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!

Manic Monday: Wet

prompt by Mo of Manic Monday - check it out!

So yesterday, we (meaning I) started painting the downstairs. Gus had asked if he could help, which I was happy to oblige. So he got to put some of the primer on a small section of the wall. He wasn't all that pleased when he got some wet paint from the roller on his hands. The project went pretty well. Here's three colors: the old color on the left, white primer in the middle, and the new color on the right.


It took pretty much all day to do the dining area, even with MM's help (Gus gave up after the primer). So after all that work, I'm a little...territorial about the walls, especially since the rest of the downstairs isn't finished yet. I certainly don't want nicks in the walls one day later. So maybe I should have put up some 'wet paint' tape across the area or something. It probably wasn't a wise decision to let Gus over there, especially during a homework semi-meltdown. And possibly, the metal chairs with the sharp corners will have to go. Yup; nice little nick in the wall already.


The trim, by the way is chocolate brown, not black. It looks warmer in person. It even looks sort of nice over there. The irony here is that I'm pushing myself to get the place painted and looking nice before his birthday because I thought it would be nice to invite a couple of his school friends over for a mini-party. I know he didn't mean any harm and probably didn't even notice the chair scraping the wall. I know he probably has no concept of what it is taking for me to get this painting done, or why it has to be done, or even that there's any connection between the painting and his 'party'. And yet, intellectually knowing all this, something as small as an almost imperceptible nick in a new paint job really got under my skin. Big things I can cope with. Why are the little things such destroyers of my sanity?

Thursday Thankfulness: It's Almost Spring!

It's raining today, and I'm happy about that. Know why? Because it's not snowing! Spring is right around the corner and that's a good time to bask in some springtime gratitude!

1. I am thankful that tomorrow it will officially be spring! In honor of this, I've planned that Sunday I will take a vacation from my computer screen and do some spring cleaning. DH is going to a gaming convention for the day, so I will rally the troops to do massive overhauls of their bedrooms and we're going to start painting the living room. Gus has been asking to help and I figure if I let him help with the priming, it should be pretty harmless. I won't even let myself think about what could possibly be wrong with that theory.

2. I am thankful that I've had lots of work lately. the project I'm working on today is a little insane with a killer deadline, but the paycheck will be beautiful when I get it in my hands. However, I do apologize to all my social-networky pals. I haven't forgotten you and I'll be back soon!

3. I am thankful for my son's 'team.' I'll be going to talk with them tomorrow, and I even if they don't have anything new or spectacular to tell me, I love the fact that they have stuck with him for the past 2 years. Gus is a really good kid, but you have got to be on your toes at all times with him. He's fun and incredibly smart, but also can be exhausting. so, kudos and many thanks to Gus's staff - they rock like the Flintstones!

4. And an extra bit of gratitude because I'm that happy about the spring! I am thankful for Gus's obsession with Pokemon. Yes, I know it's probably not the healthiest thing in the world, but consider the mileage I get out of this fixation.

Getting dressed in the morning: "You can't battle any gym leaders until you get dressed."
Eating breakfast: "All the best Pokemon masters eat breakfast and they feed their Pokemon, too."
Homework: "If you have 3 Pokeballs and 7 Dark Pokemon to capture, how many more Pokeballs do you need?"

See? Everything can have an upside!

Please feel free to share your thoughts and gratitude below and have a great day!