Exhausted from parenting/ASD children/Welcome to Schmolland!

[ppony]

Melissa37... HUGS! and have one on me! I can't add anything but that.

 

[kampfirekim]

great pics KFK!

ppony, welcome to our Schmutch neighborhood Please don't lose hope, your son is still very young, and so much can change (not promising it will, but it can!). My son is leaps and bounds better now than at age 2. DS was also tested for seizures (EEG) but like iwrbnd's DS, my son was not seizing - just not paying attention!

Yesterday I ran into a mom I know who has a kid in my DS's math class. She told me her daughter comes home nearly everyday complaining about how this teacher treats my DS. He complains about this teacher, but hearing it like this makes me feel . School will be over in 16 days (but who's counting!) and then he will be done with her. This girl said to her mother "If I understand Dan has a disability, why doesn't Mrs. Q (the teacher)?" Why indeed..... I am not planning to do anything about it though, b/c like I said, only 16 days to go, then he will be done with her. But UGH!!

Since no flaming is allowed in Schmolland, I will just say.... That makes me MADDER than a hornet! I would probably plan a surprise drop in to the class if your DS' school permits classroom visits. Ours does. 16 days could seem like a long time to your DS if he's not being treated properly! Not to mention the children who WILL be taught by her in the future! This kind of stuff turns me into a raving lunatic! I'm not flaming on the outside, but I'm def flaming on the inside!!!

Hugs to all my Schmolland friends that need them. I am off for the weekend. I get to leave Schmolland for about 48 hours. I have farmed out my Schmutes to friends and family so that I can recharge and regroup. I wish I could take all my Schmolland parents with me.

Good luck this weekend!

Daisy

I wish you could take us too! Hope you have a great weekend!

I love this thread! I've been reading from the beginning and just have to say it's wonderful to read about my life in other people's writing.

I finally felt the need to post after our return from our supposed to be wonderful Mommy/Son trip to WDW! I keep forgetting that the best laid plans don't mean much in the land of Schmolland! Can I just say, I need a vacation from my vacation.

My Schmutch boy is 7 and on the severe end of the spectrum. I also have a NT DD5. Since my parents were taking DD5 on a special trip as she isn't in school yet, I decided it would be the perfect time for DS and I to run away for a couple of days by ourselves. Oh why do I come up with these ideas?

I can now say that I have lived through the fire! Yes, a full blown autistic meltdown on an airplane! I have learned from some really nice flight attendants that many will forgo the turn electronics off for landing if you tell them why it might be a problem! In a couple of weeks I'll be able to look back and have a very funny story of how we almost diverted our plane from landing because we were having a meltdown and wouldn't stay in our seat with the seat belt on!! But it will take a bit of time to recover from the trauma.

I am also grateful that I prefer to sit in the back of the plane with all the other families who are surprisingly understanding and willing to offer drinks when it's all over.

It only took mommy 2 days out of a 5 day trip to recover from this incident. At least I learned I can travel with him by myself and survive, but now I know that taking backup for my peace of mind is not a bad idea for a while.

At least I'll get a trip out of the deal, I need to plan another trip to do everything I had to skip this time (although if I don't ride PP, TTA, or IASW for awhile I'll be fine with that.)

I never thought I'd be so glad to return to the land of Schmolland from WDW, but it's good to be home. I'm not so sure how long my nerves will take to settle down though.

OH MY! Did you just say airplane and autistic meltdown in the same sentence? I'm not a drinker, but the thought of that one might deserve a little bracer! Good Lawd! That's a scary thought! I can honestly say we've never affected a flight plan before! Well, only because we haven't flown w/DS.

Now it's a crying shame that the high point of a WDW vacation is simply that you "survived". You definitely deserve a solo trip to do what you didn't get to do this time. Or if you like I'll leave my Schmollish Macadamia Ranch for a few days and meet you there! Glad you decided to join us! Welcome aboard! (but not aboard a plane!)

 

[melissa37]

ppony-Thanks for the hug, I really needed it.

KFK - I'm not a drinker either, but if anything would drive a person to drink is was that flight.

I'm really not as crazy as I sound, we've flown before and had really good experiences as DS loves planes. It did reinforce though that furture trips will be a bit closer to home for a while as mom recovers her courage.

I don't think I'll get my solo trip in for a bit, DD is eagerly awaiting her return trip to WDW, she was really torn not to be going on this trip. I'll probably try to plan something for the two of us around a school break in the Fall.

Maybe we should schedule a national trip to WDW for all Schmollandite parents, no schmutches allowed. That's my idea of respite!

 

[Brightsy]

Oh I'd love a non-Shmutch trip to WDW! I dream of someday going to Epcot's Food and Wine festival w/ just my DH!

 

[iwrbnd]

Count me in on a Schmolland trip to WDW! I would love to hang out with you all, with or without kids! I've always thought there should be a week that al Schmolland residents go to disney, like Gay Days. But, I would definitely be in if our little block met there! It could be a Schmolland block party!

melissa37, HELLO!!! It's nice to meet you! I'm so sorry about your plane drama! I also am not a drinker but I think I would come out of that a full blown alcoholic!

Hang in there everybody & have a great day!

 

[kampfirekim]

Count me in on a Schmolland trip to WDW! I would love to hang out with you all, with or without kids! I've always thought there should be a week that al Schmolland residents go to disney, like Gay Days. But, I would definitely be in if our little block met there! It could be a Schmolland block party!

melissa37, HELLO!!! It's nice to meet you! I'm so sorry about your plane drama! I also am not a drinker but I think I would come out of that a full blown alcoholic!

Hang in there everybody & have a great day!

As long as we don't have to go DURING the gay days. Life in Schmolland already has enough excitement as it is. Seriously, wouldn't a block party be loads of fun! w/ or w/out the little Schmutchers. I don't know if WDW could take All of us converging on them at once WITH all of our Schmutcharoos! Couldn't you just picture the SJFT being done all over the MK! Talk about being in a parallel universe....it would be like something off the Twilight Zone!

I can hardly hold my head up all day as it is! Add alcohol and I may hit the floor and NEVER get up. Better get me a life alert system, "I've fallen and I can't get up!" Drunk in Schmolland..............Now THERE'S a scary thought!

 

[C&G'sMama]

As long as we don't have to go DURING the gay days. Life in Schmolland already has enough excitement as it is.

I need to take my kids to gay days as they live it every day. So I guess will be forced to go twice, once the first week of June and then maybe in the fall to meet our other kindred spirits. Can you just imagine the conversations our kids would have with each other and actually being with a whole group of kids that understand what they're talking about.

 

[toodycat]

I would love to do a Schmolland trip to WDW. Dh and I were planning a "big kids" trip this summer...just us at the AKL with DS safely at film camp during the day and at Grandma's at night. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go because of my broken foot. We are looking at a trip to Cancun or Jamaica instead, so I don't have to walk so much. I just can't get DH to decide where he wants to go.

I tried a new teaching technique with DS today. Usually, he has a tough time with social studies. There are so many details to remember. Today, we worked on the French revolution. I asked him to write down what he remembered about it. He remembered five things. Then, I told him about the French revolution as though it were a story. I asked him to repeat the story back to me. He had it down with no problem. Then, I added the more abstract aspects i.e. the long term results of the French revolution. After that, I asked him to repeat the story of the revolution and the reasons it had an impact on history. He got it all! He can remember anything if it is a narrative.

 

[kampfirekim]

I need to take my kids to gay days as they live it every day. So I guess will be forced to go twice, once the first week of June and then maybe in the fall to meet our other kindred spirits. Can you just imagine the conversations our kids would have with each other and actually being with a whole group of kids that understand what they're talking about.

In that case, hope I didn't offend you. Just a little humor there. My parents were there once during the first week of June and felt that the exhibitionism that went on was just too over the top from many of the guests. That's all I was referring to. I don't like seeing all of that in public no matter who it is.

I would LOVE to hear the conversations between the Schmutcheroo's! If only mine had enough conversation skills to conversate! He is beginning to really make great gains in his speech though!

I would love to do a Schmolland trip to WDW. Dh and I were planning a "big kids" trip this summer...just us at the AKL with DS safely at film camp during the day and at Grandma's at night. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go because of my broken foot. We are looking at a trip to Cancun or Jamaica instead, so I don't have to walk so much. I just can't get DH to decide where he wants to go.

I tried a new teaching technique with DS today. Usually, he has a tough time with social studies. There are so many details to remember. Today, we worked on the French revolution. I asked him to write down what he remembered about it. He remembered five things. Then, I told him about the French revolution as though it were a story. I asked him to repeat the story back to me. He had it down with no problem. Then, I added the more abstract aspects i.e. the long term results of the French revolution. After that, I asked him to repeat the story of the revolution and the reasons it had an impact on history. He got it all! He can remember anything if it is a narrative.

Sorry about your "big kid" trip being cancelled b/c of your foot! Hope you find a great alternative! Can't let good child care go to waste!

Way to go on the French Revolution! Every kid, typical or not so typical, has their own learning style. So whatever it takes is my motto! Right now we're still in the repetition, repetition, repetition stage!

 

[toodycat]

The big kids are going to Cancun for less money! I found a deal at the JW Marriott where if you book 4 nights, the 4th is free and you get a $100 resort credit. I've never been to Cancun before, so I'm happy.

Last night, DH and I went to the wedding of a dear friend. The flower girl was the daughter of another dear friend. She is a little Smutch girl and there were a lot of concerns about how she would handle the job. Let me tell you, she was perfect! She walked down the aisle like a lady, dropping rose petals as she went. At the reception, she was wearing flip-flops instead of her dressy shoes, but who among us wouldn't if we had the chance?

 

[iwrbnd]

The big kids are going to Cancun for less money! I found a deal at the JW Marriott where if you book 4 nights, the 4th is free and you get a $100 resort credit. I've never been to Cancun before, so I'm happy.

Last night, DH and I went to the wedding of a dear friend. The flower girl was the daughter of another dear friend. She is a little Smutch girl and there were a lot of concerns about how she would handle the job. Let me tell you, she was perfect! She walked down the aisle like a lady, dropping rose petals as she went. At the reception, she was wearing flip-flops instead of her dressy shoes, but who among us wouldn't if we had the chance?

That's a sweet story! I love picturing her in her flip-flops! My Schmutz boy came VERY close to geting baptized wearing swim goggles!

 

[kampfirekim]

The big kids are going to Cancun for less money! I found a deal at the JW Marriott where if you book 4 nights, the 4th is free and you get a $100 resort credit. I've never been to Cancun before, so I'm happy.

Last night, DH and I went to the wedding of a dear friend. The flower girl was the daughter of another dear friend. She is a little Smutch girl and there were a lot of concerns about how she would handle the job. Let me tell you, she was perfect! She walked down the aisle like a lady, dropping rose petals as she went. At the reception, she was wearing flip-flops instead of her dressy shoes, but who among us wouldn't if we had the chance?

Hope you have a great time in Cancun! My brother has been and he loved it!

I love the flip flops! I was in a wedding once where all us bridesmaids & Matron of Honor (Me) wore silver sequined flip flops after the ceremony! Very cool and very comfy!

That's a sweet story! I love picturing her in her flip-flops! My Schmutz boy came VERY close to geting baptized wearing swim goggles!

Baptized in swim goggles!? That's a hoot! That would've made a great pic for the scrapbook! I just love to picture that one in my mind!

It was a lovely Schmolland day in our little corner! Aside from being 40 minutes late for church that is! It worked out nicely though, when I got there a friend of mine was in charge of the nursery, but there were no babies in there today, so she asked if she could keep my DS with her. My other DS was in Kid's Church, so I was able to slip in virtually unnoticed. The singing was still in progress, so i was able to enjoy that and the service ran a little long, so i still felt like I got a full experience even though I was very late.

After church we went to my parents house and had grilled burgers and spent the remainder of the day until evening in the pool. Since my little puppy/goatboy is also part dolphin, he was in hog heaven being able to swim all day. Sort of felt.....oh what's that word again....oh yes! NORMAL!

Best of all, Mom sent hubby home a burger for when he got home from work and I didn't have to cook this evening either!

 

[SueM in MN]

Last night, DH and I went to the wedding of a dear friend. The flower girl was the daughter of another dear friend. She is a little Smutch girl and there were a lot of concerns about how she would handle the job. Let me tell you, she was perfect! She walked down the aisle like a lady, dropping rose petals as she went. At the reception, she was wearing flip-flops instead of her dressy shoes, but who among us wouldn't if we had the chance?

My youngest DD is not a Smutch girl, but she has lots of issues (my older sister who has a son with Aspergers is sure my DD has some Aspergers tendencies.
I don't know about that, but when she was a bridesmaid in my oldest DD's wedding, we did have several relatives who were sure she would 'ruin' the wedding. She held herself together for the ceremony (although I did not trust her to use her power wheelchair in a responsible manner, so she was in her manual wheelchair). I did see her pulling some petals out of her bouquet during the ceremony, but I'm sure that was for my benefit and no one else saw it (she wanted to see just how far she could go before I 'did' something).

 

[persimmondeb]

We're back from WDW! Had a great trip, and learned a number of things.

First, we really do prefer on-property, even with the amount of space you can get cheaply off-site. Second, I would not get the QSDP again. There was nothing wrong with the quick service food, but it was just not as much of a break, and DS is clearly much better behaved in TS restaurants, the more formal the better. I think we really need the DxDP, since that'll give us enough credits for signatures and DS eats anything not nailed down. Third, park tickets for every day is just too much park. We enjoy just hanging out at the resort, and DS clearly feels that all those park days take away from his Downtown Disney time. Also, while he's really, really good at holding it together, he was getting a bit stressed by all that amusement park.

He also was kind of stressed by being left in the supervised facility while we took a DVC tour, even though he chose it over staying with us. Apparently he was good as gold for them, but the minute we appeared he lunged at us, grabbed our hands, and said "okay, we can go now!" and tried to run for the door, taking us with him. He even turned down the ice cream, and it was hard to get him to stand still long enough for us to thank the nice people. An hour later, he's sitting serenely in the tea room at the GF, drinking tea and eating little sandwiches.

We didn't get a GAC, and didn't really feel we needed one, but we did pay for both a character breakfast and the fireworks dessert party and felt that they were worth every penny. DS was so excited by the sight of Tigger that he bolted from the buffet line with his plate as I was trying to put whipped cream on his waffle.

And apparently DS is the goat whisperer. We went to Affection Section, since he LOVES petting zoos. Since it was so hot most of the animals seem to be more interested in lying in their shady thing than being petted, but DS found a goat and a brush, and started brushing it. Next thing you know, he's surrounded by goats, butting each other out of the way to be brushed, rubbing their heads on him, licking him, and nibbling on his shorts. It was terribly funny. And of course he was also surrounded by small children petting his goat buddies.

All in all, it was a pretty good trip, although we'll probably do something else next year and go back in '12 or '13.

 

[Kat77]

Oh I'd love a non-Shmutch trip to WDW! I dream of someday going to Epcot's Food and Wine festival w/ just my DH!

Food and Wine Festival sounds soooo good if we're leaving the Schmutch at home! My eating plans are always dictated by Schmutch preferences...

I need to take my kids to gay days as they live it every day. So I guess will be forced to go twice, once the first week of June and then maybe in the fall to meet our other kindred spirits. Can you just imagine the conversations our kids would have with each other and actually being with a whole group of kids that understand what they're talking about.

I guess any reason to visit to Disney (twice in a year) is always good! My aspie DH is completely oblivious to Gay Days. One year, at Six Flags, he asked me why everyone was wearing red shirts (we had been in the park several hours) and even after I told him it was Gay Day he was not sure I was right .

I tried a new teaching technique with DS today. Usually, he has a tough time with social studies. There are so many details to remember. Today, we worked on the French revolution. I asked him to write down what he remembered about it. He remembered five things. Then, I told him about the French revolution as though it were a story. I asked him to repeat the story back to me. He had it down with no problem. Then, I added the more abstract aspects i.e. the long term results of the French revolution. After that, I asked him to repeat the story of the revolution and the reasons it had an impact on history. He got it all! He can remember anything if it is a narrative.

Just wanted to mention that there is a homeschool cirriculum called Sonlight that uses story based history lessons. I have a friend at church who loves it and taught all three of her children with the program.

The big kids are going to Cancun for less money! I found a deal at the JW Marriott where if you book 4 nights, the 4th is free and you get a $100 resort credit. I've never been to Cancun before, so I'm happy.

I love Cancun! Public tranportation is cheap, safe and easy to navigate so there is little need for using the more questionable private taxis. There is a Costco close to the major hotels if you need anything (bottled water, soda, wine, sunblock).
I have only done winter in Mexico so the summer heat may be too awful to attempt this trip but Chichen Itza is the coolest daytrip from Cancun you can take! If you can handle the heat, you won't be disappointed. You can find charter tour tickets or reccomendations at hotel concierge. Be sure to carry singles to barter with locals for goodies if you go.

 

[toodycat]

Glad to hear that Cancun was a good choice. I'll have to skip Chichen Itza (sp?) because of the broken foot, but someday I'll get there! I've wanted to see it as a cruise excursion several times, but it was always when I was having foot problems.

Today was madness chez Toodycat. I can't go back to work tomorrow because my foot is still aching whenever I walk. I spent half the morning on the phone making arrangements for my continued absence. On top of the broken foot, I now have pinkeye. DH and I had to go to the doctor to get me some eyedrops. We are having a pool put in and the workmen didn't show up on time, making DH late for work. My pilates instructors lost their lease, so I'm letting them store all their equipment in my basement and use it as a temporary studio. My basement is a decent size and finished, (The last residents had an au pair and she lived down there.) but I am still wondering if it will really absorb all these reformers, wunda chairs and fitness balls. The good thing is that they will train me for free once I am well. At 5:30 DS's social studies tutor showed up and so did the cat, escorting a live chipmunk. She dropped the chipmunk in the living room and it did what any smart creature would do. It hid under the couch. Tutor and DH spent 20 minutes coaxing chipmunk out of the radiator cover. It escaped unscathed. (Luckily, the tutor didn't charge me for the time.) In a way I think it was a good thing because DS was kind of relaxed from laughing at the chipmunk crisis and did especially well today. I just finished grading papers for my students and I'm wiped. Goodnight Schmolland!

 

[Kat77]

Doh! Toodycat, I completely forgot about your foot.

Cat presents are great fun! Growing up I had a cat who would bring ME home gifts much to my little brothers delight and my horror. What little girl wouldn't love to have a dead field mouse deposited straight into her lap by her loving kitty? The cat always looked so bewildered as I shrieked.

 

[Daisy&Max]

Hello to my Schmolland compadres!


I came back to Schmolland on Sunday to find out my littlest Schmutch had been a PITA wile I was gone. He got into everything he knew he wasn't supposed to and made life for his grandma pitiful. So I was not a happy camper when I returned. Oh and then while my mom was complaining about all of it, I looked at her and said, "Welcome to my world!" Every weekend is that way for me and so it was nice to have a weekend to be an adult and forget about Schmolland for a while.

My SO (Max) and I have been best friends for over 3 years and about 18 months ago we began our relationship. He lived here until about a year ago and then moved back to his homestate when he retired from the military. My guys knew him pretty well when he was here and my oldest always adored him but my youngest (who was 3 when we met) doesn't like anyone until he has lived with them! LOL So he wouldn't really have anything to do with Max even when he was here living. I was hoping as little Scmutch boy would be okay this time when he saw Max. Max drove down to meet me and then we went on a trip together. When we got home my little guy wouldn't even stand within 10 feet of Max. He wouldn't speak to him let alone make eye contact with him. The three of us went out to dinner and I Max kept trying to get him to talk to him. He did everything he could to get him to talk. Nada. I was getting upset but Max kept telling me to relax that it would be fine. Finally, Max got up to get his dessert (we were at Golden Corral) and looked at E and said, "Hey buddy you want some ice cream?" Max hadn't asked me if it was okay and E realized that and suddenly they were buds! When we got back to my house to rest before Max had to leave E, without saying a word, brought over a game for he and Max to play. And for the next 90 minutes the two of them played like old pals. When they were done Max was sitting on the floor and my legs were next to him. E made me move my legs so he could sit next to Max. He didn't touch him, but he sat as close as he could without touching him. It warmed my hear to think that one day when Max and I combine our families my little guy might be able to adjust to having Max around.

Sorry for that being so long, but I went from depressed because he wouldn't have anything to do with Max to being his best bud. Although, he never asked about him the next day after he left. But hey it was a start!

I need to catch up on everyone's lives and I'm not sure I will have time. So please forgive me!

hugs,
Daisy

 

[bookwormde]

Our kids are never "pushed" into things so when they come to something in their own time it is really magical. Why would he ask about him? He knows he is part of his life. Be open and honest (and direct and as specific as is appropriate) with you son about how you feel about Max and and make him part of the transition. Sounds like you have a "keeper"

bookwormde

 

[Daisy&Max]

Bookwormde...you have a point about him not needing to ask because he knows he is around. I didn't think about it that way. And I agree Max is a keeper

My son and I went out to dinner alone tonight because my oldest was with his bio dad. While we were out I told him how happy it made me that he was talking to Max and playing games with him. He just nodded and kept coloring. So I told him how much it means to me for him to like Max because I love him too. I talked to him about how we are going to be living in the same house in a year or two and E thought about it for a minute and then said, "Why don't we just be neighbors with him instead."

Daisy