The Mother of all Updates

I can't even begin to describe our last 4 weeks in words. So here is a photo montage to sum it up.

Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

How to shoot fireworks without shooting your 3 year-old.

Start with a baby sitter and a tri-pod. And even then, the 3 year-old still gets in the way.

We went over to Carmichael figuring that their display would be adequate and not generate an intolerable amount of traffic when it was time to leave. My instincts were correct and we enjoyed the display (minus the car alarm that continued to chirp during the show...I'm still trying to track down the owner of the Honda so I can egg his house.) Every year I see fireworks, I have to watch them through a set of competing trees. This year was no different even when we went to the field where they were shooting them off.

At first, I was a little bummed until I decided that trees can enhance firework pictures. They sort of frame your fireworks and give them shape.

I was surprised at how well some of the pictures came out. I didn't even have to photoshop these.

I hope everyone had a beautiful, fun, and safe 4th. More updates are still to come with wedding photos, rehearsal dinner photos, and Quinn's preschool graduation. This will be an endless summer indeed.

Thanks for hanging out with us Arner/Bossler Family.

The Japanese Experience.

I apologize for leaving my friends and family hanging from my previous entry. In fact, I had a lot of phone calls, emails, and voicemails from it. Now I feel a little embarrassed because things turned out a lot better than I expected.

I won't hold out anylonger and cut straight to the meat. Quinn's IEP went very well. After using 3 different screening measures, the school district feels that Quinn's diagnosis of PDD-NOS (high functioning autism) is accurate and he is now going to receive special education services as he starts kindergarten. He will be mainstreamed into a regular classroom and receive speech therapy and have a teacher's aid to help him stay focused during class. They also talked about adding occupational therapy to help with his sensory issues (i.e. excessive nose picking) and accomodations such as a special chair that will help him sit still, and a weighted vest. I can't remember what the vest is supposed to do, but hopefully it'll help. The school district was very proactive and I'm excited and nervous about his transition to public school. And, Oh MY GOD, when did my baby become old enough to start kindergarten???

I know I've been back from Japan for ages now, but I'm finally getting a chance t post some pictures and videos of our experience.

Here's a quick re-cap through videos of our trip... Below is my Mom and I in the airport preparing for our 12 hour flight.

Wow we look terrible in this video. This is after we landed in Tokyo Narita and were waiting for the Quarantine officers to screen us.

Then we had our first food experience... This restaurant was so neat. We had to take our shoes off and sit at little tables. The waiters would yell orders back and forth across the restaurant. They used what looked like a palm pilot to take our orders. This is where we ate slimy seaweed for the first time.

Then we went to the busiest grocery store in Tokyo called the Tokyo Food Show. It was literally like a food show.

They had fish heads, fish guts, seaweed, etc. See for yourself...

And then we went to Hakone and took a switch back train. Jeff is trying to explain

what it means when the train switches back. This is how the train goes up the steep mountain

slopes. It was raining that day but beautiful.

And then we went hiking up to the top of an active volcano where they boil eggs in the moisture that bubbles up from the volcano.

This process turns the eggs black and they supposedly give you 7 more years to live. I should live at least 14 years longer because I ate 2 of them.

Then we took a bullet train. They go up to 180 miles per hour. It's amazing how comfortable they are at such high speeds.

We also visited a very traditional town called Takayama. Check out the coy just swimming around in the middle of town.

So Japanese women use some interesting beauty products. I found this one a little titilating. ha ha ha.. Ok, bad joke. I know.

Before we left Tokyo, we had to experience the busiest intersection in the world probably. It's located in the Shabuya portion of Tokyo. Nicknamed Tokyo the "City of stimulation"

Watch this and see what I mean.

So that's my trip in short video clips. I'm trying to put together a more comprehensive trip video wth pictures and videos together. I'm sure I'll have it done within the next 10 years.

IEP, yeah you know me!

The title of this thread is for all my friends that remember going to school dances and the cheesy pseudo rap songs for all the popular kids to dance to. (If you didn't get my pun, then skip to the next paragraph.)

On to more serious matters. My vacation is over. I had a wonderful time and I'll be posting my short video clips soon. They were so fun to put together, that I cannot keep them from my friends and family. They must be shared, talked about, and laughed over for at least 10 minutes.

So why does everything have to happen at the same time? Life never seems to spread things out and to make it more manageable for working parents. I'll be honest...being a working mother has been one of the hardest challenges. How can I possibly be the superstar mother of the year for my children and be an awesome employee at the same time.. The truth is I'm failing at both. (or so it feels that way.)

I won't sugar coat it..life has been very hard lately. Quinn has had several appointments via the school district psychologist, special education teacher, and speech pathologist to assess his level of functioning. At first, Quinn performed eagerly and cooperated with the teachers. During this process, I decided to take a trip out of country to see Japan and catch up with my big bro. It was poor timing... Since I've returned from my trip, Quinn has been making me suffer for my time away and has begun to act out in school and refuses to cooperate with testing or his speech therapy. When I drop Quinn off at daycare in the morning, I try a Mission Impossible sort of covert action to leave him there without making contact with the teacher (Ms. Asha.) Unfortunately, she pulled a ninja stunt move and blocked my exit from the classroom yesterday and gave me a list of things that Quinn refused to do.

I'm sure Ms. Asha used more sincere and polite terms to describe Quinn's behavior, but what I heard was....

"Your kid is a punk..he wont listen to anyone...he doesn't participate in class...when confronted about his inappropriate behavior he karate kicked a teacher and used preschool slurs like "poo oo head." He's ruined..you've failed as a mother..and your son will grow up to be an even bigger punk, loser, and delinquent...Call the closest military school and beg for their mercy ASAP."

Then this morning, Quinn went to speech therapy where he refused to listen to the speech pathologist and glared at her as if she were the object of his hate, pain, and misery. He ended up hiding behind a poster stand and only came out when he could see my eyes turning red and the steam seeping from my ears. Before we left, the speech pathologist asked if "something is different at home."

What is different? Should I tell her that I filed for divorce, that I killed Chase last night in his fit of rage over a juice sippy and then buried him in my flower bed? I hate my job...but that's nothing new...and I've been leading a double life and my trip to Tokyo was a cover for my covert Mission Impossible jobs. NOTHING IS DIFFERENT!!!!

These are the questions I've been mulling around in my head. The only change I can think about is my trip to Japan. But I've been home for nearly 2 weeks. Could Quinn still be fretting over my trip? Is he sick of all the academic testing? Why is he being a punk? Why won't he listen to me? Why has it taken this long for an African-American president to be elected?

And then I noticed on his IEP (individualized education plan) letter that there was a box marked for "special day class." I'm not sure if that was a mistake or if the school is actually thinking about placing Quinn in a "special day class." I can not stop thinking about my sinking ship of a dream for Quinn to snap out of it and start acting like his peers and attend "normal kindergarten" as all of his friends are. I've even watched as the other kids in his speech therapy class have graduated out of the program and are moving on while Quinn is still there.

I'm preparing for the meeting tomorrow and I'm bringing tissues. I've attended hundreds of IEP meetings for clients at work and watched as parents broke down in tears hearing about their child's disabilities. Now I understand what it feels like to be a parent with all of your hopes and expectations for your child as a team of "professionals" talk in matter-of-fact terms about your child's deficits. I really trust this team of professionals and they know that I'm well versed on the in's and outs of IEP meetings. I know they will do their best to offer help for Quinn as he starts Kindergarten. This is my stuff. My feelings.. my own mommy guilt.

Next I have to figure out how to help Grant back off and let the professionals play their part in offering help to Quinn. This has been immensely difficult for me but probably more so for Grant because he's never been to an IEP meeting and does not understand all the psychological terms.

I'll post more about the results of the IEP when it happens.

Lost in \Translation

There are lots of buttons on the computer here in Kyoto and I have no idea what the heck they do. I just wasted about 20 dollars worth of minutes figuring out how to turn the Kanji characters off. I cant seem to find the punctuation either.

I:ve seen lots of neato stuff and stayed in a traditional style Japanese hotel. The owner got down on all fours and bowed to me when I arrived. Grant doesn't even do that for me. I went into a traditional Japanese bath (onsen) and forgot and wore the wrong slippers into the bathroom. (\this really freaked out a Japanese lady.. oops) I went for a walk last night wearing a kimono and wooden slippers. I:m sure my underwear was hanging out the back.

This morning　Ｉ　ｆｉｓｈ，　ｒｉｃｅ，ａｎｄ　ｐｉｃｋｌｅｄ　ｖｅｇｅｔａｂｌｅｓ　ｆｏｒ　ｂｒｅａｋｆａｓｔ．　　Ｉ：ｖｅ　ｅａｔｅｎ　ｓｏ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｒａｗ　ｆｉｓｈ　ａｎｄ　ｍｅａｔ　ｉｔｓ　ｕｎｒｅａｌ．　　Ｉ：ｄ　ｌｏｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｇｏ　ｉｎｔｏ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｄｅｔａｉｌ　ｂｕｔ　ｍｙ　ｔｉｍｅ　ｉｓ　ｕｐ　ａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ　ｃａｆｅ．　　￥ｔｈｉｓ　ｍｅｓｓａｇｅ　ｐｒｏｂａｂｌｙ　ｃｏｓｔ　ｍｅ　ａｂｏｕｔ　３０　ｄｏｌｌａｒｓ．　　ｈａ　ｈａ．．

Ｍｉｓｓ　ｙｏｕ　ａｌｌ．

Ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅｓ　ｔｏ　ｃｏｍｅ　ｗｈｅｎ　Ｉ　ｇｅｔ　ｂａｃｋ．　　

I'm not the tallest person in Tokyo!

Rumor #1 is dispelled. The Japanese are taller than I thought. I'm tall too, but not the tallest. The Japanese women are so beautiful and skinny.. It's not fair. I'm probably in the running for the fattest woman in Japan right now.



I know it's been ages since I updated the blog, but I thought I should share a little about my trip over seas. The is the furthest I've ever been away from home and the longest I've ever been away from my boys.

I won't bore everyone with all the details of my trip and the names of all the cities, blah, blah blah, blah. I've read about a trillion emails from friends and family that describe their trip in so much detail, that I walk away angry and jealous that I wasn't on vacation with them. I'll leave you with some tidbits that I discovered while I was here.

#1 Japanese women are very shy... so shy that they can't pee if someone else can hear them peeing. Some of the public toilets will make a rushing water sound to mask the sound you make when you go pee. (As my ass hit the toilet seat, I jumped at the sound of rushing water...it was like the sound of my water breaking except I'm not prenant or in labor.)

#2 The grocery store is much like going to an auction. Employees sell the food to you by yelling out about how fresh and delicious it is. People are eveywhere. I took a video of this and intend to post it later so you can see how crazy the Tokyu Food Show is.

#3 Some toilets will squirt water up you ass if you press the wrong button. (No explanation needed.)

#4 Bow a lot and learn to say you're sorry over and over again, even if it's not your fault. It seems like this would be a good cusom to adapt in the U.S.

I have to run now. I have no pictures to share because I forgot my USB cable at home.

More to come...

Free Dirt Giveaway!!

Spring has sprung at the Early household. My bulbs forced their way out and have withstood the force of 2 and 4 year old boys. Fortunately, the boys haven't learned about having fresh flowers in vases around the house. That's probably because their Dad isn't big on giving Mom flowers. There's something positive in everything right? I'm not complaining. Honestly..

The dirt on the other hand was not as fortunate as the flowers. This dirt pile has been excavated on numerous occasions and redeposited in several corners of my house (inside and out.) I managed to move most of the toys out of the pile before I took the photo. Grant has been taking his time posting an ad on Craig's List for the remainder of our top soil. I want it to go away as soon as possible. (So does my carpet...) So if you know anyone in need of free dirt. Send me an email. (Oh, it's my first free giveaway.)

Quinn found a pair of sunglasses from when he was a little guy. It's amazing how they still fit. He wanted me to take a picture of him. He looks like a child model.

Or maybe not... I'm not sure what this was about. I can think about 5 or 6 different captions for this one...

"What's that on your tooth Mom?"

"How much weight did you gain during your pregnancy with me?"

"When was the last time Daddy brought you flowers?"

Chase is more apprehensive about having his picture taken. Maybe he's getting me back for the naked Valentines Day photos. His right side is the "good" side.

Quinn had a speech and language IEP last week. IEP's are meetings held to help identify if kids have a specific "disability" (if you need to call it that) and then offer the kids some sort of accommodations at school. Quinn has only had speech therapy up to this point but when he starts kindergarten, we will most likely add a few more members to the "Quinn Fan Club" like an Occupational Therapist, and a Special Education Teacher.

Some parents might feel sad thinking of their kid's first year in Kindergarten and having a team that uses labels such as "special, therapy, and disability" to describe their kid's first year of school. It was music to my ears. I've been hanging my head low every time I hear another 4 year-old rattle off a long sentence or having a conversation with his/her parents. It hurts me to see how different Quinn's speech and behavior is from his peers. I have hopes that this new team (or new members to the fan club) will help make Quinn's transition into Kindergarten a successful one.

If you would like more information on joining the Quinn and Chase Fan Club, please inquire below.