Conversations With Boo

I read an article recently about a 15 year old autistic boy and what life was like for him. This boy loved monsters and when asked by his mom which he loved more after some thought he whispered "Mom". So we decided to have a little experiment with Boo. This is a transcript of our conversation.

Me: Daniel, which do you like more Mommy or trains?
Daniel: Trains, oh trains.
Me: Daniel, which do you like more Mommy or Daddy?
Daniel: Daddy, oh that Daddy.
Me: Daniel, which do you like more Mommy or Anne Marie?
Daniel: Anne Marie, oh that Anne Marie.

Markus, feeling sorry for me at this point, tried to make me feel better by saying that Daniel would always answer with the choice that you said last. So I tried again.

Me: Daniel, which do you like more Anne Marie or Mommy?
Daniel: Mommy, oh that Mommy.
Me: Daniel, which do you like more trains or Mommy?
Daniel: Trains, oh that trains.
(Well, there goes that theory.)

So we tried one last time.

Me: Daniel, which do you like more Daddy or Mommy?
And Boo, wise beyond his years answers"uuummmm, no".
Politically correct that one.

Now some of you might not realize that Markus is a German citizen here with a green card. On this day Daniel was wearing a Germany soccer uniform that we had bought for him when we were over there in April/May. So we wanted to see where his allegiance lay.

Us: Daniel, are you American or Germany?
Daniel looks around for a bit and then replies........
"Cherry".
So if you were wondering, that is what flavor of fruit he is. Consequently, our favorite.

The Spider and The Fly

Part of Daniel's therapy is for him to listen to recordings that I have made. These recording include positive responses that we want him to learn, social stories to prepare him for various situations he might find himself in, things we want him to memorize (catechism, Scripture, creeds, names, addresses, phone numbers), stories and poems. We sometimes listen to these tapes in the van. The only drawback so far has been Anne Marie memorizing that her name is Daniel and she is 5 years old.

So far Daniel has memorized Jabberwocky, Winken, Blinken and Nod, The Land of Counterpane and The Spider and The Fly. It is funny to have him walk by and hear him quote snatches of poetry. I forgot he also memorized My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson. When we are outside and see our shadows we start saying "I have a little shadow who goes in and out with me, and what can be the use of him is more than I can see." Both of the kids can participate more in worship on the Lord's Day because of various things that they have memorized off of these tapes that are used in worship.

Every night when the kids go to bed, Markus gives them a blessing before turning off the light. When Markus is done with the blessing, Daniel always asks to pray. You can only understand bits and pieces of his prayer so we never know exactly what he is praying about.

The other night after this ritual with Daniel, Markus walked into our room and asked why Daniel was praying about "evil counsellors". I asked for some context and Markus said that Daniel had just ended his prayer with "Evil counsellors. Amen." The only thing I can think of is that Daniel was praying The Spider and The Fly because the last line of the poem is "Unto an evil counsellor, close heart and ear and eye, And take a lesson from this tale, of the Spider and the Fly. "

What I Did Today

AKA: Why My Husband May Never Speak To Me Again*

Today I did what I have threatened to do for a while....

I cut little girl's hair.

And after that.....

The tangles came out much easier, and you know what....

I'd do it again.

(Pay no attention to the dirty, chocolate smeared face. I fed her cookies as I cut it. If you know anything about Anne Marie, you know that cutting her hair is like hitting a moving target, blindfolded, with both hands tied behind your back. You would feed her cookies too in order to keep her still.)

* For the record, I asked Markus if I could do it. His honest opinion when he saw it was that it was cute, easier to manage and would look neater consistently. This is a temporary thing because it looks so good long. I am hoping it will thicken it up some and help with the tangle problem which is the bane of my existence. Anne Marie seems to have some sensitivity issues with her head, so I hope this will give it a rest for a while.

Here Are Some More.....Because I Care

A Mother's Friend

Observe, colored bath foam that won't stain your shower or children. Nor will it sting the eyes.

(And please feel free to "ooh" and "aah" over the painted, shelved and organized closet done by none other than yours truely.)

See the pastry brushes purchased 2 for a $1 at a local dollar store. It is a wise idea to have one per child because some children are not know for their sharing. Not that I know of any such children. The kids love to paint the walls of the shower. I will give them some mounds of foam and leave them to it. They also like to take the squeegee and remove the foam when they are done. It's a win-win-win.

You can have some pretty long bath times with some thing like this to occupy them. And you can get a lot done when they are occupying. Things like cleaning bathrooms or bedrooms or getting an hour long facial, manicure and pedicure. Just kidding. Do not leave the house while your children are so engrossed, even though it might be tempting. It will come back to bit you either in the form of the DSS or a wrecked, flooded home. Believe me when I say I don't know this from experience. But the mess that can occur even when I am present would leave me to believe that the previous statement is fact.

Easter Frocks and Finery

Take the picture already or my face will freeze in this position.

Polka dot Princess

A ray of sunshine.

Beautiful curls!

Don't they look fine as frog's hair.

The Sound of Music

Today Anne Marie was quite funny in church. We stood up to sing the Doxology and at first she just listened. Then at the end she started in with an enthusiastic rendition of the last line. She ended it all with an amplified, off-key, extended "A-men". Needless to say, everyone in the room was looking our way. She always likes to spice things up. This evening she rode to church in her dress with her neon pink faux "crocs" on along with a black stocking cap. Ever fashion forward that one. If I only had pictures and an audio recording so y'all could get the real feeling of it all. We are enjoying this nice weather. The horses were out grazing and thankful for the greens. The kiddos jumped with Daddy on the trampoline, and Mommy got mauled by a zealous cocker spaniel.

You Can't Sing, Mommy

I know I shouldn't take that personally, but what is it about my voice that Daniel doesn't like. Anytime I try to break out into song, he practically begs me to stop. Maybe if there was a little less opera in it I could get by.