This has been a tiring weekend. Yesterday we went out to dinner with dh's parents and aunt and uncle. Nathan was not on his best behavior. In fact, he hasn't been that bad in a long time. He kept mouthing off to us, and was rude and defiant. Finally dh got up and basically dragged him right out the door, after Nathan threatened (and tried) to flip over the dinner table. He refused to go outside, and tried to resist dh's attempt to escort him out, so he just pulled him right along, and I joined them and helped dh pull him out the door, with Nathan threatening to chop off our heads. It was embarassing, and depressing.
We stood outside with him for quite a while until he calmed down. After that, he was considerably better, but we were feeling like we had been dragged through the ringer. (We think hunger was making his mood worse, and we waited for over an hour to get served). Poor dh wrenched his back in the process of pulling Nathan out of the restaurant, and may have given himself a hernia. Yikes. He's worried that he'll end up spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. We're both hoping it's just pulled muscles.
Tonight we all went out again. Nathan started to act up a bit, but I threatened right off the bat to take him outside, and he sort of reined in a little. He doesn't like the scene any more than we do. He was not exactly good tonight, but he wasn't really all that bad either. He was so-so, I guess. He was really hyper, and kept bouncing all over the place. It was hard to get him to eat. He started to get mouthy, but he did keep that in check, which was at least an improvement over last night. I wonder why he is so out of control this weekend? He behaves pretty well at home, then gets so defiant when we're out. I don't know if it's a blood sugar thing, and he's ready to eat, or if it's an environmental thing, or what.
Oh, and I've changed colors on the site! I was trying to put the new logo on the Support Group's website, and the puzzle pattern on the state of Illinois just seemed to clash with the puzzle piece border I had at the top of the page. I didn't like the combination at all. So I tried some solid color puzzle borders that I found in pink and in blue, and I like the look of this much better. I think it's less blinding, lol. I used the same pink background on 360, and on the LJ, too. It's calmer, and it allows the logo to stand out. I think it makes the site look more sophisticated. At least I hope it does. It's cleaner, and easier to read, anyway. I had some problems using the puzzle piece buttons on the new site. The words just didn't show up on the small graphic. So I opted to do it manually, instead of using the navigational bars. I put the page info beside the graphic instead of on top of it. It took a lot longer, but I think the results were an improvement. I'm curious to see what the Support Group thinks. (If they don't like it, I can always switch back).
Your feedback on the new site is welcome!
www.rockfordautism.com
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Honor Roll
Nathan had a really good morning! He got up without me telling him, got dressed without being told, and fixed his own breakfast. Normally I have to keep telling him to do things, but this morning he was a step ahead of me the whole morning. It was great!!
Then I pulled out his folder, and was taking out the papers that he was supposed to leave at home, and I find this certificate. It says that he's on the honor roll! WOW!!
I asked him about it, and he just smiled. Like he expected me to know all about it. Like it was no big deal really. Just the honor roll.
Then I pulled out his folder, and was taking out the papers that he was supposed to leave at home, and I find this certificate. It says that he's on the honor roll! WOW!!
I asked him about it, and he just smiled. Like he expected me to know all about it. Like it was no big deal really. Just the honor roll.
A Day Off!
Monday was so much fun!
I took the day off of work. There was no school on Monday, and I was reluctant to put Nathan in daycare for an entire day. (The last two times we did that, he never made it past 10:30). We had hoped for my in-laws to be able to watch him, but they had a funeral to attend out of town that weekend. I requested the time off of work and got it.
I wanted to go out and spend some time with Nathan. We don't get to do that very often anymore. So I suggested going to the movies. That's a rare treat for both of us. Figuring that most parents would welcome the opportunity to sleep in on a day off of work and school, I opted on the earliest showing of the movie, hoping to avoid the crowds. Nathan picked the Santa Clause 3 movie. The theater was empty! There was one group of four parents and four kids way up behind us, and a mother and child at the far end of our row, and that was it! I couldn't believe how vacant the place was.
On the drive to the theater, I felt Nathan grabbing at my jacket collar and hair (I think he was just trying to hold on to my seat for leverage), and asked him if he was buckled in. He said he was, and I expressed surprise that he was able to just lean forward and grab the seat like that. I told Nathan he was getting so big! Then I began to tease him, telling him he can't be be that big, he's just a baby. He always pretends to be super annoyed with that, insisting that he's not a baby, and I play along and wail about how it was just yesterday that I was carrying him on my shoulder and stuff. As much as he complains about my calling him a baby, he seems to get a big kick out of the game, and we both play it to the hilt. At one point, I was saying something like, "You can't grow up, you're just my little baby!" and Nathan grabbed the back of my seat, giving it a shake, and announced, "GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, WOMAN!" I just burst out laughing. Geez, I had tears in my eyes, I was laughing so hard. Where does he get this stuff?
Nathan had a hard time getting moving in the morning, so we left a bit late. We arrived about ten minutes after the movie was supposed to start. Since another one started in less than a half hour, I suggested we go to that one, and kill some time getting munchies and hitting the arcade. That worked out quite well, since that way our time in the arcade was limited (and helped limit the spending). Nathan had the entire arcade to himself! The driving games drew him like a magnet, and they had a bunch of them. He was getting hungry so we hit the lobby. I couldn't believe what they charge for a bag of popcorn and a couple soft drinks. Ouch. But what the heck. It's not like we do this often. We splurged.
The movie was cute. I was curious to see the new character that Martin Short played, and enjoyed him a great deal. They looked like they must have had a blast making that movie. There were some scenes that the kids really went nuts over, particularly one scene where the reindeer are passing gas, and snickering about it, and other scene where Santa's pants catch on fire. Nathan was just in a fit of giggles.
On the way home, we entertained ourselves singing Christmas carols, and got very silly. It was a great time. Later, we went to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, and a bunch of other relatives, including a couple of young kids. To my great surprise, Nathan played extremely well with the two boys, and even shared his video games with them. I was very proud of him.
It was such a nice day!
I took the day off of work. There was no school on Monday, and I was reluctant to put Nathan in daycare for an entire day. (The last two times we did that, he never made it past 10:30). We had hoped for my in-laws to be able to watch him, but they had a funeral to attend out of town that weekend. I requested the time off of work and got it.
I wanted to go out and spend some time with Nathan. We don't get to do that very often anymore. So I suggested going to the movies. That's a rare treat for both of us. Figuring that most parents would welcome the opportunity to sleep in on a day off of work and school, I opted on the earliest showing of the movie, hoping to avoid the crowds. Nathan picked the Santa Clause 3 movie. The theater was empty! There was one group of four parents and four kids way up behind us, and a mother and child at the far end of our row, and that was it! I couldn't believe how vacant the place was.
On the drive to the theater, I felt Nathan grabbing at my jacket collar and hair (I think he was just trying to hold on to my seat for leverage), and asked him if he was buckled in. He said he was, and I expressed surprise that he was able to just lean forward and grab the seat like that. I told Nathan he was getting so big! Then I began to tease him, telling him he can't be be that big, he's just a baby. He always pretends to be super annoyed with that, insisting that he's not a baby, and I play along and wail about how it was just yesterday that I was carrying him on my shoulder and stuff. As much as he complains about my calling him a baby, he seems to get a big kick out of the game, and we both play it to the hilt. At one point, I was saying something like, "You can't grow up, you're just my little baby!" and Nathan grabbed the back of my seat, giving it a shake, and announced, "GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, WOMAN!" I just burst out laughing. Geez, I had tears in my eyes, I was laughing so hard. Where does he get this stuff?
Nathan had a hard time getting moving in the morning, so we left a bit late. We arrived about ten minutes after the movie was supposed to start. Since another one started in less than a half hour, I suggested we go to that one, and kill some time getting munchies and hitting the arcade. That worked out quite well, since that way our time in the arcade was limited (and helped limit the spending). Nathan had the entire arcade to himself! The driving games drew him like a magnet, and they had a bunch of them. He was getting hungry so we hit the lobby. I couldn't believe what they charge for a bag of popcorn and a couple soft drinks. Ouch. But what the heck. It's not like we do this often. We splurged.
The movie was cute. I was curious to see the new character that Martin Short played, and enjoyed him a great deal. They looked like they must have had a blast making that movie. There were some scenes that the kids really went nuts over, particularly one scene where the reindeer are passing gas, and snickering about it, and other scene where Santa's pants catch on fire. Nathan was just in a fit of giggles.
On the way home, we entertained ourselves singing Christmas carols, and got very silly. It was a great time. Later, we went to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, and a bunch of other relatives, including a couple of young kids. To my great surprise, Nathan played extremely well with the two boys, and even shared his video games with them. I was very proud of him.
It was such a nice day!
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Oh No!
Here we go again.
Riley's surgery scar has opened up. It wasn't really bleeding, so that was good, but still, it's a big concern.
Dh took him back to the vet this morning. He had to leave him to get re-stitched. We had just assumed that the dog had been licking his wounds, and opened them up, but the doc didn't think that was the case. He said it didn't look like he'd been bothering it. The dog is just so active and bouncing that he basically just wiggled out of his stitches.
The poor thing will be hurting again, I expect.
Riley's surgery scar has opened up. It wasn't really bleeding, so that was good, but still, it's a big concern.
Dh took him back to the vet this morning. He had to leave him to get re-stitched. We had just assumed that the dog had been licking his wounds, and opened them up, but the doc didn't think that was the case. He said it didn't look like he'd been bothering it. The dog is just so active and bouncing that he basically just wiggled out of his stitches.
The poor thing will be hurting again, I expect.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Bruised Again
I noticed yesterday that Nathan has ANOTHER bruise, this time on his other arm! It was bad, too!
The new one is red. It reminds me of the bruise you get when your skin is twisted - sort of red and speckled looking. But it is bigger than the last bruise, and much worse looking! I don't know where he got it, and Nathan has no clue.
I wonder if this happened with his last meltdown, but it just didn't show up well until now.
Getting Better
When I went off to work yesterday, the dog seemed much better. He was moving more naturally, and no crying at all. Phew. I'm not sure I could have left him if there wasn't some kind of improvement.
By the time I got home from work, Riley looked like his old self! He was bouncy and wagging his tail, moving without any apparent hesitation at all! That was extremely reassuring. Dh said he wasn't moving so well when he got home, but he gave him his medicine right away, and he seemed just fine, now. But either way, it was all a vast improvement over the night before. We were both relieved.
We have to take him back to the vet in a couple weeks for the follow up. He has a long scar, stretching from his anus to his tail, maybe four inches...? Yowee. I thought it would be much smaller.
I hope that means they got it all.
By the time I got home from work, Riley looked like his old self! He was bouncy and wagging his tail, moving without any apparent hesitation at all! That was extremely reassuring. Dh said he wasn't moving so well when he got home, but he gave him his medicine right away, and he seemed just fine, now. But either way, it was all a vast improvement over the night before. We were both relieved.
We have to take him back to the vet in a couple weeks for the follow up. He has a long scar, stretching from his anus to his tail, maybe four inches...? Yowee. I thought it would be much smaller.
I hope that means they got it all.
Poor Dog
I was scared to death all day about the dog. Dh never called me from work with an update, and at 2:30 he called to say the dog wouldn't come home until 4. He never asked how the dog was doing. He said, "No news is good news." Shoot. Not to me. I've dealt with cancer before. Silence is not good news. All this waiting and uncertainty was really getting to me.
Shortly after 4, dh called to say that the dog was home, and he was in a lot of pain. They gave him meds, but only five days worth. I guess that's a good thing, that they expect pain to subside so quickly...?
When I got home from work, Riley was just laying there. If he stood, he barely moved. He looked afraid to move, which was probably pretty true. But then he started the crying. Oh my! That poor dog! He would just let out this looooooong cry. I asked dh if he gave him the meds, and dh said no, not yet. He wasn't sure if he should, if it was okay so soon after the surgery. I insisted he call the vet right away and ask. That dog needed something right now.
The vet said it was fine to give him the meds now, so we did, but there didn't seem to be any improvement in his crying. That's when it occured to me that the poor thing was probably scared to death. He'd never been in pain like that, and didn't know that it would ever end. Finally, he fell asleep, and the crying stopped.
Poor little guy.
Shortly after 4, dh called to say that the dog was home, and he was in a lot of pain. They gave him meds, but only five days worth. I guess that's a good thing, that they expect pain to subside so quickly...?
When I got home from work, Riley was just laying there. If he stood, he barely moved. He looked afraid to move, which was probably pretty true. But then he started the crying. Oh my! That poor dog! He would just let out this looooooong cry. I asked dh if he gave him the meds, and dh said no, not yet. He wasn't sure if he should, if it was okay so soon after the surgery. I insisted he call the vet right away and ask. That dog needed something right now.
The vet said it was fine to give him the meds now, so we did, but there didn't seem to be any improvement in his crying. That's when it occured to me that the poor thing was probably scared to death. He'd never been in pain like that, and didn't know that it would ever end. Finally, he fell asleep, and the crying stopped.
Poor little guy.
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