I Had To Do It

i can really identify with this post.i always can identify with you...and that's part of what makes you so accessible and inspirational. your kids are blessed to have you as a mama. wish we lived closer. :)

p.s. LOVE your photo case. LOVE.

Thanks for being vulnerable and honest with us--what a beautiful picture of a risk taker---LOVE this.Thanks for showing us the real side of your life. Sometimes when I read blogs I think---"where's the other side of life"---I am grateful to see the other side and it coming together so beautifully---all I can say is thanks Ali---it means a lot! THIS is the beauty of real life to me!

my 7 year old gets has the withdrawl response to any "mario" game, except "mario cart".....found out last week, he has the same response to "kirby"- it actually changes his personality the entire time he's allowed to play (until I figure out why he's so hard to handle and remove the game from our lives) it's really terrible. We haven't had that with any of the lego games though, and he's quite a fan of those!

Ali,
I just had to laugh when I read this. It is wonderful to know that you are not alone. I have an 8 year old son with autism and I find there is something bad about playing too long on Wii. He LOVES it (especially star wars Wii) but too much equals a bad transition and yucky behavior. I am always happy when we can transition well.
Here is to small accomplishments!

Have you tried setting a timmer for the Wii? Then give him time reminders..like 15 more min...5 more min and so on. Just an idea to maybe try. Remember kids are only suppose to have 2 hrs combined tv/computer/video game time a day. I say that in the most kindest way ;)
And I loved the lego guy orginizer. I dragged mine out and put my sons rock collection in it. Looks so cute.

Ali
did Simon did Early Intervention? My son was recently diagnosed with Autism and when I read your stories about Simon even with things like this make me hopeful one day he will express himself even not the way we want to :)

I'm glad we cut off the satellite here. We did go buy an antenna to get the local channels for news and we do watch a couple of shows still. I myself miss the cooking shows I watched but it's not killing me. lol My daughter(8) still thinks the tv has to come on as soon as she walks in the door. I've gotten in the habit of telling her not to turn it on as we walk in the door. We don't have a lot of trouble with Wii or the DS. On the DS we have more learning games than for fun games so I don't really limit those as much. Jeopardy on the tv is a freebie.

Thanks for sharing your day. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one that has to go through the meltdowns.

Ali, I just wanted to say how much I love your writing. You capture life so well and I am envious of that ability. Writing has never been a skill of mine. So many times I have heard, "You should write a book about your life with Connor." (He is 18 and autistic) and I think, "yes I should." but when I go to try it it is just so hard for me so Thank you for being able to put into words your life with Simon.

My 8yo has that same Wii affliction that comes with Blood Shot eyes and a VERY BAD ATTITUDE. We DREAD of getting new games b/c all he wants to do is play it nonstop. I feel for you!

I am a great believer that a little boredom is a good thing. I think it encourages them to be inventive, and usually in the end my little boys manage to come up with some fun of their own despite the protests.

Hi Ali! Monday evening, WAAAY across the country in Virginia, the same things were going on here at my house. (only I think you win the prize as the mama that handled it better!) Those nights are toughies. My son has adhd, dyslexia and mildly pdd. Just want you to know hom much you inspire me...especially when I am feeling like giving up and my hard work is useless. I will come across a post on your blog and it will completely change my perspective and attitude. Thanks so much for helping someone that you don't even know get through a bad day. I wish I could do the same in return.

What a great, every day, mom story. And it was so nice to read about another mom who had one of those mom moments (sidebar #1). I've had a few of those myself. I'm always amazed, after the fact, that I actually said something that I know I'm not going to do. I've read all the parenting books; I know that you are not supposed to state a consequence that you don't really intend to carry out. But there are moments, those mom moments, where the words just come out. Real life!

A friend sent this link to me for my nephew and I thought Simon might like it - it's for a free 2 year subscription to Lego magazine

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fclub1.lego.com%2Fen-US%2FSubscription%2FDefault.aspx%3FSkuId%3D9052b50e-271e-46d2-9abb-e1950f8cc438%26step%3D1%26CountryId%3DUS&h=f8aa7

I am organizing and dressing up my scrap room. I still struggle with being lowest of the low talent artist, but it doesn't stop me. Found this quote: "Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them. But do not let them master you." Helen Keller. I admire her above all other women.

poor simon! It's hard on everyone and harder for kids who don't transition quickly. We got rid of TV about a year ago, and now they just watch an occasional show on the laptop. Helps with the controls but they still ask a LOT.

Ali, Thank you so much for posting this. I felt like I was reading about my day, well actually last coupe of days. My son totally has Wii withdrawl and asks the same thing: "I don't know what to do if I'm not on the Wii." So I say to him: "How about we put together your legos?" I love the idea of the Lego people display. I have an old wooden Coke crate that I think would work. Thank you again for sharing. You are an inspiration to me!! Lauren

I'm so not showing the Lego guy shelves to my son. He already adopted the Lego drawer storage. We don't have room for this one. :-)

Thanks for sharing.

Ali, I thoroughly enjoyed this post. I, too, have to go a few rounds with Malcolm about that Pirates Wii game, which he bought last week, I think. I totally had to forbid him from playing with it Monday because, despite my multiple requests, he keeps dropping his pants and underwear right in the middle of the family room floor when he comes home from school! Arrgh!

*sigh* completely understand. we go through this with our 4yro. and no matter the guidelines that we set for him, the tantrums are always inevitable. ours is usually with the computer. we tell him how long he can play for and we stress that once we tell him "time's up" he has to finish playing. we make him repeat the rule. i reminded every five minutes how much playing time he has left ... "15 more minutes, buddy ...", "10 more minutes ..." and he always replies with a cooperative "yes, mummy". but of course when his turn is finished he starts a chorus of "but's and aw~'s" and throws himself on the floor.

sometimes we just let him go, pay no attention to his behavior and he'll shake it off by himself. other times, when i'm feeling the stress of the day, we'll give him an ultimatum ... he can either continue his tantrum, go into timeout and lose his computer privileges. or he can be a "big boy" and go play with something else. more often than not, he's too heated to make the right decision but the 5mins in timeout usually calms him down.