November 19, 2007...30 minutes

Well, 3 trees are up...4 more to go. I'm getting more into it. Jakob watched me work on the big one...the 12-footer. I'm convinced he thinks I'm nuts. He just looks at this huge thing and locates the plug so he can turn off the lights. He thinks that's pretty darn funny. I just shake my head. But of course, not in front of him. Any reaction is re-inforcement and I certainly don't want to re-inforce the lights being turned off.

The timer came today!! What a treat that's gonna be. I'm looking forward to giving it a shot. He's been in the mood for throwing things lately. He threw one of his vibrating toys right at the tv the other day. I wonder if he'll throw the timer...and in what direction. Every day is an adventure.

One thing Autism moms never get enough of is alone, quiet time. I know that I went without it for years. Gotta quiet the mind, pull it together and hear my own thoughts. When things were so crazy, there just weren't enough hours in the day. All there was time for was a shower, work, chase a kid around and try to figure out what made him tick. It's amazing what just a half an hour of peace can do for the soul. I make sure I get at least a half an hour a day. I can see yoga in my future...

My parents get here tomorrow and my dear friend, Stacey arrives Wednesday. It'll be a houseful on Thanksgiving. It can get a little hectic so I'm gonna have to come up with a gameplan of activities for Jakob. I want him to be happy and have fun...preferably without Starfall.com. So much of it depends on how everyone reacts to him. Hopefully, everyone will play nice and Jakob will have a great holiday. When he's happy and having fun, so is everybody else.