Front and Center!
These two creatures who have locked up my heart will be front and center in this little corner of blogosphere!
I got the boys' Spring school photos this week and I'm struck with how much they've grown and matured this past year. I suppose that since Connor turned 13 last November I shouldn't be surprised that with puberty has come maturity and changes.
Sam is beginning to show signs of a burgeoning maturity, in some ways, also. With the help of therapy and the right medication we are seeing longer stretches of the sweet boy that he is, at heart. Kind, loving, bright and truly funny, it makes me smile and warms my heart to see these signs that the 'old' Sam is still there and coming to the surface. It's been a long, challenging, frustrating and often frightening couple of years with him emotionally and medically speaking. His anxiety and his severe ADHD are co-existing with less anger,aggression and volatility. There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. I see it every day now in that sweet smile.
In a few weeks Sam graduates from 5th grade. The elementary school days will be behind us. Sam will join Connor in middle school this fall and there will be new challenges to meet. I'm ready for summer. It's going to be a somewhat bittersweet time. My oldest grandson Bryan graduates from high school, Connor will enter his last year of middle school this fall and Sam is about to graduate from elementary school. Time marches on, as it should; but, I can still see the sweet babies that they were ....only yesterday.
Recipes and cooking are more my sister Kelly's purview than mine. My daughter Trish is also a fan of cooking and trying new recipes. Last week, however, I saw the title recipe in the Dallas News and it sounded like a winner to my taste buds.
It did not disappoint. In fact, Trish made it for the second time this morning before she left for work. I'm sharing it because it's not only yummy, but also easy and not too shabby on the health charts.
Picnic Pasta
4 cups assorted grape and cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely minced
3/4 cup red onion, peeled and chopped very fine
12 large basil leaves, washed, dried and finely chopped (about 1/3 cup when chopped)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1 1/2 finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2/3 cup olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon, strained
1 pound bowtie or fusilli pasta
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken (optional) We love it both with and without!
Place the tomatoes, garlic, onion, herbs, SALT, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice in a large bowl. Stir to combine (may be left at room temperature for several hours before combining with pasta).
Boil the pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and combine it with the tomato mixture. The salad may be prepared to this point several hours before serving and kept at room temperature, loosely covered. When ready to serve, toss with feta and chicken, if using.
Serves 6
Note: It's important to chop the onion very fine and to mince the garlic so that they integrate or meld with the other flavors.
It's great! I just finished a serving for lunch an hour ago.
Wednesday evening Connor was inducted into the Junior National Honor Society at Rice Middle School. Only a year ago we would have never imagined this event for him. Due to his having Pediatric Bipolar Disorder and High Functioning Autism he has been, for 4 years, in a BSU (Behavioral Structured Unit) in the elementary and now middle school he attends.
The school setting has never been a comfort zone for this child (excuse me...YOUNG MAN) as he was easily frustrated and such an outsider when it came to his peers. It wasn't until he was in about 4th grade that the developmental differences (due to his Autism) really made us realize how significant the gap between Connor and his peers really was. Social Skills are still an uncomfortable and difficult landscape for him to navigate. Progress in this realm is still in the baby-step stage.
Over this past summer Connor began to mature and grow. As he hit the magic teenage milestone his voice had changed and puberty began to set in. He's taller than both his mom and me. And, he began to blossom academically in spite of himself.
His teachers (our heroes!) gently moved him into several "out" classes, and there will be more next year. Suddenly, the boy that hated school and had no motivation to even be in the classroom setting began to actually care about his grades and become more frustrated when he didn't make the grade he wanted than when he had to 'work'. He is now able to do homework without major meltdowns (for the most part) and he has discovered (surprise, surprise) he likes much of what he's learning. School is no longer a battle ground.
There are still struggles, and he's by no means ready to be tossed into the general education arena totally or without safety nets and life preservers. Perhaps that day will come. Right now he's stable and it's the Autism quirks that give him the most trouble. Most of his moodiness is more the puberty bugaboo than bipolar related. This is major progress.
So, what a proud family we were when we watched him be recognized for his academic achievements this week! It's been a long and difficult struggle to reach this milestone in his academic and personal life. We're looking forward to the coming challenges and progress as he continues to navigate the remainder of his academic years.
Congratulations Connor Reeves!! We love you and we're beaming with pride!
OK, this is an amazing turn of events! My snow dreams have come to pass! This morning I woke to a winter wonderland!
Tuesday brought a major sleet storm and deep freeze to my little corner of the world. Monday was the first and last day of school of this week. The ice virtually closed down the area. As the temp. stayed in the teens and low 20s the ice stood its ground, didn't budge. Last night the forecast called for a light dusting of snow here to top the ice. And then......
This morning I woke to a winter wonderland!! It is simply unreal! The world around me is white and fluffy and absolutely beautiful!! Yes, it's also treacherous, since beneath the fluffy white is a dangerous layer of stubborn ice. Slip, sliding is the name of the game. Spanky loved the ice and loves the snow! I can't keep him inside. Every few minutes he barks at the patio door wanting out to romp, eat snow, play with the ice and pester the birds at the feeders. He races around the yard like a crazy dog!!! He's fun to watch!
This is not good news for Jerry's World and the impending Super Bowl and related activities. The natives are restless and a bit stir crazy with cabin fever. It's been PJ days most of the week since we're unable to get out and about.....beyond the front or back yard that is.
Tomorrow the temp will climb beyond the freezing mark and the thaw should begin. Meanwhile, I'm loving this realization of my fondest dreams. I'm locked in a beautiful winter wonderland!
And here he is wanting me to come out and play with him. Look as this face! The caption for this photo is "Look at ME!!"
Christmas was full of good cheer this year. With our boys, one can never predict whether gifts will be a boon or a bust. We nailed it this year! Happiness ruled the day! We began early, as in off and on from about midnight on..... I could hear Trish herding them back into their rooms from time to time with cries of "too early!!"
By 6 AM the excitement could no longer be contained and the usual Christmas morning chaos began. By 8 AM the gamers were in full force with new Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Sam wanted and got an entire arsenal of Nerf weapons, several of which were as big as he is!! Foan bullets were flying. It was fun and the fights, for once, were few and far between.
Later in the afternoon I visited with my brother and his wife at my niece's home. This was a nice finish to a wonderful Christmas Day!
Smiles were the light of the day!!!!
Santa Paws paid a visit to the pups, much to their delight!
It was a very good Christmas!
Yes, the stockings are hung, the kids are asleep, then awake, then back to sleep.... Trish and I could be up for quite awhile. Last year the boys were up at 3 AM..... I predict that sleep will be scarce this Christmas Eve.
The boys are allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve. It's one of our traditions that, frankly, makes Christmas Eve less stressful for those of us who have to endure their whining and boredom all day. Trish worked until 5; Connor played his video game and Sam and I went to Christmas Eve service at 3.
The weather was frightful, I must say. We had a cold rain all day and into the evening. We needed the rain, but I'm dreaming of last Christmas when we had a delightful WHITE Christmas! Those who know me know how I do love snow and how I loved last winter when we had a most unusually snowy winter.
La Nina has cursed me this year, I'm afraid. Last week we had an 85 degree day that smashed records. I was NOT happy! At least it's cold for Christmas, although the forecast calls for at least one 70-something day as the year draws to a close.
I think Santa is going to make a couple of little boys (not so little) happy tomorrow. Actually, Connor has the Santa thing figured out, while Sam does, too......kinda.... He desperately wants to believe. So, I told him that he can definitely believe. I said that I will always believe since Santa is the spirit of Christmas, of giving.
So, believing.... in the meaning of Christmas and the spirit of Christmas is what it's all about.
Happy Birthday Jesus, and Merry Christmas Eve to all my friends and family!
This Jolly Old Elf has miles to go before she sleeps.....
We have a teenager under our roof as of this past Monday. Things will never be the same. Connor turned 13, and he is quick to remind us that he is now a teenager. Puberty, however, began to creep in over the summer, so we were more or less prepared, I guess.
The now healing black eye on the new teenager is the result of he and his brother (who has a knot on his forehead) jumping on a neighborhood kid's trampoline with more than one kid on at a time. Sam's foot smashed into Connor's head and Connor's whatever caught Sam in the forehead. Both boys had been prohibited from jumping on said trampoline due to an earlier incident that resulted in injury. Must have slipped their memories,.....
Our new teenager has been awfully grumpy as of late. I'm not sure if this is due to the new state of being or just the usual ups and downs of kid who is often unstable. Probably both. Oh joy.
I have a feeling that this kid is going to be a bit harder to contain in the little bubble he's lived in all of his life due to being bipolar and Autistic. He's never had much interest in venturing out into the world of peers or even, very often, the neighborhood. Times they are a changing....
This year he joined his first after-school club and went to his first party since kindergarten. These were milestones that we were thrilled about. However, this is a child who we can't lose sight of in Wal-mart since he wanders off to follow whatever catches his attention at the moment. The coming years will be fraught with new and, for his mom and me, uneasy concerns.
But, for now, we are getting used to the newly evolved teen who is grumpy and sleeps most of the weekend. In so many ways he's just a typical newly- minted teen. Come to think of it, the teenage years are an emotional roller coaster ride that Connor is already familiar with. He's been riding an emotional roller coaster most of his life. This might just be old hat to him.
Yep, the birthday boy is growing up. His voice is deeper and he's taller than his grandma. It seems like only yesterday he was a little fella flying around the house in his Spider-Man costume.
