Getting Back on Track in Remy's Son-Rise Program

Finally this week Remy and I were able to spend time again in his Play Room.  We were on a really good roll a few weeks ago until some issues such as illness got in the way.  But now, having listened to the audio book, Excuses Begone! by Dr. Wayne Dyer, I question myself in a gentle way, if I've just been accepting excuses to not be in Remy's Play Room as I had intended on since coming back from The Autism Treatment Center of America back in December.

I think that running this home program for Remy can be compared to being self-employed.  First of all, it's great because I've got all this freedom to do what I want.  I get to be creative, I get to set the schedule, I get to have fun... Right now, I feel a little stagnant.  Although Remy loves being in the Play Room and tackling me to the ground with glee and incredible eye contact, I feel that I need inspiration or some direction from some else.  I feel that Remy is giving me the green light to inspire him to grow.  This is great!  Now, how to do I use his excitement to help him grow?

This is a time when a consultation package would be really helpful.  DH reminded me that I'm alone (physically running the program) during the day with Remy, and it can be difficult.  I do choose my thoughts carefully, and I choose to think of it as not being difficult but challenging.  I meet challenges every day - this is how I grow.  Having said that, I really could use some help.  Like being someone who's self-employed, having a coach really makes a difference.

DH mentioned that with the $150 raised over last weekend, we can put that toward a consultation package.  I had this package in mind when I was still in Massachusetts.  This package includes 1 video feedback and two telephone consultations with a Son-Rise teacher.  For the teacher that I have in mind, this package comes to $679.50 USD.

Remy deserves the best he can get, so NO EXCUSES!  Tomorrow I'm resetting our schedule as well as reworking a plan to help me stay optimal in Remy's Room.

Although I have Remy's Room and Son-Rise Program as my focus, as a mother and home-maker there are SO many responsibilities that can give turbulence to my intentions.  DH talked to me about not over-extending myself because if I can't successfully run Remy's Son-Rise Program then Remy would have to go to school.  Well, I believe that Remy will go to school - I just believe that he'll go to school well-equipped with social skills and language.  So, let's get back on track and regain our momentum.

If you have suggestions or stories of when you experienced challenges in staying focused, please leave your comment below.  As always, I appreciate hearing from you.

Make yourself a great Sunday!

Raffle Thank You

Last week the kids were too sick (I have never been so intimate with so much barf in my life for such an extended period of time) to travel to Nana Nancy's long anticipated birthday party.  Although we weren't physically there, we were celebrating from home.

DH came home with a jar of money for me to count.  It was from a raffle that Nana Nancy initiated for fundraising for Remy's Room.  What a success!  You all helped to fund raise $150 on this occasion.  Thank you for your generous support.



May you thoroughly enjoy your weekend!  With love,

Happy Mothers' Day!

It's a beautiful Sunday in May! The sky is blue laced with white fluffy clouds, the sun is bright and warm... and my children are healthy today :)



Here's some pics of what the day's been like.

Extra HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to Nana Nancy this glorious day!   Thank you so much for building awareness and fundraising for Remy's Room with dear friends and family during this memorable occasion.  Here's some pictures of the kids wearing the clothes that we were going to wear to your Party.

To all the awesome mothers, thank your children for making you their mother :)  HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!  Enjoy your day!

Off-Kilter with Sickness barf relay

Hmm... I thought about changing the title of this post to "Off-Kilter with Symptoms of regaining health" - but it's otherwise known to people being sick.

It's been a little challenging the last few weeks to find the momentum that I was riding with Remy's Son-Rise Program.  Early last week, Remy and I spent most of the morning in his playroom doing "quiet" things such as scratching the floor with hard objects (sticks, for example).  We did that the whole morning.  Then, the wouldn't eat lunch yet was not upset about it.  The afternoon we just lying quietly on the playroom floor until I decided that he might want to lie down in my bed and perhaps for the first time in years (unless he was sick), take a nap!

Oh, the possibilities of what I could do if he actually slept!  So I put him in my bed, lay down beside him.  Oh, I also put on a CD of Gregorian Chants to help sooth him.  He actually fell asleep!  That evening, he also skipped supper.  Hm, yes the indications were there:  a nap and skipped meals with no fuss was pointing at some sort of bug.

What do you do when your kid is sick?  In a way, I think that our program is like attending school.  If you're not well, you take a break until you're up to getting back into the routine.  As you know from my previous, post, the guy also skipped his birthday and opted to go to bed.

The weekend seemed okay on and off.  It was then his sister who become sick with vomit during the night.  This meant that she couldn't go to school on Monday... which also meant no Remy's Room.  She continued to barf for the next three days during bed time and once during supper.  Tuesday the was all limp and silent.  Finally, Wednesday we sent back to school.  It was also the first day in weeks that it didn't rain so I quickly took Remy out to double dig (actually, I cheated and didn't do it thoroughly) two begs to start my seedlings.  So, Thursday was to be the day to go back into Remy's Room...

Or was it?

DH came down with some sort of bug that kept him throwing up from about midnight until early afternoon the next day.  So to give him some quiet space and time to sleep (since he lost sleep during the night), I took Remy for a couple of necessary errands.  Poor Remy.  I didn't know he was sick until he barfed up his breakfast at Value Village.

Well, what was I to do?  My hands were full of vomit, toilet not close by, and no one seemed to notice.  I saw an employee passing by and asked for some assistance.  Finally, someone came with a mop.  I think she was very grateful when I told her that I could clean everything up if she just provided me with some (a lot of) paper towel.

Always, I ask myself:  what are you grateful for?  I was grateful he barfed in a clean area, away from merchandise.  I was grateful that he was able to hold it in while we drove home.  I was grateful that his body knew to detoxify.

We made it home with a new pair of pants for him.  Soon after we arrived home, he went to bed.  DH was now sleeping in my daughter's bed.  Our bed was stripped from vomit, I had pillows to still be washed.  Ah, but I did find the quietness and peace when the two were asleep.  I made my salad, ate it without anyone bothering me before I got to cleaning up.  Just before I could brush my teeth, I heard Remy throw up again.  It was all over his face and neck.  To my appreciation, only the pillow was soiled.  He would barf again a little later when I had to strip his bed again.

What am I grateful for?  My own set of washer and dryer, a clotheslines, sun - uh-oh, I hear Remy coughing right now - better go.

Happy and healthy day to all!

Celebrating Remy's Birthday in 2011

Every year since his diagnosis, I've been making Remy a raw vegan cake for this birthday. Every time that we've had a raw cake, he's pushed it away. Last year his sister forced him to eat some of his. This year, I decided at the last minute that it would okay for him to receive a conventional cake: a cake made with sugar, wheat, oil and eggs. It possibly also contained artificial vanilla (I didn't even think about that until now!). In any case, I was very grateful to his Auntie Dee for making it.

The words were made from perfectly cut and arranged dried cranberries.  The "5th" and the stems of the flower were made from watercress stems :)  The clementine segments balance off the colours nicely on my raw cashew cream icing.

DH had the great idea of surprising the little guy by rolling a new bike out right after we would sing "Happy Birthday".  It's always a good idea to see if we could ellicit emotions from the guy :)

Well, it turned out that the little guy was so unwell that he ended up putting himself to bed before supper was ready.  When it came time to eat, everyone ate except him.  He was tucked under his covers shaking to generate a fever.  I made sure that no one would force him to stay up to eat if he felt that he had to lie down.  I'm glad that he was able to rest.

Although, Remy was in bed, the nicely decorated cake was waiting for mouths to bite into it.  I had not had a conventional cake for (I don't even recall how long), but I certainly wanted a piece.  After a bit of thought and hesitation, my sister and I decided to cut the cake in half via a co-operational cake surgery technique.  Since we still wanted to take a picture of Remy eating or looking at his cake, we decided to keep the top part intact  while splitting the bottom half amongst us.  Even DH ate piece!

The next day, Remy was running around and babbling by 6:30 AM.  In the afternoon. we finally decided that we should sing him "Happy Birthday", present him with the cake with the nearly dried up cashew cream icing, and also roll out the bike.

He didn't seem to impressed at first, but as we all put in the enthusiam and excitement, the guy started to show signs of glee.  Just look at the photos:

Now this is what he looked like with the new bike:

Thank you to Everyone for your warm and cheerful birthday wishes for Remy.  And thank you so much for your generous and thoughtful gifts.  Remy sends you his virtual kisses.  Have a magnificent day!