It's been awhile...

Hello everyone!

     WOW!  I cannot believe it has been 6 months since my last blog post!  A lot has been going on, some good, some bad, some just normal.  Where to start?  I guess I will pick it up from where I left off and hope y'all don't mind my being long winded.
     Risperdal was working great for Monkey, he was sleeping in his own room, his anxiety was way down and then BAM!  It was like getting kicked in the stomach, he got out of the shower one morning and came to me crying "Mama, I have boobs, I'm a girl now".  My heart broke as I hugged him and then looked at his chest, he was indeed growing breasts!  So, I called the psych immediately who said "Let's lower his does and see if it goes away."  Lowering his dose did NOT change a thing except his anxieties starting to return.  We decided to wean him off of the risperdal entirely, and his little body is slowly returning to normal.  Of course his anxieties have returned full force, as has his rocking and waking frequently along with his needing to be with me constantly.
     Monkey has started 4th grade and it has NOT been a good year for him.  Our school uses the K12 platform and it is anything but reliable.  Due to changes in the Florida State Testing, K12 had to redo all of our math, and language arts text and work books and were unable to complete them in time so we get a few units at a time which is very frustrating on its own and even more so when the site is often down.  Monkey who always had math come easy to him is struggling and often cries while working, he will have a complete meltdown and yell at me and throw his book, it is heartbreaking to see him so very upset over one subject simply because some politician decided to change how our kids should do math.  I still am completely baffled as to why anyone would want to change math and honestly feel that it put our kiddos at a disadvantage.  Monkey is also struggling with writing, poetry and understanding similes and idioms, these things do NOT make sense in his mind, and I find it baffling that they are trying to force him to fit into their round hole.  I have made the decision that next year I am going to pull him from our current school and enroll him in FL Virtual Home Based program.  No, he won't receive a traditional diploma when he graduates, but he will have the peace of mind that he so greatly deserves.  I want him to enjoy learning again, and to actually learn and not just parrot back what he can remember.  I feel good about this decision but also worry just how it will all work out.  I am hoping their platform is better than K12's because 100% of the lessons are online, there are NO books whatsoever, so if the site is down, we will not be able to work at all.
     With the holidays coming and hubby still looking for work I have been SUPER stressed about Christmas and then a couple of days ago, my oven decided it didn't want to work anymore!  I have signed us up for every toy giveaway I could think of, and am searching for either a used stove or the part we need at a reasonable price!  The Autism community has been so supportive to me and my family during these trying times and several people have offered to help with gifts for my awesome little boy and I cannot express just how blessed that makes me feel.
     I am also doing a fundraiser through http://www.kulturecity.org/ called Wizard Talk.  Wizard talk is amazing! People who donate to Monkey's fundraiser https://www.classy.org/fundraise?fcid=364623 not only help him to receive an iPad mini, BUT, each time a person rasises $300 for their child, kulturecity donates a second iPad to a family with an autistic child!  The donation is also tax deductible and each donor receives an email that includes kulturcity Federal Tax ID number!
     I have also been blessed to receive help from ROCK THAT AUSOME, so if you donate even just $1.00 to my fundraiser, then like their page and let them know that you donated you will entered into a giveaway for a weighted lap pad, a weighted animal AND an autism bracelet!  Pretty awesome for just donating $1.00 to help an awesome little boy, and a great cause!
     I just want to thank you all for continuing to support me and my amazing Monkey, for allowing me to vent, and for not abandoning me while I figured some stuff out and had my page unpublished.