Well I'm finally in the cloud. I had to upgrade my iPad and my laptop to a new OS, so it was a scary venture, but I was running out of time (my MobileMe account had to be moved by 6/30). So I did it. And nothing blew up. Phew! Now all my devices talk to each other without talking to each other. Nice.
Mom was down last weekend and we had a girl sleepover party for Jocelyn's birthday. We watched The Parent Trap (the original) and she enjoyed it very much. Then we had a breakfast birthday party. Today is her friend party at Bounce Town (yes, it's becoming a habit), so we'll be leaving in an hour or so.
Jocelyn and Jesse both addressed their own valentines all by themselves this year - woo hoo! That is just never my favorite activity. Plus every year the note comes home saying please don't give candy and so I don't and then they come home with all kinds of candy and I feel like a cheesy mom. Ah well, I suppose it's my own fault for doing it yet again each year!
Jesse just asked AGAIN when we're leaving. Thought you might like that update. It had been a whole 5 minutes - I thought maybe he fell asleep or something!
I did the ad for Timothy's 8th grade year book today. I feel silly saying congratulations on graduating the 8th grade.
We still have the kittens. Laura seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet. She's not answering texts and I finally called her and she's not answering her phone either. I hope she's ok! Does anyone need a furry orange alarm clock that only works for 5:30am and doesn't have an "off" setting? Oh, and he's long-haired, so best if you already have a lot of orange things around the house :) Today I got out a softish hair brush and brushed him, which he seemed to enjoy. The other 2 are short-haired, so they don't look quite as much like a hot mess. Josh went out and got more litter and kitten chow, so we'll at least keep them fed. Oh, and so far no more refrigerator accidents!
Well I guess that's the news from here. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!
Rhonda
WE ARE SPECIAL, WE ARE WEIRD, BUT WE ARE NOT ALONE
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January 21, 2012
Jesse to Josh: What's it like to wake up next to Mommy?
Josh: It's a gift
Jesse: She gives you presents?
I asked Jocelyn this week what she wanted for her birthday. She had to think for a long time just to come up with a pencil box that zips. On the one hand it's just adorable that the only thing she wants costs under $10. On the other hand, now I have to decide if I'm going to bother trying to find a clone of the back to school pencil box I bought her last August when all the stores were well stocked with them. I think I may just rely on the fact that she will be so excited when she sees the dressy frilly dress with matching doll dress that I got her.
Morgan's teacher was losing her voice last week. Every time she tried to talk to him, he would interrupt her by saying, "No, get a new one." So I got an email saying she wouldn't be talking to him much for a few days!
I'm trying to think of a cute or funny story about Timothy but I'm coming up a little short. He had to sign up for high school classes last week. High school! There are 7 periods and a minimum of 6 classes. I tried to talk him into doing just 6 classes and having a study hall, but he wanted to do 7. So 7 it is!
It's snowing here. Rumor has it we could get 6 inches today. Then again, it was also supposed to stop already...
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Rhonda
Josh: It's a gift
Jesse: She gives you presents?
I asked Jocelyn this week what she wanted for her birthday. She had to think for a long time just to come up with a pencil box that zips. On the one hand it's just adorable that the only thing she wants costs under $10. On the other hand, now I have to decide if I'm going to bother trying to find a clone of the back to school pencil box I bought her last August when all the stores were well stocked with them. I think I may just rely on the fact that she will be so excited when she sees the dressy frilly dress with matching doll dress that I got her.
Morgan's teacher was losing her voice last week. Every time she tried to talk to him, he would interrupt her by saying, "No, get a new one." So I got an email saying she wouldn't be talking to him much for a few days!
I'm trying to think of a cute or funny story about Timothy but I'm coming up a little short. He had to sign up for high school classes last week. High school! There are 7 periods and a minimum of 6 classes. I tried to talk him into doing just 6 classes and having a study hall, but he wanted to do 7. So 7 it is!
It's snowing here. Rumor has it we could get 6 inches today. Then again, it was also supposed to stop already...
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Rhonda
Sunday, January 8, 2012
January 8, 2012
This was a long week for such a short week! The weather has been all over the place. The week started out at 50 degrees, dipped mid-week to single digits, then back up to the 50s. Crazy.
On New Year's Day Josh and I took Joey and our friend Laura and we went to the local dive bar for a few drinks. We left Timothy home with the kids (who were sleeping by then) and Laura's 3 kittens. Little did I know that it was karaoke night at the bar! I believe the phrase is "don't quit your day job", but I had fun just the same. We may even go again next Sunday :)
Jesse had his five-year appt this week - 41lbs (50th percentile) and 45in (90th percentile). He's been holding at those percentiles for a while. And here we were so worried when he was a baby! He still appears very skinny, but even Mandy noted when she picked him up that he's got some heft to him! Solid muscle baby! When he was there he told Josh he had to go to the bathroom and so the nurse jumped at the opportunity and handed him a cup and said "here, go in this". He looked at the cup, then looked up at her and said, "I'm not going to poop in a cup." He got 2 shots, a tb test, and the finger prick thingy and no tears at all.
Jocelyn and Jesse got to go to a neighbor's birthday party today. They had a guy with animals like snakes and spiders and chameleons and such. Apparently it was the awesomest time ever. They came home in capes.
We've all been trying to fight off yet another cold and this time Morgan got it and ended up home for 2 days. I can't tell if I have it or if I just still have the cold I caught over Thanksgiving weekend.
I guess that's it from here - maybe it wasn't that long of a week after all!
Rhonda
On New Year's Day Josh and I took Joey and our friend Laura and we went to the local dive bar for a few drinks. We left Timothy home with the kids (who were sleeping by then) and Laura's 3 kittens. Little did I know that it was karaoke night at the bar! I believe the phrase is "don't quit your day job", but I had fun just the same. We may even go again next Sunday :)
Jesse had his five-year appt this week - 41lbs (50th percentile) and 45in (90th percentile). He's been holding at those percentiles for a while. And here we were so worried when he was a baby! He still appears very skinny, but even Mandy noted when she picked him up that he's got some heft to him! Solid muscle baby! When he was there he told Josh he had to go to the bathroom and so the nurse jumped at the opportunity and handed him a cup and said "here, go in this". He looked at the cup, then looked up at her and said, "I'm not going to poop in a cup." He got 2 shots, a tb test, and the finger prick thingy and no tears at all.
Jocelyn and Jesse got to go to a neighbor's birthday party today. They had a guy with animals like snakes and spiders and chameleons and such. Apparently it was the awesomest time ever. They came home in capes.
We've all been trying to fight off yet another cold and this time Morgan got it and ended up home for 2 days. I can't tell if I have it or if I just still have the cold I caught over Thanksgiving weekend.
I guess that's it from here - maybe it wasn't that long of a week after all!
Rhonda
December 31, 2011
Timothy had long flappy feet and long long fingers when we brought him home. Morgan was a fat thing with an old man's receding hair line. Jocelyn had blonde peach fuzz that made her head glow. Jesse always looked like he knew something we didn't.
I have a little secret. I find my kids fascinating. They are alike and different all at the same time. They are like me and not like me. They are like Josh and not like Josh.
Jocelyn visits us in the evenings after bedtime and brings us pictures and stories and I love it. I tell her how smart she is and she giggles with joy and squeals. I tell her how beautiful she is and she says, "I know."
Sometimes at night when I'm just settled into bed I see Jesse dart out of his room into the bathroom. Then he comes into my room and asks for bubbly water and I give him a sip and hug him and I don't want to let him go. He hugs me back and goes back to bed. In the morning I wake up when he tiptoes into my room and I keep my eyes closed for a minute and wait for him to put his face close to mine and breathe on me. Then I open my eyes and lift up the blanket and he crawls up next to me and cuddles me.
Morgan hugged me the other day and almost knocked me over. He still doesn't know he's big. He giggles and asks for tickles. I wonder at how he's an extrovert. We've been home for a week now and he's been asking to have a shower and go in the car and go to Grandma and Grandpa's or go on the bus. He wants to be around people. That's just so interesting to me. I remember when he used to spin plates and saw a quote recently that even God is a little autistic and that's why the planets spin. It made me smile.
Timothy's a funny kid in a grown man's body. His feet grew over a size in the last 6 weeks. He laughs at things I don't think he should understand. He was my sensitive toddler that called me beautiful every day and now when I hug him I'm reminded that he's taller than I am. I knew it would happen, of course, that he would outgrow me physically. I knew it would happen "some day"...
Tomorrow I will have known Josh half my life. Half my life is what it took to make all this. How could I ever think myself a failure? I find it difficult if not impossible to be humble. Look what I have accomplished, what WE have accomplished, in less than 20 years. I could lead a fulfilled life just watching what happens next.
If we did all this in less than 20 years, I can't imagine what they will do with the next 20.
But for now I will enjoy today. I will pretend Timothy is laughing just to join-in and not because he knows more than I think he does. I will tickle Morgan's tummy like he's a 3 year old. I will read Jocelyn's phonetic stories and smile and laugh at the right places. I will cuddle Jesse. I will tell them all they can be anything and do anything they want, anything they can imagine.
Because they can. And I'll be happy to just watch.
December 26, 2011
I've heard that Christmas is for the kids. I think that's not quite right. I think Christmas is for the kid inside each of us, and my little girl had a great weekend.
Jesse spent a good 6 hours on Friday asking when everyone was going to be here. Thank goodness Jocelyn had a full day of school or she would have done the same. They were considerably more excited to have all their cousins here than to open presents.
By 5pm we had the whole brood in the house - 9 kids and 8 adults. It makes for some noise I'll tell ya! Food, games, Hanukkah, food, games, food, bed.
As per usual, not all that much sleeping, though we got a later start than usual Saturday morning due to a few stragglers. I think I finally woke Jocelyn up around 8.
The kids did a great job with gifts. With 17 people opening presents 1 at a time, it can be a long wait in between! Various children took breaks to go play with this toy or that at random times. Morgan stopped by once in a while and we'd have him open several while we had him.
After gifts mom and dad headed home and Reese went down for a nap and Jeff and Timothy went to the store for lunch supplies. Jeff made up burgers and dogs and Rob did the grilling. The burgers were awesome! Then Elisabeth and family headed home as well and the kids went off to fight over who was the boss of everyone for a while. I took a bath and a nap and then was ready for round 2.
More Hanukkah, food, bed and then we watched Home for the Holidays. Definitely more sleep on night 2!
In the morning we were all surprised to see that Santa had come AGAIN! Especially Jesse, who stood in the game room screaming "SANTA CAME AGAIN!" until all the kids were gathered 'round to see.
Jeff cooked us all breakfast and then we watched Rocco (the dog) while the Roberge family saw other Roberge family for the day in CT. I don't think Jesse left Rocco alone the whole time, including the time Rocco spent snoring on the couch next to me.
More Hanukkah and then early bedtime for me. It was an exhausting weekend but oh so worth it. All the Roberge girls spoke to me voluntarily, and while Chase isn't exactly my bff regularly, I did get quite an enthusiastic hug from him when Elisabeth opened her new iPad :) I was even brave enough to attempt eye contact with Reese. ooops, maybe next year! hee hee
I got to watch the littler cousins crawl all over the giant that is Timothy, and see them have little conversations over mini-pizzas. Patience, while waiting for her turn on the ipad, asked if I knew that Sage was the chubbiest baby. Sage confided that it took her a while to get the head-gear on to her American Girl. Ruby gave me a run down of the apps she had. And having someone else doing all the cooking (and cleaning of the kitchen!) on Saturday and Sunday was dreamy! My heart is full.
Well it's time for more Hanukkah, guess I better wake Jesse up (he fell asleep on the couch a while ago, Jocelyn is off playing tea party in her room and Timothy's playing last night's Hanukkah present on PS3).
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
Rhonda
Jesse spent a good 6 hours on Friday asking when everyone was going to be here. Thank goodness Jocelyn had a full day of school or she would have done the same. They were considerably more excited to have all their cousins here than to open presents.
By 5pm we had the whole brood in the house - 9 kids and 8 adults. It makes for some noise I'll tell ya! Food, games, Hanukkah, food, games, food, bed.
As per usual, not all that much sleeping, though we got a later start than usual Saturday morning due to a few stragglers. I think I finally woke Jocelyn up around 8.
The kids did a great job with gifts. With 17 people opening presents 1 at a time, it can be a long wait in between! Various children took breaks to go play with this toy or that at random times. Morgan stopped by once in a while and we'd have him open several while we had him.
After gifts mom and dad headed home and Reese went down for a nap and Jeff and Timothy went to the store for lunch supplies. Jeff made up burgers and dogs and Rob did the grilling. The burgers were awesome! Then Elisabeth and family headed home as well and the kids went off to fight over who was the boss of everyone for a while. I took a bath and a nap and then was ready for round 2.
More Hanukkah, food, bed and then we watched Home for the Holidays. Definitely more sleep on night 2!
In the morning we were all surprised to see that Santa had come AGAIN! Especially Jesse, who stood in the game room screaming "SANTA CAME AGAIN!" until all the kids were gathered 'round to see.
Jeff cooked us all breakfast and then we watched Rocco (the dog) while the Roberge family saw other Roberge family for the day in CT. I don't think Jesse left Rocco alone the whole time, including the time Rocco spent snoring on the couch next to me.
More Hanukkah and then early bedtime for me. It was an exhausting weekend but oh so worth it. All the Roberge girls spoke to me voluntarily, and while Chase isn't exactly my bff regularly, I did get quite an enthusiastic hug from him when Elisabeth opened her new iPad :) I was even brave enough to attempt eye contact with Reese. ooops, maybe next year! hee hee
I got to watch the littler cousins crawl all over the giant that is Timothy, and see them have little conversations over mini-pizzas. Patience, while waiting for her turn on the ipad, asked if I knew that Sage was the chubbiest baby. Sage confided that it took her a while to get the head-gear on to her American Girl. Ruby gave me a run down of the apps she had. And having someone else doing all the cooking (and cleaning of the kitchen!) on Saturday and Sunday was dreamy! My heart is full.
Well it's time for more Hanukkah, guess I better wake Jesse up (he fell asleep on the couch a while ago, Jocelyn is off playing tea party in her room and Timothy's playing last night's Hanukkah present on PS3).
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
Rhonda
December 17, 2011
I guess it's been a while since I've written. I feel like the week without power set me way more than a week behind in my life! So let's see what's been happening lately...
Jesse: Mom, is there time?
me: time for what?
Jesse: no, like is there a future?
me: yes
Jesse: are we in it?
me: no
Jesse: what does the future look like? is it all golden?
This week Josh went in to Jesse's class for gingerbread house day and they made a gingerbread house (the graham cracker on the milk carton version). Jesse said it was the awesomest day ever. I ended up with some new ideas - like snowmen out of marshmallows!
Today Jesse asked me if I could buy him sunglasses because I have too much money.
Last week I had a parent teacher conference with Jocelyn's teacher. A worksheet came home ahead of time where I was supposed to fill in her strengths and weaknesses so that we could discuss them at the conference. Really? So for strengths I put "enthusiasm", and I left weaknesses empty. We didn't discuss them at the conference. She's doing fine though, despite handwriting being somewhat hit or miss. Apparently she's good at math.
Morgan's lost 8 lbs since we installed the lock on the laundry room door!!! Since he's gained 60 lbs in 2 years, the most recent loss is VERY encouraging. I promise we aren't starving him. The only change is that he can't eat several thousand calories before we even get up in the morning.
Timothy had an excellent report card. His lowest grade was a B+, in math, which was an improvement from last year where he struggled to keep a B. He continues to grow taller by the minute. I was commenting on this to Josh and wondering if he'd be taller than Josh some day. Turns out that Josh was nearly 6 ft in the 8th grade, so maybe 6'4" is not in Timothy's future.
Josh and I left the house last night! We were invited to a holiday party at the house of the head of Investor Relations for Aetna. The last time we went to an Aetna holiday party was 7 years ago and Josh was still traumatized from the whole event, so he was somewhat hesitant to repeat the episode, especially since this time he was going to have to put on a suit. But it ended up being fine - not some hilarious good time - but fine. At least there was alcohol! And he got to meet the Chief Actuary and a few other people that I've spoken about from time to time. One person asked him what it was like "being married to an institution" and another commented that his wife is a cracker jack.
I guess that's about it from here. Now that I've got the holiday menu planned, I've got some baking to do today and also some prep work so that I can fit the rest of the cooking in on Friday. Josh is at the store now getting the first round of groceries. Hanukkah starts Tuesday night. Bring on the holidays!
Rhonda
Jesse: Mom, is there time?
me: time for what?
Jesse: no, like is there a future?
me: yes
Jesse: are we in it?
me: no
Jesse: what does the future look like? is it all golden?
This week Josh went in to Jesse's class for gingerbread house day and they made a gingerbread house (the graham cracker on the milk carton version). Jesse said it was the awesomest day ever. I ended up with some new ideas - like snowmen out of marshmallows!
Today Jesse asked me if I could buy him sunglasses because I have too much money.
Last week I had a parent teacher conference with Jocelyn's teacher. A worksheet came home ahead of time where I was supposed to fill in her strengths and weaknesses so that we could discuss them at the conference. Really? So for strengths I put "enthusiasm", and I left weaknesses empty. We didn't discuss them at the conference. She's doing fine though, despite handwriting being somewhat hit or miss. Apparently she's good at math.
Morgan's lost 8 lbs since we installed the lock on the laundry room door!!! Since he's gained 60 lbs in 2 years, the most recent loss is VERY encouraging. I promise we aren't starving him. The only change is that he can't eat several thousand calories before we even get up in the morning.
Timothy had an excellent report card. His lowest grade was a B+, in math, which was an improvement from last year where he struggled to keep a B. He continues to grow taller by the minute. I was commenting on this to Josh and wondering if he'd be taller than Josh some day. Turns out that Josh was nearly 6 ft in the 8th grade, so maybe 6'4" is not in Timothy's future.
Josh and I left the house last night! We were invited to a holiday party at the house of the head of Investor Relations for Aetna. The last time we went to an Aetna holiday party was 7 years ago and Josh was still traumatized from the whole event, so he was somewhat hesitant to repeat the episode, especially since this time he was going to have to put on a suit. But it ended up being fine - not some hilarious good time - but fine. At least there was alcohol! And he got to meet the Chief Actuary and a few other people that I've spoken about from time to time. One person asked him what it was like "being married to an institution" and another commented that his wife is a cracker jack.
I guess that's about it from here. Now that I've got the holiday menu planned, I've got some baking to do today and also some prep work so that I can fit the rest of the cooking in on Friday. Josh is at the store now getting the first round of groceries. Hanukkah starts Tuesday night. Bring on the holidays!
Rhonda
Thursday, November 24, 2011
November 24, 2011
Timothy was away last week on the 8th grade trip to Washington DC. He left early in the morning on the 15th and got home around 10pm on the 18th. I was apprehensive about letting him go on a trip far away with a pretty high teenager to chaperone ratio! However, we have so much commotion in our house that once he left, I barely noticed he was gone.
Saturday morning the other kids were all very excited to see Timothy. Jesse hung on him all day, following him around, imitating him, playing video games, and being very jealous of the switch-blade comb that Timothy had bought for himself while away. Adorable.
But even cuter than that was Morgan's reaction. He was so excited to see Timothy that he literally jumped up and down and across the room to hug him, repeatedly. Big bear hugs and big smiles, for hours.
I have read that autism can be tough on a marriage and on siblings and generally on a family. Certainly this is true, but it focuses on the negative and not on the balance. With great challenge comes great reward, that's just how life works.
Yes, I have an 11-year that outweighs me and we had to put a new doorknob on the laundry room that requires a key to get out instead of in just so we can keep all the food safe from Morgan's early morning binges. He cried and fought getting shots at the doctor and even Josh struggled to counteract Morgan's extreme strength. I wipe peanut butter off the iPad every day. Outings as a family are carefully planned to be Morgan-friendly or else are only with one parent.
The daughter of one of Morgan's paras from last year came over on Tuesday afternoon to interview Timothy for a piece she's writing for NPR on the impact of autism on siblings. Among other things, she asked him if other kids at school teased him because of Morgan. "Sometimes," he said, "but I don't really care what they think. I know he's a good kid." Then all the kids showed her how they can bowl together on the Xbox Kinect.
I have an 11-year old that loves his siblings and jumps across the room with excitement to hug them. I have 3 other kids that love him back. They play games he can play, read books with him, and snuggle with him on the couch. He invites them to jump on the bed, they invite him to play iPad with collectively sticky fingers.
I cannot be thankful for autism, no one can. It would be like being thankful for cancer. But I can be thankful for how my family has reacted to it, how it has brought us together as a unit, and how my children have learned certain lessons early - lessons that others may not learn in their lifetime.
Who cares what anyone else thinks, I know we're awesome.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Rhonda
Saturday morning the other kids were all very excited to see Timothy. Jesse hung on him all day, following him around, imitating him, playing video games, and being very jealous of the switch-blade comb that Timothy had bought for himself while away. Adorable.
But even cuter than that was Morgan's reaction. He was so excited to see Timothy that he literally jumped up and down and across the room to hug him, repeatedly. Big bear hugs and big smiles, for hours.
I have read that autism can be tough on a marriage and on siblings and generally on a family. Certainly this is true, but it focuses on the negative and not on the balance. With great challenge comes great reward, that's just how life works.
Yes, I have an 11-year that outweighs me and we had to put a new doorknob on the laundry room that requires a key to get out instead of in just so we can keep all the food safe from Morgan's early morning binges. He cried and fought getting shots at the doctor and even Josh struggled to counteract Morgan's extreme strength. I wipe peanut butter off the iPad every day. Outings as a family are carefully planned to be Morgan-friendly or else are only with one parent.
The daughter of one of Morgan's paras from last year came over on Tuesday afternoon to interview Timothy for a piece she's writing for NPR on the impact of autism on siblings. Among other things, she asked him if other kids at school teased him because of Morgan. "Sometimes," he said, "but I don't really care what they think. I know he's a good kid." Then all the kids showed her how they can bowl together on the Xbox Kinect.
I have an 11-year old that loves his siblings and jumps across the room with excitement to hug them. I have 3 other kids that love him back. They play games he can play, read books with him, and snuggle with him on the couch. He invites them to jump on the bed, they invite him to play iPad with collectively sticky fingers.
I cannot be thankful for autism, no one can. It would be like being thankful for cancer. But I can be thankful for how my family has reacted to it, how it has brought us together as a unit, and how my children have learned certain lessons early - lessons that others may not learn in their lifetime.
Who cares what anyone else thinks, I know we're awesome.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Rhonda
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