Almost Done

I hope that it's okay that I start counting down the hours 'til the weekend on Thursday! Who am I kidding?! I probably start on Monday! It's not that we do anything particularly exciting on the weekends,... but I'm just happy to not have to get JG anywhere for 2 whole days. So, only one more morning struggle left before I get a 2 day reprieve. These are the thoughts that get me through a day.

JG had a much better day at school yesterday. His tics had settled down quite a bit after a good night's rest on Tuesday night. He does seem extremely tired, though - even more than he did during the first week of school. It concerns me, but I'm doing all that I can do. He has had 3 nights in a row that he's fallen asleep instantly, and that is absolutely not the norm!

I have scheduled a meeting w/ a woman for horseback riding lessons for JG. She lives right down the road, and we're going to meet w/ her on Friday afternoon. She said that she teaches them everything, not just how to ride. He'll learn how to brush the horses, how to clean their hooves, and all of the parts of caring for them, in addition to slowly learning how to ride. She doesn't have any particular experience w/ Asperger's children, but she seems very open to learning about JG. She asked some particulars, and she said that she was going to do some research about his difficulties. She has, however, worked w/ other children w/ various special needs. So,... it looks like we'll be teaching her, as well. I can't wait to tell him!

Also, I've realized that I'm not posting as much information about food as I had planned on doing, so here's a little re-cap.

Tuesday night I cooked spaghetti w/ organic meat, Newman's Own sauce, & corn pasta & it was a hit!! Spaghetti is one of JG's all time favorites, and it has been a long time since he has gotten to have some. I've warmed some up to put in to a thermos for the past two days for his lunch at school. (I also cut it up to make it easier to eat out of a thermos.)

Last night we had breakfast for dinner, and we had pancakes made from a Bob's Red Mill mix, Jones Dairy Farm turkey sausage, and cantaloupe. Everyone was happy! It amazes me that those pancakes are soooo much better fresh! FYI: We use Earth Balance spread as our butter replacement & Log Cabin syrup.

And this morning the kiddos had Van's waffles for breakfast, which has actually been requested repeatedly by my non-Aspie son! I cut up a little bit of cantaloupe on the side, and all the plates were cleaned!

The boys are going to get a special treat for their snack at school today, as I threw together a package of Betty Crocker Gluten Free brownies last night after dinner. And I also did some couponing yesterday in order to purchase some LaCroix Sparkling Water, in the lemon and orange flavors, so that the boys could have something else new & exciting in their lunchboxes! I'll be anxious to hear how they like them, but they were already excited just based on the fact that they were getting to take something that resembled a soda!!

Tomorrow's Friday!!

This week has been so crazy that I'm actually excited about not having a vehicle to go anywhere tomorrow. Tribe Dad has orientation at his new job tomorrow, and we are a one vehicle family - so NO VAN! I have so much to get caught up on in the house, but I'm also pooped from running so much this week. Meetings, appointments, & shopping, oh my! And none of the shopping was for me! (It rarely is these days!!)


Speaking of shopping,... I had a very productive shopping trip to our local Sam's Club today! The purpose of my mission was to bring back some new GF/CF foods to add to the monotonous menu of this week. I'm happy to report that I got some interesting new products (new to us), and I did not spend a fortune. I got a large box of Multi-Seeded crackers, some hummus, organic baby carrots, salsa (the yummy fresh kind), corn tortilla chips, & some yummy little trail mix chunks that were both gluten free & peanut free (not an issue for us but at the school), and a few other things. I'll be happy to add the information re. the brands & such if anyone is interested, but I'm rather comfy in my chair at the moment.


With the busyness of the day, I hardly got to speak to the boys. They came home from school w/ Dad waiting & Mom running around doing errands. When I came home for a brief reprieve the boys were down the street playing w/ some new friends. (Did you hear that?! THEY were BOTH down the street playing w/ FRIENDS!!) Tribe Dad said that JG came home in a good mood & did all of his homework lickety split, b/c he wanted to go play w/ his FRIEND! (Although he doesn't know his name, but I'm sure his big brother does.) Not long after that, I had to head out again to go to JG's school for our "Get the Facts Night," and I have to say that I really think this is going to be a great school year for him. His class is small, he has some sweet, compassionate kids in his class, and some of the boys he has considered friends for a while. JG's teacher even said that she had one of the boys help to keep JG on task today and that he was wonderful w/ him. So, it looks like JG's team will include some peers this year, which will be so fantastic for his self esteem. (Oh, and the most exciting part is that we have a sensory room at our new school!!)


Now that everything seems to be falling in to place at JG's school, it's time for me to make some decisions about his extra curricular activities. Up until yesterday I thought he was going to play soccer, b/c he & his big bro had worked so much on his goalie skills. JG on the other hand has a different has a different plan, or lack of plan. We're tossing around the ideas of either gymnastics or horseback riding. JG's chiropractor thinks that gymnastics would be great for him, and I've also heard that riding can be very therapeutic for children on the autism spectrum. I guess it's going to come down to cost & availability. I'll let you know what we decide!