Haiku Friday: Dreaming of Kid-Free Days

"Mommy ... Mommy ... Mom..."
How can one child bug me so?
I am school-ready!

Seventh birthday first,
one week away from today --
too tired to plan!

Love to hear him laugh,
and he's been a real trouper
on lots of long walks.

But -- I can hardly
think straight all day long with the
TV-buzz background.

Need some quiet time
so I can think about life
and what to do next.

I am so ready for school to start. DuckyBoy is too, I think. We've been into Manhattan, around our neighborhood, and he's watched a wide variety of Transformers videos (from the cartoon series to toy demos on YouTube) for about as much as any human can stand.

I'd like to make sure we get all those little "We'll do this in the summertime" things done, like visit Governors Island and ride the "NYC Ducks" land/water tour, in the next couple of weeks. But frankly, by the time I get him into bed, it's all I can do to pick which DVR'd show to watch.

As a loyal member of Bossy's Poverty Party, I've been buying school supplies on sale all summer long, so I don't have a big expense for that. And DB's all set for clothes, I think.

We've even set a budget for his party and gifts that should be easy to abide by. But making the mental effort to find what he wants, which is only available online, and order it without feeling ripped off? Exhausting!

Would you like to haiku today? To participate in Haiku Friday, just follow these steps:

1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. It or they can be part or all of your post, but your post must include a haiku. What's a haiku, you ask? Hint: 5-7-5. More info: Click here. Or here.

2. Sign the Mister Linky below with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your main blog URL). DON'T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, please let me know.

3. Please leave a comment after linking, thanks! (Eventually the Mr Linky links go away, I think, so they only way we'll find you in the future is via your comment.)

4. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top of this post.

REMEMBER: Do not post your link unless you have a haiku this week! I will carry on the esteemed tradition of deleting any links without haiku!

Autismus Prime

It makes total sense to me that DuckyBoy has taken to the characters of the Transformers, especially now that we've discovered the animated series on Cartoon Network.

Robots that turn into vehicles? Just his thing! Coupled with the fact that, in the animated series, the robots are trying to figure out the customs and norms of life on earth, just as he is.

He's been enchanted by the whole idea for at least 2 years -- his Optimus Prime costume is headed into its 3rd Halloween season (and getting a lot of play right now as well!).

I'll Take Homework for $100

It's hard to separate when to blog about DuckyBoy on my autism website and when to talk about him here. So much of DuckyBoy's life is centered around school that I sometimes feel I'm shortchanging this blog by having Autism and Public Schools also.

This story is more about me, and about DB as a person, than truly about homework, so it belongs here.

DB has trouble with homework. It's pretty rote, it bores him, and he often has trouble focusing on it long enough to get through a word or problem, let alone the whole page. I can't (yet) figure out the pattern of what makes him more or less distracted, so we struggle along.

Tonight he wanted to go to the park next door, so I told him the standard line: After your homework.

He did his "words of the week" sentences, but then ... up and down, here and there, play, bounce, talk, imagine ... finally I went looking for my kitchen timer. DB suggested his Tribot, which we set for 10 minutes.

He sat at his desk, pencil in hand, and started to ask questions:

What if he [Tribot] goes off and I'm not done? (Answer: As long as you're almost done, meaning more than halfway through the last page, we'll go to the park when you're done.)

And then: What if we get done and go to the park before he goes off?

The thought of this was So.Laughable.To.Me: that in 8 or so minutes he'd complete both math pages, one of which we'd already struggled to begin and set aside to come back to: that I burst out, "If you're done before that timer goes off, I'll give you $100."

He sat straight up and turned into a Math Wiz. I spent the next 8 minutes wondering if I was going to be able to pay him over time or if he'd demand the entire wad upfront...

Fortunately, Tribot alarmed on the 2nd-to-last problem. Whew!

DB tried to negogiate for a $98 payment, since he was so close. Fortunately, earlier we'd watched an episode of Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman where Fetch had stuck to the rule about some matter of points. So I had an ally in sticking to my guns.

I don't know if it was the surprise factor or the sheer audacity of the number or both, but it sure got him going! I'll have to think of something else for next time ... or else be prepared to cough up some dough when I miscalculate how fast he can work!

Haiku Friday: Time for ???

Hey, it's Friday and I'm not too blue to haiku!

Whether or not the men in my life give me enough time to formulate one is another story...

I should be working
on our joint business venture
but it's spring break, dude!

I'm always on break --
or at least I can be it seems.
I should be working.

I'm 3 hours short
on one of my project plans,
One on another.

But way over time
on blogging--imagine that?
Guess what I enjoy.

Have to color eggs
And DB needs a haircut.
Play catch-up next week?

Maybe with some help
from a fave sitter or two --
is it worth the cost?

Hard to justify
the expense without income.
The TV is free...

But not without costs
to DB's mood for the day;
Inverse proportion:

TV time goes up,
his mood goes right down after
about an hour.

(Is "hour" one syllable or 2?)

Dear Cable: Knock It Off!

Look, Time Warner Cable and Viacom. I don't care who wins this, just end it right now!

Do you think I wanted to wake up at 7 AM to that obnoxious ticker running across Noggin, saying "You will lose this network!" so my 6-year-old screams in terror, and then when I call the number you provide, turns out there's not really anything I can do about it?

How obnoxious.

After I read some reports I'm tempted to be on TWC's side due to the (minimum) 25 cent increase in my monthly bill and for the amount of increase requested. But that ticker! My kid has enough anxiety already, thankew.

Work it out! How about you jettison all those MTV channels and just keep the few everyone actually watches -- Nick, Noggin, Nicktoons and Comedy Central? Maybe then you won't have to raise my bill at all.

I actually wouldn't mind DB's watching less TV for a few days or longer -- I'm pretty sure they'll work it out, and we'll certainly get by with the remaining kids channels available -- I just don't like him being used as manipulation tool.

Busy Saturday

I just wore myself out telling my friend on the phone what DB and I did today, but honestly, it was a lot of fun. (Times are approximate. I only added them to break up the text.)

8 - 9:30 AM
First I got to sleep in until like 7:30 because so did DB, woohoo! And he let me stay in bed for another show, by which I mean, another half an hour. Then I unpacked all the bags from yesterday that I dumped in the front hallway. I checked my email and cleaned up the kitchen and we both had breakfast. He watched TV happily; I think it's good that he watches less during the week, he gives me a break on weekend mornings and I don't feel too badly about it.

9:30 AM - 1 PM
We played and played, then DB was itching to go to the playground with his bike (trike, actually), so he was ready to get dressed. (A big deal. Most days he'd stay in his pajamas all day if I let him.) I had something more to eat and then off we went.

1 PM - 3:30 PM
When we came back from the playground we hung at home for a little bit, then headed off to try taking the bus to Metropolitan Avenue. Partly to see if we could do it, partly to kill time, partly because the car is so loud and clanky I feel like I should avoid driving it if at all possible.

By the time we were on the bus DB was hungry, so I reminded him that the craft store (our destination) was right near Wendy's. A transfer and half an hour or so later, the bus let us off right in front of Wendy's. Perfect!

As we were eating I realized it was 2:30 and the craft event only went until 3:00. When I mentioned it, he was ready to go -- even suggested packing the fries and drink. Surprising for a person who has. dawdled. all. day.

Less than 5 minutes later we were across the street picking out a foam craft pumpkin -- usually terribly overpriced but a bargain today at $5. The idea of the event is that you get all the decorating bits (big google eyes, pipe cleaner hair, etc.) for that price too, and the woman was really nice about making sure he had time to pick stuff out. But he was so happy with his pumpkin pick -- a white one -- he didn't want anything, liking instead my suggestion to carve a face on it at home. "I got the only white one," was his comment. Interesting.

Quick stop in Trader Joe's next door, got some chips and a root beer for later/tomorrow.

3:30 pm - 5 pm
On the way back to the bus stop, I could see his legs were tired, so we hit the library for a bit. He thoroughly enjoyed the silly words in The Lorax and a special 25th-anniversary edition of Arthur's Nose. Then in 7-11 (Family Rule: do not pass by 7-11 without stopping), my suspicion that he had to pee was proved right; the counter woman took pity on us and let us into the employee bathroom. (DB was impressed that she let us use it despite the big "Employees Only" sign on the door. She said it was only because he was so handsome, and I'm not sure she was kidding.)

Of course, we got some chips at 7-11, though he tried dearly to convince me that a toy would be better. The child with more toys that he knows what to do with needs one more. I didn't bite. He took it well. "These are better than the baked," he pronounced about the regular Lay's chips. Often he picks "Baked! Lays" because, I think, he likes the exclamation point in the middle of the name.

5 - 6:30 pm
On the bus he showed me how to do "The DB Dance" -- didn't even phase him that the bus arrived when we said we'd do it at the bus stop, he just showed me on the bus!

He was up for walking home from the bus stop, the option being to transfer to another bus. We watched some pigeons on the sidewalk snag a piece of bread, he was laughing and enjoying it so much! We tried tossing them one potato chip but decided that perhaps they don't like Lay's.

Went into the kids store ("They always have stuff for kids..." he remarked as he veered in, "...of all ages.")

As we went past our local healthy-food store, I thought I'd try one more thing, and told him if he was up for going in, we could get him some "panda pudding," really the only dairy-free kind I've found (and my attempts to make it are feeble).

To my surprise, he agreed heartily! Didn't even balk at the long line! Carried the bag part of the way home!

Waffled back and forth a bit about whether he wanted to go right to the park again or home to eat pudding first. Decided on home, pudding, then park. Which is what we did -- with bike going to the park with us again.

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
When it got dark, I finally convinced him to come home... for a bath, a buttered roll and two batches of chicken nuggets (accompanied by Little House in the Big Woods), and 3 more books -- half an hour past bedtime, but my own fault because I was just having such a good time reading to him and on weekends I don't HAVE to be such a slave to the clock -- before I finally said, No mas! I have to call my friend who's coming over!

Alas, my friend is in bed under the weather. But I told her our story and now have told you!

I was a little mad at myself for caving to DB's desire to NOT take the change to the bank on the way, but it worked out alright, since we just had time to eat and get the craft pumpkin.

And I am proud of setting limits today on telling stories. It really could have gone another way.

Mets Game Rained Out

Poor me, I am watching the rain lash the window at the exact time when the Mets game I bought tickets for is supposed to be starting. I have never, ever bought tickets before, so the one day I do, and actually DID it, decided I would get my native-New-Yorker son to a game at Shea before it gets torn down forever, we get a Tropical Storm??!! Geez.

Anyway the game has been rescheduled for an earlier-afternoon start tomorrow, which is probably better all around. But had I known that before 2 pm, I wouldn't have let him watch TV the ENTIRE morning. I'd have dragged his butt outside for some fresh air before the rain and wind started. As it is, we had enough time for a quick trip to the park anyway. Nice to live right next door like that.

I also would not have spent as much time interacting with him all morning, since I am now Sick Of It and want time to myself, whilst he of course wants more, more, more Mommy. More Mommy Is Always Better.

Husband is, of course, watching television. That's his idea of child care, letting DB watch TV (actually technically DB is on the laptop) while he watches TV. And does anyone wonder why I interact with DB so much? If it weren't for me the kid would get no interaction at all! And so our family afternoon consists of the 3 of us in 3 different rooms in front of 3 different screens.

I told Husband to call me on his cell phone if he wants me; I'm tired of the both of them calling out to me from a different room when they want to tell me something. "I want to tell you something, but it's not important enough for ME to get up and find YOU; you stop what you are doing and come to me." I'm fed up with that.

To his credit, DB came to me just now to tell me about the site he's on.

I worry about him being on the Internet with out one of us in the room, but so far he's still site-based and game/activity-based, like Playhouse Disney or PBS kids, but I still check in from time to time. If I sat with him and also watched every show with him the way I'd feel most comfortable (the way I used to when he first started to use both these mediums), I'd have no free time at all during his waking hours. None.