Weddings and things like it are really tough for Zane. This one was the exception, and a lot of fun. The current ST made a social story for him and he knew what to expect as far as how the evening flowed. Plus, it was Carrie. He loves Carrie. As it turns out, we ended up sitting next to Elise, his OT (who he also loves), and the other people at the table were other people from his therapy place, so it was a lot more relaxing for us. They notice the things he is doing well, how well he is handling the overwhelming environment instead of the looks you get because he isn’t a Stepford child.
The pictures aren’t the greatest because it is a tough environment for him, but he really did have a great time. He danced the way only a kid can dance, free and joyful and happy. It was wonderful. Zora was also a bit overwhelmed and vacilated between excited, clapping, and clingy. I actually think this time around, she had a harder time then he did with the chaos.
Eating Cake
With Elise
With the Beautiful Bride
Joined the group of kids dancing in “ring around the rosie” fashion.
Dancing
Wanting to be in the action, but needing a security finger. lol.
Snow Cakes is an awesome film. Lots of subtleties in the writing, and Sigorney Weaver did a pretty decent job of acting too. Although some of the film had me laughing outloud at some of the lines, I doubt most people would find the same humor in some of it, but the writing was just so spot on and, at points, funny. Like the townie that claims that she knows all about autism because she saw “that movie” and other similar things. Don’t let me mislead you though, it is certainly NOT a comedy and belongs firmly in the drama. It is a film more about the characters than the plot.
After watching the film I searched around the internet to see reviews (something I often do, just to see how others viewed it). I could definitely tell that many people did not “get it”, or that their interpretation of Sigourney’s character (the autistic woman) and her motivations, ect, came from a different knowledge set than I have, but that is to be expected. They saw the autistic character as an allegory to how Alan Rickman’s character sees the world, and although that might be true to a degree, I saw much more in Weaver’s portrayal.
It was good. I highly recommend it.
I am also in the middle of “Dragons of Autism“. The title initially put me off, but I went ahead and looked at it and am glad I did. It is a memoir book and the “dragons” are her son’s obsession. It is funny and poignant and I could see a lot of our lives in the book. Some of the details are different, but the flow of life had me chuckling and nodding my head in recognition.
We put up the tree late in the evening, right before bed. Zane was especially excited! He remembered how to put the tree together and was hard at work as soon as we opened up the big boxes. In one of the boxes we also found a Christmas vest that Zora wanted to wear. I am not sure where it came from, but it looks like something my Aunt would have sewn and I suspect that is where it came from.
We also took some video. It isn’t anything exciting, but we wanted the far away family to have a chance to see them “in action”. I should mention it is late, so they are a bit tired. Click on the links if you just get this via email and it should take you right to the video.
The last video: Zora looking at the angel. Zane asks for “rain”, and we figure out he wants water, and then confirm it is to drink (and not water the tree with.) lol.
We put the old whiteboard/bulletin board in Zane’s room yesterday. Before I left, I wrote “Zane’s Room” on the board. About a half an hour later, as Zach went past his room, the board caught his eye and he called me over to read Zane’s board. He had added to it.
Can you tell she is starting to have opinions on her clothes?
Here she is playing with the dollhouse.
and 10 minutes later, a box of bugs. lol.
We got the Christmas tree up last night. I hope to get the pictures up before tomorrow. I am feeling under the weather though, so it might be after the kids go to bed tonight.
We didn’t get the tree up, but the place is picked up and more organzied than it has been. The playroom, for the first time since we moved in, is organized. The packing boxes are put away. The outgrown clothes are boxed up into “keep”, “sell”, and “give away”. The clothes that are too icky for Goodwill are tossed. The dollhouse is upstairs, but almost all of the other toys that have made this room a disaster are now organized in the playroom and the big room downstairs. The fake food, dishes, grocery cart & kitchen toys are all in their own spots (old milk crates, but it works) along a wall.
I honestly feel more moved in than I ever have here. There is still stuff in the garage, but now I think we can tackle it a lot easier. We got to a point where we declared “no more in until we get this organized”. We are there. Hopefully I can find the pan lids now. lol.
Zora was glued to my side all day, but discovery of toys she hadn’t seen in a while excited her. She dumped and played and rearranged and made it take about 10x longer, but since she was in my hair, she gave Zach a break and when I came back upstairs, it was all clean up here too. That was nice.
We are too tired to put up the tree, but we will be able to do that tomorrow in a nice clean house. *happy sigh*
Oh, and a happy dance….mom offered to give us our Christmas money (our gift) early so we could shop for the kids. Yeah!
Zane is sick, but he didn’t regress to non-verbal. In fact, last night he was playing a game where it gave you a few letters and some blanks and you have to fill in the blanks to make a word. (with help on spelling) He is now saying his ears hurt, ”ears owie”, so we have a call in to the doctor for some meds for him too. I think it is the first time he was able to tell us that though. WooHoo!
Zora, despite the fact she is a mess now, woke us up this morning with kisses and giggles. She would give me a kiss, then run around the bed to give Zach a kiss, giggling all the way. It was a great way to wake up.
If by a “liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “liberal.” — President John F. Kennedy
