It was just a few weeks ago that I was going on and on, telling a friend of mine how my kids almost never get sick. So much for bragging. Here are the events of our household for the last three weekends:
Friday the 13th, Reiss had a seizure during which, he peed on me while I was holding him. Soon thereafter, we gave him his seizure medication (a rectal suppository). He then lost control of his bowels, resulting in the med getting expelled, for lack of a better word. He began to calm down but vomited two times and then began to seize enough to scare me into calling 911. That landed us with a trip to the ER for the morning and early afternoon.
The following Tuesday we received the invoice from the ambulance service and the hospital's invoice the day after that. How's that for compassion? Maybe the insurance company will avenge the transport company and the hospital for their lack of compassion by putting off payment for a month or so. Ha! Probably not. I am horrible, I know, and I do not care. It is hard to feel bad for others not getting paid as promptly as they might like when it involves your child's misfortune.
The Wednesday after the seizure, Reiss began vomiting. That lasted for three days along with explosive diarrhea at around 8PM almost every night. Our carpet is trashed in Reiss's room and ours. The diarrhea continued on into the weekend and early this week too. We feared leaving the house even with a backpack loaded with extra clothes for Reiss - and for Milla too, who still has potty accidents now and then. The one time we did venture out without extra clothing, we were at the Y when Milla peed in her pants and Reiss didn't make it to the bathroom. Sparing the details of that incident, suffice it to say Reiss came out of the bathroom having gone commando.
As we were driving home from picking up some takeout for lunch today, and just when we thought we were through the woods and still holding onto the prospect of a weekend without some sort of bodily fluid turning it sour, Milla transformed my SUV into a puke bucket on wheels. She did not eat lunch and soon afterwards, she and I fell asleep together in the living room chair. It was a refreshing little nap until I woke up with my stomach doing flip-flops too.
James and Reiss came home from buying some marigolds and other odds and ends things from "the green store," a.k.a. Menards. Reiss helped James plant the flowers and then they came in to clean up a bit. Not long after that, Reiss got a bloody faucet nose. Seriously, I really began to wonder if his nose was going to stop pouring blood. Ten minutes later, Milla vomited again.
Our last three weeks, but primarily the weekends, have been nothing but a series of negative bodily functions. Take this as a lesson and learn from my mistake: When you brag on your children's health (or whatever else), it will come back to haunt you. Should you choose to continue bragging anyway, just hope for your sanity that the haunting is not in the form of seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, bloody noses, or getting peed on. I know all of it sounds like a lot of fun, but as I have said before, not everyone can have special kids.
Showing posts with label potty-training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potty-training. Show all posts
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
These Seizures Are Going To Give Me A Stroke
Reiss creating a masterpiece for "Make Your Own Pizza Night" this past Friday evening....
Because I am a slacker blogger and have not bothered to write anything in nearly two weeks, "Which seizures?" you might ask.
Well, there was the seizure Reiss had last June that we thought certain was triggered by an antibiotic he was on at the time. Long story...He had started an antibiotic, had a seizure within twenty-four hours of the first dose, so we ceased the dosing and began looking around online for information regarding the antibiotic. Come to find out - and this was confirmed by a real live doc, not just online information - that particular antibiotic has a high seizure incident rate in the general population.
For those who are not aware, autistic children have a thirty percent (actually, I've seen varying estimates on this but for the sake of this post, I'll go with the percentage I've seen most often) higher chance of having a first-time seizure than a typical child. So why, oh why, would a doctor prescribe a medication that already has a high seizure rate in neurotypical people to a child with autism?
That is not what this post is about though, so I will go ahead and move on now. Oh wait, no, I won't. Not before mentioning that we no longer see that doctor.
And then there was the second seizure. Fast forward to this past Monday and Reiss had another seizure. This one did not come on nearly as quickly as the first one. With the first one, Reiss went from zoning out to being unconscious in a matter of ten minutes or less. With this one, he began zoning out and it was so mild that I wasn't even certain he was having a seizure. Many of his symptoms - strange noises with his tongue (only in the beginning), belly gurgling, eyes and head going off to one side, limp body - were the same both times, but the duration of the individual seizures varied greatly. This seizure went on for around forty-five minutes before our doctor ordered us to administer the anti-seizure medication.
Through all of this particular seizure, I was particularly calm to a point that it even surprised me. So the title of this blog post isn't entirely accurate but who knows maybe I was frantic on the inside.....I did catch my hand shaking at one point, but otherwise, I think my unconscious mind was sending messages to my conscious mind telling it to keep things in order.
Reiss's first seizure meant a trip to the hospital and an overnight stay. After first arriving at the hospital and a little ways into the hospital staff treating Reiss with Valium, an antibiotic, and something else that I cannot recall at the moment, James and I got treated to an interesting interaction between two of the hospital employees. They were arguing over the correct dosage amount and one was accusing the other of administering too high a dosage.
Um...hello???? Our son is convulsing on the table (which, by the way, he only began doing after they began pumping him full of God knows what) and I am sitting there a crying, blithering idiot mess of a mom. Do you really think arguing over the dose amount is something you should do in front of a parent who thinks their child may die right in front of their very eyes?? And to give said parent more fuel for the fire of her insanity in that maybe you aided in her child's death by overdosing?
Obviously, Reiss did not die but one can see where I would hesitate to take him to the hospital in the event another seizure should occur, which it did, or I would not be writing this right now. Needless to say, I was a bit reluctant to call an ambulance this time.
And guess what???
Reiss took almost two days to fully recover from his seizure and all the medications he was pumped full of last time during his care with "professionals."
His recovery time for this seizure?
Two hours. Two hours after I injected the Diastat suppository in him, Reiss was up and running around - more actively than I would have preferred, as a matter of fact. Monday evening, he seemed a little tired but Tuesday morning he was back to his usual hundred-miles-a-minute self.
I know some people will call it a coincidence that Reiss recovered so much more quickly with this seizure and they
It is times like these that I actually wish my family's life could be under a little microscope for doctors to observe. To see that more medications do not necessarily mean better medical care. That the body can help itself with less intervention. But that won't happen as long as there are pharmaceutical reps making themselves permanent fixtures in doctors' waiting rooms and......
Blah, blah, blah....I'm officially rambling and the pharmaceutical argument is not one I plan to revisit today.
Reiss is fine. All week long, he has played just like nothing extraordinarily out-of-the-ordinary happened earlier this week. He is back to challenging James and me when we tell him to do something and seeing what he can get away with and bossing Milla around and arguing with her and taking toys from her and crying when she instigates something herself. He made it through one full week this week with no #2 accidents in his pants. Yesterday, we visited a bounce place as a reward. He helped make pancakes yesterday on Pancake Saturday, just as he has done every single Saturday for almost four years now. This afternoon, as I did make-ahead prep work of cutting veggies and mixing sauce ingredients for our dinner, Reiss made certain I was aware - by telling me no less than thirty times - that he does not like Orange Chicken (that he apparently has forgotten that he eats the heck out of every single time we have it for dinner). As I write this, Reiss is "helping" change flood lights outside by holding the ladder for James. Hopefully, "holding the ladder" does not mean tipping the ladder and a dreaded visit to the hospital.
Yes, things are back to normal. Life is good.............
Friday, March 5, 2010
Where ARE You, Supernanny???
Today has been one of those days where the suggestion of having a lock on the outside of my son's door no longer seems like a joke amongst a group of moms discussing their children but like a really great idea.
Not so long ago, Reiss and Milla and I used to go to a group gathering on Friday mornings at a local church. All the mothers would share some fellowship while our children played in an adjoining room. Quite often the conversation would turn to discussing our children and the funny things they had done recently and sometimes the not-so-funny problems of disciplining children. A few of these moms told me, in all seriousness, that they had switched the door handles on their child's room to make it so the lock was on the outside of the door. I used to laugh at such a notion....
No more.
ABA therapy cannot begin soon enough for us. I was hoping it would have already begun but unfortunately, we do not have enough therapists lined up yet. Actually, there's a little more to it than that but that's the long and short of it. We should be up and running within the next two weeks. If not, my sanity may not last.
Some days we have these really great days and then other days are just maddening beyond belief. We have already started going to a social skills group associated with the ABA group we are using and Reiss does really awesome there and pays attention fairly well to the other kids' therapists who take charge of the group. Once we are up and running with our own in-home ABA program, our therapist will go with us to the group as well. Until then, I take Reiss and Milla and he has to do what the other therapists tell him to do.
Yesterday was quite interesting. We went to the social skills group. Reiss behaved pretty well but did have his moments of non-compliance. When he gets a timeout with the ABA therapists, he is generally very compliant and does his "time for the crime." Overall, yesterday was no different, with the exception of one instance where Reiss put up a bit of a fuss before his timeout. The therapist wasn't having it and seconds later, Reiss was sitting quietly in a timeout.
Fast forward to about an hour later when we got home and he did something to get a timeout here and being the observer I've learned very quickly to be, I did everything exactly as the ABA therapists, only to be met with a four-year-old putting up a fight equivocal to that of maybe someone three times his size just getting him over to the designated timeout area.
Seriously, I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I can do everything exactly the same (or, at least, I'm pretty certain it's exactly the same) as the ABA therapists, even down to the detail of showing no emotion. However, what works like magic for them most often results in kicking, screaming, pinching, hitting, and total lack of cooperation to sit in the timeout area. Reiss will sit quietly in a timeout for therapists and for his teacher at school a lot of times, yet I can't even get him to stay in the same place in a timeout when restrained in a booster seat. The only way to keep him in one place for a timeout at home is to put him in a booster seat that has buckles on it and also to restrain the booster seat to something else so that it cannot move. We have, well had - we need to refasten the straps - our booster seat sitting on the floor for safety and strapped to the posts that make up the railing around our stairs leading to the basement.
If it doesn't sound safe, I can assure you it is safe. There is no way Reiss can fall over, strangle himself, fall down the stairs, or whatever else anyone may be thinking. And just a note for anyone who may be thinking of calling Child Protective Services on me, I've checked, this is not only safe but actually what is recommended for keeping a child safe during a period of timeout.
I just keep thinking if my sanity can last until the ABA begins, we will all be fine. Reiss took non-compliance to a new level today. He peed in his pants twice. He pooped in his pants three times. He went through several pairs of pants and then fussed and complained and harassed me endlessly for two hours about how he has no pants that fit him. His ideal pants are Goodwill purhased, been through who knows how many children, faded beyond belief jeans....or home pants, as he calls them.
Now, I have nothing against secondhand clothes - they are practically all I grew up with and I still continue to buy from Goodwill occasionally when I can find something I like. However, for Reiss to say that he has no pants that fit him is simply ludicrous considering the fact that his size 4 and size 5 wardrobe has been complete since before he was even three years old, due to the fact that I exclusively buy him Gymboree clothing when it is out of season and on clearance and during Gymbucks earning and redemption periods and with coupons and using my Gymboree Visa and Gymboree Rewards program and on and on and on.....my method for getting Gymboree clothes for next to no money out of pocket is a whole 'nother post all its own and I won't bore anyone with that sort of thing today.
Needless to say, it breaks my heart when I see several pairs of excellent quality size 4 Gymboree jeans with those little marked down pricetags still hanging from them getting pushed to the far reaches of Reiss's closet all while he complains about having no home pants clean because all his crappy Goodwill jeans that cost more than the Gymboree jeans are dirty because he either pooped or peed in them.
And all this going on while Milla is trying to take a nap and keeping him at a low roar is like getting an elephant to tread lightly on a glass roof....
So going back to my original question....
Where ARE you, Supernanny???
Of all the lucrative ideas people have come up with to swindle parents of children with autism out of their dwindling financial resources, why hasn't someone come up with the idea of being a Supernanny-type professional exclusively for children with autism? Now that would be someone I would hire...
Not so long ago, Reiss and Milla and I used to go to a group gathering on Friday mornings at a local church. All the mothers would share some fellowship while our children played in an adjoining room. Quite often the conversation would turn to discussing our children and the funny things they had done recently and sometimes the not-so-funny problems of disciplining children. A few of these moms told me, in all seriousness, that they had switched the door handles on their child's room to make it so the lock was on the outside of the door. I used to laugh at such a notion....
No more.
ABA therapy cannot begin soon enough for us. I was hoping it would have already begun but unfortunately, we do not have enough therapists lined up yet. Actually, there's a little more to it than that but that's the long and short of it. We should be up and running within the next two weeks. If not, my sanity may not last.
Some days we have these really great days and then other days are just maddening beyond belief. We have already started going to a social skills group associated with the ABA group we are using and Reiss does really awesome there and pays attention fairly well to the other kids' therapists who take charge of the group. Once we are up and running with our own in-home ABA program, our therapist will go with us to the group as well. Until then, I take Reiss and Milla and he has to do what the other therapists tell him to do.
Yesterday was quite interesting. We went to the social skills group. Reiss behaved pretty well but did have his moments of non-compliance. When he gets a timeout with the ABA therapists, he is generally very compliant and does his "time for the crime." Overall, yesterday was no different, with the exception of one instance where Reiss put up a bit of a fuss before his timeout. The therapist wasn't having it and seconds later, Reiss was sitting quietly in a timeout.
Fast forward to about an hour later when we got home and he did something to get a timeout here and being the observer I've learned very quickly to be, I did everything exactly as the ABA therapists, only to be met with a four-year-old putting up a fight equivocal to that of maybe someone three times his size just getting him over to the designated timeout area.
Seriously, I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I can do everything exactly the same (or, at least, I'm pretty certain it's exactly the same) as the ABA therapists, even down to the detail of showing no emotion. However, what works like magic for them most often results in kicking, screaming, pinching, hitting, and total lack of cooperation to sit in the timeout area. Reiss will sit quietly in a timeout for therapists and for his teacher at school a lot of times, yet I can't even get him to stay in the same place in a timeout when restrained in a booster seat. The only way to keep him in one place for a timeout at home is to put him in a booster seat that has buckles on it and also to restrain the booster seat to something else so that it cannot move. We have, well had - we need to refasten the straps - our booster seat sitting on the floor for safety and strapped to the posts that make up the railing around our stairs leading to the basement.
If it doesn't sound safe, I can assure you it is safe. There is no way Reiss can fall over, strangle himself, fall down the stairs, or whatever else anyone may be thinking. And just a note for anyone who may be thinking of calling Child Protective Services on me, I've checked, this is not only safe but actually what is recommended for keeping a child safe during a period of timeout.
I just keep thinking if my sanity can last until the ABA begins, we will all be fine. Reiss took non-compliance to a new level today. He peed in his pants twice. He pooped in his pants three times. He went through several pairs of pants and then fussed and complained and harassed me endlessly for two hours about how he has no pants that fit him. His ideal pants are Goodwill purhased, been through who knows how many children, faded beyond belief jeans....or home pants, as he calls them.
Now, I have nothing against secondhand clothes - they are practically all I grew up with and I still continue to buy from Goodwill occasionally when I can find something I like. However, for Reiss to say that he has no pants that fit him is simply ludicrous considering the fact that his size 4 and size 5 wardrobe has been complete since before he was even three years old, due to the fact that I exclusively buy him Gymboree clothing when it is out of season and on clearance and during Gymbucks earning and redemption periods and with coupons and using my Gymboree Visa and Gymboree Rewards program and on and on and on.....my method for getting Gymboree clothes for next to no money out of pocket is a whole 'nother post all its own and I won't bore anyone with that sort of thing today.
Needless to say, it breaks my heart when I see several pairs of excellent quality size 4 Gymboree jeans with those little marked down pricetags still hanging from them getting pushed to the far reaches of Reiss's closet all while he complains about having no home pants clean because all his crappy Goodwill jeans that cost more than the Gymboree jeans are dirty because he either pooped or peed in them.
And all this going on while Milla is trying to take a nap and keeping him at a low roar is like getting an elephant to tread lightly on a glass roof....
So going back to my original question....
Where ARE you, Supernanny???
Of all the lucrative ideas people have come up with to swindle parents of children with autism out of their dwindling financial resources, why hasn't someone come up with the idea of being a Supernanny-type professional exclusively for children with autism? Now that would be someone I would hire...
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Because ONE Day Would Just Be Too Much To Ask....
I admit it. I envy parents of typical children. I envy how seemingly easy it is for most of them to just pack up the kids, pack up the car, and go out for a day of fun. I envy how they can think nothing of going to a movie their child has wanted to see or a restaurant for a special family dinner or heck, even just to the post office to mail a package.
I feel like my family's life is all about just wanting ONE day of knowing what it's like to have typical children. One day where we don't have to deal with autism. One day where I can look back at the end of the day and think "Wow, this must be what it's like to be a regular family." But apparently, one day like that is just too much to ask because I'm still waiting for it.
Packing up the kids and packing up the car for a day of fun (and I use the term "fun" very loosely because most of these outings for us consist mainly of chaos control and tantrum prevention) does not happen very often for us. Doing so means packing up food that fits our specialized diet, making sure we have enough clothes changes should we have any "accidents" with a child who would probably be potty-trained by this age, if he was a neurotypical. Don't get me wrong...I know it's not his fault he has autism and I do know we are lucky that he is "mostly" potty-trained, considering I have friends whose children with autism are seven, eight, nine years old and older who still wear diapers.
My kids do not watch tv so going to a movie is out of the question. It's not that we do not allow tv viewing in our home, they simply have no interest and no attention span to sit still for watching tv. Ask a typical child who their favorite cartoon character is and immediately they will spout off some silly Disney or Nickelodeon character. Ask my children who their favorite cartoon characters are and they will stare blankly, not even knowing what you're talking about.
Going to a restaurant? Ha! First of all, my children can't eat most of what is served in restaurants and again, there's the won't-sit-still factor. We could take our own food but then we have to talk to the manager of the restaurant. Then there's dealing with Reiss who has that wonderful aspect of autism that involves rigidity to sameness (although he uses this selectively, as you'll read later about fits involving me and giving him what I think he wants at the time) gets bent out of shape if his plate looks any different than Daddy's plate, so James can't really eat the food offered in the restaurant either unless we sit there with the whole restaurant patronage looking at us while our child throws a fit.
Going to the post office isn't impossible but it's no walk in the park. Typically, I try to do this, when needed, when Reiss is in preschool. Until about two months ago, Reiss hadn't even been in a post office for almost two years. I simply didn't want to deal with it.
Am I complaining? Yes, actually, I am and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm not blaming anyone or blaming my child but yes, I am complaining. I get tired of all the challenges of autism and how it invades every aspect of our entire lives. Although I don't really pay attention anymore to the stares out in public, I do still get tired of them.
I get tired of every single day, nearly every waking moment being a challenge.
I am tired of politicians in high places cutting funds for services (i.e respite care....can I get a "Hell, yeah!" from those of you who know what I'm talking about???) families like mine desperately need and then offloading billions to people who have entered my country illegally. Yeah, I said it!
I am tired of trying what all the behavior "experts" whose clients are parents of typical children say to do for behavior modification and it not working with my child. I wish all these "experts" would walk a day in my shoes and understand that their Supernanny methods, 1-2-3 Magic, positive reinforcement, giving choices, and just about everything else imaginable doesn't always work with children with autism the way they swear it does with typical children. While all those are good methods and we have had limited success with each of them, the fact still remains that children like mine are wired differently. It's not just me saying this - it truly is a fact. Even my child's own preschool teacher understands that none of these methods will work consistently and for very long with a child with autism. So why don't these professionals who are getting paid multiple times more than her seem to get that?
I get tired of being judged for everything - how I handle situations with my children, the way I feed them, the treatments I choose to work towards recovering my children from autism, and on and on and on. Just this morning I was speaking with another mom of two boys with autism who told me her extended family swears that her sons' improvements towards recovery have nothing to do with the biomedical treatments (that are, coincidentally, very similar to the ones we use) she has been doing, but rather, her sons are simply "outgrowing" their autism. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry because we - my husband and I - have both heard things along the same lines.....
"Oh, it looks like Reiss is really starting to outgrow this..."
and
"Just give it a few years and he'll outgrow it."
I am tired of nearly every encounter with my child being a struggle. Reiss may want his pancake cut up today and then throw a ten-minute tantrum tomorrow because I cut it up. This evening I may give him a fork at dinner and then have to listen to him have a meltdown about "Why'd ya' give me a fork, Mommy?" when just yesterday he wondered why I didn't give him a fork. It's like no matter what I do, I have to think about my actions before doing them and recall what it was that made Reiss happy in the same situation ten minutes ago or this morning or yesterday and then recreate whatever made him happy, only to be met with a tantrum because this time he wanted it differently......again. Ignorant people call this being bratty. In my children, it's autism.
Yes, I'm complaining. And yes, I hate autism. And yes, I hate living in a world that's not made for people like me or my children. And yes, I am having a bad day. Yes, I would love to be one of those mothers of children with autism who just puts on a happy face all the time but that's not me. And honestly, I have a feeling that it's not really how those moms feel either......they just save their unhappiness for more private moments. I don't know of a single mom who will say they love autism or the challenges it creates.
I'm done....that's all, folks. Back to the grind and tantrums and challenges and endless paperwork for services for my children and therapies and phone calls to therapists and finding a babysitter who truly "gets" it and finding that magic combo that willsave me my sanity improve my child's well-being.....
I feel like my family's life is all about just wanting ONE day of knowing what it's like to have typical children. One day where we don't have to deal with autism. One day where I can look back at the end of the day and think "Wow, this must be what it's like to be a regular family." But apparently, one day like that is just too much to ask because I'm still waiting for it.
Packing up the kids and packing up the car for a day of fun (and I use the term "fun" very loosely because most of these outings for us consist mainly of chaos control and tantrum prevention) does not happen very often for us. Doing so means packing up food that fits our specialized diet, making sure we have enough clothes changes should we have any "accidents" with a child who would probably be potty-trained by this age, if he was a neurotypical. Don't get me wrong...I know it's not his fault he has autism and I do know we are lucky that he is "mostly" potty-trained, considering I have friends whose children with autism are seven, eight, nine years old and older who still wear diapers.
My kids do not watch tv so going to a movie is out of the question. It's not that we do not allow tv viewing in our home, they simply have no interest and no attention span to sit still for watching tv. Ask a typical child who their favorite cartoon character is and immediately they will spout off some silly Disney or Nickelodeon character. Ask my children who their favorite cartoon characters are and they will stare blankly, not even knowing what you're talking about.
Going to a restaurant? Ha! First of all, my children can't eat most of what is served in restaurants and again, there's the won't-sit-still factor. We could take our own food but then we have to talk to the manager of the restaurant. Then there's dealing with Reiss who has that wonderful aspect of autism that involves rigidity to sameness (although he uses this selectively, as you'll read later about fits involving me and giving him what I think he wants at the time) gets bent out of shape if his plate looks any different than Daddy's plate, so James can't really eat the food offered in the restaurant either unless we sit there with the whole restaurant patronage looking at us while our child throws a fit.
Going to the post office isn't impossible but it's no walk in the park. Typically, I try to do this, when needed, when Reiss is in preschool. Until about two months ago, Reiss hadn't even been in a post office for almost two years. I simply didn't want to deal with it.
Am I complaining? Yes, actually, I am and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm not blaming anyone or blaming my child but yes, I am complaining. I get tired of all the challenges of autism and how it invades every aspect of our entire lives. Although I don't really pay attention anymore to the stares out in public, I do still get tired of them.
I get tired of every single day, nearly every waking moment being a challenge.
I am tired of politicians in high places cutting funds for services (i.e respite care....can I get a "Hell, yeah!" from those of you who know what I'm talking about???) families like mine desperately need and then offloading billions to people who have entered my country illegally. Yeah, I said it!
I am tired of trying what all the behavior "experts" whose clients are parents of typical children say to do for behavior modification and it not working with my child. I wish all these "experts" would walk a day in my shoes and understand that their Supernanny methods, 1-2-3 Magic, positive reinforcement, giving choices, and just about everything else imaginable doesn't always work with children with autism the way they swear it does with typical children. While all those are good methods and we have had limited success with each of them, the fact still remains that children like mine are wired differently. It's not just me saying this - it truly is a fact. Even my child's own preschool teacher understands that none of these methods will work consistently and for very long with a child with autism. So why don't these professionals who are getting paid multiple times more than her seem to get that?
I get tired of being judged for everything - how I handle situations with my children, the way I feed them, the treatments I choose to work towards recovering my children from autism, and on and on and on. Just this morning I was speaking with another mom of two boys with autism who told me her extended family swears that her sons' improvements towards recovery have nothing to do with the biomedical treatments (that are, coincidentally, very similar to the ones we use) she has been doing, but rather, her sons are simply "outgrowing" their autism. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry because we - my husband and I - have both heard things along the same lines.....
"Oh, it looks like Reiss is really starting to outgrow this..."
and
"Just give it a few years and he'll outgrow it."
I am tired of nearly every encounter with my child being a struggle. Reiss may want his pancake cut up today and then throw a ten-minute tantrum tomorrow because I cut it up. This evening I may give him a fork at dinner and then have to listen to him have a meltdown about "Why'd ya' give me a fork, Mommy?" when just yesterday he wondered why I didn't give him a fork. It's like no matter what I do, I have to think about my actions before doing them and recall what it was that made Reiss happy in the same situation ten minutes ago or this morning or yesterday and then recreate whatever made him happy, only to be met with a tantrum because this time he wanted it differently......again. Ignorant people call this being bratty. In my children, it's autism.
Yes, I'm complaining. And yes, I hate autism. And yes, I hate living in a world that's not made for people like me or my children. And yes, I am having a bad day. Yes, I would love to be one of those mothers of children with autism who just puts on a happy face all the time but that's not me. And honestly, I have a feeling that it's not really how those moms feel either......they just save their unhappiness for more private moments. I don't know of a single mom who will say they love autism or the challenges it creates.
I'm done....that's all, folks. Back to the grind and tantrums and challenges and endless paperwork for services for my children and therapies and phone calls to therapists and finding a babysitter who truly "gets" it and finding that magic combo that will
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
At the End of My Rope...
Never in a million years did I think at nearly five years of age my child would still be pooping in his pants - and not just an occasional accident, but regularly and on purpose! I am so over cleaning poop out of Reiss's pants on a near daily (sometimes two, three, or four times) basis, I could tear my hair out.
And he was doing so well there for several weeks.....
But no, Reiss is now back to pooping in his pants almost daily and is proud of himself for doing it. He wants to wear a diaper because Milla wears Pull-Ups (visualize me saying this in a snotty voice). Seriously, I could cry. Actually, I might just do that later.
Today alone, I have cleaned poop out of Reiss's pant two times. Weeks ago, even just days ago, the threat of wearing a diaper would send him into a tantrum begging not to have to wear one. He goes back and forth though...one day he wants to wear a diaper to be just like Milla. The next, he is having a record-breakingly loud and extensive meltdown at the mere mention of having to wear a diaper. Make up your mind already, ya' know??
How in the world is a person supposed to know how to handle that? GRRRRR!!!!!!!
And by the way, I hope I never sound like I don't like or love my own child. I love Reiss to pieces but some days....some days I wish with all my being things could just be even a teensy bit easier.
On a more positive note, my husband and I are working with a woman who is the former director of a therapy facility for children on the northside of Indianapolis in helping her and her husband (also a former director of the same facility) get the word out about a similar facility of their own that they hope to open by summertime.
Their facility will provide ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy services all in one building - a wonderful benefit to those parents who either have several therapists coming to their homes and/or travel to several different facilities in order for their children to receive their different therapies. This is exactly the kind of thing this side of town (we live on the southside of Indianapolis) needs, as no other facility of its kind exists here.
I always say the southside is the worst place to have a child with autism because all the professionals specializing in autism treatments are on the northside. The one place that is not is downtown and is a university-based autism treatment facility that is so overwhelmed with patients they cannot provide the intensive treatment these children need. Just ask me and my husband. Unfortunately, we know first-hand. For example, their recommended form of therapy for Reiss was ABA for one hour, one time per month. Anyone who knows anything at all about ABA knows that one hour of ABA might as well be nothing. ABA is generally given to children ten to thirty hours per week, with some children needing a little less, others needing a bit more. However, one hour per month would never be considered effective treatment by the professionals who originally conceived the ABA theories.
In other news....(is that so cliche or what?)
A girl, well, she's actually a woman now, I went to school with and am facebook friends with sounds like she is in the process of beginning the journey into autism with her son. It breaks my heart to know others have to go through what we go through but it's nice to know I have been there, am still there, and can help others just now joining "the club" that no one wants to be a part of, but many of us (and a growing number of us) are forced into joining.
There were some other positives to my day today. I didn't ditch my friend, Carol, and our regular Wednesday mall-walking date like I have had to do for a few weeks now due to other things going on. So I did get some exercise today.
While at the mall, in addition to walking two miles, I also rocked the Bath & Body Works store! My brother-in-law gave me a giftcard for there. I was unsure of the amount of the giftcard and kept forgetting to call the 800 number on the back to find out. After walking this morning, I had some time to kill before going to get Reiss and decided to go spend my giftcard before I forgot about having it. Their semi-annual sale is going on right now and that is one sale I love so much that I actually tell people about it. I must sound like a real dork telling people about a sale but this sale is a good one. How can I pass up stocking up on gifts for people when they include getting body sprays for $0.35???
Anyway, so I picked out what I thought was probably around $25 worth of stuff. It ended up being a total with tax of $30.39. My giftcard was for thirty dollars so I got 21 items for $0.39 out of pocket! Not too shabby, especially considering I was just guessing at the amount of the giftcard.
After robbing the Bath & Body Works store, I took Milla to the play area for the remaining little bit we had before needing to pickup Reiss from preschool. She played and ran around and I hope she had fun. She looked like she was having fun. There was one mom whose little girl of about eighteen months, by my guesstimation, ran out of the play area. The mom was young (but then, anything younger than thirty seems young to me these days) and was sitting there talking with a friend and not watching her daughter. I was watching her daughter and Milla at the same time and wondering how long it would be before she got up to go get her daughter. Finally, after her daughter was about fifty or so feet from the play area and getting ready to enter JCPenney, the mom got up to go look for her daughter. And it wasn't even in an oh-my-goodness-where-is-my-daughter sort of way. It was more like la-dee-da-dee-da-I-guess-I-will-go-find-my-daughter-now kind of way. GRRRR!!!! (Just for fun, can you count how many times I used the word "daughter" in that paragraph? Sheesh, where are those writing skills people used to gush all over me about?)
Anyhooooo.....surely anyone reading this to here is bored to tears by now so........
I'm off...back to conquering the world I go. HA!
And he was doing so well there for several weeks.....
But no, Reiss is now back to pooping in his pants almost daily and is proud of himself for doing it. He wants to wear a diaper because Milla wears Pull-Ups (visualize me saying this in a snotty voice). Seriously, I could cry. Actually, I might just do that later.
Today alone, I have cleaned poop out of Reiss's pant two times. Weeks ago, even just days ago, the threat of wearing a diaper would send him into a tantrum begging not to have to wear one. He goes back and forth though...one day he wants to wear a diaper to be just like Milla. The next, he is having a record-breakingly loud and extensive meltdown at the mere mention of having to wear a diaper. Make up your mind already, ya' know??
How in the world is a person supposed to know how to handle that? GRRRRR!!!!!!!
And by the way, I hope I never sound like I don't like or love my own child. I love Reiss to pieces but some days....some days I wish with all my being things could just be even a teensy bit easier.
On a more positive note, my husband and I are working with a woman who is the former director of a therapy facility for children on the northside of Indianapolis in helping her and her husband (also a former director of the same facility) get the word out about a similar facility of their own that they hope to open by summertime.
Their facility will provide ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy services all in one building - a wonderful benefit to those parents who either have several therapists coming to their homes and/or travel to several different facilities in order for their children to receive their different therapies. This is exactly the kind of thing this side of town (we live on the southside of Indianapolis) needs, as no other facility of its kind exists here.
I always say the southside is the worst place to have a child with autism because all the professionals specializing in autism treatments are on the northside. The one place that is not is downtown and is a university-based autism treatment facility that is so overwhelmed with patients they cannot provide the intensive treatment these children need. Just ask me and my husband. Unfortunately, we know first-hand. For example, their recommended form of therapy for Reiss was ABA for one hour, one time per month. Anyone who knows anything at all about ABA knows that one hour of ABA might as well be nothing. ABA is generally given to children ten to thirty hours per week, with some children needing a little less, others needing a bit more. However, one hour per month would never be considered effective treatment by the professionals who originally conceived the ABA theories.
In other news....(is that so cliche or what?)
A girl, well, she's actually a woman now, I went to school with and am facebook friends with sounds like she is in the process of beginning the journey into autism with her son. It breaks my heart to know others have to go through what we go through but it's nice to know I have been there, am still there, and can help others just now joining "the club" that no one wants to be a part of, but many of us (and a growing number of us) are forced into joining.
There were some other positives to my day today. I didn't ditch my friend, Carol, and our regular Wednesday mall-walking date like I have had to do for a few weeks now due to other things going on. So I did get some exercise today.
While at the mall, in addition to walking two miles, I also rocked the Bath & Body Works store! My brother-in-law gave me a giftcard for there. I was unsure of the amount of the giftcard and kept forgetting to call the 800 number on the back to find out. After walking this morning, I had some time to kill before going to get Reiss and decided to go spend my giftcard before I forgot about having it. Their semi-annual sale is going on right now and that is one sale I love so much that I actually tell people about it. I must sound like a real dork telling people about a sale but this sale is a good one. How can I pass up stocking up on gifts for people when they include getting body sprays for $0.35???
Anyway, so I picked out what I thought was probably around $25 worth of stuff. It ended up being a total with tax of $30.39. My giftcard was for thirty dollars so I got 21 items for $0.39 out of pocket! Not too shabby, especially considering I was just guessing at the amount of the giftcard.
After robbing the Bath & Body Works store, I took Milla to the play area for the remaining little bit we had before needing to pickup Reiss from preschool. She played and ran around and I hope she had fun. She looked like she was having fun. There was one mom whose little girl of about eighteen months, by my guesstimation, ran out of the play area. The mom was young (but then, anything younger than thirty seems young to me these days) and was sitting there talking with a friend and not watching her daughter. I was watching her daughter and Milla at the same time and wondering how long it would be before she got up to go get her daughter. Finally, after her daughter was about fifty or so feet from the play area and getting ready to enter JCPenney, the mom got up to go look for her daughter. And it wasn't even in an oh-my-goodness-where-is-my-daughter sort of way. It was more like la-dee-da-dee-da-I-guess-I-will-go-find-my-daughter-now kind of way. GRRRR!!!! (Just for fun, can you count how many times I used the word "daughter" in that paragraph? Sheesh, where are those writing skills people used to gush all over me about?)
Anyhooooo.....surely anyone reading this to here is bored to tears by now so........
I'm off...back to conquering the world I go. HA!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday Messes
My day began by cleaning up spilled apple juice that I had poured into a "cup without a lid" and given to Reiss during breakfast. He reached for it to take a drink, somehow missed, and that was how we got Monday Mess #1.
Immediately following the cleanup of the overturned apple juice, Milla was asking (I'm so nice to call it "asking" - it was more like whining at a fever pitch) for some milk. So I got the foil-pack carton of Almond Breeze out of the refrigerator, started to shake it, and next thing I knew I was being showered with almond milk. As was the entire westside of my kitchen. Monday Mess #2 was born.
Reiss finished breakfast and went off to play in the master bathroom with a - unbeknownst to me at the time - toy aquarium. He filled it with water and came walking down the hall asking, "Mommy, why's this thang got water coming out?" That is not a typo. He really does say "thang."
Well, Reiss that would be because it's a toy aquarium, not something we actually fill with water. Monday Mess #3 made its appearance and in a grand way, all the way down the hall, through the bedroom all over the carpet in there, and on into the bathroom where a puddle approximately the size of Lake Michigan awaited my maiden skills and already sopping wet towel I was scooting down the hall with to clean up.
After removing the aquarium from the bathroom and establishing a new rule: No filling toy aquariums with water - I returned to the kitchen to find Milla and Monday Mess #4. Milla had turned her cup of apple juice over as well. All this action before 8:30 am. Do I know how to live it up or what?
I suppose it's a good thing I don't give them very much juice when they have cups without lids.
So why don't I just give them cups with lids? I could. And I could also listen to them tantrum themselves into a tizzy for a few minutes. I'll take cleaning up a mess now and then over a tantrum anyday. Honestly though, I can handle the tantrums. There is more to my excuse for giving them cups without lids and it includes having teachers in preschools who prefer to have them able to drink with a regular cup when they begin attendance. They also asked me at Milla's IFSP evaluation last week if she can drink from a cup without a lid so I guess that is something that is expected of a two-year-old??
I don't know. You tell me. I don't even know what "normal" behavior is anymore so I don't know what to expect.
Monday Mess # 5 came this afternoon within five minutes of Reiss and I throwing a big party for him having pooped and peed on the potty. It was naptime for Milla and Reiss had just finished eating his reward treat for pooping on the potty. He left the kitchen, then returned five minutes later, and told me he had poop in his pants.
Seriously???
So much for rewards. His reward this time was a diaper. Not a disposable pull-up. A regular old Huggies tearaway-tabs-on-the-side diaper. And he didn't even mind.
Reiss has been pooping in his pants several times the last few days and yesterday we told him if he did it again, he was going to wear a diaper. He wanted no part of the diaper scene again and threw a fit simply by the mention of him wearing a diaper. Today, he didn't care.
Really, I don't know how I am supposed to potty-train a child who doesn't even care. Why, oh why, does everything have to be so difficult? Just as I start to get comfortable in anything and thinking, hey, this ain't so bad, a monkey wrench gets thrown in. It almost never fails.
I really do try to stay positive with having a child with autism but it's so hard when nearly every aspect of every day is difficult in some way. And before I get the people coming out of the woodwork telling me:
"He's four. What do you expect?"
"These things happen sometimes."
"Oh, that's normal. He'll be potty-trained before you know it."
Or any other attempts to make me see that this has nothing to do with autism, let it be known that I'm not saying Reiss is not potty-trained because he is autistic. Although, I do think that plays a part at the very root of the problem - even our DAN! doctor has given us information pointing to that regard. But it has to do with gut and bowel issues and is not something average people who don't spend nearly every spare moment away from their children reading about the science behind autism would find interesting.
And I'm not saying Reiss does everything he does because he is autistic. What I am saying though, is that there are a lot of things Reiss does because he is four years old and is a boy and then there are also a lotta lot of things he does because he is autistic. When you add them together, the sum can be some extremely difficult days to handle. Frankly, it's exhausting. I want those carefree fun kind of days so many other people get to enjoy.
Speaking of carefree fun...We went outside in the freezing cold weather today so I could pull these monkeys around on the sleds. While Reiss waited on Milla to be pulled, he whined that he wanted her sled, which is for babies and too small even for her. While Reiss was being pulled in the baby sled, Milla was crying loud enough for the neighbors three streets over to hear her. Regardless...I pulled them around like a pack mule and tried to make it fun for them. I don't know if it was just their moods or just too cold but they didn't seem happy and then Reiss wanted to come back inside.
And that was about as carefree as we got today. Oh wait, I did let them empty out nearly a full bottle of glue on pieces of construction paper while I loaded the dishwasher. No, that is not my idea of a craft. They were supposed to be making snowmen from craft pom-poms and glue on paper. Instead, they just sat and watched as the glue streamed out of the bottle on their sheets of paper. But I got the dishwasher loaded and that was an accomplishment.
Here's to hoping Tuesday is more carefree and less messy.....
Immediately following the cleanup of the overturned apple juice, Milla was asking (I'm so nice to call it "asking" - it was more like whining at a fever pitch) for some milk. So I got the foil-pack carton of Almond Breeze out of the refrigerator, started to shake it, and next thing I knew I was being showered with almond milk. As was the entire westside of my kitchen. Monday Mess #2 was born.
Reiss finished breakfast and went off to play in the master bathroom with a - unbeknownst to me at the time - toy aquarium. He filled it with water and came walking down the hall asking, "Mommy, why's this thang got water coming out?" That is not a typo. He really does say "thang."
Well, Reiss that would be because it's a toy aquarium, not something we actually fill with water. Monday Mess #3 made its appearance and in a grand way, all the way down the hall, through the bedroom all over the carpet in there, and on into the bathroom where a puddle approximately the size of Lake Michigan awaited my maiden skills and already sopping wet towel I was scooting down the hall with to clean up.
After removing the aquarium from the bathroom and establishing a new rule: No filling toy aquariums with water - I returned to the kitchen to find Milla and Monday Mess #4. Milla had turned her cup of apple juice over as well. All this action before 8:30 am. Do I know how to live it up or what?
I suppose it's a good thing I don't give them very much juice when they have cups without lids.
So why don't I just give them cups with lids? I could. And I could also listen to them tantrum themselves into a tizzy for a few minutes. I'll take cleaning up a mess now and then over a tantrum anyday. Honestly though, I can handle the tantrums. There is more to my excuse for giving them cups without lids and it includes having teachers in preschools who prefer to have them able to drink with a regular cup when they begin attendance. They also asked me at Milla's IFSP evaluation last week if she can drink from a cup without a lid so I guess that is something that is expected of a two-year-old??
I don't know. You tell me. I don't even know what "normal" behavior is anymore so I don't know what to expect.
Monday Mess # 5 came this afternoon within five minutes of Reiss and I throwing a big party for him having pooped and peed on the potty. It was naptime for Milla and Reiss had just finished eating his reward treat for pooping on the potty. He left the kitchen, then returned five minutes later, and told me he had poop in his pants.
Seriously???
So much for rewards. His reward this time was a diaper. Not a disposable pull-up. A regular old Huggies tearaway-tabs-on-the-side diaper. And he didn't even mind.
Reiss has been pooping in his pants several times the last few days and yesterday we told him if he did it again, he was going to wear a diaper. He wanted no part of the diaper scene again and threw a fit simply by the mention of him wearing a diaper. Today, he didn't care.
Really, I don't know how I am supposed to potty-train a child who doesn't even care. Why, oh why, does everything have to be so difficult? Just as I start to get comfortable in anything and thinking, hey, this ain't so bad, a monkey wrench gets thrown in. It almost never fails.
I really do try to stay positive with having a child with autism but it's so hard when nearly every aspect of every day is difficult in some way. And before I get the people coming out of the woodwork telling me:
"He's four. What do you expect?"
"These things happen sometimes."
"Oh, that's normal. He'll be potty-trained before you know it."
Or any other attempts to make me see that this has nothing to do with autism, let it be known that I'm not saying Reiss is not potty-trained because he is autistic. Although, I do think that plays a part at the very root of the problem - even our DAN! doctor has given us information pointing to that regard. But it has to do with gut and bowel issues and is not something average people who don't spend nearly every spare moment away from their children reading about the science behind autism would find interesting.
And I'm not saying Reiss does everything he does because he is autistic. What I am saying though, is that there are a lot of things Reiss does because he is four years old and is a boy and then there are also a lotta lot of things he does because he is autistic. When you add them together, the sum can be some extremely difficult days to handle. Frankly, it's exhausting. I want those carefree fun kind of days so many other people get to enjoy.
Speaking of carefree fun...We went outside in the freezing cold weather today so I could pull these monkeys around on the sleds. While Reiss waited on Milla to be pulled, he whined that he wanted her sled, which is for babies and too small even for her. While Reiss was being pulled in the baby sled, Milla was crying loud enough for the neighbors three streets over to hear her. Regardless...I pulled them around like a pack mule and tried to make it fun for them. I don't know if it was just their moods or just too cold but they didn't seem happy and then Reiss wanted to come back inside.
And that was about as carefree as we got today. Oh wait, I did let them empty out nearly a full bottle of glue on pieces of construction paper while I loaded the dishwasher. No, that is not my idea of a craft. They were supposed to be making snowmen from craft pom-poms and glue on paper. Instead, they just sat and watched as the glue streamed out of the bottle on their sheets of paper. But I got the dishwasher loaded and that was an accomplishment.
Here's to hoping Tuesday is more carefree and less messy.....
Monday, December 28, 2009
So Much to Blog, So Little Time...
So I better get started while there is peace and sleeping children.
Where do I begin?
Today has been a day of super highs and downright lows. It all started with me patting myself on the back for thinking ahead last night and sitting out some roast cuts on the stove for around two hours and then placing them in the garage refrigerator overnite to thaw. Actually, I'm pretty good about that planning ahead thing when it comes to dinner but roasts take a long while to thaw and even with that amount of time out of the freezer, they were still practically solid this morning. No matter, I seasoned them up and pre-browned them prior to tossing them in the crockpot with some new potatoes and baby carrots. We also have some leftover green beans and corn mixed together that need to get gone. This type of mixture is what my mom always called succotash but I have since then come to learn that true succotash is lima beans and corn....not grean beans. Dinner, done! Score! One point for Mommy!
Next up was showering. I try not to complain about it too awful much but I rarely get a shower during the day when Reiss is home and Daddy is not. Most mothers can just throw their tots in front of the tv and trot off to the bathroom for a few minutes of blissful hot water raining down on them. Not me. If you read this blog at all, you know Reiss does not watch tv. And left unsupervised.....well, that doesn't happen. Enough said. Having said all that, I decided I would go ahead and try to take a shower this morning anyway. It must have been some kind of Christmas miracle because I was able to get in the shower, lather up, rinse and get out with the house still standing. Granted, it was only three minutes but it was probably the best three minutes I've had all day. Score! Another point for Mommy!
Apparently, I must have been getting a little cocky with all my triumphs of the morning because soon thereafter, the mayhem began. We had gone out for a quick few errands and had returned home.
A little about our trip out first.....
While we were out, I saw a man turn into a cigarette and lottery ticket store and do an almost complete donut on the icy parking lot. I don't think he meant to do it, but it unnerved me just a bit because he turned into the place going way too fast. Had he spun just a few feet farther over from where he did, he would taken out at least three cars. Good job, buddy! Now go in there and buy some cigarettes so you can kill just a few more brain cells.
At one point while out, we were driving in another parking lot and I saw a girl in what had to be no less than five-inch heeled boots with an ice pick thin spike serving as the heel. All that.....walking across an icy, snowy parking lot. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be impressed. All I know is that I was this close (visualize my thumb and forefinger coming together as close to one another as possible without actually touching) to rolling my window down and clapping. But I didn't.
One of our errands included going through a drive-thru and getting some lunch to take to James. Just as we entered the parking lot to the fast-food joint, some lady pulling away from the pickup window was either oblivious to me driving in the parking lot or simply felt she owned the place because she just started pulling out right in front of me. Luckily this parking lot wasn't icy or I'm sure I would have slid into her after having to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting her. I had to lay on the horn. Okay, maybe I didn't have to but I wanted to get her attention. And then, of course, as he always does when I beep at someone, Reiss had to ask me, "Mommy, why'd ya' beep at them?" And, of course, I wanted to say, "Because that lady had her head in her rear, sweetie." But I didn't.
Back home again, chaos ensued quite rapidly.
On the way home, Milla fell asleep in the truck so once we arrived home, I took her out and brought her into the living room and laid her down in a chair. Reiss was playing in the garage. Milla was snoozing with sweet little toddler snores barely audible over the heating ducts spewing out warm air since I had cranked the heat up immediately upon entering the house . I had turned the heat all the way down to 66 when we left and it must not have taken long for it to get that cold in here with the arctic temps outside because it was all the way down to that temperature and we were not gone long at all. So all was well in my world and then some psychotic battery-operated vtech bug toy decided to go off all on its own and make a musical wakeup call to Milla. Score! Psychotic toy, one point!
Reiss came in from playing in the garage and told me he had to poop so we went to the master bathroom and we both sat in there doing our business. Reiss on the toddler potty and me on the regular toilet. I was done before Reiss and got up and flushed. The toilet seemed to be taking longer than usual to refill the tank but I didn't think anything of it and next thing I knew water was spilling over the edges all over the place. Good thing Reiss had finished up because I needed to get him up to clean up the flood. Amidst that disaster, the shirt Reiss had taken off and placed at his feet had gotten soaked. As I tried to contain the flood, Reiss treated me to an extended length tantrum, extolling the extreme grief I caused him by not allowing him to wear the "pee shirt." Bad Mommy! I am just so mean.
Score! Psychotic toilet, one point!
Next up we went to the basement to see if there were any visible traces of the great flood of December '09. I didn't see anything and was glad of that because maybe it means that our contractor actually got something else right and the floor really is water-proofed.
While we were in the basement Reiss and Milla played with some toys that we just recently banished to the downstairs play area to make room for the Christmas toy explosion. Reiss was pushing around some robot toy and somehow landed flat on his face. The first time he did it, he laughed and got right back up. A few minutes later, I heard him pushing around the robot again, a cracking noise, a falling noise, and then Reiss crying. I went into the hallway and quickly picked him up to find blood pouring out of his nose. I'm not entirely certain what happened, as I couldn't get Reiss to answer my questions very well but I think he was pushing the toy around with his head down and ran into the door jam. Score! House, one point!
Finally, it was naptime and that leads us up to now.
I swear, the adventures of my daily life often read like a manuscript for a movie entitled "Manic Mommy" or some other hysterical comedy at which I am usually the only one not laughing but it doesn't get much better than this. There is peace and sleeping children, a fully cooked meal in the crockpot, and a husband who made it home safely and is crashing Bigfoot trucks all over the place on our new Wii.
Where do I begin?
Today has been a day of super highs and downright lows. It all started with me patting myself on the back for thinking ahead last night and sitting out some roast cuts on the stove for around two hours and then placing them in the garage refrigerator overnite to thaw. Actually, I'm pretty good about that planning ahead thing when it comes to dinner but roasts take a long while to thaw and even with that amount of time out of the freezer, they were still practically solid this morning. No matter, I seasoned them up and pre-browned them prior to tossing them in the crockpot with some new potatoes and baby carrots. We also have some leftover green beans and corn mixed together that need to get gone. This type of mixture is what my mom always called succotash but I have since then come to learn that true succotash is lima beans and corn....not grean beans. Dinner, done! Score! One point for Mommy!
Next up was showering. I try not to complain about it too awful much but I rarely get a shower during the day when Reiss is home and Daddy is not. Most mothers can just throw their tots in front of the tv and trot off to the bathroom for a few minutes of blissful hot water raining down on them. Not me. If you read this blog at all, you know Reiss does not watch tv. And left unsupervised.....well, that doesn't happen. Enough said. Having said all that, I decided I would go ahead and try to take a shower this morning anyway. It must have been some kind of Christmas miracle because I was able to get in the shower, lather up, rinse and get out with the house still standing. Granted, it was only three minutes but it was probably the best three minutes I've had all day. Score! Another point for Mommy!
Apparently, I must have been getting a little cocky with all my triumphs of the morning because soon thereafter, the mayhem began. We had gone out for a quick few errands and had returned home.
A little about our trip out first.....
While we were out, I saw a man turn into a cigarette and lottery ticket store and do an almost complete donut on the icy parking lot. I don't think he meant to do it, but it unnerved me just a bit because he turned into the place going way too fast. Had he spun just a few feet farther over from where he did, he would taken out at least three cars. Good job, buddy! Now go in there and buy some cigarettes so you can kill just a few more brain cells.
At one point while out, we were driving in another parking lot and I saw a girl in what had to be no less than five-inch heeled boots with an ice pick thin spike serving as the heel. All that.....walking across an icy, snowy parking lot. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or be impressed. All I know is that I was this close (visualize my thumb and forefinger coming together as close to one another as possible without actually touching) to rolling my window down and clapping. But I didn't.
One of our errands included going through a drive-thru and getting some lunch to take to James. Just as we entered the parking lot to the fast-food joint, some lady pulling away from the pickup window was either oblivious to me driving in the parking lot or simply felt she owned the place because she just started pulling out right in front of me. Luckily this parking lot wasn't icy or I'm sure I would have slid into her after having to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting her. I had to lay on the horn. Okay, maybe I didn't have to but I wanted to get her attention. And then, of course, as he always does when I beep at someone, Reiss had to ask me, "Mommy, why'd ya' beep at them?" And, of course, I wanted to say, "Because that lady had her head in her rear, sweetie." But I didn't.
Back home again, chaos ensued quite rapidly.
On the way home, Milla fell asleep in the truck so once we arrived home, I took her out and brought her into the living room and laid her down in a chair. Reiss was playing in the garage. Milla was snoozing with sweet little toddler snores barely audible over the heating ducts spewing out warm air since I had cranked the heat up immediately upon entering the house . I had turned the heat all the way down to 66 when we left and it must not have taken long for it to get that cold in here with the arctic temps outside because it was all the way down to that temperature and we were not gone long at all. So all was well in my world and then some psychotic battery-operated vtech bug toy decided to go off all on its own and make a musical wakeup call to Milla. Score! Psychotic toy, one point!
Reiss came in from playing in the garage and told me he had to poop so we went to the master bathroom and we both sat in there doing our business. Reiss on the toddler potty and me on the regular toilet. I was done before Reiss and got up and flushed. The toilet seemed to be taking longer than usual to refill the tank but I didn't think anything of it and next thing I knew water was spilling over the edges all over the place. Good thing Reiss had finished up because I needed to get him up to clean up the flood. Amidst that disaster, the shirt Reiss had taken off and placed at his feet had gotten soaked. As I tried to contain the flood, Reiss treated me to an extended length tantrum, extolling the extreme grief I caused him by not allowing him to wear the "pee shirt." Bad Mommy! I am just so mean.
Score! Psychotic toilet, one point!
Next up we went to the basement to see if there were any visible traces of the great flood of December '09. I didn't see anything and was glad of that because maybe it means that our contractor actually got something else right and the floor really is water-proofed.
While we were in the basement Reiss and Milla played with some toys that we just recently banished to the downstairs play area to make room for the Christmas toy explosion. Reiss was pushing around some robot toy and somehow landed flat on his face. The first time he did it, he laughed and got right back up. A few minutes later, I heard him pushing around the robot again, a cracking noise, a falling noise, and then Reiss crying. I went into the hallway and quickly picked him up to find blood pouring out of his nose. I'm not entirely certain what happened, as I couldn't get Reiss to answer my questions very well but I think he was pushing the toy around with his head down and ran into the door jam. Score! House, one point!
Finally, it was naptime and that leads us up to now.
I swear, the adventures of my daily life often read like a manuscript for a movie entitled "Manic Mommy" or some other hysterical comedy at which I am usually the only one not laughing but it doesn't get much better than this. There is peace and sleeping children, a fully cooked meal in the crockpot, and a husband who made it home safely and is crashing Bigfoot trucks all over the place on our new Wii.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Breakfast with Santa Claus
Reiss, Milla, and Daddy at one of the craft tables. They made little reindeer ornaments with popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, and googley eyes.
Reiss getting ready to tell Santa Claus to bring him a Colts shirt, please - with buttons! We're still trying to figure that one out.
Reiss surprised us with his willingness to sit on Santa's lap. Milla wasn't having any of it!
Another surprise.....Reiss not only did not throw a fit about the horse, he was very willing to check him out and even give him a little pat. If I sound pessimistic, I don't mean to. I'm just going by most of our experiences with animals. Reiss and Milla are both terrified of most animals - even Grandma's chihuahua. In their defense though, Grandma's chihuahua is yippity-yappy and more hyper than Reiss doped up on candy bars.
Dancer and his merry red-painted hooves. This was the last photo I took before we all went on a very, very chilly carriage ride.Yesterday was our breakfast with Santa Claus. The event was held at a church not far from our house and was sponsored by our county's autism support group. Although we had to take our own food in order to be able to stick to eating GFCF, it was nice to be around others who "get it."
No one around to point, stare, and whisper if our children began having an all-out meltdown over something as trivial as a drop of water getting on their shirt or having to have the food wiped from their faces (as was the case with us). Really, I'm not prejudiced against people who only have typical children but I do get tired of the looks we receive. If pointing and staring at children like mine is the example these parents are setting for their own children, it's no wonder why their kids grow up to be the ones who bully kids like mine once they are in school.
I will not go off on that tangent though. This is supposed to be a positive post!
Reiss and Milla got to eat breakfast at a table decorated with Christmas decor and marshmallows for snow, work on crafts, see Santa Claus, use bathrooms away from home (which is the whole reason we went there, right?), and take a carriage ride. It was incredibly cold yesterday but fun was had by all. Other than the mouth-wiping incident, I would say it was one of our best outings in quite some time.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Things Are Better Than I Make Them Sound
First things, first.
Celeste Jean, if you are reading, I have emailed you to request your mailing address for your Betty Crocker prize pack to be sent to you. If you're like me, you may get a lotta, lot of email and perhaps did not see my message, so I wanted to bring it to your attention on here.
We did not get to do the adorable marshmallow craft pictured below this morning because I am a slacker mommy. I was going to go to the craft store last night to get the styrofoam ring to make it and noticed that I didn't have any marshmallows either. I could have just sworn I had a bag of the large kind in the pantry but alas, none, and I didn't want to make two separate stops last night. So, going to the craft store and getting marshmallows at the grocery are both on the list of to-do errands this weekend. Maybe we can save this project for a craft-time activity for Monday.
This week has been a challenging week. Dealing with this autism thing day in and day out, one would think I would get used to some of the more annoying behaviors and just let them roll off - and really, sometimes I do.
However, this week and over the past two or three weeks now I have heard the question "What's gonna happen if I close the gate while I'm on the brown?" probably no less than 422,000 times. See, Reiss knows how to open the gate at the top of the stairs but we keep it there so that Milla doesn't fall down the stairs. Reiss is welcome to let himself through the gate and to the stairs going to the basement whenever he wants. Too often though, he will open the gate, stand on the top step (which is brown, hence, "the brown") and try to close the gate behind him, all while asking that question....the question that I am just certain if I hear it one more time, steam will come barreling out of my ears or nose or mouth or all three combined.
When I tried to express my frustration on facebook about this, I got the typical phrase all parents of children with autism just love to hear: "Oh, that's normal. All kids do that." Well, that wasn't exactly what was told to me but that was the jist of it and any parent in this position knows that this kind of behavior is not normal. If I had a dime for every time I've heard the "All kids do that....blah, blah, blah." Whatever....come walk in my shoes for a day and you will know what I'm talking about.
Yes, all typical kids will ask questions over and over. For example, "Can I have ________, please? Pleeeeeaaaase? I promise, promise, promise I'll be good." And that's what the parent may hear several times in one day. If you're one of these people, seriously, tell me, when was the last time your typical child asked you the same question three-hundred, four-hundred, or even more times in one day? And yes, I am being literal. Those numbers are no exaggeration.
If I sound like I'm complaining, well, maybe I am and this is my blog so I'll do what I want. Call it what you will but I have the right just like anyone else to vent now and then. And don't even get me started on the petty little complaints on some of my facebook friends' pages to the likes of "Oh, poor me. I'm so tired. I need a nap." from people who don't even have kids, much less a kid with autism. I really just want to tell them to suck it up and that they don't know the first thing about exhaustion. Ask any parent about exhaustion and I bet close to 100% will say they never knew the true meaning of exhaustion until they had kids. And that's saying a lot coming from me, someone who was in the military, someone who knows what it's like to get up at 4am, go to PT and then train all day long for an eighteen to twenty hour day.
Blah, blah, blah.....blah.....blah, blah, blah!!!
Yes, I am very frustrated this week.
Guess what Milla's thing is right now? She likes to take her pull-up off and get a new one every few minutes. By 11 am this morning, she had changed her pull-up no less than fifteen times. Keep in mind, that is only about two hours that she had time to do it too, because she woke up a little before 8am and her speech therapist was here for an hour. She did not pull off her pull-up any while the ST was here so that only leaves about two hours - or an average of a new pull-up about every eight minutes. Good times.......
On a more positive note, we are going to have breakfast with Santa this weekend. We have to take our own food, because although it is sponsored by an autism support group, many of the parents do not use any special diets for treating their child's autism and the food there will be traditional fare, almost certain to contain all kinds of gluten and casein. I am happy to have friends who also eat gluten-free and casein-free who will be in attendance. There's nothing I hate more than being the freaks wherever we go because we don't eat things others do. I'm starting to think this must be how people feel who eat a raw diet or vegan or both.
It will also be interesting to see the kids' reactions to Santa and if they will go near him. Hopefully, I will not forget the camera. Let's hope I have something pleasant to photograph.
And another positive....Reiss pooped on the potty last night!!! Something that has not happened much as of late. Just when we think we have his "currency" figured out to bribe him to poop on the potty, he switches things up on us and his currency turns to something else that we can't figure out and the old currency is worthless. Right now, chocolate candy bars are out. "Bugs" are in. Bugs are gummy fruit snacks, such as the Betty Crocker Create-a-Bug snacks I recently reviewed. We also buy the Annie's bunnies, but wow, are they expensive!
Well, I'm sure no one came here to read me complain about everything under the sun and since I'm not having the greatest week or looking at things with the best perspective....Toodles!
Until next time...
Celeste Jean, if you are reading, I have emailed you to request your mailing address for your Betty Crocker prize pack to be sent to you. If you're like me, you may get a lotta, lot of email and perhaps did not see my message, so I wanted to bring it to your attention on here.
We did not get to do the adorable marshmallow craft pictured below this morning because I am a slacker mommy. I was going to go to the craft store last night to get the styrofoam ring to make it and noticed that I didn't have any marshmallows either. I could have just sworn I had a bag of the large kind in the pantry but alas, none, and I didn't want to make two separate stops last night. So, going to the craft store and getting marshmallows at the grocery are both on the list of to-do errands this weekend. Maybe we can save this project for a craft-time activity for Monday.
This week has been a challenging week. Dealing with this autism thing day in and day out, one would think I would get used to some of the more annoying behaviors and just let them roll off - and really, sometimes I do.
However, this week and over the past two or three weeks now I have heard the question "What's gonna happen if I close the gate while I'm on the brown?" probably no less than 422,000 times. See, Reiss knows how to open the gate at the top of the stairs but we keep it there so that Milla doesn't fall down the stairs. Reiss is welcome to let himself through the gate and to the stairs going to the basement whenever he wants. Too often though, he will open the gate, stand on the top step (which is brown, hence, "the brown") and try to close the gate behind him, all while asking that question....the question that I am just certain if I hear it one more time, steam will come barreling out of my ears or nose or mouth or all three combined.
When I tried to express my frustration on facebook about this, I got the typical phrase all parents of children with autism just love to hear: "Oh, that's normal. All kids do that." Well, that wasn't exactly what was told to me but that was the jist of it and any parent in this position knows that this kind of behavior is not normal. If I had a dime for every time I've heard the "All kids do that....blah, blah, blah." Whatever....come walk in my shoes for a day and you will know what I'm talking about.
Yes, all typical kids will ask questions over and over. For example, "Can I have ________, please? Pleeeeeaaaase? I promise, promise, promise I'll be good." And that's what the parent may hear several times in one day. If you're one of these people, seriously, tell me, when was the last time your typical child asked you the same question three-hundred, four-hundred, or even more times in one day? And yes, I am being literal. Those numbers are no exaggeration.
If I sound like I'm complaining, well, maybe I am and this is my blog so I'll do what I want. Call it what you will but I have the right just like anyone else to vent now and then. And don't even get me started on the petty little complaints on some of my facebook friends' pages to the likes of "Oh, poor me. I'm so tired. I need a nap." from people who don't even have kids, much less a kid with autism. I really just want to tell them to suck it up and that they don't know the first thing about exhaustion. Ask any parent about exhaustion and I bet close to 100% will say they never knew the true meaning of exhaustion until they had kids. And that's saying a lot coming from me, someone who was in the military, someone who knows what it's like to get up at 4am, go to PT and then train all day long for an eighteen to twenty hour day.
Blah, blah, blah.....blah.....blah, blah, blah!!!
Yes, I am very frustrated this week.
Guess what Milla's thing is right now? She likes to take her pull-up off and get a new one every few minutes. By 11 am this morning, she had changed her pull-up no less than fifteen times. Keep in mind, that is only about two hours that she had time to do it too, because she woke up a little before 8am and her speech therapist was here for an hour. She did not pull off her pull-up any while the ST was here so that only leaves about two hours - or an average of a new pull-up about every eight minutes. Good times.......
On a more positive note, we are going to have breakfast with Santa this weekend. We have to take our own food, because although it is sponsored by an autism support group, many of the parents do not use any special diets for treating their child's autism and the food there will be traditional fare, almost certain to contain all kinds of gluten and casein. I am happy to have friends who also eat gluten-free and casein-free who will be in attendance. There's nothing I hate more than being the freaks wherever we go because we don't eat things others do. I'm starting to think this must be how people feel who eat a raw diet or vegan or both.
It will also be interesting to see the kids' reactions to Santa and if they will go near him. Hopefully, I will not forget the camera. Let's hope I have something pleasant to photograph.
And another positive....Reiss pooped on the potty last night!!! Something that has not happened much as of late. Just when we think we have his "currency" figured out to bribe him to poop on the potty, he switches things up on us and his currency turns to something else that we can't figure out and the old currency is worthless. Right now, chocolate candy bars are out. "Bugs" are in. Bugs are gummy fruit snacks, such as the Betty Crocker Create-a-Bug snacks I recently reviewed. We also buy the Annie's bunnies, but wow, are they expensive!
Well, I'm sure no one came here to read me complain about everything under the sun and since I'm not having the greatest week or looking at things with the best perspective....Toodles!
Until next time...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Give Thanks for Another Betty Crocker Review & Giveaway!
Recently, I participated in another Betty Crocker giveaway through MyBlogSpark. Just like the first one, this giveaway consisted of Betty giving me some products to review, I review them here, and then hold a contest (keep reading for details!) for some lucky winner to receive a package of the same products I received.
Here is a photo of my goody box contents:
In the box were the following: Betty Crocker Create-a-Bug 10-count package, 10-count variety pack of Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, and Fruit Roll-Ups, a light up yo-yo, a transparent red frisbee, and a slide-open box of pick up sticks. All products are gluten free, although they do contain artificial dyes (not something I prefer to ingest, but I'm willing to make exceptions now and then). Well, I don't know if the toys are gluten-free, but who cares, we weren't planning on eating those, anyway.
My monkeys eating a package each of the Create-a-Bug.
I don't know, what do you think...
You think they like the bugs?
If you ask my kids what they thought of the products, they would most likely say they liked them all. Being here and seeing for myself how quickly the products disappeared into their little mouths, I would say they liked the Create-a-Bug product best.
The Create-a-Bug portion sizes are ten pieces per individual package. Both children loved them and asked for seconds. Reiss asked for thirds. Oops...I let the cat out of the bag. Yes, I gave them seconds. No thirds though.
Although the first ingredient listed is fruit juice, I'm sure this product contains way more than enough sugar for little bodies but it hardly seems like a snack and since this product is little more than candy, I would recommend using it as a treat for special occasions or as an accompaniment to something more sustaining rather than alone to tide over a little belly until the next meal. Personally, we have chosen to use the Create-a-Bug product as a reward for pooping on the potty. Reiss really wants to "eat bugs" but also prefers pooping in his pants, as opposed to in the potty. So we compromise: He poops in the potty. We let him eat bugs.
The next product with the highest likeness rating would probably be the Fruit Roll-Ups. Only Reiss asked for seconds and when he got the second roll-up, he also got a broken tooth. But don't let this discourage you from buying this product. In Betty's defense, Reiss has horrible teeth. Without going into great detail, you can read about that HERE.
Reiss and Milla both liked the Fruit by the Foot and it was eaten well enough. However, they both complained of "stickies" afterwards and were hesitant to eat them when given them the next time. Reiss even asked for a fork....but then, he does that. He hates getting anything on his hands.
The Fruit Gushers did not get finished and I have a feeling I know why. They are kind of a strange texture. They're like a chewy gummy bear with gushy liquid inside. Hey, if that's your thing.....For us, it's not.
Now, for the contest! If you want to receive this same type of goody box offered by MyBlogSpark and Betty Crocker, leave me a comment. This coming Sunday, November 29th, at noon Eastern time, I will draw a winner. At some time that day, I will post the name of the winner as a new blog entry on 1-2-3 Autism Free.
Good luck to all!!!
Here is a photo of my goody box contents:
In the box were the following: Betty Crocker Create-a-Bug 10-count package, 10-count variety pack of Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, and Fruit Roll-Ups, a light up yo-yo, a transparent red frisbee, and a slide-open box of pick up sticks. All products are gluten free, although they do contain artificial dyes (not something I prefer to ingest, but I'm willing to make exceptions now and then). Well, I don't know if the toys are gluten-free, but who cares, we weren't planning on eating those, anyway.
My monkeys eating a package each of the Create-a-Bug.I don't know, what do you think...
You think they like the bugs?
If you ask my kids what they thought of the products, they would most likely say they liked them all. Being here and seeing for myself how quickly the products disappeared into their little mouths, I would say they liked the Create-a-Bug product best.
The Create-a-Bug portion sizes are ten pieces per individual package. Both children loved them and asked for seconds. Reiss asked for thirds. Oops...I let the cat out of the bag. Yes, I gave them seconds. No thirds though.
Although the first ingredient listed is fruit juice, I'm sure this product contains way more than enough sugar for little bodies but it hardly seems like a snack and since this product is little more than candy, I would recommend using it as a treat for special occasions or as an accompaniment to something more sustaining rather than alone to tide over a little belly until the next meal. Personally, we have chosen to use the Create-a-Bug product as a reward for pooping on the potty. Reiss really wants to "eat bugs" but also prefers pooping in his pants, as opposed to in the potty. So we compromise: He poops in the potty. We let him eat bugs.
The next product with the highest likeness rating would probably be the Fruit Roll-Ups. Only Reiss asked for seconds and when he got the second roll-up, he also got a broken tooth. But don't let this discourage you from buying this product. In Betty's defense, Reiss has horrible teeth. Without going into great detail, you can read about that HERE.
Reiss and Milla both liked the Fruit by the Foot and it was eaten well enough. However, they both complained of "stickies" afterwards and were hesitant to eat them when given them the next time. Reiss even asked for a fork....but then, he does that. He hates getting anything on his hands.
The Fruit Gushers did not get finished and I have a feeling I know why. They are kind of a strange texture. They're like a chewy gummy bear with gushy liquid inside. Hey, if that's your thing.....For us, it's not.
Now, for the contest! If you want to receive this same type of goody box offered by MyBlogSpark and Betty Crocker, leave me a comment. This coming Sunday, November 29th, at noon Eastern time, I will draw a winner. At some time that day, I will post the name of the winner as a new blog entry on 1-2-3 Autism Free.
Good luck to all!!!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Something to Ponder This Sunday
Disclaimer: This post includes mention of bodily functions of the #2 kind. If you are easily grossed out or do not see the humor, poo on you.
Poopology, according to Reiss:
If you poop on the potty, that's a poop.
If you poop in your underwear, that's a turd.
Poopology, according to Reiss:
If you poop on the potty, that's a poop.
If you poop in your underwear, that's a turd.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.....
Every single night the prayer is the same....
Dear Heavenly Father, please make me a better mother tomorrow. Please let me wake with a smile on my face and a fresh attitude. Please let tomorrow be a good day.......And then I pray for the safety of my children, my family, to have peace in my life, and anything else that comes to mind.
I am fortunate to have many friends with unyielding faith. These friends accept what God has given them - no matter what their circumstances. But the truth is, none of them (of the ones to whom I am closest) have a child with autism - or any special needs, for that matter. Through them and in many books I have read, it seems true faith only comes when we not only accept what God has given us, but desire it as well. Honestly, I'm having a hard enough time accepting it, let alone ever having a desire for it. It is beyond imaginable for me to even fathom the possession of a desire to deal with what I go through every single day. Why can't I get passed this?
This morning started the same as each morning. I got up, greeted the day, said "Hi, Buddy!" to Reiss and got the morning going. All was well until after Daddy left for work and Reiss decided to change from wearing his shorts to wearing a pair of pants that are too short for him. They were sitting in the laundry room waiting for their banishment to the basement storage bins where all the other outgrown clothes go to rest. Reiss got them out and there was no way I was letting him wear these so-short-they-are-above-the-ankles pants. We already draw enough attention out in public, so having people think I don't provide well-fitting clothes for my children is not something I want to add. So Reiss had these pants and I was putting up a fight and so was he and I was done with it all much sooner than he was. He continued to cry and scream and throw his fit and ask why he couldn't wear the pants for just a few seconds shy of forty-five minutes.
The pants episode passed and we had a few relative moments of peace around here only to have it broken by a ten-minute tantrum about the toddler potty being moved. This is the honest-to-God truth: I went to the bathroom to use it myself (yes, call me high-maintenance, but I actually go in there for myself occasionally) and as I was getting up, my foot touch the potty and scooted it across the floor all of maybe one-half of an inch. Since there is tile in the bathroom, of course Reiss could hear the potty scoot across the floor even while being two rooms away. He came running, scooted the potty back to its proper place - lined up on the grout line of the third row of tiles running in front of the sink - and proceeded to throw a tantrum and scream at me in an accusing manner for moving the potty.
Honestly, I believe global governments are missing out on a wonderful method of torture for prisoners. Just put them in the same room as a child with autism who has OCD tendencies. It's enough to make anyone talk - anything to make it stop. And hey, with the growing rate of autism, governments would never find themselves with a shortage of new torturers. If one child's antics aren't enough, just bring in another.....I'm sure, sooner or later, the perfect combination of autistic child's behaviors and prisoner's tolerance level to such behaviors will be enough to "break" the prisoner into doing whatever is asked.
Okay, really, I am being serious now. No government torture or anything.
I feel like every day of my life is like my own personal screening of the movie "Groundhog Day." Only instead of the main character, me, finding advantages to the same daily events and working them in my favor, I just grow wearier and wearier by the day. Every day I can 99% certain count on the following things happening:
* Reiss having a fit over the color of cup I have given him to use for the day. It doesn't matter that he was given a choice and he chose the color given to him. Every day I can count on him throwing a fit at some point during the day and asking me over and over and over, "Why'd you give me the (insert color here) cup today?"
* Reiss wanting to have the same exact clothes on that Daddy is wearing, only to change them into something else immediately after James leaves for work. This is where the tantrum over the pants came in today.
* Reiss getting bent out of shape when he hears the toddler potty scoot even a millimeter from that grout line where he has declared that it must reside.
* Reiss having a meltdown about something and then having an entirely separate meltdown because I took more time than what he felt necessary in order for me to get him a tissue to wipe his tears from the first meltdown.
* Reiss throwing a fit about not wanting to go sit on the potty to do #1 or #2 or both. And then often does one or the other or both in his pants.
* Reiss throwing a tantrum at dinner time and refusing to sit down. We can only use a booster chair for so long. After he outgrows that, I don't know how we'll keep him strapped and sitting. Maybe I should ask my Dad since he seems to think it's reasonable to expect a three-year-old (and not just any 3-year-old, an autistic 3-year-old) to sit through a two-hour birthday lunch....and that's after the one-hour drive to the restaurant where said lunch was held. You're probably saying, "I thought Reiss was four years old." And you're right. Reiss is indeed four years old but not so long ago he was three years old and we were invited to a niece's birthday lunch at a restaurant an hour from our home and we declined to accept the invitation because Milla was only five months old and Reiss will not sit for a one-hour drive and then through a two-hour lunch...but try to explain that to someone who has never raised an autistic child and someone who thinks I'm a bad parent to begin with and well, you get the idea. I'm not going to get started......
Could any sane person actually want these things? Many times I am reminded that we can only change ourselves, not others, but it seems no matter how positive I start each day, no matter how positively I try to handle each tantrum or situation for Reiss, it doesn't change his actions. Seriously....I have a deep desire to have a stronger faith but I just can't get past the requisite wanting to endure any of the above every day of my life. Somewhere I am missing something. Someone please help me figure it all out...
Dear Heavenly Father, please make me a better mother tomorrow. Please let me wake with a smile on my face and a fresh attitude. Please let tomorrow be a good day.......And then I pray for the safety of my children, my family, to have peace in my life, and anything else that comes to mind.
I am fortunate to have many friends with unyielding faith. These friends accept what God has given them - no matter what their circumstances. But the truth is, none of them (of the ones to whom I am closest) have a child with autism - or any special needs, for that matter. Through them and in many books I have read, it seems true faith only comes when we not only accept what God has given us, but desire it as well. Honestly, I'm having a hard enough time accepting it, let alone ever having a desire for it. It is beyond imaginable for me to even fathom the possession of a desire to deal with what I go through every single day. Why can't I get passed this?
This morning started the same as each morning. I got up, greeted the day, said "Hi, Buddy!" to Reiss and got the morning going. All was well until after Daddy left for work and Reiss decided to change from wearing his shorts to wearing a pair of pants that are too short for him. They were sitting in the laundry room waiting for their banishment to the basement storage bins where all the other outgrown clothes go to rest. Reiss got them out and there was no way I was letting him wear these so-short-they-are-above-the-ankles pants. We already draw enough attention out in public, so having people think I don't provide well-fitting clothes for my children is not something I want to add. So Reiss had these pants and I was putting up a fight and so was he and I was done with it all much sooner than he was. He continued to cry and scream and throw his fit and ask why he couldn't wear the pants for just a few seconds shy of forty-five minutes.
The pants episode passed and we had a few relative moments of peace around here only to have it broken by a ten-minute tantrum about the toddler potty being moved. This is the honest-to-God truth: I went to the bathroom to use it myself (yes, call me high-maintenance, but I actually go in there for myself occasionally) and as I was getting up, my foot touch the potty and scooted it across the floor all of maybe one-half of an inch. Since there is tile in the bathroom, of course Reiss could hear the potty scoot across the floor even while being two rooms away. He came running, scooted the potty back to its proper place - lined up on the grout line of the third row of tiles running in front of the sink - and proceeded to throw a tantrum and scream at me in an accusing manner for moving the potty.
Honestly, I believe global governments are missing out on a wonderful method of torture for prisoners. Just put them in the same room as a child with autism who has OCD tendencies. It's enough to make anyone talk - anything to make it stop. And hey, with the growing rate of autism, governments would never find themselves with a shortage of new torturers. If one child's antics aren't enough, just bring in another.....I'm sure, sooner or later, the perfect combination of autistic child's behaviors and prisoner's tolerance level to such behaviors will be enough to "break" the prisoner into doing whatever is asked.
Okay, really, I am being serious now. No government torture or anything.
I feel like every day of my life is like my own personal screening of the movie "Groundhog Day." Only instead of the main character, me, finding advantages to the same daily events and working them in my favor, I just grow wearier and wearier by the day. Every day I can 99% certain count on the following things happening:
* Reiss having a fit over the color of cup I have given him to use for the day. It doesn't matter that he was given a choice and he chose the color given to him. Every day I can count on him throwing a fit at some point during the day and asking me over and over and over, "Why'd you give me the (insert color here) cup today?"
* Reiss wanting to have the same exact clothes on that Daddy is wearing, only to change them into something else immediately after James leaves for work. This is where the tantrum over the pants came in today.
* Reiss getting bent out of shape when he hears the toddler potty scoot even a millimeter from that grout line where he has declared that it must reside.
* Reiss having a meltdown about something and then having an entirely separate meltdown because I took more time than what he felt necessary in order for me to get him a tissue to wipe his tears from the first meltdown.
* Reiss throwing a fit about not wanting to go sit on the potty to do #1 or #2 or both. And then often does one or the other or both in his pants.
* Reiss throwing a tantrum at dinner time and refusing to sit down. We can only use a booster chair for so long. After he outgrows that, I don't know how we'll keep him strapped and sitting. Maybe I should ask my Dad since he seems to think it's reasonable to expect a three-year-old (and not just any 3-year-old, an autistic 3-year-old) to sit through a two-hour birthday lunch....and that's after the one-hour drive to the restaurant where said lunch was held. You're probably saying, "I thought Reiss was four years old." And you're right. Reiss is indeed four years old but not so long ago he was three years old and we were invited to a niece's birthday lunch at a restaurant an hour from our home and we declined to accept the invitation because Milla was only five months old and Reiss will not sit for a one-hour drive and then through a two-hour lunch...but try to explain that to someone who has never raised an autistic child and someone who thinks I'm a bad parent to begin with and well, you get the idea. I'm not going to get started......
Could any sane person actually want these things? Many times I am reminded that we can only change ourselves, not others, but it seems no matter how positive I start each day, no matter how positively I try to handle each tantrum or situation for Reiss, it doesn't change his actions. Seriously....I have a deep desire to have a stronger faith but I just can't get past the requisite wanting to endure any of the above every day of my life. Somewhere I am missing something. Someone please help me figure it all out...
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
A Birthday Wish
Happy Birthday to me!
There was only one thing - well, depending on how you look at it, it could actually be counted as four things - I wished for on my birthday: No poopy underwear, no bloody noses, no vomit, and no children standing on chairs and peeing on carpet and dressers after de-pantsing themselves in their room. All those were things I experienced yesterday and, aside from the peeing on the carpet incident, are things I can generally count on experiencing on a near-daily basis. Yes, I know, I lead a glamorous life.
When I posted my birthday wish to my friends on Facebook, one friend commented, "...if you want a day without those things--well just learn to control yourself a little better, ok?" That gave me a pretty good laugh. (By the way, thanks, Gabe! You have always been quick with the humor.) Anyway, we are doing pretty well so far. That is, if you don't count the poopy underwear Reiss had earlier this afternoon.
The kids' pediatric dentist must have known it was my birthday because a few weeks ago his office staff sent us the postcard notifying us of our next scheduled appointment for these two offspring. And guess when they made our appointment? Yep, you guessed it - my birthday. So this morning we took Reiss and Milla for their appointments. Both had periodic oral examinations while Reiss received a prophylaxis and flouride treatment as well. All that is just a fancy way of saying the nice ladies in the office took Reiss back for fifteen minutes for a cleaning and flouride schmear and Milla for a three-minute (no, not an exaggeration!) exam all to the tune of $190 for both of them. You gotta love living in a country where dental insurance is considered a luxury! All I can say is it's a good thing our kids' dentist is so darn good-looking. There needs to be something to make it worth my while to go there on my birthday. Not to mention, something to make it worthy of me giving up any birthday money I may receive.....
We have not had any bloody noses, vomit to clean up, or chair-perching pee-ers, thank goodness! However, we have had an entire small size to-go cup from Wendy's full of Sprite get poured on the kitchen floor. The things that happen when you turn your back for three seconds! So adding to the celebratory occasion, I got the joy of mopping the kitchen floor.....on my birthday. Does the fun ever end?High fructose corn syrup Carbonated beverages are considered a treat in our house and the kids don't get them very often so if they pour it on the floor when they do, that's their loss - not mine. That is, if you don't count the money spent on the high fructose corn syrup beverage.
This afternoon, these two monkeys granted me with what I'm sure they thought was a wonderful birthday gift: refusing to take a nap. Guess they figured their awake presence was the best they could give since they are not of age to go out and independently by their dear Mom a gift. I axed that gift and put my foot down by putting them in their rooms to cry for awhile. Yes, I am the meanest mom. It was that or send them to our friends' house this evening to have them babysit two cranky, napless and hyper children while hubs and I go find some grub worthy of considering a birthday dinner. I chose relegating them to their rooms and now I sit here typing in blissful silence as they sleep.
Just another day in my glamorous life as a stay-at-home mom....another birthday....another day that seems as mundane as most days.
ETA: The UPS man paid us a visit today. Thinking he was bringing some birthday present my husband had ordered online, I left it on the porch for James to fetch when he got home. It was a doozy, alright! It was a box of B12 syringes for Reiss. I can now be counted amongst the moms who get to jab their kid with a needle every few days.....starting on my birthday. Oh goody!!!
There was only one thing - well, depending on how you look at it, it could actually be counted as four things - I wished for on my birthday: No poopy underwear, no bloody noses, no vomit, and no children standing on chairs and peeing on carpet and dressers after de-pantsing themselves in their room. All those were things I experienced yesterday and, aside from the peeing on the carpet incident, are things I can generally count on experiencing on a near-daily basis. Yes, I know, I lead a glamorous life.
When I posted my birthday wish to my friends on Facebook, one friend commented, "...if you want a day without those things--well just learn to control yourself a little better, ok?" That gave me a pretty good laugh. (By the way, thanks, Gabe! You have always been quick with the humor.) Anyway, we are doing pretty well so far. That is, if you don't count the poopy underwear Reiss had earlier this afternoon.
The kids' pediatric dentist must have known it was my birthday because a few weeks ago his office staff sent us the postcard notifying us of our next scheduled appointment for these two offspring. And guess when they made our appointment? Yep, you guessed it - my birthday. So this morning we took Reiss and Milla for their appointments. Both had periodic oral examinations while Reiss received a prophylaxis and flouride treatment as well. All that is just a fancy way of saying the nice ladies in the office took Reiss back for fifteen minutes for a cleaning and flouride schmear and Milla for a three-minute (no, not an exaggeration!) exam all to the tune of $190 for both of them. You gotta love living in a country where dental insurance is considered a luxury! All I can say is it's a good thing our kids' dentist is so darn good-looking. There needs to be something to make it worth my while to go there on my birthday. Not to mention, something to make it worthy of me giving up any birthday money I may receive.....
We have not had any bloody noses, vomit to clean up, or chair-perching pee-ers, thank goodness! However, we have had an entire small size to-go cup from Wendy's full of Sprite get poured on the kitchen floor. The things that happen when you turn your back for three seconds! So adding to the celebratory occasion, I got the joy of mopping the kitchen floor.....on my birthday. Does the fun ever end?
This afternoon, these two monkeys granted me with what I'm sure they thought was a wonderful birthday gift: refusing to take a nap. Guess they figured their awake presence was the best they could give since they are not of age to go out and independently by their dear Mom a gift. I axed that gift and put my foot down by putting them in their rooms to cry for awhile. Yes, I am the meanest mom. It was that or send them to our friends' house this evening to have them babysit two cranky, napless and hyper children while hubs and I go find some grub worthy of considering a birthday dinner. I chose relegating them to their rooms and now I sit here typing in blissful silence as they sleep.
Just another day in my glamorous life as a stay-at-home mom....another birthday....another day that seems as mundane as most days.
ETA: The UPS man paid us a visit today. Thinking he was bringing some birthday present my husband had ordered online, I left it on the porch for James to fetch when he got home. It was a doozy, alright! It was a box of B12 syringes for Reiss. I can now be counted amongst the moms who get to jab their kid with a needle every few days.....starting on my birthday. Oh goody!!!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Please Make These Thoughts STOP!!!!
I had this post all typed out and sitting as a "Draft" under my "Posting" tab on my Blogger dashboard and then realized that perhaps I may want to preface it with a few thoughts for those who don't live within the puzzle of autism on a daily basis.
Sometimes my posts may seem depressing. Do I realize this? Yes. Do I want to fix it? No. Life isn't always about grins and giggles and neither is this blog. For those who have children with autism, you know it is a long, long journey during the grieving process after having a child diagnosed with ASD. I am not bragging but for Reiss only having been officially diagnosed about eight months ago, I think I'm doing pretty darn well. I read blogs of parents who are further along than we are in this process and they are still grieving tremendously.
For those who don't have children on the autism spectrum....well, count your lucky stars and know that for many of us out there, not a day goes by where we don't have at least one moment during our day when we are reminded of something our children may never do. Is that to say I don't hope for the world for my child with autism? No, it's just being realistic.
If you have a child with autism, you know what I'm about to say isn't anything we spectrum parents haven't at least thought of, if not voiced. And if you don't have a child with autism, don't judge me. I am not a horrible person. Yes, I realize it is my child who is the real victim here, so please know that I also do not mean to sound like a martyr in all this. You have no idea what it's like to be a parent in my position.
Now, having said all that, here is the original post...........
Lately I have been having some strange random thoughts. You know how sometimes you just let your mind wander while you're doing the laundry or dishes or enjoying that blissful five minutes standing under the running shower water? Well, lately those little blurbs of time have me a bit troubled about the future. Reiss is what is considered "high-functioning" and while I do try to remain optimistic about his potential in life, I can't help but think sometimes about things like........
At age four, we are still potty-training Reiss. I do hope he will be potty-trained and soon but that also leads to the next step: Using the bathroom alone out in public. Generally, I don't pay attention to all the stares and whispers out in public that we so often attract when Reiss is being quirky or having a tantrum or, God forbid, being different than other children (that's sarcasm, people!). But what happens in a few years when Reiss is potty-trained and he needs to use the restroom out in public and Daddy isn't with us? Let's say he's ten years old and we're in the grocery and he absolutely cannot hold it until we get home. Then what do I do? I can't reasonably take him in the women's restroom but I'm sure I would not want him to go in a men's restroom alone either.
I know all mothers - even those of typical children - face this same dilemma of when to let their sons in a public restroom alone but Reiss doesn't have the capacity to tell me when something has happened. Maybe by then he will but it's one of those things.....
What happens if the school "fails" us?
It used to be that I had my mind made up in regards to my children's education and I knew I would homeschool. That was before autism. That was before I felt so inept at knowing how to teach my son simple tasks such as the proper way to hold a writing instrument. I know there are other parents of children with autism who homeschool and do it successfully but I feel lost in a vast sea without a lifeline. I feel like I don't have what it takes to educate Reiss myself and scared of what may happen if the public school system proves itself to be similarly incompetent.
Will Reiss always have "pronomial confusion?"
Many times - correction, make that "most" of the time - Reiss gets "I," "you," and "me" mixed up. James and I understand what he is trying to say because we have been around him and listen to him talk all the time. For the most part, we try to correct him. For other people though, it can be very confusing to distinguish between when Reiss is talking about himself and when he is referring to the person to whom he is speaking. He may say something like, "Why did I go outside?" What he means to ask is "Why did you go outside?"
Will Reiss ever have an interest in activities in which typical children - and even many children with ASD - are interested?
We can go to the zoo and I'm not certain Reiss even knows we are there to see animals. He is so easily distracted that we literally have to physically direct his line of vision to the animals and tell him what he is seeing.
He does not watch television. I know, to some of you, this is probably a blessing but before you go counting my blessings, think about all those times you are able to put your child in front of the tv for five, ten, or fifteen minutes so that you can take a shower, make a phone call in a relatively peaceful surrounding, pay some bills....or whatever other things one might do while getting a small break from their child. I don't have that.
Reiss' idea of a great time is changing his shirt multiple times per day, taking off and putting on different shoes, insisting that they be tied "too tight."
Reiss loves hanging all over Daddy or myself - practically smothering us with what I like to think of as love but it can sometimes be overwhelming when it is all the time. Is he still going to be doing this at 8? 10? 16? I love my children with all my heart but seriously, sometimes I just want to be alone or at the very least, without a child on my lap, on my breast, or touching me in some way. I am not kidding when I say I can probably count on one hand how many times I have gotten to use the bathroom in the last four years without there being at least one child in the bathroom with me. I could close the door but then I would have to listen to the fitful cries. And really, I don't know about you, but when I go to the bathroom, having to listen to the urgency of a child crying does nothing for me as far as relaxing and focusing on doing "Number 2."
Will Reiss ever understand there are times when we just need to be quiet?
Reiss has two operating modes: Asleep and Deafeningly Loud. I feel like we do everything we can to try to get him to be quiet sometimes. Having a conversation with my husband is next to impossible. Watching tv while Reiss is awake is impossible. Making phone calls during the day is next to impossible. Sometimes I would just like some quiet.
I'm not one of those parents who grieves thinking their son or daughter will never be the top high school jock or the cheerleading captain. I'm not hoping for Reiss to be President someday. He doesn't even need to act like a typical child for me to be happy. I would just feel a little more comfortable with some sort of normalcy in my life.
I'm not complaining.....please don't get me wrong. Sometimes I just wonder.......
Sometimes my posts may seem depressing. Do I realize this? Yes. Do I want to fix it? No. Life isn't always about grins and giggles and neither is this blog. For those who have children with autism, you know it is a long, long journey during the grieving process after having a child diagnosed with ASD. I am not bragging but for Reiss only having been officially diagnosed about eight months ago, I think I'm doing pretty darn well. I read blogs of parents who are further along than we are in this process and they are still grieving tremendously.
For those who don't have children on the autism spectrum....well, count your lucky stars and know that for many of us out there, not a day goes by where we don't have at least one moment during our day when we are reminded of something our children may never do. Is that to say I don't hope for the world for my child with autism? No, it's just being realistic.
If you have a child with autism, you know what I'm about to say isn't anything we spectrum parents haven't at least thought of, if not voiced. And if you don't have a child with autism, don't judge me. I am not a horrible person. Yes, I realize it is my child who is the real victim here, so please know that I also do not mean to sound like a martyr in all this. You have no idea what it's like to be a parent in my position.
Now, having said all that, here is the original post...........
Lately I have been having some strange random thoughts. You know how sometimes you just let your mind wander while you're doing the laundry or dishes or enjoying that blissful five minutes standing under the running shower water? Well, lately those little blurbs of time have me a bit troubled about the future. Reiss is what is considered "high-functioning" and while I do try to remain optimistic about his potential in life, I can't help but think sometimes about things like........
At age four, we are still potty-training Reiss. I do hope he will be potty-trained and soon but that also leads to the next step: Using the bathroom alone out in public. Generally, I don't pay attention to all the stares and whispers out in public that we so often attract when Reiss is being quirky or having a tantrum or, God forbid, being different than other children (that's sarcasm, people!). But what happens in a few years when Reiss is potty-trained and he needs to use the restroom out in public and Daddy isn't with us? Let's say he's ten years old and we're in the grocery and he absolutely cannot hold it until we get home. Then what do I do? I can't reasonably take him in the women's restroom but I'm sure I would not want him to go in a men's restroom alone either.
I know all mothers - even those of typical children - face this same dilemma of when to let their sons in a public restroom alone but Reiss doesn't have the capacity to tell me when something has happened. Maybe by then he will but it's one of those things.....
What happens if the school "fails" us?
It used to be that I had my mind made up in regards to my children's education and I knew I would homeschool. That was before autism. That was before I felt so inept at knowing how to teach my son simple tasks such as the proper way to hold a writing instrument. I know there are other parents of children with autism who homeschool and do it successfully but I feel lost in a vast sea without a lifeline. I feel like I don't have what it takes to educate Reiss myself and scared of what may happen if the public school system proves itself to be similarly incompetent.
Will Reiss always have "pronomial confusion?"
Many times - correction, make that "most" of the time - Reiss gets "I," "you," and "me" mixed up. James and I understand what he is trying to say because we have been around him and listen to him talk all the time. For the most part, we try to correct him. For other people though, it can be very confusing to distinguish between when Reiss is talking about himself and when he is referring to the person to whom he is speaking. He may say something like, "Why did I go outside?" What he means to ask is "Why did you go outside?"
Will Reiss ever have an interest in activities in which typical children - and even many children with ASD - are interested?
We can go to the zoo and I'm not certain Reiss even knows we are there to see animals. He is so easily distracted that we literally have to physically direct his line of vision to the animals and tell him what he is seeing.
He does not watch television. I know, to some of you, this is probably a blessing but before you go counting my blessings, think about all those times you are able to put your child in front of the tv for five, ten, or fifteen minutes so that you can take a shower, make a phone call in a relatively peaceful surrounding, pay some bills....or whatever other things one might do while getting a small break from their child. I don't have that.
Reiss' idea of a great time is changing his shirt multiple times per day, taking off and putting on different shoes, insisting that they be tied "too tight."
Reiss loves hanging all over Daddy or myself - practically smothering us with what I like to think of as love but it can sometimes be overwhelming when it is all the time. Is he still going to be doing this at 8? 10? 16? I love my children with all my heart but seriously, sometimes I just want to be alone or at the very least, without a child on my lap, on my breast, or touching me in some way. I am not kidding when I say I can probably count on one hand how many times I have gotten to use the bathroom in the last four years without there being at least one child in the bathroom with me. I could close the door but then I would have to listen to the fitful cries. And really, I don't know about you, but when I go to the bathroom, having to listen to the urgency of a child crying does nothing for me as far as relaxing and focusing on doing "Number 2."
Will Reiss ever understand there are times when we just need to be quiet?
Reiss has two operating modes: Asleep and Deafeningly Loud. I feel like we do everything we can to try to get him to be quiet sometimes. Having a conversation with my husband is next to impossible. Watching tv while Reiss is awake is impossible. Making phone calls during the day is next to impossible. Sometimes I would just like some quiet.
I'm not one of those parents who grieves thinking their son or daughter will never be the top high school jock or the cheerleading captain. I'm not hoping for Reiss to be President someday. He doesn't even need to act like a typical child for me to be happy. I would just feel a little more comfortable with some sort of normalcy in my life.
I'm not complaining.....please don't get me wrong. Sometimes I just wonder.......
Monday, July 20, 2009
Man, I REALLY Don't Like Whites!!!
How's that for self-deprecation? Actually, it sounds pretty prejudiced against not only myself but the majority of people in my life. That is, until I tell you it has nothing to do with people and all to do with what I said as I was throwing a load of clothes in the washer this afternoon.
While Reiss was finishing up a load of poop in his Pull-Up (I detest trying to put him on the toddler potty after he has already started doing his business!), I decided to start a load of whites in the washer. It felt like I spent an eternity in the laundry room pitching dirty socks into the washer. Seriously, I'm on to the sock scheming of the men in this household (which consists of only James and Reiss) - they're either changing their socks every fourteen minutes or those little buggers are breeding in the dirty clothes bin.
Before all the sock business we, as in, Reiss, Milla, and myself, had spent the better part of an hour in the bathroom. We got home from the library and immediately Milla grabbed herself and yelled "Pee!" as she always does when she needs to go. And it's so cute, by the way. She grabs herself and yells "Pee!" and gets the most accusatory look on her face as if to say, "Oh no, the nerve that I, the princess, would be made to do something so incredibly unclean!"
We went in the bathroom and Milla did her thing. She got up and I got her all cleaned up and helped her wash her hands and then Reiss declared he had to poop. So then I got Reiss all situated and, of course, Milla decided she had to go again. I never know when to tell her she can't go just because Reiss is in there because many times when she plays this game, she does actually produce some results in the potty, despite the fact that she just got off the potty less than a minute or two before. This was one of those times. So I got her back off the potty while Reiss still sat there and sat and sat and sat. We sang the ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and some other song Reiss was singing. I'm not sure what it was but it sounded like he was singing the words to the Menard's (a chain of large home improvement/hardware stores primarily in the Midwest) theme song to the tune of the Go Daddy website song. Danica Patrick would be proud.
Finally, Reiss got up and hadn't produced anything. He went about playing and sure enough, next thing I knew he was going in his Pull-Up. Anymore, he generally wears underwear under his pants or shorts and only wears Pull-Ups when he is a)sleeping at night b)napping in the afternoon or c)going somewhere. Since we had just gotten back from the library and he was going to be napping soon thereafter, I didn't bother to take off his Pull-Up. As I said before, I do not like to try to get him to the potty in "mid-poop" so I just let him finish it up. If we are to get him potty-trained before say, high school, I think I may just have to bite the bullet and deal with the mess even if it means pulling him to the potty mid-poop occasionally. And please, don't anyone try to reassure me by saying "He won't go to kindergarten in diapers." While I would like to be optimistic and believe that about Reiss, I also know of many moms of children with special needs who can attest to the fact that that is exactly how their child showed up to kindergarten....in a diaper.
Enough about poop.....
Today we went to the library and if you read this blog even occasionally, you know this is a big thing for me. We used to go to the library all the time until one day I finally threw in the towel and decided I was done making trips to the library until Reiss either stopped running from me in public or until we got him a locator bracelet. He still runs from me occasionally and he doesn't have a locator bracelet (yet - although we are in contact with an organization to see about getting him one) but I am trying to be more bold these days in my attempts at making outings without hubs along to assist.
The library seems like it would be a rather harmless place to go except the one near us can be quite dangerous. Since I cannot draw a picture I will try to describe it the best I can. First, the outside of the library has a pretty large parking lot that surrounds two sides of the building in the shape of an "L." Getting into the library can be a challenge because it is ALWAYS busy and we have to park a ways from the entrance. Reiss has little to no concept of danger so I can explain all day why he needs to hold my hand and he will still say, "Wanna get hit by a car."
Going into the library, the entrance consists of two sets of automatic doors. Once inside the library, the children's section is off to the right. All the way far, far back at the very back of the children's section is a place for the children to play. There is a wide aisle in the middle of the children's section separating row after row after row of bookshelves. Typically, we try to stay in the play area. However, if Reiss bolts for the door going out of the children's section, he only has to make it out of that section and about another fifteen feet before he would reach the automatic doors going out into the parking lot where people seemingly feel they need to race by the front entrance as if they are in the Indy 500. Should he decide to do so, Reiss could do it all in a matter of seconds. Not exactly comforting when I have Milla to look after as well.
In summary, when you combine a child who loves to run (I can't hold his hand ALL the time!) with automatic doors exiting a building, and cars whizzing by as soon as one exits the building, it's like a recipe for Reiss Roadkill. Call me biased but that's not really something I'd like on the menu of a single one of my days. See why the library can be quite an endeavor for us?
Today was a little different though. Reiss did not run from me even one time and I was very proud of him. Maybe all my lecturing is starting to pay off. No matter where we go, we always have these little discussions with Reiss about the behavior that is expected once we reach our destination. It's hit and miss whether it actually works.
Furthermore, my Momma Duggar impersonation was right on tack today. That's what I call my attempts at gentle parenting or whatever it's called when the parent remains calm regardless of the situation. Honestly, I don't know how Michelle does it....I think the world could be falling down around her and she would still have every last nerve in line and under control and would have the energy and patience to calmly say, "Now, J....... (whichever "J" named child needed some behavior correction), we don't do that." Seriously, does anything rattle that woman? If I sound annoyed, it's only because I'm so darn envious that I don't seem to have the same patience within myself.
What a boring day....Is anyone still reading? How many people left after all the poop talk? If you didn't leave after that, are you still awake and reading my mindless blathering?
While Reiss was finishing up a load of poop in his Pull-Up (I detest trying to put him on the toddler potty after he has already started doing his business!), I decided to start a load of whites in the washer. It felt like I spent an eternity in the laundry room pitching dirty socks into the washer. Seriously, I'm on to the sock scheming of the men in this household (which consists of only James and Reiss) - they're either changing their socks every fourteen minutes or those little buggers are breeding in the dirty clothes bin.
Before all the sock business we, as in, Reiss, Milla, and myself, had spent the better part of an hour in the bathroom. We got home from the library and immediately Milla grabbed herself and yelled "Pee!" as she always does when she needs to go. And it's so cute, by the way. She grabs herself and yells "Pee!" and gets the most accusatory look on her face as if to say, "Oh no, the nerve that I, the princess, would be made to do something so incredibly unclean!"
We went in the bathroom and Milla did her thing. She got up and I got her all cleaned up and helped her wash her hands and then Reiss declared he had to poop. So then I got Reiss all situated and, of course, Milla decided she had to go again. I never know when to tell her she can't go just because Reiss is in there because many times when she plays this game, she does actually produce some results in the potty, despite the fact that she just got off the potty less than a minute or two before. This was one of those times. So I got her back off the potty while Reiss still sat there and sat and sat and sat. We sang the ABC's and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and some other song Reiss was singing. I'm not sure what it was but it sounded like he was singing the words to the Menard's (a chain of large home improvement/hardware stores primarily in the Midwest) theme song to the tune of the Go Daddy website song. Danica Patrick would be proud.
Finally, Reiss got up and hadn't produced anything. He went about playing and sure enough, next thing I knew he was going in his Pull-Up. Anymore, he generally wears underwear under his pants or shorts and only wears Pull-Ups when he is a)sleeping at night b)napping in the afternoon or c)going somewhere. Since we had just gotten back from the library and he was going to be napping soon thereafter, I didn't bother to take off his Pull-Up. As I said before, I do not like to try to get him to the potty in "mid-poop" so I just let him finish it up. If we are to get him potty-trained before say, high school, I think I may just have to bite the bullet and deal with the mess even if it means pulling him to the potty mid-poop occasionally. And please, don't anyone try to reassure me by saying "He won't go to kindergarten in diapers." While I would like to be optimistic and believe that about Reiss, I also know of many moms of children with special needs who can attest to the fact that that is exactly how their child showed up to kindergarten....in a diaper.
Enough about poop.....
Today we went to the library and if you read this blog even occasionally, you know this is a big thing for me. We used to go to the library all the time until one day I finally threw in the towel and decided I was done making trips to the library until Reiss either stopped running from me in public or until we got him a locator bracelet. He still runs from me occasionally and he doesn't have a locator bracelet (yet - although we are in contact with an organization to see about getting him one) but I am trying to be more bold these days in my attempts at making outings without hubs along to assist.
The library seems like it would be a rather harmless place to go except the one near us can be quite dangerous. Since I cannot draw a picture I will try to describe it the best I can. First, the outside of the library has a pretty large parking lot that surrounds two sides of the building in the shape of an "L." Getting into the library can be a challenge because it is ALWAYS busy and we have to park a ways from the entrance. Reiss has little to no concept of danger so I can explain all day why he needs to hold my hand and he will still say, "Wanna get hit by a car."
Going into the library, the entrance consists of two sets of automatic doors. Once inside the library, the children's section is off to the right. All the way far, far back at the very back of the children's section is a place for the children to play. There is a wide aisle in the middle of the children's section separating row after row after row of bookshelves. Typically, we try to stay in the play area. However, if Reiss bolts for the door going out of the children's section, he only has to make it out of that section and about another fifteen feet before he would reach the automatic doors going out into the parking lot where people seemingly feel they need to race by the front entrance as if they are in the Indy 500. Should he decide to do so, Reiss could do it all in a matter of seconds. Not exactly comforting when I have Milla to look after as well.
In summary, when you combine a child who loves to run (I can't hold his hand ALL the time!) with automatic doors exiting a building, and cars whizzing by as soon as one exits the building, it's like a recipe for Reiss Roadkill. Call me biased but that's not really something I'd like on the menu of a single one of my days. See why the library can be quite an endeavor for us?
Today was a little different though. Reiss did not run from me even one time and I was very proud of him. Maybe all my lecturing is starting to pay off. No matter where we go, we always have these little discussions with Reiss about the behavior that is expected once we reach our destination. It's hit and miss whether it actually works.
Furthermore, my Momma Duggar impersonation was right on tack today. That's what I call my attempts at gentle parenting or whatever it's called when the parent remains calm regardless of the situation. Honestly, I don't know how Michelle does it....I think the world could be falling down around her and she would still have every last nerve in line and under control and would have the energy and patience to calmly say, "Now, J....... (whichever "J" named child needed some behavior correction), we don't do that." Seriously, does anything rattle that woman? If I sound annoyed, it's only because I'm so darn envious that I don't seem to have the same patience within myself.
What a boring day....Is anyone still reading? How many people left after all the poop talk? If you didn't leave after that, are you still awake and reading my mindless blathering?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
I'll Have a Grande Cappuccino and a Large Order of Simplicity, Please!
Today I am craving simplicity in the worst way and just a little bit of normalcy. I miss the days when I could just walk out the door without having to worry about taking every necessary precaution and planning every detail of every errand in order to make sure things went smoothly and I came home with the same number of children I took with me.
This autism thing is wearing on me the last few days. It seems to be a cyclical condition in which I have a few really great days and then a few bad or really bad days. Today has not been bad, it has just been a reminder that I no longer lead a carefree lifestyle like so many parents of typical children. If I sound bitter or envious, I'm a big enough person to admit that some days I am. However, I am working through it and am learning to accept that my family does not have the luxury of spontaneity or the same options available to us that many families do. I suppose it's a pretty good thing that I accomplished a lot and travelled more than most before having children.
What would most likely be a fairly easy outing for most parents was nerve-wracking for me today. I had a list of places to go and I knew it would not be completed before coming home but wanted to do as much as possible. Although we left around what is typically lunchtime for us, I was keeping a positive frame of mind knowing that lunch in the car was not totally unreasonable now that Milla is of an age where she can feed herself and Reiss usually does well at keeping the messes to a minimum. And after all, I didn't get leather seats and an expensive stain treatment for nothing.
We stopped and I got the two monkeys an order of fries each and a drink apiece (I love the value menu!) and some chili for myself. Before anyone thinks I'm starving my children, let me explain why they only got fries and drinks. Chicken nuggets are out of the question - they contain gluten. Hamburgers (plain and bunless) many times go uneaten without a ton of poking and prodding and sometimes all-out begging. Not exactly what I wanted to deal with in the car. Going inside to eat remains in that uncharted territory for me as far as doing things without my husband along to assist. Yes, I know, two children should not be a challenge but that's also very easy for people to say when they don't have a child who runs at every opportunity. Getting off track, as usual, anyone reading is probably still wondering why they only got fries and drinks. Simple! They don't eat much. What they got was plenty for them and I prefer to keep their nutritional needs in check on a daily basis rather than worry about it from a meal-by-meal standpoint. Translation? They got protein with breakfast and they'll get it again at dinner, along with a ton of veggies.
Back-tracking here a bit about Reiss and him running away from me.....Don't even get me started by saying, "Well, get a leash!" I have nothing against child restraints when they work but every one I've seen has the same type of buckle as the one we have and Reiss knows how to get out of that one.
Don't even get me started on the "Teach him about danger and not to run...." Most children with autism don't even get the concept of danger. Police and fire personnel in many cities are now being given classes and information regarding how to handle people with autism spectrum disorders so as to avoid situations like the Hawthorne incident and others similar to it that occasionally sprinkle the news and - even if for a short period of time - raise autism awareness in communities. Don't believe me? Look HERE.
Okay, so enough of me trying to defend myself and my failed attempts to teach Reiss about safety and not running from me in public places. Here is how our day unfurled.....
I checked the diaper bag to be sure we had plenty of Pull-Ups in there since Reiss is not potty-trained and Milla is starting to potty-train. Oh, the joys of potty-training two children at one time is just too much excitement, especially during those times when one is peeing on the floor and the other is unrolling an entire toilet paper roll. Most importantly though, I placed our new go-everywhere-with-us Diastat injector case into the bag. When Reiss had his seizure, we were lucky he was not placed on regular meds to be taken daily, but rather, given a prescription for Diastat to be injected only if another seizure should occur. Good: No daily meds. Bad: Remembering to have the Diastat with us at all times.
As I mentioned before, we left right around lunch time so the first thing on our agenda was food and getting some of it from a drive-thru. We did that and ate in the car and moved on.
Next, we went to the local YMCA to talk to someone about renewing our membership - but more specifically, about how things would be handled with Reiss and his autism. I wanted to be assured in the feeling of security that the care he would receive is appropriate and experienced. I needed to know if it is a problem that he's not potty-trained and would they know how to handle a seizure and blah, blah, blah. See what I mean about craving some normalcy? I wish I could just go in just like nearly everyone else and fill out a few forms and be done with it and start working out but it doesn't work that way for us anymore.
On the bright side, after talking to the woman I spoke with about our concerns, I feel rejoining the Y is a good move for our family and I hope to do it this week. We didn't do it today because Milla was getting all cranky-pants on me with it being early afternoon and near naptime and we might as well take James with us to do it all at the same time and save ourselves some time later of having to have his ID made on a separate date.
Next up was the health food store. We definitely do our part in shopping with local businesses and helping them stay in business. The two health food stores close to us receive morecharitable contributions revenues from us than any one family should ever dole out. We didn't even need anything from the one we were going to today except that I noticed when I went to the other health food store yesterday, there was a sign on the freezer case saying the manufacturer of the Bell & Evans chicken nuggets we love so much was back-ordered on them. I wanted to get some more before both stores were out of them for God only knows how long.
Speaking of Bell & Evans, if you haven't tried this product and you don't mind paying the equivalent amount of money as say, a filet-mignon from the fresh meat case at the grocery store, I highly recommend their chicken nuggets. That said, we only eat them when I a)forget to thaw something for dinner or b)am feeling lazy and don't want to cook what I did thaw for dinner or c)want something that tastes like it came from out but don't want to pay to go out. They're expensive but convenience food doesn't come cheap when one has so many dietary restrictions. On a side note, if you come across the Bell & Evans chicken patties, all I can say is, "Back away from the freezer case." Honestly, I don't know how a company can make one product such a rockstar and another so gross I wouldn't feed it to the dog who roams the neighborhood. Oh wait, yes I would. That's exactly what I did when I served the patties for lunch one day and no one in our family took more than two bites.
Distracted again. Oh well, you guys are used to it by now. From the Y, and for most of the way to the health food store, Reiss and I had the "You run, we leave" conversation. I thought he had absorbed it and maybe this one time I wouldn't be "that parent" subject to the whispers and stares we so often get but alas, about ten minutes into my overstepping the bounds of just going in and grabbing what we needed and into the browsing segment of our visit, Reiss ran into another aisle. We already had the chicken and some organic popcorn (I've been wanting to try a recipe that calls for Chinese five-spice blend and some other things mixed and poured over popcorn), so I had to act on the you-run-we-leave rule.
We got our purchases rang and paid for and I comtemplated our next stop to Bed Bath & Beyond to get a salad spinner. However, Milla was way past due for getting home so that is where we headed. Back home. Back to the security of our haven of our own version of normalcy.
This autism thing is wearing on me the last few days. It seems to be a cyclical condition in which I have a few really great days and then a few bad or really bad days. Today has not been bad, it has just been a reminder that I no longer lead a carefree lifestyle like so many parents of typical children. If I sound bitter or envious, I'm a big enough person to admit that some days I am. However, I am working through it and am learning to accept that my family does not have the luxury of spontaneity or the same options available to us that many families do. I suppose it's a pretty good thing that I accomplished a lot and travelled more than most before having children.
What would most likely be a fairly easy outing for most parents was nerve-wracking for me today. I had a list of places to go and I knew it would not be completed before coming home but wanted to do as much as possible. Although we left around what is typically lunchtime for us, I was keeping a positive frame of mind knowing that lunch in the car was not totally unreasonable now that Milla is of an age where she can feed herself and Reiss usually does well at keeping the messes to a minimum. And after all, I didn't get leather seats and an expensive stain treatment for nothing.
We stopped and I got the two monkeys an order of fries each and a drink apiece (I love the value menu!) and some chili for myself. Before anyone thinks I'm starving my children, let me explain why they only got fries and drinks. Chicken nuggets are out of the question - they contain gluten. Hamburgers (plain and bunless) many times go uneaten without a ton of poking and prodding and sometimes all-out begging. Not exactly what I wanted to deal with in the car. Going inside to eat remains in that uncharted territory for me as far as doing things without my husband along to assist. Yes, I know, two children should not be a challenge but that's also very easy for people to say when they don't have a child who runs at every opportunity. Getting off track, as usual, anyone reading is probably still wondering why they only got fries and drinks. Simple! They don't eat much. What they got was plenty for them and I prefer to keep their nutritional needs in check on a daily basis rather than worry about it from a meal-by-meal standpoint. Translation? They got protein with breakfast and they'll get it again at dinner, along with a ton of veggies.
Back-tracking here a bit about Reiss and him running away from me.....Don't even get me started by saying, "Well, get a leash!" I have nothing against child restraints when they work but every one I've seen has the same type of buckle as the one we have and Reiss knows how to get out of that one.
Don't even get me started on the "Teach him about danger and not to run...." Most children with autism don't even get the concept of danger. Police and fire personnel in many cities are now being given classes and information regarding how to handle people with autism spectrum disorders so as to avoid situations like the Hawthorne incident and others similar to it that occasionally sprinkle the news and - even if for a short period of time - raise autism awareness in communities. Don't believe me? Look HERE.
Okay, so enough of me trying to defend myself and my failed attempts to teach Reiss about safety and not running from me in public places. Here is how our day unfurled.....
I checked the diaper bag to be sure we had plenty of Pull-Ups in there since Reiss is not potty-trained and Milla is starting to potty-train. Oh, the joys of potty-training two children at one time is just too much excitement, especially during those times when one is peeing on the floor and the other is unrolling an entire toilet paper roll. Most importantly though, I placed our new go-everywhere-with-us Diastat injector case into the bag. When Reiss had his seizure, we were lucky he was not placed on regular meds to be taken daily, but rather, given a prescription for Diastat to be injected only if another seizure should occur. Good: No daily meds. Bad: Remembering to have the Diastat with us at all times.
As I mentioned before, we left right around lunch time so the first thing on our agenda was food and getting some of it from a drive-thru. We did that and ate in the car and moved on.
Next, we went to the local YMCA to talk to someone about renewing our membership - but more specifically, about how things would be handled with Reiss and his autism. I wanted to be assured in the feeling of security that the care he would receive is appropriate and experienced. I needed to know if it is a problem that he's not potty-trained and would they know how to handle a seizure and blah, blah, blah. See what I mean about craving some normalcy? I wish I could just go in just like nearly everyone else and fill out a few forms and be done with it and start working out but it doesn't work that way for us anymore.
On the bright side, after talking to the woman I spoke with about our concerns, I feel rejoining the Y is a good move for our family and I hope to do it this week. We didn't do it today because Milla was getting all cranky-pants on me with it being early afternoon and near naptime and we might as well take James with us to do it all at the same time and save ourselves some time later of having to have his ID made on a separate date.
Next up was the health food store. We definitely do our part in shopping with local businesses and helping them stay in business. The two health food stores close to us receive more
Speaking of Bell & Evans, if you haven't tried this product and you don't mind paying the equivalent amount of money as say, a filet-mignon from the fresh meat case at the grocery store, I highly recommend their chicken nuggets. That said, we only eat them when I a)forget to thaw something for dinner or b)am feeling lazy and don't want to cook what I did thaw for dinner or c)want something that tastes like it came from out but don't want to pay to go out. They're expensive but convenience food doesn't come cheap when one has so many dietary restrictions. On a side note, if you come across the Bell & Evans chicken patties, all I can say is, "Back away from the freezer case." Honestly, I don't know how a company can make one product such a rockstar and another so gross I wouldn't feed it to the dog who roams the neighborhood. Oh wait, yes I would. That's exactly what I did when I served the patties for lunch one day and no one in our family took more than two bites.
Distracted again. Oh well, you guys are used to it by now. From the Y, and for most of the way to the health food store, Reiss and I had the "You run, we leave" conversation. I thought he had absorbed it and maybe this one time I wouldn't be "that parent" subject to the whispers and stares we so often get but alas, about ten minutes into my overstepping the bounds of just going in and grabbing what we needed and into the browsing segment of our visit, Reiss ran into another aisle. We already had the chicken and some organic popcorn (I've been wanting to try a recipe that calls for Chinese five-spice blend and some other things mixed and poured over popcorn), so I had to act on the you-run-we-leave rule.
We got our purchases rang and paid for and I comtemplated our next stop to Bed Bath & Beyond to get a salad spinner. However, Milla was way past due for getting home so that is where we headed. Back home. Back to the security of our haven of our own version of normalcy.
Monday, July 6, 2009
What is a Date?
No, not a Medjool date or even a Halawi or Thoory date. What do you and your spouse or significant other do when you get that ever-so-rare (for us, anyway) treat of a few hours of childless retreat?
Don't get me wrong. I love my children more than words can express but even the best parents need a break now and then. My husband and I do not get anywhere near the number of breaks our friends who are parents get from their own children. Occasionally, I will browse a local mommy message board and read about people who even go on vacation without their children - definitely not for me but I'm also not criticizing.
(Now why would I ever want to get away from someone who looks so sweet???)
Anyway, James and I had such a moment of childless bliss yesterday afternoon when my dad and step-mom came and watched Reiss and Milla. James and I get a break so seldomly that we usually don't even know what to do with ourselves when we do get one.
Yesterday's date was a late afternoon lunch at Ruby Tuesday. We both got hamburgers and I was pleasantly surprised when our food showed up to see that the buns were wheat buns (no, we do not ordinarily stick to GFCF when it's just James and I going out to eat) without us making any special requests for something other than white. James had a regular burger and mine was turkey with bacon and avocado. It was so good and so huge and I certainly should not have eaten the whole thing and the fries with it but I did AND also had a drink called a Ruby Relaxer.
After I ordered and received the drink, our server informed me that the drink had four ounces of alcohol in it. I have serious doubts because I drink so little when I do drink that if I had consumed four ounces of alcohol yesterday I would not only know it when drinking it, but my legs would have known it as well when I got up to walk. It was an excellent drink and I don't drink to get drunk so I didn't mind that it didn't have all the alcohol in it that Andy proclaimed it to have. All was well and it served it's purpose: I was a little bit more relaxed after the last sip.
Following lunch we went to go get some Pull-Ups for little Miss Big Girl who is now potty-training right along with her big brother. I hate to think that she may be fully potty-trained before her older brother but if that's the case, that's life. Less diapers for me to change. We got them at Babies R Us because I had two stackable coupons - one for $2.50 off and one for $5.00 off. I never buy diapers at Babies R Us because they're too expensive but darn CVS and Walgreens have not had any good diaper sales lately. I gotta go wherever the deal is and yesterday, that happened to be Babies R Us.
After BRU, we went and bought another potty-chair and some white underwear for Reiss and some boxer briefs for James and candy bars. James got a Butterfinger and I had a Twix. Then we headed home.
To sum it up, our Sunday afternoon date consisted of having hamburgers and fries, buying diapers, underwear, a potty-chair, and candy bars. Do we know how to party or what? We are walkin' on the wild side now!
Don't get me wrong. I love my children more than words can express but even the best parents need a break now and then. My husband and I do not get anywhere near the number of breaks our friends who are parents get from their own children. Occasionally, I will browse a local mommy message board and read about people who even go on vacation without their children - definitely not for me but I'm also not criticizing.
(Now why would I ever want to get away from someone who looks so sweet???)Anyway, James and I had such a moment of childless bliss yesterday afternoon when my dad and step-mom came and watched Reiss and Milla. James and I get a break so seldomly that we usually don't even know what to do with ourselves when we do get one.
Yesterday's date was a late afternoon lunch at Ruby Tuesday. We both got hamburgers and I was pleasantly surprised when our food showed up to see that the buns were wheat buns (no, we do not ordinarily stick to GFCF when it's just James and I going out to eat) without us making any special requests for something other than white. James had a regular burger and mine was turkey with bacon and avocado. It was so good and so huge and I certainly should not have eaten the whole thing and the fries with it but I did AND also had a drink called a Ruby Relaxer.
After I ordered and received the drink, our server informed me that the drink had four ounces of alcohol in it. I have serious doubts because I drink so little when I do drink that if I had consumed four ounces of alcohol yesterday I would not only know it when drinking it, but my legs would have known it as well when I got up to walk. It was an excellent drink and I don't drink to get drunk so I didn't mind that it didn't have all the alcohol in it that Andy proclaimed it to have. All was well and it served it's purpose: I was a little bit more relaxed after the last sip.
Following lunch we went to go get some Pull-Ups for little Miss Big Girl who is now potty-training right along with her big brother. I hate to think that she may be fully potty-trained before her older brother but if that's the case, that's life. Less diapers for me to change. We got them at Babies R Us because I had two stackable coupons - one for $2.50 off and one for $5.00 off. I never buy diapers at Babies R Us because they're too expensive but darn CVS and Walgreens have not had any good diaper sales lately. I gotta go wherever the deal is and yesterday, that happened to be Babies R Us.
After BRU, we went and bought another potty-chair and some white underwear for Reiss and some boxer briefs for James and candy bars. James got a Butterfinger and I had a Twix. Then we headed home.
To sum it up, our Sunday afternoon date consisted of having hamburgers and fries, buying diapers, underwear, a potty-chair, and candy bars. Do we know how to party or what? We are walkin' on the wild side now!
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