At least that’s usually our motto. We finally joined the 21st century and bought an iPod Touch about six months ago; it’s been such a hit with the boys that we ended up buying two more to meet our household demand. In some ways it’s great: it’s very portable, it stores all kinds of songs, games and videos, and (best of all) Brayden is more than happy to stay in his room with it for an hour or so for some “quiet time” after lunch. The downside is that Justin is addicted to one particular game that gets him upset every time he plays it — but he gets equally upset if you don’t let him play it, so it’s a no-win situation. We were in Saskatoon for a few days last week and the iPods were a great thing to have on the plane and in the airports, but by the time we made it home I was ready to smash Justin’s into the wall. Sigh.

Frustration levels are high when it comes to Justin these days. His meltdowns are getting more frequent and more unmanageable, and it’s taking more patience than I possess to deal with him. We now know a lot of his frustration stems from his perfectionism — he gets very upset if he’s playing a game (mostly on the Wii or the iPod) and he doesn’t win. He’s also more likely to lose it if he’s hungry or tired, naturally, so we have to be vigilant about giving him snacks even when he says he isn’t hungry, and giving him time to rest even if he says he doesn’t want a nap. He goes for his Asberger’s assessment in about three weeks and I’m really hoping to get an official diagnosis soon so we can start getting him the appropriate help. The kicker is that he behaves just fine for preschool, for babysitters, for Grandma and Grandpa…but he goes squirrelly at home. I know that’s probably a good thing — at least he can control it when he needs to — but it’s very, very, very frustrating.

On the up side, potty training is going better for both boys, so that’s a major step forward. On the Saskatoon trip, Justin actually started telling us he had to go (which I thought would never happen). On a visit to Uncle Rob’s house I heard him go down the hallway asking “Is there a potty around here someplace?” and I just about fell over; he also asked to use the potty on the plane. Hooray! For his part, Brayden has given up the special potty seat and now uses the regular toilet like everyone else. I’m starting to believe my life won’t always involve diapers, but we still have a ways to go, so I won’t get too excited yet.

Both boys are at Grandpa’s house this morning…ahhh…