Informant 9

February 17, 2016

5:35 am–

>> alarm went off; up to let dogs out and get feeding routine started. Feed cats first, then dogs, then dogs back out. Clean up the pee pad for OD and straighten dog beds.

6am–

>> bath time with coffee and oat meal enjoyed in the tub. Read TIME magazine articles about “Rapefugees” on NYE in Germany and China kidnapping ppl who are critical of their governments.

6:35am–

>> tidied up all pet litter boxes, read email for work, personal emails, entered HGTV contest, read online paper

7:05am–

>>running  late, b/c I spent too long on the computer! Brushed teeth, finished hair, put dogs in crates, got lunch in my lunch bag (a tortilla, refried beans, lettuce,  tomato and shredded cheese all disassembled, but in bowls).

7:28–

>> Left garage for commute

7:48–

>>arrived at school, clock in at 7:50am, go to class.

8am–

>> Got kids off of the bus. Made a point of saying “GOOD MORNING!!” to each kid. We have been trying to teach our kids to give socially appropriate responses when interacting with others. Some of the autistic kids really struggle with this simple task. In classroom, kids hung up coats, put up backpacks and chose lunch for that day. I went thru communication books ( folders that go home with each kid each day) and gave any parent notes to the teacher.

8:15am–

>> Took kindergartner to the boys bathroom. Back to class with him to help him do his AM “chore” in classroom which is finding photos of the next day’s lunch to hang up by the menu. The kids can point at the pics to show what they want to eat each day.

8:30am–

>> “Calendar time” with 1 kid leading the others to run through  songs in a daily routine for months of the year, days of the week, weather, and coin identification.

8:45am–10:20am

>> kids broke off  into groups of 2 and went to academic stations. I was at Math this week. Had a hard time getting the kindergartner and 1st grader to focus on their worksheets. Went on to next kids who are much older and better able to focus.

10:20am–

Kindergartner to restroom again. Same issues. Same reminders. Off to gym class which was our special today. Kids played some “hockey” with padded sticks and a soft ball, but most could  not grasp which goal to hit towards.

11:00–

>> lunch break at abnormal time d/t other classroom aide called in sick and she had a sub there for her.

11:30am–

>> Met kids in the cafeteria. Made sure they ate most of the food on their plates. Our kids are super picky eaters except for the kindergartner who will eat all food. Guide kids to the bathroom one at a time after they eat.

11:50am–

>> walked kids back to class. Teacher was in there eating lunch with one student as a reward for sustained weekly behavior. Helped kindergartner to restroom. Same reminders, but did better on washing hands.

12pm–

>> ADL skills with the kids. Took data on how well they washed their hands and faces in the restroom. We have washcloths for each kid to use.

12:30pm–

>>craft activity with colored flowers to hang on the hallway bulletin board. It will be a countdown to spring break with a looooooooong caterpillar that has numbered body sections that will be removed each day until break.

1:30pm–

>> kids did chores for the afternoon. Cleaned tables, vacuumed, straightened toys, etc.

1:50pm–kids were ready for their “daily rewards” based up on how many punches they got on their cards for the day.

2pm–

>> got kids into coats and out to bus.

2:06pm

>> clocked out 1 minute late. Boss adjusts our time each day to represent exactly our scheduled hours, even if we clock out late due to classroom activity or behaviors, so if a field trips causes us to return late, and I actually clock out at 2:15 pm, he would change my time to be clocking out at 2:05 pm b/c that is when I am scheduled. I do not understand this system. Never  had a job with NO overtime. Ever. It is very weird. Nurses usually always have to stay late at their job and often have good paychecks due to just overtime. Very different. Drove home after clocking out.

2:30pm–

>> Pulled into garage and had to immediately let dogs out to pee. Do P.’s bowels and bladder routine for the second time today. Began cleaning up dog crates and beds. Dusted, vacuumed.  Gathered dog laundry. Ran dog laundry and cleaning cloths.

3:15pm–

>>Online to play on FB and read emails.

4pm–

>> BSU students arrived for interview> They had fun with the doggies and cats..

5pm–

>> interview over and students left. Got dogs outside to start food routine. Fed cats first, then got dog food ready. Prepped dog meds for 2 dogs, let dogs inside to put them in separate areas for feeding. Dogs ate, let dogs back out, attended to laundry.

5:45pm–

>> Put dogs in crates so I could go get stuff at Walmart. I HATE grocery shopping, but this was just for canned cat food, t.p., and OD. pee pads. Got to Walmart and they were out of the correct flavor of cat food, I decided against pee pads b/c of expense. (will use washable ones). Ended up with t.p. and a bunch of other crap that was not on my list–Reeses’s cups, soda, and diet pop. Along with fabric softener. I cheated by using/scanning one coupon for t.p. twice on the self scanner. I used two coupons, but redeemed 3 coupons. The self scanner didn’t know! Felt slightly guilty about this white lie. But I also stocked up on 2 double roll 12 packs of White Cloud and got $1.50 off of each pack.

6:45pm–

>> Back home from Walmart. Let dogs back out. Neglected to put bag with chips in it away, so Monster Cats got into bag and started to eat them. Had to shoo them away and put chips up in a new large Ziplock bag. Went downstairs to clean cat litter boxes and attend to laundry.

7:30pm–

>> Got on internet to play on FB and read dumb shit.

7:45pm–

>>started this diary.

8:40pm–

>> break from diary to go clean basement litter boxes. Forgot if I’d eaten dinner, so fixed a snack of carrots and toast. Fixed lunch for tomorrow’s work lunch. We will go to Ft. Wayne and I can’t take a lunch that will require the microwave. Fix peanut butter and honey, potato chips, cheese stick, yogurt scoop in a bowl, and carrots.

9pm–

>> back at computer to eat my snack and finish diary.  Can hear them munching now.

9:02pm–

>> Just found out that Survivor is on. Have to go watch that! Didn’t know the new season started. Going to get my butt in bed and watch. Will update last hour of tonight’s diary tomorrow,.

9:02–

>> to bed to watch end of Survivor(Love that show!). Then watched Black-ish at 9:30pm. (Love that show, too!). News at 10pm… horrible story of a wealthy man who killed his niece and her son over some trust fund money?!?!? I don’t understand people. Unbelievable.

10:30pm —

>> fell asleep after getting pets settled. S. and O. sleep in dining room. Put Cats out of bedroom. P., S., and M. sleep in bed with me. Blocked bedroom door with nightstand b/c Monsters can open the doorknob.