HOT

It seemed as if it would never get here. I am talking about summer and the nice weather that comes with it. The one question I am thinking however, is where did spring go? We went from winter to summer and forgot about spring. The last three days we have experienced 90+ temps. I love this type of weather but my daughter does not like it when it gets to hot. It's way to early in the season for me to want to turn the air on. As my husband would say, just call me cheap. It sure is going to be a long summer if these temperatures keep going the way they are. Not only money wise for air conditioning but my daughter will be super crabby and that's not a good thing.

Broken Arm?

Well my day started out pretty much normal until I woke up my 9 year old daughter. She must of fallen out of bed in the night because when I opened up her bedroom door there she stood, not very happy I might add, with a big rug burn down her nose. She seemed a little crabby while getting ready this morning but nothing that was to bothersome. After being at work for about one hour I received a call from the school nurse saying she was crying hysterically and they thought her arm may need to be looked at because when anyone touched it she would cry harder. My daugher is autistic and is also non-verbal so it is hard to tell when when something hurts her. She doesn't like to use her hands so she doesn't use sign language either so trying to figure out what is wrong takes some investigating. My husband took her to see her pediatrician and he thought maybe she bruised it real good. He told us to keep an eye on it tonight and to make sure she uses it or we may need to do x-rays. For the most part she seems to be using it but seems to guard it quite a bit. I have no idea how we would get x-rays on her because she doesn't like anyone to restrain her. I could not imagine what it would be like for her to wear a cast. This could be an experience that I hope we don't have to go thru.

Nickelodeon and Autism

Wow, I am total impressed with the Nickelodeon TV Channel. My 7 year old daughter and I were watching TV Sunday night, of course we were channel surfing, when I came upon a program put on by Nickelodeon about Autism. It really grabbed my daughter's attention because her 9 year old sister Alli is Autistic. We watched the program for awhile when she looked at me and said "we know about Autism, right mom". She was totally involved in watching the program and listening to other kids talk about their sister/brother with Autism. I believe it helped Becca to realize that her brother Cole and herself are not alone when it comes to having a sister like Alli who has Autism. The kids on this program expressed their feelings about their sister/brother with Autism and I think Becca could relate very well to what they were saying. I hope there were other kids who saw this program and I also hope it helped them to realize they are not alone. The reason I think this program was so great is because I have not seen a TV channel try to put Autism in a child's perspective, to try and make siblings feel like they are not alone and to try and tell "normal" familes it's not OK to make fun of children with Autism, but to try and understand them and realize being different is alright. Way to go Nickelodeon.

What A Day

Get up at 6:00 am. Hurry up get ready for work. Now, wake up three sleeping kids who don't want to get out of bed. Next do a load of laundry and fold a load of laundry. Pack school lunches, get backpacks ready, and put the kids on the bus. 8 hours of work at the office. Home to fix supper. Help husband at house we are remodeling. Fight with husband at house we are remodeling (you know construction work and spouses usually do not mix). Go home again, do dishes, sweep floor, more laundry, help kids with homework, go back to house we are remodeling to see how things are going, put kids to bed, maybe now watch a little TV. Soon it will be time to go to bed only to start it all over again.

Autism

April is a time of many things from spring arriving to the the excitement of another school year coming to a end. It is also when families like mine try to make the world more aware of the fast growing epidemic of autism. 1 in 150 children are now being diagnosed with this awful disorder, including my 9 year old daughter Alli. One of the most upsetting things about autism is that no two children are alike. What works for one family in helping their child may or may not work for another child. Autism is like a puzzle, you must keep researching and trying new things to see if that is the one piece you are missing that may be the key to helping your child. Everyone's philosiphy is different in what is the correct treatment.

First Grade School Concert

Had a really busy night. My seven year old daughter, who is in first grade, had her school concert tonight. It was titled Bugz. She was so cute, as were all her classmates. Becca and the other girls in her class were butterflies. They did such a great job. All the kids had really neat lines to say and they also sang some really adorable songs. I think Becca really had a great time up on stage. I know her dad and I had fun watching her and so did her grandma & grandpa. The concerts they do now days are so much more fun than the traditional concerts like we had when I was a kid.

Snow

Woke up about one hour ago. Turned on the TV and the weatherman was saying expect 4-8 inches of snow over the next 24 hours, enough for snowmobilers to be happy. I think if you are a snowmobiler or not, no one is looking forward to this much snow. I think the weather has forgot it is almost the middle of April.

The Masters Golf Tournament

Personally I don't understand the concept of golf. To me if golf is on TV it is the ideal time for a nap. Even though I don't understand golf and really don't want to spend my time learning the game I was happy to see the young man from Iowa win this elite honor and be given the green jacket. It is nice to see someone win, that may not have a "name" in the sport that everyone recognizes like Tiger Woods, or someone who may be considered the underdog. Congratulations to Zach Johnson for his win at the masters!

April Showers?

What has happened to April showers bring May flowers? Can't say that I personally like to see all these snow flurries and cold temperatures this time of year. My family and I are looking forward to all the great things that come with warmer weather. Can't wait to see green grass, leaves on the trees, and all types of flowers that come with spring. So old man winter please release your grip on us and we will see you in December.

Brittany Spaniel Puppies

Brittany Spaniel dogs are, in my opinion, one of the best family dogs a person can have. Not only are they great for my husband and son to take out hunting, they are wonderful companions. My middle child Alli, who is autistic, just loves all of our Brittany's. We have two outside dogs named Buck and Tuffy. Then there is our house dog named Scout. My daughter can due just about anything to her from pulling on her ears to slobbery kisses and she tolerates it all. When I say slobbery kisses I'm talking from Alli not the dog. Recently one of our dogs just had a litter of 12 puppies! My children were in heaven with all those puppies. We have passed most of them on to good loving homes but we still have two left. My children think this is wonderful because they now think we will have five dogs, one for everyone. Gotta say I do love Brittany Spaniels but I really don't know if I am ready to take care of that many. Hopefully my children won't be too unhappy when the last two puppies find their forever family.