OK, so I just want to get my two cents about this past week's American Idol up before next week starts, since our favorite got voted off!
Hard to believe Carly was the one to go. What about Jason with the dreadlocks? He is a train wreck every week and yet he continues!! I read a theory, on AOL no less, that Carly got voted off due to Christians being angered by her choice to sing Jesus Christ Superstar. That doesn’t totally make sense to me because you can’t “unvote” for someone, and also how many conservative Christians would have been voting for the tattooed rocker chick in the first place? Maybe 3?
Here’s my theory: Jason has a lot of teenybopper girls who like him (as does David Archuleta, and maybe David Cook, but they’re also better singers). These girls have the time and hormones to hit redial over and over to vote for their favorite a bunch of times, no matter how he did. Husband and I, sitting at home in our comfy adjustable bed, have to make a real effort to get up and GET the phone, let alone dial more than once. One week we did vote twice for Carly. Woo!
I also couldn't believe Syesha was the other person in the bottom 2. I thought her number rocked! So I linked to it on the right.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Teaching DuckyBoy
Yesterday was host to a couple of little-yet-big conversations.
On the way out the door, for some reason DB asked me if one of his friends was Christian. I said no, and he said, “So she doesn’t believe in God?”
I said, Well, I think her parents were raised going to church, so they may believe in God, but I don’t know what they tell X. And then, because I know how deeply he listens sometimes, I went on, They may believe in God but not church.
Now, this whole conversation is in the hallway of our apartment building as we’re heading out to the playground, which I find funny for some reason…
Anyway, I said, Sometimes people in church are mean to each other, just like not in church. But the thing is, it’s worse when people in church are mean, because there they are in church learning all about love and caring for each other! And I left him with that. Because I just don’t know what he’ll remember or what he’ll do, what God’s plan are for him someday.
Then at the playground DB was pushing past some teenagers to get to the rings; I was like, Dude, you gotta be nice to the bigger kids, otherwise when you get big enough, they’ll remember you as the annoying twerp and beat you up! So, I know he takes me literally and I want to give him helpful advice, so I said: If you’re going to be bossy, you’ve got to be one of two things: fast, or funny. Of course, he asked why, so I explained. He picked fast, then decided he wanted to be both – he’s going to tell them jokes AS he runs away!! For the age of 5, I’m satisfied.
On the way out the door, for some reason DB asked me if one of his friends was Christian. I said no, and he said, “So she doesn’t believe in God?”
I said, Well, I think her parents were raised going to church, so they may believe in God, but I don’t know what they tell X. And then, because I know how deeply he listens sometimes, I went on, They may believe in God but not church.
Now, this whole conversation is in the hallway of our apartment building as we’re heading out to the playground, which I find funny for some reason…
Anyway, I said, Sometimes people in church are mean to each other, just like not in church. But the thing is, it’s worse when people in church are mean, because there they are in church learning all about love and caring for each other! And I left him with that. Because I just don’t know what he’ll remember or what he’ll do, what God’s plan are for him someday.
Then at the playground DB was pushing past some teenagers to get to the rings; I was like, Dude, you gotta be nice to the bigger kids, otherwise when you get big enough, they’ll remember you as the annoying twerp and beat you up! So, I know he takes me literally and I want to give him helpful advice, so I said: If you’re going to be bossy, you’ve got to be one of two things: fast, or funny. Of course, he asked why, so I explained. He picked fast, then decided he wanted to be both – he’s going to tell them jokes AS he runs away!! For the age of 5, I’m satisfied.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The New Jan on The Block
I saw the guys from "New Kids on the Block" on the Today show a few weeks ago. I could not believe how many screaming women were standing there; the host and the guys could hardly be heard above the din.
Then I heard an old NKOTB song on a cable music channel a few days later and I was slapped in the face by my lack of romanticism. (My apologies, Alba, your Romantic poems are classics to be sure!)
The song was all, "Oh girl, I want you to be mine, you're so special, yadda yadda." I'm listening to it and thinking, What B.S.! Guys do NOT think like that. Some woman writer wrote that and some producer told them to sing it, and the little girls fell for it.
Which is very unlike the old me. My teenage rock-star crushes were Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett. They were way before NKOTB but just as lame, I'm sure. I actually remember crying as I listened to one song over and over -- it was probably the same type of "You're so special I just can't live without you" type of crap.
And now although I still think of myself as loving and caring, I also am such a different person that I have a hard time knowing who I'm looking at when I go past a mirror. Is that a 40's thing? A "married 13 years" thing? A "the kid's in school all day now" thing? Who knows. I only know it's not always easy to integrate new me with old me.
Then I heard an old NKOTB song on a cable music channel a few days later and I was slapped in the face by my lack of romanticism. (My apologies, Alba, your Romantic poems are classics to be sure!)
The song was all, "Oh girl, I want you to be mine, you're so special, yadda yadda." I'm listening to it and thinking, What B.S.! Guys do NOT think like that. Some woman writer wrote that and some producer told them to sing it, and the little girls fell for it.
Which is very unlike the old me. My teenage rock-star crushes were Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett. They were way before NKOTB but just as lame, I'm sure. I actually remember crying as I listened to one song over and over -- it was probably the same type of "You're so special I just can't live without you" type of crap.
And now although I still think of myself as loving and caring, I also am such a different person that I have a hard time knowing who I'm looking at when I go past a mirror. Is that a 40's thing? A "married 13 years" thing? A "the kid's in school all day now" thing? Who knows. I only know it's not always easy to integrate new me with old me.
Milk: It's What's for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
We planned a while back to let DuckyBoy go off the no-casein diet during Spring Break this week. (For those not in the know, casein is a protein in cow's milk, and also used to make a lot of lactose-free or "non-dairy" items, like cheeses, have a better mouthfeel. Allergy to casein, as well as gluten, are fairly common among children with autism, though much of the info is anecdotal.)
DuckyBoy certainly remembered and was clearly looking forward to it; I think it was Saturday morning when he said, "Hey, since it's Spring Break, can I have..." In fact it may even have been Friday night.
So, he's digging butter on his toast and popcorn, and pizza with real cheese. At first he couldn't taste the difference between the Earth Balance spread and the butter, but I knew from The Peanut Butter Issue that wouldn't last. Sure enough, halfway through the toast (he requested one slice with "our butter" and one slice with "Daddy's butter," as we call it) he'd decided he preferred the Daddy butter.
You know what he seems to be enjoying the most? Kid Cuisine (think TV dinners). They have a cute penguin character on the ads, and they ALL have cheese; mac and cheese, pizza, and a cheeseburger are the entrees. We made a special trip to the grocery store --the whole family -- to get some, and so far he's already had 2. And he's really eating them -- even trying the corn! Wow!
I know, I know: Getting a 5-year-old to eat macaroni and cheese, fruit gummies, and one-quarter of an already-small serving of corn should not be cause for celebration. All I can say is, Welcome to Jan's life. I'll move over to make room for you.
I like that some of his choices are still nondairy (he picked a Popsicle-type thing from the ice-cream truck, and he wanted chocolate almond milk instead of cow's-milk chocolate milk this morning).
So far, it seems as though the milk products shorten his frustration tolerance. By a lot. But then again, sometimes we all have better days than others. Today I didn't notice hardly anything that seemed out of the ordinary. He was a little more clingy to me, maybe. But that's normal for him on a day off when he spends it with me.
He has many more tools in his emotional arsenal for dealing with frustration than he did 2 years ago when we put him on this diet; he also has more experience calming down, and more (I hope) trust that we will help him make sure things work out.
If he continues to wig out more often on the cheese than off, I'll want to eliminate it again, but it sure was nice to order a pizza for the 3 of us for dinner. And to eat together at a diner this weekend without having to drag special margarine, soy milk for the coffee, worry about the scrambled eggs, etc. etc. He can eat the hot lunch (and the breakfast) at school if he can eat milk.
So at this point, there's a big upside to going off. I have my fingers crossed that the downside won't be too bad this week!
DuckyBoy certainly remembered and was clearly looking forward to it; I think it was Saturday morning when he said, "Hey, since it's Spring Break, can I have..." In fact it may even have been Friday night.
So, he's digging butter on his toast and popcorn, and pizza with real cheese. At first he couldn't taste the difference between the Earth Balance spread and the butter, but I knew from The Peanut Butter Issue that wouldn't last. Sure enough, halfway through the toast (he requested one slice with "our butter" and one slice with "Daddy's butter," as we call it) he'd decided he preferred the Daddy butter.
You know what he seems to be enjoying the most? Kid Cuisine (think TV dinners). They have a cute penguin character on the ads, and they ALL have cheese; mac and cheese, pizza, and a cheeseburger are the entrees. We made a special trip to the grocery store --the whole family -- to get some, and so far he's already had 2. And he's really eating them -- even trying the corn! Wow!
I know, I know: Getting a 5-year-old to eat macaroni and cheese, fruit gummies, and one-quarter of an already-small serving of corn should not be cause for celebration. All I can say is, Welcome to Jan's life. I'll move over to make room for you.
I like that some of his choices are still nondairy (he picked a Popsicle-type thing from the ice-cream truck, and he wanted chocolate almond milk instead of cow's-milk chocolate milk this morning).
So far, it seems as though the milk products shorten his frustration tolerance. By a lot. But then again, sometimes we all have better days than others. Today I didn't notice hardly anything that seemed out of the ordinary. He was a little more clingy to me, maybe. But that's normal for him on a day off when he spends it with me.
He has many more tools in his emotional arsenal for dealing with frustration than he did 2 years ago when we put him on this diet; he also has more experience calming down, and more (I hope) trust that we will help him make sure things work out.
If he continues to wig out more often on the cheese than off, I'll want to eliminate it again, but it sure was nice to order a pizza for the 3 of us for dinner. And to eat together at a diner this weekend without having to drag special margarine, soy milk for the coffee, worry about the scrambled eggs, etc. etc. He can eat the hot lunch (and the breakfast) at school if he can eat milk.
So at this point, there's a big upside to going off. I have my fingers crossed that the downside won't be too bad this week!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Beautiful Weather
Gorgeous summer afternoon here in NY! Always helps with the mood, ya know? Let's see, DuckyBoy reported that a funny thing happened at center time today:
A. picked out the wrong center, he said. She always wants to do drawing center, but Ms R. said "We can't have the same centers every day." Isn't that funny? he asks me.
Yes, I say, And, so? I say, on the edge of my seat about this kindergarten drama. So? What center did she pick??
Um, I don't know, he trailed off. I think maybe she sat. Which would mean she just didn't do a center, I guess? I'll never know!!
But he thought it was funny and told me the story, so that's a pretty big deal. I'll live without the satisfaction of knowing how center time actually turned out for his friend!
A. picked out the wrong center, he said. She always wants to do drawing center, but Ms R. said "We can't have the same centers every day." Isn't that funny? he asks me.
Yes, I say, And, so? I say, on the edge of my seat about this kindergarten drama. So? What center did she pick??
Um, I don't know, he trailed off. I think maybe she sat. Which would mean she just didn't do a center, I guess? I'll never know!!
But he thought it was funny and told me the story, so that's a pretty big deal. I'll live without the satisfaction of knowing how center time actually turned out for his friend!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Friends
OK, so I am still mad today but my friends are slowly pulling me out of the funk I am in. Part of me is still there, and still needs to be there, but it feels better tonight to have some of those feelings not be so front and center.
My mom is home, sans gallbladder. And whether it was so great to live through, I haven't gotten her take on it yet, but according to my sister, at least Mom knows she got a good story out of it. Believe me, this matters when you live in a community of retirees!
And, in an odd parallel, I also went to the doctor today. It was surprisingly difficult; I went in thinking it was just a routine followup, but it was more emotional than I expected. Interestingly, the doctor knew that, and in fact was the one who brought it up. Which was very reassuring, since I hate negative emotions and usually feel embarrassed by them and then just want to make them go away as fast as possible!
My mom is home, sans gallbladder. And whether it was so great to live through, I haven't gotten her take on it yet, but according to my sister, at least Mom knows she got a good story out of it. Believe me, this matters when you live in a community of retirees!
And, in an odd parallel, I also went to the doctor today. It was surprisingly difficult; I went in thinking it was just a routine followup, but it was more emotional than I expected. Interestingly, the doctor knew that, and in fact was the one who brought it up. Which was very reassuring, since I hate negative emotions and usually feel embarrassed by them and then just want to make them go away as fast as possible!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Random Thoughts: Anger and Gall
I'm so angry today that I made myself tired. And I haven't even begun to say anything to the person I'm angry at. I don't have much practice being mad, so I hardly know what to do. It's ironic that I was looking over the draft of DuckyBoy's IEP yesterday morning, and there's a couple of goals about him modulating his outbursts and improving his communication with other people ... and here I was today hardly able to speak a civil word to anyone as I've worked myself up so much about one person that I can hardly think straight. God does have a sense of humor for sure.
If you're reading this and are a praying person, please pray that my mom recovers successfully from gallbladder surgery; she got a double dose today, as first the organ itself was removed and then they had to wake her up, wait a few hours, and go back in (through the throat, no less!?) to remove a stone that was stuck somewhere. Eww! So what was supposed to be outpatient now has her staying overnight.
She lives in a community of all older folks like herself -- some 10 or so years older than her 80+ years -- and she said when she told everyone she needed gallbladder surgery, everyone had a story! So now she will have one as well. I was just glad that obviously so many lived to tell about it!! So my hope for her is a speedy recovery and to go home tomorrow.
If you're reading this and are a praying person, please pray that my mom recovers successfully from gallbladder surgery; she got a double dose today, as first the organ itself was removed and then they had to wake her up, wait a few hours, and go back in (through the throat, no less!?) to remove a stone that was stuck somewhere. Eww! So what was supposed to be outpatient now has her staying overnight.
She lives in a community of all older folks like herself -- some 10 or so years older than her 80+ years -- and she said when she told everyone she needed gallbladder surgery, everyone had a story! So now she will have one as well. I was just glad that obviously so many lived to tell about it!! So my hope for her is a speedy recovery and to go home tomorrow.
