My ONE little WORD 2016

I am big fan of the one little word instead of a resolution. This year I choose - (insert drum roll)

PROGRESS

I am very much a work in progress and I have goals I need to make progress on.  There are some pretty big goals I am working on this year so I think it is perfect word for 2016.

Want more info about choosing one little word check out Ali Edwards  and Elise

2015 Reading Round UP

These are the books are read in 2015. It is quite the mixed bag. I read 36 books this past year.

Angel Falls by K Hannah The Woman Who Heard Color by K Jones Rival to the Queen by C Erickson Department of Speculation Big Girl by D Steele Just Mercy by B Stevenson The Last Summer by J Kinghorn Saint Anything by S Dessen The Pearl That Broke It's Shell by N Hashimi A Tale for the Time Being by R Ozeki The Royal We One Plus One by J Moyes Me Before You by J Moyes Outlander by D Gabaldon The Queen's Governess by K Harper The Glitter and Gold: The American Duchess by C Balsan Songs Willow Frost by J Ford The Orchard House by T Weaver Amy & Roger's Epic Detour By M Matson A Walk in the Woods by B Bryson The Secret Place by T French Still Alice by L Genova North of Beautiful by J Headley The Queen of the Tearling by E Johansen Miles from Nowhere by B Savage Girl at the End of the World E Esther Breaking Dawn by S Meyer Eclipse by S Meyer New Moon by S Meyer Twilight by S Meyer City of Woman by D Gillman Postcards from Cookie by C Clarke The Rent Collector C Wright The Maze Runner by J Dashner Tracks by R Davidson Boys in the Boat by D Brown Below are some of my gottta reads from 2015

Below Are the Books I most recommend from my 2015 Read List

The Orchard House.  This book is a memoir. This is the one I most recommend.  This is a perfect Pacific Northwest Book.

Boys in the Boat - This was our county's reading book of the year.  I thought it was really good choice.

Postcards from Cookie

Amy and Rogers Epic Detour This book was recommended on The Modern Mrs Darcy's Summer reading list.  I think it a great road trip book.

Miles from Nowhere - I loved this great adventure book.  This was an amazing adventure.

Transition from High School to the Real World Pt 2

This is my personal journal about transition for my son on the spectrum from High School to the Real world. I found very little on this subject that applied to higher functioning kids on the spectrum. This part 2 of my series (part 1) My son is now a senior and attends a special school that serves only students that are behavior disordered.

Right now we are in the land of the what if's.  What if he doesn't qualify for assistance from the government?  What if he wants to go to college?  What if he doesn't want to live with us? As a parent, I finding I am needing to shift from focusing on from telling everyone how able my son is to how disabled he is.  That is difficult and in a strange way feels like a betrayal of my son.  I wrestle with this a lot.

I have included links through out to articles I have found helpful or depressing depending how you look at it.

Sep 2015
First week of school rough.  Started the week with no electricity, first day the bus forgot him, and he forgot lunch the next day and never told anyone. Refuses to go to a couple of classes. So in other words, it is business as usual

Adult, Autistic, and Ignored

ADHD Symptoms Can Delay Autism Diagnosis - This is exactly what happened in my son's case.  He has an ADHD diagnosis since pre kindy but didn't receive autism diagnosis until middle school.

Attended a Autism Support Group through ARC.  It was helpful. Thinking about applying for DDA and the need for a medical power attorney. There was a lot of food for thought here.


October

Sorting out Paperwork

Applied to DDA - took me forever to get everything together.  I surely did kill a tree.
Attended  another Autism Support Group

IEP Meeting - hmmm finally might offer him transition services instead of diploma.  Meet in March/April again to discuss transition. Of course nothing is in writing.

November

High School Sets Up Autistic Kids to Fail in College Lots of food for thought here.

Heard back from the DDD (DDA) and my son is eligible but on the no paid services que.

Whose CHOICE is it Anyway

Autism is Really a Super Power

Last Linky Love of 2015

10 New Year Resolutions You Should Keep

Top 12 Christmas Storage Tips

The Battles We Choose - oh so good, this is on parenting.

Teacher Tom: The Technology on How to Treat Human Beings - I need to be reminded of this because I know this works with Teenagers as well.  Heck this is good for difficult adults as well.

T-shirts with a Message #6

It only seemed like I should end the year with another round of T-shirts with a message.  I found all of these gems at my local Value Village.  You gotta love a t-shirt with a message.

My Husband Needs this Shirt

Diary of a Mediocre Homemaker- Dinner Music

Dear Diary
For the past year and half I have been listening to after dinner music.  At first it was quite jarring.  You see my son was learning to play the trumpet and at first it didn't make the best after dinner music. I am really proud of how my son has stuck with it.  I wasn't in band so maybe I didn't really have the proper appreciation for band music. 

practicing before concert in band uniform

My dog is still not convinced that trumpet music is his favorite.  He does like to sing/whine/bark along

This is How Music Can Change Your Brain

Before Christmas Linky Love

I just had to share the viral video above. This should been captioned "Only in Seattle". Things that make you go hmmm.

Coast Guard Delivers Buoy to Widow This is such a great story.

No Fresh Blood on the Walls I can so relate to what Renee is saying. My blog has evolved in a similar way. My kids want their privacy and now some of those stories aren't mine to tell any more.

Making Our Own Magic - So well said and I love that this blogger was inspired by Ali Edwards.  I am a big fan of Ali too and have done her December Daily in the past.

Gerry's List: How our Bookstore Came to Love a Family We Never Met - I love this story. I need a Gerry and a bookstore to pick books for me.