Erika @ Wal-Mart

Max lost his favorite stylus.  I don't get it, but apparently this is a huge deal.  We ordered one that looked as much like the old one as humanly possible.  We did the ship to store option.  Let me be honest, that option is not as easy and carefree as it sounds.  Sometimes it can be downright painful.  Of course, the email that it was ready for pick up came today....Black Friday.

Erika was the lady who helped us.  She had already put in long hours on one of the most hectic days of the year.  In spite of that, she had a cheerful attitude that I appreciated greatly.  Erika, thank you for helping us rectify our stylus tragedy.

Gale, yesterday

Thanks to my sister for taking over the hosting of Thanksgiving from mom.  We had a lovely time yesterday.

Sam

Sam helped me take shelves to the dump today.  Yes, he did help unload them....much to his chagrin. Thanks Sam.

Max yesterday

Was nice enough to let the dogs out one last time yesterday.  That allowed me o fall asleep......before I write this.  Thanks Mac

David

Today, I had to write a note to school about our Thanksgiving traditions so Sam can compare and contrast in class tomorrow.  It was actually kind of hard.  See, for many years, Sam's Thanksgiving traditions involved things like screaming because he couldn't have McDonald's, breaking into the host's jammy drawer, crawling into everybody's bed, and climbing on or breaking stuff. It has only been fairly recently that Sam's Thanksgiving activities has coincided with the rest of ours.  It caused me to stop and think about days gone by and recall my FAVORITE Thanksgiving Sam story.

It was the year Sam started to use pictures to communicate.  I was "just" a parent and following the PECS (picture exchange communication system) protocol pretty strictly.  We were to the point that Sam needed to learn to hand his communication picture to a greater variety of people.  I sent out an email to my family explaining what to do.  

I placed Sam's book in a central location.  My Uncle Billy walked in with his delicious chocolate chip cookies.  Sam spied them from across the room.  He meandered over to his book, flipped the pages and located cookies.  He pulled it out of his book.  he had barely separated the picture from its velcro strip when my brother David, who had been eager to help, swooped in snatched the picture from Sam's hand and "You want a cookie?  Sure you can have one!"  Then he grabbed Sam, who was too utterly bewildered to respond in any way, and dragged him into the kitchen.  At that point, he shoved a cookie in Sam's hand so quickly, it took Sam a minute to figure out what happened.  It wasn't PECS protocol, but it did teach Sam that he could communicate with somebody other than me.  He must have eaten a dozen cookies given to him by a dozen different people.  It was a breakthrough in his communication and started us down the road to the happy Thanksgivinings we now enjoy.

David, thank you for giving me one of my favorite Thanksgiving moments.  If you ever get tired of making tons of money as a pharmaceutical executive/chemical engineer....you have the potential to be a speech language pathologist.

Matt yesterday and today

I know.....late again.

Well, first off, there is a two day project involved with this one.  My house is very "cozy". That is code for small.  When your house is small, you have to carefully utilize every last square inch.  Not being particularly handy myself, I have to rely on the skills of my amazing love, Matt.  In a few days, he is going to move my garage fridge to my basement.  No more late night cold rainy dashes to get what won't fit in my kitchen fridge.

Since I hadn't seen him in a few weeks, blogging was not a priority when we had down time.  Sorry!

Matthew, thank you once again for making my cozy house feel like a palace.

Transportation

I mean the group of people.  It is not always easy to get a student from point A to point B, but they have been getting Sam from here to there in snowstorms, unbareable heat, and days when he is anxiously longing for McDonalds.  They even make sure he gets back to the right place when he is lost in the shuffle.

Thanks transportation department!

Noah

The son of one of the ladies I work with left a note and a lifesaver (individually wrapped) on my door for me.  To be honest, when my alarm went off this morning, it crossed my mind that I could roll back over and pretend To be sick.  I thought about it again on the looonnnngggg drive to work and feeling grumpy about doing the right thing.  Then I saw that little note.  Suddenly, the drive was short and I was GRATEFUL that I had the opportunity to get to work with such wonderful little people.

Noah, thank you for brightening my day.

Max

Today started out with my alarm going off an hour before it was supposed to wake me.  I didn't realize that until I was showered and half dressed, ay which point, it was too late to turn back.  But by now, I am DRAGGING!!!

Thank you Max who helped by hanging clothes, making Sam cookies for dessert, and entertaining Stella when she just wouldn't shut up.  Ahhhhh.  Now I can sleep.

Mrs. G

I can't say what, but my daughter said something tonight I never thought I would hear come out of her mouth.  I have no one to thank but the amazing Mrs. G.

Josey

Who packed tomorrow's lunches.  Thanks Josey.

Mom

Thanks for picking up the hoodie.

Max

Max turned off all the lights, got Sam his popcorn, and let the dogs out so Josey and I could lay in bed and watch Christmas movies.

Jojo

My daughter kicks butt at being a great kid.  She rocked the family chore chart today without being asked.

Thank you Josey!

Mary

Today, Mary went above and beyond in her job. She was there to work with my boy, but allowed me to unload my own unrelated burden.  I needed that.

Thank you Mary.

Madaff

My 2nd quarter of my grad school practicum was in the acute (hospital) setting.  I called my supervisor from the previous quarter (the school setting) to say, "I get to wear jammies to work and they give me chocolate every day.  I love it here!"  Then I had to scrape caked saliva out of a woman's mouth, feed a patient with dementia while she kept repeating "You a b!t€#" (which may be accurate, but is still unnecessary commentary) and finally was introduced to old man giblets day where no man over the age of one hundred and ten bothered to keep his gown below his waste.  When I changed out of my scrubs (jammies) I realized my jeans no longer fit from all those cookies.  So ended my career in the acute setting.  Chocolate and jammies just weren't worth it.  After a very bad period last year, I wasn't sure where I fit.

I am much happier this year.  I really like and respect the people with whom I work.  Nobody has called me a b!#€ or a mutha f¥#%er (preschoolers can be a tough crowd!)  Best of all, people share food with me.  Sometimes, a person knocks on my door just to give me a cupcake!  I like cupcakes.  I also like almost anything with noodles.  Today, I had vegetable lasagna just like my mom would make it.  What was the occasion?  Apparently the day ended in "y" which is all the reason some people need to do nice things.

Thanks Madaff for the yummy lunch.

Max

I know it seems lame because I keep bringing up my kids.  But....I am swamped at work and what they are doing around the house is what is keeping us afloat.

Max, thanks for helping with laundry and doing an awesome job not only cleaning the kitchen after dinner but VOLUNTEERING to do it.

Josey

Not to be outdone by her brother and his push for responsibility, Josey as stepped p her efforts in helping around the house.  Loving the sibling rivalry.

Thank you Josey.

Michael

My nephew's soccer team made it to the state championship this year.  My brother invited us up to watch the game.  It was hugely exciting!!!!!   First of all, they won.  That always makes a 2 hour drive worth it.  Second of all, Sam was enthrall ed with the whole thing from beginning to end.  Third of all, it gave us an excuse to eat at Cracker Barrel.  All around, it made for an excellent Saturday.

Mike, thanks for inviting us up!

Max yesterday

Man!  i am really slacking on this.  Ironic that i am falling behond the month that others arevposting daily thank yous and when im so close to the end of this resolution!  Max has been working extra hard the last few weeks to step it up.  Last night, he hustled us around so we could get groceries and get Jojo to the play on time.  Thank you Max!

John T

When you have severe autism with motor planning problems, there are a lot of school activities you cannot do.  Basketball...football....baseball.....not on the agenda.  I can't say that Sam is staying up nights fretting over the loss of not playing high school sports.  Having seen some of the very overweight, balding sports heroes at my 25th reunion,  I'm not sure it is that much of a loss.  But I do think Sam likes the chance to be one of the boys.  Looking over the student activities this year, I was trying to find something Sam would enjoy doing and do as well as his typical peers.

HELLOOOOO BUFFET CLUB!!!!!!

Yep, a club that seemed to be designed just for Sam.  When I explained the premise and told him he was going, he was really excited.  When we got there and he saw I was not staying and he would be one of the boys, he was thrilled.  (I'm not taking it personally.)  John assisted Sam tonight which made it possible for Sam to go.  He did an awesome job of supporting Sam without smothering which  caused the boys (who, at this point, are actually full grown man sized) to engage with and include Sam.  What a great opportunity for everyone.

John, thanks for doing such a great job with Sam!

Josey

Thank you for packing my lunch.

Blue Ash Dump Receptionist

I did not think to get her name.  Like I said, falling back is causing me to fall down n the job.

Anyway, the lady who checks ID and keeps us all legal, so we don't sneak outside trash into our city dump, is just as nice as can be.  Honestly, that can't be an easy job.  I'm sure lots of people lie.  I'm sure lots of people complain about having to prove residency.  She still provides a bright smile and, when you are returning for the 2nd time in a day, a friendly wave befor she opens the gate.

Thanks lady!  My yard looks far less junky and your attitude made a dump trip pleasant.

Mom yesterday

This falling back is killing me!  Here I am over 300 thank you notes, in the month others are posting a thank you a day on Facebokk.....and I am falling down after falling back.  Boo me.

Yeah, mom.

Yesterday, she did the dishes for me when she came over to give my sweet girl a ride.  How nice was that?  Thanks, mama.

Sam

I really want to thank Benjamin Franklin.  While I may be cursing him the Sunday I wake up and am forced to spring forward.....I celebrate the extra hour I get to fall back into bed in November.  But I can't find his address.

Sam is learning a new skill.  Not getting into the nature of it.  I will just say it is a safety issue and not pleasant and easy for he or I.  I am appreciative that he is working with me so well firing this process.

Thank you my sweet boy.

Max yesterday

I was just too tired yesterday and fell asleep on my bed before I could say it.

Thanks for mowing the lawn Ma.

Christian

Last weekend was a lovely get away.  Unfortunately, the relaxation was so way over as soon as the week started.  Busy, busy, busy.  I didn't even have time to go to the grocery store for anything but Halloween candy.  Tonight, I came home hungry to an empty house.  When the kids and I got to Kroger's, I should have known my eyes are bigger than my cart.  I didn't.  I foolishly took a mini cart.  I have made the mistake of doing that enough that I now know the I bagged groceries I put in, will not fit after they are bagged.

First, the nice young man who was bagging, went I get a bigger cart.  I have 2 weird hang ups.  Well, I have far more, but these two are related.  One is how dirty dishes are placed in my dishwasher.  The other his how my groceries are bagged.  I like to buy J.B.'s green beans by the case and take them home in the box instead of having them bagged.  Unfortunately, that didn't come up until after they were bagged.  Christian was nice enough to unbag and rebox them without complaint.

Christian, thank you for being so nice and patient when working tonight.