Month: September 2008

Just a jam packed day ahead here!

Melissa

First, we need to get out and run.  We took a few too many days off while I was on vacation so now we have to stick to the every other day plan to stay on track.

Then, we are having a cookout with a few neighbors.  There are about 15 of us total.  I made cookies yesterday.  Duhdee needs to prepare shrimp skewers and veggie skewers.  Everyone is bringing something so we should have plenty of food.  Around noon we’ll start setting up tables, grills and the TV so we should be well under way by the time the Patriots game kicks off at 1.  Yay!  Go Pats!  Monkey LOVES football so that should be a big hit.

Sometimes we have trouble convincing him to go into the neighbors yard for these sorts of things but I think the Patriots will be a strong enough lure.  I doubt anyone is going to be able to hear the announcers over his screams of “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Balllllll!” though.

Hello Hanna!

Melissa

It’s been a while since we’ve had a serious storm here but that should change today.

An outer band of Hanna was expected to reach the Massachusetts coast this morning, dumping up to 3 inches of rain. That band will move, allowing for a clear day before the body of Hanna reaches the area in the evening, dumping another 3 to 4 inches overnight. The storm is about 310 miles long.

The area will see a sustained wind of 30 to 40 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 60 miles per hour along the coast, said Nicole Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton.

We’re under a Tropical Storm warning now.  Joy.

Delayed.

Melissa

The IEP is now scheduled for the end of the 2nd week of school.  I have nothing nice to say about this so I’m just going to change the subject now, OK?

Duhdee and I are now in our 3rd week of training for that Fragile X 5K and I’m feeling really good about it!  The first week was the hardest, not in terms of the training but in terms of the soreness I experienced for days and days after each run.  It’s gotten progressively more difficult in terms of training but easier in terms of how I feel.  I’m never sore anymore.  I’m STARVING the day after a run but other than that I feel great.  Sometimes after we finish our training session we’ll add another sprint just for FUN…isnt’ that crazy? 

Our garden is producing tomatoes like mad right now.  We are using the slicing tomatoes for Caprese sandwhiches and Duhdee copied the Olive Garden’s Caprese pasta dish (DELISH!)  I think next should be Caprese pizza.  I really need to start making my own mozarella.  The cherry tomatoes are eaten straight off the vine or from the bowl on the counter as snacks.  They’re so sweet!  The paste tomatoes are being frozen, Duhdee is going to use them to make pizza and pasta sauces (and maybe even ketchup) this winter.

This was our first year with a real garden, we only did containers before, and it was planned as a container garden so I’m pleased with how it’s turned out.  We have figured out which of the tomatoes we want to keep and which to drop.   Next year is the year of the peppers.  I have Red, Yellow, Green and Purple varieties to try.  I’m excited already!  We’re also going to grow a few different types of lettuce and beans to experiment with.  The year after that we’ll have to try a bunch of peas and carrots…I’ve got two standard varieties for next year but there are so MANY types of everything to try.  It’s going to take a while to find all our favorites.

Just another day

Melissa

I stayed up too late.
I woke up in the middle of the night and did not fall right back to sleep.
I woke up late.
My favorite shirt, the one I had planned to wear today, had a mysterious hole in it.
I had to go to work.

So, it sounds like the start of another typical day, right? Right. And then…

I asked for a kiss from Monkey, and got a great one.
I got another kiss from Duhdee, also a great one.
I blew a kiss to Monkey and said “I love you!” He responded with a wave (typical) and “BYE-BYE” (a first).

Suddenly it doesn’t feel like just another day after all!

Anxiety levels rising again.

Melissa

We have our follow up IEP meeting on Friday.  Why a follow up?  Because the team couldn’t get on the same page at our last meeting in June!  Ugh. 

We are supposed to get the results of the assistive technology evaluation…well, we should have them today, right?  We’ll see, Duhdee reminded the teacher today.  We are supposed to set goals and discuss classroom placement.  On Friday.  He starts school on Monday, I’m so glad we have time to prepare him for this.  His teacher seems to be working on the assumption that we’ll be back in her classroom this fall but at the last meeting that was not what they were saying.  So, it’s anybody’s guess really what will happen there.

We’ve already been informed that his OT, PT and ST are all changing.  The new providers and the old providers are all supposed to be at the meeting.  Plus the teacher and the school psychologist and us and our advocate and…MONKEY.  No childcare available.  So.  Should be a blast.

We have a meeting with our advocate on Thursday evening so we can make a plan.  That’s just about the only thing keeping me from totally panicking.  It really shouldn’t feel like this.

Bee Bo!

Melissa

Monkey has suddenly decided that The Belly Button Book by Sandra Boynton is his favorite book but he has very strict rules for how it is to be read.  First, Umma, Duhdee and Monkey all need to be present.  Duhdee needs to lay on his back on our bed with the book held over his head.   Monkey needs to lay on his back next to Duhdee.  Umma lays on her belly close enough to Monkey so that she can participate in the game.

Once we are all positioned, Duhdee begins to read and Monkey starts the game.  He will alternatively shake his head “no” and nod his head “yes” and Umma is expected to copy him.  He quickly dissolves into giggles and I’m not sure he’s listening to the story at all really except that he does notice if Duhdee stops reading.  I have no idea why it’s so amusing but his giggles are hard to resist.

So are his orders to “lay down!”

Fairly well.

Melissa

So, the trip to the fair went fairly well (awful, I know.) It was a very small affair (ok, I’ll stop!)  There were cows and Monkey did get very excited about them.  He even petted one.  He was a very big fan of the bunnies and even said “bunny” when prompted.  Last year he was very excited about the quads at another fair that a dealer brought to show off but this year he only had eyes for three National Guard vehicles.  When we first arrived I motioned towards them but Duhdee was not interested in being recruited.  I told him all he needed to do was violate the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and he’d be fine but he wasn’t biting.  Turns out they were not very actively recruiting, I guess they must have met their quota for August! Monkey crawled all over those vehicles and had a grand time.

There were two things about this fair that bugged me…the petting zoo and the elephant rides.  I’m fine with a petting zoo of domesticated animals, I’m not so fine with a petting zoo of what should be wild African animals and I’m also not fine with a petting zoo with primates.  The monkeys were out of reach so really it was just a chance to see them.  The poor things were in a small cage, holding the bars and just staring out.  Awful.  Then we left that area to see a poor, dead eyed, lone elephant being led around (with prompts from the handler’s hook) in circles carrying load after load of kids.  UGH, UGH, UGH!  It should be illegal.

Why is this sort of thing at an agricultural fair anyway?  Aren’t there enough domesticated farm animals to teach about?  Isn’t the whole POINT to show off local agriculture?  Anyway.  We won’t make a return visit to that fair again.  We’ll stick to the true ag. fairs thank you very much.

Oh, I guess there were three things that bugged me.  One of the most popular activities at the fair appeared to be karaoke. I really admire the bravery of folks who get up on stage and sing for hundreds of strangers.  I could never do it.  As a listener, though, alcohol would have helped I think but, alas, it was a dry event.