Wait...What?

I haven't blogged in 8 months. We bought a house, still unpacking, school started. You know, life. I felt the need, the urgent need to blog about the Adrian Peterson situation today. I am full of all sorts of feelings and had to write about it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this whole thing. No really, I would. I don't feel I was a douchebag in my writing so all I ask is you not be a douchebag in your response. Thanks. My thoughts on the Adrian Peterson situation (but first, some backstory): I was spanked as a child. I'm pretty sure most of us that grew up in the 80s were. Until the summer between 5th and 6th grade I lived in Charelston, SC and from 6th to 11th grade, North Chicaco, IL. I have seen every form of discipline doled out on a child. I've seen spankings, beatings, hairbrushes smacked into heads, spoons hitting the tops of heads, whips, belts and even switches. I've seen it all. Most of you know that my son is named after a little boy who ...

Donovan's school is not a mainstream school. They educate children that are "special needs". I'm not too fond of that phrase and I'm lo to admit I've used it. He couldn't handle/process mainstream school (they couldn't handle/process him ha!) and was suspended twice in first grade. Yeah, not for him we thought. The school he's at now is nothing short of a miracle. They got him reading by the middle of 2nd grade. He transferred there during the last quarter of 1st grade and he only knew his letters and numbers. He had no desire to read at all and somehow, they got him reading. Now? Donovan is in 5th grade and reads at 8.5 to 9th grade level. Yep, that's my boy. We love this school and his teachers are some of the most amazing people we've ever met. The staff gets the kids to understand things that I barely understand myself. Today, he came home so darn excited waving around some paperwork and I couldn't even begin to guess what it was th...

Mindless bullet points. It's what you get on this Monday. Got the oil changed and was informed I should get a new battery, new front brake pads and a flush of the power steering line. Grand total to have them do it? Over $500. Yeah no thanks, I think I'll ask my father in law for his help. Maybe I can buy the parts and pay him to fix these things/show me how. I also will tempt him with a dinner out on the town with his favorite daughter in law. Just because I'm his only daughter in law does not lessen my position any.  My 4 year old future felon (have you sent bail money yet???) absconded with her sister's lip balm and proceeded to eat it. The whole thing. She also ate half a tube of blood red lipstick. My son thought she was bleeding but as my sister in law put it, she looked like a little old lady who escaped the nursing home. She wanted to kiss me with all that on her and I had to dodge that one. She was rather fast coming at me.  I know it's cold outside p...

I got a baby fix today thanks to my dear friend Mandy who came up to visit with her two girls. My lovebug of chub, Nora, will be 2 in a couple weeks. WHAAAAA?!? I have no idea where that time went. 2 weeks ago, Mandy had baby girl number 2, Alaina. Please to enjoy the cuteness: Amiright or what??? Gah! Celia declared the baby was hers. I said sure. Her mama? Not so much. Sophia has missed out seeing Mandy the last two times. She was so excited that she was home for once. I love and adore this photo. Oh does Donovan love the littles. My sweet sweet boy.  It's not that often I see Nora smile. She's a serious one, this kid. And she's always moving. Oof. I forget that part of toddlers.  Some days I would love to have another baby. Then I realize I'm not completely insane and go on with my day. I get the fix with Mandy's girls and all the babaaaays that come into my store. I wish my job was going around talking to...

It goes without saying that it's colder than a snowman's fart outside. Actually, at this moment it's relatively warm at a balmy 27F.  Tomorrow should be ok at 17F. Then Sunday and Monday? Those assholes are out to get us. Working together! Damn Sunday, why you gotta be like that? -15 will be the high. NEGATIVE FIFTEEN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. for the HIGH. what. the. hell? Our low for Sunday evening? -26F. I can't. I just can't. The govnuh (and yes, you must say it that way. DO IT!) has closed all public schools for Monday because of the chilly weather. I'm pretty sure Sophia did a happy dance when she heard that. She's the only one of the 3 kids who has to actually wait outside for her bus. The other two get front door service, perks of the little bus. Sophia hates to bundle up, she overheats by the time she gets to school. She's extremely proficient at layers but still, way too cold for her to stand out there. If you're going outside, please b...

In our house, we have a thespian. Two of them really. We've always known Sophia has a flair for the dramatics and really, I have no idea where she gets that from. :::cough::: she's the apple, I'm the tree :::cough::: Sophia loves to over act, over react, over dramatize things. All of the things. And the Academy would like to recognize Sophia for Best Dramatic Performance. It can be exhausting sometimes trying to figure out how horrible, no good, very bad a situation on the bus was when she's telling me about it. I have to take it all with a grain of salt (and just what the hell does THAT mean anyway? nevermind). Celia though, she's in the movie. In her mind. IN THE MOVIE MAMA! She is currently starring in her own version of Charlotte's Web, the live action version, thankyouverymuch. I am always reminded that I am Charlie and she is Wilvur. That's how the names are said and don't you even think of correcting her. It is not recommended. Most days I am Ch...

Happy 2014 Y'all Contrary to the look on Nanner's face, I assure you, she was having a blast at 12:01 am.  My Monkey, Sophia, Nanners and Celia in the front.  The squeals from them when the ball dropped? Made it all worthwhile.  Mama and her favorite redhead Donovan would've wished you a Happy New Year but yeah.  He didn't make it to 9pm. Watching the One Direction movie.  Awesome start to the year according to the girls. My Monkey loves her cousin Donovan and was  watching him play Roblox all morning. See?? Nanners DOES smile. It's just rare to capture it on film.  Ha. Film. That was funny. Great start to the year I think. Lots of laughs, tickling, giggles, oh my.  I hope your new started out with just as much fun and love as ours did.  Here's to a kick ass 2014!!

I miss this. The writing. The journaling of what life has thrown at me, the family, the world. My tangible resolution this year, one I know I have complete control over is this. Writing at least once a day. It won't be good. It may not be interesting. I assure you it won't gain me any traffic to my site (nor is that my intention). I'm doing this for me. For my kids. For my friends that I am horrible at keeping in touch with (sorry guys, I'll work at that too). I hope anyone who stops by will return. If you don't, that's cool. It's just me, the crazy mama of three kids who has an amazing husband and friends. You can join me on the ride. Plenty of room.

Since today is World Autism Awareness Day, I just want to put this out there (again): My son has autism and we are so very fortunate that he is verbal (sometimes TOO verbal), he looks normal, he's wicked smart and has an amazing artistic side. My son is also verbally abusive, borderline violent with his sister (beyond typical bro-sis interactions) and he can cut your heart with words you never would say to another soul. He is my son, he has autism and I love him. So much that I will snap at people who make assumptions, offer unsolicited advice, judge, etc. When you see a kid having a "temper tantrum" at the store, screeching at the top of their lungs in the parking lot or flailing on the floor at the checkout, please do not assume to know what is happening. Since our son's diagnosis 7 years ago, I have made a conscious effort to stop and think about that family. It could very well be a tantrum for not getting what they want, could be a kid mad at mom for busting...

I usually get home from work around 1030 or so each night. When I come in, bless his heart, my husband is usually asleep on the couch and the 3yo is playing her Plants v Zombies You Tube videos on the laptop next to him. Sometimes we are blessed with the miracle of sleep and Celia will actually be in bed. We don't hold our breaths because we like this living thing we have going on. The older two usually fall asleep on the couches and that's a battle I don't fight. Kirk is the one who has to deal with them at bedtime so it's his call I say. When I'm home in the evening, I try to get at least one of them into their own bed. Doesn't work too often. So. I get home from work tonight and count two kids asleep on the couch (oh, the husband too - it's a team effort, snoozing away to Chopped and Sweet Genius) and figure Celia is sleeping in her bed. I start cleaning then wonder if she's chilly so I go look in. Can you find the baby? Honest to Pete, I co...

I don't know if y'all heard a scream about 20 minutes ago but um, yeah, it was loud. I secretly left the house (secret from the kids) and met my brother in law to pick up my niece, Baby Girl. She hasn't stayed with us in quite some time and I was so excited to see her. When we got home, I wasn't sure if my three kids were asleep or not (it was right near bedtime). We came inside, oh so quietly. Baby Girl peeked into my room to see if Sophia was sleeping on my bed. She whispered back, "She's awake!" and I told her to say BOO! to Sophia.  Oh the screams and giggles!! So much happiness and excitement! It was worth the temporary ringing in the ears. Even the husband, who's not feeling well, was all smiles. What an awesome way to end the first day of the new year. The beginning? Oy, that was rough. I didn't go out, ha! Like I would've had the time. I worked until ten last night and was back to work at 7am. Yes, there are places open all night...

Hands down, funniest thing I've seen in so long. So accurate and true. Enjoy: Thanks Georgia for posting this!

   It goes without saying that they will not be getting everything. Puppy dog eyes be damned. No matter how many pleases we get. No matter how good their behavior (they would get nothing with that one). We're going on one big gift with each of the kids and make the stockings more of the little things.     My Kindle is always taken over by the children. All three of them fight over it, it's my turn, you went on it first yesterday! Eees my acowwwwnt (three years old and she stands up for herself. fiercely). So we've decided that Donovan and Sophia are each getting their own Kindle. Not the HD one mind you, no, they can live luxuriously with the original Fire. We'll pre load it with the games they love and a couple surprise ones for them. As we do with my Kindle, the internet access and any purchases will be password protected.     I know there are some people who will say we are spoiling them with this purchase. That's fine if you want to thi...

Yeah that whole NaBloPoMo thing just wasn't in the books for me. I realized it when I woke up last night (one of the dozen times) and realized I was late. Bummer. Eh, I'll keep trucking along though. It'll do me some good to get back into writing (or what barely passes as writing for me). So you've seen Magic Mike yes? I rented it the other day and um, wow. Not the wow you would think I'd be saying as a red blooded woman. Some thoughts, if you will indulge me. I can't possibly be the only one that giggled through a good portion of the dance scenes. The hip thrusts in beat to the machine gun sounds? I thought I was going to pee myself. Not the result they were looking for, I'm sure.  Alex Pettyfer ? Sweet fancy Moses. I had a highly inappropriate dream involving Mr. Pettyfer a couple nights before renting this movie. I had no idea I would be watching the movie a couple days after the dream but I tell you, that dream sure spurred the motivation to get i...

For my anxiety, that is. We have decided, after a lot of thought and consideration, to take Donovan off of the waiting list for the two week psychiatric evaluation. It wasn't an easy choice but it's one we feel is right. For right now. He has not talked about suicide since the window jumping attempt. He still gets overwhelmed and will cry frequently, sometimes saying he wants to die. I think it's important to note that there is a significant difference between him wanting to die and him declaring he wants to kill himself. It may seem the same to those not used to this talk but I assure you, it's not. When he is frustrated, he has reached his breaking point. He cannot handle whatever is going on or whatever is agitating him (school work, transitions {oh those damn transitions!}, etc) and he just wants it all to go away. He says he wants to die because in his brain, the problem will go away. He doesn't really want to die  but it's the only way he can articul...

My good friend, Georgia, posted this on my Facebook wall and I felt it should be shared. 12 REASONS YOU SHOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE MESSING WITH SPECIAL NEEDS PARENTS: 1. Some of us have given up on social skills and don't care what we say or do. I have found myself biting my tongue more often than not when it comes to what other people say regarding my son and his "situation". It makes me a little sad that I'm reaching the point that I don't care how I come across to some people and their insensitive comments. 2. We're not afraid to have a serious "meltdown" of our own. It's hard to leave home at home when you get to work. I've hard some "meltdowns" of my own in the breakroom and am blessed to have coworkers that are so understanding. 3. We are tired and all the patience we have is for our kids. Isn't this the truth? Sometimes that patience is playing a wicked good game of hide and seek.  4. We have a far shorte...

2 weeks ago my son threatened to jump out of his two story high bedroom window. He had his hand pressing on the screen, ready to push. He was at the window, ready to do it. Spewing hate and anger at his father and I. Calling us horrible things. He just wants a normal life, he screams. A few months ago he held a butcher knife to his neck saying he wanted to cut his head off. He wanted to die.  Right then and there and he was willing to do it. He hates his life. He just wants a normal life, he screams. He is on the Autism spectrum.  He has Aspergers Syndrome. ODD ADHD OCD He's 9y 9mo old. He is my baby boy. My only boy.  Tomorrow, if a bed becomes available, he will be admitted to the hospital for a two week stay. He does not know this. We aren't telling him. He would fight it so hard and I don't want to put him through that. If he is to be admitted tomorrow, we will take him there, stay with him as long as we can and do our best to assure him he is l...

Yesterday's post just wore me out emotionally so I combined Wed and Thursday's prompts for today. Pardon the scatterbrain. Describe a favorite place. Focus on how that place affects your senses. One of my favorite places to be is my living room. Sounds silly I know but really? It's where a lot of our lives takes place. The kids snuggle with us there, we watch hockey there, eat dinner a lot in there. I look around my living room and it makes me anxious sometimes seeing the mess but if it were perfectly clean, I would feel weird too. I kinda like the chaos of the room. Call me crazy but it makes me really feel at home. I mean I know it's my home but it's home  ya know? A couple laundry baskets are always in there, the sock box is constantly overflowing, partners never to be found thanks to the hungry hungry dryer. Messy and resembling tornado alley but I love it. What is the moment that you leave childhood and enter adulthood? When I was 17, we moved to Germ...

I saw the kids a couple times after their father and I broke up. I saw their grandmother sometimes when I would walk past her house on my way to work. I moved to Wisconsin for a dumb boy then in with my parents a couple months later. Dumb boy ya know. Soon after, my dad and I drove to Phoenix to get my stuff from a U-Haul. Stuff that my old roommate was holding onto for me until I could get down there to pick it all up. She was pawning my shit for drug money and her half brother called me to let me know. When my dad and I got there, I was so thankful to the police for blocking her from going in the truck until we got there (32 hours). We got the stuff I really wanted to keep and left the rest. We figured we'd go to Tucson and I'd show my dad where I had lived the last two years. It was a good visit. A lot of fun catching up with friends. I didn't think to stop by and see the kids. Regrets now of course.  I did the drive again with a friend of mine that April. I can't im...

Have you faced fears and overcome them? When I was living in Germany, my parents and I went on a weekend trip to Paris. Obviously *that* Paris. I was turning 18 that weekend and I was so excited to be there. I was with my parents the whole time but eh, it was Paris for crying out loud. We saw everything while we were there. Got as much in as we could. The Louvre, Eiffel Tower, all of it. We went on a tour that took us to a building that had "the world's fastest elevator". I don't know if it, indeed, was the fastest, but we sure got up there quickly. We were probably 3 floors from the top when we were told that we had to walk up and around the side of the building to get to said roof. Um no. I'll hang out in the elevator thankyouverymuch. My fear of heights is so palpable, so intense that I could not tell you how I've gotten through some moments in my life. This was one of them. I don't know how I got up to the roof but I ended up there. There's ...