I have no idea what I'm going to say here; I just know that I've been really busy and haven't spent any time blogging and I have to break the cycle somehow, even if it's just an inane and somewhat scattered update post.
Work has been really busy, which is nothing new, I suppose. We had an event for a client on Friday -- the largest event we've ever done as a firm (about 1500 people, I think). It went really well but was also very difficult to prepare for. I came home from the airport on Friday, was in bed by 11:30pm and didn't wake up until noon on Saturday, and even then, I felt like I walked around in a daze the entire day. It wasn't so much that I was physically tired -- I was mentally tapped out.
Alex has been going to day camp at the YMCA this summer, and he really seems to like it. They swim every day, and he loves it. Of course, he can't swim, but he always has 1-on-1 attention in the pool, and Joe and I have both observed swim time enough to be satisfied with regard to his safety. One of the kids in his group is M from his old school, so he's really happy about that.
Backing up a bit, Alex finished kindergarten with a mix of emotions. He's excited about being a bigger kid, but he'll miss his teacher. Overall, he's a little nervous about first grade, but he'll be fine. I'm just amazed at how far he's come and how easy the transition to real school has been. He's still going to receive services (primarily for OT and PT, with consults to his teacher on overall concerns and speech) through first grade year, but the "autism" label has been removed, and if his therapy progresses as expected, he will be declassified out of special education by the end of the next school year. It isn't a "cure" but it's a big deal nonetheless.
At the same time, I feel like he's regressing with regard to his eating. He is so picky about food that for the last 3 years he's had Carnation Instant Breakfast 1-2 times daily. We've always called it "chocolate milk" and never had any issues getting him to drink it. Until now, that is. He's decided he hates it. He won't take vitamins, either. He seems truly afraid of new foods or unknown tastes and textures, and I don't think it's an act. It isn't like he'll just eat any sweet put in front of him but balks at vegetables. The kid won't eat 99% of the junk available, either. During the last week he's even been refusing grilled cheese sandwiches made at home, saying he prefers Cracker Barrel or "the lunch place" (a cafe near my office). I'm feeling at the end of my rope about this and I honestly don't know what to do next.
At the end of June, we all flew to Alabama to visit my sister. My brother, his wife, their new baby boy and my brother's older son also visited at the same time. Alex and his older cousin played together so well, particularly for a couple of kids who never get to spend time together. (My nephew lives in Italy right now.) We all had a good time and it was really nice to spend time with my new sister-in-law without the holiday or wedding craziness that has surrounded the few times we've seen each other.
On more trivial fronts, my fingernails have been growing like crazy lately, and I'm not sure why. I've been having to cut them back because they've been growing so long without breaking, and that's something that hasn't happened since I was pregnant with Alex. (No, that is not an announcement.) Tonight I accidentally bent one WAY back (OUCH) and it split on one side. It didn't break off completely, but it will soon. But that's the first break in I don't know how long. Strange, since my nails are usually so thin tou can read the newspaper through them. I did manage to get a pedicure on Saturday -- that was about all I was capable of! -- and Alex went with me and sat still in my lap the entire time. He was the darling of the salon, and everyone was commenting about how well-behaved he was. Of course, this is the same place I used to go and he'd sleep in his stroller through my mani-pedi.
Speaking of Alex and shopping behavior, he's sort of become the darling of the cosmetics department at my local Macy's. He's charmed just about everyone, and they always speak to him. My MAC guy (C) is always super-nice to Alex and asks him what new lightsabers he has and when he's going to bring them in to show everyone. They just rave about his behavior, which is a nice reminder to me that even when he's being a pill in my eyes, he's still pretty darned good when compared to the average.
Speaking of my MAC guy, tonight I stopped in to pick up a couple of backup lipsticks* and he let me peek at the new Flashtronic line. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It is sooooo gorgeous. It comes out on Thursday, but C isn't working that day, and I like to shop with him whenever possible, so I'm just going to wait until Friday.
*MAC does a lot of limited edition stuff, and I've learned the hard way that if I love something, I'd better buy a backup of it. They have a new lip product called SlimShine, which is a glossy lipstick, and the Bare colorway is the closest thing I've found to a MLBB -- My Lips But Better -- shade. Lovely nude shade, not too pink, not too brown.
I should do some makeup stash photos, but not now. I recently got my first MAC Pigments and I'm slowly figuring them out. I also finally got the Bobbi Brown Lip & Shimmer Brick in Tawny -- a wonderful compact with bronzer/shimmer powder and 4 lip products. Believe it or not, that is my first Bobbi Brown product. I followed it up with the very popular new Stonewashed Nudes eyeshadow palette. This has been a hot topic on makeup blogs and communities. I'm not convinced it's worth the hype, though. I've used it a couple of times but it doesn't wow me. It might be going back to Nordstrom.
Alex can relate anything to Star Wars, but last night when I was getting him to take his medicine (he's running a fever), I told him that the grape medicine was "purple like Mace Windu's lightsaber" and he scornfully told me that medicine had nothing to do with Star Wars.
My XM radio isn't working in my Passat, so I took it to the dealership for service while I was out of town last week. They changed the oil, rotated the tires and did the inspection, but the XM module is on national backorder, so I have no idea how long it will be before it's in and they can replace it for me. All I do know is that I'm apparently addicted to XM. Good thing I got a new iPod FM transmitter/charger for my car and it works a lot better than my first one.
I'm sure there are a million other things I could write about, but it's time for me to go to bed.