The weekend update

If I die, and it seems I didn't qualify to go to heaven, and must be banned to hell, then I can tell you what it will be like. There will be a 4 lane highway lined with alternating small and large harsh Orange cones. There will also be policemen with loud whistles directing me in the opposite direction of where I want to go. There will be a large black sign with blinking yellow verbage that says, "Nascar traffic, highway has all been directed one way". THAT'S right, when Nascar comes to town our highway turns into one way, all westbound. I had to work yesterday, I had to be at my Scentsy party at 2pm, at about 2:20 I considered throwing a HUGE fit in the middle of 114 right smack in the front of Texas Motor Speedway. Why? Because it had taken me almost an hour just to get 5 minutes down the road, only to be redirected about ten miles out of the way. In my opinion the traffic situation is compounded by poor management by the city. Our neighborhood is the only area that has only one way in, and one way out, so we are affected the worst. I believe neighborhood stickers should be issues to each resident, so the police know to allow us into our community. Right now our cross road is shut down during the races, so we are diverted and not allowed into the neighborhood, it's so frustrating!!!!!! Plus, all we get is a letter telling us to be patient, well buddy the patience is GONE!

So yesterday was overall a good day with Jude. He did vomit early in the day when Mike tried to give him his medication, but other than that he did well. He had several large seizures, but that didn't seem to stop him from trying to communicate. At one point Emily was watching "America's Funniest Home Video's", while laying next to Jude on the floor. She was laughing so hard, and Jude started laughing with her. He recognized that she was laughing louder, and harder than normal, so he joined in. He was also making audible noises for almost an hour, while trying to lift up his head. I really hope that someday Jude can keep his head up without support.

While at my Scentsy party yesterday I carried on a conversation with a wonderful lady named Tammy. She has been taking in the Smile Boxes for HEB hospital because she works there. She asked me about Jude, and after some further conversation she revealed she has two boys with Autism. One of her children is high functioning, but the other has Aspergers, and is low functioning. There was a little girl there at the party, and we talked about how at times it's hard to see other children functioning so well. This little girl was younger than Jude, and was holding a rattle, feeding herself, sitting up, etc. I think that I am so used to who Jude is that I forget who he could be, but that's alright. It's not that we want to see these children not function, it's just a slap in the face bringing us back to reality.

The Celebrity Gala went wonderful, and Emily was a charmer. After all was said and done raised a good amount of tips to benefit the Child Abuse Prevention Center, in DFW. She told jokes, did tricks, sang with Miss Texas, and more. She even got up in front of the entire ballroom and offered to do a line dance for $100 per table. I was amazed! I was told many times what a wonderful daughter I have, how bright she is, and how poised she is. I was very proud of her! She also made some great contacts including Reality Steve. He was such a delight to meet, and you might check out his blog on Reality TV: www.realitysteve.com. Here is a picture of Emily with Daryl Johnston. Everyone who reads my blog knows I am a huge Cowboys fan, so this was a great treat for us.

Emily was most fascinated with Miss Texas, and they chatted a bit. She told us about the Lone Star Princess program available through the Miss Texas organization. This where a young girl between the ages of 6-12 accompanies one of the contestants for the week of competition. I think I may be to late to sign her up, but it would be a great experience for her. Let me also add that I too had dressed up for the big gala, and left the house feeling pretty. When I got home I looked through some of the pictures I was in , and was floored at how big I looked in the dress I bought, and it was ONLY an 8!! I showed them to Emily and she said, "Wow mom, yeah that's really bad don't wear that again". Sigh, thanks for the honestly Em.