I hate this.

Let me start by saying, I have never been a person to go to the drs for every ache and pain I have. If i smash my toes.. well.. I know they are broken, I know the dr cant do much for it. What is the point in going to the Drs? Same with a sinus infection. Or a cold etc.. I go to the drs when I have no other choice. Like back in January when for some still unknown reason I lost all ability to speak and think straight. But for the most part I just l ive with whatever pain or trials I may have, I know what causes them and just deal with them. I don't need the dr to put a name to what wrong to me to make me feel better or worse.

That being said a few years ago some members of my family where diagnosed with Fibromyalgia then began a constant demands that I go to the dr and be evaluated for it as well. It makes me crazy. I have done the research. I know what Fibro is, I know what the signs and symptoms are. Frankly I know that I have Fibro. So why go to the Drs and pay money to have him tell me what I already know?
Things I already know and have told the most recent dr that I saw. I am miserable and exhausted daily. I don't want to get out of bed during the day and I can't sleep at night. I ache all over almost everyday. I get headaches regularly. I have IBS symptoms that have been there for years that I have learned to just deal with because like all the other problems listed above. If I don't deal with them. I don't have a life. I learned long ago that sitting there wasting away your days complaining about not feeling well just adds to the not feeling well of it all. I was feeling much better for a while when I was taking Hapkido. Unfortunatly gas prices, job changes and regular old life got in the way and I had to stop taking classes in favor of paying the bills with that extra money. It really stinks but again its part of how life is.
This blog is really just a whiny why me blog and I can totally understand if you are annoyed that had you read it. I know no one can fix the things that are bothering me. I just needed to gripe and moan for a little bit.

New Neighbors.

One of the less lovely things about living on the street I do is that the house next to us is a hovel of a rental property. The owner will not let the tenants in the house to do any repairs etc. So during the previous renters long tenacy it fell into massive disrepair. How the house has not been tagged as a code violation is beyond me. As a direct result of the less than desirable house, the crappy landlord and the low rent. We have now had two sets of new neighbors since the beggining of the year..
First Set: Three Kids under 10, 4 adults and tons of trash @@ which they left outside about 4 feet away from our back window for over 3 weeks.. Talk about stench. They finally moved when they had to take the landlord to court because when they where one day late with the rent he changed the locks and through their belongings out into the street.. Fun Fun that was.. They where here a little over 5 months total and played their music all hours of the day sooo loudly that I could hear it clearly at the other side of my house.
Second Set: Moved in over the last few weeks after coming over to clean for the time before that. They are still cleaning..( house couldnt have been THAT bad) and only seem to do it at 2 AM in the morning.. Followed by them pouring the cleaning chemicals into the backyard so the WHOLE street and yard area reek all night long. The front sidewalk is covered with empty ciggarette packages and ciggarette butts. They had yet to introduce themselves to us so we wherent sure of the size of the family. Just that it had a few kids.. As of this evening I know there is AT LEAST 3 adults and 3 children 5 and under living there. How do I know this?? Because the one adult pounced on us when we came home this evening trying to beg for Ciggarettes. Sorry, I dont smoke. Thats why my sidewalk is NOT covered with butts @@ NO, I didn't actually say that.
I don't give them long really. The neighbor behind them is a set in her ways elderly woman who made the long term tenants miserable when they where there.. and the one across the street is much the same.. They are sweet women to the good, quiet, clean, hardworking families on the street.. but when those that have no care for the neighborhood and show it with their trash, their volume and their screaming.. Yes screaming.. at 4 am.. at the kids none the less.. They let them know in big and little ways that they would prefer they move their residency somewhere else.
It really is sad because we would love to have some nice, hard working family with kids live next door that we could be friends with. Alex would love to have a boy his age next door. Doesnt seem likely though. Instead we get 5-6 month tenants with no care for parking places, trash ordinances, noise ordinances or general consideration for their neighbors.

Stomping my Foot

and throwing a fit... No, not Alex. Me.. lol.. My brothers leave for the weekend got cancelled cause of these stupid hurricanes.. Stinks royally and since I can't change it, I guess I will just pout instead. Really stinks. He hasnt been home in several months and when I talked to him a few minutes ago he says it looks like another two months til he has a chance to get home again. I know there are a lot longer times guys have been away from their families. We have been there too. Doesnt change how much it sucks though..

Gonna Try Again

So, Not sure why I am such an Abysmally bad blogger, but alas, I am and there is no denying it.
So, what is currently going on in our lives.
Last week marked the beggining of 4th grade for our house. I can't believe that 4th grade is already here. Its insane. Things are going well so far thanks in large part to a very understanding teacher and the luck of the draw in having a close friend of the family doing her high school community service in the same classroom 1-2 days of the week. Definatly makes for a comfortable, understanding work environment.
Alex is also very busy with learning Martial Arts. He has been taking classes since April of 2007 and in July of this year earned the rank of Jr. Blackbelt. He was very excited and proud of his accomplishment as is the rest of his family. Jason and I also take classes at the school but I am taking a break til finances sort themselves out and Jason is taking a break til his schedule sorts itself out. Hopefully both of us can get back soon as we really enjoy both the classes and the people we take them with.
On the Cub Scout front things have been slow. Alex took the last year off following the loss of an adult scout leader he was VERY close with. It was hard for all of us and especially hard for Alex who considered Mel one of his close friends. That being said we have tried very hard to help him understand that Mel wouldnt want his death to be the reason Alex gave up scoutng and he will be starting back next week. Hopefully he remembers how much he enjoys it.
Also taking up his time currently is a new hobby. Fourth graders are given the oppurtunity to take one year of music lessons at school to see how they like it. Alex has chosen to learn the violin and is very excited about the prospect. He has had one class already and is still head over heels in love with the idea so I take that as a very good sign of things to come. He learns things fast, remembers them and devotes himself. Hopefully the violin will be the same as other things in his life. He will love it.
Some big changes have happend lately in our family as well. The biggest and most important being Jason is no longer a manager at Pizza Hut. Having changed jobs after 8 years at Pizza Hut to take a Managers position with McDonalds. The new job offers more hours, more pay and a better work enviroment. He will miss the people he was close with but knows how to keep in touch. He wont miss the poor hours, low pay and drama. Neither will I.
Now, some pictures.

This first is Alex after we wen to see WWE Summerslam Tour

First Day of 4th Grade

Morons

Last week during the aforementioned Day Camp we had some problems with another parent. If her attitude had been directed at me I would have just ignored it and chalked it up to nastiness. Unfortunatly it wasn't just directed at me. She was mean to Alex. Basically in not so many words told him she didn't want him to particpate and she would not allow him to. Rediculous seeing as how it is his unit, his dad is the Cubmaster and his parents where both on staff for the event. That being said. She went out of her freaking way to make my kid cry and that REALLY ticks me off. Jason called our committee chair today to let her know what happended and she is going to talk to the lady and find out what the heck she was thinking. Jason told the chair straight out. We are ready to walk away from this unit and go somewhere where we don't have to worry about our child being mistreated by people who are supposed to be there to help him succeed. What makes me even more mad is a friend of ours was there. Our assistant Cubmaster and he didn't say a word to her. Just let her behave like that to A, so not sure who I am more ticked off at this point . Him or Her. It takes a nasty person to be rude to a child, but is it any better to be the person who sits by and watches it happen and feels nothing. I would have so loved to have ranted and railed at her, there where other boys there though. So I couldn't, while she may not give 2 cents about the feelings of the boys. I do, I am in this program for my son and his friends and refuse to scream and yell and fight in front of them.

Too Tired To Move

We had Cub Scout Day Camp last week and We had to leave the house around 6:30 Am and Didnt get home til 12 Am. So while I am still reading, I barely have the energy left to move my fingers to post! Bare with me!

Eight Year Olds

There are days that just make me laugh, smile and take a deep breath! Why you ask? Because they are the days that remind me everything else aside I am raising a happy, healthy 8 year old boy. The kind who whines through dinner that he is tooo sick to eat more food, but would happily down a cookie when we get to Giant Eagle because... "I Feel Better Now Mommy" I don't think so little man. Do you think I am dumb?? Ok.. So don't answer that.. All that aside its nice to know that no matter what other struggles he may have to deal with he is still capable of pulling the tricks of the eight year old trade.

Tired.. Hot.. Too Much to Do

So, I have about a million things to do and only about a thousand hours to do them in. This week week A was supposed to have vacation bible school but he was feeling slightly worried about it. The one I signed him up for has no kids he knows attending, it was the only one I had papers for so it was what I signed him up for. Since then I have found out that his friends J and C are attending one a bit closer to home later in the summer so we will go with that one instead. It is closer and has people he knows, which is a much better choice for him. Aside from that Jason is still working like crazy trying to keep the store running as his boss has been out on medical leave for about a month and still has about a month til she will be back. Him and the other manager are working their tales off and the owner and the guy above them are not helping matters at all. The least they could get is a thank you for covering and doing your jobs as well as your bosses jobs, but nope. They are just expected to it and be glad for the meager wage they get each hour. BullCrap if you ask me or anyone out there. But what can you do, they need the job and the big guys know that. Next week things don't slow down at all, in fact they get busier if anything. Sunday is fathers day and Jason has to work that evening so we went and got his fathers day gift today, partly cause of time and partly cause today it was on sale for 89.99 rather than the 129.99 that is its regular price. Yay! I love a deal. Anyway. The next day Jason works 9-5 and I have to go help set up for Day Camp. Then that runs Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Followed by a second Day Camp program for the older boys that runs Friday-Saturday. Then he has to work a double shift on Sunday. FUN FUN.. So, instead of getting up and working on the things I need to.. Washing out Soda Bottles, Gathering up supplies, calling my cub scouts. I am sitting here at the computer feeling tooo dangon tired to do anything. Ah, the fun of life.

Triumphs

So, tonight we got to see a triumph in the life of a child with Autism. He wasn't my child but that didnt make me any less happy or proud for him. A takes Martial Arts classes 4 times a week. There is a little boy there who started classes with him that A just loves to partner with. This little boy has a brother with Autism who sits on the benches during class but never participates. Over the last month his mother has been trying to get him to join the class but he won't. He is scared, nervous and unsure so he just watches. Last night she asked him on the way in again if he wanted to join. This time, the answer was YES. It was a true delight to see him out there with the other kids. Watching him suceed at the skills and be soo proud of himself when he earned stripes. Its a hard life being a kid with Autism, its great when you are able to move past the fear and join in with the other kids.

This is Me Like it or not

COPIED OVER FROM MY LIVE JOURNAL

So here I am on LJ. Not someplace I expected to be. But here all the same. I have a blogspot on blogger.com but headed over here because I wanted to be able to read what my freind is up to. That said. Here is a little about me. I am 28 years old and a Stay at Home Mom. No that doesn't mean I can't get a job outside of the house, or that I have no work ethic. Have a husband that is wealthy or many of the other things that people often think when they hear a wife works at home. What it means is that I am the mother of one 8 year old boy with an Autism Spectrum Disorder who during the course of a regular week has 20 hours of therapy. Gets sent home from school sick for things related to his Autism that he can't control, etc . It means that working would be more of a hardship on our family than not working is. Yes, it means money is tight. But, it would be tighter if we had to find a special sitter who was able to accept and deal with the life my son leads. It balances itself out in that rocky, hanging on the edge, praying not to fall over, holding on by my fingers nails type of way. In our family there is me( Valerie), my husband ( Jason) and our son ( A ) he is heading into 3rd grade when our summer break concludes in the fall and in between all the above mentioned therapy hours he is also a devoted Cub Scout and Martial Arts Student. He is a friendly, happy, loving boy who also happens to have a hard road to travel in life and makes the very best of what he lives with. I am proud of who he is and proud of the person he is made me and my husband. Our world has changed many times over the years from the life we thought we would have to the life we wouldnt change for anything. Yes, each day is a struggle. But the struggles come with hugs, and tears and triumphs just like those of any other parents life. I am going to finish this first post with something that was sent to me when my son was first diagnosed with an ASD in 2005. Also at the end of this post I will add some links in case anyone out there reading would like to know more about Autism Spectrum Disorders.
WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by Emily Perl Kingsley.c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland. National Alliance for Autism Research - Walk F.A.R. for NAAR: ASDHOPE - Home Asperger Syndrome

Pictures to Go With The Moved Journal Posts

End of the this road...

Its now moments from the last day of May,which means we are one day closer to the end the Second Grade Road. This year has been a relatively good one. I started the year with the plan that if there was a day when it seemed that A was just overloaded and I was going to have to full body drag him into school I would just keep him home. Last year I had to drag him kicking and screaming into school on an average of one day a week. I am happy to say that with the new plan this year I kept him home 2 days and NEVER had to carry him in kicking and screaming. He has just gone in when the other kids did. The only time he has come back out was when he was high fived the door patrol who moved his hand right bofore A got it and let A's head slam right into the door from the force of his excitment and the time he walked in and slipped on the wet floor. That again chalked up to the door patrols who had been told numerous times by the teachers to tell the kids walking through the door that the floor was wet. Other than that the year has been great getting him through the door in the morning.
Once he has been into the school the year gets a little more complicated. He started the year with strong grades in his key subjects but the ones that he has trouble with continued to fall. By the time the second marking period came they had begun to work on Word Problems in math and that grade, which is normally his best, had begun to fall as well. We asked for an IEP meeting and one was help right away and the issues where addressed. From that point on his grades began to pick up and while they are not back to where they where at year start, they are improved. Next year he will get the same extra help so that is a plus as well.
Now that school is almost over comes what is truly our busy time of the year. This year we took our vacation in April so that we didnt have to do it in the heat of the summer and so it didn't conflict with any of the massive summer plans.
So, at this point our plans for the summer are
Hapkido ( A Martial Arts Discipline that A just started and REALLY loves) that is T,F,St,Sn
Vacation Bible School- The week after school is out
Cub Scout Day Camp 3rd Week in June
Camp out at the Ball Park in July
Visit From Uncle D on Deployment Leave ( dates unknown for safety reasons0
Kids College
and somewhere in there I have my 10 year class reunion.
Summer is always busy for us, but we are happy to do it. It keeps you from noticing how dangon hot you are. A also really wants to get to spend some time with his friends this summer, especially one pretty little blond.

Loss

With the Holiday Season fast approaching it seems a cruel joke to me that the last two months for my family and friends has been completely marred by loss... The first was the Beggining of October with the loss of my husbands great Aunt Rose, followed about 20 days later by my Great Aunt Edna.. a few Days after that my husbands Great Aunt Isabelle Passed away. I hoped desperatly that that would be the end. These women where all well on in years and lived long and filled lives, each touching the lives of their families in so many ways.
Unfortunatly the morning after the Last funeral we read in the paper that a friend from High School had succumbed after 25 long and incredible years of life to the Cystic Fibrosis that had always been a part of her life. The loss was huge as Jill touched every life she came in contact with, she was a true Earth Bound Angel and will continue to be an Angel in Heaven as well. A few days after that a friend told me that a far to young to go young women we went to School with when I lived in Ohio had been brutally murdered. I ask you .. is it over yet??? No, my mother called me to tell me that My Wonderful Uncle Doug has passed away from the Cancer he had been fighting for sometime.. My Uncle Doug was an Incredible man. He could make you laugh in just a few minutes time and convince even the biggest skeptic to just give it a try.. ( Hence the reason he once convinced me to try an Olive with an M&M inside it.. BTW>. DONTDO IT! ) but he was a loving Caring, Father, Husband, Brother, Uncle and Marine that the world will be missing for many years to come. The good news is he did something not everyone manages to do.. He made a mark. He touched lives and will be remembered forever for the lives he changed. I Hope someday when I get to the end of my road people can say the same about me. Here is an Article that was posted in the paper my Uncle was the Publisher of.. Please Check it out.. Read about the great man that is now a Great Angel.. Publisher Doug Fetzer loses fight with cancer

Same as it once was!

About 15 months ago A's cousin was living in town and she would spend weekends with us very often. Lots of time she would stay with us Saturday night and then Sunday she would wake up and go to church with my MIL and then back to her own home.. Well she moved away in July of 2005 and we hadn't seen her since then. This past friday she came home for a visit.. She came back very grown up from the 12 year old who moved.. she is now 13 and even more beautiful than she was when she left and has grown at least 6 inches... It was nice having her here.. and definatly brought back memories of how life was for a while when at 7:45 this morning I was awoken by the phone ringing with my MIL Calling to say she was on her way to get J and cousin since J worked at 8 and cousin was going to church with MIL like old times.. Of course this meant rush rush with Jason and Cousin both heading off out the door in a somewhat unreadied state.. but still getting out which was the main goal.. Yep.. our house was a big flasback to what came once before.. it was nice.. despite the hurried frenzy and the bedheads that went off to their daytime rountines.. it was a pleasent weekend visit with a much missed cousin!~

You Do Realize You Are Getting Paid Right???

This week the bane of my life is people who seem to not understand that they are getting paid for work.. If you have a job.. why not work your hours so you get paid.. Do you just want to be able to say I am scheduled to work such and such hours this week??? J is always being called in early or kept late at work cause someone else wants to leave early or not come in at all.. Do they not realize that the point of having a job is to make money???? If you are scheduled 10 hours and you only work 2.. what the heck is the point of having a job..Do you just like to say>. Hey.. I work at such and such place??? Its nuts... I am continually amazed.. Then.. when J does work the extra hours.. people are like.. why are you working so much.. Don't you hate being at work.. Yes.. I am not really fond of being at work he replies.. but you do realize you GET PAID?? to work right.. Sure the other employees poor work ethic sure helps money on our end.. ( like the week J had 53 hours.. ) .. but whats the point really.. why have a job if you are going to do everything you can not to go and get paid..
Its not even just the little teengagers my hubby works with Either.. A's new TSS seems to subscribe to this theory of work as well.. Thursday night she was supposed to see A from 3:30-8:00 well we cut it down to 6-8 because thsi was her second week with him and the first week was something less than great so I wanted to get a chance to see how she worked with him before sending them off alone.. and I wanted to get to know her before I let her drive A around.. Anyway.. I told her til 8 because our scout meeting runs til 7:30.. but it takes til 8 to get cleaned up and out of there and that period of time between 7:30 and 8 is often a time where a meltown happpens.. this week she took off at about 7:40 without really so much as a goodbye or a hey.. I am no longer going to be here to supervise your childs interactions.. and OF COURSE>. we where out of there about 10 minutes after she headed out the door and had a meltdown on the way to the car. .. Had she been there she could have seen what happens and how we can better deal with them and keep them from happening.. but nope.. SHE WAS GONE! SO Again I ask. You People Do Realize You Get Paid For Work RIGHT????

Yay! We are making it!

Today marks the 8th Day of School and so Far things are going great, A loves his teacher and that helps A TON she really seems to understand him. She has put him near people who he recognizes to make him more comfortable.. He is on an end desk so that he doesn't feel trapped in the middle.. All Is great in school land.. I had meet the teacher this week for him and I went in and listened to what the teacher had to say.. She sounds like she is really as excited for this year as the kids are which is wonderful. As I said this is her first full year with her own classroom and she is really striving to make it great.. I think she can do it..She is really helpful with all the kids and seems to really have a grasp of A's Asperger' s Related weaknesses. So far she has walked A down the bridge when School is out to make sure he can find me which is great since he gets lost and confused in the mix of 3 grades and all their parents that release from his door this year..

In other news I found out yesterday that A's therapy agency has finally secured another TSS for him.. I am sad to see the old one go as she was wonderful beyond words.. but we are looking forward to the new one.. She will meet with us Next Wednesday so that we can meet her before our years first Scouting Meeting and then Thursday night its into the Fire for her.. lol.. and I don't even mean that figuratively .. Last year at our Fall Roundup ( our first Cub Scout Meeting of the year) I heard the screaming of FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT coming from down the hall way.. Low and behold when I get down there.. there is my tiny, smaller than normal size 6 year old attempting to beat the snot out of some giant 11 year old.. Thank the Gods the other kids had parents who taught him not to punch the crap out of the crazy little kids... I don't know what posesses my child sometimes..Ok.. well.. maybe I do.. but I wonder somedays if he doesn't think he is untouchable.. He said that time that the problem was the kid didnt follow the rules of the Yu Gi Oh game the other kids where playing.. DANG.. you resort to fists over something like that.. We have a LOOONG way to go kid.. Thankfully the year did get a bit better.. I think 5 meltdowns out of the 30 or so total meetings which isn't great.. but its better than every meeting...

And Finally, I am finishing up by saying I am heading out this weekend to run a booth for the Scouts at a Local Festival.. we will be gone most of the day Friday, Saturday and Sunday.. Friday it will just be Me and A going from our Household as J has to work.. but the other twos days it will be all Three of us as J has requested those days off and Thankfully got them.. So, To anyone out there. Have a good weekend...Enjoy the last little bits of summer that are hanging on by a thread!

The Bookbag is Packed

A's clothes are ready for tomorrow.. His bookbag is packed with his pencils and erasers and money for lunch, all thats left to do is get up in the morning and go.. Today was a long day but not a too bad one.. We had therapy this afternoon and had planned to go out to eat this evening with my in laws.. well.. about a half hour before therapy A says my finger hurts.. I walk over and dang it if his finger doesnt have a huge bump on it swollen to the size of his finger and yellow tinged.. So off we go straight to the drs.. turns out he pulled on a piece of loose skin and it got infected.. so Antibiotics for that.. Then off to Therapy.. we where 15 minutes late but it was ok.. after that Inlaws decided th ey didnt want to go to dinner.. thats fine.. I called my parents :) they wanted to go.. It was agreat meal.. and a nice change of pace from the usual.. we never get to go out with them and it was a fun meal and a good end to the summer vacation.. Will post again tomorrow if I get a chance with back to school pictures and a update of the day!

2nd Grade here we come..

Today is August 28th, Summer is ending for the school kids and we are only 2 days away from our first day of second grade. This year is being entered into with a mixed feeling of excitement and nervousness. Our teacher for this school year is brand new to having her own classroom. But she is a very well liked and respected teacher both by the students ( she subbed at the school last year for the last part of the year ) and by the parents and teachers. She was recommended as the best choice for my son by his teacher last year who has a very wonderful grasp on what he needs out of the world. I am looking foward to next year. I have been told that a teacher always remembers her first class no matter how many years she has been teaching.. I Hope my son can help make her first year great and I hope she can help continue his growth as a student and a person. We have some IEP issues I think that will need to be addressed in the year to come. Speech Therapy being a main one as he will no longer be recieving it at Easter Seals because his health insurance has decidecd that they feel he is no longer in need of the services they evaluate for . His speech issues are mainly Pragmatic and they don't really evaluate for that.
Some other things going on, We have recently finanalized all our plans for our coming scouting year and are looking forward to lots of fun plans.. I will try hard to post pics and details along the way.. So that you can share our fun with us.. . Also in the final stage of planning is A's therapy schedule for the fall.. it is in no where near as hectic as last year.. but will still involve 5 therapies.. Physical Therapy, OT in the water, OT on the land, Behavioral Therapy and TSS Therapies..

Hello, and Welcome

Hi, For those of you that are here for the first time and don't know me I am V... I am going to try to stick with intials for the safety of myself and my family. To those who know me it won't matter.. to those who don't sorry .. its not that I don't trust you.. but well.. Safety is always a plus.
I am a 27 year old mother of one child, here named A. He has an wonderful personality. Is handsome as they come, is heading into second grade is a wolf cub in Cub Scouts and has a Autism Spectrum Disorder called Asperger's .. I put them in that order because none of them are more of less important than the others.. but none of them are stand alone definitions of him..
I am a stay at home mother .. partly because of necessity. partly because its just how it has to be for now.. My Husband .. Here named J is a restaurant Manager and good at his job even if he doesnt always belive he is.. He is also involved in Scouting and has Earned the Rank of Eagle Scout. He is my sons packs Cubmaster and really enjoys being involved in this wonderful program..

Copied Over Journals From 2006

January 1st 2006
Somedays it seems like its such a hassle to get these pages updated and posted. I enjoy sharing pictures so I keep doing this site in order to that. But man pulling the files up and editing them etc. Anyway, The New Year is starting off already and we are getting ready for Alex's birthday and his birthday party. Christmas was nice as was my birthday. We enjoyed getting to see all our family members especially the ones who live so far away now

January 15th 2006
This year has been going great so far. Alex went back to school the first week of the month and despite being sick halfway through the week he made a full recovery by Friday the 6th so that he was able to fully enjoy his birthday. The next day he had his birthday party which went off wonderfully and he had a great time with his friends. They where he for three hours and watched movies ate pizza and played with the toys. I think it was a good party.

January 15th 2006
Nothing much going on here, Birthday parties are over for the time being. Back to school everyday. Though we do have a long weekend this weekend for Martin Luther King Day. Alex gets school pictures next week and then the book fair is the week after that.. and the yearbook orders are due as well ... I forgot that at his school its the months after Christmas where all they want is money money money.. lol..

February 20th 2006
Not much to say today but I have a great website to pass along. Its run by a wonderful father who is helping spread the word about Autism Awareness please.. check it out.. buy a pin help spread the message so that someday there may be a cure.. http://www.buttonsandmore.com

February 20th 2006
Loads going on here right now, School was out for a 4 day weekend so We are just enjoying ourselfs.. Alex wanted to See Curious George so we went saturday and REALLY enjoyed it .. Yesterday was his cousins birthday and he had lots of fun there.. She is 4 now, so hard to believe. Alex is doing good in school. He loves Math especially but is doing good in other areas as well and enjoys getting to be with his friends at school.