Put it in the bag

Today the boys had a primary activity. S3 stayed with a neighbor while I took S1, S2 and my neighbor's daughter to the activity. They were doing a humanitarian project where they assembled school bags for kids across the globe who don't have any.

Well, this was the perfect activity for S1. Usually he gets lost cognitively during the lesson but this one was super short and had pictures, which helped. Then the kids started helping to assemble these school kits.

One kid would hold the bag open, another would insert three notebooks, another would put in a chalkboard and eraser and then we would get the bag. I would give S1 two pencils and hold the bag open while saying "Put it in the bag". Which he would do, very well and each time. About half way through the pencils got boring so I had him put the box of chalk into the bag. That was better because he could pick it up from the table by himself and then put it into the bag - with a verbal prompt. Eventually it got too noisy from all the other kids talking in their excitement. So I let S1 get up and he went over and played on the piano while we all finished up. It was a good thing it was so loud so his playing was not a distraction!

S2 was having fun with his friend over at another table as they stuffed pencils and erasers into bags. As things were wrapping up a few other kids, mostly S1's age and older, were playing on the piano with him creating quite the racket. I went over and let the other kids know that they couldn't play on the piano because it made it too loud. I said that S1 got to play because he didn't know better and it was the only way to keep him in the room while we were cleaning up. They all understood and were very helpful. When we were done and the kids needed to sit down and get ready for their treats, I convinced S1 to get off the piano by telling him about the snacks. Bribery, it works.

When the sister who was in charge opened the side door, after we got our treats and were starting to eat, I knew that I'd better get S1's leash back on before he took off. Sure enough, he wanted out so I had to call to S2 and his friend to tell them it was time to go.

In the two years we have been in this ward, this was by far THE BEST primary activity that S1 has been to because he could really participate, contribute and be himself without being a total distraction. I loved it and I am sure he did too.

Two down, one to go

For the first time in over four years I have only one child at home with me. I don't know what to do! S1 is in school full time and S2 is currently at his first day of preschool. That leaves me with S3 and 2+ hours to fill, on a regular recurring basis. So far today we have played an alphabet game on the computer and sang a bunch of silly songs. Now S3 is eating breakfast since he woke up right before we took S2 to preschool. Speaking of which, S2 was fifteen minutes late because I was thinking we had to leave at 9:15 to get there at 9:30 but class really starts at 9:15. Oops. Thank goodness he didn't notice.

I am looking forward to this chance to really spend quality time with S3. He's always just had to kind of tag along. Now I can work on all those brain building activities that I did with the other two. We will see if S3 can stand all the mommy love and attention. Another day, when we are actually ready for the day, we will go to the park and play. This will be fun as S3 has never been to a park to play. Plus the weather is starting to get cooler so we need to take advantage of the opportunity before it gets too cold. Now I just have to remember to pick S2 up on time!

Must...go...out...side

Here's a math word problem for you. How long does it take an autistic child, who got on the bus at 8:40 am, went to school and played outside and returned home at 4:00 pm, to want to play outside again? Answer: 1/2 nanosecond. Okay, mathematically the question has no basis and no way to solve it. But didn't we all love math word problems?

When S1 gets home from school usually I am out there pretty quick and when he is on the second step from the bottom in the bus, I lean in and I have him lean over my shoulder and I pick him up and carry him into the house, up four steps. Who cares that he weighs 50 pounds. I do this because if I don't the following happens: the bus aide lets him off the bus, still holding his hand, and he promptly sits down in the dirt to play in the gravel- ready to be run over by the bus as it drives off (don't worry, she doesn't leave while he's near the bus). If it's a good day he may take three steps before he collapses onto the grass and refuses to come inside. So, he may be good at going on the bus, but he is still absolutely dreadful about coming into the house from the bus. Picking up a dead weight of fifty pounds (especially if it is kicking and flailing its arms) from the ground is much much harder than having it lean over your shoulder while upright. Sometimes I can bribe S1 to come inside with a promise of a treat (and then I have to find one!) However, this does not always work and sometimes I get a workout getting him in the front door.

Now getting S1 in the door is even more complicated since S3 tries to sneak outside while I am bringing his brother in from the bus! More than once the three of us have almost ended up in a heap on the floor.

This evening my sister, who is living with us, left to go to a religious class (Institute). As she left, S2 was holding S1 back while Terraza was closing the door and I came in from the kitchen to help. S1 went absolutely to pieces crying because I would not let him out, S3 was none too pleased either. About 15 seconds after she left, my husband returned home. Well, opening the door again and not letting them run out like dogs, was like the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Everyone started wailing, I was just getting dinner on the table and I had had an emotionally draining day. So I couldn't take it and told my husband just to take them all out front, I didn't care that S1 and S3 were dressed only in shirts and diapers! Just get out.

Once I had things organized I went outside and S1 and S2 were sitting in the car playing in the back seat, S1 seatbelted in. S3 was sitting next to the open door playing in the dirt and Dad was on his cell phone. Earlier I had started trimming back a humongous blackberry bush that is on our property line. So, since it was cool and Dave was talking, I started trimming. Tomorrow is garbage day so I wanted to make sure that the can was full. Anyway, long story short (but not by much ;)) we still had to pry S1 out of the car and drag/carry him into the house and with the promise that after dinner they could go for a ride and take a trip. This convinced him not to cry as he was forced into the house. Right now S1 and S2 are currently out with their dad. They went with him to pick up some slacks (Dad took the leash for S1) and since they were close to the university, decided to go by and hear the marching band play since it is band camp week, their aunt is in the band and S1 absolutely LOVES bands. It's after 10 pm and they still are out, doesn't Dad realize it's a school night?

One last question. Even though S1 was out late with his dad, at what time in the morning will he be at the front door wanting to go to school? Answer: Before 8 am.

Eating Teeth

S1 has lost several teeth now. Unfortunately he has yet to see anything from the tooth fairy for them. When they are loose he doesn't mess with them like a normal kid, so they take a while to actually fall out. Even when they are practically out he won't even let us mess with them. We have just waited to find a tooth lying around. But, the funny thing is, he has now lost five teeth (not counting the two S2 helped him knock two years ago) and we have yet to find a single one. We figure they come out while he is eating and he just swallows them down with everything else. They must be his favorite snack! Is this considered cannibalism?

I think it reinforces my desire to call him a goat, since he will eat practically anything rocks (pea gravel in our front yard), mud/dirt (anywhere), glass (Christmas lights in 2004-no injury to him, just to mom who was getting the glass out of his mouth), latex (broken balloon he managed to find), soy yogurt and cheese (I won't even try the stuff), metal (money that I have to fish out of his mouth), crayons and colored pencils (good thing those are non-toxic, makes an interesting BM), numeral candles (maybe he thinks they are just really blah candy), actual food that the rest of us would consume, and pretty much anything else he can get into his mouth - like chalk and glue sticks. But then he won't eat things like corn! Kids.

Growing, Growing, Gone

It's amazing how time flies and the kids grow. Just a couple of days ago I walked into the kitchen and thought something was off, so I turned around to look. At first I only saw the kitchen chair pushed up against the cupboard and wondered how it got there. Then my eyes and brain finally registered on the 15 month old standing on the chair with one little hand buried in the silverware drawer and the other clutching a cache of toddler forks. How did he get up there? S3 apparently had pushed the chair across the floor to the column of drawers. The bottom one was out slightly so he use that to help him climb onto the chair. So at least once a day I come around the corner from the hall to the kitchen and get a start as that cherubic little face looks up at me from his perch on the chair, clutching his treasure.

This morning I woke up to S2 saying, "Mom, will you finish pulling up my zipper?" I rolled over to find the four year old totally dressed and ready for the day. He just needed help getting the zipper up to the tippy top. That is nice, to have one child who can take care of themselves, if they so desire, of course. I also got a good look at how tall he is getting. He's growing up so fast. He reminds me of my youngest brother a lot. And now that brother is in his senior year of high school! So, I know that before I realize it S2 will also be grown up and gone.

And even S1 is getting more self sufficient. He wanted to take a bath this morning so I insisted that he try to take off his clothes by himself. He tried pulling up on his shirt but wasn't having much success. So I helped him get one arm out and then he pretty much got the rest himself. He dropped the shirt on the floor but I told him he needed to put it in the dirty laundry and I pointed to the hamper so he picked up the shirt and put it in! Then I had to get him started on the pants because he kept trying to pull them up further instead of down. But once I had them down a couple of inches he was able to get out of them the rest of the way on his own. I had to had the shorts to him but with prompting he did put them in the hamper also! Then he had a fantastic time splashing in the tub. S1 used to flood the bathroom when he bathed but he finally got to the point where he'll let me pull the shower curtain closed so he can splash all he wants without me needed to pull out the wet/dry vac. S1 knows he's not allowed to stand up and jump in the tub but he loves to do it because it makes the biggest splash. The shower curtain doesn't allow me to see what he is doing, but I can hear it. So, today he jumped and I told him he had to sit down or get out. He immediately sat down (which he usually does) and didn't have to be reminded again. S1 also is getting better at washing himself. We still have to do it hand over hand, but he is more compliant now. I wish it were the same for tooth brushing!

The wheels on the bus.....

S1 was so excited about school this morning I could not pull him off the front door to dress and feed him. Only when I mentioned "shoes" (which he knows he needs to leave- forget clothes, as long as you've got shoes you are good) did he voluntarily release the door knob and come over to the couch. Once dressed S1 even sat down to be fed breakfast. Then his little face was glued to the window watching for the bus. Finally I decided that the bus should be here shortly and unlocked the front door. As S1 pulled it open, the bus pulled up (his bus stop is our front yard) and once it stopped he bolted off the porch, ran across the lawn and climbed in with no assistance at all. S2 followed close behind carrying S1's backpack and handed it over to the driver. S2 has taken this job on himself and heaven forbid I give the driver the back pack. As I went back to the house I saw S3 standing in the doorway warily watching the bus pull away with S1 inside. I explained that the bus takes S1 to school and that he'd be back. Then we all went inside and I fixed some breakfast for the rest of us.

PS Last year I had to help S1 step up onto the bus and the aide had to help him with the steps and to his seat. Now he's so excited to go to school (after being bored at home) that he'll get on and up and in his seat all by himself. Woohoo!

Note: Our Vacation

Paul did get married in the Oakland Temple. S2 waited outside with his aunt and uncle. He was the only one who could behave while waiting and for pictures. Plus he was the only one who is cognitively aware enough to want to see Uncle Paul and Aunt Melanie come out of the temple. Thought I would clarify.

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam

Last Sunday my husband and I got a new calling at church. They asked us to be the Sunbeam leaders. The Sunbeams are the Primary (Sunday School for kids) class for the kids who are three years old. Our son, S2, is currently a Sunbeam so we'll see how he does with us as his teachers. In January the kids switch to the next class so we will say goodbye to him and his friends and hello to a new batch of wriggly toddlers coming from the nursery. Speaking of nursery, S3 gets to go into nursery two months early so that we can teach our class. I took him last week and he seemed to enjoy it and not care when I left the room.

S2 will miss his old teachers who are moving. We also wonder how S1 will do with us in the room for Sharing and Music Time and closing exercises. Hopefully he won't give his teachers too much trouble wanting to come be with us, which would be fine if he would sit still. But, he'll more than likely try to pull us out to wander the halls. We shall see.

My husband, Dave, is still the chorister for the ward and I am still the leader for Activity Day girls (8to 11 years old). When they extended the calling to us we said, "Sure, we already live in a house full of Sunbeams." So, we don't think this calling will task us too much.

Back to School

I don't who is more ready for school to start, me or S1. Today we stopped by his school, one for special needs kids, to drop off medication (for the seizure disorder) and a bunch of forms (food allergy, medication permission form, and medical care form all of which had to be signed by his doctor and the standard emergency contact sheet). I went once my sister was home to watch the youngest two. When we got to the school S1 was happy to run up to the front doors but he didn't want to go in because he'd rather check out the cool white caddy out front. Since I wouldn't let him do that he dropped to the ground. That is until he saw Miss Susan, then he hopped up, ran over to her, grabbed her hand and started dragging her off to the classroom! He was in Miss Susan's class for an hour every afternoon the last few months of school to help give him more interaction with higher functioning children. S1 apparently liked her and must be excited to be back with her full time this year. I am glad to know that he likes his teacher, it makes me feel good about sending him off.

Breathe Son Breathe

As we were getting the boys ready for bed, my husband was telling S3 "No" and S3 would respond "Yes". Then dad would say "Yes" and S3 would say "No". Soon S2 got into the act also. Well, S1 was lying in bed and found this hilarious so they all kept it going. Meahwhile S1 is lying in bed laughing with a huge wide open mouth grin, tears coming from his eyes and unable to breathe because he finds the whole thing so comical. Watching S1 was the most entertaining and it made me happy to see him so happy, even over something so silly.

If you come to the pool, expect to get splashed!

Tonight I took S1 and S2 over to the community pool where we have season passes. We got a late start after dinner so we ended up with only twenty minutes to swim before the pool closed. The boys had a blast playing in the shallow beach area for the first ten minutes, then S1 decided to venture over to the other side of the rope into the deeper section. Normally this isn't a problem since he has his life jacket on, but today I was in such a rush to make sure they got more than five minutes in the pool we left it at home. S1 swims well with the life jacket on but without it can't paddle strong enough to stay afloat. So, the water is up to his shoulders and he is jumping up and down. But then he slipped and went under. I was sitting close by the edge and jumped in to grab him. However, he popped up all by himself! In the past when that has happened he has gotten all disoriented and can't get up on his feet, but today he did it! Actually, he did it several times - and I freaked out every time. S2 was paddling all around us and having fun practicing all that he learned this summer in swim lessons.

Luckily S1 eventually decided to head back to the beach area. He loves to splash there. Since I don't let him go crazy splashing in the tub, he takes advantage to do so at the pool. He will jump to splash, kick his legs in the air to splash or bend over, scoop and throw water in the air. Well, normally this isn't a problem but he had been sitting in the shallows and pushed himself backwards into the shallowest corner of the beachfront. Unbeknownest to S1 (and he probably wouldn't have cared if he'd known) was a grandma lady busy knitting, feet in the water watching the grandkids. Since S1 had gotten into prime splashing position that is what he began to do, throwing water up and over his head onto the lady. I was watching him from the deeper section where I was helping S2 with his swimming. I did immediately start telling him to stop and made my way over there but at first you could see how irritated the lady was and then she got up and moved away, grabbing her knitting bag. By the time I got there she was just grabbing her bag and from the look on her face she finally realized that the splashing was not intentional and that S1 was not all with it. This is actually a frequent occurence at the pool - S1 splashing people who are on the sidelines or just sitting in the shallow water trying to cool off just a little. But as my title says, if you come to the pool, expect to get splashed! Or maybe I should say, if we come to the pool, expect to get splashed.

Massaging Raspberries

I have been waiting all summer for the fall crop of raspberries, which are cheaper to buy than the spring crop. I planned on making jam. Well, today I got those bargain raspberries, which are delicious, and came home and sat them on the table. While I had my back turned, S1 did, what we call "massage" on my flat of berries! Basically he digs both hands in and starts pumping and moving his hands, grabbing as much as possible to squish through his fingers. Then he throws his hands up in the air above his head and shakes them. Then he starts over again.

Mushed up raspberries in my flat, on my table, on my chairs, on my son, on my wall and of course all over my floor! I haven't yet dared to look up at my ceiling.

Since I caught him quickly, only about a quarter of the flat is ruined so I should have enough for jam still.

I should have listened

Okay, when S3 was born he had a very, very pointed forehead. When you looked down on his head from above, it was reminescent of the prow of a boat. If you looked at him in profile, his forehead stuck out PAST his nose. He was developing normally so I wasn't too worried although it did really bug me. But then a friend who worked with a cranial facial surgeon saw him and suggested he get checked out for metopic synostosis. I took him into the pediatrician to get his two cents. The doctor wasn't concerned and said that since his head was growing fine (kids with the disorder usually suffer a lack of cranial growth) that we didn't need to worry. Well, I was still concerned but didn't push for a referral to a specialist. As time went on S3 grew into his head a bit more, but still pointed. Now that he is over a year old his forehead no longer sticks out past his nose and his profile looks normal (other than having a very rounded forehead). But we went in for his 15 month check up and the doctor has decided that it looks worse than before and wants him to see the cranial facial doctors!!!!! I should have followed my instinct and insisted on a referral to a specialist. Instead I let myself doubt my feelings since the doctor had a different opinion. Note to self and others: next time speak up and remember, doctors are only "practicing" medicine!

Part of the reason this ticks me off is that surgery is best done when the kids are around 8 months to a year, so we missed the best window for surgery even though I brought it up when he was 6 months old. Second is that kids with this condition, although I think S3 just has a cosmetic case, can suffer facial deformity and mental impairment. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Anyway, so now I am trying to get an appointment with a cranio facial specialis before our insurance changes at the end of the month! And our pediatrician said that if the bones in his forehead have already fused together that it's too late for surgery and he's be stuck with at least a pointy forehead. Thank goodness his development is on track so far. I'll up date you later.

The sad part is I really like our pediatrician but this makes me mad!

Out and about

Today being a Saturday S1 was dying to get out of the house. S2 had a soccer game so he had been out and about running himself ragged. After dinner S1 and I took a walk while Dad was supposed to be bathing the other two. We went around a couple of blocks and actually had a very nice time. There was a slight breeze, the sun had just gone down and it was starting to cool off. S1 was attached to me by the wrist leash, which he doesn't particularly care for. He did a great job of not trying to run off and babbled and sang to himself most of the way, jumping along more than walking. I sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Five Little Ducks" and he followed along the best he could - especially making hand gestures. He even enjoyed spraying the hose (and his hand) for my neighbor that we stopped to chat with for awhile. Once the hose was off he found some dry cracking mud to mess around with for a little bit. When he lost interest he stood up and came to me saying, "I done. I done." Then tried to kiss me to get me to stop talking and on with the walk! All in all it was a very nice walk together.

Once home however to get him in the door we had to tempt S1 with a bath. Since he loves water he marched right in and started trying to take off his shirt. When he did not succeed with that he attempted to take off his sandals. With a little help from me he was running naked down the hall in no time flat.

When S1 went to lay down in bed he wanted me to lay down with him. Since it was the only way to keep him in bed I complied. I sang to him for about 15 minutes until he finally was sound asleep so that I could escape. Now we just have to move him to his bed!

Oh, I also made a batch of strawberry jam and got it put up today. Now while Dad is getting the other kids down I am doing the laundry for church tomorrow. Guess I'd better go check it.

A day in the life

To see a really good video about what it is like to live with autism in your home, go to the Autism Speaks website or this URL: http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/
autism_every_day.php

My husband and I really loved the picture for the video of the mom trying to help the kid get up and walk. We live that everyday when S1 doesn't want to go where we would like him to. One of my favorite parts of the video is when one of the moms talks about how trying to sleep with an autistic child is like sleeping in a frat house. You go to bed in one bed, wake up later on the couch and in the morning are in another room on the floor! S1 is usually a pretty good sleeper but some nights he gets up in the middle of the night and climbs into our bed if we are lucky. If not, it's time to play!

It's so good to know that we are not alone.

Our "Vacation"

So, I spend a lot of time on the computer trying to keep in touch with friends and family. But I never make it around to writing in my journal or printing up emails to paste in and so much of my life passes in a blur. Thus a blog serves both purposes.

Also, since no one really wants to hear you complain and be negative unless you are paying them absurd amounts of money to listen, I decided that this would be my way to vent. You see, I am the mother of three young boys, the eldest of which is severely autistic. My husband is a band teacher so he is rarely home between teaching and working his afterschool job, teaching trumpet lessons. He does this of course so that we can make ends meet without me having to go to "work".

I try to take everything with a sense of humor because if I didn't well, I probably would have lost my sanity a long time ago. Also, I will be referring to my sons as S1, S2, and S3 in order of their birth since there are way too many creepy people out there and I don't want to put them at risk in any way.

Recently my brother Paul got married and we went home for the wedding. It was a long drive but we took two days to do it and the rental van had a DVD player so it was bareable even though it was a twelve hour drive. The kids absolutely loved staying in a motel. You would have thought it was the Marriott and not a Motel 6 by how they were bouncing off the walls - literally. My fifteen month old, son #3 (S3 from here on out) would run across the room and throw himself into the door, stopping his head from whacking the door by sticking his chubby little arms out. Then he would turn and run back the way he came and do the same thing on the opposite wall. Bet our neighbors were thrilled since it was past 10:30 pm.

My four year old, S2, thought it was so cool that we had two queen beds and couldn't stop talking about it. He was especially thrilled that when we stayed at the same Motel 6 on the way back that he could "see the pizza store out my window!"

S1, the six year old autistic son, kept us on our toes since he kept trying to climb out the window to escape the room or flip all the locks on the door to escape. He finally fell asleep when I layed down with him pinning him down with my leg. Oh the joy of it all.

The wedding was the day after we arrived. S2 went to the wedding with us since he was the only one who could behave. After the ceremony we picked up the other two boys and headed to the family luncheon- which was a blast - not. Who wants to sit and eat when there are so many neat places to wander around at the country club? The highlight was when S1 decided that he was done sitting in the high chair and eating and started throwing food up in the air over his head! By then luckily we were done eating so Dad took him for a walk along with S2. S3 had fun waddling around and begging food off of everyone and taking turns in relatives arms.

We finally were able to get a picture with our entire family, but we are still waiting to see if one turns out where everyone is looking at the camera without S1 covering his ears or pushing his dads face.

Then we dumped all the kids off at the in laws and headed over to the open house. I was kind of ticked because there was a swimming pool with water falls in the back yard and candles everywhere so I couldn't bring S1 even though it was pretty much a kid friendly affair. But kid friendly and autistic friendly are two totally different things. S1 is a water addict. He loves to be in water and there is NO WAY to keep him out of it (unless you tie him up and then he is just mentally tortured staring at the water). His autistic little brain doesn't get why he can't go in and I guess I could have put his life jacket on over his white button up shirt and dress pants but then all the other kids would have wondered why they couldn't go swimming too!

As for the candles, S1 is also extremely uncoordinated so when he wasn't trying to blow them all out he would have been falling into them. I wanted my brother and sister-in-law to have the kind of open house they wanted (it was their day) but I felt like having it where there was a pool was equal to having a relative in a wheel chair and having it at a wheelchair inaccesible location and just saying, "Oh well, sorry!" All in all it was nice to drop the kids off and not have to worry about them at all and just have a good time. I guess it was just another reminder to me of all the things that S1 will not be able to participate in because of his uniqueness.

Saturday I got a break from it all and went into San Francisco with my cousins, sister, mom and aunt. My cousins from out of town really wanted to go to the Crab House and Pier 39, which is where we spent the majority of the day since the Alcatraz tours were all sold out. The crab at the Crab House was good but a pain in the backside to shell. My cousin Jen and I agreed that king or snow crab legs are more worth the work to eat. My mother bought the boys, her only grandchildren, T-shirts, a hat and a fun stuffed snake. The gifts were well received until S2 decided that he'd rather have S1's snake than his own hat. Dinner that night was back at the house with the men of the family and we chowed down on Taco Bell tacos and watermelon. Talk about two gastric exteremes in one day, the Crab House and then Taco Bell! Next we went swimming but even thought the pool water was 82 degrees, far warmer than the ocean, it was still way too cool since the sun had already set. So we lasted about half an hour before calling it quits. S3 was shivering and his lips were turning blue but that didn't stop him from wanting to stay in!

Sunday was church and lunch with my inlaws, naps and then dinner with my parents. Thank goodness they all live in the same city. It makes traveling easier and there is always, usually, someone to take over the kids if needed.

Monday my parents and I took the kids to a place called Pixie Playland in Concord. Basically it is like a little amusement park for kids. There are about seven rides. The boys had a blast and after a couple of hours we left and went to Costco for lunch while my mom grabbed some vitamins. Then we went back to the park because we had gotten all day passes for the boys. Of course S3 finally fell asleep for his nap so grandma stayed in the car parked in the shade with him while grandpa and I went back in for 1 1/2 hours of more fun. We then returned to their condo and went swimming. Although the water was still 82 degrees, at least the sun was shining on us. After an hour we called it quits, especially since S1 had gotten out and was starting to throw any pebble or rock he could find into the pool. S1 and S3 then stayed with their other grandparents while my husband, myself and S2 went out to dinner with my parents. Upon returning to my inlaws that night we go the kids down and started to pack for the return trip.

Tuesday we were up early and got everything packed in the van, kids fed and were out the door on our way to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. My parents and youngest two siblings came with us, along with my sister's friend. The boys loved being surrounded by so much candy! S2 especially enjoyed the tour with his dad. They all loved the Jelly Belly water bottles that grandma got them and the Jelly Belly Flops that daddy bought them. Plus we took their pictures with a Jelly Belly that was larger then them. In the van they got changed into "Sunday" clothes for our next stop.

Once back into the car we headed to Rancho Cordova where we went to the LDS Open House for the Sacramento Temple. That was a very nice experience to have with all of our children. We are LDS and look forward to the day when our children are grown and go to the temple to be married. S1 however will more than likely never come close to this milestone, and it was wonderful to be inside the temple with him at least this once. We took a couple of pictures in front of the temple and then piled back into the car.

This time we were off to see my husband's grandmother, Great Grandma Ruth (GGR). By now it was past lunch time so we grabbed some food on the way. GGR's house not only is not kid friendly, but definitely not anywhere near autistic friendly. She collects figurines and glass baubles of every kind. In fact on the living room table there is a huge bowl filled with glass balls. S1's dream come true (remember he likes to throw things) and his parents worst nightmare. We ate outside on the back patio until S1 lost interest and started running around the back yard almost knocking over all of her garden knick knacks, throwing pebbles and shredded bark up over his head. Then we went inside and he immediately found all the little black stones in the pot of her fake tree. Those he didn't throw right away, he started shoving those in his mouth instead. To her credit, GGR is extremely relaxed and not worried (outwardly anyway) about the kids breaking anything. As she says, they are just things. She would rather the kids feel comfortable.

S3 found a neat candle holder to roll across the floor. When dad picked it up and put it away on a shelf, S3 marched over, pulled it off and then put it back just where it belonged. It was so funny to see. Anyway, as soon as everyone had finished eating, diapers were changed and people changed from their nice clothes to their traveling clothes we got out of there before something broke.

Then it was back on the road to try and hit our Motel 6 before midnight. Luckily this time S1, who hadn't napped all day, was pretty pooped out and fell asleep shortly after we walked into the room. The other two were semi-wire but since it had been such a long day after an hour they were ready to sleep.

Now we are home and trying to get back to "normal", whatever that is. Our first day back was filled with three dentist appointments and an OT/Speech appointment. School starts in less than a week, hooray! Then S1 won't be so restless and I'll have more time to keep things up around the house.

One thing that I realized on this vacation was how hard I do work given that my eldest is severly autistic. Several people helped care for him and they all pretty much said, "I don't know how you do it, I don't think I could." Well, I don't know how I manage to do it either. I just take it one day at a time.