DATE NIGHT!!!!

Yes, last night was date night!! Well, I should say, date afternoon as we left here at 3 in the afternoon!!! But hey, we were gone til 8. We went to Red Lobster for early dinner and then went to a few stores and on the way home we got ice cream. THANK YOU, AUNT LAURIE!! You are a gem. We so needed to get out. Things have been rough with Ian. I haven't written much about it here but it has been a really rough summer. But we have a wonderful doctor in Dr. Richstmeir. He actually called to check on us yesterday because it was so cloudy. He told me we will figure out this puzzle. It will take time. I must say, Ian is really trying. It is another gloomy day and I am afraid it will not clear up today. He is trying not to notice. I feel so bad for the little guy.
Well, back to date night. Our meal was great and we had a great server. We took our time and had a CONVERSATION!!! I love my husband so much. He is the best. No, not perfect. But he is the best husband for me.
Oh, I almost forgot, I picked up my brochures for "Let Me Do It!" from the printers. They look great. I am getting ready to start really promoting my new business. So for my friends and family........you will have brochures and business cards in your hands soon to give all your friends and colleagues!!! All you working moms, you can use my service too!!!!
Thank you to everyone who reads here. I know there are a ton of blogstalkers as Kristin calls them. Post a comment sometime and identify yourself!
Well, this is a funny, all over the place post! Guess I am still giddy from DATE NIGHT!!!! LOL!

Ian's way of thinking...................

We made pizza for supper one night this week. There were two pieces left and I put them in the fridge on a paper plate and then put another paper plate over the top.
The next morning I found the paper plates still in the fridge, no pizza.
Now, Ian is, hopefully, going through a growth spurt because he has been eating everything he can get his hands on. And so the following conversation ensued:
Mom -"Ian, did you eat TWO pieces of pizza??!!"
Ian - "No, I ate one piece of pizza."
Mom - Who ate the other piece?"
Ian - "I did"
Mom- "So you ate two pieces of pizza."
Ian- "No, I ate one piece of pizza and then I ate one piece of pizza again."

Date with Bob

Ok, imagine this...........I offer to take all 4 of my kids to McD's for lunch and to play this morning.
Ian doesn't want to go because he is too busy watching the sky for clouds. Lindsay doesn't want to go.......WEIRD..........and then I remember that the last time we stopped at McD's in Whitehall there was a guy dressed up like Ronald McDonald and she was scared to death and we had to leave and go to another McD's. So Jacob graciously offered to stay home with Ian and Lindsay but Miss Lindsay said, NO, no one should go!! Do you believe it?
Well, amidst Lindsay's screaming and Ians' sky gazing Dylan and I went to McD's in Whitehall and had a marvelous time. Dylan's name is Dylan Robert and I call him Bob. He likes it. I am the only one who does it.
On the way home, I said to him that I had had a good time. He said me too and thanked me.
I said "Was that a date?" and he said "Yep." and I asked him if he was going to tell Dad and he said no cuz Dad would be jealous. Well, the minute we got home and he saw Doug, he said "haha, I stoled your woman!"
I had fun with Bob. He is a real character.

I am sick in my stomach

I am not trying to tell any one how to vote or how to think or how to feel.
I just cannot let this go without at least offering the info to anyone who might
want to be informed.
So, take it for what you will........or don't look.
http://bethany.preciousinfants.com/2008/08/18/barack-obama-and-his-opposition-to-the-baipa.aspx

So excited............

I have my husband home with us for the 2nd weekend in a row!!
That NEVER happens because my husband works alot of overtime.
After almost 27 years (in Oct.) I am still, actually way more, in love with
my husband. He is my best friend, he encourages me when I am down,
he is my rock, second only to the Lord. He is a wonderful father. We are
45 and 47 so parenting small children (3 that are 6 and under) along with a teen
is alot of work for us. Add Austism Spectrum Disorder into the mix and well,
we are daily watching for the men in the white coats to come for us. LOL!
A few months ago I gently pointed out something that
was bothering me about one of the relationships he has with one of our kids.
He took it to heart and I have seen him daily working to improve that relationship.
He cares and loves us all. No, he certainly is not perfect and on a PMS day I could
probably post a negative thought, but I wouldn't......because I am his best friend too.
I am so thankful that God chose Doug for me. He is honest, hard working, gorgeous
and affectionate.
Ok, I will stop now..........Go hug your husband and never take him for granted. :)

Happy New Stampin' Up! Year!!

Stampin' Up! The brand new catalog is online!!!!
And a fabulous bunch of promotions including several new sets 15% off (no add'l purchase required!!!)
And a starter kit for $99. so that you too can join the SU! family!
And much more.................. www.janineeitniear.stampinup.net
Check it out and book a workshop with me!!!

Please pray for Cindy

Please be in prayer for my dear friend, Cindy Fodor. She is also my Stampin' Up! upline.
She is a dear sweet friend and her family is suffering a terrible loss at this time.
Cindy's brother, Dav, a missionary bush pilot in Indonesia crashed and died yesterday.
The family waited all day to hear if he was dead or alive as it was night in Indonesia when
he crashed and they had to wait til daylight to start searching.
Dav was Cindy's best friend growing up and only one year older than her. Cindy is from a
large family and they are flung all over the world, many of them serving the Lord in missions.
Please pray for Cindy, her parents and siblings and of course, Dav's wife and children.
Thank you.

10 Things Every Child with Autism wishes you knew.....

Some days it seems the only predictable

thing about it is the unpredictability. The only consistent attribute, the inconsistency. There is little argument on any level but that autism

is baffling, even to those who spend their lives around it. The child who lives with autism may look "normal," but his or her behavior can be perplexing and downright difficult. Today, the citadel of autism, once thought an "incurable" disorder, is cracking around the foundation. Every day, individuals with autism show us they can overcome, compensate for, and otherwise manage many of the condition's most

challenging aspects. Equipping those around our children with a simple understanding of autism's most basic elements has a tremendous effect on the children's journey towards productive, independent adulthood. Autism is an extremely complex disorder, but we can distill it to three critical components: sensory processing difficulties, speech/language delays and impairments, and whole child/social interaction issues. Here are 10 things every child with autism wishes you knew.

1. I am a child with autism. I am not "autistic." My autism is one aspect of my total character. It does not define me as a person. Are you a person with thoughts, feelings and many talents, or are you just fat (overweight), myopic (wear glasses) or klutzy (uncoordinated, not good at sports)?

2. My sensory perceptions are disordered. This means the ordinary sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches of everyday life that you may not even notice can be downright painful for me. The very environment in which I have to live often seems hostile. I may appear withdrawn or belligerent to you, but I am really just trying to defend myself. A "simple" trip to the grocery store may be hell for me. My hearing may be hyperacute. Dozens of people are talking at once. The loudspeaker booms today's special. Music whines from the sound system. Cash registers beep and cough. A coffee grinder is chugging. The meat cutter screeches, babies wail, carts creak, the fluorescent lighting hums. My brain can't filter all the input, and I'm in overload! My sense of smell may be highly sensitive. The fish at the meat counter isn't quite fresh, the guy standing next to us hasn't showered today, the deli is handing out sausage samples, the baby in line ahead of us has a poopy diaper, they're mopping up pickles on Aisle 3 with ammonia. ... I can't sort it all out, I'm too nauseous. Because I am visually oriented, this may be my first sense to become overstimulated. The fluorescent light is too bright. It makes the room pulsate and hurts my eyes. Sometimes the pulsating light bounces off everything and distorts what I am seeing. The space seems to be constantly changing. There's glare from windows, moving fans on the ceiling, so many bodies in constant motion, too many items for me to be able to focus - and I may compensate with tunnel vision. All this affects my vestibular sense, and now I can't even tell where my body is in space. I may stumble, bump into things, or simply lay down to try and regroup.

3. Please remember to distinguish between won't (I choose not to) and can't (I'm not able to). Receptive and expressive language are both difficult for me. It isn't that I don't listen to instructions. It's that I can't understand you. When you call to me from across the room, this is what I hear: "*&^%$#@, Ian. #$%^*&^%$&*" Instead, come speak directly to me in plain words: "Please put your book in your desk, Ian. It's time to go to lunch." This tells me what you want me to do and what is going to happen next. Now it's much easier for me to comply.

4. I am a concrete thinker. I interpret language literally. It's very confusing for me when you say, "Hold your horses, cowboy!" when what you really mean is "Please stop running." Don't tell me something is a "piece of cake" when there is no dessert in sight and what you really mean is, "This will be easy for you to do." When you say, "It's pouring cats and dogs," I see pets coming out of a pitcher. Please just tell me, "It's raining very hard." Idioms, puns, nuances, double entendres and sarcasm are lost on me.

5. Be patient with my limited vocabulary. It's hard for me to tell you what I need when I don't know the words to describe my feelings. I may be hungry, frustrated, frightened or confused, but right now those words are beyond my ability to express. Be alert for body language, withdrawal, agitation, or other signs that something is wrong. There's a flip side to this: I may sound like a little professor or a movie star, rattling off words or whole scripts well beyond my developmental age. These are messages I have memorized from the world around me to compensate for my language deficits, because I know I am expected to respond when spoken to. They may come from books, television or the speech of other people. It's called echolalia. I don't necessarily understand the context or the terminology I'm using, I just know it gets me off the hook for coming up with a reply.

6. Because language is so difficult for me, I am very visually oriented. Show me how to do something rather than just telling me. And please be prepared to show me many times. Lots of patient repetition helps me learn. A visual schedule is extremely helpful as I move through my day. Like your day planner, it relieves me of the stress of having to remember what comes next, makes for smooth transitions between activities, and helps me manage my time and meet your expectations. Here's a great web site for learning more about visual schedules http://www.cesa7.k12.wi.us/newweb/content/rsn/autism.asp

7. Focus and build on what I can do rather than what I can't do. Like any other human, I can't learn in an environment where I'm constantly made to feel that I'm not good enough or that I need fixing. Trying anything new when I am almost sure to be met with criticism, however constructive, becomes something to be avoided. Look for my strengths and you'll find them. There's more than one right way to do most things.

8. Help me with social interactions. It may look like I don't want to play with the other kids on the playground, but sometimes it's just that I simply don't know how to start a conversation or enter a play situation. If you can encourage other children to invite me to join them at kickball or shooting baskets, I may be delighted to be included.

9. Try to identify what triggers my meltdowns. This is termed "the antecedent." Meltdowns, blowups, tantrums or whatever you want to call them are even more horrid for me than they are for you. They occur because one or more of my senses has gone into overload. If you can figure out why my meltdowns occur, they can be prevented.

10. If you are a family member, please love me unconditionally. Banish thoughts such as, "If he would just ..." and "Why can't he ... ?" You didn't fulfill every last expectation your parents had for you, and you wouldn't like being constantly reminded of it. I didn't choose to have autism. Remember that it's happening to me, not you. Without your support, my chances of successful, self-reliant adulthood are slim. With your support and guidance, the possibilities are broader than you might think. I promise you I'm worth it. It all comes down to three words: Patience. Patience. Patience. Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me. I may not be good at eye contact or conversation, but have you noticed I don't lie, cheat at games, tattle on my classmates, or pass judgment on other people? You are my foundation. Think through some of those societal rules, and if they don't make sense for me, let them go. Be my advocate, be my friend, and we'll see just how far I can go. I probably won't be the next Michael Jordan, but with my attention to fine detail and capacity for extraordinary focus, I might be the next Einstein. Or Mozart. Or Van Gogh. They had autism too.

Freelance writer and consultant Ellen Notbohm is a columnist for Autism/Asperger's Digest and co-author of 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders (Future Horizons). She favors "common sense" approaches to raising her sons with autism and AD/HD. She lives in Oregon.

Miss Lindsay Marie...........