Home Again Home Again...Jiggity Jig

Well we made it back home. Tired and worn out thanks to a traffic jam there at the end of the trip but we made it. Greyson and Michele played wii for a while and then we crashed and burned. Greyson is currently on this thing where we have to watch Bee Movie nightly to take the scary thoughts out of his head. (This is what he has told us anyway... :)...) He claims he cannot stop thinking about Mr meaty, spiders, zombies, and whatever else he is freaked out about each night at bedtime so we have to watch bee Movie to counteract the scary thoughts which turn into bad dreams...gotta love it! Anyway....I will be able to recite the entire movie before long. I am sure he can already do it. Last night we put Bee movie in and then he had another twist. He has taken to closing all of the doors so nothing can get us. The bedroom door, the closet door, the bathroom door, etc.....We were on lock down and he still was scared. He fought sleep even though we all were walking zombies....pardon the joke there. Poor Michele just hid under the covers once he had asked for the millionth time for either water, the covers to be off because he was sweating and hot, the covers to be back on thanks to him needing the whole cocooning thing going on, etc...etc...It's fun I tell you! For those who think we should be handling things differently...don't waste your time on us...worry about somebody else. Better yet, take a long hard look at how you are handling things. I spend alot of time reading, researching, going to therapy sessions etc to ensure that we are doing what we need to do. We may not always be handling every situation perfectly, but I am sure we are doing what we need to do to the best of our abilities. Greyson will be fine contrary to what some may believe. We are good parents with some difficult challenges but we can handle it. It is funny to me that the most support for us comes from people who are of no relation to either Michele or me. They are parents who have faced similar situations and truly understand. To those of you who have offered words of encouragement instead of the normal "words of wisdom" (haha) we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You know who you are and we love you all! Thank goodness for extended families. They tend to save us in our most trying times! Tonight we will be ringing in the New Year...2009! Here's to 2009 being a little better than 2008 was. I don't know about you all but our year was a little on the crazy side...with the exception of the most wonderful election in history! Obama mama's that's what we are! Cheers to our friends, extended family, our new school and it's awesome staff & teachers, the wonderful parents there, change, hope, compassion, and last but not least open minds! A closed mind is a useless one. Happy New Year everyone!

What I have learned....that I did not know.

I have learned that our parenting skills our insufficient according to some. I have learned that we along with a few others are the only ones who really believe Greyson has Aspergers. Most others and some family included feel that we are to blame for some of his behaviors since we do not parent him as we should. Funny though...it stands to reason since I do not totally agree with some of their ways of handling things or their kids either. Therefore we will agree to disagree. I am not saying we do everything correctly. We do make mistakes when handling certain situations. I will say that we do do the best we can given our and Greyson's situation. For those who think it is wrong I say, "We are his parents, you are not so no need for you to worry about it." If we screw it up royally then it will be on us. No one will ever be asking you to fix any of our mistakes. We love him unconditionally and I will never apologize for that. If we are guilty of loving him too much then so be it. We know he is a good boy and he does not do things maliciously. He does not always make good choices but most kids suffer from that. I am exhausted of the feeling I get when people seem not to understand. i shouldn't worry about what they think but it does bother me. I want his family to be somewhat understanding but they struggle with it as well. After all he seems as though nothing is wrong short of just being misbehaved at times. Oh well...I need to spend my energy elsewhere. Just to let you know....Greyson is fine except for wanting to go home badly. We will be headed home soon enough.

In Ohio visiting family...

Michele, Greyson and I are in Ohio visiting Michele's family for Christmas. Greyson is doing pretty good so far. There are alot of grand kids and things get a little crazy and overwhelming at times for him especially. He is doing good so far and not too out of sorts. Tonight Shel's brothers will come with their families adding to the party. that will make 12 grand kids at grandmas and sometimes it makes for a wild time. (Most of the kids are very young so it is understandable.) Greyson will definitely be ready for bed tonight once the time comes. We are going to have dinner and some fun with everybody. I will check in later for an update. Hope everyone is having a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday. Enjoy your weekend and we will be talking with you soon. Hugs...

Say a prayer for me...I get frustrated with the feeling that everyone thinks we baby him too much. Yes we are guilty of some of that but alot of what we do is necessary for him right now. Oh well...I suppose I should get used to the masses feeling they know the best way to handle what we are dealing with since he seems perfectly normal to the those unknowing...and even those who have been told. Ridin' the wave...ridin' the wave....

Greyson playing wii boxing Christmas morning...

Christmas Vacation...Mommy is almost crazy!

Can I get a little PEACE! I need that Buddha on a spring that is in my Jeep stuck to my forehead! Ohmmmmmmm...Ohmmmmmmm...
Well...the past few days here leading up to Santa coming have been quite interesting. Greyson is in rare form and making me almost insane. I have needed to get a few last minute things but shopping has been more than an adventure. He cannot seem to listen, focus, stand still, stop singing, talking etc...etc... Lord knows I love him more than anything but I have come very close to losing most of my hair the past few days. My patience has been tested to its limits and I am proud to say I did not ever get too crazy. I did have a few moments of raising my voice but nothing like I thought. I was on the verge of screaming by the time Shel got home though...She probably thinks I am psycho...haha Anyway....he has been really funny and very cute. He cleaned and straightened the entire living area for Santa to come. He hung signs all over directing Santa to the cookies and welcoming him to our home. Michele and I have been laughing remembering how he locked us in the bedroom last year praying that Santa would not come in there. He is excited but secretly scared to death of this strange man entering our home. :) He is too funny. He just told me he doesn't think he is going to be able to sleep because he is too worried about Santa coming. Now he is crying because he is scared he will not be able to sleep. I told him he will be fine and that he has to sleep so Santa will be sure to come here. He is too funny....just too funny. Now he is checking on the cookies and wants to put them out right now. By tomorrow hopefully he will be back into somewhat of a normal routine. Ok...maybe I am dreaming but it shouldn't be too long. :) we leave for Ohio in a few days so that should tweak him into a frenzy with all of his cousins around to play with. It is inevitable that they all get crazy and run, play, scream, and just get plain wild. 12 grand kids and most of them are under 10...what do you expect? It's fun though while it lasts. Well...here's wishing all of our friends and family and very Merry Christmas. We will be checking in soon with Christmas news ans updates. Hugs and love to you all....Good night...Hope Santa is good to all our buddies! :)

Weekend Fun before Christmas

Hello everyone...we have been having a fun weekend doing some things to get ready for Christmas. Grandma Griffin came up on Saturday morning to take Greyson Christmas shopping to get Michele and I something from him. I went along with them to the Supa....Taaaget! We love Supa Taaaget. :) haha Anyway....Grandma bought all kinds of things unexpectedly so we were very appreciative even though she did not need to do that. She loves it though so...Thank you Grandma! After that we came back to the house and ate a "delicious lunch"...(Greyson picked McDonald's) and for those of you who know me...there is some sarcasm involved there. Not my favorite place but it was his pick so we rolled with it. He watched some TV while mom and I talked. He did really well yesterday even though going out to the Target with all the people and Christmas stuff. All that stimulation tends to create alot of fun in our world. :) He gets excited and is looking every direction and trying to go every direction all at the same time. It cracks me up and then I have to rein him back in. He did well yesterday though. Not to much wild. After grandma had to get home he wanted to watch a movie so I sat with him and watched Power Rangers. Gotta love that! Me and Power Rangers....that's an entire chapter for my book. They, the Power Rangers, are somewhat reminiscent of the old Japanese "Godzirra" movies for me. Quite entertaining... I don't think he felt well because he laid with me for almost the entire movie without moving, talking, singing, or reciting any other lines from commercials, movies, etc.... Amazing!!!! I normally am entertained and can barely keep up with what's going on. (Although Michele would beg to differ...she thinks he is a mini me) He can be all over the place and we here at the house normally have to buckle up for safety. OSHA has been in to inspect things and see whether we need to have safety harnesses installed for the safety of all involved. I will let you know the results of the report later. (Film at 11!) haha Anyway...today we are off to the Equal Families gathering at the Gay Community Center. Equal Families is a group of Gay & Lesbian couples that have kids and we get together once a month in the park or somewhere to share stories, network, and get to know each other better. It helps the kids realize they are not the only ones with two mommies or two daddies here in the area as well. That is important to us but more importantly is that he know there are all kinds of families and we will take time to be around all kinds of people and families. Diversity is a great thing and a great lesson for kids to know that it takes all kids of people to make up the world. Compassion and love for your fellow man is important and key to getting along in this world. So....off we go today to mingle with our Equal Family group for Christmas pot luck. Thanks for visiting us today....talk to you soon. :) Have a great Christmas vacation and hugs to you all. "Love you to the moon and back again!" as Greyson sometimes says...

Final Day at CCS before Christmas Vacation...

Greyson had his Winter production last night with his school. the band debuted with it's first performance and then each class put on a mini play/fairy tale for the audience. It was great and we had a great time sharing cookies and juice with everyone afterward. The people there are so nice and we feel extremely blessed to have found the school for him. Words will never express how much the school, it's teachers, (especially the ones that deal with Greyson day to day), and just the environment in general there means to our family. I am at a loss each time I try to explain to people how wonderful they have been. Greyson has a team of people who have brought him totally out of his shell and helped him make advancements in his reading, writing and math that are unbelievable. I am stunned at what just a little perseverance, a loving environment, people/teachers that believe in the individual child, and some sincere caring and investment in each child will do. Greyson is proof that he is now surrounded by teachers who are truly students of each student they have been entrusted with. God bless them and their efforts to truly change the world and these children's futures, one child at a time. You all represent all we ever wanted and/or expected out of the educational environment we chose for him. We finally landed in the right place. Can I get an amen! :) Thank you...Thank you....Thank you.... Oh, did I say thank you yet? Here's to the teachers that are there because of their love and passion for the children because we all know they could never be compensated properly for what they are giving back to the world daily.

Today we went over for the authors tea and winter party in Ms Suzy's class. It was wonderful and all the kids shared their Fairy tales they had written with their parents and the other parents. Afterward we went outside where they had a pie throwing contest to raise money for the kids who need tutoring at the school but cannot afford it. $1.00 per pie throw and the teachers donated their faces...well...some of them did. I had no desire to throw a pie at these wonderful people...hugs maybe....pies....no. Greyson did throw 4 pies though and had a great time. Poor Ms Kristi the principal took alot of pies at $2.00 a throw. All of them were covered in whip cream as you can see in our pictures off to the side. Enjoy....Lord knows we did! Happy holidays everyone! hugs & love to all...