Back to the familiar grind now.
Had three days off this week and I must admit that it took until yesterday (Thursday) to start feeling normal again. Really got a groove on with respect to some purging/cleaning, actually.
Cuz and her Hubby (my actual cousin!) stopped in for a while yesterday. They were dropping their boat off for the winter with the plans of coming our way for some Spring fishing. It was a short visit, but still nice to get some time together. We will see a bit more of them in a couple of weeks when Hubby and I go for an overnighter!
It would appear S is on the mend. He resisted going to school yesterday, but since they were having a PA day today, I felt it was important that he get to school for at least one day. I'm not sure if he would have actually tried to get the details he had missed, but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.
Report cards come home on Monday.
Hubby is getting ready to leave tomorrow for a one week hunting trip. He has his bins all packed, and last night I made a couple of my "now famous" spicy lasagna. I'm feeling that I didn't make them quite as hot as years past, but I do know that it will be flavourful either way. I forgot about Hubby asking me to make a breakfast casserole, so I guess I will be doing that while making dinner tonight.
We had our first taste of one of 'the girls' last night. I wasn't sure how I would do, but it was okay. Once I put the package in the water for thawing, I was over any strange feelings. It just hit me when I was taking the package from the freezer. I didn't mention where the chicken came from to the boys, though.
Did I notice a big huge taste difference? I can't say for sure. It was very tender meat, and had a nice flavour, but the dish itself was quite tasty, so that is a tough call.
The pheasants are in need of some TLC in their run, so I guess that will be another task for me to add to my list for the weekend. I have been very remiss in keeping up on their care since we did the chicken slaughter. My bad.
I'm going to a surprise birthday party for my brother tonight. He will be in the area to give a talk at the local legion during their veteran's dinner tomorrow night. Quite an honour.
Anyway, his wife made some phone calls and a friend has invited a bunch of Bro's friends over. They are going to stop at my place for "an emergency bathroom break" and then I am going to invite myself along for drinks. Should be about 25 people waiting when he arrives. His birthday is actually on Monday, and it's not a biggie (he's 40 in a couple more years) but since he is in the area, it's as good a reason as any!
Sunday is another day that I will be on the move. Going to a fundraiser for my dear friend's skating club. We went last year and had a very enjoyable time, so I am sure it will be a good day again. Leaving fairly early in the morning, but I expect to be home in time for making supper for the boys.
The boys and I will do our annual "dinner and a movie" tomorrow night. We have done this every Saturday since Hubby started his hunting week. I miss the days of going to see the newest Christmas movies. We've seen Elf, and the Grinch... this year I think they want to see a bit of a thriller, but I will ki-bosh that one. I don't "do" thrillers.
Maybe I will convince them that we should see the new 3-D Christmas movie...
Friday, November 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
"Life" - according to the A-man
My big guy continues to find new ways to bring laughter and amusement to my life. When he isn't trying, he is actually quite a funny guy.
His drama class did the choreography for the stampeed scene in the play today. He was telling me all about it when I picked him up and he seemed really pumped up about it. "It totally rocks," were his exact words, I believe. (Or something similar to this well-spoken/thought out phrase.)
Part of the choreography was where the "black people" (that's the people that aren't actually in the play therefore are all in black) have to catch him as he falls from the cliff. Apparently he squished 5 of the 12 today during the first practise, and he said in the other two takes he heard a number of moans and groans. I'm thinking most of these students are not used to a 6'2" person that tips the scales at 200 pounds falling on them from a height of about 7 or 8 feet.
Either way, it was quite amusing to hear his take on the entire scenerio. I would really like to hear the comments of the 'catchers' though...
The next time he made me really laugh during the drive was when he was talking about how he will look after me when I am 90. I asked him if he was going to change my diapers if he needed to, and then he went in to this long explaination about the names of these types of products. (Apparently he has put a lot of thought in to this observation...)
"For babies," he says, "they are called sweet lovable names like Huggies and Luvs. This implies that the parents will change the diapers and still want to cuddle and love the babies. Yet, for the adult diapers, they don't still have this same implications.
You ask if I will change your diaper when you are 90.... hmmm... that makes me ask - am I in the will? 'Depends'!"
Perhaps the written word doesn't do the entire statement justice, but I found this whole monologue to be quite funny when he got to the punch line...
A few minutes later, the A-man shared a conversation that occured over the weekend. Hubby's aunt and uncle had come for a visit to my in-laws, so Hubby and the A-man went over. (S wasn't feeling well so he stayed home.)
Apparently the Aunt had commented that she didn't find it very different raising a son verses a daughter, however the A-man disagreed.
"With a daughter," he wisely explained, "you have to worry about feelings and the right shoes and things." (He did a sidebar comment to me here that said the shoes comment was for my benefit)
"But a son, a son is much easier to raise; you just have to make sure you leave out a plate of food and crack open the window a bit."
I have to admit, I am quite looking forward to seeing how this wise and well-thought out information actually converts to 'real life' in the years to come.
His drama class did the choreography for the stampeed scene in the play today. He was telling me all about it when I picked him up and he seemed really pumped up about it. "It totally rocks," were his exact words, I believe. (Or something similar to this well-spoken/thought out phrase.)
Part of the choreography was where the "black people" (that's the people that aren't actually in the play therefore are all in black) have to catch him as he falls from the cliff. Apparently he squished 5 of the 12 today during the first practise, and he said in the other two takes he heard a number of moans and groans. I'm thinking most of these students are not used to a 6'2" person that tips the scales at 200 pounds falling on them from a height of about 7 or 8 feet.
Either way, it was quite amusing to hear his take on the entire scenerio. I would really like to hear the comments of the 'catchers' though...
The next time he made me really laugh during the drive was when he was talking about how he will look after me when I am 90. I asked him if he was going to change my diapers if he needed to, and then he went in to this long explaination about the names of these types of products. (Apparently he has put a lot of thought in to this observation...)
"For babies," he says, "they are called sweet lovable names like Huggies and Luvs. This implies that the parents will change the diapers and still want to cuddle and love the babies. Yet, for the adult diapers, they don't still have this same implications.
You ask if I will change your diaper when you are 90.... hmmm... that makes me ask - am I in the will? 'Depends'!"
Perhaps the written word doesn't do the entire statement justice, but I found this whole monologue to be quite funny when he got to the punch line...
A few minutes later, the A-man shared a conversation that occured over the weekend. Hubby's aunt and uncle had come for a visit to my in-laws, so Hubby and the A-man went over. (S wasn't feeling well so he stayed home.)
Apparently the Aunt had commented that she didn't find it very different raising a son verses a daughter, however the A-man disagreed.
"With a daughter," he wisely explained, "you have to worry about feelings and the right shoes and things." (He did a sidebar comment to me here that said the shoes comment was for my benefit)
"But a son, a son is much easier to raise; you just have to make sure you leave out a plate of food and crack open the window a bit."
I have to admit, I am quite looking forward to seeing how this wise and well-thought out information actually converts to 'real life' in the years to come.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Home again
S went to his first school dance on Thursday night. I think he had a pretty good time, but he didn't really say too much about it.
I had stayed at Mom and Dad's while S was at the dance, and he knew I was leaving in the morning for another show, so I had asked him to get back from the dance as soon as it was over since I had to make sure I was all packed and ready to go for my normal time in the morning.
About 15 minutes after the dance was over, Mom could tell I was a bit anxious because she suggested we take the dog for a walk. We were about half way between Mom's house and the school when S came walking up the sidewalk with a couple of girls. Apparently the line up at the coat check was really long.
The A-man had opted not to go to the dance. Still not sure why.
Lil A's brother was hit by a car on Tuesday evening. Apparently he was air lifted to the city with a broken tibia on one leg, a broken femur on the other and some broken and cracked ribs. He is very lucky that he was not killed. Apparently he had been riding his skateboard up the wrong side of the road at 10 at night, and was dressed all in black. It was also reported that a police officer was witness to the accident, and from what I have heard there are no charges pending.
S told me that Lil A was at the dance - she had been away Wednesday and Thursday, but still came to the dance on Thursday night. S told me she "didn't want to talk about her brother" so I take this to mean they are an "off again" item. He seems okay with that at this point, but he was very concerned about how she was coping with the injuries her brother had sustained.
I was heading back home this morning when I got a phone call from the school telling me that S had been sick to his stomach. Hubby was able to go to the school to pick him up, and although he hasn't been sick again, he does have a bit of a fever and a nasty cough. Of course with the entire country all up in arms with this H1N1, I am going to be keeping a close eye on him over the next few days. I'm sure it's just a cold, but so many of the symptoms apparently appear to be like a common cold, too.
For the record, our family does not have any plans to have the vaccine. My personal feeling is that the drug was rushed through and I am leary of the lack of testing that has been done on it. I just worry about the long term effects of something that was created so quickly.
So many debates on the subject...
Had a nice nap when I got home this afternoon, and I am really looking forward to having a few days off. Cuz will be coming up for the day on Thursday to store their boat for the winter, so I am glad that I will get to see them - even if it's only for a short period of time.
Will be even better to get to see Hubby a bit this week!
I had stayed at Mom and Dad's while S was at the dance, and he knew I was leaving in the morning for another show, so I had asked him to get back from the dance as soon as it was over since I had to make sure I was all packed and ready to go for my normal time in the morning.
About 15 minutes after the dance was over, Mom could tell I was a bit anxious because she suggested we take the dog for a walk. We were about half way between Mom's house and the school when S came walking up the sidewalk with a couple of girls. Apparently the line up at the coat check was really long.
The A-man had opted not to go to the dance. Still not sure why.
Lil A's brother was hit by a car on Tuesday evening. Apparently he was air lifted to the city with a broken tibia on one leg, a broken femur on the other and some broken and cracked ribs. He is very lucky that he was not killed. Apparently he had been riding his skateboard up the wrong side of the road at 10 at night, and was dressed all in black. It was also reported that a police officer was witness to the accident, and from what I have heard there are no charges pending.
S told me that Lil A was at the dance - she had been away Wednesday and Thursday, but still came to the dance on Thursday night. S told me she "didn't want to talk about her brother" so I take this to mean they are an "off again" item. He seems okay with that at this point, but he was very concerned about how she was coping with the injuries her brother had sustained.
I was heading back home this morning when I got a phone call from the school telling me that S had been sick to his stomach. Hubby was able to go to the school to pick him up, and although he hasn't been sick again, he does have a bit of a fever and a nasty cough. Of course with the entire country all up in arms with this H1N1, I am going to be keeping a close eye on him over the next few days. I'm sure it's just a cold, but so many of the symptoms apparently appear to be like a common cold, too.
For the record, our family does not have any plans to have the vaccine. My personal feeling is that the drug was rushed through and I am leary of the lack of testing that has been done on it. I just worry about the long term effects of something that was created so quickly.
So many debates on the subject...
Had a nice nap when I got home this afternoon, and I am really looking forward to having a few days off. Cuz will be coming up for the day on Thursday to store their boat for the winter, so I am glad that I will get to see them - even if it's only for a short period of time.
Will be even better to get to see Hubby a bit this week!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Warning - it's a long one today...
Oh my, my, my…
Last night I called the school to make arrangements to meet with S’s Geography/Music teacher. I know he is doing well in music, but I had been advised by the SERT that he hadn’t been doing as well in Geography. I was of the feeling that it would be good to be able to put a face to a name, and to get a feel for the teacher’s approach on things.
Sometimes you just need to meet a person to be able to get that ‘vibe.’
I set up a meeting for first thing this morning.
After I spoke with S’s teacher, I decided I would try and kill two birds with one stone and see if I could get a meeting with the A-man’s English teacher. The A-man told me that she still had not gone over the reader response from his first novel, and I was starting to feel that it would probably be time for another assignment to be due because they had just finished reading Canterbury Tales and had moved on to Shakespeare.
It turned out that the English teacher didn’t have her prep time at the same time as my first meeting, so we opted to have a telephone conversation. Apparently the A-man had been assigned the Canterbury Tales reading response assignment a little while ago – and he didn’t turn it in.
I asked her about the follow up she had told me she was going to do on October 8 with the first assignment. She seemed to have completely forgotten about that. I told her that the A-man hadn’t even received the work back so he didn’t even know if he was working better toward achieving the goals she had laid out.
She seemed surprised that he didn’t have the assignment back because she had a mark of 61% recorded in her book. I asked her if she had taken the time to review the work with the A-man and she admitted that she “didn’t think so.” She also admitted that she wasn’t even sure where the assignment was. (HUH?)
I told her that I thought the A-man was still at school working on the set for the play, so she told me she was going to get him to come to see her and they would review the work right then. I sent the A-man a text to confirm that he was at school, and it turned out he wasn’t – teacher was away so they weren’t able to work on the set.
I texted the A-man that he was going to have to do his reader response that night and he answered that he would “see if he had time because (his) drama ISU was due.” I told him that he would find the time.
(To the teacher’s credit, when I got home from work there was a message on my machine indicating that she had called the A-man to the office, but since he didn’t come she assumed he wasn’t still at the school. So she did follow up on that at least.)
Fast forward to my getting home from work: the A-man was sitting at the computer working on his Drama ISU, and S was downstairs. I brought in the groceries, and while putting them away I started to ask the A-man about his English. He told me point blank, “I decided not to do that assignment.”
EXCUSE ME?!? Not a happy Mommy when I heard that answer.
The A-man went on to further explain that the regular teacher wasn’t there when the assignment was given out – and that the substitute gave it to them one day and expected the work to be turned in the next day. Apparently the entire classroom made a “pact” that no one was going to turn in the work. They were staging a protest.
Again, not flying with this mother.
I called Jazzy’s house and asked to speak to her brother. He is in the A-man’s class, and I knew I would get a little more reliable information from him. Apparently the one-night thing was true, and apparently the class did all voice their unhappiness with the time-frame given, but when asked, Jazzy’s brother did admit to completing the assignment and handing it in, as required.
He also had the assignment rubric and I requested a copy be emailed to me. Armed with this information, I explained to the A-man that although ‘everyone’ said they weren’t going to do the assignment, obviously Jazzy’s brother did and I was willing to bet that others did as well. I also told him that a “protest” was not going to make his English mark any better and since this is the grade that is looked at for University, I suggest he get something done to review with the teacher when he arrived at the class today.
After dinner, I sat down at the laptop while the A-man finished plugging away on the Drama homework. I pulled up a website that offered both a synopsis of the Canterbury Tales, and also some teaching notes about the poem. (I have saved it because once I started going through it with the A-man, I think it may be some classic literature that I might actually enjoy. But I digress…)
After the A-man declared his Drama ISU ‘done,’ I suggested that he take the time to read both the summary and the section of the book that the assignment was on while I reviewed his Drama. There were a few parts where he didn’t quite answer what was required, so I made some notations in red to suggest he consider adding/revising these sections.
After he did this, I helped him pull the various parts together to form one complete package. As we were doing this cut-and-paste mindless work, we talked about the angle he was going to take with respect to The Canterbury Tales.
He decided to focus on the “social commentary” aspect of the Tale. He felt that the selection of the travelers were in fact a good “mix” of what you would find in either a classroom or even in the world. Once we got talking more and more, he seemed to warm up to the subject a bit more. Suddenly his little hunt and peck fingers were flying on the computer as he was selecting which characters he wanted to focus on and which quotes he was interested in citing. (He was also very happy that the lines were numbered for citation purposes…)
Anyway – I had him prepare a very rough draft of the concept of his ideas to present to the teacher today. I am hoping that she will be able to read what he had prepared and at least give him a little bit of guidance so that he can finish it up complete tonight and submit it tomorrow. I am also hoping that she will accept the assignment given that she did not follow through on the follow up she had promised three weeks ago.
The best part of the evening was when the A-man was going to bed. He came over to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you, Mom, for all of your help with this. I really mean that." He's never thanked me for being so tough on him. Could he be starting to see that I am only 'mean' because I care?
I went to the school this morning and met with S’s teacher. Apparently S has 85% in Music class, so there isn’t any cause for concern in that classroom. Geography, on the other hand is a bit of a different story. Apparently one of S’s hand written assignments wasn’t “very neat” so he didn’t receive high marks on it. I reiterated that writing isn’t a strong suit for S. The next thing that he said, however, it was really stuck in to my head.
“I do put notes on the board, so he will just have to get used to taking notes. He is preparing for college after all.”
I asked about having the notes in advance for scanning, but apparently he doesn’t “do” that. Here is a teacher that doesn’t really understand the benefits of Assistive Technology, nor does he seem willing to learn to understand it.
This is okay – S has an EA in the classroom, and this EA will be able to scribe for him. We can adjust to this. At least I know where he stands.
He went over some other details about how his classroom works, and now I know to get S started on some of the end of unit assignments now – they are directly from the text book, and the text book is on his computer.
He will be able to bring his mark up to something more reflective of his abilities. S has no interest in following the Geography field, so I doubt that he will even take it again after this year. Not the end of the world.
Last night I called the school to make arrangements to meet with S’s Geography/Music teacher. I know he is doing well in music, but I had been advised by the SERT that he hadn’t been doing as well in Geography. I was of the feeling that it would be good to be able to put a face to a name, and to get a feel for the teacher’s approach on things.
Sometimes you just need to meet a person to be able to get that ‘vibe.’
I set up a meeting for first thing this morning.
After I spoke with S’s teacher, I decided I would try and kill two birds with one stone and see if I could get a meeting with the A-man’s English teacher. The A-man told me that she still had not gone over the reader response from his first novel, and I was starting to feel that it would probably be time for another assignment to be due because they had just finished reading Canterbury Tales and had moved on to Shakespeare.
It turned out that the English teacher didn’t have her prep time at the same time as my first meeting, so we opted to have a telephone conversation. Apparently the A-man had been assigned the Canterbury Tales reading response assignment a little while ago – and he didn’t turn it in.
I asked her about the follow up she had told me she was going to do on October 8 with the first assignment. She seemed to have completely forgotten about that. I told her that the A-man hadn’t even received the work back so he didn’t even know if he was working better toward achieving the goals she had laid out.
She seemed surprised that he didn’t have the assignment back because she had a mark of 61% recorded in her book. I asked her if she had taken the time to review the work with the A-man and she admitted that she “didn’t think so.” She also admitted that she wasn’t even sure where the assignment was. (HUH?)
I told her that I thought the A-man was still at school working on the set for the play, so she told me she was going to get him to come to see her and they would review the work right then. I sent the A-man a text to confirm that he was at school, and it turned out he wasn’t – teacher was away so they weren’t able to work on the set.
I texted the A-man that he was going to have to do his reader response that night and he answered that he would “see if he had time because (his) drama ISU was due.” I told him that he would find the time.
(To the teacher’s credit, when I got home from work there was a message on my machine indicating that she had called the A-man to the office, but since he didn’t come she assumed he wasn’t still at the school. So she did follow up on that at least.)
Fast forward to my getting home from work: the A-man was sitting at the computer working on his Drama ISU, and S was downstairs. I brought in the groceries, and while putting them away I started to ask the A-man about his English. He told me point blank, “I decided not to do that assignment.”
EXCUSE ME?!? Not a happy Mommy when I heard that answer.
The A-man went on to further explain that the regular teacher wasn’t there when the assignment was given out – and that the substitute gave it to them one day and expected the work to be turned in the next day. Apparently the entire classroom made a “pact” that no one was going to turn in the work. They were staging a protest.
Again, not flying with this mother.
I called Jazzy’s house and asked to speak to her brother. He is in the A-man’s class, and I knew I would get a little more reliable information from him. Apparently the one-night thing was true, and apparently the class did all voice their unhappiness with the time-frame given, but when asked, Jazzy’s brother did admit to completing the assignment and handing it in, as required.
He also had the assignment rubric and I requested a copy be emailed to me. Armed with this information, I explained to the A-man that although ‘everyone’ said they weren’t going to do the assignment, obviously Jazzy’s brother did and I was willing to bet that others did as well. I also told him that a “protest” was not going to make his English mark any better and since this is the grade that is looked at for University, I suggest he get something done to review with the teacher when he arrived at the class today.
After dinner, I sat down at the laptop while the A-man finished plugging away on the Drama homework. I pulled up a website that offered both a synopsis of the Canterbury Tales, and also some teaching notes about the poem. (I have saved it because once I started going through it with the A-man, I think it may be some classic literature that I might actually enjoy. But I digress…)
After the A-man declared his Drama ISU ‘done,’ I suggested that he take the time to read both the summary and the section of the book that the assignment was on while I reviewed his Drama. There were a few parts where he didn’t quite answer what was required, so I made some notations in red to suggest he consider adding/revising these sections.
After he did this, I helped him pull the various parts together to form one complete package. As we were doing this cut-and-paste mindless work, we talked about the angle he was going to take with respect to The Canterbury Tales.
He decided to focus on the “social commentary” aspect of the Tale. He felt that the selection of the travelers were in fact a good “mix” of what you would find in either a classroom or even in the world. Once we got talking more and more, he seemed to warm up to the subject a bit more. Suddenly his little hunt and peck fingers were flying on the computer as he was selecting which characters he wanted to focus on and which quotes he was interested in citing. (He was also very happy that the lines were numbered for citation purposes…)
Anyway – I had him prepare a very rough draft of the concept of his ideas to present to the teacher today. I am hoping that she will be able to read what he had prepared and at least give him a little bit of guidance so that he can finish it up complete tonight and submit it tomorrow. I am also hoping that she will accept the assignment given that she did not follow through on the follow up she had promised three weeks ago.
The best part of the evening was when the A-man was going to bed. He came over to me and gave me a big hug and said, "Thank you, Mom, for all of your help with this. I really mean that." He's never thanked me for being so tough on him. Could he be starting to see that I am only 'mean' because I care?
I went to the school this morning and met with S’s teacher. Apparently S has 85% in Music class, so there isn’t any cause for concern in that classroom. Geography, on the other hand is a bit of a different story. Apparently one of S’s hand written assignments wasn’t “very neat” so he didn’t receive high marks on it. I reiterated that writing isn’t a strong suit for S. The next thing that he said, however, it was really stuck in to my head.
“I do put notes on the board, so he will just have to get used to taking notes. He is preparing for college after all.”
I asked about having the notes in advance for scanning, but apparently he doesn’t “do” that. Here is a teacher that doesn’t really understand the benefits of Assistive Technology, nor does he seem willing to learn to understand it.
This is okay – S has an EA in the classroom, and this EA will be able to scribe for him. We can adjust to this. At least I know where he stands.
He went over some other details about how his classroom works, and now I know to get S started on some of the end of unit assignments now – they are directly from the text book, and the text book is on his computer.
He will be able to bring his mark up to something more reflective of his abilities. S has no interest in following the Geography field, so I doubt that he will even take it again after this year. Not the end of the world.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Another trade show weekend
I've been away from home since Thursday when I left for yet another trade show. Due to this show, I did not have the opportunity to attend the parent/teacher interviews for the boys, so I will have to make some appointments this week, I guess. Hubby didn’t even realize that report cards were sent home with the boys, so I guess I will be able to see those when I get home today.
Cuz and a number of friends attended the trade show I was working at this weekend. I didn't get to chat with them much during their visit, however. When they arrived at the show, I was on a break and not at the booth, and when they were done with the show, I was on another break, so now Cuz is of the impression that I never really 'work' when I'm at a trade show! ;o)
Yes, okay, I was at the food and wine sampling area when they first arrived, and I WAS having a shiatsu massage when they were leaving... but still, I do work hard when I am away - honest!! (hee hee)
Boss and I arrived on Thursday night and unloaded the truck and got the primary layout of the booth done that night. The next morning we arrived and finished setting up the booth so that we were ready for the show’s opening at noon. The Friday night went until 9pm, Saturday was from 10 until 6 – and was crazy-busy that day!! – and then Sunday was from 9 until 5. Last night (Sunday) was the first time we have ever been out of a show, finished dinner and climbing in to bed before 9pm!
I didn’t go straight to sleep though – I lay in my comfy bed and watched a couple episodes of CSI Nevada. So quiet…
This was one of the first-ever working weekends that I didn’t have my laptop with me, and since Hubby was so busy with the fishing club’s rainbow derby, he and I haven’t been in contact with each other very much since Wednesday. I’m sure we will both have a lot to catch up on tonight.
Next weekend is the last trade show I will be working until February. I’m not going to be sad.
Cuz and a number of friends attended the trade show I was working at this weekend. I didn't get to chat with them much during their visit, however. When they arrived at the show, I was on a break and not at the booth, and when they were done with the show, I was on another break, so now Cuz is of the impression that I never really 'work' when I'm at a trade show! ;o)
Yes, okay, I was at the food and wine sampling area when they first arrived, and I WAS having a shiatsu massage when they were leaving... but still, I do work hard when I am away - honest!! (hee hee)
Boss and I arrived on Thursday night and unloaded the truck and got the primary layout of the booth done that night. The next morning we arrived and finished setting up the booth so that we were ready for the show’s opening at noon. The Friday night went until 9pm, Saturday was from 10 until 6 – and was crazy-busy that day!! – and then Sunday was from 9 until 5. Last night (Sunday) was the first time we have ever been out of a show, finished dinner and climbing in to bed before 9pm!
I didn’t go straight to sleep though – I lay in my comfy bed and watched a couple episodes of CSI Nevada. So quiet…
This was one of the first-ever working weekends that I didn’t have my laptop with me, and since Hubby was so busy with the fishing club’s rainbow derby, he and I haven’t been in contact with each other very much since Wednesday. I’m sure we will both have a lot to catch up on tonight.
Next weekend is the last trade show I will be working until February. I’m not going to be sad.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The aging Asperger teen...
On Friday morning, I received a rather upsetting phone call. My cousin's husband passed away very suddenly on Thursday evening. He was only 52 years old, and had not been ill through any stretch of the imagination.
Needless to say that sort of started the holiday weekend off in a not-so-good way.
I've talked to my cousin a couple of times since then (she is Cuz's S-I-L) and Hubby will be trying to get the day off for the funeral on Thursday. Either way, I will be there. Probably will attend with my parents.
On Saturday, Hubby and I started the not so nice task of getting the chickens ready for the freezer. My brother and his family stopped in before we finished, so although it was nice to spend time with them, it would have been good to have that dirty job finished with all on the same day. We did finish it all up yesterday.
I am sort of sad to say good bye to 'the girls.' Those funny little chickens made me laugh almost every single time I went out to that coop. It will probably seem a little odd when I prepare a meal with my sealed packages - I don't think I will allow myself to think about it too much.
Over the weekend, I found out that S and Lil'A are 'going out' again. And, again, I'm still not sure what this all entails. She has been giving S little notes all last week - telling him that he should smile, that sort of thing. One of the notes said that she wouldn't be able to go out with S again until she had the chance to 'teach him some stuff' but S didn't really know what she meant by that. I suggested that since they were going to be having lunch together today that he find out what she meant by that.
See - this puts me in strange, uncharted territory. How do you guide an an Asperger child entering the dating scene?
I know he's going to have to get his heart broken - that is part of growing up - but there is part of me that SO wants to protect him from experiencing that particular heartbreak because of his social awkwardness. I can only 'coach' him on acceptable behaviours so much, and I really don't know what sorts of quirks he has that are Asperger-based vs. teenager-craziness! Add in to that his low short-term working memory, and whatever she does tell him will be GONE before he ever gets a chance to tell me so that I can help him out a bit. (sigh)
I did a quick Internet search on "Aspergers and dating" but most of the sites that I took a quick look at are more for adults rather than teens. I guess I will have to have a deeper search in to these websites.
I asked the A-man if he had anything special that he wanted to do this week. His smart-aleck response was, "Oh... yeah... cuz, I have such a packed social schedule!" I take this to mean that he doesn't want to head to the city one night this week like he did last. What a guy!
Needless to say that sort of started the holiday weekend off in a not-so-good way.
I've talked to my cousin a couple of times since then (she is Cuz's S-I-L) and Hubby will be trying to get the day off for the funeral on Thursday. Either way, I will be there. Probably will attend with my parents.
On Saturday, Hubby and I started the not so nice task of getting the chickens ready for the freezer. My brother and his family stopped in before we finished, so although it was nice to spend time with them, it would have been good to have that dirty job finished with all on the same day. We did finish it all up yesterday.
I am sort of sad to say good bye to 'the girls.' Those funny little chickens made me laugh almost every single time I went out to that coop. It will probably seem a little odd when I prepare a meal with my sealed packages - I don't think I will allow myself to think about it too much.
Over the weekend, I found out that S and Lil'A are 'going out' again. And, again, I'm still not sure what this all entails. She has been giving S little notes all last week - telling him that he should smile, that sort of thing. One of the notes said that she wouldn't be able to go out with S again until she had the chance to 'teach him some stuff' but S didn't really know what she meant by that. I suggested that since they were going to be having lunch together today that he find out what she meant by that.
See - this puts me in strange, uncharted territory. How do you guide an an Asperger child entering the dating scene?
I know he's going to have to get his heart broken - that is part of growing up - but there is part of me that SO wants to protect him from experiencing that particular heartbreak because of his social awkwardness. I can only 'coach' him on acceptable behaviours so much, and I really don't know what sorts of quirks he has that are Asperger-based vs. teenager-craziness! Add in to that his low short-term working memory, and whatever she does tell him will be GONE before he ever gets a chance to tell me so that I can help him out a bit. (sigh)
I did a quick Internet search on "Aspergers and dating" but most of the sites that I took a quick look at are more for adults rather than teens. I guess I will have to have a deeper search in to these websites.
I asked the A-man if he had anything special that he wanted to do this week. His smart-aleck response was, "Oh... yeah... cuz, I have such a packed social schedule!" I take this to mean that he doesn't want to head to the city one night this week like he did last. What a guy!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Truth comes out
I always find it so interesting to compare what I am *told* and what is actually the truth.
I called the A-man's English teacher this morning, requesting a meeting. Her prep time is first thing in the morning, so we decided to have the conversation on the phone since we were already speaking.
I started the conversation with asking if she had reviewed the A-man's IEP. She confessed that she didn't know about his IEP at all until the A-man told her yesterday that I wanted to talk to her about it. Okay - that explains a few things. She told me that the new ones haven't been completed yet, but she wondered if maybe she could review last years? (Gee, okay - that might be a starting point...)
Okay - all sarcasm aside - she did seem very upset that she was not aware of his IEP, and she also seemed very willing to work through the concerns that I had. Starting today, she is going to make sure that the A-man is given the notes rather than asking him to take notes. She is also going to look over the reader response that he worked on last night and provide some further assistance to him.
I asked about the entire "must be only one page, double-spaced" thing, and she told me that isn't the full truth - she told the class that she doesn't want five pages of rambling. She felt that the students should be able to make a statement, and prove said statement, without going off topic. She also told me that many of the students were asked to redo their homework as a number of them didn't appear to understand what she was asking of them.
The A-man's, however, was no where near what she was looking for.
Last night I had asked the A-man how much time the class had been given to do this assignment originally. He told me two days. The teacher told me that she gave them more than a week. Apparently she always gives a least a one week turn around for all assignments. I will address the "mis-information" with him this evening. She also told me to go a little easy on him - he's not the only one that "doesn't get it" and that it's a simple part of being a teenager that has him 'forget' things.
Why does he do that? He KNOWS I am going to ask about this sort of thing!
Anyway, I now know how the teacher works, what types of homework details he should be having on a daily basis, and that I will have to monitor his notebooks for a little while.
I am set.
I called the A-man's English teacher this morning, requesting a meeting. Her prep time is first thing in the morning, so we decided to have the conversation on the phone since we were already speaking.
I started the conversation with asking if she had reviewed the A-man's IEP. She confessed that she didn't know about his IEP at all until the A-man told her yesterday that I wanted to talk to her about it. Okay - that explains a few things. She told me that the new ones haven't been completed yet, but she wondered if maybe she could review last years? (Gee, okay - that might be a starting point...)
Okay - all sarcasm aside - she did seem very upset that she was not aware of his IEP, and she also seemed very willing to work through the concerns that I had. Starting today, she is going to make sure that the A-man is given the notes rather than asking him to take notes. She is also going to look over the reader response that he worked on last night and provide some further assistance to him.
I asked about the entire "must be only one page, double-spaced" thing, and she told me that isn't the full truth - she told the class that she doesn't want five pages of rambling. She felt that the students should be able to make a statement, and prove said statement, without going off topic. She also told me that many of the students were asked to redo their homework as a number of them didn't appear to understand what she was asking of them.
The A-man's, however, was no where near what she was looking for.
Last night I had asked the A-man how much time the class had been given to do this assignment originally. He told me two days. The teacher told me that she gave them more than a week. Apparently she always gives a least a one week turn around for all assignments. I will address the "mis-information" with him this evening. She also told me to go a little easy on him - he's not the only one that "doesn't get it" and that it's a simple part of being a teenager that has him 'forget' things.
Why does he do that? He KNOWS I am going to ask about this sort of thing!
Anyway, I now know how the teacher works, what types of homework details he should be having on a daily basis, and that I will have to monitor his notebooks for a little while.
I am set.
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