Update on the Sickies

I tried giving the antibiotics (Pen VK) that K.C.'s pediatrician wrote for him but he just couldn't take it. It made him throw up each time he took it. I called the doctor's answering service and asked them to have the doctor call me back and she did about 20 minutes later. She said I should take him to Urgent Care but I begged her to send something out in PILL FORM because it wasn't the penicillin making him sick, it was the texture, I was sure of it. K.C. will take any pill with no problem, even two pills at once. Even Flax he takes and those pills are huge. So she agreed to send him out pills, thank God, I didn't want to take him to Urgent Care, he would have been miserable. College Boy watched K.C. so that I could go get his prescription, K.C. was asleep when I got home. He's taking the pills very well but isn't better yet. I hate that he has to miss even one day of school, he needs every bit of school that he can get.
Big Brother is doing well, he just asked me if we could go for a walk today. It's been in the upper 80's here but cooling off at night.
College Boy has been a real blessing, the boys just love him and he has helped me so much. Thank you College Boy.

K.C. sick again :(

Sick again. Last night I heard K.C. shivering in his sleep so I covered him with another blanket thinking he must have been freezing. I didn't check if he had a fever because he went to sleep well (or it seemed he was well.)
This morning I noticed his ear super red and felt him and he was very hot. I took his temperature and it was 103. Peeled the blankets off and took his p.j.'s off and headed to the tub for a cool bath.
He was miserable. I phoned the doctor and was able to get a 9:30 appointment. I am always amazed at some of the nurses in the office. There are two new nurses. The nurse who weighed K.C. (who tried to) seemed to get annoyed when K.C. couldn't understand, "get on the scale, now be still." I told her he didn't understand and that he was miserable and weighed about 62 pounds. We walked to the small room and the nurse took his temperature, it was still high and asked him to open his mouth but he didn't understand. The doctor came in and did a rapid strep and it was positive and to top it off he has a ear infection. His ear was so red on the outside. Poor little guy, what a tough time. It's so hard when they are sick and can't tell us what hurts.

Trip To The Dentist

K.C. had a Dentist appointment today at 9 a.m. As much as I tried to prepare him for it (with pictures) he was NOT a camper. He did o.k. in the waiting room but once we got in the exam room he lost it totally. We couldn't get any x rays and the Dentist was only able to look in his mouth with a little mirror very quickly with two people holding his feet and arms. He has two small cavitites and needs a cleaning badly. Doesn't surprise me a bit cause he'll struggle the whole time I try to brush his teeth. We are going back on January 2nd to have his teeth filled/cleaned. Can you believe it takes that long? The Dentist said she would have to have him knocked completely to get the work finished.

K.C.'s teacher says he loves the computer at school. She is using the Reader Rabbit Toddler program to try and teach him to use the mouse. The good thing about this program is that you don't have to click and drag, you can strike any key on the keyboard and it will work!

Big Brother is doing great in school and is reading SuperFudge by Judy Blume. He is half way through the book and is glued to it! He read some parts out loud last night and it's a funny book. It's mostly about a Big Brother who has a pesky little brother name "Fudge."

A Walk To The Park

I took the boys for a walk today to the park. K.C. did not want to go at all but Big Brother wanted to go for a walk, so, off we went. K.C. fussed quite a bit and Big Brother said, "maybe we should take him home cause he's sad." I could tell Big Brother really wanted to stay at the park even though he said nothing. I told Big Brother we would walk a bit more and hopefully K.C. will pull himself together and he did after about 40 minutes. He sat and drank a soda and watched Big Brother play. It always amazes me that there can be a playground with kids playing and having a blast but K.C. won't budge and prefers watching the tree tops blow in the breeze. He likes the simple things, trees blowing, birds flying and cars driving by. He could watch the tree tops for the longest time. He was like that as a baby as well.

I wonder if K.C. knows that he is Autistic/different than the other kids? I seen a video awhile back of an Autistic little boy maybe 8 years old who had some language. He could tell you his name followed by, "I have Autism." I don't know if a Parent or Therapist taught him to say that. If K.C. had language, I don't know if I would teach him to say that or not. I mean, would he really understand what he had said or would it just be to help the public understand he is Autistic? I am certain K.C. has heard the "A" word a million times from me, teachers, therapists etc. I wonder if it makes him feel bad?

Visiting cousin Linh.

I took these photos with my camera phone, don't know why they look blurry.


Since there was no school yesterday I took the Boys to visit Linh Linh. Linh Linh is their cousin, she is now 5 years old. Taking K.C. to visit Linh has been tough in the past and this time was no different. K.C. refused to go inside. I asked Linh Linh if she would like to go for a ride with us and she said, "yes!" So, we walked back to the car (K.C.was glad to walk back to the car) and Linh Linh hesitated to get in. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "he's weird I don't want to sit next to him he's scary!" So Big Brother sat in the middle and off we went! I took a quick glance in the mirror and noticed K.C. was all smiles and commented to Linh, "gosh Linh, just look at K.C. he's so happy to see you!" She looked and smiled. Linh has always been kinda scared of K.C. K.C. can be very loud with his eeeeee's and sometimes he does things with his hands that look well, just plain weird. We are with K.C. everyday and are used to what K.C. does and I did my very best to eplain to Linh why K.C. is the way he is.

We wound up at a Carniceria. Big Brother loves this market because it is a market but it also has a small food court. Big Brother wanted a Carne Asada and Linh wanted a chicken taco. We walked around the market and came back a little later to pick up our order. K.C. was doing fantastic walking along side the cart and loved looking around the store. We walked over to the canned food section and K.C. made a beeline ahead of us. He spotted tuna in cans of all things plopped down on the floor and started lining them up. I knew if I stopped him before he could finish lining them up he would have a major fit. So we let him line them up. There were 12 cans in all (thank God there were only 12) and it took him little time to line them up. As soon as he was on the 12th can and had set it down, I signed and said, "finished" took his hand and walked on. I turned to look at Big Brother and just as always he was putting K.C.'s masterpiece back on the shelf wih Linh's help. I walked K.C. directly in front of me so he couldn't see the kiddos messing up his line. I have got to really really work on K.C.'s line thing. He is doing so well in the stores these days except for the need to line up.

We picked up our food and paid. On the way out of the store K.C. hurried as he always does (he can spot our car almost right away and when he sees it he'll bolt from me if I don't have his hand. )

Put the kiddos into the car and handed K.C. a PECS photo of the fast food restaurants. Big Brother sitting next to him looking on took K.C.'s hand and said in a louder voice, "Mcdonald's Mom" Big Brother was using K.C.'s hand to poke at McDonalds. We went straight to McDonalds and got K.C. fries. He was happy. I told him "McDonalds French Fries" before handing them to him.
It was a great day and the best part is Linh Linh was smiling at K.C. and looked not so scared. Big Brother is my little trooper, understanding, loving and the best Brother to K.C.

Computer Learning Games

K.C.'s teacher reported he had a great day today but wasn't happy at all bout Adaptive P.E. It's a change in schedule and its going to take sometime for him to get used to. With K.C. getting used to something new is easier said than done. It almost always involves screaming for what seems like forever and dropping to the ground, sometimes head meeting floor ;(. She also reported he loved computer time today and his teacher said he was laughing so much he was snorting! I am trying to find a good computer game he would like to watch Big Brother play at home. He can't work the mouse at all and I have been trying lots of hand over hand with him but he isn't coordinated enough to use the mouse. He loves to watch someone use the computer, if anyone knows of a great learning computer game, we would love to hear about it.
The photo above is of different fast food restaurants in our area. I am going to get it blown up real big for K.C. and see how he does with picking where he would like to eat. I am hoping he begins to understand he has choices and that the PECS photos mean something.
No school today for the boys.

Guess who is helping in the kitchen?

(please excuse the mess in the background, I know it's out of sorts)

Who is that helping in the kitchen? It's my baby that's who! He's helping! I bought these new cupcake holders and he loved them. There are little footballs/baseballs designs on them, he wanted to line them up on the table so badly he actually stuck around! Big Brother was very happy and we used the cup cake holders as a way of getting him to stay and to help if he wanted to line them up! It worked! Big Brother gave him the little holders one at a time and K.C.'s eye's were glued to the little cups. We even got him to drop 2 holders into the pan! It was awesome!

This has been a great day! We are going to buy several different types of cup cake holders this weekend. K.C. won't eat cupcakes or cake but he is interested in what we are using. He seemed connected tonight!

"Mom can we go for a walk?"

Big Brother asked, "Mom can we go for a walk?" I had just gave Big Brother Tylenol and had to make a late night trip to Walgreens because Tylenol Suspension liquid is so thick it made K.C. throw up. I bought Children's JR. strength Motrin, no flavors added just plain old Motrin in tablet form and K.C. took it right away.
So, we went for our walk, College Boy came along as well. We took a walk along Tempe Town Lake, there sure were alot of airplanes flying over, you see, the airport is just on the other side of the lake.
We walked the same route we have in the past, K.C. making sure we stayed on he very same path, lol. Big Brother was scared to death K.C. was going to fall in the lake when he sat down near the edge of the water, Big Brother ran over to him immediately.
We got two snow cones, last year K.C. would hold the snow cone cup but this year he couldn't tolerate it in his hands. I gave it to him but he sat it down immediately and tried to 'wipe off' the snow cone from his hands, his hands never got dirty, but he was still wiping away. College Boy held it for him and he drank a little.
We didn't stay too long at the lake and left after about an hour. We got into the car and left for another familiar location. Got out of the car and walked up a ramp that goes to a long bridge, just below is the freeway. It's really pretty but K.C. couldn't tolerate the noise so we headed back to the car when he started crying an covering his ears.
Both boys fell asleep not long after we got home. Can't wait for cooler weather! It's suppose to be in the 90's this week. ;( We would walk alot if it were only cooler!

The Sickies

Big Brother came home with a fever on Friday and red spots have started to appear in the back of his throat. This morning K.C. had a fever as well. I am giving both boys Tylenol and taking them to the Ped on Monday if they are not better. Big Brother says his throat hurts, "really bad." I don't know if K.C.'s throat hurts or not.
My Mother ordered Nickelodeon magazines for both boys and they finally came in the mail today! K.C. LOVES this magazine so much he sat so nicely at the table with Big Brother and flipped through the pages studying each and every detail on the pages! Big Brother wanted to trade with K.C. and asked him, "can I see your magazine now, you can look at mine?" K.C. didn't make any moves so Big Brother reached over slowly and swapped with him with no problem!! K.C. didn't cry because of the change or anything. He was so into the magazine! I am so proud of both boys!! How is that!!

Adaptive P.E.

( Waiting for the bus today.)








K.C. will be having Adaptive P.E. soon. On Monday someone is coming from the school district to accompany K.C. and his teacher to "regular ed P.E." to show them that he cannot and will not (he screams the entire time) participate in P.E. class. His teacher says someone from the district has to witness that he cannot go with his classmates to P.E. or Music because of his behaviors. K.C. is in an Autism room but each of his classmates go to regular P.E. and Music with an aide. K.C.'s teacher did try and has been trying her best to have him with his classmates and an aide at P.E. and Music but he cannot. So he will be having Adaptive P.E. soon:) His teacher thinks that P.E. and Music being unstructured just throws K.C. off so much. The Music teacher said she tried to make accommodations for K.C. but it just isn't working out. I did mention to the music teacher that he really loves Disney Songs and I even asked if maybe she could do a Disney Song and she said she couldn't because she has a curriculum to follow. Oh well.





Big Brother has been very mischievous this week. I think he's had too much candy. He has been silly and quite the prankster this week. This is the face of a child who has just pulled a fast one on Mom. I opened the refrigerator and underneath my favorite cheese is the huge fake cockroach! College Boy is teaching Big Brother all the great pranks. Big Brother's fake cockroach scared me to death and I couldn't help notice his evil little grin and had to snap a photo! You can see he's quite happy after scaring Mom to death, lol.

Halloween 2006

The first picture is of the boys just before bedtime:)
Big Brother getting set to trick or treat.
Big Brother as SpiderMan.

I took Big Brother trick or treating and K.C. stayed at home with my Mom and Adam. My Mother brought the movie The Labyrinth for Adam and K.C. to watch. My Mother said there were only about 10 trick or treaters this year. She said she walked K.C. to the door and helped him to drop candy into the trick or treaters buckets. He didn't run and hide when he heard the doorbell ring, hooray K.C.!! She also said he loves Skittles and must have ate 10 snack size packs of them.
Big Brother and I walked a lot! He got a lot of candy and I know that I am going to have to put some into zip lock bags and hide it away from the boys and save it or another day.
Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

I.E.P. Meeting (to make some changes)

K.C.'s teacher asked me to come to a short I.E.P. to make so changes to his I.E.P. K.C. is in a different school now and his Teacher and Speech Pathologist are adding an Assistive Technology to help him progress on his I.E.P. goals. His teacher said he is in need of an AT Service in order to receive FAPE. His Speech Path said the AT would give him a voice. She said she isn't getting any sounds out of K.C. They are using a Cheap-Talk4 in class with K.C. right now but she also said that she handed in a consult for some folks to come out to the classroom and try to show K.C. different types of AT to see which one he responds best too. The great thing about the AT is that he will get to bring it home and carry it to school! They are very portable and the teacher said as he gets older the AT devices become very complexed. His teacher also mentioned he needs assistance with behavioral issues. She let me borrow this book, http://www.amazon.com/Solving-Behavior-Problems-Visual-Strategies/dp/0961678623
From what I have read so far, this book is awesome! Can you guys believe it? If K.C. learns to use an AT he will finally have a voice! I am so excited for K.C. and hope it doesn't take the school too long to get the device. The teacher also said I might want to put a bug in K.C.'s DDD managers ear about the AT device. I am going to call her first thing in the morning. There are 6 in K.C.'s classroom and his teacher said that this morning she told the students it was Monday and has each of the children said , "Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday, Monday and when it was K.C.'s turn had he had a AT device he could have pushed "Monday" and he would have had a "voice."
If there are any Blogger Parents out there who are using an AT device, which device worked best for your kiddo and how long did it take to learn to use it? I am so excited for K.C.!

Have a Great Halloween Bloggers and Kiddos, be safe.

My Parents Came To Visit Us Today

My Parents came by our house early this morning. They were headed up North with my brother Adam. K.C. was happy to see them but hid "or so he thought he was hiding even though we could all clearly see him hiding under the television) My Dad kept asking, "I wonder where K.C. has gone off to?" "I sure miss him, I guess we are going to have to eat all these gummy bears." My Dad will walk around the house calling out to K.C. and it's the cutest funniest thing ever, cause K.C. will hide but you can see he's still smiling real big:) So he just kinda stayed in his hiding place and just before they were about to leave, my Dad crawled down to where K.C. was hiding and left the gummy bears next to him.
Big Brother went with my Parents and Brother today. I know he will have alot of fun:)
I know in my heart one day when my Dad comes to visit he is going to run out of his hiding spot and smile and sit with my Dad. He's so close to coming out!!

Waiting For The Bus/Going To Visit The Dentist

K.C. had a great day today. On Friday he has a dentist appointment and we have been trying to prepare him as much as we can. He has been before, but screamed and cried a lot. This time I have pictures to show him of the Dentists office. He had work done on his teeth before, they were able to work on his teeth because he was given a shot that knocked him out right away. I know that he has at least 2 cavities and I am sure it's from me brushing his teeth so quickly. We have tooth brush battles every night and each morning. I tried buying one of those electric toothbrushes but it was too noisy and hurt his ears.

Big Brother's teacher made the comment that, "he is the only one in class who calls a diamond, Rhombus." I am still working with Big Brother at home as much as I can. For those of you who aren't familiar with Big Brother, he used to be homeschooled but now goes to a private school. He is doing well. He gets the giggles when he hears he word, " dodecahedron." I asked him to find it and told him it would be a challenge. He came home and said, "a soccer ball!"

Some more good news, last night K.C. and Big Brother actually ate together at the table without K.C. throwing ANY food or leaving the table. I am hoping it will happen again tonight so I can get a picture and laminate the thing. I think if I show him the picture of both boys sitting nicely and laminate it it will make a huge difference. I have to learn to be quick with the camera!

An Amazing Little Guy Named, Noah.

I just stopped by Melinda's sons page, "Dear Noah." http://dearnoah.blogspot.com/ Melinda has put up the most amazing video of Noah doing Quick Math. Noah is 7 years old and this handsome fella is like a little calculator:) Stop by and watch Noah, this video is so inspiring. It is here >
http://media.putfile.com/Noah-doing-math

My Little Daydreamer

My Mother and I went through photos of the boys and my brother Adam. My brother Adam is Autistic. My mother and I noticed some striking similarities in Adam and K.C. The first thing we noticed immediately in Adam and K.C. is that they both have the "daydreamer look."The "disconnected look" as my Mother describes it. K.C. is like this many times during the day if I am not engaging him, he's drifted off. He seems completely lost in thought. His eyes tell so much, if I stand right in front of his face when he's "daydreaming" he'll look right through me. I would give anything to know what he's thinking! Do any of our fellow Bloggers see the "daydreamer" look in their kiddos?

Visiting The Neighborhood Park / Tagged!

My two little guys.
The first photo is of K.C. going up the stairs of the slide. When he climbs he always stops and throws his head back and looks at the sky.
Photo number two is K.C. trying to understand how to climb on this structure. He was totally baffled, Big Brother tried showing him how to climb but I think K.C. was just not sure.
My little daydreamer.
Big Brother sitting in the middle of the play structure.
K.C. throwing his head back to look at the sky. Big Brother getting the giggles as K.C. throws his head back.

It was a very warm day today and the boys had a great day at the park.

I was tagged by my dear friend Lora so here goes!

1.Things that scare me- War, Diseases and any harm that could come to my boys. 2.People who make me laugh- Big Brother, K.C. and College Boy.3. Things I hate the most- having a tic, things that are not finished and selfish people 4.Things I don't understand-How people talk so smoothly, how their thoughts flow freely-Why K.C. has Autism and War 5. Things I am doing right now-Listening to a Green Day CD with College Boy-Wondering how College Boy can do his homework, eat and listen to Green Day at the same time. Trying to understand how to upload videos to Blogger 6. Things I want to do before I die- Live in Israel , Have a conversation with K.C., and know that I have raised my boys to be honest, caring, compassionate individuals. Things I can do-Juggle, Complete a Rubix Cube and Be a Good Mommy. Ways to describe my personality-Open, not judgmental and Friendly .Things I can't do- Listen to Bullcrap, let someone walk all over my boys and listen to Rap Music (yikes) 10.Things I think that you should listen to-Your children, your heart and the silence. 11.Things you should never listen to-Negativity Spreaders, Hate and Preaching 12. Things I'd like to learn-Trig, How to best teach a child with Autism and how to be a better advocate for K.C. 13. Favorite foods- Knishes, Matzah Kugel and Salads - 14. Beverages I drink regularly- Dr.Pepper, Dasani Water Flavored with Grape and Orange Juice -15. Shows I watched as a kid- Saved By The Bell, Wonder Years and The News with my Parents (blah).

The Boys Are Doing Well

The boys are doing very well these days. K.C is doing very well in his new school/programs. He is finally happy, going to school happy and coming off the bus happy. When K.C. first started his new program I was very, very worried. I feared he would be ignored and left behind. His teacher told me the children in this Autism class were very mildly affected by their Autism and needed very little sensory. The children are verbal and toilet trained. His teacher said K.C.'s Autism severely affects him but that being said- the school is there for him and they are going to help him. Our case manager made a surprise visit to his new school and said from what she has seen they are really looking after him and he always had at least two aides helping him all the time. His teacher reported he isn't aware of his peers yet, not really. She also said she was going to make some changes to his IEP and would go over the changes and why she made them with me soon. He is happy, screeching/screaming every other minute. He'll screech and run to the couch or the side of the entertainment center and bite it as he screeches. His OT wants to give him a long piece of a clear tube to bite instead of the furniture or wood. Big Brother is doing great! He is doing well in school and just as curious as ever. "College Boy" is still with us, for those of you who aren't familiar with "College Boy," he is a student taking Psychology who is living with us/helping with the boys. The Boys Daddy left him with us before he left for California. Big Brother is always in contact with his Daddy via web cam/ phone and K.C. still looks very perplexed to see his Daddy on the web cam and isn't exactly thrilled about it, lol.
Cooking in the kitchen has been a wonderful experience for Big Brother! He loves it! This weekend I told him we are going to buy cookie cutters in hopes of getting K.C. more involved. He is definitely interested in what goes on in the kitchen. He'll peer around the corner. Little by little he's coming around. I don't want to push him too much to get involved, he'll come around when he's ready. I did tell Big Brother when he does come to the table to help to try to keep words to a minimum. Big Brother loves to see K.C. try new things and when he does he'll shout, "Look Mommy he's trying it!!" K.C. will take off from the kitchen with hands over ears.
I nearly forgot...if any of our fellow bloggers have photos of the first snow of the season could you post some photos? Big Brother has been asking alot about snow after he heard the news in Buffalo and their snow. You see it's still in the upper 80's here. Can't wait for cooler temps!

Is He Tuning Me Out?

K.C. has been tuning me out, well at least I think that is what he's trying to do. When I talk to him he closes his eyes and plugs his ears. My Mother said that she thought my voice was too loud for him. I think he's just being a very clever boy.
He has always covered his ears with his hands and squinted his eyes a lot but it is so much lately that I wonder if he could have something wrong with his ears or it's just sensory? We have had his hearing tested every year, they put this little device in his ears and some how it can tell if he's hearing or not. It has always been fine.
I am going to try to lower my voice and see if it helps or not.
He's been a happy little boy today playing with his cars . Big Brother has been watching a lot of scary movies, tonight he is going to watch Little Vampire on Disney Channel. I have been trying to find a classic Frankenstein movie for him (1931) but haven't had much luck. He really likes the black and white films and so do I. The old scary movies are the best, last night we watched The Birds.
We are going to try to make Rice Krispies Treats on a stick. I have noticed K.C. tends to stick around longer when Big Brother and I are in the kitchen. I have to be very careful not to over encourage him into the kitchen because he will leave. He does much better if he comes into the kitchen to watch on his own terms and then we can slowly involve him in what we are doing. He'll help add things hand over hand as long as its not messy on his hands. I am hoping cooking in the kitchen will be some sort of break through for K.C. something we can do as a family and have fun. We'll keep at it:)

Trip To The Store

K.C. has been in the house quite a bit lately so I decided to get him dressed and take both boys to the store. The dollar store (pictured above) is the first store I started taking K.C. to try to teach him how to just be in a store, wait in line, (waiting in line is very difficult even now, K.C. tends to make shrieking noises, squeals and some really strange noises that are hard to describe. If anyone has any ideas as how to get K.C. to stop making the noises in public let me know. The folks in line were staring at K.C. and this time I noticed Big Brother looking very nervous having people staring at us. But K.C. was a happy little kiddo in the store today and did a great job waiting. He picked out a car all by himself and Big Brother looked over the Halloween stuff. Big Brother is so excited about Halloween in fact he stashes his costume in his backpack and takes it to school. So far he wants to be SpiderMan or a ghoul type thing.
I just noticed in the photo above that K.C. and Big Brother are nearly even in height! Big Brother is 6 and K.C. 5.
We have a live in college student who is staying with us. The Boys father brought him to us before he left for California. He is taking Child Psychology and is wonderful with K.C. and Big Brother. I never really realized just how busy college students are and how much homework they have these days!
Big Brother has been keeping in touch with his Daddy by phone. They take pictures on the phone and send them to each other. Every other night we turn on the web cam so their Dad can see them and he turns his on so the kids can see him.
It is still very warm here and I am so looking forward to cooler temps:)