Quest for Time and Space
Many things since my last entry: Fall Harvest, Nina, IKEA, my Quest for Space, my cell phone mix up, the pediatrician delay, the speech therapy, the upcoming school PIP (Personalized Intervention Plan) for Alex...
On October 24th, I went to Dragon Dormant to run the gate for Fall Harvest. I did the best I could, with what I had. People were nice and very pleasant, so it was a good experience. There are things that I would do differently, was I to do it again within similar parameters. I learned a few things, which is always good.
After Court, we were to reconcile the gate but the lights got shut off for the feast, making it impossible to see clearly (my eyesight has declined a bit in the last years). Freya needed to go home, so I drove her back. She was in too much pain to come with us for dinner, so I headed out with them.
There was Master Harold and his wife Anna, and a couple from Caid who are in the East Kingdom for a couple of months. Their baby girl was simply adorable! I think she took a shine on me, she kept flashing me smiles, which I gladly returned.
We went to an Italian restaurant, the Oregano I think? I flashed on one of the pasta dish that had so many good things I like in it... My enthusiasm may have been contagious, they took the same thing... I enjoyed it so much that I finished my place, something extremely rare. I admit I was quite hungry - I grabbed a coffee on the way to the event, then had a small bite from the dayboard. We talked about this and that and at some point, about heraldry. It was a pleasant evening.
~~~~~
After dinner (around 9:30 pm), I parted with them and went to Nina's place. Nina is from Norway, but she moved to Montreal when her company opened an office here. I finally saw her face to face, after years of exchanging over the Internet. She's tall, or am I short? It was great. In a way, it felt a little odd because even though it was the first time we met face to face, we already had a head start; so, even if it was the first time we were in presence, the conversation was not like a first time conversation. We kept going in loops on topics, like if we were weaving... It was unusual and pleasant. We went to sleep later than we should have
Sunday morning, we went out to have breakfast at Cora. Yummy! After breakfast, we headed to IKEA. It was the first time I went there. Nina needed to get different things to finish settling in (or at least, settle in further), so I gave her a lift there. She warned me: "There is no way you can walk out of IKEA without buying anything." I thought she was exaggerating... She wasn't. I found so many neat and nifty things, useful stuff, and oh dear, intelligent storage! That's the closest I ever found to my dream design. We wandered left and right, tested a few things out... I made sure to bring a copy of the catalogue with me. That, plus the website, allowed me to get started on the final stages of my Quest for Space.
~~~~~
My place is a model of space waste. I am generally a well organized person, except when it comes to space management. To this adds up my son, who is the ultimate tornado, leaving trails of scattered toys or whatnot after his passage... Stuff that I am left to pick up because it takes him too long to figure out how to get his things together and what goes where. He doesn't master this thought process yet (though he's starting to improve).
What I saw at IKEA is a wonderful solution to this problem. So, in the last 10 days, I took measures in his room, measured the furniture, laid out the plan (I love Photoshop), then started checking what could fit where. My son reached a stage where he can use the Trofast system, so I'm getting him just that. Four units should allow plenty of storage and reduce the current loss of space and unfortunate stacking...
I am also planning to change the sofa. The current one will not take Alex's beatings much longer - he uses it as a trampoline... However, the next sofa should help cut this down. I am purposely choosing a futon!
But while I was checking out the sofas... I started to look at the rest of the living room. Oh dear. It could use some refresh as well... So I ended planning both Alex's bedroom and the living room. Oh well! I will start with my son's bedroom, though: maybe it will help cut down the time (quite significant) that I spend picking after him... Maybe I will also be able to store his speech therapy tools there.
So, after taking all the measures and shopping carefully, I selected all the articles I am planning to get. After some thinking, I realized that many of the items would not fit in the car. I gave this a thought and did a little math: considering that, plus the cost (in time and gas) of making several trips to get the rest, it will actually be cheaper, quicker and more convenient to have everything delivered.
Now, I just have to save up if I want to do both rooms at once, or I could go and buy stuff for Alex's room... I think I'll wait a bit further, just in case. I am never 100% safe from Murphy's Law striking at me.
~~~~~
I was saying I could probably store Alex's speech therapy tools in his new storage. Yes, speech therapy has begun and it's still going. Every two weeks, Alex has a session with the speech therapist, Annie. The off week, Isabelle comes home to give Alex a session of speech therapy to fill in for Annie. The four other days of the week, I am supposed to work 15 minutes a day with Alex.
When we first started, I was pushing Alex very hard and we did the 15 minutes right off the bat. Unfortunately, I had misunderstood: it was supposed to gradually go up to 15 minutes... After the first week, Alex had a strong aversion for these sessions and I could not get him to work good. Today, I found a way to bring him back to it.
~~~~~
This morning, I set out for several things. First stop, diapers. Alex still uses them for night time and for the #2 job, but he uses the toilet to pee (with occasional accidents).
Second stop: the pediatrician's office... Alex has been seen in October 2008. Last year. He was supposed to have a follow-up 6 months later... His appointment is 7 months late. Since it happened in the past due to a clerical error (they wrote the reminder in the paper file, but not on the computer file)... But no, the reminder is there. The flu clinics are taking our pediatrician's time and she can't be in office as much. There are children who were due in February for their medical appointment and they're still waiting... It won't be quicker now, but I should at least have a prescription for my son's melatonin. Plus, I know that the reminder is written in both the paper and computer files.
Next stop: Rogers wireless. When I wanted to use my phone in the USA, it didn't work. I chose this specific phone because it is set specifically to work in the USA (and pretty much anywhere else). After the clerk made a phone call, he learned something. There was a 3 months period at the beginning of the subscription during which my phone would not access foreign networks... The 3 months delay finishes next Thursday. Glad to know that, because I want my phone to work for Birka.
Last stop: grocery. I bought potato chips. Why does it matter? Because it's the only incentive that worked tonight in getting my son motivated enough to do his 15 minutes of speech therapy! At last! Not only did he agree to work (after putting up quite a fight), but once he got started, he did 20 minutes without any complain and with a smile! My goodness, it felt good!
~~~~~
Now, I'm set on specific goals with Alex.
He needs to pick up after himself. And then some.
He has to stop making me repeat all the time and fo.cus.please. I know he can, he's just being lazy sometimes. Yeah, ASD can be blamed for several things but not everything! So, I'm not cutting him slack. Not on that. The sheer amount of time I spend picking up after him is positively scary. I'm not kidding when I say it's a full time job...
I am really looking forward to get him this system I found at IKEA. I will stick images on the containers so he can remember what goes where. At least, it will help him develop a sense of organization and it will also help me by cutting down on the sheer amount of time I spent picking up his... everything, actually: toys, clothes, diapers, bags, shoes, more toys, dishes... In short, it would be a huge help for my sanity's sake! I swear I gave birth to a storm!
~~~~~
freya46 sent me an email to confirm our room reservation for Birka. Yay! \o/ I'm happy. I don't get to travel often to events. I think I found how it can work out for me. I will have to coordinate with the teacher and the specialized educator in class, with the school transportation, with my ex and with my friend Zoura. But it can work. I think I am entitled to set foot out of here from time to time
It will be awesome to be on location to perform my office duties, instead of being stuck on the sidelines... I will also enjoy the event.
I wish I had a laptop for the Curia but the ones I consider are expensive. I have more urgent things to take care of first. It's on the medium to long term goals.
Long entry, but it's been a month... So that's what happens when I skip too long.
I don't dare imagine the message I will find when I will log on Facebook... Oh dear.
On October 24th, I went to Dragon Dormant to run the gate for Fall Harvest. I did the best I could, with what I had. People were nice and very pleasant, so it was a good experience. There are things that I would do differently, was I to do it again within similar parameters. I learned a few things, which is always good.
After Court, we were to reconcile the gate but the lights got shut off for the feast, making it impossible to see clearly (my eyesight has declined a bit in the last years). Freya needed to go home, so I drove her back. She was in too much pain to come with us for dinner, so I headed out with them.
There was Master Harold and his wife Anna, and a couple from Caid who are in the East Kingdom for a couple of months. Their baby girl was simply adorable! I think she took a shine on me, she kept flashing me smiles, which I gladly returned.
We went to an Italian restaurant, the Oregano I think? I flashed on one of the pasta dish that had so many good things I like in it... My enthusiasm may have been contagious, they took the same thing... I enjoyed it so much that I finished my place, something extremely rare. I admit I was quite hungry - I grabbed a coffee on the way to the event, then had a small bite from the dayboard. We talked about this and that and at some point, about heraldry. It was a pleasant evening.
~~~~~
After dinner (around 9:30 pm), I parted with them and went to Nina's place. Nina is from Norway, but she moved to Montreal when her company opened an office here. I finally saw her face to face, after years of exchanging over the Internet. She's tall, or am I short? It was great. In a way, it felt a little odd because even though it was the first time we met face to face, we already had a head start; so, even if it was the first time we were in presence, the conversation was not like a first time conversation. We kept going in loops on topics, like if we were weaving... It was unusual and pleasant. We went to sleep later than we should have
Sunday morning, we went out to have breakfast at Cora. Yummy! After breakfast, we headed to IKEA. It was the first time I went there. Nina needed to get different things to finish settling in (or at least, settle in further), so I gave her a lift there. She warned me: "There is no way you can walk out of IKEA without buying anything." I thought she was exaggerating... She wasn't. I found so many neat and nifty things, useful stuff, and oh dear, intelligent storage! That's the closest I ever found to my dream design. We wandered left and right, tested a few things out... I made sure to bring a copy of the catalogue with me. That, plus the website, allowed me to get started on the final stages of my Quest for Space.
~~~~~
My place is a model of space waste. I am generally a well organized person, except when it comes to space management. To this adds up my son, who is the ultimate tornado, leaving trails of scattered toys or whatnot after his passage... Stuff that I am left to pick up because it takes him too long to figure out how to get his things together and what goes where. He doesn't master this thought process yet (though he's starting to improve).
What I saw at IKEA is a wonderful solution to this problem. So, in the last 10 days, I took measures in his room, measured the furniture, laid out the plan (I love Photoshop), then started checking what could fit where. My son reached a stage where he can use the Trofast system, so I'm getting him just that. Four units should allow plenty of storage and reduce the current loss of space and unfortunate stacking...
I am also planning to change the sofa. The current one will not take Alex's beatings much longer - he uses it as a trampoline... However, the next sofa should help cut this down. I am purposely choosing a futon!
But while I was checking out the sofas... I started to look at the rest of the living room. Oh dear. It could use some refresh as well... So I ended planning both Alex's bedroom and the living room. Oh well! I will start with my son's bedroom, though: maybe it will help cut down the time (quite significant) that I spend picking after him... Maybe I will also be able to store his speech therapy tools there.
So, after taking all the measures and shopping carefully, I selected all the articles I am planning to get. After some thinking, I realized that many of the items would not fit in the car. I gave this a thought and did a little math: considering that, plus the cost (in time and gas) of making several trips to get the rest, it will actually be cheaper, quicker and more convenient to have everything delivered.
Now, I just have to save up if I want to do both rooms at once, or I could go and buy stuff for Alex's room... I think I'll wait a bit further, just in case. I am never 100% safe from Murphy's Law striking at me.
~~~~~
I was saying I could probably store Alex's speech therapy tools in his new storage. Yes, speech therapy has begun and it's still going. Every two weeks, Alex has a session with the speech therapist, Annie. The off week, Isabelle comes home to give Alex a session of speech therapy to fill in for Annie. The four other days of the week, I am supposed to work 15 minutes a day with Alex.
When we first started, I was pushing Alex very hard and we did the 15 minutes right off the bat. Unfortunately, I had misunderstood: it was supposed to gradually go up to 15 minutes... After the first week, Alex had a strong aversion for these sessions and I could not get him to work good. Today, I found a way to bring him back to it.
~~~~~
This morning, I set out for several things. First stop, diapers. Alex still uses them for night time and for the #2 job, but he uses the toilet to pee (with occasional accidents).
Second stop: the pediatrician's office... Alex has been seen in October 2008. Last year. He was supposed to have a follow-up 6 months later... His appointment is 7 months late. Since it happened in the past due to a clerical error (they wrote the reminder in the paper file, but not on the computer file)... But no, the reminder is there. The flu clinics are taking our pediatrician's time and she can't be in office as much. There are children who were due in February for their medical appointment and they're still waiting... It won't be quicker now, but I should at least have a prescription for my son's melatonin. Plus, I know that the reminder is written in both the paper and computer files.
Next stop: Rogers wireless. When I wanted to use my phone in the USA, it didn't work. I chose this specific phone because it is set specifically to work in the USA (and pretty much anywhere else). After the clerk made a phone call, he learned something. There was a 3 months period at the beginning of the subscription during which my phone would not access foreign networks... The 3 months delay finishes next Thursday. Glad to know that, because I want my phone to work for Birka.
Last stop: grocery. I bought potato chips. Why does it matter? Because it's the only incentive that worked tonight in getting my son motivated enough to do his 15 minutes of speech therapy! At last! Not only did he agree to work (after putting up quite a fight), but once he got started, he did 20 minutes without any complain and with a smile! My goodness, it felt good!
~~~~~
Now, I'm set on specific goals with Alex.
He needs to pick up after himself. And then some.
He has to stop making me repeat all the time and fo.cus.please. I know he can, he's just being lazy sometimes. Yeah, ASD can be blamed for several things but not everything! So, I'm not cutting him slack. Not on that. The sheer amount of time I spend picking up after him is positively scary. I'm not kidding when I say it's a full time job...
I am really looking forward to get him this system I found at IKEA. I will stick images on the containers so he can remember what goes where. At least, it will help him develop a sense of organization and it will also help me by cutting down on the sheer amount of time I spent picking up his... everything, actually: toys, clothes, diapers, bags, shoes, more toys, dishes... In short, it would be a huge help for my sanity's sake! I swear I gave birth to a storm!
~~~~~
freya46 sent me an email to confirm our room reservation for Birka. Yay! \o/ I'm happy. I don't get to travel often to events. I think I found how it can work out for me. I will have to coordinate with the teacher and the specialized educator in class, with the school transportation, with my ex and with my friend Zoura. But it can work. I think I am entitled to set foot out of here from time to time
It will be awesome to be on location to perform my office duties, instead of being stuck on the sidelines... I will also enjoy the event.
I wish I had a laptop for the Curia but the ones I consider are expensive. I have more urgent things to take care of first. It's on the medium to long term goals.
Long entry, but it's been a month... So that's what happens when I skip too long.
I don't dare imagine the message I will find when I will log on Facebook... Oh dear.