Halloween has come and gone.  DJ had a blast.  He went out as the red Power Ranger.  We did a few blocks.  He lasted longer this year than last year.  He didn't really want to come in but I told him he could eat some candy if he got his butt in gear.  Didn't argue any further:)  We did the trick or treat thing for about an hour or so. 

A few funny highlights:

DJ was coming back down the steps from getting candy as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz was coming up.  I said (to my mom) “Ooooh, look at Dorothy!”  DJ says, “MY NAME IS NOT DOROTHY, IT'S DJ!”  Everyone started laughing! 

There was an adult dressed up as Spiderman.  I pointed it out to DJ because he's a Spidey freak, as most kids are.  He says to me, “Mom, it's just a geek in a costume.” 

Oh boy!

Sesame Place was a bit of a disappointment.  That's most likely my own fault.  I thought it was an amusement park.  Maybe it is, but it doesn't seem like it.  They only had three rides:  roller coaster, teacups, and the balloons.  Everything else was just activities for kids, such as:  ball bounce, moonbounce, etc.  They also had this really huge Net adventure type thing for the kids smack dab in the middle of the park.  It would probably be really cool to go in the summer time, they did have <b>alot</b> of water rides. 

DJ absolutely loved the roller coasters.  I mean really did.  He went on them about 12 times the whole time we were though.  He doesn't take after his mother because I'm not a roller coaster person! 

We were supposed to meet up with a friend of DJ's from school while we were there.  I'm friendly with his mommy.  She's really great!  DJ's wasn't too excited about the friend.  They didn't come until after 12 and we were about ready to eat lunch.  DJ happily "ditched" them.  See what I get for trying to work on this kid's social skills?

The food there was incredibly expensive.  I plopped down almost $30 for lunch.  I'm just talking plain old burgers.  I almost passed out:)

As we were sitting down to eat, another of DJ's friends started knocking on the window.  Him and DJ were trying to take to each other through the window.  Next thing you know the kid is telling DJ he's coming in.  I'm also friends with his mother.  He was with a woman I didn't know though.

He came rushing in and you'd think he and DJ hadn't seen in each other in years.  They were all over each other hugging, laughing, telling each other they missed the other.  His friend (F1) wanted DJ to come out and meet his aunt (FA).  I walked them out and met her as well.  Very nice woman.  She said they were here with F1's daddy (FD).  I met him a few weeks ago at F1's birthday party and we are on the same online listserv together.  He gave me a big hug (?). 

By this time DJ and F1 are inseperable.  DJ does not want to come back in and eat.  FD decided we'll ALL go in and eat, this way DJ and F1 could stay together. 

We wound up spending the rest of the day with them.  The kiddies got along great!  I talked with FA alot.  She was telling me that FD had the boys on Fridays and Saturdays and is looking for something to do with them.  She said she goes out with them every Saturday to help out.  F1 has a little brother (FLB) who is about 3 or so.  They have different interests so it's easier to for two adults to come along.  She felt it would be great if we could get together on Saturdays so F1 and DJ could hang out together and develop a great friendship.  I'm all for it.  She spoke to FD and he is gung ho as well.  He's very friendly as well.

At the end of the day we exchanged phone numbers and addresses so we can take the boys out on the weekends together.  All in all it was a very fun day!

Today we are going to Sesame Place.  How fun is that?  Ok, part of me is looking forward to it. The other part is thinking “Are you nuts????”  Mommy Dearest is coming as well.  We're going to meet one of DJ's classmates up there.  It has it's good points and bad points.  Two aspies, both want to do their own thing=chaos. 

The parade was cute yesterday.  It rained so they had to hold it in the auditorium.  I went back to DJ”s class afterwards to help them with their costumes.  Then they had a party.  Pretty cool.  Getting good use out of the camcorder.  If only I had a digita camera. Hint, hint.

I hate government offices.  I went to my appointment yesterday.  It's just a joke.  I'm getting denied anyway but I have to go through the red tape.  They told me I missed my appointment, it was earlier in the day.  So now I'm pissed.  To brighten my day even more, they ONLY have morning appointments, even for telephone interviews.  Now I need to take yet another day off work so I can handle this.  Grrrrrrrr.  This pisses me off. 

I love sharing stuff like this!!!!!!!!!!

From the LA Times

Acceptance Reigns Along With A King

Autistic Student wins hearts and prized homecoming crown at Culver City High.

David Mason crossed his fingers and squeezed his eyes shut as he listened to the announcement that confirmed his dream: This Culver City High School senior, an autistic youth enrolled in the campus' special education program, was named homecoming king after a landslide vote.

Fireworks exploded as last year's king plopped a fake gold crown on David's head. And the crowd in the bleachers cheered wildly.

For the 2,096 students and teachers of Culver City High, Mason's reign as homecoming king tells of a remarkable bonding that has taken place at their school between a small group of special education students and the rest of the student body.

"Even though this school may seem like it's, you know, all about football and all that, we have more respect than you think," said 10th-grader Paul Corker. "The homecoming king contest here is not a popularity contest. We don't just give it to football stars. We give it to people who deserve it."

Autism is a neurological condition with symptoms that can limit a person's ability to communicate, form relationships and respond appropriately to the environment. It affects each individual differently and to varying degrees.

One in every 166 U.S. children suffers from an autism spectrum disorder, according to an estimate by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children with autism typically have trouble speaking, playing with others and following instructions.

David, 17, has some problems expressing himself and forming social relationships, said teacher Doreen Donahue.

"But he has overcome all of those things in such an amazing way," Donahue said. "He has captured the hearts and imaginations of all the kids at the school."

His special education program has focused on teaching him how to interact with others, including taking some classes with mainstream students.

"David is extremely popular, extremely well liked," said the school's principal, Franca Dell'Olio. "Of course the kids are going to elevate him to the king status, because he is just like them…. These students have moved beyond tolerance to acceptance."

David, who is in a class designed for students with moderate to severe disabilities, was nominated to the court by one of his classmates. He had competition; contenders included a football player and a youth involved in student government.

But classmates helped him color posters and hang them around campus. His sister, Tamae, a junior, appeared on a video telling other students why they should vote for her brother and "appreciate him as much as we do."

Some students in the mainstream program say they knew David before the campaign as a 6-foot, 4-inch gentle giant who loves sports. Others met him during his campaign. "He is obviously someone special," said senior Anna Brito, a David supporter. "He's just a really nice guy."

David's mother, Sherrie Johnson, said she wasn't surprised when her son made the final cut last week, assuring him a spot on the court. She was in the stands Friday night for the announcement, fighting back tears.

Wearing a black tuxedo with a gold tie, David led his fellow sovereigns in renditions of "My Girl" and "What's Going On" before they rode onto the field in a limousine. He soaked up the loud cheer that welcomed him when he stepped out of the limo and then strutted down a red carpet toward a small stage along the 50-yard line.

When he heard his name, David's face un-scrunched, his fingers unlocked. His eyes opened wide, and he mouthed the words "Oh my God" over and over.

Tamae Mason said that her eyes started watering the moment she heard her brother's name. It took her a while to gain her voice, she said; "I was trying to say 'Yay, David!' but it was coming out air for the first minutes," she said.

"He was so excited," said homecoming queen Vanessa Rodriguez. "He kept saying, 'My dream came true, my dream came true.' "

Once he was surrounded by family and well-wishers, David crowed a bit. "I am the king!" he cried out. Then, overcome by the emotion, he cried.

"He wouldn't take the crown off," said his mother Saturday. "It was so awesome. David is still riding high."

Today, my baby is in a parade!!!  I'm so excited.  It's a halloween parade they are having at his school.  He is going as the red Power Ranger.  He looks SO cute!!! 

Unfortunately I can't stay for the whole thing:(  Luckily I can go for the majority of it though!  I have an appointment with SSI this morning.  The school is just a few blocks away from the SSI building.

I need to appy for SSI benefits for DJ so I can get denied.  Once I get denied I can get MA (medical assistance) which will pay for all the therapies I need to get for him.  From everyone I spoke with, that's how it's handled in PA. 

I know I'm going to get denied.  Evidently there's an income cap.  Of course, I make more than that.  It never fails :)

It seems I might  be sticking with blogontheweb.  I hunted around all night.  Some of the free blogs I liked, I couldn't customize with html.  I'm still not done but for now I did change the layout to this blog.  Whatcha think?  I know it's a little pink but all that orange was giving me a headache.  They do have alot of templates to go with this.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the text writing.  When I post something, I just want to type.  I don't want to bold or italicize anything.  Nor do I want to change fonts and sizes. 

I still haven't given up on using my own web space.  Unfortunately I'm not a web design guru.  You give me a database and I can hook it up!  You give me a website to customize and I'm thinking “what does this button do?”

I'll work on it.  But for now deal with the pink!

I woke up at 2am with this neverending pain in my tooth.  I couldn't sleep so i took some meds.  I was half groggy so for some reason I used aspirin instead of ibuprofin.  After the endless night of waking up ever so often I decided there was no way I was going to work today and I was getting an emergency visit to the dentist. 

My dentist is in Newtown, which is odd because Philly is such a big city you'd think I'd have a dentist where I live.  You have to love the dental insurance plan!  I love this office though.  They are so friendly and nice and my dentist is a hottie.  It all works out. 

Of course when I call they admonish me because I never went back for the rest of my root canal on my broken tooth.  Oops.  I totally forgot.  My tooth broke way back when in February when DJ was having all the probs in school.  My appointment was scheduled right after I find out about the whole Aspergers thing.  I never went, evidently.  I can't believe I completely forgot about it.

The only way we could save the now infected tooth was to take some antibiotics and finish the root canal and crown it before December.  Yea right, I'm going to spend $400 on my back tooth right before Christmas.  I'm getting it pulled, yuck.  In about two weeks I'll be toothless.  Ok, it's only one tooth and it is alllllll the way in the back of my mouth but I still feel the stigma. 

I'm on antibiotics and Ibuprofin 800.  The hottie wanted to give me an rx for some narcotics.  Me on narcotics?  Yeah right.  Who's going to take car of my kid while I'm doped up?  Who's going to drive me to work while I'm doped up?  So I asked for the Ibuprofin.  Ask and you shall receive.

I'm bummed because I missed work today.  I'm also glad because I DID miss an All Staff meeting that I wasn't looking forward to because they are the epitomy of boring.  I was talking to my coworker last night.  I was telling Italian Stallion all about my problems with the Primadonna.  He said he would talk to her supervisor and get something worked out more to my liking. 

Yesterday, my supervisor (I call him Napoleon), felt it was extremely warm in our office.  I wonder why.  I told him what I had set the thermostat on.  He wanted me to call in Mr. Big to find out what was going on.  I was doing so good avoiding him too!  I was telling Mr. Big what was going on and he told me I wasn't the only one having problems with Primadonna.  I can't wait until her ass gets called out!

Sometimes I don't understand me.  Recently, I've started to take on challenges.  Now it seems I'm the challenge queen.  I think I'm too much of an over achiever.  My classes are over this week for school.  I start back on the 1st.  I did receive an A on my research paper!!!!  Go me!

First challenge, which isn't really a challenge yet.  I think I'm going to switch my major over to Applications Programming.  If not, I'm thinking of doing double majors.  I don't need to make that decision yet though.

Second challenge.  This is the biggie.  The mother of all challenges.  I've decided to quit smoking.  That's right, you heard it hear first.  This does NOT mean I will be telling everyone to quit smoking.  On the contrary, please smoke a few for me:) 

I've been thinking about this awhile.  I'm scared.  Scared I'm gonna die and leave DJ with nothing or noone to take care of him.  I'm personally wrecking my lungs.  So that's it.  It's been a little under 10 hours and I really really really want a cigarette. 

So that's where I'm at now.