Sinan braving the cold weather

Sayf reading Mommy's magazine.



Update:

I havent been here in forever, so I wanted to give an update and wish a happy Eid for the upcoming holiday if I dont post again before that day.

I have been taking the Applied Behavior Analysis class since October. It has kept me busy and I have learned a lot. I have had the opportunity to work with Autistic children, young and older, early learner and advanced. It will certainly help me, Insha'Allah, as I travel through life with my little guy Sinan.

The boys themselves are doing great, Alhamdulillah. Sayf is turning out to be a real character. He is talking all of the time now, learning his colours and new words every day. He is very interested in animals. He is learning the names, colours and sounds that each one makes. He has a thing for fruits and vegitables, which is a good thing considering the diets of most children today. He is really into apples and grapes, and loves salads and olives of any sort. His favourite phrase as of late: "Mommy (or Daddy) help me". He has a habit of flirting with young women at the mall and in public places. Who would have thought that a 2 1/2 year old boy would know to chat up and wink at whatever young lady passes by? We'll have to keep an eye on him!

Sinan, masha'Allah, is doing good as well. School is coming along and I have been working with him trying to impliment some of the ABA techniques I have learned. We are going to potty train him soon, so that should be a fun experience! He is being pretty vocal, although not speaking yet. Insha'Allah, that wont be far behind. The little guy is just so nice and caring.

We were elated to see Obama win. My wife and I watched intently the entire evening and my wife cried when the announcement was made that he had one. We are waiting to see if he can deliver on the promises he made. We are intently watching how he will approach issues with the Muslim world, and with Palestine specifically.

Personally, I am a bit upset about the whole economic issue. It bugs me to no end that everyone is calling for people on both sides of this issue to be bailed out. Both the companies involved and the customers taking these loans are aat fault and should be made to pay the price. What about those of us that lived within our means? What about those of us who could have taken out large loans and bought houses we couldnt afford but chose not to? It almost makes me feel like I should have taken out a large loan, bought a huge house and then sat around and waited for someone to bail me out.

I think there should be a way that the government can offer rebate checks to those of us American citizens that were not stupid enough to take out loans that were too big, to charge more on cards than we could afford, and get loans for vehicles we couldnt pay for. $750 billion bailout for corporations? Billions to refinance loans for people who lied and cheated to get them or couldnt afford them in the first place?

I am sure there are some 30-40 million of us Americans that didnt live our lives on the edge of a cliff waiting to crash over it. What about us? Can we have a trillion dollars to split between us? One of the first things I learned in my new ABA classes was that if you reinforced bad behavior you were guaranteeing that you'd see it again. That is what we are doing now. We are reinforcing the bad behavior of the companies and the consumers and requiring those of us that lived responsibely to pay it off.

Sorry if you get kicked out of your $500,000 house, but if you and your spouse were only making $40,000 a year you shouldnt have asked for the loan and the company shouldnt have given it to you. Why should my tax money pay for it?

Dont buy something if you cannot pay for it. Dont charge it, save for it. We dont buy it if we cannot afford it and we dont charge things. If it is important enough we save, or I work more hours or get a second job to pay for it. That is what personal responsibility is all about. We shouldnt be in the business of rewarding rash and igorant behavior on anyone's part.

Virginia has a bill pending that would require all insurance companies that do business in Virginia to pay for ABA therapy for children with Autism. As fulltime ABA therapy can cost more than $50,000 a year, the average family cannot cover it on their own, so companies must be forced to cover it as it is the only proven treatment to help children with Autism.

Enough for now, talk to you all soon, Insha'Allah.