Sad Words

Lauren had a meltdown at ballet which is nothing unusual. However, during the middle of it she cried and said "I don't want to be that girl with Autism. I want to be that normal girl. No one else my family is girl with Autism. I want to be like all of other people."

I knew it was coming, it didn't make it easier, but I knew it was coming.

And it sucks just as much as I thought it would.

Wordless Wednesday

Go Upward!!!

Lauren is cheerleading for Upward basketball. She loves it. Her favorite cheer is "Dribble It, Pass It".



Watching the game.



Sitting for prayer.

Nature

Lauren had some very simple homework. She had to divide some objects into two categories. They objects included the sun, a flash light, a candle, a firefly, and a street light. She had to decide which source of light was Found In Nature and which was Made by People.

I pointed to the sun and she said it belonged in the Made by People category. I asked her why and she said "Well, God made the sun and Jesus is God and Jesus became people so it is made by People".

Good thought Lauren! She gets it!

Nothing nice

I'm sure we've all heard it before. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I've heard it since I was little and now have said it more times than I can count.

Lauren got her one of her numerous report cards (it's special education, we don't do anything halfway). The report card from her regular 1st grade teacher really, really bothered me.

I can't remember exactly what was said on it but I know that it said that Lauren was "peforming well below grade level" and is "extremely unfocused". The narrative also wished her well this summer and told her to have fun in second grade.

There was not one postivite thing said about her. Her teacher could not come up with anything posistive just some generic remarks. And that bothered me a lot. So much that I'm writing about it over three months later.

I get that Lauren is delayed. I know that she is behind. I know that she can't focused. I go home with her everyday and live with her well beyond the 9-4 school day. I see her 365 days a year. I'm not stupid nor naive. I'm not turning a blind eye to the issues that she has. But when they write about what she is not doing, it doesn't surprise me.

But, there is something great about Lauren. There's a lot of great things about Lauren. I fail to see how after having her in a class for 9 months that you couldn't come up with something. I'm not really picky. "Lauren has a great smile." "Lauren has a great memory." Anything would do! This is especially important because at age 7, it is more about me than her.

I did speak to her principal about it. I know that her teacher didn't mean to hurt me. She didn't set out to make me sad about it but she didn't think. The principal did thank me and said he wants his staff to be aware of issues like this.

My friend, Leslie at www.mymommysplace.com, summed it up the best in her back to school haiku. "she may be the dark spot in your day, but she is the bright spot in mine". And that is my Lauren.

Crying

Lauren is currentlly upstairs in her bed crying that she doesn't want to go to college. She doesn't want to leave her family because we will miss her so much. Goodness kid, you are 7!

I just told her about colleges she could go to and still live at home. She's now excited that she could be a Buckeye.

I also told her that this is her home and she doesn't ever have to leave. There will always be a spot for her in our home and house.

We've decided to live our life and assume Lauren will never be capable of living independently.

But on the other hand we're hoping that she will.

1st day of 2nd grade

My little leprachauns

In my heart

Ellie made a new friend, Isabel, at VBS. She told me that "we're going to be best friends forever"

Lauren, the realist goes "Ellie VBS is over this week, you might not see her again".

Ellie said "That's OK. After that, she can live in my heart"

Sad day

We were walking to our car from the fireworks and Lauren was the only one awake. She kept telling me things and then all of a sudden said "I call you mom now because I'm a big girl. I'm not a baby that call you Mommy"

I can't describe how incredibly sad that made me.

Old versus new baby

We have a new member of our family, well our extended family. My sister had her first little girl. Karleigh made her arrival on 5/5 and weighed in at 6lbs5oz. She's a tiny little thing compared to my tanks.

We've been talking about Karleigh a lot and we had the following conversation today.

Lauren- Karleigh in our family now.

Me- yes, she was born on Wednesday

Laure- she's the new baby. Ian is the old baby. We call Ian Old Baby Ian now.

It was a good run as the youngest Ian but you've been dethroned now.

Art shows at schools

Favorite Brother

Lauren- "I love Ian so much. I'm so glad we have him. He's my favorite brother."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that he's her only brother.

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary

Autism and other special needs can be life altering and life consuming. It makes what should be no big deal turn into a big deal. It can make a simple trip to the grocery store something that needs to be well thought out and well planned.

I've seen my two typical toddlers learn to speak. I've seen Ellie learn to write her name with ease. I've seen them meet developmental milestones and I've been proud.

Since having Lauren, I've stopped caring about when my children did something. I've learned to rejoice that they've done it. But I've always assumed that the would do it.

With Lauren, I make no assumptions. I do not assume that she will learn to read. I'm just happy if she does. I will jump for joy if she learns to write her name because I no longer assume she will. I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic. I no longer look at normal child development as a given. I know it is a gift.

So, that's why this week my heart leaped with joy.

Lauren was invited to a birthday part and I am so extremely happy.

Student of the Month

Guess who was student of the month in March?



Lauren was!

Happy 7th Birthday Lauren!

She has changed my life like no other person.

Snow Storm

It doesn't usually snow much in our area. Bob and I don't think that it has snowed this much since 2003. We are on our third snow day in the last two weeks. It doesn't sound bad but we've also had a day off due to President's day and a day off for confrences. I don't think they are ever going back to school.


Headed out for fun in the snow.



Three girly girls on a sled. I wonder where bonus boy will fit?

They came in exactly as I predicted. Lauren almost immediately. Shannon came in when her little toddler fingers were frozen. Ellie trailed in a long time later. She insisted on helping Bob clean off the van. Next time, he will have to hold her up to clean off all the windows.

As for me and Ian, we chilled in the house.

Daddy for President!!

Lauren looked at me and said "Do you think my daddy will be president one day?" She means president of the country. Any ideas what she's learning about in social studies right now?

Dinnertime conversation

Lauren said "We have indoor recess all week. It cold out"

Then she asked, "You have recess at you work"

I said, no and Ellie jumped in and said "That's cause Mommy doesn't have a playground"

I wish it was that easy.

Family Poll

We took a poll tonight to see what Omega is. Here is the breakdown.

1 vote for girl (that would be Lauren)

1 vote for boy (that would be Ellie)

2 votes for undecided (that would be Kristin and Bob)

1 vote for a puppy (that would be Shannon and I can say with 100% certainty that she's wrong)

Shannon also likes to say that "we going to have a baby. Then, we going to buy a puppy" I have no idea where she came up with that but it is entirely UNTRUE. There will be no puppies in this house for a very long time.