Oh the thinks you can think...

So, I was giving a quiz to some students today. People with Autism tend to be very literal as you'll see from their answers. (And no, I am not making this up.)

This is a can. A can is a cylinder. A cylinder usually has three sides.

Q. How many sides does your can have?

A. Two. The inside and the outside.

Q. Tell me one way you can save water.

A. Usually it's best to save it in a jar or container.

Q. Can you tell me the surface area of the cube you are holding in your hand? (a hundreds cube with markings on it)

A. Well, the surface is the outer part.

Q. What grade do you expect to get on this paper?

A. 11th

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my job!?!

Oh, and the funniest c0mments ever heard from a student... When this awesome boy has a good day it's called a Plan A day. However, when he makes a poor choice he ends up with a Plan B day - not good. The other day at lunch he was telling my instructional assistants about his "Alphabet plans":

Plan A - Austin (his own name - names have been changed) messes up a perfectly clean house.

Plan B - Austin cuts his losses and kicks, screams, and pinches.

Plan C - Austin tricks Mom's boyfriend outside and locks the door.

Plan D - Austin goes to the Airport to bring Devin back home to Arizona. (His brother is on a mission. He has told us before that Devin lives at the Airport - obviously, that is where they left him, he must still be there.)

When the IA's were telling me about it, we asked him to repeat his Alphabet plans for me. He did, with only one small change...my favorite plan of all...

Plan B - Cut your losses and ditch the kids!

A post, for the sake of a post

Nothing to share. Life is unbelievable. Angels turned pages for me yesterday, which was incredible. But still, sometimes when there's so much to say, there's just no way to say it.

"Verily I say unto you my friends, ^afear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give ^bthanks" D&C 98:1

My favorite quote lately:

Bad days come to an end, faith always triumphs, and heavenly promises are always kept. - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Stretched to my limit.

Sometimes all I can do, is all I can do.

Life Lessons Sure Stink.

Wolfman is still reeling from the lesson he learned this morning.

I asked him to pick up his toys. He said, "I'm too tired. I want YOU to."

I said, "I'd be glad to."

Then I snatched a trash bag and proceeded to pick up the toys, really fast.

In seconds the realization of what he'd asked for hit him. Soon, he was a screaming, hysterical basket case.

I marched the bag outside and locked it into the back of the suburban.

Life lesson #1 - You take care of your own stuff.

He gets to earn his stuff back by doing everything I ask him to this week. As soon as he's asked. And he'll answer, "Ok, Mama, I'd be glad to."

Life lesson #2 - You don't always get what you want. You get what you work for.

Anything else you'd like me to do for you honey?

It's a Big, Big World

So, yesterday Wolfman said to me, "Um, Mama, the time has come for me to be a big boy." Then he curled up next to me in "the nest" on the couch, wrapped in his blanket. Today, at church, he tried being a big boy. He told me he wanted to walk to the primary room from the chapel on his own. He left, full of bravado, got just past the chapel doors and then came running back, crying. He's not quite ready yet.

Bitty, however, is completely ready. She wants to do everything on her own. She likes to narrate her adventures, "I'm awake! You're awake! Need a drink. By myself. I got a drink. I drinked it. I did not spill." She's like listening to a Dick & Jane book. I was noticing, this evening, that everything is giant next to her. Our bed is chest high for her. She has to hike herself up onto it like she's climbing a wall. Then, when she wanted a drink, she had to slide down, because she is too tiny to reach across the chasm between the bed and the bedside table to get the cup of water sitting there a foot away. She took her drink and heaved herself all the way up onto the bed again. It's the same thing when she wants to climb up on the chest high toilet, or use the sink that is actually above her head. For the sink, she actually has to claw her way up and hang on her belly while she washes her hands or brushes her teeth. And the crazy thing is that she usually refuses help.

Back to School Blues

Oh, I am not looking forward to going back to school after having two weeks off. Being at home has been so lovely. Cooking meals, cleaning, doing laundry, and feeling like I'm kind of keeping up with life has been delightful.

I Love Christmas Shopping!

I took the little ones Christmas shopping last night. We all went to Walmart and I got them each a reusable shopping bag. As they found gifts that they wanted to buy for each other they just stuck them in their bag so that no one could see what we were buying for each other. It was lots of fun.

Wolfman had to be reminded several times that we were not shopping for ourselves, we were thinking of other people. When he found a cool child size baseball hat with Transformers on it, he thought that he should buy it for Calvin. But when I told him that it was too small for Calvin and that it was Wolfman-sized he waved the hat in the air and shouted, "Who wants to buy me a hat?!?"

Smart kid. (I told him, "That's not the way it works." Strangers were chuckling.)

Merry, Merry Christmas!