Sand Diego

Just flew back from sunny and hot southern Cali where we (Wally Laura and I) spent a few days with Pete and Kristin + Sweet Pea and Elvis. We were there to: 1. Be a part of Pete's Patriarchal blessing which he received on Saturday 2. taking advantage of the Delta weekly special 3. See our fun kids and where they lived, worked, played, etc. 4. take a little break from the daily drag 5. give Laura a little vacation she could brag about that all would understand what the devil she was talking about 6. have fun. All the above were accomplished. The first night was kind of like a nightmare with Laura struggling to show us all she didn't think she should be subject to any unfamiliar night noises, and I think she slept all of one hour--that was a time when I slept, so I can't be accountable for her during that time. When dawn finally broke she slept for about 2 hours as well. During church she was so tired she couldn't stop tossing her head and scrunching up her face, which started to become alarming to me and I panicked just a bit wondering if she was going to have a full-blown seizure right there in the chapel. Finally I was able to coax her to sit on the floor and put her head on the seat and rest, a normal procedure during church for her, at least a couple of years ago. She did for a little bit, and then she began the trips to the bathroom. We finally waited in the foyer for it all to end, and then went home (amidst the tears) for a nap, both her and me. If Kristin wouldn't have gone too, I don't think i could have got her to leave. The rest of the day was relatively calm, and after a delightful barbeque we played dominoes and Phase 10. By that time it was food time again, and we made these huge pancakes. It was really fun. Monday we rested, then went to the beach and walked around and stuff. Laura gathered shells for Morgan, a gift for her "provider". That's a word which means a person who takes care of her for a while on a weekly basis, providing respite care for the individual and her family while earning a living for herself. I must say, Pete and Kristin are very wonderful host and hostess, with an extra measure of love and understanding for the less than perfect guests that show up at the airport wanting a ride and a place to stay. Kristin once again introduced me to a super food treat that I obsessed over for the whole time I was there--it's a mint chocolate chip frappucino made at Starbucks. :) Last time she stayed her she got me hooked on a potato salad she makes that has some addictive chemical in it. I think we will be having some more at MOON LAKE!

(This Picture I posted looks a little bad, but the pancake size was what i wanted to document. Sorry Kristin and Pete--they weren't really beat up evil twins, it was the photographer.)

Making a difference

Somehow, things are working out this summer with Laura. I was pretty panicky at the first of our daily time together, but we have both settled down and are getting into a groove. I know the thing that sets her off is not knowing what to expect or when to expect it, and what sets me off is to have a timed schedule daily, but I am conceding to give us both peace. It's turning out okay, too, because after a while, she wants time alone without me hovering, and that's good for me. It helped a lot that Brenda decided to invite her to do some fun things last week, like rock climbing (yes, she did it and did it well) and swimming at the pool in Crystal Cove. After the swim, Laura came home and changed and then went back and fixed dinner and watched movies with Brenda. That was so cool. Especially considering the fact that Eryn is in Iowa, so Brenda doesn't even have any kid responsibility right now. Now that's a tender mercy. Brenda is the best.

Look who I found online

Sunday nite, Father's day, we had a nice party/dinner for the Father of this home. Later I hauled my computer (it's a laptop but has a serious battery problem so i take all the equipment to keep it powered up when I go) out to the deck for a calm cool peaceful sunset and evening. I got online and looked around at some blogs that my kids write and I found a nice tribute to the man I love and married: http://jakenreag.com/blogspotblog/jakes/jakesnewblog.html he's also the father of my children (our children). If I could make three wishes for him for Father's day it would be 1:free time and tickets to go see all our children & grandchildren 2: a new job he loves with a pay increase and 4 weeks of vacation starting the day he started work 3:three more wishes. I know that last one might be considered cheating but what's the penalty? Does it matter?

Sigh

The cutting has begun. First large chunks of Laura's long hair, which she has worked so hard to grow out, are slowly disappearing. Now the jeans. Today we were sorting wash and part of the pants were just totally missing. I am a little worried--I splurged yesterday and bought some new jeans for her, stocking up little by little for her summer camps. Which means no more for a while. My age old challenge--how much is Laura and how much is autism? what amount of scolding is fair? how do I teach some one who is unteachable in some ways, and what are those ways that are unteachable and what are the ways that are teachable? How do i get inside her head and see what she is trying to accomplish and then assist her in that accomplishment? And when did she have time to cut yesterday that I was not with her? We literally spent the complete day together, except for sleep time. Wally wasn't even home until 8:30, so I can't blame him for not keeping a closer eye on her.

Can I do this?

Laura's last day of school was Wednesday, and as is my common mantra, "They don't pay school teachers enough." How do you keep a hormonally active, sleep deprived, energy charged autistic 19 year old busy? For three months??! One idea I had today was to get her a gmail address, and give her an assignment to write e-mails to her sibs, one a day. So get ready for some interesting correspondence. She also has a check list of "get ready for the day" type stuff, and we are planning an activity every week. Plus there's Morgan, good old Morgan, what would I do without her, who comes twice a week and keeps Laura busy, challenges her, teaches her how to follow a recipe or instructions on a box, takes her to riding lessons, takes her for bike rides, etc. Laura is struggling right now, too, because she has had a medication change, plus we have added a new one, called "Period Pills." She only has to deal with the dreaded periods once every three months now. It's been just one week, and it's not been too bad for her so far. She's been a little emotional, but it's been appropriate, and it hasn't been prolonged. Wish me luck. Wish her luck. Wish everyone luck!

June First

Ahh, it's June 1 and I just got a notification that my family newsletter is ready, and I didn't write anything for it. It was sure fun to read, though. We had some cool times at the reunion (literally) and many wrote about that. I have spent the last two hours sitting at the computer and I have visited many sites and read a lot of stuff, but i can't remember why I initially sat down. I was bound and determined to take a nap today, but it's too late now. Saturday at about 7:00 we (Wally and I) got home from the recording. I was well enough that i did Fri. night and Sat. all day. We quickly threw a pizza in the oven, watered the plants, ate the pizza (it was not that good) and then left for Carly Robinson's reception. It was at their home in the back yard (shades of two weeks ago for us) and when we drove into the neighborhood, we could hear the music. Earlier in the day we slipped away from the recording and went to the wedding. It was awesome to see the family, and both parents wept at the ceremony. Today choir went forever as we did the broadcast and then had a special rehearsal afterwards for a fireside coming up next week. As we drove away from downtown, I began singing, "I'm runnin' on--I'm runnin' on, I done left [that] world behind...." We don't go back until our regular rehearsal Thursday nite. Wally came home and took a nap before dinner, then one after. I think he's awake now. Laura had a great week with Morgan, who earned a boatload of money this week hanging with Laura while Wally and I were gone or sick. I guess i really had nothing to say but I wrote anyway.
For about three weeks I have a fairly clear schedule--no big events, just normal stuff. Cool.