Something is going on...

But what, we have no clue. Poor Dude has been extra hyper, clicking and grunting in place of words, and generally being a strung out little bugger. Who knows what has triggered this round but I'm really hoping that we find it soon.

Of course living in a construction zone is not helping. Yesterday we planned to start the strapping in the dining room. All good intentions, really, but because the stud finder was giving us problems (or so we thought) we ended up taking down the entire dining room ceiling. And in the process learned why people put up big sheets of heavy plastic over doors. It took us longer to clean up the mess than the actual demo. So now we have no ceiling in the dining room, but on the bright side, there are no cracks either! So on to the next step, which is not going to be strapping but putting up noise reduction insulation. But until then back to the construction zone we call a house. Pictures will follow, although not of the mess, just of the aftermath.

Did I mention the train ride we took before Christmas? Yeah, I know, I didn't. Anyway it was a Christmas gift from MIL. A ride on the Guelph Junction Express to the North Pole. The Santa Express. It was so much fun. We didn't tell the kids what was happening or where we were going and the boarding place was different than the last time, so that kept them guessing for a bit. But once on, they had a blast! Some of Santa's Elves came and entertained us while waiting for the man of the hour. All the kids got a present and a sleigh bell from Santa. It was so much fun to watch the thrill on Dudes face.

Waiting to board the train:


Cookies and hot chocolate for a treat:


One of our Elves:


The man of the hour:


And finally, Dude with his sleigh bell. Which is a fantastic idea but imagine the noise that is made from over 30 of them in a confined space.


We also visited the Halton County Radial Railway Museum for a "Ride the Rails with Santa" on the next weekend. Both Booga and Duders had a great time there too.

Now if I can only figure out a way to harness the energy that radiates from them so I can use it also, we'd be rockin! I'm old and need a nap. So later folks!

Oops

I guess I've let this go. Hmmm, where to start. Things around here have been, umm, interesting? Nothing too major, just a bunch of small stuff that, at times, has us scratching our heads and wondering WTF. Ok wait, I take that back. Rob lost one of his friends just before Christmas. We don't know the details except that Matt (RIP) was only 35 with a wife and young boy. Completely unexpected. Completely devestating. Completely shocking. I mean what the hell. Then in the week inbetween Christmas and New Year's he heard that one of his old buddy's Dad had died. Now this one was not a surprise, but what a rough time for that to happen.

So as you can tell Christmas for us was spent mourning and keeping our own little family close. Although two weeks of close-ness was starting to grate on everyone's nerves!

Christmas went well. The kids were happy with Santa's visit. They managed to make the living room look like Toys R' Us had an accident.



But that has all been cleaned up. Christmas stuff put away and toys are in the process of being organized, sorted and put away. Although the outside lights are still up and they will stay there until it warms up enough that my fingers can function without 4 layers of mitts on.

Dude is finally starting to get back into the swing of a 'normal' week for him. I truly dread holidays and what it does to his schedule. By the end of Christmas break he was having potty accidents again and was getting more and more difficult to handle. But all is well in Duders world again, daycare is back, school is back and so is swimming, Beavers and skating.

Yep, we keep a busy schedule around here. Swimming, Brownies, Ringette (Maddy), Beavers, Learn to Skate, plus his visits to his OT and all the extra stuff we try to do with him, like going to the library when Maddy is in Brownies. I'd have to say that his favourite thing is swimming though. He is a little fish and we have so much trouble getting him out of the water! Over New Years we visited family in Ft Erie. Stayed in the Holiday Inn for two nights. Booga and Duders must have spent over 4 hrs total in the pool over less than 72 hrs.





And a big Thank You to my Hubby for my Christmas gift!! I'm loving listening to all the great music from the best era ever!!!! And if anyone is still around reading this (knock knock? are those cobwebs I see?) give me some suggestions on great 80's music. I have a ton already, but hey I know I'm forgeting something!

And will someone please tell whomever is in charge that I think I'm done with the health problems of late. Between my foot (Plantar fasciitis), arthritis in my neck and shoulder and now my blood sugar droping like a lead balloon twice in a row, I think I'm done with any and all problems. And yeah, I know. Losing weight will help. With all of this stuff. It's on my list of things to do. Along with a bunch of other stuff. Like getting MIL some more help and on a waiting list for an assisted living center. Renovating the house. We have some supplies, just need the know-how and kid-free time to strap the ceiling. And through-out the week when everyone is at work or school, I've been working on the playroom (AKA Dudes bedroom), getting it cleaned up, sorted etc. When that's done I need to do some wall repair, paint, make curtains, put up pictures, paint his new bed and move him into his own bedroom, hopefully before the spring. So at least I can say we have lots of projects to keep us occupied!

More to come. Maybe I'll be able to be more on the ball now! Yeah, not likely I know.

A bit late but.....Happy Halloween!!!!!

Hope it was great for everyone! Both the kids got way too much candy, Kenny is wired (that is putting it mildly) and two missing pumpkins compromised our Halloween fun.



As you can see we had a black dancing cat and a scary pirate. I was completely amazed that Dude let me put some face makeup on him. That is a first! Daddy took both out and I stayed home to clean up and guard the pumpkins from disappearing again. They ended up meeting up with friends and had a ball going out together. Daddy said it was funny watching Kenny. He is so impatient (cough Daddy cough) that he would knock on the door, yell "trick or treat" and if the people didn't answer right away, he was pounding on the door! Gonna have to work on patience I guess. Hopefully now we can get back to normal, and Dude can relax a bit and get back on schedule.

As for the school issue, well Kenny has basically proven that taking his EA away is not a good idea. The closer we got to Halloween, the more hyper/excited/uncontrollable he got. It helps that we have already said that I have no problem going above the Principal's head to the Board and I will get all my ducks in a row, so to speak.

And thank God, no sign of the swine flu but we have all been sick with a cold. Lots of coughing, stuffy noses and sore throats. But no fevers! No flu shots yet either. We are still siding on the no side for a bunch of reasons. Call me crazy, but until you see what the chemicals in food do to Dude, I can't see how adding extra through a shot is a good thing. I'm still going to research and talk to people, but don't know if it will change my mind.

And will someone please tell the rain to stop! I know it's not snow, and I know that I should be used to it after the summer we had, but holy crow, ENOUGH ALREADY!!! That is all.

Calmer heads today

When in doubt, take it to the source. Act like an adult, discuss and give the 'accused' a chance to speak. Yep I actually did that!! (Hahahaha, never thought you'd see the day huh ;) )

After much yelling, screaming and outright temper tantrums I went in to the school on Fri am to have a 'chat' with the Principal. At first, it seemed like she was giving me the brush off, but I pushed my case and managed to squeeze an apt. for later in afternoon, rather than wait until Tues (Mon is a PD day). She maintains that she wasn't going to take Miss Sandy away permanently, but to 'borrow' her for the other classrooms when she is not needed with Kenny. Now this is different info from what I originally heard, but I think that she has received so much flack that she has had to back down.

Now both Hubby and I agree that she wasn't about to inform any of us parents. Which I guess legally she doesn't have too. BUT (and yes I have a big one) I guess she completely underestimated the fight we (as parents) were/are willing to wage to keep Sandy in the classroom as much as possible. Sandy herself is trying to work out how to keep as many people happy as she can, by dividing her time to help everyone involved, but without comprising the children she is already attached too.

I'm still ticked that she was trying to change Kenny's care without informing us. Being that even small differences to his routine can cause major outbursts, but I'm hoping that by approaching her like I did, that she will tell me next time and we can be prepared for any possible fall-out. I also really don't like the idea that he will be left in a classroom full of kids without another adult to help if he does have a meltdown. They can be so quick and so violent that I am truly scared that another child will be hurt before someone can intervene. But I did state this, and she (principal) seems to think that it won't happen. We will see I guess.

Now on to other topics. We are back to visiting a bunch of doctors for Kenny again. Something is wrong and we have no idea what. About two weeks ago, at school, he started to complain that his tummy hurt along with his pee and he wanted to go home. That in itself is concerning, 1) he doesn't complain anything hurts and 2) he has never wanted to go home from school. So a trip to the walk in clinic was in order since we couldn't get into see his Dr. that afternoon. While there they made him pee in a cup (which he thought was the absolute best thing!) and gave him a complete once over. Except for white blood cells in his urine, nothing else seemed off.

Dr at the clinic recommended that we make a follow-up apt, did and sure enough still no sign of infection, but white blood cells in his urine. So off to a Ped. Went there on Monday. Now he is sending a referral to get Kenny an ultrasound on his kidneys and lower abdomen. Poor kid, who knows what is going on right now. He certainly isn't going to tell us.

Other than that, things are going ok. Busy with a bunch of stuff. Soon hopefully we can start working on the house again. We are going to strap the living room and dining room ceiling and then put up drywall. That should solve the crack problem (we hope) without tearing down all the plaster and making one heck of a huge mess.

I had carpel tunnel surgery on Thurs and it still hurts but is getting better. The nerve is acting funny and jumping around but apparently that is it healing itself, or at least trying to. Oh and I am going to see my Doc on Mon for what might be a heel spur. For around 3 weeks now to walk has been hell. I can't seem to catch a break (shhhh, wrong word to use!!)

Gotta run. Maddy has decided to pitch a fit and we are trying to get out the door for Wellington Rural Romp. Gonna go visit a bunch of cows, pigs, chickens.......... Such fun huh :)

I'm PISSED!

That's right, PISSED! Completely, totally, yell it from the rooftops PISSED!

The principal at Dudes school is trying to take away his E.A.(Educational Assistant) to work in another room. The ONE reason he goes to school willingly, wants to go, begs to go, to play with Miss Sandy. And the (new)principal wants to take her away. This cannot happen. We are already watching him regress again with physical issues that we can not figure out. And now this?!?!?!?!? Why, WHY would you take someone away from an autistic kid, when routine and consistency are what holds these children together! Why, WHY would you take his E.A. away when for the first time he was writting letters (alphabet) by himself!!! Not tracing, no guiding his hand but BY HIMSELF!!!!

I just dont' get it. I really don't understand. Given that this principal was a special ed teacher in the same school when Tana was there. She of all people should know that this is a VERY BAD, STUPID, FUCKED UP IDEA!!! And now I get to fight with another school system. I lost badly with the Etobicoke Board when it came to Tana. I never thought I'd need to do it again here! I tried to teach her to take what was dealt, make the best of it and prove them wrong. But it wasn't until we moved here that we saw a change in her attitude towards teachers and schools in general. And I'm not fighting to choose specific teachers, just to keep the ones he has. He does need to learn change and there are times that you may not like someone, but you still need to deal with them (without biting, pinching, hitting, spitting etc) and learn to find a way to co-exist in peace. But why after a yr and a bit would you even think of taking away the ONE, get that, ONE person he loves. He already knows that he will not have her next yr. We've already started to prepare him for that. But to take her away with no damn warning?!?!!?!?! Why in the living fucking hell would any rational, supposedly educated person do that???????

And in case you are wondering, I have a call in for his Occupational Therapist. She is a great advicate for 'her' kids, especially when it comes to the school system. Oh and the topper of the day, not that anyone asked but your going to hear it anyway, I have CT (carpol tunnel) surgery today. Just bloody perfect, isn't it.

5 yrs.

Yep, 5 yrs. 5 long, eventful, fun, sad, enlightened, scared yrs. 5 yrs since my Kenny-Dude was born. Unbelievable.

Happy 5th Birthday Duders!!!! We all love you so much!

Only in this house

will you hear the words "Kenny, put your penis away" repeatedly. That is all.