Rehersal Day for the Wedding

Today we had a bridesmaid luncheon scheduled at a cafe' here in Raleigh. My sister when we got to her home was obviously out of sorts. I could tell last night she wasn't quite right but this morning it was really obvious. Mom got worried Cham was not wanting her around so I reminded her that Cham had alot going on with the wedding and all of the guests she has staying at their house. I told her that this is Cham's time and it's all about her. She is just stressed with things getting closer to the actual wedding and all. Cham just doesn't have the time or the patience to be trying to make sure mom is fine right now. I told mom Cham has to be worried about herself and the wedding right now and not to take anything personally. Hopefully all will be well through tomorrow...i think the whole wedding stuff is just too much drama. Hell....get married at the JoP, save all the money, and later throw a big party/reception for friends and family. Drama...not so much my thing but whatever....

We came back to the Hotel and rested and later headed out to meet Joy....the Nazi wedding planner. She found no humor in me or Cham's buddies that are bridesmaids...we actually have a sense of humor. Joy does not. I actually called her Hoy a couple of times sense she has been mispronouncing my sister's name since she met her. I finally explained how Cham should be pronounced to her and the pastor so I think they get it now...I don't know. When we got done practicing we headed towards the restaurant for dinner. Paula, Karen, Tiffany and I had wigs on for Halloween...the rest of the party kinda stared at us but it was all in Halloween fun...Cham loved it. I stood out since I had a rainbow Afro wig...the other girls were the ladies of darkness...they all had black wigs. We had fun and laughed most of the night. It was fun but my sister is in full zombie mode given she had been up since 6am doing alot of stuff and tending to her guests. She is now in moms hotel room spending the night. I had I promised to hang out with them but she wanted to go right to bed so I am in here blogging away.

Greyson and Michele went trick or treating tonight. It was up in the air for a while but they went and had a good time. Greyson was tired so they will be up tomorrow for the wedding. I think he did fine and he dressed up like Peter Pan. He claimed to have gotten lots of candy which he does not need. Hopefully momom will help him eat most of it. :)

I guess I should try to get some sleep as well...Good night all. By the way...I have more stories...not to be aired here. When you see me, they will come. :)

Drivin' Miss Daisy...

Well today was Thursday and I had to get all my ducks in a row for my sister's wedding. She is getting married on Saturday and so I drove my mom up to Raleigh today. Before we left I had to take care of Greyson and ensure he wouldn't be too freaked out at my leaving. So....I went to meet him at Imaginon where his class was watching Billy Jonas and brought him lunch. I got there and the show had run late...so...I ended up taking him with me after the show was over. we went to the hair salon where Michele picked him up to take him to the house. I met them there later after my quaff was did! haha...Mom showed up and I sprung a surprise on her. I took her to see Greyson at karate class. Hopefully it did not rock her world. :) After he was done we headed to Raleigh...I drove us since it was going to be later when we arrived. we got here safely but I am sitting here late drinking beer and missing my family. Funny how I do not know what I would do without either one of those sweet people. I love them dearly...not to be too sappy as Michele would say. Sappy Lynn....yes I am sappy...that is one reason she loves me so no matter what she says! :) We are here and we have lots of events to attend while we are here. I have lots of lessons to be learned...I already found that out on my first night. It's OK though...I will figure it all out. Family...it is a beautiful yet complicated thing huh? and to make it even more fun we all have degrees of dysfunction to deal with...It is all about the love...we all have the "stuff"...but the love overrides it all, or at least you hope it does. Well...I think I have had one too many...2 was all it took to take me out and put me into laalaa land... goodnight friends and family....Night #1 is ending...but the fun is just starting...stay tuned...News @ 11!!!!! hugs....kisses...and lots of love to you all!

Hump Day at Casa de Griffin-Roberts

Greyson had a rough day at school yesterday trying to control himself. He had to go to the office several times and finally Ms Maureen called me so I could speak with him. He is still trying to decompress from his trip I think. Not keeping his schedule gets him out of sorts but hopefully he will be able to get himself together today. He had swimming last night which always helps him get back his calm. Right now he needs his calm back really badly! He did great at swimming and we headed back home to get our bath and go to bed. He slept better and even laughed and talked in his sleep. No nightmares thank goodness. Today he has a fresh start at school and goes to see Billy Jonas at Imaginon. He is excited and I will meet him afterwards for lunch. I am leaving for Raleigh tonight so I am trying to spend as much time with him early as I can. He is a sweet guy...we just need to work some more on his self control. If he starts laughing he has a hard time getting himself back together. He has some buddies at school that he finds to be quite amusing and we are trying to explain that he has to be careful of laughing at others. It can be disruptive to his class and if he can't stop then he will end up getting in trouble with his teacher. He will get it eventually. He wants friends badly and sometimes he sacrifices the wrong things to get them. Hang in there beatle...we love you. I will be back tonight but for now I am checking out. Gotta run some errands.

We're Back....and now for the rest of the story...

Well, we made it back form Ohio. We played it by ear and as we figured....Greyson was overwhelmed and ready to come home by Sunday evening. That's fine with us as we have discovered, as most families have, that 3 days is the max we can stay there and still be sane. Imagine that. You see, Michele's sister has 4 kids all under age 11 and her brother has 4 around the same age. Needless to say when we go they all converge on grandmas which turns grandmas home into a 3 ring circus. Greyson can be found at times just staring into the TV not talking to anyone. He ends up staying up past midnight almost nightly. That's OK though since we are there to play with cousins, but it does wreak havoc on him. It isn't pretty and usually after a few days he is almost a zombie from all of the stimulation and sensory overload.

This trip was interesting due to his 11 year old cousin Mackie and her 4H projects. Let me start at the beginning. Michele's sister Nicole, husband, and 4 kids live on about 80 acres there in Ohio not to far from her parents. Mackie her daughter, and the oldest of the 4, is now involved in Barrel racing and 4H. Her first project in 4H was a hog she raised and it sold for 2nd highest price at the fair. Little did they know what that hog went through getting to the fair. You see...Mackie and her dad were taking the hog to the fair when unbeknownst to them it jumped...yes...I said jumped....out of the trailer, fell onto the road and into a ditch. They got to the fair, backed the trailer up and said we're here to deliver this hog. The guys at the fair said, "What hog, there is no hog in here." To their surprise there was no hog and they had no idea where it was. It was in there when they left. They back tracked and found a crowd of people surrounding a hog in a ditch with a slight case of road rash. Yes....it was their hog! Go figure. So they loaded it up and headed back. This story ended well as I said before. The hog brought the 2nd highest price, for those of you who know about this stuff. I myself am a city slicker and I know nothing about farms. Now, we go up there this weekend and her latest 4H project, an approx. 400lb steer, has somehow escaped it's pen and is running around their land which backs up to 500 more acres. Therefore it has free rain of a huge area of wide open space to roam. Nicole said they almost had it corned at one point but it scratched its hoof on the ground and snorted at her so she just left it there. Haha...hell I would have left it there too. I'm not in for wrestling any farm animals, especially the big ones. NOT! So long story longer....Sunday was round up the entire township, friends, family, and anyone who volunteered to help to find, lasso, and bring this damn thing home. We headed up to there house to witness the fun. Nicole cooked a huge pot of chili with cornbread and desserts for all of the volunteers and they had a bring Howie home party. (Howie is the steer) They found Howie at a neighbors and one of the guys lassoed him and got him into the trailer. The guy that lassoed Howie was a "real cowboy"...seriously....I was impressed. The drove Howie home and he was brought out of the trailer and put back in his pin. Not without a fight though. He knocked around about 6 big guys getting him back in that pin. Howie was pissed to say the least. Now...to add some fun to this story...they also have fainting goats at their house. You know the ones that when you startle them they fall over stiff and lay there until they can get up again. They have some sort of genetic disorder that causes their muscles to stiffen when startled. It's hysterical!

We also carved pumpkins on Sunday with all the cousins and had a great time. Greyson was a little out of sorts because they had alot of Halloween decorations that screamed and yelled or sang when you walked by. They had big fake spiders everywhere and webs. Those things scare him to death so Sunday night he slept none and had tons of nightmares. It is really sad to me that we have to guard every little thing like that for him. It totally freaks him out and unfortunately Halloween is Michele's favorite holiday if you will. He on the other hand would be happy to never go out. He even had the only silly happy face pumpkin...Here is a picture of his pumpkin.

I have plenty of other stories too concerning our trip. Especially with Greyson and how he just is painfully honest. He actually asked Michele's brother when he and his family were going to leave on Saturday night because he wanted to eat his sucker. You see, all Greyson understood was, I cannot have it since there are not enough of them for everyone, therefore, they need to leave...problem solved! Haha...Funny...but not funny. Michele and I laughed about it though since her brother and his wife have been unkind to us in the past. (We aren't living right you know!) (You know, the whole...hand basket condo gig) How did I get here, and what am I doing in this hand basket? Most people know me well enough to know, if you think like that...You'll get there before me....so bring some marshmallows! :) Gotta love it. Greyson also rode his cousins 4 wheeler. That is big for him, and unfortunately, he even flipped it. I nearly was having a heart attack but I maintained. I ran over to him in a internal panic because he was not moving and was face down in the grass. I got to him just as he jumped up screaming to the top of his lungs, "That was awesome!" Seriously kid....what the hell is that all about! I needed the paddles of shock, (portable defibrillator), by that point! Clear! Rampart... we have a victim here... female approximately 46 years of age, eyes bugging out and pupils dilated, crazy curly hair turning white before our eyes, mumbling uncontrolably...ETA...15 minutes. Can't you just see it. You see, I have decided that God, along with my grandmother Griffin, are up in heaven laughing hysterically at the fact that one minute Greyson is clinging to my leg like he will never have the courage to break free and the next minute he is flying off of a 4 wheeler in mid air like a rag doll and then jumping up after playing dead for what seemed to be 30 minutes to an hour screaming..."That was awesome!" He is some cruel joke my family has sprung upon me and Michele to assist us in areas such as patience & self control. In the humor area I needed no help so I do get the humor in all of this...Thank God! Funny does not even begin to describe some of what happens at our house. If I wrote it all for you I would have a book. Now there's an idea. ("Ass-Burgers"...It's not just for breakfast anymore!) Haha Good night friends...I have lots o' sleepin' to do! Sweet dreams to all.

Playing in Ohio and chasing down the steer...

We arrived in Ohio late Friday night thanks to a wreck that happened on I-77. The road had gone down to 1 lane due to construction and someone decided it would be a good place to have a slight bump up. Which resulted in the interstate halting to a complete standstill until the troopers could get in there and clear the way for them to move off the road...we sat on the Interstate for an hour with the truck off waiting to move...loved it. Oh well....life is fun complete with speed humps. Ride the wave!

So...we are here and I am sorry I haven't checked in yet. We have been up until 12am each night playing with cousins and doing the do. Greyson has been somewhat out of sorts but not too bad. we are heading down to his cousins home today, Michele's sister's, to help them wrangle up the steer that got loose. Mackie, her daughter, bought the steer for her 4H project and it broke free the other day before we got here. So....a bunch of "hunter gatherer's" and cowboys are coming to help get it back home. Can you guys see us now? Seriously? I think we are there to just cheer them on. :) Nicole is cooking chili for all the steer wranglers....it should be fun. We will play a lot and have some fun and hopefully get Mackie's steer back before the day is out. i will check back in tonight to update you guys on what is happened. Greyson is well...tired but doing fine. Talk to you tonight.

Getting ready to go to Ohio...

Michele, Greyson and I are getting ready to go to Ohio to visit family there. That will be nice since we do not get to go up that way much. We will stay for a few days but we know Greyson has about a 3 day limit...well I guess we are all ready to come home after that anyway. He had a good day today and I got to talk with Ms Suzy some this morning about his progress. I worry sometimes about his reading abilities and his comprehension. She made me feel better about things even though I know he is still behind. We do try to offer up reading and encourage it at home but it is hard. The whole thing is discouraging to him but we will always try to do what we can. We went to see Mr Mike and he thinks Greyson is still doing well. Greyson says himself he is doing "10,000%", (his words), better and is feeling good about himself. Mr Mike says the last time he asked that was last year. Greyson rated himself at "0" and said he was bad and dumb. He was the same Aspie boy that he is now....except for feeling like he could do nothing right ever. Nothing has changed except for his school environment so I find it hard to believe that they thought he was the sole problem last year. Sad as far as I am concerned. How do you take a child and allow for their self esteem and self worth to be destroyed in a school where you claim to embrace the individual child, community and diversity? A school where you are supposed to teach children about differences and not to pick on, ridicule, or bully people who are different from yourself.

I know I have to let that go...it's the past and we are in a much better place now but I still have issues with how that ever happened. I wonder whose child will be next? I find it sad, extremely sad. I met Pam for coffee today and she is probably traumatized by me. I get really passionate at times talking about what happened to Greyson last year. As we had coffee and she told me about school I felt like I was reliving some of what happened and having to explain why it makes me crazy. More so now because I just recently found out through his therapy how devastated his self esteem and spirit was after spending almost every day in the office as "the bad boy". Hind site is 20/20 but I am mad I even let it get as far as it did. I have alot of guilt from it as well since I picked what I thought would be the best place for him. And...yes....I know the whole..."Montessori isn't for everybody" Well...here's my thoughts on that. I know Greyson needs a little more structure than his environment last year provided but bottom line is....his original teacher allowed him to become a target that the rest of his class laughed at, told he was wrong, etc...etc... When he would feel cornered, and react inappropriately, he would be removed to calm down. Pardon me but personally I feel that sent a message very early on to him that he was bad, dumb, and unworthy of being cared about there. Had they taken the time to tell the other kids that they shouldn't yell at him when he made a mistake or accidentally knocked something over he probably wouldn't have had the outbursts he had. At some point he became the child they watched and expected to do the wrong thing. They never thought he was capable of anything other than bad things. What a great positive message for a child to learn. I am still paying for therapy for that message to be erased. Thank God, and CCS, we are well on our way. If you wonder why I am on this rampage long after we have moved on, it is because some of the leftover damage crops up every now and again on days like today...therapy day. It causes you to sort of relive some of that pain and frustration all over again. The good news is...we are on our way to a Greyson who believes in himself again. You see he is a fragile guy because getting him to talk about how much this stuff hurt him is next to impossible thanks to the Aspergers. Feelings and emotions are not his thing. It is coming out little by little though. Like today when he told Mike that going to the office so much last year made him really sad...alot sad he said. As his mother...hearing those words out of his mouth broke my heart. Knowing I let them tell me his downfalls daily at pickup while he sat in the car with me makes me even sadder. Almost sick...No more...It's all good. We will learn from this and be better people for it...I hope they can do the same.

The Day After...

Well our cat Carly passed yesterday and Greyson was pretty upset. My sweet boy has turned into "blue bear". Unfortunately he does not talk about it or want to talk about it which always worries me. Why? Because I am the one who never shuts up...I have no problem discussing my feelings but Greyson on the other hand, will always have a hard time with it. Mainly because with Aspergers that is one of the things they do not relate to. Feelings, emotions, relating to others....therefore he basically said, "He just didn't want to talk about Carly's death." That doesn't negate his sadness though...it is there. It is painfully there. I worry because I don't want him to continue holding these things in since it may not be very beneficial in the long run. Hopefully Mr Mike can help him work through it. today we went to OT and Greyson had a great day there. He worked on alot of different things including tying his shoes, eating and trying new foods, upper body work, swinging, trampoline work...etc.... After that we headed to his favorite thing...swimming lessons. He did well there too. I cannot get enough of watching him float. I don;t even know how to explain it to you all except that I see it in him. He truly has peace when he is floating and/or under water. He loves it you can tell. I could watch that for hours...just seeing him at peace makes my heart smile. It is like all the things that go on in the world are just too much for him. Sensory overload to the extreme and he does not have any defences against it. When he can tune it out his whole world becomes at peace and he is calm at last. I so love that....I would give him that every day all day if I could. Until them.... I will give him swimming....over and over again if I have to. Peace sweet boy...I love you being at peace. Not for me...I love it for you. Your peace is my peace. We love you sweet boy...it's time for bed now. Good night and sweet dreams.

Goodbye to Carly...

Well Michele and Greyson were left to their own devices today as I had signed up for a seminar with the Institute for Advanced Results. As far as I know they seemed to do fine. He said he had a great day at school and at the moment I have no reason to believe otherwise. I was at the seminar and it was great. Thank you KB for the opportunity to go. I really did not have the money to afford it but it definitely was worth the cost. Even if I did have to pinch some pennies. Funny how the message they gave follows right along with everything I am reading, studying ,or have run across in these past few months...do you think someone is trying to tell me something? haha...they basically in a nut shell said, "It's not the situations that the are presented to us but how we perceive and handle them that make our world." Choose you words wisely, work on communication as it is the key to successful relationships regardless of what kind, and remember...Everyone has a story so never be too quick to judge. Gotta love that. This company is in the coaching business if you will and they are phenomenal in my opinion. It's all so common sense but never easy to follow day to day. Problem is...we all need to follow along and try to improve ourselves. Life presents us with defining moments, that instant when a small event changes your life. Our lives are shaped by these miraculous moments and they always leave you with a gift...a lesson to take with you if you will. Don't miss these lessons...the can shape us into much better people spiritually, mentally, and physically. Well enough of my ranting. Greyson is having a great day with one exception. We lost our cat Carly today to old age. That poor cat was at least 23 to 25 years of age if not older. Greyson was upset and would not talk much about it. He wanted to be left alone. Kids like Greyson, Aspies, do not express feelings or emotions very well so things like that are hard on them. I hugged him alot and he just kept saying he wanted to get another kitty. He had tears in his eyes because Michele took him out to see Carly before she buried her. I hope he will be OK but we will see. our other cat Gabby seems a little out of sorts as well. It is very sad but we knew she would be going soon. She was so old and very feeble. Goodbye Carly, you will be missed in our family. We loved you tons...to the whole wide world to be exact.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.....

I headed out to pick Greyson up today and was a bit early so I sat in the car and watched his class play kick ball on the field next to his school. Let me tell you that was a trip. I was really proud because he actually was doing well playing and interacting. Much better than I have seen at other times depending on what he is playing and how well he understands the game. He stopped the ball that was kicked really hard and threw it to get someone out several times. He is having trouble with his aim though and got called out for hitting someone in the head. The kid had kinda ducked expecting the ball so I really do not think it was intentional. They still have to remind them that heads are not targets which is good. I am thankful for that. :) The teacher did tell Greyson he was doing great and Greyson responded by saying,"I know, right?"....That cracked me up as I sat in the car awaiting his arrival.
I was amused by one of his classmates too...he burped for the entire time they were out there...seriously....loud, really loud burps. The PE teacher even called him Sir burps alot (but not in a mean way)...Maybe this is something he does on a regular basis...I don't know. At one point the PE teacher had to pause to tell the boy to get off of his leg. The little boy sat down on the field and wrapped himself around the teachers leg tightly. It is obvious that Greyson isn't the only guy with challenges. He has several in his room but that is to be expected since the school is known for having a way with these kids. Thank goodness for the school and the teachers who work here. They are the best and I see they have their hands full. Anyway...after the game it is dismissal time. He came back into the school...got his bag and headed back out to the car. We went home and got busy on homework. you know, sometimes I feel a little panicked that we are not doing enough to ensure he is keeping up. He is supposed to read 20 minutes a night which rarely happens. I am trying to enforce it better right after school but he has alot of frustration when it comes to reading and writing. I am going to try to find ways to make it more interesting and do better about encouraging him to read on his own. Somehow we have failed thus far. But we keep trying. Unfortunately it probably seems we are not doing enough at home or at least I feel that way. Neither Michele or I wants him to fall behind to the point he has to repeat but I cannot hold him down and force him to read or write...I just hope we can keep trying and at some point succeed in helping him to find a love for it. I am constantly running ideas past him about what we could read etc....First it was science he decided upon...today he says to me...mom, I am done with the science OK? Well...thank goodness I ignored him and started reading to him out of his children's encyclopedia. He actually enjoyed it I think. I am going to do it each day in hopes I can talk him into reading some too. Eventually I may crack him...who knows? For a while we read every Star Wars book available, but that was last year....and believe me, I really do not want to read anymore of those. I will if I have too though. Whatever it takes. I see great improvement in him but Now I worry more about the academics. Maybe I am expecting too much too soon....I don't know. We shall see. Good night friends...you guys are the best and we love ya'. Hugs....

Where's Greyson?

Today was interesting to say the least. Greyson was in rare form starting right before we went to the Park. I think he was just extremely tired because I did not notice anything else that would have triggered his behavior. He was so uncooperative about anything before we left that I was not sure we should even go but we did. He is just so jumpy and touchy about some things lately, mostly because he is scared of everything here at Halloween. He has mild panic attacks about being left alone or going in this room or that room alone...etc, etc. It is insane at times but we try to be as understanding as possible when he gets this way. We went on to the Park to meet with the other parents "like us" and got there just after 1pm. Greyson had a great time but I know he has some things going on because after playing great for a while with some of the other kids he was suddenly off by himself staring at the trees in the park. I walked over to see what he was doing and he claimed he wanted to feed the squirrels some of the acorns he had found on the ground. i explained that they were scared of him and probably would not come up to him especially if he continued to run after them. I told him maybe we could bring them some peanuts next time we go but he would have to sit still to see if they would come over to him. He didn't have time for that today...he just needed some down time...some Greyson alone time so I left him to play with his squirrels. When he tried to join back into the crowd it just wasn't working well. Everything was overwhelming him. He tried to play tag football with momom and some of the other moms and kids but he just didn't quite understand how the game worked. He ended up running off the field crying several times...once because when he got the ball, all of the other team ran at him and he panicked. He was balling because it scared him to death. He totally did not understand what was happening. when we tried to explain or talk to him he was just overloaded and would not listen. Once he gets like that we have to just let him alone to work it out. He normally needs his own time to get himself back together. Today momom was able to break through a couple of times to get him out of it but eventually we just needed to go. That was about the same time everyone else was leaving anyway so it worked out fine. Those moments when he isn't getting it are still sad to me but it isn't quite as bad as it has been since now we have tactics to try to work through things. They just do not always work depending on the situation and the variables involved. So many variables....I wish I could waive a wand and make thing easier for him to understand sometimes. As if his frustrations weren't enough you always have the other factor of the looks of those who obviously know the best way to deal with what is happening. You can see it on their faces...but that's OK....I am learning that is part of what we are dealing with and the lesson for us is...most importantly...who cares. Just keep doing what we know is best regardless. Greyson, and his well being and growth, is all that matters. today was one of those "what happened?" days...you look back to reflect and see if anything should have or could have been done to help him feel better or cope better. After that you just keep moving forward and tackle what is at hand. Tackle what is present...not yesterday...not tomorrow. One's already gone...the other is yet to be, therefore neither matters. Only now matters. Now...I am typing this and when I am done I will relax for a while and go off to bed with my family.
Before I go let me say how much I appreciate Michele and how she handles Greyson. Several times today when he was having a moment she was able to break through and make him come around. He loves her more than anything and I so appreciate her help with him. She was there since day one and continues to be the most awesome mom. Thank you momom...we love you to the whole wide world as hopefully you already know. Good night to all.

Saturday at the Craker Box Palace

Today we got up and hung out until mom got here. She watched Greyson while we went to see Maudy & Gail. That was very interesting but nothing I will go into here. we got home after a long day with friends at the meeting with them and Greyson seemed to have done well. He and mom were hanging out and watching TV etc....He was glad to see us though. He and Michele went outside and played tennis on the garage door for a while and then star wars light sabers after that. we then met Jerry, Anita, Jason and his new wife Nicole for some Azteca & margaritas. Can't beat that! Greyson did OK but was totally over the Mexican restaurant having Halloween decorations all over the place. He had a big vampire guy staring at him so he hid behind the menu for the entire dinner and would not come out. He did eat though, totally devouring his cheeseburger. He freaked though every time he saw that vampire. I am just glad he never looked up because they had these long black and orange streamers hanging from the ceiling that had black and orange spiders hanging down from them. That would have sent him over the edge...but we dodged that bullet! haha...for those of you who know him well...this I am sure is quite funny. (Well...funny but not....but it's OK) Later I went and visited with some of our friends while Michele stayed with Greyson. She was not in for a long night so I went on my way and we had a great time. Those 2 were asleep when I returned but she said he wasn't too upset with me. He doesn't like to go off to bed without one, but usually both, of us there. He managed and here we are at Sunday. today we will head our to Independence Park for a day with Equal families. It's a group of gay and lesbian parents that we meet in the park once a month so our kids understand that they are not the sole ones with either 2 mommies or 2 daddies. We love meeting with them so he can play with the others and share stories with the other parents. It's especially great because our core group of friends is childless so that makes them hard to talk to about certain things. Not because they aren't supportive and don't care. it's just because they have no understanding of some of what you deal with day to day. Heck some of them are probably thinking...You wanted a child so....there you have it! It's all good. I have no regrets as I have said before. It is nice to get help from people who are living what you are living at times as opposed to someone giving you the deer in the headlights look or rolling their eyes. haha... Well we are going to the Park for some fun. Update later for that...

A Night with Friends at Dish & Introspection

Tonight we went to Dish for a surprise belated birthday party for Audrey. Happy 40th birthday Audrey! She and Leslie had their son Cooper on Sept 10th and she did not get to celebrate with friends properly on her actual birthday which was the 5th soooo....off we went. It was an extended family affair and we had a great time. Greyson was a good boy although he wasn't much for their cheeseburger. We went to Ms Cathy's afterward for cheesecake and Greyson was totally loving entertaining the babies. Blake and Cooper were loving the songs he was playing. Blake is Shaun and Stephanie's son. he was born 51/2 weeks prior to Cooper. They are gonna be great buddies for sure and Greyson can be like a big brother.

Tonight Michele and I were talking about how we sense how some people still give us that feeling like they think Greyson is just spoiled....oh well. We just started talking while we went to McDonald's to get Greyson a happy meal. (Just for the record, no one that was with us tonight made us feel that way.) Think what you will...the majority of our good friends and extended family know that there is much more to it. Those who doubt or do not understand...well....they don't matter. "Those who care don't matter and those who matter don't care." Words to live by. We also started thinking about when he was little and how sensitive he was to loud noises and how easily he would startle. We remembered a funny story. Well...funny but not funny if you will. When he was a baby, but able to sit up and start getting into things, he was playing in front of the stereo pushing buttons while I was doing something in the dining room. I was watching him but did not think much of it until all of the sudden the stereo came on full blast....blasting music very loudly. I mean wake the neighbors loud and he was full on petrified in front of the stereo, arms up in the air shaking, mouth open wide like he wanted to scream, eyes bugged out, in a full blown panic. He couldn't move but just sat their paralyzed for what seemed like forever until I could run over and turn the darn stereo off. Then he just fell over backwards. I seriously thought he was going to have a heart attack! Well....it was funny to see but I think it put him nearly over the edge. Especially since we now know he has sensory issues. He still hates loud although at times he gets rather loud when talking just like me. Michele and I can laugh about it now but the poor guy was ruined when it happened. He was so upset. Well...just another story for the record.

Susan and I were talking about these things today too and she can totally relate. Megan had a similar instance with a fire alarm. Strange how some kids are so effected by these things and others just go about their day learning and getting all of the right cues to move forward on their journey. What causes some to be so adversely effected? What is different? What makes them see, hear, taste, small and feel things so differently in the world? I know some people will always doubt, think that we just baby him too much and that he is just spoiled. Whatever....let them think it. Michele and I chose to have a child and we regret nothing about it. Does that mean we have to give up alot of things that we used to do, or give up having things we would like to have....yes, it does. That is OK. For your child you do this and it is worth the sacrifice. We knew when we had him it would be hard and sacrifices would have to be made. When we found out he had Aspergers it was sad knowing he would be challenged in many ways and we would have to sacrifice even more. But don't be fooled. We are good with that. We love him, we still regret nothing, and yes....we chose to have him knowing that our lives would change. Since his diagnoses I have even less time for friends but I have a responsibility to him. A responsibility to take him to therapy 2x a week, to keep him in swimming, Karate, make sure his homework is done and make time to play and let him be a 7 year old boy. I am not whining or looking for sympathy but I do hope everyone knows just how much of my time is occupied by the only boy I have ever really loved besides my father. He is #1 in my life and takes full priority when it comes to helping him lead the most normal life he can. Some may think it is all BS and that a good whipping or something would nip his behavior in the bud. It doesn't matter, Michele and I know him and we know better. We know what it looks like to those who aren't living it, but tough. I cannot carry a sign 24/7 stating his condition and I would not if I could. My son is a loving and wonderful boy with very real challenges and issues but best of all he is an extremely talented artist, musician, Thespian, and eccentric boy extraordinaire. We love him to the whole wide world and that is all that will ever matter. We are parents who are at times overwhelmed with our new challenges. Yes we grieve in some moments and celebrate others. Everything we knew about being parents is having to be re-written. But we are up for the task and we will prevail. We will prevail for Greyson because that is what loving him unconditionally is all about. Bring it on...If you want to learn more about Aspergers or doubt that it is real, just click on the links at the bottom of our blog. They are very informative and may help you see the world as we do in a totally different light. You see, everyone has a story, so before you place judgement on any situation you may want to stop and think that things are almost never as they seem.

A special surprise for Greyson

Greyson had special visitor at his swimming lesson on Wednesday night. Ms Cathy came to see all of his new swimming skills and he was sooooooo surprised. Ms Cathy is like Greyson's adopted grandma and he is very close to her. He has really missed her and if you have read the blog, was crying last Saturday night because we had been to her house and he realized then how much he missed and loved her. He cried quietly all the way home so when Ms Cathy found out she decided to come surprise him at swimming. He was sooo proud and showed off for her most of the night. It was really cute and he had a huge smile on his face all night after swimming lessons were over. Thank you Ms Cathy for being so sweet. You made his whole night by showing up for that. He loves you to the whole wide world too! :)

Now for our Thursday...Greyson went to school while mommy hooked up with Ms Cathy again to go vote early. She and I and cute little Blake, her new grand baby, walked down to the polls and voted today. Go Obama! We threw in our votes for Obama and it was surprising how many people were out for the early voting. Lots of Obama folks too! We loved it....Hopefully this country is ready for some serious changes..I know I am. I picked Greyson up and we headed to see Mr Mike. We had a great visit and afterwards came home, changed into his Karate attire and headed back out to MATI. He did great there too. Ms Cathy will be heading to Karate next to watch him spare and do some cool Karate moves. I haven't told him because he does much better if things are sprung on him. That way...it doesn't get carved in stone into his brain. Once it is there there is no do overs...you have to do what you said or he will flip out. He cannot switch up like that. His brain is not wired for changes. Unfortunately we will have to teach him how to cope since everything is in a constant state of change to some degree. Sounds like fun huh? We are always open for suggestions...haha I am now at home typing while my wonderful partner has wrestling play time with our son. She is the one who ruff houses with big man...that's not my forte'. Not to mention, he weighs 86 lbs....last time he tried to get ruff with me I ended up on the floor. It wasn't pretty. One day he came up to hug me while I was on my knees. He jumped up and wrapped his legs around my waste...well....we ended up on the floor face to face because i so tipped over forward from his weight and he and I were just looking at teach other. I had to tell him, "you are not a baby or a little guy anymore." You can't just jump up like that sweetie. He was so upset. It's a wonder I haven't really hurt something...but that will be on my old worn out Fossil lesbian blog! haha

Tuesday...just Tuesday

Not much to write about today. Michele took Greyson to school and then came and picked me up at the mechanic's since the Jeep needed checking. Come to find out...nothing wrong with it...probably just a senile driver! haha...anyway she took me to work and Greyson was at school. At 3pm Sue gave me a ride to pick Greyson up and then to the mechanic's to get the Jeep that was fine. Again...senile driver....oh well. Greyson and I came home and did homework and laundry. Momom got home in time to get a quick shower and take him to karate while I did more laundry. She was not happy with me thanks to my not so great communication skills. Somehow we totally missed today...but off they went. I stayed home even though I had good intentions of running some much needed errands for the house. I could not go since her trailer was still hooked to her truck which left the Jeep for her & Greyson and me stranded. It worked out since she and Greyson went and got the few things we needed after Karate. I guess he had a great day...I have not heard otherwise and he did not talk much after school. When I asked about how Karate went I got the standard, "fine." So...today was fine...or at least as far as I know. I have not gotten any information telling me otherwise so I will go with that. Today was fine...tonight is fine....our dreams...they'll be fine. To sum things up...today was Tuesday...just Tuesday. Nothing to brag about. Tomorrow will be Wednesday and we will check back again. Hugs to all...Good night

Swimming Started Back...Peace at Last

Peace at Last is the theme for Greyson when swimming...but let me back track some.

Well to start with, yesterday we spent the day hanging out here, doing yard work and catching up on the piles of laundry. Yes literally there were piles. I need to teach Greyson how to run the washing machine! :) anyway...we did have some great friends trying to prod us to come over for the Panther game...but Greyson was all to happy here a the house and since we had stuff to catch up on we decided to opt for staying home. Sometimes, when Greyson is calm and things are peaceful...it's best not to rock the boat! Can I get an amen? anyway...he kept us laughing as usual and we played some baseball in the yard. He is quite the hitter and it makes him extremely proud to knock the cover off of the ball like he does sometimes. After he would hit it I would make him run around some fake bases while I chased him screaming..."You better run the fastest you can before I tag you boy!" He screamed and laughed and ran really hard. sometimes he exclaims, "we gotta have a water break. My hearts beeping really fast!" Yes that is a quote...he says beeping and I love that. It makes me laugh. I know you guys are laughing too because my heart was beeping out of its chest while we played these reindeer games! I needed some oxygen but that's another story entirely! You gotta love an old, tired, out of shape lezbo trying to play with her 7 year old and keep up. It's NOT pretty I tell you. ...and when both of us join in it's really ugly! Anyway...I need to focus. Greyson watched some TV with us and then we crashed and burned in bed. On aside note - Lately he has been doing alot of the walking in circles too I noticed. Not sure what that's all about. He has been extremely scared too since there are tons of commercials involving Halloween stuff. He is having those near panic attacks if either one of us gets more than 2 foot away from him. Last night he had cocooned himself into a big ball and then he wakes up crying saying I'm Hot....but then when you try to uncover him he freaks out. Try that on for a challenge. Once he cools off some he is fine but it gets hairy at times. today we woke up and he tells Michele he needs some juice. He sings to her when she brought it to him...."yoda lay eeee whooooooo, yoda lay eeeee whooooooo, I want to thank youooooooooooooooooooo!" Lord he is a trip. We howled at that. There is no telling the antics poor Ms Suzy endures daily basis. I am scared to ask. We got ready and headed to school. He was really happy to see Ms Suzy since she had not been there on Friday. She has a way with all of those kids and they love her soo much. She is awesome with them. he told me today when I picked him up that he had the best school day ever today. he said he had done all of the right things and that he had been quiet, and listened, and on and on...He was funny. He loves that school so much and it just seems to get better with each passing day. Thank goodness...what a change we are seeing in him. I still have moments where I question each thing I do and wonder if I have handled or if I am handling things as I should to help him learn and understand the strange ways of us humans. haha...It's hard enough being a parent because we all do that...question our abilities....but when you have some added or extra challenges it makes you question yourself even more. It can be so frustrating but it is definitely a learning experience. More learning for us than him. We are students of a boy named Greyson. He is teaching us better patience, understanding, humor, and how to view the world in ways we never thought we would. Imagine that! and I thought we would be teaching him a thing or two....whatever! We better focus and listen because it doesn't take much to miss the whole lesson. I know I can be pretty thick at times....I hope it is sinking in for me! well...Greyson did great at swimming tonight. I love nothing more than watching him float on his back endlessly or at least until the teacher says...on to the next thing. He looks so peaceful and calm when he is doing that. Just floating with his arms and legs outstretched like a big star fish. Just laying back floating all over the pool where ever it takes him. It is so sweet to see. Mostly because otherwise he seems so overstimulated by the world and all that goes on in it. The noise, the people, the hustle and bustle, just everything. When you stop to observe...it's alot to take in if you brain doesn't allow for or process all of those stimuli at once. I seem to be more aware of it now and at times I think I want to scream so I know how he must feel. I totally feel his pain some days and it makes me sad and anxious. So...that being said....I LOVE him floating. It is like time stands still and I just have to giggle each time I see it. I cannot get enough of it. I want that peace for him each and every day and by gosh...we will figure it out in time. If water and throwing pots is what it takes then he will do more of that. He deserves it and Michele and I are the lucky ones who can and will make it happen. Good night all....we love you dearly and thank you for visiting. For now...we will be searching for some peace...just a little peace.

Weekend Catch up...

Where do I start...ok...Friday is good. Greyson had early dismissal on Friday so I picked him up at 1pm. I had promised him a trip to the "Giraffe Store"...Toy R Us...to get a Batman LEGO so that is what we did. But before we went we had to go to Anna's Alterations to get his size 14 suit for the wedding altered. He was very worried that the little oriental woman was going to sew him when he tried it on. I had to explain she wouldn't sew it until she knew what to do and that he was trying it on so she could see how much sewing she needed to do to make it fit him. He was worried until we left because he still wasn't sure he wasn't going to get sewn. :) Once we left he knew he was safe. After that we headed to the Giraffe Store to get Logan a birthday gift and Greyson a LEGO. Greyson was invited to a birthday party/bonfire at Logan's mawmaw's house. He was worried about that too so I had to call Logan's mom to confirm that I could come with him. He did not want to be left at a bonfire in the woods he told me. I assured him I would not leave him at a fire out in the woods by himself so...that said...we were ready for the party.

Let me back track a moment to explain something about Greyson. You see, ever since he was a toddler he has been very visual. All of the stores we frequented had big Logos that he used to identify them. Target is "the Circle Store"...and Toys R Us is "the Giraffe Store"...I cannot remember if he has any others...those 2 were the ones that stood out most and he calls them that to this day. Now..back to the party.

Greyson and I headed to Logan's Ninja party with his Renaissance Festival sword by his side. We got there and had a great time. Although, it's those moments around alot of people that we do not know well that I feel like a crazy neurotic mother. You see...I try to let him go to some extent, but I know what his limitations are so I do have to rein him in at times so he doesn't get too out of whack. And...there is a safety factor for him that is more like that of a toddler at times. So... yes...I sit and worry that the parents who do not fully understand his challenges, which is most all of them, think that I am a crazed over protective mother. Crazed & over protective at times yes, but not to the extent they probably think. Oh well....I need to get over it. It does make for awkward moments though as far as I am concerned. I still have moments where I am overwhelmed and feel I do not always handle things with him as I should. I get hard on myself at times and worry I am not being the best mom I can be to him since I have to alter how I deal with most every situation. The way that he needs to be handled isn't how you instinctively handle things normally. That makes it hard at times to stop and remember, what would be most effective for Greyson in helping him understnad what he needs to do here. I am determined though...and trainable, so hopefully I will get it eventually. Once he is grown I will have perfected this huh? haha.. All that said...he did pretty well at the party. The fire started to be a concern to me because he was totally intrigued by it and claimed he wanted to roast marshmallows and eat s'mores. Well we had already been through this on our camping trip and he would have no part of the marshmallows or the s'mores. This made me believe he would just waste any and all of what he "roasted" so I said we needed to go. He was not having that so I decided to gamble and let him have some. He did try it which in itself is a shocker. One of the guys there made him a s'more for the road and I will have you know he ate the whole thing on the way home exclaiming that it was delicious and he wanted to eat them more often. He always has some tricks up his sleeve to totally shock and surprise me! We got home about 9pm and hung out with momom for a while then headed to bed. To say the least we were both exhausted.

Saturday we got up and got ready for our day. Michele & Greyson cleaned the house while I went to the grocery store. Once I got home we got ready and went to see the pottery show. Ms Libby & Missy, her daughter, were showing off their wares so we wanted to go show them some love. We could not stay long because Greyson was very restless there. He finally settled down a little when we took him over to watch a man throwing pots on a wheel. He was totally entranced by it and stood there until the gentleman was done with the pot. It was almost like he had been hypnotized by the wheel turning. I definitely need a wheel at home. Hint Hint momom! We got Ms. Cathy a cool bird house that Missy made while we were there. We left and went to Lupie's for lunch where Greyson decided that black seeds on a hamburger bun were not good and he could not eat his hamburger. Oh well...we tried to get them all off but his taste buds are NEVER fooled by our tactics! haha We came home and relaxed until it was time for Ms Cathy's birthday party. Greyson loves Ms. Cathy so we were excited. We had a great time at the birthday cookout and we got to see all the new babies born into our extended family. Cooper, Audrey & Leslie's little boy and Blake Shaun and Stephanie's little guy. They are soooo cute. when it was time to leave Greyson started to cry and say how much he loved and missed Ms Cathy. It was sooo sweet and kind of sad. We think he was a little jealous of all those babies. Ms Cathy loves all of them so much but I think he wants her all to himself. We talked to him all the way home and said we could make more time to go see Ms. Cathy so he could see her more often. He cried more and said, "but I don't want you to leave me there to stay all night, just visit." You see, he has stayed with her overnight before so Michele and I could have date nights at times. He never likes to be away form us but he endures it when he has to. Therefore he was trying to make a plea to see her...just not stay the night. :) He has to have his mommies still at night if he can. Poor guy, I think he cried softly all the way to our house talking about Ms Cathy and how much he loved and missed her. We got home an went to bed pretty quickly. he always gets very emotional when he is very tired so I think that his exhaustion was not helping the situation. Well...here it is Sunday. I'll be back tonight to share our day with you. Hope you all have a wonderful day and as always, Thank you for sharing in our world.

Busy Thursday....Play Therapy and Karate

Greyson had a good day at school. He came home and had a great story he had written. Michele and I really enjoyed it and he read it to us which was unbelievable for him. After school he and I went straight to Mr Mike's for play therapy. That was enlightening because he sees Greyson once a week as compared OT our daily interactions with him. That helps us gauge how well Greyson is doing with all of his therapies and things he has going on. Today Mike explained how he noticed how Greyson had really been having a hard time with his self esteem. Greyson cannot stand to lose and is a perfectionist which makes it a challenge for him to do anything new at times...well most of the time. Mike and I talked and we both feel that his school environment last year really took a toll on his self esteem. More than ever realized. He is coming out of it slowly and working on building himself back up but he has really had a hard time with feeling like he is stupid and cannot do things. He acts it out in his play therapy alot but is now starting to come around. Mike said today he actually was playing against him ,pretend army men or something, and Greyson at first was telling him, You can't do it...you don't know how....you don't do it like that....etc...etc....Basically he acts out how he feels about himself and his own fears through the playing. Later as they continued he started helping Mike and his men almost as if he had merged with them and they were part of his team. Mike said that was a good sign. he feels he is starting to move forward but that he really did feel very defeated in the environment he was in prior to this year. He talks with Greyson and feels Greyson is doing better due to the embracing environment he is currently in at school, as well as the extra curricular activities we have him in, and his therapies. All of these things are having a positive effect on his emotional well being. It makes me sad that he spent a year in a place that he felt so defeated and that he became so torn down emotionally. Greyson tends to not talk about his emotions...hence the Aspergers....so it was hard to understand just how frustrated he really was there and how badly he felt on a daily basis. I should have known since I felt it too each day as I picked him up. But...I digress and I want to keep heading in the direction of light....therefore....we have a new school...it is wonderful....and Greyson is doing absolutely great. Each day he progresses a little more and makes me feel a little bit better about all of this. After all it has been somewhat crazy at times. On a side note...a sweet lady at the Lancaster's BBQ, beside his martial arts center, traded stuffed animals with him tonight. You see...he had to play that darn crane game when we went in to order dinner. He did and won a stuffed pumpkin. unfortunately he wanted the orange and green cat and did not get it. He cried and cried and wanted more money but I had no more dollar bills. I wasn't paying anymore anyway for that darn thing. But...we saw the lady at the carryout register had the orange and green kitty on her register so I asked if she would trade with him. She did and the crane stuffed animal crisis was solved. Imagine that! I think I just needed a beer and some Excedrin! Haha...

My sensory overload...

I am back....did you miss me? haha...I know I know...it has not been that long. Greyson loves to be covered or in a cocoon even if he is sweating profusely. Go figure? Definitely some sensory thing going on there.
Yesterday, Tuesday, was a fun filled day with Karate on the list of things to do. He did great at Karate and even fell but still continued his routine. At the end he spared with his classmate and did great. He does a great job of blocking especially so if we can add in the offensive side of it he'll be doing good. We got home and did some more sword fighting and then headed off to get some dinner. Michele got home late so he and I ate, hung out, and then got washed and ready for bed. He played and watched some TV but right now that is touch and go. Especially since Halloween is approaching fast. There are alot of commercials/shows that scare the living tar out of him and he hangs on to his fears for days. If they come on he runs and finds me and hangs on my every move until it is over. When he gets like that I swear if I stopped too fast he would be right back where he came from! It is insane but he really has that fear and nothing makes it better. Therefore Michele and I try to keep an eye on what he watches as best we can. I know...it's a joke for us to try that with him but we do try to keep the scary stuff away. Unfortunately the cartton/Nick channels play all sorts of stuff like that right now. It gets interesting in October every year and Michele hates it because she LOVES Halloween and candy. She loves sports and Halloween neither of which he cares much for and it breaks her heart I know. Oh well...he is Greyson and we love him dearly. One funny thing Greyson said to Michele...They were sword fighting and he starting singing Peter Pan...yelling at her..."ya ho ya ho"....yes I know...it should be yo ho ho and a bottle of rum or some other words that I know not but I couldn't help but laugh. Actually we both got a good laugh from it as he sang away...

We got through yesterday and now it is Wednesday, our day for OT. Greyson did great working his way through obstacle courses, swinging and throwing a ball at targets, cutting out a pumpkin and pasting it onto some paper, and finally working more on his shoe tying. Karissa said they use 2 different color shoe laces so the kids can get the tying down pat and see which lace goes where when you are looping and stuff. We will get some and try that here at home. He had a great OT session while I read my book. After that we headed home to meet momom. All the way from Mooresville to Charlotte I got to hear all for his repertoire of sound effects as he played batman/speed racer in the car. Ok let me just tell you first....I love him and all of his little eccentricities, but today I thought I would lose my mind. I finally turned on the Davidson classical channel to calm me. It doesn't make me feel good about myself when I feel like putting duck tape over his mouth so I don't have to hear all of the sound effects that can actually be generated by him . Seriously....he may turn out to give that Police Academy guy a run for his money. Do you know who I am referring to? Ahhhhh....In all honesty you all know I would never really duck tape his mouth but it can be a temptation at times like today....I was having an Aspergers moment and was on full sensory overload! My head is hurting from the stimulus of it all. It's days like this that I need a driver...so I can take a nap on the way back home. :) But... I am the driver so that didn't happen. we got here fine and he even read his whole story once we got here. Tomorrow we will tell it in picture form so that his reading assignment for this week will be complete for Friday. Yeah....we did all that and had 0 melt downs. He even read happily for the first time in a long time....Thank you Ms Suzy and Community Charter! thank you Greyson for a great day...even if my senses are working double time ...Is it bad to have a constant load buzz and heart beat sound in your ear? OK...just kidding! Good night all....come again tomorrow for more tales of the "G Man".

Monday...back to school after a wonderful weekend

Today Greyson headed to school after a fun filled weekend. He couldn't wait to tell them about the Autism Walk and his stuffed animal he received there that he named "Panthy" it is a little sir purr animal so that is how it got the name "Panthy". Ms Suzy was kind enough to allow him to share it even though it probably falls under the toy category and those are a no no. She said he had a great day when I picked him up so hopefully all went well. We came home and did homework and then went outside for a sword fight. He got a new wooden sword a the Renaissance Festival so sword fighting is high on our priority list right now. I was a rogue pirate and he killed me several times before he got "board" and we came into the house to watch cartoons. Arrrrrrgh! Arrrrrgh!! haha...He made me play out a whole scene screaming cut cut! Replay! Action....and then I had to follow all of his cues to a tee. Lord....he should be a director already! I was so exhausted from all the retakes! Around 6pm we headed off to his last swim lesson where he did great. It is amazing how he will go from being so against something and not wanting to do it to fully embracing it. He has no in between and he has been like that all of his life. His perfectionism causes him to do all or nothing. He will not even try things until he knows for sure that he can be successful at it. Each time it happens he amazes me how quickly he goes from "I'm not gonna do it!" to "Look at me!" It seems almost surreal at times how fast the change occurs. It's all or nothing with this guy all the time. He is making great strides in swimming though each time he goes. He now is going further and further without the nose holding and doing the actual crawl stroke. The diving is still a little scary for him but it will come. He will try but the nose holding is still a factor. I will sign him up for Guppy class again so he can hon his skills more and more for the summer. By then he should be pretty self sufficient in the water and Michele and I will feel alot better about him going swimming without us there. We are moving along...its baby steps but at least we are moving forward. Love & hugs...

A day at the Renaissance Festival

We decided to go to the Renaissance Festival today since they had a deal going...We had walked plenty yesterday but decided to ice the cake with walking around there for nearly 4 hours. It was fun though. Greyson did great. He rode on the pirate ship swing with me, shot a knight at the paint ball gun gallery, and may I say he is a really good shot...it was a little scary how accurate he was, and then we put him on the bungee jumping trampoline. He did great and really enjoyed himself. We ate a great big turkey leg and he and I shared it. He liked it even though at first he wasn't having any part of it. Once he finally tried it he was fine and ate alot of it. We told him it was just like a big chicken leg and he freaked out...That was funny... He even rode a zip line horse for a joust to try and grab the ring for a prize. It was time to start heading home so we stopped to let him mold his hand in wax. he was excited until he had to put his hand in ice water to cool it first. The guy working there grabbed his arm to help and held it in the water while he counted to 20...needless to say once he took it out Greyson was freezing and totally freaked out. he started crying and did not want anything to do with making a wax hand after that. Michele hit the guy and called him a meany and he apologized. he wasn't trying to scare or hurt Greyson and we didn't even think to tell Greyson what he was going to have to do to make a wax hand so.....the whole experience there blew up in our faces. Yes...we even have moments where we forget we need to give a little added attention to certain things. The whole ice water, frozen hand thing was sensory overload and it ruined it for him. At least we didn't make it to the warm wax...that may have freaked him even more! Live and learn....eventually we will have this whole thing down pat I hope...I think it may take years though...haha. There seems to always be a new thing cropping up that we haven't thought about or taken into account that can send him into a tail spin. I need to be creating a manual of "what ifs" or "just in case you encounter..." for other parents. heck...at least someone else can learn from our mistakes. It's not funny but if we didn't laugh at times we would probably cry. Ridin' the wave...still ridin' the wave.... Most importantly, we had a great time overall, we overcame some hurdles and we learned another lesson. that always makes for a good day. Now its time to relax and enjoy the last of our weekend. Come back tomorrow for some more fun. Until then goodnight to you and sleep tight. Dream a little dream for us! :)

Walk Now for Autism 2008 - Walk Day

First let me say to all of our friends, family and extended family..."Thank you so much for all of your donations to our team, walkin'4greyson. Thank you for your continued support, love and kindness. There will never be adequate enough words to tell you all how much your love and support during all of this has meant, and continues to mean, to our family. We have wonderful friends and feel extremely blessed to have all of you in our lives.

Now for the walk...we had a great day filled with some fun and great friends. Ms Lori, Greyson's kindergarten teacher joined us, as well as Corliss and her pal Mel, Lori & Trish, Sue & Sandy, and we had a wonderful surprise. Jim, Pam and Campbell joined us too. Campbell and Greyson were friends from Countryside and that is where we met Jim & Pam. Greyson & Cam are like brothers and somewhat inseparable most of the time and Michele and I love Jim & Pam. The kids do not see as much of each other due to Greyson leaving Countryside school, but they are still very close. We try to have play dates often since they are so very close. We were unsure of whether they would be able to come but they made it and we were so excited! The walk was a great time but we were worn out fast. Especially Michele who got the privilege of pulling Greyson around the track in a wagon. Bless her for that....she was our pack mule for him today. It was great to see Ms Lori and be able to talk with her too. She did a great job with Greyson in kindergarten and was a wonderful teacher for him. He really enjoyed seeing her and I think he was surprised. Well...as surprised as you can get out of an Aspergers guy like Greyson....haha. Here are some photos of our day. After walking we went to eat and then back home. We are worn our and I believe we will be in bed early tonight.

Swimming class Guppy...

Yes...that cat was showing off again....i hear it is on the master swim team....whatever!
Greyson had a good day at school...well as far as I can tell. He doe not disclose much but he does talk a little more than he did last year. I picked him up and dropped off some of those fruit flowers for his EC teacher. She had surgery today so we have been thinking about her and hoping she is doing well. she is a very sweet and wonderful lady and she has been so kind to us in our transition to the new school. After that we headed to our standing OT appointment in Mooresville. he did great there too and I shared his vision therapy paper with his OT. You see alot of these therapies overlap in the things they help and improve upon so I thought why not let them in on some of the things that will help his eyes. Most of what I gave them also helps with coordination, fine motor skills, and upper body strengthening anyway as well as eyes. She was excited to help with it and that will help us out as well. The other eye therapies will be done as often as we can here at home. Although we have so many things going right now we will need to figure out when we are going to try and persuade Greyson to do these crazy exercises for his eyes. That will be interesting in itself. But...back to the story of the night....We went to our last night of "Guppy" class and Greyson has amazed me every class by improving more and more and more. He now swims most of the time without holding his nose. he does the crawl stroke for quite a ways before he stops and flips on his back. just a few weeks ago he wouldn't do that without holding his nose which meant only one hand to swim. yes...he went in circles! anyway...he now will dive into and jump into the pool on his own. He loves staying under water for long periods. I'm sure that is peaceful for him. He floated on his back with another little girl in his class tonight for almost 5 minutes without moving. When he is ready to do something...there is NO stopping him! I think that will always be his way...and that is fine by us. You go big man...you make me and momom so proud! Love you to the whole wide world! as you would say. Goodnight all...thanks for visiting...we love having our friends and family stopping by to learn about us. Hugs! :)

Vision Therapy Appointment

Well...I took Greyson to the vision therapist yesterday and we received all of our home based therapy goodies. We now have a regiment of vision therapies to do for Greyson daily that should improve his tracking and some of his other issues. left right reversals, etc... Alot of it will feed right into some of the OT he already does which is great. There just seems to be so much to do to try and help him that it is still at times overwhelming. Thank goodness the school is on board, he has private OT sessions once a week, and play therapy too. We will get it done some way. His swimming lessons have been a real blessing. he seems to feel such a sense of piece and calm when he is in the water. he floats on his back for long periods and stays under as long as he can. I think he is drowning out the world and the noise and chaos that comes with it. We love him so much. I wish I could wave a wand to make things easier sometimes or make people understand better but you cannot. It is what it is and that's OK. So....we have many things to do....fine motor skill exercises, eye exercises, upper body strengthening, pragmatic language exercises and skills to be learned....and on and on. All of which will give him some of the skill sets he needs to accomplish things in life and at school. I still walk the fine line....the fine line of what's too much?....when should we push as opposed to backing off?....Is this frustrating for him? He very seldom talks about his feelings, typical boy, and that is scary. I want him to be happy and enjoy his childhood. i do not want him to feel bombarded with therapies, exercises, etc....that take his childhood and make it nothing but work. Walking the fine line...it's not fun....but as his mom I guess Michele and I will know when to back off or push forward. We want to help him succeed and be self sufficient so hopefully our efforts to get him in the right programs will not go unanswered. tonight we have swimming again and he loves it sooo. Michele and I will keep him in swimming until summer again if we can. It has been probably the most therapeutic thing that he enjoys that we have chosen so far. I think he will really excel in swimming as he is a strong swimmer and improves by leaps and bounds each lesson. Well....2 days until the Autism Walk...we are only $295.00 away form our team goal. what a great first year for out Team! Greyson has really raised alot of money and I am sure he will be proud. We just have to help him understand he doesn't get the money to buy a Wii. haha.... Hope to see some of you on Saturday...if not...Thanks for keeping up with us. Hugs to you all...