Thankful - Day 20 - 24

My sweet, funny and unusual boy...I am so thankful for you. So thankful, you take up 5 of my thankful days! That's because with you I have so much to be thankful for.

1. I'm thankful that you have autism. It allows me to see you in a different way and understand you in a way I never would if you were just a typical kiddo.
2. I'm thankful that you have sensory issues. I've learned so much about tags in shirts, socks with seams, noises in stores, noises in the lights, too many people...these are all things I never thought of before. Now when I see a child having a tantrum in the grocery store, I think about it in a different way. I don't automatically assume it's because of bad parents...I think, maybe that child is overwhelmed for some reason. Poor thing!
3. I'm thankful that you have auditory issues. It has helped me to understand why sometimes you might not respond to me or do what I have asked you to do. 
4. I'm thankful for your ADHD because it allowed us to have a close relationship with a great pediatrician, a great psychologist and some other great specialists along the way. We wouldn't be where we are today if it hadn't been for them and who knows who else we will meet.
5. All these issues that some people see as a tragedy or as nothing but trouble are what I see as what makes Ethan who he is. Yes, it can be hard and he can be difficult, but I'm thankful for him and wouldn't change things for the world!

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Thankful - Day 19

This is my beautiful daughter, Lindsey. I am so thankful for her! She helps me in so many ways, I can't even list them all! 

Since my husband travels all the time, Lindsey always steps in to help...from doing dishes, to laundry, to watching the boys...she's always willing to help. Well, sometimes she complains...but she is a teenager. 

Lindsey is a very talented girl. She is an accomplished pianist, has played in many competitions and is a beautiful singer. If she could, she would be on Broadway one day!

This is her sophmore year of high school and it has been a rough year. But I believe that things will be getting better for her. If you've had a teenage daughter that's had a rough time in high school or had a rough time yourself, please send in some sweet comments for her, and enjoy one of her recent performaces below...

Thankful - Day 17 & 18

This is my puppy, Oliver, a 6 months old shih tzu. It is well known in my family that he is my favorite child. ;-)

I mean, look at him. Can you blame me??

Seriously, we looked far and wide to find a small dog that would be allergenic friendly, for my youngest, while still help my middle one who is autistic. So while Oliver is not technically a therapy dog, he sure does bring a lot of happiness to our family that we never had before.

I am SOOO thankful for my Oliver!

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Thankful - Day 16

Source: theskinnygirlexperience.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Today, I'm thankful for you! My readers!! When I started this blog on January 1st of this year, I didn't know if anyone would read it. I don't exactly stick to the script of just talking about autism or just talking about kids or parenting. I'm often all over the place in my topics, but that's just being true to who I am. If we were to have a conversation in real life, you would see that I often bounce from one thing to another while talking. It's the ADD, I guess! But who would've thought that there are people from all over the world who would read something that I wrote?!! I'm not the best writer, I don't have the funniest stories or headline making experiences. But you guys still read...and for that I'm very thankful!

Thanksgiving with Pinterest

I have been busy re-organizing my Pinterest boards for my Thanksgiving pins. Here are a couple of my favorites:

From Thanksgiving Printables:

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

From Thanksgiving Decor:

Source: decorology.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

From Thankful for Crafts:

Source: sillypearl.com via Meredith on Pinterest

From The Kids Table

Source: designdazzle.blogspot.com via Meredith on Pinterest

From Thanksgiving Food:

Source: eatingwithfoodallergies.com via Meredith on Pinterest

and from Thanksgiving Humor:

Source: someecards.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Do you have good Thanksgiving pins that I can add to my Pinterest boards? If so, leave me the link in the comments!

Thankful - Day 15

On most days, making it until 8 can be a struggle. The reward is watching mindless tv! Sometimes with a snack! The funnier or more ridiculous the show, the more I like it. The only real drama I still watch is Grey's Anatomy. I have enough drama on a daily basis, so I don't need more of that. 

Here are a few of my favorites...

Source: google.ca via Meredith on Pinterest

Source: minimalmovieposters.tumblr.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Source: insidetv.ew.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Source: minimalmovieposters.tumblr.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Meredith on Pinterest

Source: imdb.com via Meredith on Pinterest

So tell me what your favorite mindless tv shows are? And lame is it that I'm thankful for tv...I mean, it's ok, right?

Thankful - Day 14

Source: teachers.net via Meredith on Pinterest

So report cards came yesterday for my boys. Jonah, surprisingly enough, had a great report card! As troublesome as he can be at home, he seems to do really well at school...well, THIS YEAR he has done well. He made all A's and 1 B on his report card, with no bad marks on behavior or homework or anything! Ethan also did well. Even though he made all C's and 1 B, that was a marked improvement for where he started the year. But with him, I'm less concerned about the actually grade, than about how he is functioning in class, are there meltdowns, can he easily get through classwork, group times, specials, etc. He seems to be doing so much better and part of the reason is the great teachers he has and the way they collaborate together and with me to find solutions when a problem comes up.

For instance, at the beginning of the school year, he realized that if he didn't turn in his homework, the consequence was to walk laps during recess. (Not the whole recess, but a few) But over time, that just became the status quo and was no longer effective. We are now going to tie homework turn in to computer time. Hopefully, that will get his attention and emphasize the importance of turning his homework in. 

But today, I'm thankful for teachers...especially teachers that understand how to be flexible with a student that has special needs. Each of Ethan's teachers have always listened to my input, emailed me, called me, even texted me about issues I might need to discuss with them. We have always worked as a team and there has never been a disagreement with any of them. VERY THANKFUL!!!

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