Time and Tide for no one...

It's been a long time since I updated this blog. Not surprising considering everything that happened not long after the last post.

To make a long story short, our little monster was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. For those who don't know what this means - and lord knows I didn't, it means that he's on the autism spectrum, though he's not high on the spectrum. PDD-NOS stands for "Pervasive Developmental Delay - Not Otherwise Specified". Is it any surprise that I didn't know what it stood for? I was clueless. I just heard "Autism Spectrum Disorder" and my heart plummeted into my stomach. I cried that night. I was ashamed of myself at the time for crying like that but now I realize it was part of the process.

Anyway, before I get too far ahead of myself. About a week after we got the monster's diagnosis, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I stopped breathing 122 times an hour for the six hours I slept that night. Essentially, every 30 seconds, I stopped breathing. Which meant I have to sleep with a C-PAP machine. Brilliant. I'm a tiny bit claustrophobic... enough that having something on my face freaks me out. I'm only just now adjusted to feeling comfortable with a mask on. But at least I got there.

Then, just for fun, I decided I wanted to see a nutritionist and lose some weight to help me with the sleep apnea. So I asked my doctor to refer me. She sent me for blood tests so the nutritionist would know my cholesterol levels and all that fun stuff... only to call me to come back into her office two days later and tell me that I have diabetes.

So yeah. A lot of news to get hit with within 19 days and a lot of adjustments to make in my life.

We're in a better place now. I'm still adjusting to being diabetic but I'm pretty comfortable with the CPAP machine now and I'm definitely sleeping better. And the monster is doing great with his daycare program and his one on one therapy. His vocabulary has exploded and his social skills are improving. He's still the fantastic, loving little man he always was and I'm adjusting to the idea that he's eligible for kindergarten this coming September.

So with all that in mind and mostly organized, I decided to do the Project 365 again and hopefully make it all the way to the end this year. And I figure this blog is a good place to load and post some of the stories about the pictures that don't make the picture of the day. But it's also a good place to toss out other things. So... once again, we'll see what happens.

Crescent Beach

I picked up the monster early today and took advantage of the nice weather to take a drive out to White Rock and then Crescent Beach.

It was beautiful out and the monster is happy any time that we can spend outside.


Of course, it was funny as all get out that every couple of steps he took, he had to stop and get the sand out of his shoes. Again. He finally figured out it was easier to just leave them sitting on the beach and worry about it later.


It was great fun. We had dinner and ate some burgers and nuggets. And the crows thought they were invited. Oddly no seagulls tonight, just a lot of determined crows.

A Stroll along the Bay...

I drove into Tsawwassen yesterday to take a walk along the other side of Boundary Bay. It was a beautiful day and I had a really good walk.

I found a bench to settle on along the way and relaxed back a bit, reading a book for a while.




This bench, actually. A great view. Lots of birds to watch, the sound of the water, and a fresh breeze.

All in all, a good day.

Mother's Day

So, yesterday we took my parents to the bird sanctuary since Dad had never been there. One of the cutest things of the day were the four little goslings being led around by their Mom and Dad. Which brings us to why it's my picture of the day today and not yesterday.

I didn't take my camera with me. I didn't think I'd need it.

Which is why I returned today and was lucky enough to find the little guys. I got a bunch of great pics of the little goslings as well as a host of other birds. Including a fluke shot of a humming bird.

Whoot!

Enjoy!

A stroll through Vandusen Gardens

It was a nice day today and I wanted to go and do a little shopping so I figured I'd fit in a stop at Vandusen Gardens. I didn't go through the whole garden, I'm still working up to that! But I went for quite a long walk through the garden, enjoying the assorted paths and the lakes and the flowers.

It'll be nice to see how everything looks when they're finished their expansion!

Nesting Time...

Today, my cousin and her little boy - only 6 months older than the monster man - came over and we all went for a nice walk out at the Reiffel Bird Sanctuary.

You could hear birds every inch of the way. Song birds. Ducks. Geese. All sorts of birds.

While we were sitting at one of the blinds, we saw these two little birds who were collecting feathers to line their nests with and getting everything ready. They were very busy little birds.

A Windy Day down at the Beach

After I picked up the monster, I took him down to the beach by the ferries. He was delighted, watching the surfer trying to get his sail up and working so he could use it with his board. I couldn't help but wonder if it was the same guy as last time.

I can see why he was trying to do it today. It was -windy- out there.


And, of course, I could exactly keep him away from the water. He loves it. Thankfully, he's also content to stay out of it and throw rocks in.



It was a nice day though, despite the wind.



Of course, as usual, it was difficult to convince the monster that he had to get his butt into the car so we could leave. Even though he was freezing his little butt off!