What I feel about school autism

 I'm seeing a lot of parents of kids on the spectrum that are pretty upset that school is not going back in session. Well, some schools are not going back into session. Me, I'm cool with school not going back to being in person. Our school won't go back until around November. Doodle has autism and that's a neurological disorder. With her asthma her getting the virus is not gonna be a good thing.

Parents send their kids to school sick all the time so what makes me think parents won't do that this time around? And it's not like oh you just wake up with a fever. If you raise kids you know that a fever can pop up anytime of the day. So by the time a fever is present by then its too late.

For me I can readjust my schedule at work to better suite teaching Doodle from home. With having a publishing company I can adjust that schedule to be there for my child. I've always been flexible with Doodle's schedule. You never know what is going to happen when you raise a child with special needs. 

School for us doesn't start until September the 1st. For the first time I'm not totally prepared for school. I mean all I will need is just a computer or tablet. I'm more than prepared for that. Anything happens to my equipment I have a company that takes care of all the repairs. Believe it or not for the past year they have been working overtime on my equipment. From upgrading my computer equipment to repairing a shattered iPad to shattered laptops. It happens with raising a child with autism. So I'm not to concerned. 

My child being safe is my utmost concern. Other kids staying safe, that is also my concern. So like I've said, it's not a big deal that we will be doing online schooling again. Though it's only for 9 weeks. We will get through this. And for help on what to do when your kids figit too much in their chairs I have several DIY's for this coming up issue in the magazine to help with that. This isn't my first rodeo and it won't be my last.

If the kids go back to in person learning I support all the parents who send their kids back. For those doing virtual learning, I support that as well. It's a hard decision to make. I understand that. I want my child to be back in the classroom. I also want her to be well and safe. I will be devastated if I lose my child. I've dealt with to much grief from her not to continue living with her quirks.

The private school have all gone back into session so we are all watching how that goes. So far though it's only been 2 weeks it's going pretty good. Some elementary schools have had issues but only the classes have shut down but not the school. Not sure on the comfort level of that one. But everything will work out. And there is a possibility that given the type of school Doodle goes to she might not go back to in person schooling at all this year. No matter the decision I will support it and continue to do what I can to help my daughter succeed. 

To get her out of the house she may possibly be doing a dance class which can be virtual or in person. So that will be how I slowly step into this new roll with her. She hasn't done a typical class since she was maybe 5 or 6 and that was with gymnastics. That was a fail when the coach started flinging the kids in the air. And that's how I found out that my child was afraid of heights. Good times! 

Not all parents can be as flexible as I am and I am thankful for my schedules. So I'm not going to judge other parents about their decisions. Cause it's not an easy decision to make.

So what are your decisions for this school year? Are you sending your kids back or are you going to do virtual learning as well? I support whatever decision you make. 

See you guys on the flip side.   

Self harming and Autism

Self harming is something almost all children on the Spectrum do. Some parents get lucky and the child will stop self harming. From slapping themselves, beating their heads on the floor to trying to remove their skin, it's not uncommon.

So what do you do when you find yourself in this situation? So many years ago when Doodle was little she beat her head on the floor. She was limited in speech and this was one of her coping mechanisms. Now that she's older and has speech it's not normal behavior out of her anymore. But during that time in her life she wore a ton of winter hats to soften the blows.

But we find ourselves in another boat. And we thought we had it pinned down. But that doesn't appear to be the case. Now we are trying to figure out why Doodle is trying to remove the skin off her body.

Until then we have to condition her to stop. And the only way to go about that is with medical mitts. Good news and bad news of this one. They work to help the person stop hitting or scratching their skin off. Bad news is, there is not a single medical supply store in the lower part of my state that carries them.

And believe me I have called around to every single medical supply store within 50 miles trying to locate some. Our pediatrician even has the prescription ready to go when I find a medical supply store who carries them. Unfortunately, couldn't locate one.

So I called out pediatrician and informed her and I'm at the point right now where I will just make some using genuine leather that I have on hand and the insides will be padded with warm fleece. She can think they are gloves. And she won't try to take them off to scratch herself, because I'm adding a velcro strap.  Then I received a call back from our pediatrician and they have contacted the rep for the medical mitts company and they are waiting on a call back from them.

That is the best news to receive. I will know that during these difficult meltdowns Doodle will be having a hard time scratching her face or her arms or her legs.

The reason I'm having to go this route is last week when Doodle got off the bus she looked like she got in a fight with a rabid dog and lost the fight. Her face was torn up! And it was one of the things she had done to herself according to the bus driver and bus aide.

Yes, the school is investigating the incident.

See you guys on the flip side.

   

So much to be grateful for Autism

When it comes to autism, my child is going to be different from what your child is like. Not everyone has the same things wrong with them. We need to always remember that. Today we are celebrating Veterans Day and the kids are out of school to honor our veterans. I have a class tonight which means that my schedule will be off because my days will be off. Happens all the time when the kids are out of school.

I can't have Doodle just sitting on the iPad all day. She has to have some responsibility. She wanted to bathe the dog because Sunday I told her we were going to bathe the dog. And she wanted the gerbil cage cleaned cause yeah I opened my big mouth.

So if the dog is getting a bath then she's gonna have to pitch in and help. And she fought me on that one. I had her vacuum the floors and the dog bed while I washed the dogs blanket. Cause if the dog is getting a bath it means the dog gets clean blankets and a fresh bed vacuuming.

If the gerbil was getting it's cage cleaned that means my bed will need to be vacuumed. Because that's the easiest place for me to clean it's cage at. I have no idea why, it just is for me. Doodle can watch the gerbil and I can watch them both while cleaning the cage. Or at least pretend to watch them both cause I'm busy taking the cage apart and I don't have to worry about losing a cute little furry paper shredder.

Kids on the spectrum have to have chores. They have to have responsibility. They have to learn about self care and caring for what's important and that's where they live and being respectful by cleaning up their mess and helping to keep everything clean.

I have no issues with making sure my 12 year old knows how to make her bed, dress herself, though some days I'm sure I get the looks of how could you let your child out of the house dressed like that. Eh, I could care less. I have more important things to worry about other then what people think of me. 

As a parent of a child on the spectrum I am tired but only because I do so much. But I want to make sure that Doodle can live on her own and do for herself if it's ever going to be possible. I still have high hopes. I love my child and I want what's best for her and that means she has to learn something new every single day.

See you guys on the flip side.

We have gone over the hump Autism

If you read the blog you know that Doodle had been regressing. The first few weeks of school are basically watching to see if your child will settle down and fall into routine. If this does not happen, after the first month of school is time to send in the note it's time for an emergency IEP meeting.

Doodle was regressing because she has new teachers. And new teachers normally keep all students on the same page. That's not possible with my child. She gets bored easily and will expect to keep rolling as long as she's mastered something. At the school she is in classes the kids can't keep pace with Doodle. She's smart and doesn't want to be held back. Yeah, she needs to learn patience.

And at home I've been trying to do as much as I can on my end. We have a new schedule. I've gone to what was used in a few classes in the past with her. She has a face chart. And what I mean by that is she has 4 levels to be on. A smiley for a great day, an are you serious face?, Oh My Goodness face and a frownie face. I didn't have to go out and buy all new things. I purchased white erase sticky paper at Dollar General when it was on sale for $.75. And with that all I need to use is a dry erase marker.

So far I'm keeping up with 4 weeks of past behavior at home. If she acts horrible at school then it affects her face schedule at home. If she's had a really bad day she has an opportunity to change that the next day. This helps to teach responsibility. She does have normal chores that she does everyday. And those chores are mainly for her self care.

But if she wants a smiley face instead of a frown face she has to do extra work. Vacuum her bed or floor, throw away her trash (for some reason she likes to collect trash), washing hands when she's been coloring with marker before bed, straighten up toys on the toy shelf and so on. I'm trying to teach her to be mindful of what she does that makes my life a little harder and what she can do to make our lives easier. Before the IEP meeting she didn't care about if she got a smile or frown on her schedule.

At school the teacher is getting Halloween candy of small packs of m&m's to focus Doodle in her classwork. I know it's horrible that a parent and teacher would bribe a child to learn something or stay on task. No it's called training. People do it with pets with clickers and treats. We as parents we use treats. Small treats. I cringe at parents who reward their children with suckers (lollipops). That's a way for kids to just say forget doing anything else I have what I want. Small pieces of candy's that give you a taste and you want more you have to continue working to get more. If you have a treat that will last longer then a little taste of you don't have to work hard anymore. You have what you want. So yeah, she's back in training mode at home and school. But we've reversed our roles. Home is normally the treats and school is normally the this is how your day is going schedule. We do what we have to to get to a great end result.

I've also implemented a new thing called a sensory resistance band. When Doodle feels a bit off she just gets in the band and stretches. This relieves the pressure on her muscles and relaxes her. It helps with all that excess energy she seems to have out of nowhere. I really could use that energy she has. To learn how to make your own it will be in the November issue of the magazine by JSN Creative Services. Keep reading to find out where you can get instructions to make your own.

Now that we've had the IEP and the work at school is becoming harder I've noticed a few things at home. She's becoming easier to work with at home and wants to do more to get smiling faces. She's sleeping through the entire night! And now that she's sleeping I am able to get sleep. She's gone from 5 mg of melatonin down to just 2.5 mg of melatonin.

This is the first week that change is really taking place at home and for the past 3 days I've actually been able to get more sleep. I'm able to be more productive and not so tired to the point where I am dragging. I'm no longer worried about getting that nap in the mornings when she gets on the bus and my balance is no longer off. When your body is so tired you can't think straight or walk straight. It's like you are walking around drunk and that's just no fun.

I'm grateful for the rest I'm now receiving. And it's all uninterrupted sleep. When you have a child living on the spectrum you feel like you are living with a newborn no matter how old they are. And remember that Doodle is 12. Some days are easy and some days are hard. She's worth every moment that I learn and grow with her.

If you are not seeing improvement at home during the school year try having an IEP meeting to have the work bumped up. Sometimes our children are bored and they need a challenge. It's what you know about your child that matters because you live with them. You know them very well. Don't be afraid to step in and help with their education. But it wasn't just school work we bumped up. I made sure that speech therapy got bumped up too. They are now going to be working on articulation in speech therapy because she's lost a few of her words. So we are going back to working on that as well. I didn't need to worry about occupational therapy at this time.

And next month while Doodle is out of school I will be ordering things for her to learn while she is out of school on holiday so she can stay on task and I don't have to worry about a regression. And we will be working on making pom poms. Lots and lots of pom poms to make a rug for the magazine. This will help with concentration and hand eye coordination. It will help her when she wraps the yarn and also for cutting. I'm all for projects where kids learn to use scissors correctly. Even if you don't have a child on the spectrum you can benefit from your child using scissors at home. Schools don't really teach that anymore and you would be surprised how many children can't use scissors correctly.

Crafting is one of the most important things that children on the spectrum need to do. They have to learn fundamentals and if they aren't learning it at school you need to kick it up a notch and teach it at home. Your child will surprise you when you work with them at home. Don't get frustrated and don't lose hope. You have to keep working with your child. I can attest that it's not the easiest thing to do but it's worth it.

Keep an eye out for the new issue or go ahead and make a sensory light that has helped us so much at home. On November the 1st you can check out the November issue of the magazine and make your own sensory resistance band for home. jsncreative.com/ezine The December issue will have a weighted blanket for cheap that really works.

See you guys on the flip side!

Hurricane Season Autism

Sorry there was no post last Monday, but with our own hurricane, schools being out and work it was hard to keep up with days and prep. Thank you for your support while we dealt with our own challenges.

It's September but on the Gulf Coast it's all about Hurricane Season. We get excited about Fall and in a way forget it's Hurricane prep time. This blog is going to focus on what you need to do to prepare your child for such an emergency. Currently as I am typing this Hurricane Florence is knocking on the door of North Carolina. When the blog is published Florence will be weak and possibly nothing but a storm. And we ourselves have already been through the first Hurricane of the season.

Always have an extra large suitcase ready and packed just in case. If you choose not to go anywhere it's great for making sure your child is prepared in the event of the scary weather and a power outage. In this suitcase you want to make sure you have snacks, juices, water, baby wipes and other essentials that are important for the care and upkeep of your child.

The second most important to this package is charge away power boost. You can pick these up at Stables, Office Depot and even Walmart. They are normally $5.00 and well worth the investment in the event the iPad dies. I have two of these and will be investing in more later on in the future. One I have for my purse in the event my phone decides it's just not worth it to cooperate with battery life that day especially while I am teaching. That one I purchased from Michaels craft store during the holidays last year and I can charge an apple product and an android product at the same time.

You also want to make sure you have an old phone in the suitcase that works on internet access only. Here me out. If you can download a few games on this phone that you don't need internet access for that's the most important part. Minions are a favorite game in our household. Just make sure you fully charge the phones before a storm hits.

Craft activities are a complete must for packing. Try looking on Pinterest for crafts that will help with your child's development. Things for sorting, counting and hand eye coordination. Kinetic sand, playdoh, crayons or markers and lots of printer paper. Now is not the time to get technical over the type of art paper to use. Depending on how long your house is without power depends on the art or scribbles your kid makes. To keep all of the paper together I just use a large binder and take my time on hole punching the paper. My child might not keep the paper in the large three ring binder but that's okay. You can use velcro to attach the markers and or crayons to the binder to keep things together.

And most importantly an extra bottle of melatonin. If you are a parent that uses it to help your child's brain to slow down so they can sleep this is an important thing to keep an extra unopened bottle handy.

Always pack up all medications in a large gallon zip lock bag the day before a hurricane comes your way. Place this in the case the day you zip it up. That way you can find it when you need it. Place it in a zippered pouch and make sure it has two zippers to it. That way you can keep your child out of this section for their section by using a small lock that only you and your support system have the key or lock number of.

And just in case you need to evacuate on short notice make sure that your child has a pair of swim shoes in your case. And two pairs of extra clothes.

Children on the spectrum normally have to have a lot of things that keep them happy. Favorite toys, blankets and movies. It's not easy to deal with an emergency and autism but this will at least help to alleviate your autism stress.

For more on preparing for a hurricane that's not autism related check out the blog on jsncreative.com/blog

See you guys on the flip side!

It's Labor Day Autism

This is the second time that I am writing this blog, mishap cause me to lose the other one. The time is flying by and growing even later. I don't know what the issue with blogger is tonight. Which is really a shame cause I worked really hard on the post I lost. So here we go again.

Hardly anyone knows how hard I work every single day. I have a magazine, a publishing company and a job I do on the side teaching art at a well known corporate craft store. You throw autism into the mix and the autism obsessions and well it can sometimes be a bit too much.

But this is my life and this is what I chose to do. The hustle is hard. Life has it's ups and downs but the question comes are you going to stay down or get back up and keep going? I don't rely on reselling things like many entrepreneurs do. I make everything myself and that includes my own soap line. It's a soap that I enjoy using because it removes all of the inks, dyes, resin residue, paints and the glues from EEG's.

At this point there is a waiting list. And this waiting list has been growing for quiet some time. And if I play my cards right I can get this soap in a few shops around town. I can either try to keep my soap local or go nationwide. It's all in what I chose to do. That's the beauty of life. You make it what you want it to be. The life of an optimist.

I'm not going to have this blog be long. I want to enjoy my Monday. Which is why I am working on the blog tonight. After I have finally gotten the magazine done and put up on the website with the help of my best friend. I will be working on the next issue come Monday and that's all I want to focus on besides Doodle. You guys enjoy your day.

See you guys on the flip side.

If you want to see the current issue of the magazine you can read it at www.jsncreative.com/ezine

First day back to school, autism

Yes, you read that title correctly. It's the first day back at school. Doodle is back from her fathers house and though she didn't want to go back to school, that's where she is currently. As I have said in previous posts I don't like for teachers to pay for stuff out of their pockets for their students. So this morning was the drop off of the first day of school. I also had extra items to drop off that her teachers have requested. Yes, you read that one correctly too. Teachers!

At the school Doodle goes too she's no longer stuck in a self contained classroom. She's switching classes like a regular ed student. She has 5 teachers and 5 rooms she has to switch too. Which means she has to learn a schedule of who to go to and what time she goes to them. If she were in a regular school for middle school she would be stuck in the same room all day long and only allowed out for lunch, P.E. and going home. That's not the way that a special needs child should be treated.

This morning I dropped off all of the paperwork that the librarian wanted that I have for crafts. I dropped off feathers her science teacher wanted. Her science teacher was her homeroom teacher last year and she knows Doodle pretty well and knows what motivates Doodle to do work. And her reading teacher requested plastic bin photo boxes that were on sale at work last week.

I ordered Doodle's Friday shirt which will be in on Friday. She can wear last years shirt, that's no big deal. And I dropped off all the medical supplies. Doodle has asthma and can't use an inhaler. Technically, she can but it doesn't work well with her body. Discussing it with our pediatrician we all agreed it was best to just stick with the machine you plug into the wall, it worked better and cleared her airway faster without having to go to the emergency room. I filled out all the paperwork with that, the nurse said she would send my copies home this afternoon.

The first day of school our parking lot was filled to the brim. Parents dropping off all the supplies that would be needed for the kids for the school year and their medical supplies as well. So I wasn't the only parent with extra to drop off. I dropped off the list of supplies when I went in to meet the teacher last week. So I was good that all that was already done.

Doodle has her new shorts and pants for the school year thanks to her father. That was a lot of driving around to find sturdy shorts that will last her through the school year. Pro parent tip, Dickey's pants last a long time. Doodle wears a pair that used to belong to my grandfather. They came to us brand new looking and it's the only brand I have found that so far have lasted to the next school year. Anything else Doodle rips or busts out the seem of. So if you need pants and shorts that last go with Dickey's.

I have first day of school mommy stuffs that I get to do! Best friend time! See you guys on the flip side.

Week in my life as an Entrepreneur, Autism

I'm an autism mom. My life is about making sure that my child progresses and I don't take no for an answer. But my life is not just about my child because I have to make a life for us. I love Doodle and want to give her every option possible under the sun. Long gone are the days where we traveled so much for extra speech and OT therapy.

Doodle transferred to a school where she regressed to being mentally 2 years old and she was 10 years old. We had gone from almost being to her age mentally as she was physically. That was so hard to live through. It really felt like I was living in a nightmare. But the anger that boiled in me was the worse. And that bubbled for two years straight. All because the new school refused to listen and didn't implement the fundamentals for special needs children across the board. Something the entire class would have benefited from. Picture schedules, training, one on one. Never got that. It was basically two years of a free babysitting service. Home life was a nightmare and summers were the worst. The only school work she did was the homework sent home. And that's because I demanded that. But the homework was kindergarten work. Color the shapes, very simple math such as 1+2=. Doodle was frustrated beyond belief and so was I. I was that parent that held an IEP meeting every single week which is why I was not able to create the magazine sooner. The research that went into the meetings, the notes and graphs on Doodle's progress that needed to be created for each one. The convo's back and forth with lawyers. All of this became too much for the she was at at the time. So she was pushed into the special needs school of my choice. That along with one of my customers at the large craft store that I work for got Doodle in without the waiting list.

And with Doodle being in this school, which is considered the cream of the crop of schools for our area, it's just like she's in a private school. I love it. She's treated like a regular child with no issues. Which is what she wants to be treated like. All children with special needs want to be treated like normal kids. I have no regrets.

Everything for school has been purchased. I have to clean out my vehicle because I have so many canvases in them for future classes for my publishing company. And those need a lot of research for them. For the past three weeks I have been working every single day. Nights and then the flip to days and back to nights. It was getting seriously overwhelming. And of course the magazine had to be finished. My deadline was for the 26th of July and I had to meet that deadline. By the day of I still had to get everything put together. I got everything turned in 55 minutes before midnight. It was completed and my stress levels could be lowered. And now it's the 30th of July and it's time to created the next magazine.

But last week was the best week of my life. I had been working on a deal for awhile with another art company here in our town that finally came together. I invited all the employees to my class and most showed up. Yes, they are considered competition but hey I don't really care. Anyways, the key employees showed up and I was able to showcase my clear gesso. Got the deal I needed! When it comes to paint pouring even the ones who have never done a paint pour always want cells. That's not suppose to be an easy feat to accomplish. With my clear Gesso they are able to achieve that. I had been working on that deal for a very long time. But I got the deal and that's all that matters to me.

The next day district was in town and I had a class that morning. It was the perfect time to go for what I wanted next. I want to be the next Michaels Maker. I was given the endorsement from district and they are contacting the people that are in charge of that to make it happen. It doesn't hurt that I work hard to make sure we are number 1 in district.

But now that school will be getting back into session and Doodle will be coming back home in the next few days, my schedule is slowing down except for the magazine. But I can now breathe and juggle the rest of schedule with the publishing company.

But that's not the best news. The best news is one our regular customers came in to one of our events and informed me she was going to have her annual EEG and she didn't want to do it. I found out that after she's in pain for so long because of the glue in her hair and she was not looking forward. I informed her mom that I didn't have any regular size of my soaps but I would cut my bar I'm currently using in half and give that to her. This is a soap that I make myself. Created it up because Doodle loves bubble baths but she's highly sensitive to sls and slsa, so bubble baths are not always in her favor. These chemicals cause her to hurt herself because she feels as if she's being stabbed by 1000 needles. She hits her head, tries to rip her skin off. When you have a child with little speech or issues articulating what's wrong you do what you have to do. So I started making soap like my great grandmother used to do. From there evolved this soap. And I love this stuff. Not only is Doodle able to make bubbles in the tub with it but I'm able to remove dye, inks, resin, paint, stain and so much more when it comes to crafting and painting. I have people that use the soap to remove stains from clothing and get car grease off their hands and arms when they are working on their cars. Loads of uses. So now I have another customer and new batches of soap need to be made, which I haven't been able to get too cause there is only one of me. And the demand for my time and attention was overwhelming.

So that's how my week went and that's how life is during the summer. Next year I'm hoping Doodle will be going to see her dad earlier in the summer and she will be able to attend the special needs summer camp. I really think she will like that.

Well, that's how I roll. It's been a lot so I will see you guys on the flip side.

If you are interested in reading the magazine you can read it at www.jsncreative.com/ezine it's free and no I don't ask for emails and I don't have ads cause that sort of thing infuriates me. So it's kept off my website. Except for downloads. It's just required for the downloads of books, and soon online classes.

Summer and school Autism

In just a little over a week school will start back up. I have almost everything I need for this new school year. And that is a first. This year I did not participate in the no tax weekend. I was working. Which should not be of any surprise to anyone. The deep cleaning of the bedroom started last week and I'm happy to get it done before school starts.

Those who have children on the spectrum know how hard it is to keep a clean house because of said child. They like to destroy so many things and in the blink of an eye. How can you destroy something so fast? That I don't understand. I've already cleaned out 5 bags of trash and still have more to go. Maybe two more bags of trash to go. All I know is I got through a huge amount of cleaning before I realized there was no more room in the big can outside and just shoved the rest under the bed until I could get to it again. Which will now be this week.

And how are you able to get all this done you might ask. Normally, the deep cleaning starts when school let's back in and I can do it without complaint while Doodle is there. She's with her father this week. I tried to get as much done in a week that I could considering that I'm working every single day for the next three weeks, except for Sunday. But I work another job on the weekends so I get no days off, plus the magazine. When her father said he couldn't get the doctor's appointment done for Doodle I said well, keep her for another week and that will give me time to get the room done before she comes home. I hope he remembers that I absolutely have to have all the paperwork from her doctor for school. Or Doodle won't be able to have her breathing treatment in the event she has an asthma attack.

The magazine is coming along. I've gotten word that corporate is coming while I'm in the store this week. That should be interesting. I plan on wearing my new shoes that will be featured in the magazine for August. Everything is trucking along and I actually feel like I'm getting a bit of a break. It's actually kind of nice. I'm enjoying the peace but I still worry about Doodle. But this week is the big push to get the magazine done. The magazine has to be ready to go on the 26th. I'm actually having a lot of fun creating it. It's been a bit since I've really focused on my publishing company and I love it. Well, time to get back to work because tonight I get to work. We are decorating cupcakes. People normally walk through the door to do the cupcake classes but don't bring the naked cupcakes. I have plenty to share because that's what this world is about. Sharing and giving. Loving and rejoicing. That's how you get through the autism world. Sharing your knowledge, giving yourself to your child so they can learn, loving them no matter what. Loving them through the good and the bad and rejoicing for the progress.

See you guys on the flip side.

Bad Moods and Autism

Doodle gets her way a lot, mainly because she's an only child. She has a "brother" that's she's unofficially adopted who adores her so much. But let's face it she's an only child with a bad attitude when she doesn't want to do something. Which is why I stick to a strict routine when it comes to Doodle.

She likes to jump on the bed, which has resulted in breaking the bed over 5 times in the past 2 years. That one right there is starting to get on my nerves. She barely jumps on her trampoline anymore. It used to be my sanity saver, but since she now searches for bugs she refuses to jump on the trampoline. And that's a pain in my rear.

During this summer we will be putting up a sensory swing. Doodle loves to swing. It's her favorite hobby at school. Yes, her P.E. classes, weather permitting is swinging. All the kids play on the playground at school. All the grades do and even the kids in wheelchairs get to swing. Right now we don't have a swing up. We have plenty of swings but none that are hanging up for her yet. I think that might be something I should put on my list of things to do for tomorrow.

Because Doodle has had a foul mood since she's been sick and gotten over being sick. For 7 days she slept in my bed. Tonight, I finally got my bed all to myself. No more sleeping at the foot of the bed with feet on my face or in my back. FREEDOM!!! It feels so nice just to stretch out in my own bed again.

I did have Doodle make up her bed and she fought that every step of the way. But I had an ace in the hole. Cupcakes. I was suppose to teach a cupcake class last night but no one showed up and I had my own icing that I brought from home that is recommended for the class. If anyone shows up or not, I make sure my coworkers have cupcakes to make working with me bearable. I'm a handful. You think a kid on the spectrum is bad, try a fine arts instructor who on occasion will put the paint brush in their mouth so they can move the canvas and sometimes it's the wrong end of the brush. So a fine arts instructor that eats paint. It's fine, I haven't died yet.

She wanted a cupcake in the worst sort of way. Well, if she wants a cupcake she's gonna work for that cupcake that looks like a muppet!

Another ace in the hole is Reese's peanut butter cups. Doodle doesn't like to put away the iPad at night. Well, if she wants a Reese's cup she's gonna put away the iPad. It's all in how you ask it. Time to put away the iPad. Sometimes the result is a no. Are you ready for a Peanut Butter cup? That always gets a yes. You have to charge the iPad if you want one. And that gets the ball rolling. Barely any fighting back. I like to put the iPad on charge at 6:00 pm. That gives her mind plenty of time to let the melatonin work it's magic and she gets a good night sleep and I can get a good night sleep.

And now it's time to worry about school starting up again. I know 3 or 4 weeks away for us, but I want to make sure that we are ready to walk in the doors with no issues. That's next weeks blog.

See you guys on the flip side. I have a magazine to work on. If you haven't seen it yet go check it out. It's free and you don't need to add your email address. FYI, there is a sensory section for DIY's in there. Just click and view! www.jsncreative.com/ezine