It's Sunday June 7th...Sunny Day!

We headed off to Denver NC yesterday to celebrate our friend Sue's birthday. they have a pool so Greyson got to go swimming. He had so much fun even thought the day started a little overcast. The sun did come out and burned us all really good. I have3 got to do a better job with the sunscreen. I have been slack here lately with it and we have been getting a little red in color. hahahaaaa. (Much to Greyson's dismay.) Today we are looking for some fun and I have yet to figure out just what we will do. He is always happy to stay inside but I am lobbying for an outdoor adventure. Good luck to me. Momom is working as usual and we are here hanging out together trying to come up with a plan. I may just say get in the car and see where we end up. Hopefully somewhere free or cheap. Greyson is doing well. Our friend Diane yesterday noticed a huge difference in him. She had not seen him in months and was surprised at the difference in him. We have all seen it but I know it is drastic when someone who hasn't seen him in a long time notices the change in him. It's harder to notice when we are with him 24/7 but it's there and it has been a wonderful blessing. Seeing him transform into a more confident boy who listens better. (there are times when I full on eat those words but he is much better) hahahhaaa He is a great guy and we love him dearly. I still tend to want everyone to understand him because I don't want them passing judgement on him but I do know I need to stop that. I get sort of over protective about his Asperger's and want everyone who encounters him to understand why he sometimes acts the way he does. Not everyone can understand and not everyone cares or wants to understand. I do know that...but I still throw it out there sometimes. I need to stop. I am sure it is done for him and for us trying to make sure people know...he's not a bad kid nor are we bad parents. Michele doesn't like me doing it and doesn't think I need to explain to anyone our business. I get that to some degree although at times I think it is very necessary. That is one I will have to do some soul searching about. Anyway...i can't wait to have some great adventures with our school friends this summer. We are planning to get with several of them to go fun places and have a grand time. It should be fun and there should be many a story to tell. Good day everyone. Until next time...Hugs.

Last Day of School...so sad & happy all at the same time!

You've come a long way cowboy!

Today was Greyson's last day of school and the kids had a blast. They did a special poem and dance for Suzy & Cymnatha, watched movies, ate McDonald's hamburgers, and played outside. Oh what fun. Greyson had the best year and I can't believe how quickly it went by. He grew by leaps and bounds academically, physically, and mentally. Most of all his self esteem & confidence level, thanks to Suzy and some great therapists, has grown the most. He is like a whole new boy. It amazes me what a difference a nurturing and loving environment can make. When a school truly focuses on the individual child, and where they are, so much can happen. I think the teachers and the children grow from that. Everyone benefits from the growth that occurs. In life you should never let things become to comfortable, for when you aren't facing the challenges you are not growing. If you are complacent to things being good, happy, and comfortable and you want to be rid of those who throw you curves, then you my friend are missing something important. We all, at times, would like to stay in our comfort zones but where would that leave us? Where is the room to learn and grow? When you stop controlling things so that they all fit into your perfect comfortable world and allow some things that don't to enter, you open yourself up to limitless possibilities. So many of our schools are missing that fact. They want kids like Greyson to go away. They are too much trouble to deal with because we will have to think of new ways to handle these children. God forbid we have to think outside the proverbial box! Well guess what? More of them are being born each day and the quicker you learn from these children the more you have to gain. It's not always about what's easy. There is so much more there to gain if you would be open to the gifts they have to offer. Well, CCS is open to the gifts. The gifts of all these children. Is it easy for these teachers? NO. But thankfully they are up for the challenges and they give it there all. The school and it's staff are better for it. Thank you CCS and staff for a job well done. A job most people would rather someone else do. That's what truly identifies the great teachers from the ones that are just there plugging along day to day. Teachers jobs are hard and they NEVER make enough money, but some of them are there each day invested in the success of each child there. They rise above and they are the cream of their profession. Obviously if you follow our blog you know I believe Greyson's teacher to be one of the best.

Thank you Suzy...you are one of them and all the lights you just set free will shine for years and years to come. You are one of the teachers they will remember even upon graduating college! They shine only because you do my friend. You light up the room with your love and we all see it.

Hooray for summer. You deserve a break to renew, refresh, and replenish your soul. Kudos! Love & hugs...Happy summertime! Go enjoy your little lights now!

As for Greyson guys...he is ecstatic that it is summer but he is missing his great school. Lots of play dates everyone!

Last week of school so far...

We shall miss the "red door" over the summer!

I will start with Monday. Greyson headed off to school and had a fun day. Things are winding down and they are having alot of fun there at school. I don't think there were any grand stories here he was just being his normal Greyson self. Yesterday I sent him off and it was Imaginon day. Yay...he loves that. After school we headed home and he got to relax before his Karate class. I am taking a seminar with Landmark for a 10 week period so each Tuesday evening form 7-10pm I am there. Greyson and momom get time for love and bonding while I go off to work on my reaction time if you will. hahahaaaaa (Remember the Speed Park?) Michele said he did awesome at Karate Tuesday night so I was very proud of him. What a guy he is. So...after I got him he was passed out and Shel and I stayed up a little and talked. We decided to go to bed around 12 or so and obviously we missed all the action on our street. Someone was shot about 5 houses down and is in critical condition. We slept through that somehow. Seriously? Sirens, police, fire, medic....scary huh? (Us sleeping through all that is what scares me most) But I am concerned about the extra curricular activities at the house down the street too just in case you were wondering. :) So...today was Wednesday and it was field day at school. I showed up and tried to help out some. The kids were having fun but it was extremely hot. They played lots of games, drank water, ate orange slices, and other fruit. We played and played and then came on in for lunch. I had a gift for Greyson's awesome teacher and I didn't want to wait until the last day to give it to her. She is and has been such a blessing to us. I will miss being in her class but I know we have a good teacher for next year as well so I am happy with that. I will try not to be comparing her to Ms Suzy since those shoes will be hard to fill. :) Have I mentioned that Ms Suzy is teacher extraordinaire? Probably not huh? Do you all get it that I think she is right up there with Grandma Griffin in the world of teachers? That is HUGE! OK...I will let it go for now. So....today....we had so much fun at school. I was there all day, and then we headed home to throw our bags down and head back out to OT. I knew it would be a challenge since his day had been a work out already. He did OK but did have some moments of not being so cooperative. Go figure...I was not surprised nor was I disappointed. I know when to cut the boy some slack at least. Maybe not at the Nascar Speed Park but I can at least do it today. Now it is bedtime and he just came into the room begging for my hugs. He had a bad night while playing with the neighbors. Their dog bit at this leg and scared him half to death. He was balling so he is very needy tonight from that incident. I am off to snuggle with him now. He is fine but scared none the less. Goodnight all and hugs to you...we shall check back tomorrow with Thursday fun.

Nascar Speed Park Race before the last week of school...

This photo should have been a forshadowing of things to come....

Well let me try to catch you up on our past few days. I have to go back to Saturday I guess. Michele had to work and Greyson and I hung out at home. I tried unsuccessfully to get him outside to play but he wasn't having it on Saturday. She came home and we cooked dinner together. After that we watched TV and eventually headed off to be. Sunday was actually the fun day for all of us. We took Greyson over to Concord Mills to ride go karts at Nascar Speed Park. He loves that and they have been before. I, being more the worrier, had not been to witness this amazing feat. Little did I know Greyson had only ridden the slower karts in the past and for future reference...this was not disclosed to me on Sunday. One more thing...our son...and safety issues and not one. Aspergers kids tend to have no fear about certain things and do not always recognize the obvious safety issues that others may get right away. so.....now that you are up to date with this...let's get back to the fun stuff. Greyson and momom get tickets to ride the go Karts. There are several choices some for smaller riders/beginners if you will and then some faster. Greyson is also a big kid. Which due to his height, he can usually qualify for rides that he probably shouldn't even be on. So...I am ready to take pictures and mini movies while they hop on the "Family 500" Off they go and Greyson is digging this...his race kart is really fast and he even lapped momom. This was because her kart was really really slow. Rascal Scooter slow people! Hell...one of those could have lapped her! so there they were going round and round and having a blast while I looked on. Then it happened. The ride was on it's last lap and the "race boys" were preparing to let the next group go. One guy came out on the track with a whistle and motioned them into the "pit area". At that point the kart drivers come in slowly and stop preparing to get out. Well not so much for Greyson...as he rounded the last turn and the guy motioned him in he gunned it, passed 2 karts in the turn going into the pit area, and then ran almost full speed into the 5 karts lined up awaiting dismount. All this while I stood helplessly watching the whole thing...in slow motion may I add and screaming in the long drawn out deep voiced..."NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" He hit the karts and the lead kart was pushed out about 2 kart lengths while the "race boy" waiting at the pit hopped out of the way spastic like. Then I somehow turned into a mom possessed. You know the moments...the ones when you are too preoccupied with what the other people are thinking so you run over and try to prove that you have to teach your child the right lesson. Well...hello....I am screaming Greyson, "You have to use your break when coming in to stop...You cannot just slam into everyone because you could have hurt someone." So...now he is embarrassed and bummed. I am having a "not a great mommy" moment and to say the least I am not proud. And Michele who saw nothing and crawled in on her rascal scooter is saying to me, "You need to calm down!" "He didn't know. He has never ridden these fast ones before." OK....News flash to me...and lesson most important here is...if he is doing anything remotely dangerous for the first time...we can take absolutely NOTHING for granted. Especially not where safety is concerned. Good lord....I can laugh now but I thought I was gonna have a freakin' heart attack. Funny the things we take for granted...even after a year of knowing his issues/challenges. We have to be on guard to some extent at all times. Needless to say we survived the incident and no one, besides me, yelled at him for his little mishap. So...we left and headed home. Momom got some new work shorts and Greyson had the ride of his life. I learned that I have to work on how I react to things alot more than I have been. Calm...Stay calm. Later that night we cooked out with some friends, hung out for a while and then headed home to bed. The weekend complete! Next up...the Last week of school...

Spiders...Spiders...and more Spiders!

Again I show you just how serious we take spiders at our house. They have to go by any means necessary obviously. This may seem extreme to you but after you read todays blog youmay get it.

Last night was not fun I tell you. For those of you who don't already know we are co-sleeping right now. Greyson has a hard time but starting this week I am going to really work on helping him get into his own bed and sleeping space. The summer will work well for that. if I look exhausted when you see me this could be a reason. hahahaha So, that being said, about 3:20am last night he woke up flipping and flopping and fighting spiders. he was scared to death which usually results in the TV having to be turned on until he can go back to sleep. Unfortunately for Michele and I last night he never feel back to sleep. He fought it due to his fear of returning to the spider dream. For those of you close to him you know this fear is real for him and we have so far not made much headway with concurring it. He does like reading a book at school now that has spiders but only on occasion and it can still trigger the dreams. I think a spider on the composter at school got him this time. Who knows....they are everywhere. Even some in our garden of course. So...sleep last night was minimal but Michele did migrate to the sofa hoping to catch a few winks. I stayed with him since both of us would NEVER be able to leave at the same time...TV or not. He would freak out for sure. I think I need to start just getting him to sleep and getting back up to do things. I just have to make sure it is not a the same time as Michele or he will be having a panic attack and screaming for us at some point. My goal for him this summer is big. Some dietary changes towards GF/CF diet, (we shall see how it goes), and sleeping in his own bed. These are huge in our world and his and it is going to be challenging. Keep your fingers crossed. I am buckling up for safety! This kids is now 94 lbs. and sleeping with him even in a king size bed is NO fun. We both, (Michele and I), take a pure WWF beat down each and every night. I am ready to have our space back. So...as summer approaches I will prepare for battle. hahahaha

This summer we fully intend to get with some of his friends from school, and a couple from his old school, to do some really fun things. I would love to get some kids and parents together for a trip to the zoo, Latta Plantation, the Raptor Center, Nature Museum, the Parks here, etc... He isn't going to camp except for a week in July for Karate so I have to full fill all the fun with my own stuff. We want to do alot of swimming too. He has gotten much better at that due to lessons so I want to really ramp that up as well. I need to find a pool we can frequent, maybe the YMCA, we shall see. He has come such a long way and I definitely want to continue our momentum concerning his self esteem and confidence. His teacher, along with the therapists, brought him out from a very bad place within himself and into a much better space. He definitely is quite extraordinary and you have to know his quirks to get through to him. She did an awesome job of that and all I can say is Whooooo Hooooooo. I will so miss her next year but I am hoping to have another awesome teacher for him in 3rd grade. We love us some Suzy though and I will continue to support her efforts as well as his new teacher. Yay CCS!

Wisdom of the 8 year old brain...

I have been slack this week so as I remember things that happened I will probably put them in here randomly as they come to my old 47 year old brain. (hahahaha) Last night after the family night at CCS Greyson really wanted to stay and have alot of play time with his friends. He actually has tons of friends this year and they really like him. I think they even get him I might add. Last year he had maybe 2 at his old school, one of which was in another class. Both of them are still good friends of his too. Anyway...to lure him home Michele and I promised a trip to the ice cream parlor, Ben & Jerry's. As we were getting out of the car he was really down and I said, "Oh well, you must be feeling to bad to eat ice cream. You can stay in here while momom and I go get some. We will be right back." At that point he exclaims, " Mom, stop talking like that. I have the wisdom brain of 8 years old and I know you always talk like that when you want to trick me into doing something too." Michele and I died laughing. Oh great wise one...with your wisdom brain of 8 years old...tell me more! Funny thing though...he did have me pegged and definitely read my beads right there in the Ben & Jerry's parking lot! I guess I better get alot slicker because he so knows all my parental tricks now. WTH?

I was talking with Suzy this am about him and how he just will not disclose what he can or cannot do and he has always done this. It is a fight to read any at any time so our 20 minutes a night is unheard of at casa de G-R. I ask to read to him often since he refuses but that doesn't even happen alot. So....I am thinking his reading is probably a little lacking. Well let me tell you...not so much. The other day he opens his happy meal toy and proceeds to read the instructions on how to use it...even words I thought he wouldn't be able to use or pronounce. I almost ran the car into a ditch but I maintained and just let the flies buzz in and out of my wide open mouth instead. Seriously? So while talking to Suzy she said he does it all the time to her too. He will resist doing math problems and sit there day dreaming while things are being taught. She said he was eyeing the LEGOS the other day while she was doing some math stuff with borrowing and take aways. Next thing she knew another boy asked something and Mr man explained the whole concept to him. He totally understood the whole thing. She said he catches onto the concepts really quickly but he doesn't want to do all the practice and stuff that goes along with it. It can be maddening. Especially when we aren't sure if he has it or not until he chooses to volunteer what he does know. May I add here though,Suzy has his number big time and knows just how to trick him so that she is sure he "has it". He has always done this since he was little so I may as well accept it as one of his "things". Last year I think his old school was about to burst into flames over it. They couldn't understand why he was so rebellious over doing the work. I think he got it and didn't want to be bothered with all the tons of problems over an over. When I tried to tell them that, it was never received very well. Thank God it wasn't or I would not know the fine group of loving and caring folks we know now. Best damn thing that ever happened I tell you! Well...my dried up raisin of a wisdom brain that is 47 years old is going to clean a little more. Hugs to all...Have a great weekend and if I think of anymore fun stories I will add them in as my old wisdom brain recalls them! :)

Family Night at CCS...

Well we went to school last night for the board elections and Family night. I actually ran for the board and even more amazingly I won. I am very excited to be able to be a part of helping the school continue to be a blessing for the families that attend there as well as the families in the community touched by our school. The school has been so much for us and the staff there is amazing. Greyson luckily ended up with one of the most invested and talented teachers in the school. Yes there are many there, but Suzy stands out as one of the top ones. She is amazing and I will never be able to express in words just how amazing and wonderful she is. I know I sound cheesy but I do not care. I am only speaking the truth. She truly has the gift of being a teacher who is honestly a student to each and every student in her class. She gets them all. what they need, where they are coming from, when to push, when to back off....she gets it and it shows in their faces each and every day. The school embraces each individual child but not just in words, in actions. Especially when you have those teachers like Suzy who are so invested in their success. What a school we have and it will only get better with our support. Enjoy the photos of some of what they are creating and nurturing.