Power drill

Yesterday Nikko was sitting next to me at the kitchen table, playing with a toy power drill complete with plastic drill bit. He got up from the chair to perch on the edge of the table and used my leg for a boost. Unfortunately he used the power drill, bit side down, to push off my thigh. I gave out a yelp of pain followed by furrowed brows and a frown. He looked at me, put the drill down, then tried to climb up to my face and stare at my eyes until the pain went away, so it seemed. He looked concerned. I told him, "Nikko, say Sorry," and made the sign for Sorry at my chest. He copied me and said, "Sorry."

I got a call from the school nurse today that Ronin had come off the bus crying hysterically, then coughed so hard and threw up. She monitored him for any allergic reactions but saw none. He wanted to go home, so I had to wake up Audrey and drag her to school. After calming Ronin down in the nurse's office I deduced that Ronin had wanted his jacket zippered up after being strapped in his seat. When Miss Veronica told him she couldn't do it, he melted down big time. It was my fault, actually, that his jacket wasn't zippered up. We were rushing to get out the door because the bus arrival time fluctuates between 12:50 and 12:56. Sure enough, we set foot on the driveway and the bus was almost at our stop! Early. I had just tugged on their jackets and didn't have time to zipper Ronin. I really don't know why it was so upsetting that it warranted a meltdown, but so be it. I took the kids to Party City to return some chafing dish burners and then we went to Target for a spell. Nikko didn't seem phased that Ronin wasn't sitting next to him on the bus. Later in the evening I had to get ready to go to a wake of a former coworker. Nikko saw me getting ready and when I told him I'd be back soon, he erupted in tears. They disappeared a few minutes later, and when Ronin started saying, "G'BYE Mommy!" Nikko started chanting the same thing with nary a tear. He watched me leave from the picture window, however.

I am slightly concerned about the bus driver and her aide in that I wonder if they are aware that Nikko is one of the special needs kids. I would think YES because they have to stop the bus in front of our house instead of on the corner. [Miss] Veronica said to me yesterday while waiting for Ronin to get unbuckled, "So your little one is a real talker between the two, huh? Nikko is more of the quiet type?" I agreed with her, but wondered if she knew Nikko was pretty much non-verbal in that he doesn't communicate with regular speech. The other bus aid tells him to sit down or move over or put an arm here or there or put his toys in his backpack and I'm sure he doesn't seem to be listening to her half the time. I wonder if she is offended by that or if she treats Nikko like all the other kids. That would technically be a good thing, to be treated just like the others, but in this case I would hope that she is a little bit sensitive to Nikko's lack of complete understanding or following her requests. I hope they are kind to Nikko, even though Ronin is the one who commands so much attention.