We've recovered...

The blog got away from me for a few days, but I am back. The flu has left the building. I am even returning to the gym tonight after I pick up the boys. I had to skip weigh in on Saturday, so I am wondering how that's going.

Jimmy's doing okay... I am pressing for him to be retained in first grade this year. He may make benchmarks in reading and math, but they aren't really able present other content in a meaningful way - at least, that's my thinking. But to have another year to work on the ABELLS (I hope I am spelling that right) and just another year to mature would be great. If you look at him, he doesn't seem six. He's tall and skinny, but he just is so young. It think if he were "normal," I would have the same concerns. Regular first graders seem so much bigger and mature by comparison.

Your weekly update...

I have been busy the past few days.  I took off last night to go to this Primary Matters events, where only the Democratic candidate reps actually showed - Huckabee's people were supposed to, but never did.  Hey, I was at least able to score the bottle of water marked for Huckabee.  I heard people from Obama and Clinton's campaign.  Clinton's guy (a volunteer who had a fellowship/internship in the last Clinton administration) was much more engaging, but I am not completely sold on her platform or policy positions.  Obama's guy was such a pro that he seemed completely disconnected from the voters.  I liked a lot of the policy points he made and left thinking I would vote for Obama, but found his professionalism and lack of engagement a little off-putting.  I really don't know what I am doing on Tuesday.  I still wish John McCain had an articulated autism platform.  Everyone should.

I lined up an appointment for Jimmy on Tuesday to look at medicating for the ADD/ADHD, OCD, and anxiety stuff that we are working through right now.  I am having such a hard time with him right now, that I am kind of shutting down.  I am starting to shut people out a bit - I know I am, but I can't help it.  I have all this weird interpersonal stuff going in my life in every setting.  Jimmy spends half his time running in circles.  Jacob is so lacking for attention that he just is a hellion regardless of the setting.  He wants our attention and can only feel it when he is acting up and out.  I am feeling so overwhelmed by everything that I feel like I would break if one more thing touched my shoulders.  It's the weight of the world, you know...

Maybe Jimmy's new doctor could write a prescription for me... some valium perhaps.  

Putting that bright side... I have lost seven pounds this month.  Something has to go right, in spite of everything...

Mommy, is your butt going to get smaller?

Jacob wanted me to drive him through Dunkin Donuts this morning.  I explained that I couldn't, that I was working on eating less and exercising more so I would lose weight.  Since I realized that wouldn't register for a four year old, I said I was trying to get smaller.  He asked if my butt was going to get smaller.  Nice.  

I did go ahead and rejoin Weight Watchers last night.  The longest I have ever stayed on the program is five months.  I am going to try for the year this time.  I haven't made it to the gym yet, but that will probably get added this weekend.  That is a hard one to schedule for me.  Wish me well.  

Speaking of schedules, Jimmy's psych eval was rescheduled to next week.  The doctor got strep.  I know that if you work with kids, these things happen.  Anyway, I did get to talk to her a bit.  At the recommendation of his therapists, we are going to ask her to recommend her someone here in town who could work with us on medication to address the hyperactivity and his emerging OCD tendencies.  He has to take the steps every other step going up or down a flight.  He insists on having the purple Venom first in his Spiderman fruit snacks.  He has some highly ritualized stuff going on now, things that never really were apparent before.   It was a trait of autism that I thought we had dodged when it didn't show up in his initial evaluations at Children's.  I guess that I never thought of autism as something that evolved over time - I though that he had the symptoms at diagnosis would be the only ones we dealt with and that the work would be to shed the symptoms.  Things change, I guess.