The damage to my vehicle wasn't very much. Just a linkage had seized.
I had a vehicle for Wednesday night, but due to the weather, the meeting was cancelled. I was glad.
For the past two nights, I have done nothing but sit on the couch and watch TV. This is a very rare turn of events for me. Hubby will be shocked when he hears this.
I have no energy, no ambition. I want to curl up and just sleep, sleep, sleep.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Ugh!
Today has not been the best of days for me.
Last night I went grocery shopping and this morning I realized that my sons ate ALL of the bananas I had purchased, over half of the package of lunch meat that was meant for this week’s lunches and about half of the package of social cookies. This was all done within a two hour time frame when I had company – I had also provided the boys with a snack of their own.
I was not happy with either of them about the large intake of unnecessary food, but what really ticked me off was that neither of them completed the one and only task I had given them last night; getting the garbage and recycling outside and to the curb for this morning’s pick up. I woke both of them up a bit earlier than normal to ensure that this particular task was completed prior to either of them getting on the their busses.
The A-man was just getting out of the shower this morning when his bus arrived. It was early, but needless to say, he didn’t make the bus. As I was driving the A-man in to school, I went in to a skid coming off a bridge, and ended up in a ditch. I was stuck pretty darn good, too.
After calling the *OPP number to request assistance, I then explained to the A-man that is was for reasons such as this that I always want him to bring a coat and hat/mitts. We ended up waiting for about half an hour before a tow truck arrived. Turned out it had not been dispatched for me; he was just driving by. After pulling us from the ditch, I realized that we were about a car’s length away from a gas line. Thank heavens we went in to the ditch where we did.
After paying for the tow, and contacting the OPP to let them know I no longer required assistance, I started to pull away from the accident scene. This is when I realized that I was not able to put my car into second gear. Went a little bit further and realized I couldn’t get in to fourth gear, either. We drove straight to the Honda dealership. I still haven’t heard anything from the diagnostic report. I am really hoping it is a case of lodged ice or a loose clutch cable or something. As luck would have it today, I'm thinking probably not.
I got to work about an hour and half later than normal this morning; had not gone in yesterday as I was just far too tired after the weekend at the show. What a start to the day.
Afternoon has been going better…
Have a AGM tonight for the ADHD group – I just hope I have a way of getting there. I don’t like not having a car…
Last night I went grocery shopping and this morning I realized that my sons ate ALL of the bananas I had purchased, over half of the package of lunch meat that was meant for this week’s lunches and about half of the package of social cookies. This was all done within a two hour time frame when I had company – I had also provided the boys with a snack of their own.
I was not happy with either of them about the large intake of unnecessary food, but what really ticked me off was that neither of them completed the one and only task I had given them last night; getting the garbage and recycling outside and to the curb for this morning’s pick up. I woke both of them up a bit earlier than normal to ensure that this particular task was completed prior to either of them getting on the their busses.
The A-man was just getting out of the shower this morning when his bus arrived. It was early, but needless to say, he didn’t make the bus. As I was driving the A-man in to school, I went in to a skid coming off a bridge, and ended up in a ditch. I was stuck pretty darn good, too.
After calling the *OPP number to request assistance, I then explained to the A-man that is was for reasons such as this that I always want him to bring a coat and hat/mitts. We ended up waiting for about half an hour before a tow truck arrived. Turned out it had not been dispatched for me; he was just driving by. After pulling us from the ditch, I realized that we were about a car’s length away from a gas line. Thank heavens we went in to the ditch where we did.
After paying for the tow, and contacting the OPP to let them know I no longer required assistance, I started to pull away from the accident scene. This is when I realized that I was not able to put my car into second gear. Went a little bit further and realized I couldn’t get in to fourth gear, either. We drove straight to the Honda dealership. I still haven’t heard anything from the diagnostic report. I am really hoping it is a case of lodged ice or a loose clutch cable or something. As luck would have it today, I'm thinking probably not.
I got to work about an hour and half later than normal this morning; had not gone in yesterday as I was just far too tired after the weekend at the show. What a start to the day.
Afternoon has been going better…
Have a AGM tonight for the ADHD group – I just hope I have a way of getting there. I don’t like not having a car…
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Yes - Christmas gifts have been purchased!
I was able to find an area here in the city not far from my hotel where I was able to do a bit of shopping on Friday before the show. I was actually able to pick up some gifts for 2 of my nieces, something for both Boss and Hubby at the book store, and a gift for the A-man.
Today, on our way to the trade show, I stopped at a place, and was able to pick up the main thing I will give to one nephew, and a small part of a gift for our second nephew. Guess I can honestly claim to be started on the Christmas shopping for this year.
Much later than I normally start shopping, but that is okay. At least now I am on the right track. I have most of my Christmas cards written and I will be able to mail them on December 1st as I like to do each year.
Trade show went well. Very busy, and some really long days, but I think it went well for both the client we were representing and our company website we were trying to promote. The biggest draw to the client booth? Fried Green Tomatoes. The minute I started serving them up, the booth was crazy busy with people.
I got a phone call on my cell on Friday afternoon (around 3:30 or 4) telling me that our ad had been resized and uploaded, and that made me breathe a HUGE sigh of relief.
Spoke with Hubby this morning - sounds like we have lots more snow to head back to. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that...
Off to bed now - Boss will be giving us about a half hour notice before we have to leave the hotel... gonna be a short sleep again, I guess.
Today, on our way to the trade show, I stopped at a place, and was able to pick up the main thing I will give to one nephew, and a small part of a gift for our second nephew. Guess I can honestly claim to be started on the Christmas shopping for this year.
Much later than I normally start shopping, but that is okay. At least now I am on the right track. I have most of my Christmas cards written and I will be able to mail them on December 1st as I like to do each year.
Trade show went well. Very busy, and some really long days, but I think it went well for both the client we were representing and our company website we were trying to promote. The biggest draw to the client booth? Fried Green Tomatoes. The minute I started serving them up, the booth was crazy busy with people.
I got a phone call on my cell on Friday afternoon (around 3:30 or 4) telling me that our ad had been resized and uploaded, and that made me breathe a HUGE sigh of relief.
Spoke with Hubby this morning - sounds like we have lots more snow to head back to. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that...
Off to bed now - Boss will be giving us about a half hour notice before we have to leave the hotel... gonna be a short sleep again, I guess.
Friday, November 21, 2008
The light is dawning
On Monday night, I asked the A-man if he project partner had been able to establish some work together time. Apparently not.
I then informed the A-man that he was going to have to do this project on his own, and I also asked that he pick a place and get started on the information as soon as possible as two weeks had already passed, and the report would be due before he knew it.
That night, he spent quite a bit of time doing research. He had decided to do his Tourism report on the capital of Lithuania. We had been invited over for a traditional Lithuanian meal on Saturday night in honour of our friend's father. (He'd passed away last week.) The A-man was thrilled to hear what we would be eating - it involves a lot of potatoes and bacon.
Since that meal was fresh in his mind, and we had seen these friends twice over the weekend (they took pity on us for not having power and fed us again on Sunday night...), I guess he just thought it would make sense to learn more about their culture. I love this kid.
On Tuesday morning, I woke up early because I was stewing about some work issues. After I dealt with the issues at hand, I took a look at the information provided by the A-man's teacher, and formulated a sheet that he would be able to utilize for information gathering. After I had completed this, I showed it to him, and explained that by putting all of the information directly into a Word document, he would then be able to do some cut and paste of the information and create both his hand in report and his PowerPoint presentation that he is required to do.
I'm not totally certain he understood what I meant, but when he realized this was the format I often follow at work for large presentations, he seemed to think it wasn't too bad an idea.
As he has been doing his research this week, and putting the information in to the document, I can see that he is understanding what I meant more and more.
I am away at a trade show this weekend, but have encouraged the A-man to complete all of the research this weekend, and then I will help him arrange the information for the written portion during the coming week. The written portion is required by Friday and then he will present to the class on December 3.
The presentation portion is required to be 30 minutes long, and this is where the PowerPoint will come in to play. He is also going to have to prepare this Lithuanian dish at least once this week so that we can take pictures of him making it. These will be used in the written information AND the PowerPoint portion. He will then also have to make the dish the night before his presentation because he will have to serve it to the class.
There is a lot of work to be done, and I think he is starting to understand why I was becoming concerned. I'm sure he will do great on the final information gathering - he's been very interested in the country since he started the research and has been very intent on telling me what he has learned.
I have a few things going on this week, and my hope is that he will be able to complete the written portion with very little assistance, and then next weekend I can help him with his slide show details.
S has been really good at working on his homework every single night, this week. Since I have taken the television from them on school nights, I have been amazed at how quickly he is willing to do whatever chores are asked of him when they are asked. He's not as resistant to doing his homework, either, and now starting to realize that on occassion, I will relax the rule and let them take in one show after all the other things are done.
Got an IM from my mother in law this morning telling me that she had a great night with S last night and that he left for school in great spirits. Always like to hear that.
Been doing some work here in the hotel room. Found out yesterday (as I was trying to do hotel check in) that some advertising material was required today for some ads I placed for a client. Great. Have been trying to get in touch with the magazine people to confirm ad size, and also with our graphics department to confirm information can be uploaded today. Have not had success as quickly as I had hoped for, but I think I might be getting there, now. Need to get out of here so housekeeping can do their job...
Also hoping to be able to get in an hour or two of Christmas shopping before I have to be at the show!
I then informed the A-man that he was going to have to do this project on his own, and I also asked that he pick a place and get started on the information as soon as possible as two weeks had already passed, and the report would be due before he knew it.
That night, he spent quite a bit of time doing research. He had decided to do his Tourism report on the capital of Lithuania. We had been invited over for a traditional Lithuanian meal on Saturday night in honour of our friend's father. (He'd passed away last week.) The A-man was thrilled to hear what we would be eating - it involves a lot of potatoes and bacon.
Since that meal was fresh in his mind, and we had seen these friends twice over the weekend (they took pity on us for not having power and fed us again on Sunday night...), I guess he just thought it would make sense to learn more about their culture. I love this kid.
On Tuesday morning, I woke up early because I was stewing about some work issues. After I dealt with the issues at hand, I took a look at the information provided by the A-man's teacher, and formulated a sheet that he would be able to utilize for information gathering. After I had completed this, I showed it to him, and explained that by putting all of the information directly into a Word document, he would then be able to do some cut and paste of the information and create both his hand in report and his PowerPoint presentation that he is required to do.
I'm not totally certain he understood what I meant, but when he realized this was the format I often follow at work for large presentations, he seemed to think it wasn't too bad an idea.
As he has been doing his research this week, and putting the information in to the document, I can see that he is understanding what I meant more and more.
I am away at a trade show this weekend, but have encouraged the A-man to complete all of the research this weekend, and then I will help him arrange the information for the written portion during the coming week. The written portion is required by Friday and then he will present to the class on December 3.
The presentation portion is required to be 30 minutes long, and this is where the PowerPoint will come in to play. He is also going to have to prepare this Lithuanian dish at least once this week so that we can take pictures of him making it. These will be used in the written information AND the PowerPoint portion. He will then also have to make the dish the night before his presentation because he will have to serve it to the class.
There is a lot of work to be done, and I think he is starting to understand why I was becoming concerned. I'm sure he will do great on the final information gathering - he's been very interested in the country since he started the research and has been very intent on telling me what he has learned.
I have a few things going on this week, and my hope is that he will be able to complete the written portion with very little assistance, and then next weekend I can help him with his slide show details.
S has been really good at working on his homework every single night, this week. Since I have taken the television from them on school nights, I have been amazed at how quickly he is willing to do whatever chores are asked of him when they are asked. He's not as resistant to doing his homework, either, and now starting to realize that on occassion, I will relax the rule and let them take in one show after all the other things are done.
Got an IM from my mother in law this morning telling me that she had a great night with S last night and that he left for school in great spirits. Always like to hear that.
Been doing some work here in the hotel room. Found out yesterday (as I was trying to do hotel check in) that some advertising material was required today for some ads I placed for a client. Great. Have been trying to get in touch with the magazine people to confirm ad size, and also with our graphics department to confirm information can be uploaded today. Have not had success as quickly as I had hoped for, but I think I might be getting there, now. Need to get out of here so housekeeping can do their job...
Also hoping to be able to get in an hour or two of Christmas shopping before I have to be at the show!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Power-less weekend
When we got home Saturday night, we discovered that our power was out. It was strange - we were getting wet snow, but mostly rain, and we couldn't quite understand what would make the power be out.
Sometime around 11, the power came back on. I reset the clock in the bedroom, blew out the candles and went to sleep.
Sometime in the night, our power went out again.
This is what I awoke to on Sunday morning:
(from bedroom window)
It was not a happy household this morning.
Sometime around 11, the power came back on. I reset the clock in the bedroom, blew out the candles and went to sleep.
Sometime in the night, our power went out again.
This is what I awoke to on Sunday morning:
(from bedroom window)
(from bathroom window)
During the course of Sunday, the snow sort of started to melt, but not really. I went to town to get my hair done, and was surprised that there wasn't anything near as much snow as at my place. The power continued to stay out, and the estimate was really odd.
Eventually, the hydro company told us (via electronic message) that we likely wouldn't have power until 4pm on Monday afternoon.
It snowed heavily on Sunday night.
It was not a happy household this morning.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
So relaxing
This is the first weekend since the end of September that I haven't had stuff going on. Now don't get me wrong - many of the past weekends have been a lot of fun. We got to see friends and family that we don't see very often, and we did some new things, but it just felt like we were go-go-go all the time.
Approaching this weekend, I declared "I don't care who invites us, or for what, we are doing NOTHING all weekend long."
That didn't last very long. I am so weak.
My mom's boss invited her to a Pampered Chef party this afternoon and Mom has asked me to join her. I thought, "Oh, it's a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon. I can do that. That is not a big deal."
Thursday, I got a text from a friend inviting us over for drinks on Friday night. Her hubby's birthday was on Thursday, so we knew the reason for the invite. It was a very enjoyable evening.
Also on Thursday, Jazzy's mom sent me a text asking if we could get together on Saturday night. I thought she had indicated they were coming to OUR house, and although I said that would be great, in my heart I was thinking, "Man, I don't wanna have to clean for company..." Found out last night that I mis-read the text. We are going to their house.
Whew... get to take my time on the housework this weekend!
Apparently Hubby didn't take my "We aren't doing anything" declaration to heart, either. He is off doing a computer job this morning, and is apparently helping a friend install a new window this afternoon.
*I* am sitting here, at 10:12 in the morning, still in my jammies, enjoying a leisurely coffee and quite happy to look (and feel) like a lazy slug for the next little while. Sloth may be a deadly sin, but oh, how great it can be sometimes!
The boys both have homework this weekend. The A-man was assigned an ISU (individual study unit) in his hospitality course a couple of weeks ago. They were told to work in groups of two, and given one full month to complete the assignment. To date, he and his partner have done nothing other than pick the country they are doing the assignment on. The A-man has requested he and his partner get together to work on this assignment a few times, but she has always been 'too busy' to do so. Yesterday she told him she 'might' have time after school on Monday, but she would let him know Monday morning if she was busy or not.
This is ridiculous. There is NO WAY he is going to do this entire assignment by himself and then have this girl take credit for his work. I know he hasn't done anything ON the assignment as of yet, but I am going to make sure that changes this weekend. Then, if she doesn't have time on Monday, I will be calling the teacher on Tuesday and letting her know that the A-man will be doing the ISU alone. It is called an "Individual" unit after all.
S didn't go to school yesterday - he went to a Volleyball tournament instead. I was a little hesitant about him missing a day of school for that, considering he doesn't actually play, but then when I thought about it and realized that all of the boys on the team are from his class, I also realized the class wouldn't really be doing a whole lot of 'new' stuff. He had a lot of fun at the tournament.
It's funny how an Asperger child can get so pumped about the slightest thing. He was so excited to tell me about every single person he saw that he knew at the highschool. I suddenly started hearing the names of every single student that had been in Grade 8 last year... and those that were in the same class as the A-man. I honestly don't think he realized where they all went when they left his school.
The other reason that I thought it would be good for him to go to the tournament was because it was being held at the school S will attend next year. Although he hasn't mentioned anything, I'm sure he is anxious about going to a new, larger school, and having spent some time there yesterday will have given him another opportunity to get more familiar with the school's layout and procedures. My hope it that this familiarity will help ease some of that transitional anxiety.
I think that was another factor in his excitement last night, too. He started to realize that the school really isn't as big as he was thinking.
Yesterday at work it came to light that I made a big boo boo when shipping some promotional items for my boss' conference in Spain. Apparently the items to shipped to Sapin, not Spain. I felt sick. I still feel sick when I think about it.
I called boss' partner to confess my error. He laughed and told me that he just wished his errors only cost the company $500, then suggested a stop-gag measure that will hopefully allow boss to have some of the materials by Monday. I was so relieved that he took it so well, but I still haven't talked to boss about what happened. I hope he takes it as well as his partner did.
On another work note, we are participating in a trade show next weekend. Actually working it for OUR business and for one of our clients. As I mentioned, Boss is in Spain so it will fall primarily on my shoulders to make sure all of the items we will require for the show - for both booths - make it to the city. No pressure here. I spent a lot of time yesterday coordinating the shipment/delivery of various marketing materials between the multiple areas they currently are, and making sure this, this and THAT, get picked up and delivered when and where we need it.
I'm sure it will all work out in the end; I've done this before, just never been the most experienced one in the office. My assistant and the sales rep will be there to help me, but both will be relying on me to make the final decisions on quantities, etc.
I will admit it - I'm a little freaked.
Okay... I've been a sloth for long enough now. It's almost 11... time to get motivated so do SOMETHING...
Approaching this weekend, I declared "I don't care who invites us, or for what, we are doing NOTHING all weekend long."
That didn't last very long. I am so weak.
My mom's boss invited her to a Pampered Chef party this afternoon and Mom has asked me to join her. I thought, "Oh, it's a couple of hours on Saturday afternoon. I can do that. That is not a big deal."
Thursday, I got a text from a friend inviting us over for drinks on Friday night. Her hubby's birthday was on Thursday, so we knew the reason for the invite. It was a very enjoyable evening.
Also on Thursday, Jazzy's mom sent me a text asking if we could get together on Saturday night. I thought she had indicated they were coming to OUR house, and although I said that would be great, in my heart I was thinking, "Man, I don't wanna have to clean for company..." Found out last night that I mis-read the text. We are going to their house.
Whew... get to take my time on the housework this weekend!
Apparently Hubby didn't take my "We aren't doing anything" declaration to heart, either. He is off doing a computer job this morning, and is apparently helping a friend install a new window this afternoon.
*I* am sitting here, at 10:12 in the morning, still in my jammies, enjoying a leisurely coffee and quite happy to look (and feel) like a lazy slug for the next little while. Sloth may be a deadly sin, but oh, how great it can be sometimes!
The boys both have homework this weekend. The A-man was assigned an ISU (individual study unit) in his hospitality course a couple of weeks ago. They were told to work in groups of two, and given one full month to complete the assignment. To date, he and his partner have done nothing other than pick the country they are doing the assignment on. The A-man has requested he and his partner get together to work on this assignment a few times, but she has always been 'too busy' to do so. Yesterday she told him she 'might' have time after school on Monday, but she would let him know Monday morning if she was busy or not.
This is ridiculous. There is NO WAY he is going to do this entire assignment by himself and then have this girl take credit for his work. I know he hasn't done anything ON the assignment as of yet, but I am going to make sure that changes this weekend. Then, if she doesn't have time on Monday, I will be calling the teacher on Tuesday and letting her know that the A-man will be doing the ISU alone. It is called an "Individual" unit after all.
S didn't go to school yesterday - he went to a Volleyball tournament instead. I was a little hesitant about him missing a day of school for that, considering he doesn't actually play, but then when I thought about it and realized that all of the boys on the team are from his class, I also realized the class wouldn't really be doing a whole lot of 'new' stuff. He had a lot of fun at the tournament.
It's funny how an Asperger child can get so pumped about the slightest thing. He was so excited to tell me about every single person he saw that he knew at the highschool. I suddenly started hearing the names of every single student that had been in Grade 8 last year... and those that were in the same class as the A-man. I honestly don't think he realized where they all went when they left his school.
The other reason that I thought it would be good for him to go to the tournament was because it was being held at the school S will attend next year. Although he hasn't mentioned anything, I'm sure he is anxious about going to a new, larger school, and having spent some time there yesterday will have given him another opportunity to get more familiar with the school's layout and procedures. My hope it that this familiarity will help ease some of that transitional anxiety.
I think that was another factor in his excitement last night, too. He started to realize that the school really isn't as big as he was thinking.
Yesterday at work it came to light that I made a big boo boo when shipping some promotional items for my boss' conference in Spain. Apparently the items to shipped to Sapin, not Spain. I felt sick. I still feel sick when I think about it.
I called boss' partner to confess my error. He laughed and told me that he just wished his errors only cost the company $500, then suggested a stop-gag measure that will hopefully allow boss to have some of the materials by Monday. I was so relieved that he took it so well, but I still haven't talked to boss about what happened. I hope he takes it as well as his partner did.
On another work note, we are participating in a trade show next weekend. Actually working it for OUR business and for one of our clients. As I mentioned, Boss is in Spain so it will fall primarily on my shoulders to make sure all of the items we will require for the show - for both booths - make it to the city. No pressure here. I spent a lot of time yesterday coordinating the shipment/delivery of various marketing materials between the multiple areas they currently are, and making sure this, this and THAT, get picked up and delivered when and where we need it.
I'm sure it will all work out in the end; I've done this before, just never been the most experienced one in the office. My assistant and the sales rep will be there to help me, but both will be relying on me to make the final decisions on quantities, etc.
I will admit it - I'm a little freaked.
Okay... I've been a sloth for long enough now. It's almost 11... time to get motivated so do SOMETHING...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Now I understand why tigers eat their young... ;o)
I don’t know what has been going on with the A-man lately. He is just so grouchy all the time, and for the last couple of days, he seems to be set off at the smallest thing. I don’t know how many times I have heard, “I’m so tired” from him, yet when I suggest he goes to bed earlier, he doesn’t go.
This morning he was up early – almost a full hour before his bus was set to arrive – yet, again this morning he was ‘rushed’ at the last minute and wasn’t ready. I reminded about half an hour before the bus was to arrive that he needed to shower. He grunted and went in to his bedroom. 15 minutes later, I open the door to his room to see what he is doing; he’s lying in bed. Now, with only 15 minutes until the bus arrives, I tell him he is going to be pressed to both shower and dress in time, and I get yelled at because he still “needs to go to the washroom!”
He went to the washroom and was back in his room with plenty of time to dress, yet I was calling him to tell him the bus was approaching the house. He did not have his shower. For the second day in a row.
I was just alerted by a text message – it was the A-man asking S to do something that he forgot, I guess. I replied that it was being done, and that I was not very impressed with him this morning. Will be interesting to see if (or how) he responds.
He responded with “I’m sorry Mom. I will do better from now on.”
I don’t want him to feel guilty, but at this point in his life, I want him take a bit more responsibility for his own personal hygiene and self care! Will have to try and explain all of this to him tonight, I guess. Hopefully I catch him in the right frame of mind, and if not, it will have to wait.
I called S’s school yesterday to talk to the principal about my participation in the Grade 8 end of year trip. S has told us the first installment for the trip is due tomorrow, yet I haven’t been told if I (as a chaperone) will receive a discounted rate. S has expressed a few times that he doesn’t want me to go – he thinks it will be embarrassing to be the only student to have his mom there.
I can understand his point, but given his history, I can also see why the school feels that it is important I attend. Anyway, when I was talking to the principal, I told her how nice it has been to not be in constant contact with the school and how S has been having such a great year. (touching wood, now) The Principal then told me that she had been approached by S’s EA and that the EA didn’t think it would right to have me on the trip.
Now, I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not. This is the same women that wouldn’t allow S to go on the bike trip at the end of last school year unless I could attend, and yet she now doesn’t want me to go with them to Ottawa? This is a three day trip, and is more than 5 hours from home!
Hopefully she is requesting this because S has been having such a good year that she doesn’t think its necessary, but still, I don’t think that as his EA that should be her call. The decision must be that of mine and the principal. Period. The Principal and I left it that I would submit payment for S’s portion of the trip, and we would simply address my participation as the time got closer and we would then have a better feeling of S’s state of mind, etc. I would like for him to not have to have me there – it would be great for him – but I am going to have to keep that option open, just in case.
This morning he was up early – almost a full hour before his bus was set to arrive – yet, again this morning he was ‘rushed’ at the last minute and wasn’t ready. I reminded about half an hour before the bus was to arrive that he needed to shower. He grunted and went in to his bedroom. 15 minutes later, I open the door to his room to see what he is doing; he’s lying in bed. Now, with only 15 minutes until the bus arrives, I tell him he is going to be pressed to both shower and dress in time, and I get yelled at because he still “needs to go to the washroom!”
He went to the washroom and was back in his room with plenty of time to dress, yet I was calling him to tell him the bus was approaching the house. He did not have his shower. For the second day in a row.
I was just alerted by a text message – it was the A-man asking S to do something that he forgot, I guess. I replied that it was being done, and that I was not very impressed with him this morning. Will be interesting to see if (or how) he responds.
He responded with “I’m sorry Mom. I will do better from now on.”
I don’t want him to feel guilty, but at this point in his life, I want him take a bit more responsibility for his own personal hygiene and self care! Will have to try and explain all of this to him tonight, I guess. Hopefully I catch him in the right frame of mind, and if not, it will have to wait.
I called S’s school yesterday to talk to the principal about my participation in the Grade 8 end of year trip. S has told us the first installment for the trip is due tomorrow, yet I haven’t been told if I (as a chaperone) will receive a discounted rate. S has expressed a few times that he doesn’t want me to go – he thinks it will be embarrassing to be the only student to have his mom there.
I can understand his point, but given his history, I can also see why the school feels that it is important I attend. Anyway, when I was talking to the principal, I told her how nice it has been to not be in constant contact with the school and how S has been having such a great year. (touching wood, now) The Principal then told me that she had been approached by S’s EA and that the EA didn’t think it would right to have me on the trip.
Now, I’m not sure if I should be insulted or not. This is the same women that wouldn’t allow S to go on the bike trip at the end of last school year unless I could attend, and yet she now doesn’t want me to go with them to Ottawa? This is a three day trip, and is more than 5 hours from home!
Hopefully she is requesting this because S has been having such a good year that she doesn’t think its necessary, but still, I don’t think that as his EA that should be her call. The decision must be that of mine and the principal. Period. The Principal and I left it that I would submit payment for S’s portion of the trip, and we would simply address my participation as the time got closer and we would then have a better feeling of S’s state of mind, etc. I would like for him to not have to have me there – it would be great for him – but I am going to have to keep that option open, just in case.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Remembrance Day
As a child, we got this day off school. It was to allow us the opportunity to go and watch the veterans in Remembrance Day parades. It gave us the chance to remember, and show our support to those that fought for the freedom we have.
This is no longer a day off - unless you work for banks or government. THEY still get the day off, but the 'normal' working joes do not. When I go to the cenotaph this morning, I highly doubt I will see many government/bank employees there paying their respects.
11 am - on the 11th day of the 11th month. It's only 2 minutes out of your day... please remember those that fought, and say a prayer for those that currently are. Regardless of your thoughts on the wars, or our country's involvement in said wars, support our troops - they are Canandians, and they are fighting to ensure our freedom continues.
My sister in law has an incredible bumper sticker that I would like to get. It says, "If you don't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them!"
AMEN.
This is no longer a day off - unless you work for banks or government. THEY still get the day off, but the 'normal' working joes do not. When I go to the cenotaph this morning, I highly doubt I will see many government/bank employees there paying their respects.
11 am - on the 11th day of the 11th month. It's only 2 minutes out of your day... please remember those that fought, and say a prayer for those that currently are. Regardless of your thoughts on the wars, or our country's involvement in said wars, support our troops - they are Canandians, and they are fighting to ensure our freedom continues.
My sister in law has an incredible bumper sticker that I would like to get. It says, "If you don't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them!"
AMEN.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
General "stuff"
I haven't been blogging much as of late - just been go-go-go lately.
I had a few other 'general' items that I wanted to post the other day, but after the severity of the post about the young man that passed away, I thought it best to just comment on that. Turns out they feel he became disoriented in the bush, and eventually feel asleep due to exhaustion and passed away as a result of hypothermia. I am so very grateful that he wasn't harmed in any way, but my heart just breaks when I imagine how scared and upset he must have been in the hours before he fell asleep. His parents and sisters will never get over this tragic loss, but I hope their faith gives them some peace after they lay him to rest. So tragic.
Hubby surprised me yesterday by coming home a day early from the Hunt Camp. I wasn't home when he arrived - was on the go all day yesterday - but it was nice having some together time this morning before I have to rush off again.
OH!! The A-man brought home a very nice certificate a while back - it's congratulating him for making the Honour Roll! I told him we would get a frame to put it in. He was very proud of that paper, I must say.
We will be getting his mid-term marks soon. I gather he has been able to improve his Science mark since I met with the teacher, and I know he will be doing all that he can to ensure this increase continues.
S (knocking wood here) has been having a pretty good time at school as of late.
The other night he and I sat at the kitchen table working on his math homework. At first he told me that he didn't need help, but when I wandered in to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, I could tell that he was really not sure what he was supposed to do, or simply just didn't understand the assignment. He actually had two work sheets - one on square roots another on lowest common denominators.
I had him explain what he knew about these 2 concepts so that I could assess what he "got" from the day's lesson. The thing is, he knows this stuff, and he can SEE the answer, but he can't explain how he knows the answer. Sometimes the question requires the work to be shown... Very frustrating for him because when I ask him, "How do you know that?" he gets upset and says, "Well, isn't that the answer? Why do I have to explain it?!"
He's right - when was the last time someone in your job asked you to explain how you knew that any number between 25 and 36 would have a square root between 5 and 6?
Regardless, I was very proud of him when he took more than an hour to complete the homework and he didn't complain one single time. He was actually very proud of himself when he finally 'got' what the sheet was asking for.
I love seeing that "A-HA" moment on his wee face! It's very exciting for me to see that I can explain it in such a way that he then knows what is being asked of him.
I'm off again today. Going to a fundraiser event for a friend's precision skating team. Should be a nice day out with a group of ladies.
I had a few other 'general' items that I wanted to post the other day, but after the severity of the post about the young man that passed away, I thought it best to just comment on that. Turns out they feel he became disoriented in the bush, and eventually feel asleep due to exhaustion and passed away as a result of hypothermia. I am so very grateful that he wasn't harmed in any way, but my heart just breaks when I imagine how scared and upset he must have been in the hours before he fell asleep. His parents and sisters will never get over this tragic loss, but I hope their faith gives them some peace after they lay him to rest. So tragic.
Hubby surprised me yesterday by coming home a day early from the Hunt Camp. I wasn't home when he arrived - was on the go all day yesterday - but it was nice having some together time this morning before I have to rush off again.
OH!! The A-man brought home a very nice certificate a while back - it's congratulating him for making the Honour Roll! I told him we would get a frame to put it in. He was very proud of that paper, I must say.
We will be getting his mid-term marks soon. I gather he has been able to improve his Science mark since I met with the teacher, and I know he will be doing all that he can to ensure this increase continues.
S (knocking wood here) has been having a pretty good time at school as of late.
The other night he and I sat at the kitchen table working on his math homework. At first he told me that he didn't need help, but when I wandered in to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, I could tell that he was really not sure what he was supposed to do, or simply just didn't understand the assignment. He actually had two work sheets - one on square roots another on lowest common denominators.
I had him explain what he knew about these 2 concepts so that I could assess what he "got" from the day's lesson. The thing is, he knows this stuff, and he can SEE the answer, but he can't explain how he knows the answer. Sometimes the question requires the work to be shown... Very frustrating for him because when I ask him, "How do you know that?" he gets upset and says, "Well, isn't that the answer? Why do I have to explain it?!"
He's right - when was the last time someone in your job asked you to explain how you knew that any number between 25 and 36 would have a square root between 5 and 6?
Regardless, I was very proud of him when he took more than an hour to complete the homework and he didn't complain one single time. He was actually very proud of himself when he finally 'got' what the sheet was asking for.
I love seeing that "A-HA" moment on his wee face! It's very exciting for me to see that I can explain it in such a way that he then knows what is being asked of him.
I'm off again today. Going to a fundraiser event for a friend's precision skating team. Should be a nice day out with a group of ladies.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Sad, sad news
On Monday October 13th, a 15 year old boy had a fight with his parents about his excessive playing of video games. The boy became angry with his parents, packed his backpack and left the house. That’s the last time his family saw him.
For almost three weeks, police and volunteers have been searching the areas where a lady had seen him about 2 hours after he left home. About a week after he left, his bicycle was found. Again, no trace of this young man.
Microsoft broke its privacy code to assist the police in finding this young man. They provided the police with details of the other gamers he often connected with and even offered reward money to anyone that could help find him.
His school held prayer vigils, the community held candlelight services to show the family support, more than 20,000 people joined the Facebook group established to help bring this young person back safely to his family. Daily, his mother made pleas on the news; she wanted him to know that he wasn’t in trouble – they just wanted to know he was safe.
Yesterday, hunters made a grisly discovery, and yesterday afternoon it was confirmed that police felt the body that was found was that of this young man. All of this has been happening about 20 minutes from where we live. Foul play is not suspected at this time, but should be known very soon.
My son is 15; he attends Catholic school, and has very similar features to that of this young man. Sadly, I have often had arguments with my son about his time spent on games and/or the Internet. This tragic event could have very well happened to me or to many other parents with children this age. The entire surrounding communities have been shook to the core as this event has been going on.
Last night, the boys and I watched the news to learn more on the discovery. After the story aired, all three of us sat in silence. After a few minutes, the A-man leaned over and gave me a very long, big hug. I kissed his head and told him I loved him. We sat that way for a very long time.
My heart goes out to this family. There is just no way anyone can fully understand what they are going through. I am grateful that they will have an opportunity for closure; I think the “not knowing” would be sheer torture. The end result is so very tragic.
For almost three weeks, police and volunteers have been searching the areas where a lady had seen him about 2 hours after he left home. About a week after he left, his bicycle was found. Again, no trace of this young man.
Microsoft broke its privacy code to assist the police in finding this young man. They provided the police with details of the other gamers he often connected with and even offered reward money to anyone that could help find him.
His school held prayer vigils, the community held candlelight services to show the family support, more than 20,000 people joined the Facebook group established to help bring this young person back safely to his family. Daily, his mother made pleas on the news; she wanted him to know that he wasn’t in trouble – they just wanted to know he was safe.
Yesterday, hunters made a grisly discovery, and yesterday afternoon it was confirmed that police felt the body that was found was that of this young man. All of this has been happening about 20 minutes from where we live. Foul play is not suspected at this time, but should be known very soon.
My son is 15; he attends Catholic school, and has very similar features to that of this young man. Sadly, I have often had arguments with my son about his time spent on games and/or the Internet. This tragic event could have very well happened to me or to many other parents with children this age. The entire surrounding communities have been shook to the core as this event has been going on.
Last night, the boys and I watched the news to learn more on the discovery. After the story aired, all three of us sat in silence. After a few minutes, the A-man leaned over and gave me a very long, big hug. I kissed his head and told him I loved him. We sat that way for a very long time.
My heart goes out to this family. There is just no way anyone can fully understand what they are going through. I am grateful that they will have an opportunity for closure; I think the “not knowing” would be sheer torture. The end result is so very tragic.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Weekend Update
Our household had a pretty good weekend.
Friday night was Halloween, and the A-man opted to stay home and hand out candy to those that came to our house. (We had 11 kids come by – not quite our record of 15, but pretty close!) S went trick-or-treating with Bear’s son. They had a fun time, and were loaded up with more candy than I like to even consider… When they called to say they were on the other side of town and wanted us to come and get them, my friend and I laughed. When we got there, we saw why they had made their way over to this one area. The people that lived there had created a Haunted Corn maze-type thing in their front lawn that I even went through! It was complete with crazy man chasing us with a chain saw, weird things that flew out at us and people that came out of nowhere to give a startling scream. I can understand why they get more than 500 kids each year.
Hubby was up before me on Saturday – I love getting up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee – and was doing about 15 different things in order to get ready for his week away at the hunt camp. He actually got away quite a bit later than normal this year, but I know he had a number of computer jobs he wanted to complete before he left for so long.
I spent the day doing a major cleaning overhaul in the main bedroom. I cleaned out bed side table drawers that probably haven’t been cleaned out in years. I found dust bunnies that had actually started to form an army; they were not victorious. Every now and then I would ask the boys to do a chore or two, and both were very good to do whatever I asked, as soon as I asked.
Saturday night S stood the A-man and I up from our annual ‘date’ he opted to attend a Halloween party he had been invited to. The A-man and I kept up with our annual “dad’s gone to the hunt camp” Saturday ritual; we went out for dinner then went to a movie. We saw “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist.” It was a pretty good movie. Not one that I would want to watch over and over again, but it was an entertaining hour and a half. After the movie, we headed back over to where S was. The A-man went in to party head quarters to gather S, and after a while, I was afraid that I was going to have to enter the teenage zone, but they did make it back out before I had to send a search party.
Sunday was a bit of a lazy morning for me; did some reading, wrote a few letters… made sure both boys were working diligently on their homework assignments, that sort of thing.
I did become very upset with S, though, as the homework detail panned out. Yet again, he did not bring home his laptop for doing his work. On Wednesday (and Thursday) he told me that he couldn’t finish the Geography homework because it required a lot of reading and it needed to be scanned into the laptop. Friday he comes home from school – no laptop. Geography is due on Monday. Do you see where I am going with this?
Fine, he doesn’t have the laptop, but he has the question sheets, so I tell him that he will have to do it the hard way – by hand. I also inform him that this needs to be done BEFORE he can go over to hang out with his friend for the day. Oh, the tears and carrying on that I had to cope with. What really ticked me off the most, though, was when I realized he hadn’t brought home all of the information sheets. He was trying to answer the questions based on his memory of what the sheet had said! Yeah – the kid with the short working memory is going to complete his homework based on what he remembers! Good thinking, child.
I will admit, S did put in a good effort. He was required to type the answers, whereas had he brought home the laptop he could have simply spoken his answers and the computer would have done the work. Yes, I did point this out to him on more than one occasion. I am hoping that he finally GETS it. I want that laptop home every-single-night-even-if-there-is-no-homework. I have tried to explain that he can work on the system and continue to train it. Maybe someday I will get through to him…
After a while, I told S that he would be able to go over to his friend’s house and he could do the final parts of the homework assignment after supper. I dropped him at his friend’s house – turns out this boy also has Aspergers! – and then went grocery shopping.
My mom came over and then she and I took the A-man off to the city to meet with my niece and her boyfriend for lunch. We haven’t seen this niece for over a year, and she will be moving to the area as her mother and step father are going to be posted to the military base near us. Had a nice afternoon and I actually made a date to see them again on Tuesday.
Picked S up a little later than I had planned, then we had a pretty quiet night. Both boys finished their homework then were very happy to go down and watch some television before bed.
We have also implemented a “no TV/video games” rule for school nights based on S’s lack of homework completion the other night.
This will be an interesting experiment.
Friday night was Halloween, and the A-man opted to stay home and hand out candy to those that came to our house. (We had 11 kids come by – not quite our record of 15, but pretty close!) S went trick-or-treating with Bear’s son. They had a fun time, and were loaded up with more candy than I like to even consider… When they called to say they were on the other side of town and wanted us to come and get them, my friend and I laughed. When we got there, we saw why they had made their way over to this one area. The people that lived there had created a Haunted Corn maze-type thing in their front lawn that I even went through! It was complete with crazy man chasing us with a chain saw, weird things that flew out at us and people that came out of nowhere to give a startling scream. I can understand why they get more than 500 kids each year.
Hubby was up before me on Saturday – I love getting up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee – and was doing about 15 different things in order to get ready for his week away at the hunt camp. He actually got away quite a bit later than normal this year, but I know he had a number of computer jobs he wanted to complete before he left for so long.
I spent the day doing a major cleaning overhaul in the main bedroom. I cleaned out bed side table drawers that probably haven’t been cleaned out in years. I found dust bunnies that had actually started to form an army; they were not victorious. Every now and then I would ask the boys to do a chore or two, and both were very good to do whatever I asked, as soon as I asked.
Saturday night S stood the A-man and I up from our annual ‘date’ he opted to attend a Halloween party he had been invited to. The A-man and I kept up with our annual “dad’s gone to the hunt camp” Saturday ritual; we went out for dinner then went to a movie. We saw “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist.” It was a pretty good movie. Not one that I would want to watch over and over again, but it was an entertaining hour and a half. After the movie, we headed back over to where S was. The A-man went in to party head quarters to gather S, and after a while, I was afraid that I was going to have to enter the teenage zone, but they did make it back out before I had to send a search party.
Sunday was a bit of a lazy morning for me; did some reading, wrote a few letters… made sure both boys were working diligently on their homework assignments, that sort of thing.
I did become very upset with S, though, as the homework detail panned out. Yet again, he did not bring home his laptop for doing his work. On Wednesday (and Thursday) he told me that he couldn’t finish the Geography homework because it required a lot of reading and it needed to be scanned into the laptop. Friday he comes home from school – no laptop. Geography is due on Monday. Do you see where I am going with this?
Fine, he doesn’t have the laptop, but he has the question sheets, so I tell him that he will have to do it the hard way – by hand. I also inform him that this needs to be done BEFORE he can go over to hang out with his friend for the day. Oh, the tears and carrying on that I had to cope with. What really ticked me off the most, though, was when I realized he hadn’t brought home all of the information sheets. He was trying to answer the questions based on his memory of what the sheet had said! Yeah – the kid with the short working memory is going to complete his homework based on what he remembers! Good thinking, child.
I will admit, S did put in a good effort. He was required to type the answers, whereas had he brought home the laptop he could have simply spoken his answers and the computer would have done the work. Yes, I did point this out to him on more than one occasion. I am hoping that he finally GETS it. I want that laptop home every-single-night-even-if-there-is-no-homework. I have tried to explain that he can work on the system and continue to train it. Maybe someday I will get through to him…
After a while, I told S that he would be able to go over to his friend’s house and he could do the final parts of the homework assignment after supper. I dropped him at his friend’s house – turns out this boy also has Aspergers! – and then went grocery shopping.
My mom came over and then she and I took the A-man off to the city to meet with my niece and her boyfriend for lunch. We haven’t seen this niece for over a year, and she will be moving to the area as her mother and step father are going to be posted to the military base near us. Had a nice afternoon and I actually made a date to see them again on Tuesday.
Picked S up a little later than I had planned, then we had a pretty quiet night. Both boys finished their homework then were very happy to go down and watch some television before bed.
We have also implemented a “no TV/video games” rule for school nights based on S’s lack of homework completion the other night.
This will be an interesting experiment.
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