Baby steps for all of us...

Well we are home from school and soon will be headed to swim lessons. We did homework once we got home, that is our routine, and he did pretty good. Homework is almost always NO fun. I think it is very frustrating for him to not know how to do some things so he immediately wants to just not do it at all. That is hard to manage and can really test a mom's patience. I have to breath deep, remember he has challenges and try my best to work around it and help him get his work done. It's that fine line again. Am I asking too much?... too little?... Is he too frustrated? Is he capable and I am just not connecting? I do think he is capable but I do not want to push him to limits that make him never want to try again. It is such a tight rope to walk and find the right balance of pushing and backing off. AHHHHHHHHH! Oh well....he is obviously here to teach me a thing or two! haha...Now if I can just walk away and say "lesson learned" I'll be doing good. I really worry about school right now knowing he is behind. It scares me but I think once his IEP kicks in he will come along. At least I hope he will. He is very stubborn and hates to write, read and now math, which he did love last year, is going south fast. At least his arts are still very strong. I just want the best for him and I would love for him to succeed in school and finish college...am I slightly ahead of myself? haha....sorry, I to have dreams for him but I know he will be fine. He will be Greyson and only Greyson and I am sure he will be the best Greyson he can possibly be. It's the mom coming out I guess. Go figure... Well...we are off to swimming and he is sooo excited. He would be perfectly happy to swim, watch cartoons, play Nintendo DS, play with his friends, listen to music and/or draw all day. He sees no reason for any of that school stuff as he calls it. Maybe I can find a way to make it fun, but so far I am losing that battle. Maybe he is the next DaVinci or Michelangelo...

Alot of work ahead...

I fugured this pic appropriate since we love big man to the moon and back again. :) Well I just finished reading over all of the paperwork from our IEP meeting. It entails the school psychologist's evaluation, the Speech pathologists evaluation, and the IEP plan itself. We have alot of work ahead of us to help Greyson get to where he needs to be in reading, writing and math. He was doing well in math last year due to the visual methods the Montessori schools utilize for teaching math. I cannot help but think he is struggling some since there are some differences now. It will work out but I am still going to see if I can find some materials online that may help him. The evaluations he has had are extensive but really bring to light all of the challenges he does face. Without his teachers, therapists, the pathologist and us being fully on board it would be a nightmare for him. Each year could potentially put him further and further behind if no one is willing to recognize the things he needs in place of the normal to ensure his success. Thank goodness I think we are on our way to a much better year. The IEP may need some tweaking along the way since this is all new to us, but we will make it right for him. Michele and I just need to make sure we challenge him at home in the proper ways without letting him get too discouraged. That is so hard. I know I am bad about wanting to help him and I probably enable him at times. I know I need to work on that. He is a big boy now and needs to be a little more self sufficient. It will come for both of us. When you know something is not quite right with your child you really struggle between helping them and letting them learn the hard way. There is such a fine line there and I usually cave and cater to him. If Michele and I are guilty of anything it is definitely loving him tons and doing for him more than we should. After all, the best lessons for kids come when you force them to make their own decisions, have responsibilities, figure things out for themselves, and suffer some mistakes. Funny how hard that can be when it is time to do it. Let go of them and let them grow. I still worry so much about him and his future. I want the best for him education wise and I don't want it to have to be so difficult. The fact is though...it will be difficult, more so than with a child without disabilities. The good news is, he isn't alone and things could be worse. All it takes is to think about the world and all the others who are going through the same thing, or possibly worse, to put life into perspective. So... with that said...we all go along on our journey and hope for the best. We hope we are doing the things we should and fulfilling our life's purpose, we hope we have a positive effect on others, and we hope that when we do make mistakes that we can forgive ourselves and that others may do the same. (Good Lord...that sounded so "Grey's Anatomy")

I truly think most people are trying to do the best with what they have been dealt or given. We may not see it always, but until you know every one's story you can't really judge their journey or their decisions. Everyone has a story...and it surely effects who they are and how they conduct themselves. Knowing that can change the way you look at the world. I know Greyson's story has changed the way I see the world and myself. I don't always like what I see but isn't that what helps us change for the better and grow. Ah yes...looking in the mirror is always a challenge but it is necessary to become a better person. (...and to ensure that you morning hair hasn't become an entity all to itself!)

Well, I guess I am done for the night. Funny...I do not know how I got in this philosophical mood. I really need some sleep or something. Maybe more oxygen in my brain. I promise I have not been smoking any left handed cigarettes! Not since the 70's anyway!...haha (Although my friend Diane may beg to differ having a camping trip flashback) Good night to all...and ....buckle up for safety because I'll be back tomorrow.

Fun Saturday with brutha' from anutha' mutha' :)

Greyson had a great day yesterday, (Saturday, Sept. 27th). He hung out with Michele and I most of the morning...mostly playing games with momom. I had a wedding I was going to so I called Campbell's mom, Pam to see if they would meet Michele and Greyson at Monkey Joe's for a play date. They met over there around 2:30 to play and had a great time from what I hear. Greyson really misses Campbell. You see for those of you who do not know, Greyson left Countryside school to go to a new school this year. Campbell still goes to Greyson's old school and he and Greyson are very close. "Hooked at the hip" as some describe it. I am thankful that he got to see his buddy yesterday. It will do him good. He is doing well at his new school and really loves his teachers there. They love him as well which has made a huge difference for him. They see him as Michele and I have all along and that is wonderful. He also has made alot of friends there and at his old school he struggled greatly. He immediately had become a nuisance to most all of his classmates and there was nothing happening to help reverse that. I think the final weeks of the year there we were able to get some understanding from a few other parents and their children thanks to Susan. She is a wonderful parent of one of Greyson best girl friends there and a great friend. She wrote a letter to all of the parents explaining Greyson's diagnosis and what his challenges had been all year. I agreed to let her do that because I felt strongly that it was only right that the parents/kids know and at least try to understand what Greyson & our family was dealing with. He deserved that. He never was misbehaving maliciously, he just did not have the skill sets that most kids have instinctly to handle certain situations. If nothing else comes of that, My hopes are that those parents think twice before they quickly judge any child's actions. I hope they remember that the Montessori school prides itself on working with the individual child, not allowing any child to be singled out, and teaching the children how to work together building a sense of community and helping each other in all situations. Hopefully they will always do just that.

Autism is diagnosed in 1 out of every 150 children and could easily happen to any of them or their family members. The hardest part of Aspergers is they just look like they are being bad. They are smart and vocal and seem to have nothing wrong with them. Unfortunately, nothing could be farther from the truth and they need our help. Remember..."It takes a village" Thanks for being part of our village Susan. :) Things couldn't be better for Greyson right now! As is always true...All things happen for a reason. Getting Greyson a diagnosis and meeting you & your family must be the reasons we ended up there last year.

Now...back to the fun...Greyson had a great Saturday. I enjoyed my buddies son's wedding. and today...hopefully...we will just relax, watch some football, and be lazy. Tomorrow is another day. thanks for visiting us. Enjoy your Sunday....we will! Remember for those of you who want to join us....Team walkin'4greyson is going to be at Lowe's Motor Speedway for the big Walk for Autism next Saturday, October 4th at 8:30am....Walk starts at 10am....Come join us! We have t shirts for the first folks that come for the fun. It's gonna be soooo much fun!

IEP Meeting!!! :)

Today was IEP meeting day at our school. It was for Greyson to get his IEP in place. Let me start by saying, Yes...our son has Aspergers, but that is only part of who he is. He sometimes behaves inappropriately, but having Aspergers explains this behavior. Don't get us wrong though...it does not always excuse his behavior and we do what we have to do to find ways to help him understand how to make better choices in those moments where he slips or misunderstands people. Last year, once he was diagnosed, someone asked, "How do we know when it is Aspergers and when it is him behaving badly?" Well, he has Aspergers 24/7 and always will. He does not float in and out of it...Ignorance is always fun...especially now. Just remember when you are out there wondering why people or kids act the way they do...there may be a reason for their behavior and they may not always be able to help it. Thank goodness we have found a place that gets it...and what they don't get, they are more than willing to try to understand. Enough of my soap box...back to the subject at hand...
For the IEP meeting we met with the EC teacher, his regular class teacher, the speech therapist, the principal, and the school psychologist. What a wonderful place is all I have to say. We were there for around an hour and a half and they are more than willing to help Greyson with all of his challenges. What a loving atmosphere! The meeting was very enlightening for me and Michele since we had not had an evaluation from a speech therapist yet. What a great woman Ms Eileen is. She loves what she does, you can tell, and she is so excited about the things she can do to help Greyson prosper. I am really excited for him to be here with such a wonderful grouping of caring and loving individuals. The speech therapist explained that he has issues with pragmatics and she is really going to work on this with him. He gets 30 min once a week with her, 30 min once a week with another OT, and 3X's a week with the EC teacher to work on reading and math skills to try and bring him up to where he needs to be. They all seem to love him and think he will do well. They see what Michele and I have seen all along and that makes us feel great. He is a good boy and only has moments of inappropriate choices when he gets overwhelmed or has been triggered by something or someone. Alot of his inappropriate behaviors the speech therapist thinks, stem from his lack of pragmatic language skills. In other words he has a really hard time reading nonverbal cues. (e.g. body language, facial expressions, tone of voice and generally reading social situations) That makes his communication skills not sufficient for someone his age.

I think overall that the meeting went great and that they are on the right track as far as what needs to be done to ensure his success. They covered all things and we are extremely pleased with the outcome. Thank you CCS. What a blessing from above all of the teachers, specialists and staff are! Thanks Grandma Griffin...I know you had a hand in helping him end up at the right school this time around. One last thing before I check out tonight. Ms Susan, Greyson's EC teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer last week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. Please keep her in your thoughts as she will be having surgery next week. This has been an emotional time for the whole school since we have a very intimate group of families.
Thank you for visiting. We love & hugs to you all...Goodnight and try to stay away form the gas pumps! It is getting full on crazy out there.

Computer down...finally back to share. :)

Hello everyone...I apologize for being away for a few days....I hate not being able to share all of the fun with you all. My computer decided to give the blue screen of death so I panicked and bought a new one. Therefore....I have been patiently awaiting the data transfer. I did not lose too much so all is well I suppose. The old one was revived enough to let it be a great computer for Greyson.

He has been doing pretty good although he did have an incident at school where I had to go and speak with his teacher and pick him up. Once I got there and we talked I realized he has a boy at school in his room that together they are not a good mix. They feed off of each other...but not in a good way. I first noticed it when we helped with he gardening day at school and Greyson and I went to play at the playground with this boy and his mother. It was not good. Let's put it this way...I do not think they are good for each other and I could see Greyson getting in alot of trouble if he spent too much time with him. That said...the day he got in trouble guess who was in the mix with him....oh well...Hopefully he now understands that he cannot act that way regardless of what others are doing. Other than that he has been doing well and his teacher is well aware of the effect these two have on each other. Therefore she is going to work with us on a solution. She loves Greyson and does not want to see him getting off track. he is doing well there and we want to keep it that way. I am thankful they are so open and easy to talk to about what to do to improve or better an situation that may arise. that makes things so much easier for me and takes that sick feeling I had all last year away. Just knowing that they want to help him in any way possible makes me feel a world better. He has had a great few days...swimming and getting better each time he goes, OT appointments have been great, and school is coming along. we meet with the school psychologist tomorrow so we will find out what she has to say in her eval. He still isn't much on writing and reading but we are still working on that. He is a great boy and we love him dearly. He will succeed with our help and be fine as time goes on. Here's to you big man....love you to the whole wide world! You are a good boy...and quite the martial arts blue belt too.

Yardwork at CCS - :)

Michele, Greyson, and I went over to CCS to help with some yard work today. They are partnering with Giving Ground to plant some things in the side yard of the school. the children will help plant and nurture the plants as they grow. If all goes well the things they grow will help feed people in need. At least I think that is how it works from what I got out of the sporadic conversations. I was busy digging...haha We had a great time and Greyson's teacher was there along with some of his best friends from his class. The parents were really nice and there are quite a few kids with challenges as well so we shared stories, laughed, and dug some more. It was nice to hang out and get to know some of them better. After we left there I took big man to Mickey D's for a "mighty kids meal" and we headed to the house to wait for momom. We were going o the Festival in the Park...but decided to forgo the crowds and hordes of people that it brings. We stayed home and later headed out to Hickory Tavern to eat dinner. Greyson was treated to mac & cheese...you see he has been pretty much taken off of the mac & cheese so now he only gets it on occasion. We decide when that is. It is obvious though that when he eats that he does go into hyper drive. I need to make some other altercations to his diet and may solicit the help of a natural doctor I met at Berrybrook Farms, a natural store in Charlotte. I have spoken with her already, but all things come with a price so now I need to decide if we can afford to do what we need to do to bring her on board. We will see. any dietary changes for him will be hard since his palette is extremely limited. Alot of sensory issues are a work here so we will need to see what we can do. He needs more veggies and fruits back in his diet for sure. well...today we promised him we would go see Igor the new movie out. After that we will go to the Equal Families gathering at Reddy Creek Park for some fun...There he at least can see he is not alone in the world of having 2 mommies, or 2 daddies...i"It takes a village."...and whether the world likes it or not we are part of that village. and...truth be known...we are just as boring as the rest of you guys... Work, sleep and eat...repeat. haha If I told you any more I would have to kill you... Have a great day...will update tonight if my brain doesn't go into cramp mode. :)

CCS Spirit Week Ends...Last Night - Sad Boy

Today was the last day of Spirit week at school. Greyson got to school and to his surprise Ms Suzy was back. He was obviously excited because he ran up & hugged her. He loves Ms Suzy, his teacher. She has been great for him and we feel blessed to have her as his teacher this year. She had been out Tues. & Wed and he had a little moment at school where he claimed he had been bad and got into trouble. Let me back track for a moment...last night he burst into tears at bedtime because he said he had been bad and that he didn't like to be bad and he did not mean it. He said he had thrown something toward his friend at school. Yes...I know it sounds bad, but his teacher did not send any notes home or say anything so I am assuming it was not as bad as I was imagining. Hopefully not anyway. But he cried and cried and was sooo remorseful that I decided to talk with the therapist about it. Mr Mike thinks he is having some left over fears and reactions from school last year and I agree. Greyson tells us anytime he gets in the slightest bit of trouble that he is sorry and does not want to be a bad boy and that he doesn't mean to be. It is heart breaking to see. He told Michele one day that he is scared to do bad because he doesn't want to have to go to the principal's office where bad boys go. I just want to cry thinking about it. He spent almost his entire year at his school last year in the office away from his class. It never mattered why he did what he did or why he reacted the way he did...he was always at fault. Don't get me wrong...we do not condone bad behavior...but if others have behaved inappropriately then all of the children involved should be spoken to and taught the proper way to handle things. All kids and adults alike should take responsibility for their actions. If it seems I am still frustrated with the way his school handled things last year...then you are right. Mainly because my child is still suffering from the effects of feeling like he was a really bad boy, having to change schools, going through seemingly endless tests and evaluations, and this whole nightmare seems to crop up every now & again for him. Pardon me if I am cynical but I want him to just be happy little boy. For the most part he is, but it is those few moments...and thank goodness they are very few now....when he is having moments of fear, sadness and self doubt that will break your heart. Those moments are when I realize even more how disheartening his first year of school really was for him. It broke him down to some extent and we are helping him to build himself back. He doesn't talk to us much about his feelings but it comes out when we least expect it...like last night. Thank goodness for Mr Mike....he is there to help Greyson talk about those feelings he has deep inside and to work through things. Each day things are better and he is doing great. I just hate that he was sooo misunderstood in a school that claims to embrace each individual child and where things should have been handled much differently at times. Had they been handled properly, his self esteem would not have taken such a huge blow. Well its OK...close the door to the past and keep moving forward. We will be fine...I just want happiness for my son and when he has nights like last night...anyone could see there is a little boy in their still hurting at times. Time heals all things...and we have plenty of that for our beatle bug. We love you sweet guy...you aren't perfect, but you are our guy and we love you dearly. You are perfect for us and that is all that matters. Well...I better go and say goodnight...sorry for the venting tonight but last night I did not sleep. His pain is my pain and I wish I could make it go away...again...that's where time comes in. Goodnight all.

Purple & Gold School Colors...Spirit Week Day 4

Today was purple & gold day...CCS School colors. Greyson had a great day at school. He has been cracking Michele and I up lately with his antics. He is too funny. He sang all the way to school this am..just tunes from the movie "Surf's Up". He really can keep a tune once he hears it, unlike me, I struggle and should never sing unless I want to offend most everyone in ear shot of my lovely voice. But I digress...Greyson has a great voice and can carry a tune. I think he will do well in music if he will apply himself to something like that. Currently he is obsessed with winning the Cars racing game so he can buy the chick hicks car. Why I don't know....he jumps around with his obsessions so you never know what may be next. Normally it has something to do with a Disney movie or one similar. :) We will be going to bed soon...so...until tomorrow...Goodnight. I know it was short and sweet....but my brain is not cooperating...I promise more fun stories later.

Crazy Hair/Hat Day...Spirit Week continued...

Greyson had crazy hat day at school today. So....he was going to wear his straw cowboy hat until momom decided to suggest the ball cap that has the tootsie roll pop owl on it. It says, "How many licks does it take?" Well...I freaked needless to say...I bought the hat thinking it was funny. Momom did not see anything wrong with him wearing the hat while I on the other hand could not stop thinking about our lifestyle and how that "hat" could possibly be perceived. She claims I made it dirty...I think whoever created the darn hat meant for that to be part of the pun if you will. Well...Greyson sported the Tootsie Roll Pop Owl hat without any issues...thank God! I have my hat back....and hopefully we will not have this problem ever again. After school we came by the house...put away a few groceries I bought and then headed to OT. He did great at OT and had a very good session with Karissa. We then came home and went to swimming lessons where he is doing great. He is even diving off of the side of the pool. Unbelievable for him! He is still working on the nose thing but only holds it on occasion. Well...we keep moving right along...riding the wave and to be honest with you...here lately I feel like we are in the curl of the wave...you know...where every surfer wants to be...."in the tube". In other words...things feel good...they feel right...and for the first time in a long time...I am sure all is well and as it should be. Thanks for coming by...until tomorrow... sweet dreams! :)

PJ day of Spirit Week @ CCS...

I know I know...this darn cat...first it was the swimming lessons and showing off...now it is taking part in the PJ day at CCS. I just don't get it and neither do those of you who haven't been following along...oh well...go back to the beginning and it will all come together. Until then...just have a laugh...it's a cat in pajamas for God's sake!
PJ Day at school (Spirit Week) went over OK although I think Greyson nearly froze to death since he had on only underwear with boxer shorts and a "t" shirt. He was more concerned that I did not give him ice cream money. I do have to say though that he handles little "faux pas" like that much better than he used to. We actually get a second chance to do better next time now. haha I already put 50 cent in for tomorrow for ice cream. He should be good to go! :) he had martial arts tonight and wore his new blue belt. I am a little concerned that he may still be a little immature to move up but I am keeping my fingers crossed. He did much better with his jumping jacks tonight and was more coordinated than he usually is. I think he is coming along in those areas quite well. He has just become quite a guy here lately...his new school and all of his activities are really helping him come into his own very well. Hang onto your hats folks...Greyson Griffin-Roberts is almost ready to take on the world! For now...he'll tackle 2nd grade at CCS...what a wonderful place! hats off to all of the teachers and staff there. We could not have asked for a bigger blessing for him or a better place to grow into a young man. Thank you grandma Griffin for your gift from heaven...I know you are watching after us.;) I'll be talking to you soon. Hugs & love to all that came by.

Spirit Week at CCS - Inside Out Day

Greyson had inside out day today at school. It is spirit week and each day is a new adventure. He got to wear his clothes inside out. Needless to say once he got home he decided that inside out day was the worst day ever. you see...kids with sensory issues don't take kindly to weird wacky stuff or new ways of doing business all the time. I am just shocked he let it go all day without changing back to his regular right side out. he had me wanting to crack up at home because he took off his socks and screamed..."You see this....You see? (His feet had imprints from his socks being turned inside out) Inside out day is the worst day ever!" I said, "OK...we won't do it ever again." He exclaimed, "Good!" haha....oh well....he did give it a whirl and lasted all day...until he saw the pattern of his socks pressed into his little feet....that was the straw! Tomorrow..is pajama day...I'll keep you posted but that should not be an issue...I don't think. :) We head off to swimming lesson in a minute. he is doing great and loves his instructor. Look out Michael Phelps! The "G man" is in training! He came home today and did his homework like a champ. He still isn't much on reading but he is doing better. He has even been using his glasses at school some. Hooray! Well...we are off to swimming soon so I will check out for the night. Tomorrow I will update you all on PJ Day...Go Cheetahs!

wedding Shower #2 - Greyson paints a wall in his room

I drove to Raleigh this am to see my sister and attend the second bridal shower for her. As most of you know that is not quite my comfort zone but my sister is getting married and I have to put on my big girl panties...haha Greyson was sad and wanted me to stay but it is good for he a momom to have some QT together. He did fine with momom and helped her around the house. He had been promised to be able to paint a wall in his room so they went and bought paint and he went to town. (see picture) :) He did a great job and wanted his favorite buddies, Alvin & the Chipmunks so...that is what he painted. He did a great job don't you think? We are trying to nurture that awesome side of him that is so creative so we decided he could paint the room. He loved it and obviously did a wonderful job of it. He is proud and so are we. His new school focuses on the arts as well so he is definitely in heaven. I cam home today around 9:30am and he nearly squeezed the life out of me. I do think he missed me as much as I missed him and momom. I did have a great visit with Aunt Cham though. Even if I was out of my comfort zone and in straight woman's heaven. She has really great friends that love her and are very supportive. I am glad since our family, just like all others, has its quirks and we aren't always the best at communicating, nurturing, and being there for one another. I do love her though and wish her all the best. Today...I am hanging out with Greyson and Shel, eating some chili, and watching the game on TV. LAZY is good on Sunday you know! thanks for coming by guys...have a great Sunday. :)

Congratulations B...You are a Blue belt now!

Greyson had a great week at school. Today they had their first early dismissal at 1pm. He loved that. we headed home and then to get his hair cut. He did great at the salon and after that we headed back home to rest up for his belt test. At 5:00 we were off to MATI to watch him test for his next belt...blue belt. He did great and by 6pm had passed onto the next level of his martial arts. He is know a blue belt entering into the black belt program where he will get to spare. we bought his gear on Thursday and a huge bag to hold it all. He is sooo proud of it. We are proud of him as well as he has come so far just in the last few months. He is really blossoming as his therapist said. we found a school that totally embraces him and is working well with his challenges. they could not be nicer there and more supportive. What a difference it has made in all of our lives. I can't tell you how much it means just to go to pick him up at school and not be in tears like I was last year. I knew my son was not a bad kid. Yes he has moments as any child does, and yes he has times when his sensory issues or his anxiety & frustration get the best of him, but he is easily re-directed and not that hard to handle. He is just Greyson and that is fine with us. He is one of a kind, quite eccentric and an extremely unique fellow. Ya gotta love a guy like that! and boy we do.....

Congratulations big man. You are well on your way to a black belt growing by leaps and bounds each day. Well...its time to call it a night....Good night to all and sweet dreams. Love & Hugs form our family to yours. :)

thank you...thank you... thank you....

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Walk for Autism. We are very excited that we have raised quite a bit more money than we had anticipated and that is great. I have had to up the goal three times now. Yeah Team Walkin'4greyson! We have shirts ordered that we are going to sport on our walk too. They are lime green with navy letters....it's gonna be a blast! Greyson has had a great day but is tired and having a meltdown now. When this happens he becomes very clingy and he was not nice to momom earlier which hurt her feelings. He wasn't listening and he tends to yell at her once his frustration reaches maximum level. Right now things are beyond his limit and he is sooo needy and hooked at my right hip. so....I better go to take care of things....Tomorrow we visit a new dentist that deals well with Aspergers, ADHD, and developmental disorders...that being said...I am sure I will have great material for you tomorrow evening. Imagine that! Love and many thanks to our extended family & friends as always...we love you all tons!

Monday...Monday....

Well...another Monday came and went. we had some drama after school due to doing school homework and somehow it caused a flash back to last year. He soooo hated doing his homework, and I sooo hated being there to force his hand in doing it. I have always tried to be patient, calm and collected and help him through the things that are tough for him but it is hard at times. I know he has a high level of frustration so I am glad his new school keeps his homework to a minimum. He has a really hard time with his writing and his reading but we are working on it. I have noticed math is a little harder now that he no longer has the wonderful Montessori math tools at this disposal. Montessori math makes math great for those of us who are more visual. If the schools would adapt some to their methods they may be able to capture an entirely new group of math junkies who normally do not quite grasp the concepts. I helps make sense of it all for those of us that are stronger int he arts if you will. Diane...let's work on a method that utilizes some of the Montessori ways but works in the mainstream schools...what do ya' think sister? I think it would work! well...back to my sons plight....he got through his homework yesterday, but not without a fight. I sat him down and explained in the "mother voice" that we would not have the same kind of day on Tuesday or anymore for that matter. He agreed and we moved forward from our struggle.

It's Tuesday...and guess what...he came home and did his spelling words without any fussing. Amen to that...can I get a witness! Sorry...I got a little carried away. Imagine that? We have Martial arts tonight and he is getting ready to test for his blue belt. He is moving up in his martial arts and soon will be in sparing class. Could be interesting but I know he needs to be there.

We are also collecting donations for our Walk for Autism. there is a link down below on this site if any of you would like to donate to our team, "Walkin'4greyson". Michele was lagging behind but with one email got a huge donation that put her ahead of Greyson and I. Bummer.... :) just kidding...we welcome and are thankful for all of our donations and thank all of you who have already donated to the cause. We even got ourselves some t shirts coming....we are official. Well....thank you all for coming to visit. It means the world to us to share our story, our laughs, and our tears. Hugs to you all until next time.

Going to the Cabarrus County Fair

wew....hew...today Michele, Greyson and I went to the Cabbarrus County Fair for some fun, rides, and greasy food. Not to mention it is a great place to possibly spot one of Americas Most Wanted. I watched last night....just in case I might spot one of the fugitives. Those rewards would really come in handy right about now! haha... Anyway, in all seriousness, we went there to have a great time riding the rides and eating all that healthy food they have to offer. Got to keep up our girlish figures you know. Greyson had a great time riding the caterpillar roller coaster, and some other thing that spun him around. He rode both of them twice. Michele and I watched and she got yelled at by a "carni" with that wonderful smoker's/heavy drinker's voice and an eye that looked off into never never land for sitting/leaning on his booth of stuffed animals. "Don't seat thar yuh gonna bend thuh bars." Greyson then wanted to ride that really loud Himalayan ride that goes round and round really fast. Not mine or Michele's cup of tea...so we recruited some nice little girl in line to ride with him saving one of us a barfing episode in public. :) Thank goodness for Isabell! Funny thing though...we are watching him spin, hold his ears, and look totally over it due to the ride being louder than a jet at takeoff when we noticed that his pal Emma was there riding. Had we been a few moments earlier he could have shared a spot with her. We chatted with Emma's mom and then went our separate ways. We took him over to see the livestock and he was totally over that poop smell as he calls it. He was worried to death he may step in some. we found a less smelly area with baby ducks and watched them slide down this ramp with water dribbling on it. He loved those little ducks and we almost never got him away from them. We ate the gourmet "carni" food at a cost that would have gotten us a meal at Chris's Ruth Steak House....but I'm not bitter and do not want to give that impression. WE all three rode the Farris wheel after that, which I am terrified of, so...I just don't look and act like I love it for Greyson's sake. Otherwise he would panic. Riding on any "carni" ride doesn't thrill me in anyway since they probably throw that stuff together half drunk and I am sure there are very few safety checks. not my cup o' tea I tell you. But it is important to go after the Saturday night airing of AMW...it's similar to playing the lottery but your chances are much better of finding one of those loser's and getting some reward money! Well friends....have fun at the fair if you go! We did!

Hello Friends...

Well...it's been a feew days since I logged on. I have been a little slack here lately I guess with alot going on. Greyson is still doing well in school. We met with the teacher, principal, and EC teacher this past week to get his IEP going. He seems to love his new school, classmates, and his teacher. Ms Suzy is the best at working with him. He is sooo cute and has explained to me that he is now in love with another littel girl in his class. He wrote her a love note covered in hearts the other day and gave her his faorite surfboard necklace. He said sometimes they hold hands. We tried to tell him he is too young to worry about a girl friend but he will have none of that. :) Oh well...he seems to have alot of friends there so that means the world to me. this week was sooo hectic that I totally missed his OT appointment. I was so mad with myself. On a higher note...I did accomplish and take care of alot of things that were hanging over us. Hopefully Michele and I can head in another direction now as it has seemed lately we have been caught in a vortex of bad luck. I think now we finally broke free and can move forward again. It has been crazy and if I told you all of it you would think I made most of it up. No need dweeling on negative when there is so much to be happy and thankful for. I know the detours in life are there for a reason but that doen't make them fun all the time! Buckle up for safety huh?! Greyson is going to his friend Drews brithday party today to swim and play. Michele is being fix it girl...and I am being mommy watch me swim... Later I think we should fire up the grill and hang out with some beers in hand. It doesn't do much for my girlish figure by it does sometimes help my pyschy! haha...Love to all....The Autism walk is coming up in October...Saturday the 4th to be exact. Please feel free to join us as we would love to have you all there. It is at Lowe's Motor Speedway at 10am...3 laps of fun and lots of smiles.... here is the site if you want to check it out.
http://www.walknowforautism.org/c.inJIKMNmFiG/b.3621593/siteapps/teampage/ShowPage.aspx?c=inJIKMNmFiG&b=3621593&sid=crJKJSNzFdJTJ2NDKrE

Hugs :)

Chocolate Twisted Frosty please!

Have I told you all that when a kid has Aspergers it can make your life a real joy! Especially when you think you are doing something good...like stopping for ice cream at Wendy's after school only to have it cause major drama for a few seconds. Ok...here it is in a nut shell. I stop at Wendy's for ice cream and I see they have the new "twisted frosty". The picture shows vanilla with either Oreos or cookie dough, and a chocolate one with m&ms. Well...I order the M&M's twisted frosty, pay for it, grab it and drive away while handing it to Greyson. No where on the picture board did it say I needed to specify my flavor of ice cream...they had pictures of what the darn thing should look like! Needless to say the one we received was vanilla with m&ms so Greyson has a melt down while I am trying to talk to my girl Diane...yes...I was multitasking believe it or not. I had to hang up because he was destroyed that the twisted frosty wasn't chocolate. ahhhhhhhhh! You would think by now that I would know how things work with him but I somehow failed today. I did redeem myself by calming him down quickly and he decided it wasn't that bad after all. Thank goodness. Can't those folks at Wendy's be more specific! Don't put pictures if they are not accurate...it freaks out the abby normals of the world! :)

We later went to martial arts where Greyson got his fourth stripe so he is slated to receive his blue belt. He has done so well there so we are going to enroll him in a 28 month program there hoping he can continue his growth and success. Thank you Master Hartsell for all you do for these kids. Your work is greatly appreciated.

A weekend of Camping

Well...We have been gone for a few days so here is the recap of our holiday weekend camping in Lake Lure. We left on Friday around lunch time to head out to meet a huge group of our friends, most of which also have kids, at River Creek Campground. we arrived and got our tent up without any problems. yes it was a little warm for my taste to be outside living...but I did fine. all of our group filtered in and by nightfall most everyone was there and playing in the waters of the river. Thank goodness it was not very high so the kids could stand easily and it saved me from becoming full on neurotic. Greyson did really well during the day but by nightfall he was really worn out and did not last long. Therefore one of us always had to go lay down with him. Not to worry...I had no problem passing out early myself. The nights were at least cool and sleeping was not too bad. I do prefer some air and my own bathroom but what's a few days roughing it for the good... :) Momom hung out for while on Friday with the girls while Greyson and I watched a movie and then fell off to sleep. The next day, Saturday, a crowd of them took off to go tubing. I did not think that would be a good idea for Greyson since the trip is 2 hours long so we played in the water with him there at the campsite. That worked out great since over 4 hours later they returned form their outing. Seems the place was a bit further than they originally anticipated. Good call on our part to keep Greyson where he was. He may have really been literally done if we had driven that far and then had a 2 hour trip floating along. Not to mention that they did have some slight drama in the currents and had to help a few people. Someone siad they had no life jackets available for the kids either...not my idea of fun...sorry if you think I'm crazy but...I'm good with crazy. My kid is not traumatized and he had fun where he was...all of us the better for it. :) After our group of tubers returned it was time to eat the Boston butts "skippy" had prepared and cooked all day slowly. YummY! "Skippy" is grill master at our big camp out and we love her! You rock "skippy"! we all ate the wonderful meal together as one big happy extended family...I bet there were at least 30 to 40 people there! That's alot of women with kids and no men. The other campers must wonder how that all works huh? Gotta love it! Later Saturday night my man was again ready for bed early. Too much playing, swimming, swinging, etc. for one boy to handle. Poor guy was on overload. He had a few incidents with some of the other kids but nothing major. He can only handle so much stimulus before he starts to fall apart. At that point he normally comes to find one or both of us and wants to head to bed. Michele and I did get some time with our friends though and that was nice. I still find myself thinking and worrying that people think we are too lenient on him or that we are not handling certain situations properly and it is frustrating at times. I think it is mostly in my head though. Who knows...I just know how frustrating it is to have a sweet guy who seems, by most accounts, perfectly normal but in some situations can have such a hard time or be so challenged. I am his mommy so I guess I will always have those little mommy moments where I want it all to be easier for him. So shoot me....Sunday we got up and the girls were going in shifts to go horseback riding with the kids in tow. We did that last year and from Greyson's reaction i am not sure he would ever get on a horse again. he did it last year but not without protest. So....with that said, we again opted to stay at the campsite and we had a blast fishing, swimming, chilling out, and eating some. So let's go back to the fishing...Greyson had his Scooby Do fishing rod, very expensive and well made as you can just imagine, and we were hanging out on the rocks catching the "big ones". He left to go get himself a Gatorade and mommy Lynn decides to cast the line out while he is gone. May I remind you all...Greyson does not like change and is very attached to anything that has been labeled "his". Now...i press the button and flick the rod and the whole dang reel, the top, and the button fly off into the water and I am left holding the shell of what used to be his "Scooby Do" pro fishing rod. (the same one used by Bill Dance I am sure...Isn't he a pro fisherman?) whatever...So now I am in a full on panic, Michele walks back up while I am scrambling to retrieve the pieces of the dang reel, and I say....help me I broke this thing. She runs over and we get it all back together with the exception of the button which now, God rest its soul, is in the bottom of that river. (I suppose.) There is the Scooby Do rod with a gaping hole in the front where the "magic" casting button used to be. Needless to say...I was on the Poo list for a while. Michele did rush over to the camp office and saved me by buying a shinny new red rod and red reel...Red is his favorite color....Somehow we both managed our way through the Scooby Do rod drama. This time she bought the real thing...pardon the pun....not a Scooby Do Pro Series rod. So...we got through that, and manged to hang out the rest of the day having fun and riding the river. That night Greyson even tried a marshmallow since they were making s'mores by the camp fire. it didn't last long in there but he did try it so that is a plus. He just wanted all the chocolate and none of the other stuff. We did let him have 2 small bites of chocolate and that was the end of it. 9 ways to Sunday in a tent is not a good thing, therefore we did have the sense not to let him eat tons of chocolate that night. Unfortunately...a thunder storm cut the campfire short. Greyson was scared to death and whimpered and cried most of the night. When he wasn't crying in his sleep he was tossing and turning and very restless. All of the events of the past few days along with the thunder and lightening sent him and his sensory challenges through the roof. Poor guy....he cried big crocodile tears and said, "I need to go to my cats, they miss me." he was so pitiful so I just hugged him tight till he fell off to sleep. It was a hard night for him though. It at least stopped raining after about an hour or two but he still was fully ready to go back to his city as he calls it. When the skyline is in view and we are driving he yells,"Look mommy Lynn, its our city!" It is cute. Sorry I digress...we made it through the thunder storm and woke up Monday morn ready to come home. We packed up our gear, got everything ready to go and then went to take showers. In the shower room he was constantly, the whole weekend, looking to ensure no spiders were anywhere around. if he saw one, and he did, we had to move to another shower and/or bathroom stall.
Thank goodness he wasn't with me on one of the trips down the river when my girl Stephanie had some big black spider jump onto her shoulder. She shushed it off and it landed on her leg, I then panicked and threw water on her to knock it off. She was in a blow up boat and we thought it was gone until she moved and it crawled back up her leg. It was the size of a 50 cent piece or bigger legs and all. Ahhhhhhhh! We all nearly drowned trying to get away for that thing!

Well...that's the readers digest version believe it or not....you girls who know me well ask me about my 4am encounter in the bathhouse with the oriental lady...creepy I tell you. I was speed walkin' back to my tent.