Working for a Living

I forgot how tiring this whole working thing can be! I really like subbing a couple days a week. In fact, 3 is perfect. But this week, I am working all 5 days. Next week 4 days already scheduled. I guess it's great that I'm getting my name out there, etc. Man, I'm tired.

I don't know how "regular people" do 40 hours a week, year round, have a family, keep a house and keep sane! I haven't done it since I had Megan. Wow!

Just realized, I was never sane. That's how I made it work back then!

Betsy

Troy is home!!!

Troy arrived home safe and sound today. He managed to stay awake all the way until 6pm tonight, hoping to offset the jetlag he will be feeling for a few days. After 48 hours awake, his eyes were puffy and his concentration skills were shot! As I type this, he is sound asleep....as soon as his head hit the pillow.



He brought home some neat souveniers, native jewlery, a stone sculpture, and local candy for the kids to try. He has fabulous pictures that I will post after he downloads them and I can share some of the funny stories he has already shared with us.



Overall, the trip was rough because of the work stress involved. But, he was able to secure a promotion because of his hard work and we are very proud of him.



The kids and I are thrilled to have him home. Megan has stayed very close to Daddy and Steven has instigated several wrestling matches!



It feels good to have us all under one roof again.



B

The answer is.....

Remember when I posted about flour and ended with, "What will he think of next?"

The answer is Garlic Powder. Not granules. The finely ground, very strong garlic POWDER.

It doesn't smell as good as the cinnamon did.

Betsy

Time Differences

South Africa is +7 hours from Texas time. When it is midnight here, it is 7 am there.

Whomever said that people with autism are rigid in their routines has been proven wrong. Evidently Troy and Steven have such a bond that Steven has adjusted his routine to match Troy's South Africa schedule.

I realized this last night when Steven woke up for the day, AGAIN, at 11:47pm. That's right folks. We have been awake for nearly 7 hours.

I try to see the positives in most situations.....fortunately, I have had nearly 7 hours to find the positive in this situation. When Troy comes home on Saturday, he and Steven will be on the same schedule. Thus, I can sleep normal people hours while the boys figure out their jetlag and join the rest of the family on Texas time!

In 2 short hours, both kids will be at school and I will be back in bed.......I need to catch at least a few hours of sleep before I try to tackle the day.

Betsy

Our adventure and some cleaning tips....

We have locks on everything. I mean EVERYTHING. The lock above is similar to the ones we have on every one of our kitchen cabinets. We kinda get a kick out of watching guests try to open a cabinet or the fridge with these locks. But, mostly, we keep them in place to avoid Steven getting into various items. We keep our kitchen knives locked in a cabinet. We keep medicine in the fridge. We are so used to it that we have become complacent. Steven, however, has been conspiring against us.

He has figured out that he can get the little spice bottles out of the cabinet if we don't pull the ties quite tight enough. We've gotten really good at keeping them closed tightly.

So, Steven figured it was time to train Mommy on a new adventure. We have very few things out and within reach so he knew he would have to be creative. He must have figured, "Why go to all the bother with these locks when she leaves the GIGANTIC containers of flour and sugar right there on the counter?"

That's right folks. I had a great opportunity to clean flour. Lots of it. Here's some helpful tips I found along the clean up that might make it easier if it happens in your house.

1. Vacuuming flour does not work. It just sucks it up, filters it and then releases it as an airborn pollutant to get caught up in the breeze of the fan and carried into other rooms of the house.

2. Wiping flour with a wet cloth only creates a great paper mache' paste. I believe I have enough paste to create some great pinatas as Christmas gifts. I may fill them with flour so you can all experience my joy when you beat your pinata open!

3. Do not allow children covered in flour to linger in a bathtub of warm water....even if it is the only way to keep them out of the way while you attempt to clean up said flour mess. The flour and the warm water makes into a gravy that is hard to go down the drain and even harder to clean off the porcelin.

Our flour and sugar canisters are now in the fridge. A few positives came out of this adventure. My kitchen looks tidy with only a can opener and coffee pot on them. I know we can possibly give pinatas or other paper mache items as holiday gifts. And, Steven made me clean the kitchen floor very well.

oy vey. What will he think up next?

Betsy

Autism Family Camp

We went to the autism camp this weekend to try a new adventure. We left on Friday about 3:00pm and arrived close to 6pm. The trip should have taken about 2 hours, but Meg and Sarah each had a case of carsickness. Fortunately, we got there just in time for dinner, so Steven was happy right away! He had some difficulty with the noise level in the dining hall, so he ate fast and I took him back to our cabin.

The cabins are duplexes, are very nice and sleep 12 people on each side of the duplex. They are very closely located to the lake....within 20 feet or so. The downstairs has bunkbeds or beds for 8 people, a kitchen, dining table and a double size bathroom. The upstairs loft has another 4 beds. We had one whole side of the duplex to ourselves. Our friends, The Turners, were on the other half of the duplex.

While Megan and Sarah finished eating, Steven and I headed to the cabin to let him acquaint himself with our space while I unloaded the car. BIG MISTAKE!!! As soon as I opened the car doors, Steven bolted for the lake! He didn't go to the lake right by our cabin. He ran across the courtyard, stripping while he ran and went straight into the lake in only his underwear. The crowd in the dining hall had a perfect view of this. The more I would try to cajole Steven to get out of the water, the deeper he would go. I caught up to him in waist high water....soaking my clothes. (cmon, visualize this....it's okay to laugh!)

We went back to the cabin, dried him off, got him a spare change of clothes and Megan and Sarah came back from the dining hall. They had seen Steven in the water and came running to help!

That evening, there was a bonfire and welcome ceremony. By then, Steven was tired....he's only been sleeping about 3 hours a night the past week. Again, Steven and I stayed in the cabin, snuggling and watching Barney until he fell asleep about 9. I couldn't fall asleep until about 11:30 as there were still many people driving in and the cabins don't have any curtains on the windows.

Imagine my dismay when Steven woke up at 1:00am. I tried to convince him he needed to go back to sleep. He wasn't having any of that. After an hour or so, I took him into the car so he could watch a video and wouldn't wake up the world. By 5:30am, I decided I was an idiot to even attempt camp. At 6:00am, I yelled upstairs to the girls to wake up and pack. We were leaving. By 6:10, we were on the road. After 20 minutes of silence, Sarah spoke up and said she would help more. Megan also really wanted to stay. I was soooo tired.

We developed a game plan and went back to the cabin. We unpacked for the second time. We went to the dining hall for breakfast. After breakfast, I took a 2 hour nap and the girls attempted to take Steven on the barge.

The barge is, of course, on the lake.

The same lake that Steven wanted to swim in.

While I was sleeping, Steven was biting, scratching and pinching the girls because they wouldn't let him jump into the water.

They brought him back to the cabin. I sent the girls back to ride the barge and I tried to calm him down. He did okay, but really really really wanted to go in the water.

I decided to let him go in the water.

The Camp Director came running over to remind me there was no swimming due to no lifeguards. I explained our situation, said I would be the lifeguard, etc. But, no go. She was adamant. I was adamant. Eventually, she won.

By lunchtime, I tried to convince Steven we should head to the dining hall to meet the girls. He wasn't having any part of that. I called the girls and asked them to bring us food back to the cabin. Then, I bribed them with Papa Johns pizza, videos, s'mores in the fireplace, sleeping in our own beds and Steven being calm in his own environment. I just wanted to come home.

They agreed. For the third time in 24 hours, we packed stuff back into the car. We made good time on the way home. Sarah is gone to a friend's house. Steven is calm. Megan is playing Sims and I am blogging away.

It's 5:28 and I expect us all to be asleep by 8pm. I don't even think the videos and s'mores sound good to any of us.

Overall, I would attempt camp again, as long as Troy could go and they allowed swimming. But, doing it alone, with an inexperienced nanny made it a long 24 hours. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight!

But, hey, at least we tried!!!

Betsy

Update from Us

Several people have called and emailed asking how we are all holding up with Troy out of town. Overall, we are doing well.

Megan has caught a cold that turned into a sinus infection and ear infection. I took her to the doc this morning and they gave antibiotics, so she should be feeling better soon.

I got my stitches out and will have the splint on for another 6 weeks, but at least I can get it wet. I thought I had caught Megan's cold, but turns out I have bronchitis. That figures since I went back into a school setting.

Steven is doing well, but misses Daddy. He's loving have Mommy all to himself and gives me lots of hugs and kisses!

Troy is suffering through his trip. They are working 12-15 hour days and having difficulty sleeping because he is still adjusting to the time change of +7 hours. He will probably get used to the time change in time to come back to the states....starting the process all over.

Megan and I have gotten hooked on the Showtime series, "Dexter", and have been spending all our evenings watching the DVDs we rented of previous seasons.

The kids and I will be heading to Autism Family Camp this weekend. It's a few hours away and we will stay for two nights. The cabins are large and can accomodate 12 people. Steven's sleep disorder has come in handy!!! Nobody wants to share a cabin with us, so we get the whole thing to ourselves!

Betsy

Look Out South Africa

The man has arrived! Troy called to let us know he arrived in Cape Town. It was 6pm our time and 1am their time. He said the flight was miserable and he hasn't slept since yesterday. He was going to catch a few hours of sleep before heading into the office by 8am their time.

He was too tired to tell us much about the trip itself or his initial impressions, but will let us know more after he sleeps!

A whole lotta rain....

It has been raining here since Friday. When I say raining, I mean REALLY raining.....not just sprinkling. The streets are flooded up to the sidewalks, puddles have formed in the yards and it just keeps coming down. We think it's neat. Other people are griping about it.

Today we were supposed to go to the water park with our church, but it has been cancelled. We've received 4 inches of rain in the past 24 hours and are expected to get another 2 inches today. There are flash flood warnings issued in our area.

Oh, and did you know they have lightning warning systems too? Evidently, when lightning is detected in the area, the siren sounds. All sports end. Everyone must go inside. This time, we didn't stand outside and take pictures while the alarm sounded. Our neighbors have chastised us about our irresponsible behavior during the tornado and we have been trained in the appropriate response to various weather emergencies.

I was planning on the water park being our adventure for today. The days are long on weekends and we usually need to have at least one outing planned each day to keep my sanity. We like to get in the car and just start driving and see new areas. We don't usually have a destination in mind, but just drive and look around. Not sure what we will do today because it's probably not wise to get in the car and go for a drive just to see a new area.

The rain sure is nice though!

A busy week

This was a busy few days. We celebrated Steven's 12th birthday! We can't believe he is already 12. He LOVED his cake and we had his favorite dinner of BBQ chicken, brocolli and garlic bread. Tomorrow we are heading to the water park for an afternoon of fun.

Last night, Megan had her first school dance. I volunteered as a parent chaperone and spent the evening handing out pizza at the concession stand. I was ordered "not to embarrass" her and was told I did good:) Megan looked beautiful all dressed up and it was such a pleasure to see her smiling face, interacting with her friends and enjoying the dance. I was equally pleased to meet other parents and realized just how clean cut the kids at her school are. It was so reassuring.

While we were at the dance, the boys stayed home and Troy finished packing for his trip. We just dropped him off at the airport and came home. He will be in Cape Town, South Africa for the next few weeks. The flight itself is a challenge....first he flies to Atlanta, then a direct, 16 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. From there, he gets another flight to Cape Town. All in all, his travel time is 24 hours in a plane.

The house just doesn't feel right without him here. The weather is even cold and rainy. I think tonight we will just watch the movies we rented, snuggle on the couch and check Troy's flight status through the night.

Betsy

Substituting

Today was my first day as a substitute teacher in the district. My first assignment......HIGH SCHOOL. Now, you know I prefer the littles. But, I decided to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

I taught ESL to high schoolers in small groups. The kids were very eager to learn and tried very hard. I was impressed with their determination to learn the English language.

Even more importantly, I remembered why I love to teach. My past few years of teaching have been challenging. I started wondering if maybe I had reached that early burnout that a large percentage of teachers get by year 3. I've taught for 6 years, so maybe that was it.

I was wrong. Today, I got to spend time actually TEACHING. Not just classroom management or putting out fires or wishing for enough textbooks or administrative support. I got to help a kid learn. I helped them turn on that light bulb in their head.

It went so well, they asked me to sub again tomorrow since the same teacher is still sick. And, if it is high school, I'm still excited to go back. I've missed that feeling of WANTING to go to school each day.

It feels good.

YAY!

Betsy

The Chain Letter

Somehow the chain letter idea worked! On Friday, I was sitting around relaxing, eating bon bons and watching soap operas. When the doorbell rang, I was highly irritated that I would have to put down the bon bon, pause the Tivo, and get my butt over to open the door. I was even more irritated when I looked through the peephole and saw no one.

I opened the door anyways. Maybe it was a little person. But, it was just a little box addressed to Stevie Carter!

Since he was at school and I couldn't wait for him to get home to open it.....I mean, I decided to help him by opening it, since I'm a loving mom.

A huge thank you to Kelly, Jimmy and Logan Nelson for the new flatware! It sure came in handy last night when we were searching for forks so everyone could eat the yummy key lime pie Marie Callendar.....I mean, Troy made for dessert.

Our first overnight visitors!

We are so excited! Our first overnight guests are coming today! Chris and Melanie will arrive in two short hours and will stay until early Tuesday morning. We're going to have a good time! Megan has graciously given up her bedroom for them and will be sleeping in the office. Steven has graciously agreed to sleep in until 6am each day. (yea right.....)

We are going to show them a good time!

Surgery Today

Surgery is today at 12:30. We have to arrive at the surgery center at 11:15. The tendon has rolled up to between the second and third knuckle and will require a pin and some drilling. I'm looking forward to it being done and over so I can start the recovery process. In 8 weeks, the doctor will remove the pin and all should be well.

yay!