Year End Meme

Here's a year end meme I always do for the kids:

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
Got on a horse.  Started using PECS.  Turned seven.  

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


I want to get Anthony a dog and I didn't this year, but I am hoping to next year.  

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?



I guess not.  

4. Did anyone close to you die?



No, thank God.  

5. What countries did you visit?



Not only did Anthony not visit any other countries, he rarely left the county, ha!  

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

To be totally and completely toilet trained.  

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

There's probably not one date, but when Anthony started using PECS at school was a big day, and he's made a lot of progress.  

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?



I'd say really excelling at PECS.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I don't know that it's a failure, but I know we'd all be happier if Anthony and we could communicate better.  

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?



Ha!  My sister pointed out that I must have forgotten about Anthony's being hospitalized for ITP but I didn't, I just skipped the question entirely.  It was the end of August when he woke up all covered in bruises.  I was convinced that he had leukemia but I had no time to think of it because it was also the girls' first day of school, ugh, it was just crazy.  Mike took him to the ER and I took the girls to school, then I met him at the hospital.  Shortly after I got there the doctor said it wasn't leukemia and then I didn't care WHAT it was, I was so happy.  My mom and aunt Barbara came to get Felicity and Anthony and I stayed there over night.  It has slipped my mind how horrible it was and how worried we were because now he's fine, he doesn't even have to see the doctor anymore.  He also had some colds and some stomach bugs but mostly he's been fine.  Mostly I am very grateful for his good health.  

11. What was the best thing you bought?

I bet his trampoline, although we haven't had too much time to use it.  

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Anthony's - and his therapists, his program manager and his speech therapist, both of whom I feel really work for Anthony and want the best for him.  

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?



Probably mine!  I wish I had more patience for Anthony, particularly this week when he is going so bonkers not being in school.  

14. Where did most of your money go?

Anthony got a bounce house for his birthday, we got him a trampoline for Christmas.  His insurance rate has like quadrupled since we got it.  

15. What did you get really excited about?

We're excited about PECS and the promise of better communication with Anthony.  

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?

Call me Maybe, we all sang it a billion times with Maria.  

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:


– happier or sadder? Happier.
– thinner or fatter? Fatter, heavier, but really just growing.


– richer or poorer? Richer, I guess.  

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?



Peed on the toilet, ha!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?



Peeing everywhere else.  

20. How did you spend Christmas?


We were here, for the first time with all my siblings and my mom.  

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?
Ha - he loves his therapists, for sure.  

22. What was your favorite TV program?


Anthony likes the Wiggles, STILL, and his new thing is the Gigglebellies.  

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?


No.

24. What was the best book you read?
I don't think he's reading any books right now.  

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Probably the rocking Gigglebellies, ha!

26. What did you want and get?
I think Anthony wants to be happy, just like everyone else, and I think he is, for the most part.  

27. What did you want and not get?
Oh I know we wish we were 100% on toilet training.  God, I know I go on and on about it but I feel like in so many ways we are so close.  

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
What did he see at the theater, I forget.  Madagascar III, I think.  

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Anthony turned seven this year and we got him his bounce house.  We had a party and he had a good time.  

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Better communication.  

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
We have started dressing Anthony in more sweat pants, so they're easier for him to work but otherwise I always pick out skull and crossbones stuff for him, he's a real tough guy.  

32. What kept you sane?


School.  

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
He likes The Wiggles, still.  

34. What political issue stirred you the most?


Anthony doesn't care about politics but he is affected by health care, that's for sure.  

35. Who did you miss?


I know for a fact Anthony misses school when he's not there.  

36. Who was the best new person you met?


His new therapists Mary and Christa, I can't remember who all was new to him, Kassi, Whitney, maybe?  

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.


Oh I don't know.  We have to stick with things, I know that for sure.  

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.


The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round.  The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.  Ha!

All Out

I am all out of patience with Anthony!  All out!  He is driving me bonkers.  Mike, too.  EVERYONE.  Well, just Mike and me.  Mike said the other day, and it's true, outside of his therapists, there are only two people on EARTH who understand exactly how hard you have to watch him and frankly, we aren't even 100% all the time.

Things are going well with the PECS, in that he is asking for things and getting them and he seems pretty happy about it.  But other things are not going so well.  He is grabbing us again, he bit my mom, he pushes the baby, he is climbing on every thing in this house.  It's not even that bad - because although he is grabby, and he bit, it's not really the kind of thing that hurts (or so my mom said, she is maybe just being brave), but what I mean is, he's not driven by anger, it's not like he is trying to hurt you, plus he is just a boy, but man, it's annoying.

The climbing this is dangerous and scary and annoying.  I have plexiglass around our banister upstairs and now he's climbing over the railing and standing INSIDE the staircase and, um, many feet up in the air.  I am terrified he's going to pull the china cabinet over on himself.  But I have to have furniture!  We have stairs!  What to do?  I told Mike today, we should have a ranch house, made of clay, with no furniture in it.

I know that he will get better, I know we have been through stuff before and it's gotten better.  I know that his therapists need a week off at the holidays and I think they deserve it but LORD.  It's torture.  I know he wants to go somewhere, I wish I could take him somewhere.  Mike took him to the store today and he said he was very good, he likes to go places.  But it snowed a lot yesterday and today we went to the store and - we can't take him to a bounce place or whatever when everyone in town is on break, it's too crowded.  He gets frustrated and he doesn't understand lines and blah blah blah I know iI am complaining.  Tomorrow is Friday and then the weekend and then next week we can get back on schedule but it is daunting to get through holidays like this, to dread them so much and read on Facebook about how awesomely awesome everyone's holidays were.  I will say this, he loves the Gigglebellies DVDs we got him and his new beads, so there's that.  I guess our holidays were awesome too.

Post Office

Yesterday, against my better judgment, I took the girls to the post office with me.  I wanted to mail this sweet dress to a friend of mine who has a baby girl.  The dress is like a black watch plaid, with red, and has matching bloomers and her daughter is 6 months old and I just thought it would be great for a holiday party.  Anyways, I had to mail that and a package to my friend Brenda, who just had a baby girl.  The post office was PACKED (early in December, what the heck?) and I had to wait for a parking space, so I opted to use the machines out in the lobby rather than try to stand on line with the girls.  I was tapping away on the machines and sticking postage stickers on the boxes and some lady started talking to Maria.  She said, are you a big sister?  Are these your little sisters?  How old are they? So Maria said yes, yes, we are 4, 3 and 1!  The lady said you must be a great big sister and Maria said I have a big brother, too.  He's seven.  I started to perk up my ears.

Maria said, his name is Anthony.  The lady said, he must love having all those girls around!  Maria said, and I could hear her start to waver, um, he likes us okay.  She said, um, he doesn't really talk too much.  The lady said he doesn't?  Maria said no, AND he walks on his toes!  He wears BRACES!  On his LEGS!  Finally I turned to the lady and she said, he wears braces?  I said, he has autism and is a toe walker, so he wears braces.  The lady - well, she just changed everything.  I mean, she was being so nice and really keeping the girls busy while I packed up everything, but she sort of melted and I could tell she felt so sorry for me.

She said to Maria, he must be so special.  And Maria said, "kind of!".  Ha!

I hate for people to feel sorry for me because Anthony has autism.  I was reading a friend of mine's Facebook the other day and she said some girl asked her about Fragile X, which her twin boys have.  The girl asked what is it and my friend said it basically makes them have autism and the girl said too bad, or something, and my friend said well, it was too bad and now it's just life.  And that's how I feel too.  It's just life.  The girls are sort of bad at the post office, and it always makes me nervous because somehow I feel a federal offense will be involved if they are too bad, and Anthony has autism.  It's just life.  So don't tilt your head at me, lady!  We are fine!

P.S., I don't always feel like we're fine, sometimes I feel like we're NOT fine, as a matter of fact, but mostly I do think we are okay, or we will be.  But I am reminded of how fine we are when Maria looked so confused about that lady saying how special Anthony was.  She was like, what?  Anthony?  She doesn't relate him not talking much or wearing braces on his legs meaning he's special.  Who knows, she might think every boy named Anthony does.  Anyways.  It was funny, she's funny.  People are well meaning but not always the comfort they mean to be.  That's my update!