Coffee Cake: Clearly Something Bad That Tastes Like Coffee
2007-06-20 10:19:00
Don't call this coffee cake to a 7-year-old, call it something tasty
This morning I was stretching out after my run, and I hear Demetrius’ feet hit the floor upstairs and I follow the sounds of his steps down the stairs and in to the kitchen. I love that sound. He’s never gotten up, not once in his life, and just walked down the hall, he always runs down the hall – since the day he learned he could put one foot in front of the next. If it is a manifestation of his autism, I wouldn’t want to get rid of this one tick of his – it just seems he's so damn happy about what happening for him that day.
Anyway, I digress; he hits the kitchen, mid jog:
Demetrius: Daddy, do we leave for Nanny and Poppy’s house today?
Daddy: Not until Friday Demetrius. Want some breakfast?
Demetrius: I Want Some Fruit Shake!
I have to admit, I do make an excellent fruit shakes. I whipped one up. But how can you just have fruit shake when you are 7-yr-old? Throw in some starch there, Daddy!
D
Read more: Coffee
, Coffee Cake
Demetrius: Getting Ready For The Trip
2007-06-19 07:10:00
Kim’s little brother gets married this weekend. Maya, of course, is going to be the star – as one of the flower girls. Honestly, I know Demetrius plays a role in this wedding – I just don’t remember what it is. Maya’s very excited. Demetrius? He’s more excited about the trip afterwards to Nanny Joan and Poppy’s house. (Kim and the kids go to Kansas every summer for a few weeks... this is, obviously, an ideal time after the wedding!). Why are we so excited? Well, let me spell the reasons out for you!
• We have a new Batman DVD to watch on the plane
• We are riding on a plane
• We have two new Arthur DVDs to watch on the plane
• We have two new books to read: a SpiderMan and SpongeBob reader
• We are renting a car
• We get to watch movies with headphones
• We are riding the train to the airport
• The hotel has a pool (maybe, we hear it might be broken)
• Nanny and Poppy have a computer (t
Fathers Day, Fits, and Flying Fast On Your Bike
2007-06-18 08:36:00
Hope all the dads that read this blog had a happy Fathers
Day. Bit of a reprieve here, we run the holiday/birthday gamut from December – June, so we’ve got a let up here for a few months. No gift cards for at least the next few months. Then it all begins again with Maya’s birthday on 12/05.
We went to breakfast and then took in a lazy Sunday on our Fathers Day. Demetrius and I put together a 3D puzzle of Spider Man (well, he helped until he got bored. I finished it. He looks better next to it in his room):
Maya worked on accessorizing her flip-flops for a project they are doing at vacation bible school this week:
And the kids gave me a gift card for Father’s Day (thanks Kim, I’ll take the hint that you are telling me I have a few honey-dos while you and the kids are in Kansas visiting Nana Joan and Poppy):
I’m becoming a touch concerned about all these fits that Demetrius has started throwing. They’ve been increasing, it seems, in frequency, and many of t
Read more: Flying
Goldfish, Toys and Maya's Socks At The Wedding
2007-06-24 05:50:00
Well, I’m sitting here in the Omaha airport, waiting for a flight that’s been delayed two plus hours to get me back to Atlanta. The fam is heading to Kansas with the in-laws for their summer sojurn to Washington County, and I will get started on my honey do list beginning tomorrow evening (today I have to get home, walk the dog, mow the lawn…not honey dos as much as everyday dos).
I have to say, there were a lot of memorable moments at the wedding over the past weekend. We’ll start with the fact that as my brother-in-law walked down the aisle, the batteries in the digital camera went kaput. This of course means I’ll take a lot of crappy pictures with the camera phone instead. Nonetheless…
Maya loved being a flower girl.
Maya was the queen bee flower girl. Where she went, the others followed. Adorable. She loved the bow in her hair, alot!
She loved the dress, her bow, and told everyone she ran into on the plane, in the airport, in town, all the way around that this was wh
Read more: Socks
In Iowa Now...
2007-06-22 10:32:00
3:30am - took Buddy for a 4 mile run
5:30am - Left for the airport
6:00am - Rode MARTA train to airport!
7:00am - Got to stand in line to meet nice security folks at the airport
8:45 am - 2 hour plane flight
10:45 am - Land in Omaha
2pm - Arrive in Carroll, IA
Yes, I'm officially tired, and it is 2:24pm, but feels like 7pm.
Here are some photos:
Demetrius, Hartsfield Jackson Airport/Atlanta, GA....approximately 7:30am, in a stall in the men's room, singing a song from SpongeBob Square Pants called, "Victory, Sweet Victory." This is after I fished him out of the women's restroom, telling a lady in a stall to hurry up because he had 'to really go poopy.' The picture doesn't do justice to his legs swinging back and forth in front of the stall as he sang. Poor guy next to him trying to read USA Today....
Reading books, waiting to take off for Omaha.....
More to come....PS, we went to Burger King in Carroll, IA for lunch....THEY HAD SILVER SURFER TOYS!
Two Days
2007-06-21 07:20:00
Got the bro-in-law's wedding to head off to...will try to post some photos over the weekend. Until next time in Iowa.....
Read more: Two Days
Wild And Crazy Guy
2007-06-27 05:24:00
After all the hoopla of the wedding, I jetted back here to ATL, by myself. After a rush to do some laundry, other chores, last night was the first night I came home and felt that it was just me at the house.
I do enjoy a bit of the downtime – catch up on some movies I’ve wanted to see, but for one reason or another, have not (Borat, The Departed – man, a whole lot of people were shot in the head in that movie. I’m not sure I’ve seen a movie where that many people were shot in one particular part of the body in such a short period of time!) and spent a lot of time with Buddy laying on top of me. He did this last year too – literally, without the hulla-ba-loo that the kids and Kim bring to the house, I think he gets real lonely – so it is important for a fur covered 60 lb dog, in summer weather, to lay across my body on the couch. It’s a give-and-take. He puts my legs to sleep, and he gets a bit toasty from my laptop battery (I use him like a table in this case). I think
Read more: Crazy
So, If You Are Having Trouble With Comments On My Blog.....
2007-06-26 08:42:00
A few of you pinged me yesterday that you couldn't provide comments to my blog. So I tested it out on two machines last night (no problem) and using two different browsers (Firefox and Safari...again, no problem). I pinged blog.com (who hosts this site...and they tested it using a PC with Internet Explorer {again, no issue}). Finally, I had a Web guru (who will remain nameless) test it also. Here's his recommendations in his explanation to me:
(1) It really sounds like this person had internet problems. The "you are no longer connected" sounds like his (maybe dial-up) connection timed out, and then because of that he was looking at expired web pages. Tell him if that happens again, instead of using the back button, it's best to start fresh in the process again, as much of a pain as that may be.
(2) What also could have happened is that he screwed up on the CAPTCHA (stands for Completely Automated Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart...or the small, squiggly numbers
Read more: Having
, Trouble
, Comments
New Study On Social Skill Training Misses A Key Point
2007-06-25 07:12:00
I saw this press release that was issued by the University of Indiana today that says, surprise, surprise, that autistic kids make better progress on their social skills if done in a TYPICAL classroom environment.
I could be real cute and comment that I’ve been blogging this, from first hand experience, for the past year-and-a-half, but what’s the point of that? This study has crunched the numbers, which is the crucible of the study – the number crunching proves that studies show integrated classroom infrastructure is most beneficial to autistic kids social development.
Oh, and I forgot, and that those in practice today are largely unsuccessful.
The results seem to me to be missing a bigger point though – and again, I guess I’m speaking from first hand experience, that we have to better ‘train the trainers’ to succeed.
Why wouldn’t the conclusions come to this point along with the others outlined? Strategies can’t succeed if you don’t have the right people to impl
Read more: Study
, Social
, Training
, New Study
Starbucks Situation At 7am
2007-06-29 09:42:00
All of you know that I’m an early into the office kind of guy. What’s great about being at your desk by 7:30am is that when you go to Starbucks
while it is still dark out, there are relatively few lines, and when there are lines, it is usually business people getting coffee – not coffee drinks (if you recognize the difference). Its quick, its easy, and I’m on my way.
If I enter a Starbucks anytime after 7am, the game changes. It just does. Recognize and accept this folks! Frappachinos, Carmel Macchiatos, etc…they are all being ordered by girls going to school (doesn’t anyone eat breakfast anymore? And have coffee drinks replaced a pre-high-school smoke in the car to show rebellion against parents and teachers? I think so…) or females. I think Starbucks drink ordering really does break down a lot along gender lines. You’ll see a guy order a latte periodically, and that’s okay, but if he orders a Peppermint Mocha, he better also order a grande regular and sip t
Demetrius, the BSer?
2007-06-28 10:02:00
I was on the phone with Kim this morning…Maya wasn’t interested in talking (she was on the Polly Pocket Web Site, priorities beyond Daddy, you know!) and Demetrius wasn’t either, but I could hear him babbling in the background while I took orders from Kim (just because she’s in Kansas doesn’t mean I get off any easier!).
Demetrius: Mommy! I want to watch some movies.
Mommy: Demetrius, if you want to watch movies, you have to do some homework (she’s a slave driver).
Daddy: Let me talk to Demetrius (Kim hands phone to Demetrius).
Demetrius: Hello Daddy, I want to watch movies, all the movies I brought. First I have to do some homework. Mommy’s wonderful. Bye.
Mommy’s wonderful?
Could it be, just for a moment, could it be – that he is learning to bullshit?
If I say Mommy is wonderful, and do my homework, I’ll get to watch movies.
Maybe I should take notes. I'm so proud.
Autistic Planet
2007-06-28 06:23:00
Hey guys: I'm going to review this book on the blog in a few days, but if your interested in lining up to get your copy now, here's the skinny on it from the publisher:
Go Ahead and Flap Your Arms
New Children’s Book Gives Insight into an Alternative Reality
“When your world spins out of line, you’re always welcome back to mine.”
—Autistic
Planet
Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have autism? What if everyone if the world was autistic? Welcome to Autistic Planet (June 2007; Jessica Kingsley Publishers; $16.95; paperback; 978-1-84310-842-9) a new book by Jennifer Elder, author of the bestseller Different Like Me: My Book of Autism Heroes.
Enter a magical world where all trains run exactly on time, where people working in offices have rocking chairs, and where all kids dream of winning the chess World Cup. Take a journey to this alternative reality, where being different is ordinary, and being “typical” is unheard of. Written as a dialogue between two yo
Of Mice and Men?
2007-06-28 04:48:00
Tests on mice eliminate the Fragile X causing PAK chemical with an enzyme. What does that all mean? More research, of course. Read it here.
Camel Poop Looks Like Rocks
2007-07-03 04:44:00
So when Maya sent me an email, I told her I loved it and she liked that she could communicate with me differently than just talking on the phone. I could hear the wheels turning...
Maya: Daddy, can you send an email to Emily?
Daddy: Of course, Ms. Heike will read it to her.
So we sent her an email talking about how much we miss her and that Maya was going to the zoo yesterday. Emily responds with this classic:
Here's a message from Emily to Maya:
We went to a zoo in Aachen, Germany. My favorites were the baby goats - one was black with white spots and the other was white with brown spots and they cuddled. We also went to the Aqua Zoo and to a circus zoo, where we could see all the circus animals that we had seen in the show before. I loved the tigers!!! I rode on a camel, too. And the camel poop looks like rocks.
I like you Maya and can't wait to see you,
Emily
Didn't know that about camel poop. Of course, when I read it to Maya, she cracked up and focused on the poop sentence. O
Read more: Camel
, Looks
, Rocks
Cyclists Raise Some Dough In New Jersey!
2007-07-02 12:27:00
Check out this piece, raised not too far from that magical $100K number! I wonder how much was raised total for the Autism walk in Atlanta...hmmmmm...gonna have to check that out.
Read more: Dough
, Jersey
, New Jersey
So, it's official, I'm missing them
2007-07-02 04:39:00
How can you not, when Mommy sends you email like this:
On Jul 1, 2007, at 11:34 AM, Kim Grasso wrote:
I love you. I miss you everyday.
Love Maya
Or.....
On Jul 1, 2007, at 11:32 AM, Kim Grasso wrote:
I love my daddy, because I miss him.
I stayed at aunt Rachels house.
It was fun. We walked the doggies.
We ate chips. demetrius
Mixed Messages
2007-07-06 04:52:00
While Buddy goes for long runs in the morning, the key to his happiness while Kim and the kids are away is the afternoon walk. If we don’t do that, he’ll be laying on my lap all night, pushing his head on my leg or against my hands to pet him. He’s totally obnoxious. With the walk, he’s at least manageable.
So I’m out walking him last night, and of course, we meander by the tennis/swim courts. One of the neighbor moms asks me how I’m doing? Am I ‘eating well’? Now, I know that husbands lack a number of basic skills – but I’m not emaciated (hardly), nor is the house in disrepair (well, we are getting some work done on it), nor am I unshaven and smelly. However, without my wife – to the view and opinion of other wives – I am now a hopeless, lost cause. How did we get on without you, or your help/direction/whip? Okay, a bit of dramatic license there….
I’m fairly certain most of them don’t understand I’m a neat freak and there isn’t anythin
Read more: Mixed
Thursday-After-Holiday-Sure-Is-Quiet
2007-07-05 05:07:00
I usually have between 50-60 emails in my inbox each work morning. Today I had 12
We are having some work done on the house, the contractor is pulling off the front door to repair and restain it. Buddy watched him from the hallway, moaned a little bit, then went and laid down on the couch. Clearly, he's an attack dog
Occurs to me that as long as no one steals the couch, or his tennis ball, he's okay with everything else being taken from the house
He's sleeping on the couch, above a vent. I'm working today. I am having an ironic thought to who actually has the better life. I may be at the top of the evolutionary ladder, but I'm getting the short stick when it come to the 'good life' compared to the dog
I ran the Peachtree Road Race yesterday morning. I'm real proud of myself. But it seemed to be all uphill. Wouldn't it be more fun, and we'd all be more happy with our times, if it ran the other way, mostly downhill?
You can't worry about your time during this run. This one is
Read more: Thursday
, Holiday
, Quiet
Transformers, Being Blonde and Ding Dongs
2007-07-12 04:13:00
Mommy had some friends over last night, so we went out to see the Transformers
movie…now before you get on me about only writing about ‘boy movies’ and such, let me just clearly state that we watch more than our fair share of ‘Drake and Josh’ because Maya has a crush on Drake (she doesn’t know that yet…she just knows she really, really likes him) and we own Cinderella, the Little Mermaid, Mulan…and we see movies she likes…but with all the advertising of this flick they do on Nickelodeon, well, she was hyped to see it too.
I’m no professional movie reviewer, but we’ve been excited to see the big three this summer (too little for Harry Potter, so we scratch that off the list) and D loved all three, but I’m a bit surprised that I liked Transformers the best. I’d see it again at the movies: it’s a bit loud and a tad too long, but very enjoyable. I’m not sure I’d pay $7 to see Spider Man 3 or the Fantastic Four again…but this one was just fun. It certa
Read more: Blonde
Go Root for Your Local NHL Team, Autism Parents
2007-07-11 05:38:00
Thanks to Uncle Jimmy for sending this along.....
Read more: Local
, Autism
, Parents
Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Story/Comments
2007-07-11 05:18:00
The Georgia
‘Special
Needs
’ scholarship is getting some good coverage in the local media here… I’m glad; I think this program, on principle, is very forward thinking by our politicians. However, I am some what ‘cynically amused’ by my interpretation of the story.
I am wondering if the reporter ever asked the question, why are so many of these parents jumping on this bandwagon so fast? I always figured this to be something that a number people quickly said YES! to, but why? For some, I am sure, it is because their home school doesn’t offer the tools/programs they need for their particular situation…but I have an inkling that for a large percentage, it is just because their home school is just not equipped, or possibly has the teacher mix/resources/commitment issues, to handle all the requisite aspects of educating special needs kids. Your local school doesn't help, and can't help, based on the world of public education these days. Education budgets are stret
Read more: Scholarship
, Comments
8 Random Facts Tagging Game
2007-07-10 03:15:00
I'm IT!!!
I was tagged by McEwen and must now reveal eight random facts about myself, presumably those not otherwise known.
The rules:
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.
Hmmmmmm – okay
1. When the Beatles Anthology Mini Series was running a decade or so ago, they had an online component on Beatles trivia. I was one of the winners. What did I get for all of this knowledge? Nothing – not a CD or Blue or Red greatest hits album. Nothing.
2. I once snuck into First Class on a transatlantic flight and sat next to Tom Petty and talked to him for about an hour. He’s really, really skinny. He smoked the whole time. He was with two gorgeous African American women who didn’t say anything the whole time, but hung on his every word to a 16-year-old boy. As soon as I got
Read more: Random
, Tagging
And So It Goes....
2007-07-09 05:04:00
Everything went according to plan until about 5:00 pm yesterday. I got the luggage at baggage claim once their plane landed, and then I saw the three of them. I have no doubt, like every dad/husband who misses his family; the smile on my face was ear-to-ear.
Demetrius grabbed my neck and stroked my beard… and as is the case to his particulars, repeatedly ad naseum about how he missed me, and that I was his ‘friend’. Maya jumped up into my arms. At five, she is still small enough to want to be held as toddlers do when she gets excited – she wants that enveloping hug that daddys can give. She also wants that lifted off her feet feeling. Hard to do it when Demetrius is hanging on my neck. Some way, some how, we all managed to get what we wanted out of the moment. Some way, some how, I managed to sneak a kiss in for Kim, maybe a hug too? Hope she didn’t feel too left out.
We then went out to eat for a big lunch at the OK Cafe, one of my favorite eateries on the other side of su
Could It Have Been
2007-07-15 12:47:00
Of course I'm getting good chuckles for the Viggo posting on Friday...what did I find out? A huge celebrity event was taking place at the Fox Sports Grill half a block down the street from the gym.... apparently the street was blocked off, etc...it makes you wonder if Witchy Woman was actually following Viggo down the street and if he was standing behind me and ducked into a store...
Does make you wonder.....
Maybe My Random Fact is Fact Based
2007-07-13 08:55:00
So I posted the other day about people being drunk or hi kinda wigging me out. Now, if you believe in God having a sense of humor, Karma balancing good and bad out, universal truths or just Murphy's law, today 'it' happened to me.
I went to the gym at lunch and saw an ex-work colleague outside the gym at Atlantic Station, we chatted each other up for a few minutes until a woman approached us, staring at me.
Witchy Woman: Oh my God! Are you Viggo Mortensen?
Jerry (first, I turn around, Viggo Mortensen is standing behind me!...wait, that's a wall): Uh, no
Witchy: Oh, well you really look like him
Jerry (confused): When do you think in my life I have ever looked like Viggo Mortensen? (Woman/ex-colleague actually is laughing...nice!)
Witchy: I just thought it was him. (Woman sits down next to me....standing next to this ex colleague)
Jerry: Well, I have to get back to work (I say my good byes)...
Witchy: Hey!
Jerry: (I don't say anything...silence as I start walking away)
Witchy: Can
Read more: Maybe
, Random
Two Reunions
2007-07-13 05:57:00
We had two reunions in the house yesterday. The first, of course, was Maya and Emily, after being separated for over a month and half by the Atlantic Ocean. When I asked the Pink Bombshell while she was playing Freddi Fish if she was happy to see Emily, she looked at me and smiled and said, “I missed her a lot…and we had cinnamon rolls!” Sugar and your best friend – I have to ask, is there a better combination?
The second was Demetrius and a number of ‘lost DVDs’. With our constant dance over watching movies, many of them over the course of the last six months have gone missing – I’ve always assumed it was because the boy was hiding them and forgot where the secret stash was, but come to find out, Kim had tucked them away, and finally found them.
Demetrius had been without many of these favorites longer than Maya had been without Emily – think of the pain! So last night we watched the Batman movie (I’ve seen this one too many times for its campy natur
Opinion Piece
2007-07-13 04:27:00
Here's a nice, well written, opinion piece that ran in today's Philadelphia Daily News. A heartfelt father penned a few paragraphs about what's going on in that state, and how his son's autism has affected him.
Surprise Sleepover
2007-07-18 04:55:00
I got home last night and Maya was watching Hannah Montana…I’m not sure exactly how much she likes this show, but her cousin Hannah loves it, so if it is what the big girls that like the color pink are watching, we are watching it too.
Daddy: Where’s Demetrius?
Mommy: Guess what?
I blink, go ahead Kim, drop it on me….
Mommy: Demetrius is having a sleepover at Eric’s!
Now, for those of you not in ‘the know’ Eric is the little boy the next street over that’s in Demetrius’ class at school, and attends all the superhero movie debuts with us at the local cinema (SpiderMan, Fantastic Four and the like).
Spur of the moment, Super D was over there playing and Eric’s mommy just asked if he wanted to stay the night.
We ate dinner and then gathered Demetrius’ sleeping bag, toothbrush, change of clothes, PJs and delivered the goods. Of course, when we got over there, Kim and Maya shot right out of the car. Maya needed to investigate (is it more fun than I’m having? W
Read more: Surprise
, Sleepover
Aye Aye Lemur.... Aye Carumba
2007-07-17 04:30:00
Last night Mommy had a meeting so the kiddos and I did some homework (worked on tying our shoes – pure pain, almost as bad as being stretched across the rack or forced to lie on a bed of nails), read some books, and watched some TV. Demetrius got a Justice League movie from the library, so we HAD to watch that….Maya wanted to watch some Animal Planet….accompanied by Demetrius’ constant whining (he wanted to watch some Nickelodeon, he was overruled).
One of the segments on Animal Planet was on the Aye Aye Lemur in Madagascar. Fascinating. Big ears that have really good hearing (like a bat), super strong teeth to tear through wood on a tree, and this long middle finger to tap on the wood of a tree to find a pocket where a grub or bug is…then once it bites open the hole in the tree, shoves that long, stick-like finger down the pocket to grab the bug. Of course, it is endangered and considered to be bad luck if ever seen by a local, and has to be killed up on sight. So it kinda
What Do You Remember?
2007-07-16 05:29:00
It has been a couple of years since we’ve been to Texas to see Grandpa and Nonni, Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Francine. Typically, what we do is head to Kansas one year for Thanksgiving, Texas the following, etc…but last year a wrench was thrown into that model when some friends of ours announced they were moving to Singapore, so we spent Thanksgiving day with them (we still miss the Buttons a lot!). So it’s been awhile, and we are going to the Lone Star State this year.
It is also Demetrius’ latest OCD. I’ve spent a fair amount of time trying to explain to him that Thanksgiving is more than four months away, but he is focused on it, the movies he wants to bring, etc….he’s ready to roll. It’s cute, but also annoying.
Last night we read a book in bed and he looked and told me he couldn’t wait to watch movies at Nonni and Grandpa’s. They have the Best of Percy, Thomas and Henry, but we can't watch the Best of James. It is broken.
Now Maya is just a couple of months shy o
Read more: Remember
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