Lia Sophia Fundraiser

Jaylin started out his Saturday morning by having breakfast with Marilyn. While they were doing that I was finishing up packing. I met them at First Baptist Church at 12 to get Jaylin ready for Familycapped's Lia Sophia fundraiser. They have done this event for 3 years now. The girls model the jewerly and the guys escort the girls down. This year Jaylin was an escort. Jaylin's speech therapist at Roxboro, Noelle, was at the show. We were excited to see her.

Jaylin escorting his good friend, Kathleen. Isn't her dress adorable?

Jaylin escorting Kayla well Kayla had pretty good control of the situation =)

3 peas in a pod

Yesterday we had a staff development day for work. We started out at our main site for a training. They provided some yummy breakfast pizza. After the training we headed to Holiday Inn on 7th North for a celebration. We had a nice buffet lunch, an awards ceremony, and all staff got a certain gift for how long they worked there (I got a water bottle). We got the best news of the day when we were told we could leave early at 2 instead of 330. Great way to start the weekend off. Lucretia, Amber, and I decided we were going to go shopping at Dots with our extra time. I walked out of Dots with 2 new shirts, a pair of pants, hair ties, and sunglasses and only spent $20 thanks to my $10 off coupon. I guess we werent sick of each other because we decided we were all going to go bowling and bring our kids along later that night. So at 730 we met up for bowling at Strike and Spare. The kids got along great and we had a good time.

Pajama Day

This week at work our theme is night and day. So we ended our week with a pajama party (tomorrow we have staff workshops so we dont have kids). It was so glad to wear my comfy pjs to work today. My co-workers were as well. Amber (my bff at work) wore valentine jammies that said love on them just like mine. We are always being teased at work about being two peas in a pod so of course they were going overboard with it today. I love my work girls =).

MOST

Jaylin went to the MOST with Marilyn and his Liberty friends on Friday. He had a good time but the noise and the crowd bothered him. Marilyn said she wants to take him back again when its not so crowded. Of course I sent Marilyn with my camera so I could scrapbook the pictures. She was only able to get these pictures. Hoodie off

Mother Warriors

I just finished reading Jenny McCarthey's second book, Mother Warriors, about her experiences with her son, Evan, who is on the autism spectrum. I am so grateful that Jaylin never had to experience the seizures and life threatening obstacles that Evan and Jenny dealt with. When we do go through our hard times with his behaviors, I take a deep breath and think to myself it could be a lot worse. We have gone through our obstacles and have come out stronger. I watch and listen to Jaylin with tears in my eyes. I am so proud of him. He has come along way in the last few years. His affection and eye contact have always been there but the vocabulary is getting better and better every day. Its getting easier and easier to get things out of him. I enjoy watching him grow and become more independent. I am so blessed to have such a fantastic son. He's the best thing that happened to me and I don't regret anything that we have done to get to where we are today. I may not make a lot of money but I am always there for him and he has everything that he needs. That's more important to us.

A mother warrior is a mother who hears there is no hope for her child and instead of retreating and mourning, breaks down walls, weaves her way through obstacles, follows her intuition even when people tell her she's crazy. She is a mother who believes in hope, miracles, and is able to carry on with strength and determination, even when people doubt her and offer no support. A mother who never gives up when shes keeps hitting dead ends.

I'm proud to say I am a mother warrior. I have never given up hope on Jaylin. There have been tears at times but its okay to cry it doesnt make you weak. Crying helps you let go of the frustration you are feeling at the time. Every thing I do is in the best interest of JAYLIN. That may not make other people happy but I'm Jaylin's voice when he's not able to voice his rights.

There was one part in the book that talks about how when your child is having a rough day so are you and if they are having a good day then you are too. I realize that its so true. If Jaylin is off I am tense. I worry and hope that he doesn't regress back to his old ways. I am learning that there are going to be rough days and we just work through them. We wake up the next day and think "today is a new day we are going to start fresh" something we learned and live by now. The good days are ten times more rewarding when you are able to get through the rough ones. The rough days are not as frequent anymore. We are able to work through a lot more of his frustrations theses days which I am so grateful for. I am keeping my head held high and thinking good things are coming for us.

28

Today I celebrated my 28th birthday. I have gotten to the point where its just another day to me. Jaylin went off with Marilyn for a little while. While he was gone I got a little cleaning done and did my taxes. I just got an email a little while ago that they were approved. So I am looking forward to getting that money. Jaylin came home around 2 with an upset stomach. So we basically just vegged out for awhile. At 9 we headed to Tully's for a late dinner with my mom, stepdad, and brother. Of course my step dad had to have them come out and sing to me. I was sitting here thinking earlier that Jaylin is going to be 14 in April so he has been with me 1/2 of my life. That's crazy and not supose to happen until I'm much older lol. I am going to go lay down and relax for the last hour of my birthday.

Liberty Carnival

Jaylin started a new program through Liberty Resources at the end of January. He loves it and has been having a great time. Today they did a carnival. There were lots of games and Jaylin left with a bag full of prizes. Of course we had to take a minute to take of a picture of Jaylin with his helper, Marilyn. She is great with him and he adores her.

After the carnival, I took Jaylin to get his haircut and afterwards we went to an early dinner at Denny's with Meaghan and Amy (my old bosses at the Y). I miss them a lot so it was nice to see them, catch up on what's going on in their lives, and to update them about mine.

Kamiera's Birthday

My goddaughter, Kamiera, turned 1 on Wednesday so after bowling this morning we headed to Carousel Mall to get her a birthday present. First we got her a cute little Minnie Mouse in a pink dress from the Disney Store. Of course Jaylin couldn't leave the store without a Dumbo stuffed animal for himself. Lucky for him it was buy one get one free =). Then we went to Build a Bear where Jaylin made Kamiera this adorable monkey.

We finished shopping and headed to Charity's house for Kamiera's party. She was so adorable walking around socializing with everyone. She got a lot of nice presents and here's a picture of her eating her cupcake. I can't believe she's a year old already.

Valentine's Day

Normally I complain about Valentine's Day but this year it didnt bother me. I don't need overpriced roses to make me happy. I would rather get daises over roses anyways. I love yellow roses because they remind me of my Grandma but dont need them on Valentine's Day.

Yesterday we had a very low key party at work. A bunch of kids from my morning class brought in snacks and valentine's and we had a few bring in some valentines in my afternoon class. My co-workers and I were looking forward to the day ending and us starting our much deserved break. I love my co-workers and kids I work with but I am looking forward to some down time at home next week.

This afternoon Jaylin went off with Anne for a couple hours. While he was gone I relaxed and looked up prices for a trip to Vegas that we are hopefully planning for spring break. Jaylin came home with a beautiful red heart balloon for me and some goodies he bought for himself. After he got home we relaxed for about 2 1/2 hours. At 630 we drove to pick up Aimee and Alex who joined us at Friendly's for a Valentine dinner.

Over the years I let the fact that I did not have a significant other to celebrate Valentine's Day with get to me but this year it didn't. I enjoyed the day with the most important person in my life and two great friends. That's all that matters.

Yummy Cake

Next week I am off of work for winter break. On Monday its Donna's birthday then mine is on Thursday so my wonderful co-workers brought us this yummy cake from Biscotti's. It was a chocolate cake with rasberry frosting. It was a rich, delicious addition to my lunch. If you have ever had any baked goods from there you know exactly what I'm talking about.

We had lots of leftovers because the cake was so big so Donna took some and then I took the rest. I plan to enjoy a piece with Jaylin tomorrow night since we got home at 730 tonight. No way I was sugaring him up an hour before bedtime.

I am extremely touched by the thought that was put into this cake. Linda said she picked it out because I had mentioned that I liked brown and pink together. I could not ask for better people to work with and I love them all very much.

Busy Day

We started out at Jaylin's doctors office. Jaylin needed a physical and a tb shot. We also talked to his doctor about weaning him off of one of his meds and adding one that will help him with his focus and attention. We will be starting the weaning and new med tomorrow morning.

We headed to school. I met with Jaylin's teacher and his 1:1 assistant. They showed me some work he is doing for his assessment that impressed me. We also talked about the rest of this year and next year. I left feeling good about everything which made me feel 100 times better because I had my concerns for awhile. Jaylin made the honor roll again so I will be going in for the breakfast on Friday. His class is doing a project for Black History month and Jaylin picked Bill Cosby. I can't wait to see his project.

I stopped home for like 10 minutes and was off again. I looked at an apartment and went to the library to fix my account. I only took the morning off for Jaylin's appointment and conference so I grabbed lunch and headed to work.

After I got out of work I went to my friend Ashly's house to visit with her and her son, Xavier, who was born January 16th. It was nice to catch up with Ashly. We lost contact but just started talking again. Of course Xavier slept the whole time so I didnt get to hold him, but isn't he adorable? Makes me want another one.

After leaving Ashly's house I went and looked at another apartment that I really liked. I am applying for this one. I have to finish filling out the application tonight because I am meeting the guy tomorrow to hand it in. I am hoping we get it. Keep your fingers crossed.

Dinner and Drinks

Tonight I went to Tully's with Amber and Lucretia (two of the other TA's at my work). We grabbed dinner and had a few drinks. Jaylin went to my mom's cheerleading gym to hang out with her. We are all single moms so it was nice to just get out, relax, have a few drinks, and some good conversation.

25 Random Things About Jaylin

1) Was named after Uncle Jamie (Jay) and Great Grandma Linda (Lin)

2) Middle name is Tyler which was picked out by Grandma

3) Was born on his due date and everything has had to be right on time since

4) Loves rainbows

5) Is an incredible speller

6) Has self taught himself to play a couple songs on the piano

7) Can find anything he wants to find on the internet

8) Loves watching dvds on his portable dvd player

9) Loves to go out to eat (so much that we had to start a behavior sticker chart where when he earned all his 20 stickers for good behavior then he could go out to eat)

10) Love food in general =)

11) Loves music

12) Favorite color is yellow

13) Sometimes it can be blue too

14) Lives in his sandals in the summer (we have to throw them away in like October/November)

15) Has the most contagious laugh

16) Smile that can make anyone's bad day a better one

17) Extremely affectionate

18) Loves to fly on an airplane (already asking about Florida this year)

19) Flew for the first time right after his 7th birthday (California to Disneyland)

20) Loved when we went on a cruise to the Bahamas

21) Loves going to the beach to play in the sand

22) Loves to swing

23) Favorite amusement park ride is the swings

24) Plays baseball, bowling, soccer, basketball, track and field, and bocce

25) Jay, JT, bugs, bugaboo, boo, lovie are a few of my nick names