Thursday, April 26, 2012

These dancing feet

Even though my body is sore and tired, I have to admit the feeling of dancing again, especially on that stage, was incredible (when do I use that word?). It definitely reminded me how much I need to take class again, or at least carve out some time for a little fun.

It's amazing how it can feel, to go back in time, yet be the person that I am now. It really was surreal dancing with my old friends, as if we had never aged, as if time had stopped, and we didn't live so much life in a blink of an eye.

It was nice to be me again. Not Mom. Not Behavior Consultant. Not Wife. Just little old dancing me. I loved every minute of it!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Start spreading the news....

Listening to the iPad in the backseat and suddenly I hear Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" come in. Oh yes, Joe is excited for our trip. We are both excited for our trip tomorrow, even though we will be back in NY 7 weeks from now for my cousin's wedding. I am lucky that Joey is so great when we travel, but I can't say it didn't come without a lot of work. Part of it came from having tubes put in his ears as a baby. That helped the pain which led to us being able to work on the behavior. He gets to go on trips with both parents separately, allowing for us to focus 100% on him. I absolutely feel that is one of the perks of having only one child; I'm not sure what his progress would have been like if I had more than one. The issue I have found when traveling with a child is that we always seem to get flagged for a separate security check. That was the case when he was younger. He got used to being separated from us. Joey also loves anything to do with planes. He looks forward to watching the planes out the window and picking out a plane at the gift shop. He also likes going through the security check. He takes his shoes off and puts them on by himself and puts his backpack and suitcase on the belt for scanning. He waits for me to go through and stays close to me the whole time. The big thing I think he thrives on is the routine of flying. If you ask him a out his flight he will tell you that he has to buckle his seatbelt, read the "instructions" for flying, and then wait for his apple juice. He brings his neck pillow and blanket so he can get comfy. The biggest part of this process which is something emphasize with parents is constant engagement. I talk to him and tell him what is coming up next. I am so proud of my little traveler. I really enjoy our time traveling together.

Playground friends

This was a tweet from yesterday:

"This morning Joey joined a friend on the playground. We waited all school year for this. It was amazing. I never use that word."

I drop Joey off for school every morning on the playground. There are about 4 weeks of school left. Over the past month, Joey hasn't looked for me to walk him all the way in. When the bell rings, he runs to get in line. He is so cute. This was a big move toward independence.

Yesterday, he walked a little ahead of me. He joined Andrew and then Nick on the playground. The bell rang. He ran from them. He never looked back to say goodbye to me. That's ok. Of course it stings but it was an amazing moment for his growth in becoming more independent and more social too!

I am so proud of my sweet boy!




Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Updates to blogs

I updated both blogs today. Check out the new pages! And I made this background a little more exciting.

It will be "under construction" for a while as I update and freshen it up. And I will fill in a lot of entries that needed more work and also work on updating this blog daily. It has become part of my life and I enjoy doing it. I just need to find more time for the stuff I enjoy and less time on the stuff that stresses me out.

As always, thanks for listening!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Autism Awareness Day

Today, I celebrate my son, who is overcoming the obstacles of having 4 diagnoses. I love you, Joey, and I am so proud of you! You have come so far and I can't wait to see all of the wonderful things you will do in your lifetime!



CNN's iReport:  http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-770013



YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4m7JkXvxJg&feature=youtu.be