Yes, it's war!!

Ok, this has to stop. I'm convinced my head is going to explode today. I HATE FALL ALLERGIES. Last night the left side of my nose was dripping constantly and by bedtime I ended up twisting up a Kleenex and simply sticking it in there to soak everything up. This morning I woke up with a whopper of a headache. I wanted to go out for my morning walk, but it hurts to even move. OWEEE!

I wonder if it's because I was in South Dakota over the weekend and exposed to new allergens or if it's just regular old fall allergies from Nebraska? I'm going to drug up on some major decongestants and make sure I take Zyrtec then hope for the best for today.

Gman was home sick from school on Monday but he still had homework from the weekend to do. He had refused to do it. I gave him 4 hours to do his homework on Monday night and he dallied the time away. I finally let him go to bed and decided that I'd talk to his teacher on Tuesday morning when I see her.

I'm sure the worst thing for Gman having his mother work at the same school he does, is that he can't get away with ANYTHING with his teachers. I talked to his teacher and explained the situation to her. I told her to "do anything you need to" as a consequence for not doing his homework.

I have my lunch at roughly the same time as his teacher. So we chatted when she came in to the lounge and she told me he tried to give her a story about how "he had no time to do his homework". She told me she said, "Save it Gregory, I already talked to your mom and your story doesn't match hers."

Oh, to have been a mouse in the corner and had a good look at his face when he got busted. We were all chuckling about it in the lounge. She gave him what his consequences would be and told me what they would be. I told her that I had decided he would have nothing fun and no "after school chill" time last night until his homework was done. It's an amazing thing....he was finished with his homework in 30 minutes. It took him 4 hours to write 4 sentences and 30 minutes to do the other 20. Hmmmm. Little turkey.

I have to say that I'm dreading middle school a little bit. As he's getting older, he's finding more loopholes in and out of things. He's gotten good at manipulating his world. I won't be able to keep such a close eye when he's in middle school. I just hope that we are able to adjust his IEP so that he's able to keep up better. Not less school work, just different tools for him because writing is such a challenge for him. I was thinking the other day, "How is he going to take notes in lectures next year on?" I need to talk to his doctor about these concerns. Sometimes I still feel like I'm clueless when it comes to his Asperger's.

I know I do a good job as his mother but, it's getting harder and harder to stay a step ahead of him.

On a brighter note, he's very excited about his ballroom dancing opportunity at the teacher admin center. I watched the last few minutes of practice last night and all of the kids looked so great doing it. I took Gman shopping for some nice clothing that fits because he's outgrown everything since Christmas. I sent him off shopping for some good pants and a tie. I had bought a new shirt earlier, so that was taken care of. He found some pants that look fabulous and an awesome tie! He has great taste in clothing and he's getting good at finding deals. The "Super Clark Challenges" work wonders with him.

What's a "Super Clark Challenge" you say? Well he used to argue with me about clothing because usually the budget is so tight that I would tell him what he had to get. Guess how well that went over? So I decided to change it up a little. I still have the control over the money but I give him control of his own shopping. I tell him "Your Super Clark Challenge tonight is that you have $30 to spend on two pairs of jeans and a shirt. Go shopping!!"

This serves 2 purposes. The first purpose is that it gives him control over what he buys and it also gives him an education on making his money stretch. The second is that I can shop in peace!! Sweeeet. He always looks at sales and the clearance racks. He knows that if he saves money in one place, he can maybe buy something extra. More than once he's found what he needed and came in way under budget and wanted something extra so asked if he could get that. My budget was $30 so if he wants something more to add up to $30, how can I refuse him that? He's a smart shopper! I love it. Sometimes God gives me strokes of sheer brilliance and that was one of the things he gave me.

For Gregory and his disability, it's all about having control. Thank goodness I'm not a control freak because this relationship could never work so well otherwise. I try to find ways to give him control of his own life. I think he really likes having some control and really, he should have some control over himself.

Alright, time to get ready for work. We are going to walk today. Yipppppeeeee!!! Tonight I'm signing up at the rec center and I'm going to start working out every night after work. I'm going to see about a tai chi class or yoga..not sure which yet. I'd also like to pick belly dancing back up again. Will have to see. Weight lifting and toning first!!!