Keep On, Keepin' On

I think we will definitely be trying a do over spring break although I am not sure it will be this week because...well it's supposed to SNOW! I haven't told the kids yet but I am hoping we can go to one of their favorite indoor waterparks for a night or two in the next couple of weeks.

Z~girl took a week off from her online curriculum but that never keeps her from pursuing the things that interest her and trying to learn more about them. Still, we will start back with our sit down school work on Monday as the routine of it is definitely good for A~man. (as well as the learning itself) We slept in a bit more last week (even for homeschoolers haha) and that just does not work for him and his need to differentiate between breakfast/lunch/dinner. Too many days of "brunch"....even though the food amounts are the same for the day, do not work for him.

Last night was a super fun event in our week though! We went to see a play of Charlotte's Web locally and it was awesome! (although The Little Prince we saw awhile back is still my all time favorite play!) I love to combine actually reading literature with seeing plays and movies based on the classics. This really helps A~man as his reading level is not high enough to read a book like Charlotte's Web but with the movie or play he is able to understand what is going on.  I know including literature from various sources such as plays and movies must also help with his reading comprehension. (Plus we just did a matchbox literature exchange based on Charlotte's Webb....can't remember if I shared pictures yet? I may have to add later)

I will share what happened previous to our unfortunate day. Big PWS drama doesn't happen that often thankfully...but hopefully our experiences can help others.

OH and we are very much still doing our 40 Bags in 40 Days...the awesome thing is everyone is helping me out too! Sometimes it feels like a slow progress and my living room looks like a garage sale right now but we have come so far!! If I am brave maybe I will post all we have gotten rid of! 

thankful

Such a simple word huh? Yet sometimes I know as a special needs parent I can take the stress of the week and focus on it, instead of finding things to be thankful about. I REALLY try during these stressful times to find something to be thankful for. I think taking the time to do this is a necessity when you are dealing with special needs learning and special needs parenting. 

Last week was not good. It started out with me waking up in the middle of the night with what must have been food poisoning. That same day A~man had a med check appointment to get new prescriptions on his meds. Unfortunately due to circumstances I'm still scratching my head about, the pharmacy would not fill one of the medicines (they said they were waiting for approval), which resulted in him missing two days worth of a particular med.

What is A~man like without medicine? He is like a squirrel that has drank espresso. I do not know any other way to describe it. He bounces here, he bounces there, and he talks a mile a minute. (and people that know him already think he talks a lot!) It. Is. Exhausting. The energy that it takes for the rest of us to keep up with that amount of energy is incomprehensible unless you experience it. Yet, when he gets like this he is hilarious!! We went to the mall to walk off some of that energy, as it was too cold outside, and guess who we saw?

Yes, we saw the jolly man himself getting the mall ready for his visit after Thanksgiving. Now A~man loves Santa, well this Santa in particular (heehee I even found his picture with a google search ;) This Santa came to our house when the kids were toddlers, before bed, to visit on Christmas Eve. This Santa knows both kids by name every time we walk by him in the mall. Now Z~girl knows about Santa (although she still loves this guy) but I figured A~man would always believe in Santa. After A~man thoroughly chewed Santa out for setting up Christmas decor before Thanksgiving (he HATES that), he asked about the other Santa that is sometimes there when the real one needs a break. He asked him *snicker* if the other Santa was passed out. The hubby and I just looked at each other confused but I figured out he was asking if the other Santa had passed away. He explained, "that Santa last year looked awfully old!". The real Santa was trying to keep a straight face. As we walked off A~man said words I never thought I would hear him say- I wonder what that guy's real name is! It was one of those times you just really had to be there but it was hilarious...the whole Santa experience that day was a riot. 

There were plenty of not so funny moments last week too. With him being so keyed up he was on edge and close to a meltdown very easily. We also had to watch him more carefully as when he gets a certain look in his eye (that thankfully I haven't seen in months) he can do dangerous things. He will also go out of his way to do things to get in trouble. Yet, we trudged on and no one got hurt. LOL It broke my heart at the end of one day after an event (last week is a blur) he started crying. He was practically begging us to go to the pharmacy as he wanted his medicine! Fortunately we were able to get him it later that day.

He is back to his "normal" A~man self...well the version that has more self control, focus and is a little less bouncy. I miss the extreme humor he has with out med but he is much happier overall when he feels in control of himself.

Tonight we went to our second Thanksgiving Feast that was at our church. I do not think we would have been able to take him if we did not get his prescription refilled before the weekend. As always we told him we would get him a little bit of everything (I'm talking a tablespoon of many choices) plus a slice of pumpkin pie. It went so well. Following the meal was a talent show and I was surprised that it didn't bother him that there was food remaining on the tables while we watched the show. 

Z~girl played four songs on her violin.

This is A~man and his buddy T playing the Shofar . I am so thankful for this church. They are very accepting of differences. The variety of different kinds of people here is really neat. I have seen people (that I assume may have been homeless) come off the street to attend the service. It's the kind of church that you can just come as you are. 

Our Thanksgiving celebration at home is always very low key. We will take off Wed, Thurs, and Friday from "school work". (although we might fill up some of our down time with some learning activities. We have turkey and a few other special foods but we have learned keeping the meal part like any other meal at home helps the Prader-willi syndrome anxiety that can come with this holiday. We normally go for a hike after our meal and then go to the movies. 

I encourage anyone reading this to take the time during stressful circumstances and find something to smile about and find something to laugh about. I have found that humor makes it that much easier to find something to be thankful about.