Thursday Thankfulness

I know it looks like I've been slacking, and that's probably because I have. After being cooped up for the fall and winter (which to me all equates to 'winter' once it drops below 40 degrees) I've been like a big kid, wanting to be out in the open air as much as possible. So you'll probably notice that I've only been posting a few times a week. That'll change come the fall, but I will definitely keep up my Thursdays - they're good for morale! This week I am thankful for:

My tomato plant which is not only still alive after the transplanting, but growing at a frightful rate! I would have felt awful if I'd killed it. Now we just have to figure out what to do when it starts to reach the ceiling, as my father-in-law wisely pointed out. I'm envisioning some sort of Jack and the Beanstalk-esque post coming before the end of the summer.

I am thankful that Gus's field trip was a success! Monday, we went on an epic journey, to the wilds of Queens, NY to see a production of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Originally, the whole family was going to attend the trip, but MM decided to stay home with her dad instead of taking the 2+ hour bus ride each way. So I had the rare chance to spend some time with Gus. The show was a blast. I never got the name of the actress who was playing Alexander, but I have to say it was exhausting just watching her. She never stood still for a second on the stage - I've never seen an adult with that much energy (and living with my husband, that's saying quite a bit)! And she had to sing! I don't know how she didn't pass out, but she was amazing. The show held lots of laughs and was totally worth the ride. The trip back was entertaining for me as well. At one point, Gus was seated behind his friend who is also a Pokemon expert. I had brought one of Gus's Pokemon encyclopedias to keep him from getting too antsy on the trip. The boy in front started passing back notes about the Pokemon DS game and then would ask Gus to turn to a specific Pokemon in the book and then pass the book through that space between the window and the seat. Then I'd hear, "Aw, that one looks great!" or something similar. This went on for well over half an hour. Hilarious! More importantly, I got to see Gus bonding with a friend. Priceless.

I am thankful that it's nice out so that I can go for a bike ride as soon as I finish this post. One thing I've noticed is that I've got a lot more patience when I a) do something for myself once in a while and b) get exercise c) get out of the house. It seems like this should be so simple as to be unworthy of mentioning, but any parent, especially those who work from home, can attest that it is often hard to pull yourself away and trust that the world won't stop turning when you stop turning the crank. I'm still not convinced, but the sun is out and telling me to be a little selfish. So if the world stops because I'm not sitting at my computer working, or doing laundry, or any of the other 3,950,242,538,408 things I need to do in the next hour...blame it on the sun. I'm out of here!

What are you thankful for today?

Manic Monday: Warm

I'm late today with my Manic Monday meme because I was out for a lot of the day enjoying the continued warm weather with my kids, but that's not what today's post is about. Yesterday, we did the smartest thing we could do when the temperature bypasses warm and jumps straight to summertime-hot: we went to the children's theater!

Gus has been showing a great deal of interest lately in plays, drama, the theater, and especially comedy. He had passed by a sign about a week ago for a production of Robin Hood and got very excited. So, a hot day is a good day to be in an air-conditioned auditorium, I always say!

This play was a little longer than the last production we went to see, but both kids did reasonably well. The only real 'incident' (if you can even call it that) was at the very end of the play. The cast exited the stage into the audience. As one character proceeded up the aisle, Gus shouted, "Take off that ridiculous costume!" He shouted a comment to another actor - something about wearing laundry detergent on his head. He was trying to be funny, not mean, but we had to have a talk about heckling and how he wouldn't like it if someone did that to him if he was doing a comedy show. Not sure if he really got it.

All in all, a good, cool day.

Happy Monday and hope you're not feeling too warm!

Thursday Thankfulness and Tomato Plant Update

I can't believe it's already Thursday! As the weather gets warmer, time seems to speed up - why is that? Anyway, on to thankfulness!

Today I am thankful for:

1. New furniture that my in-laws have so generously given us. Gus is particularly fond of the new club chairs that he can curl up in and get lots of sensory input apparently. Hopefully, the arms of the chair are strong enough to withstand his affection. The new dining table is large enough that I can sit right next to him during homework without feeling squished. The proximity is good for him; the space is good for me. Win-win situation all around.
2. I am thankful that my kids are so environmentally conscious! MM wanted to do a neighborhood clean-up for Earth Day, so we got our gloves and bags and cleaned up the playground...in the rain...massive allergy attack followed.... But it was well worth it! Nature seems to be very soothing to many kids on the autism spectrum or with ADHD. I recently published an article at Bright Hub about a study that showed how a 20 minute nature walk increased the ability to focus. So, if protecting this precious resource has the added effect of making homework easier, I'll do it, even if it means having my head feeling like a balloon.
3. I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and it's supposed to be a beautiful day. If it dries out enough I might be able to breathe! The down side of warm weather is that Gus's allergies and eczema seem to be causing more sensory-seeking than normal. But I think, like me, he'll take it over being cooped up in cold weather. We're just going to have to stock up on allergy medication!
4. And a bonus since I seem to have missed last Thursday: I am thankful that both my kids got stellar report cards and Gus is finally showing some progress in his IEP goals! It was getting a little depressing seeing the No-Progress marks. They have gotten the High School Musical 3 DVD as a reward and we'll be taking them to see a children's theater performance of Robin Hood over the weekend.

Oh! And the tomato plant seems to be rallying slowly but surely! The second shoot is greener and seems to be growing a little. So, I'm grateful for that too! What are you thankful for today? Please share in a comment!