Birthday Party

Tonight Alli is having her grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins over for her birthday, which was really last Monday. We probably won't due much as she is on a gluten free diet so there will be no birthday cake for her. Great grandma Wanda will be making her rice krispie bars though and we all will like that. Hopefully she will be more interested this year in her presents. Usually she doesn't want to open them so mom or dad, probably sister Becca, will open them for her. Wonder if she will get some really cute outfits again. Her family sure does dress her well. They all have great taste in clothes.

Memorial Weekend

What a nice weekend we had for Memorial Weekend. The weatherman kept forecasting rain but we pretty much had a sun filled weekend. Two of my children went up north with my parents so it was really quiet around our home. It was my daughters birthday yesterday, she turned 10, so it was kinda fun to have her home alone and to be able to give her all of our attention. I think she liked it too. The other kids got home around 5:30 it was fun to hear all about their weekend fishing and playing with some family friends. They can't wait for mom and dad to go up north and enjoy this little spot of fun.

Alternative Assessment

Monday night I went to a parent forum regarding alternative assessment. I was very surprised that most of the parents at this forum really didn't have a clue what alternative assessment was and what it does for your child. Alternative assessment is an alternate way for teachers and the department of education to assess your child, who has special needs, with children of the same age and grade level. In my situation I believe it is a huge waste of time. I think money and time spent on alternative assessment could be better spent working with my child on her goals from her IEP. The department of Ed. should be able to see from her IEP where she compares to other kids her age. Or just give them the Iowa Basic Skills test and you that way you could evenly see how they compare with other children.

Nascar and Autism

I was never really interested in Nascar until friends of ours invited us to go to Texas and see a race. From that moment on I can say I have been a fan and I try to catch some of each race. Anyone who is into Nascar has their favorite driver, mine happens to be Kasey Kahne, but another driver has also caught my attention. It was about 3 weeks ago when Jamie McMurray had an on board camera and he was the driver that was selected to talk before the race started. In his car I noticed the Autism Puzzle Piece and he also mentioned that April was Autism Awareness Month. I also happen to notice that during last weeks race he had an on board camera and it was AutismSpeaks.org sponsored. My first impression was wow Autism even in Nascar. I think it is awesome of this driver, Jamie McMurrary and Nascar to bring it into the sport where maybe more people may see and hear which means more people become aware of this disorder. Thanks Jamie McMurrary and Nascar. I can tell you I will now keep my eye on this driver along with Kasey Kahne.

Wish I knew what she was thinking

My 9 year old daughter, who is autistic, has not been wanting to go to sleep at night. This has lasted about 2 1/2 weeks now. I check on her when I go to bed at 10:00 and there she is waiting for me to open the door and then she starts giggling. Sure do wish I knew what she was thinking. What is she laughing at, what is hurting, is she hungry, is she thirsty, and what does she wants to do today. She is non-verbal so communicating with her is sometimes difficult. I love her dearly and would not change anything about her except I wish she could talk and let us know her wants and needs. I know she wishes the same because I can see her frustration when we can't figure things out. Guess we just keep on taking things 1 day at a time and maybe medicine will figure something out to help all the autistic children in the world.

Tornado In Greensburg

Living in the Midwest I know what it is like to have to worry about Tornado's. Wondering with every thunderstorm if a tornado is coming with it. I am having a really hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of a tornado that was over 1 1/2 miles wide. I can't even imagine what it was like to be a part of something like that. To have a whole town just wiped off the map like that and to have at least 12 people die because of such a storm is hard to digest. My prayers are with the people of this area and I hope and pray that they can rebuild and are able to move on.

Pee Wee's Baseball

My 12 year old son had his first baseball practice tonight for Pee Wee's. Sometimes it really hurts to watch them practice. When he was younger it was dreadful to watch because he was the youngster on the team. Not knowing what he was doing , not really understanding the game, and not being as aggressive because he was the youngest. Now its hard because he is the oldest on his team, meaning he has 2 - 3 years more experience playing then the youngsters have. Makes us all in a hurry to get up to the midget level so he can again start playing with the older kids and more at his level. Being on both sides of the coin I really don't know which is better, having your kid be the noobie or being more experienced which makes it harder to play because the younger kids just haven't caught up yet?

Washing Windows

Spent the day yesterday washing all the windows and screens in my home. I thought this would be a good weekend to do it because it was so icky with the rain and wind. This is probably one of the worst chores to do around the house. We live on a gravel road and the dust we get from the road is just awful. I couldn't believe how dirty the screens were. Now I know why I don't wash windows very often, the next day they are just as dirty again.