that he doesn't focus so much on what others think. I guess that comes with his age as well.  I really think this is S's hidden talent.  She is very auditory and memorizes music like no one's business. I pray that she really enjoy's this and maybe it's something that we can pursue.  I also enrolled J in Basketball camp with his friends, this is something just for him that I think he needs. Enjoy your break from all of us J!

I went to the Barnes and Noble the other day to purchase some books to help me. Some of the books that I bought were Autism Acceptance for my oldest J to read with me.  It's focused toward elementary age children.  It has questions to answer to think about what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes, and also very good at explaining to him why certain things bother S.  He loves her and wants to play with her but the way that he expects her to play a lot of the time are very difficult for her(imagination play, rough play, etc..). The end result is usually frustration on his end. So far the little questions have helped to open up other questions that he may have.  I have found that learning acceptance in general is very good for him.  One of the sections that he is looking forward to is how to help or better explain things to S.

I also purchased Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes you Knew.  I have been looking for a simple read to give to family members close to S. To help them understand a little about exactly what it is, that she has. A lot of them only see S for short periods of time which she is able to hold it together. However, they are huge family members to us and I feel that it's important for them to have a good understanding.
One of the best things that I have read out of it is point 10: "If you are a Family member , please Love me unconditionally.  Banish thoughts like, "If he would just -" and "Why can't she-".  You did not fulfill every last expectation your parents had for you and you wouldn't like being constantly reminded of it.  I did not choose to have autism.  But remember that it is happening to me, not you.  Without your support, my chances of successful, self-reliant adulthood are slim.  With your support and guidance, the possibilities are broader than you might think.  I promise you - I am worth it." 
What a great thing for ALL of my children.  I do love them all unconditionally and they are all different for one another.  I can do this to all of them "Why can't he or she do this or be like that." this is something that I need to not do and accept them for  who they are, encouraging them in all that they are good at or what they love.

Next week is our Autism Evaluation for S. I am eager to get help on so many little things. One of the main problems lately is getting S to sleep.  SHE DOESN"T!!! She wakes around 5am every day, fights all naps no matter how exhausted she is and also bedtime.  She doesn't fight to go to bed for nighttime but doesn't fall asleep sometimes till 11pm.  I don't know how to get her to STAY in her bed without waking everyone.  She doesn't understand how her noise effects everyone.  She shares a room with her younger sister, which is why K always ends up in our bed in the middle of the night or just falls asleep in our bed.  ANY COMMENTS OR TIPS on this???