Fish In My Hair: Be Careful For What Thou Wisheth (a true story)

You have got to read this lady's Blog post!  I don't know whether to laugh with her at the descriptive writing style or cry with her over her loss. 

I've got a friend who shares part of the same philosophy I do about wishes and God's sense of humor.  I think often times we find ourselves making wishes or requests only to be shocked, amazed or disappointed at how the wish or request is fulfilled.

Growing up I often said all I wanted to be was a mother and a wife.  (I know I've got that backwards but that was how I typically answered the "What do you want to be when you grow up question?"  First response was "A Mommy."  Then when pushed I'd agree that yes I wanted to be a wife too.  I think in my childhood naivety I just figured all Mommies were wives and it was a big DUH! to think otherwise.  Little did I know!)  Well as I got older I amended my "What do I want to be.." to simply say, "I want to be a mom by the time I'm 30."  (Remember the childhood naivety about being a wife before being a mom.  I should have known better and amended my statement to "I want to be married and have a child before I'm 30."  I didn't and God gave me what I asked for --  Motherhood before I was 30.  Actually I gave birth 5 months before my 30th birthday.  See, God does answer prayers.  I did go on to become a wife (about 6 years later).  Looking back, I realize that no, the order I proceeded wasn't exactly as it should have been, but it served a purpose.  I had almost 6 years to devote to my oldest son (the one that just happens to have Down Syndrome).  He had his Mommy completely to himself those early years.  I wasn't torn between doing what was best for my child or someone else. 

Have you had a prayer or a wish granted, just not the way you expected?  Looking back did things work out?

Are you willing to trust Romans 8:28? 

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

I challenge you to trust that verse this weekend and next week.  See if life is a little easier knowing that things will work for the glory of God if you just trust Him.

Do you Blog like you talk?

I wasn't quite sure how to answer this question, so I asked a friend.  Her response?  Nah!  You don't type as much as you talk.

So volume wise I guess the answer is no.  Style wise?  I'd say it's similar but not completely the same.  I tend to use my hands a lot when talking (the Italian in me perhaps).  I tend to use my hands when I type but that's simply because I haven't figured out another way to type.

I do tend to ramble at times when I talk, since I'm just starting my blogging I'm not sure how much I'm going to ramble.  Oops, looks like I'm rambling now.

So, do you blog like you talk? 

Funny I posted about de-stressing yesterday, looks like I really need that tonight.  Didn't get my evening walk on the Rail to Trail but did get a hike this afternoon.

Remember Nick?  My 14 year old with a little something extra?  Well, he tends to wander but had been doing better so we'd given him the job of fetching the garbage can from the road and bringing it up to the house on garbage day.  Today is garbage day.  He gets home from school and I remind him he has a job.  "Oh, right!"  Off he goes to perform said job, or so I think.  I give him about 10 minutes before I start worrying (I know he likes to chat to his invisible friend Logan and sometimes 'forgets' to go straight down and straight back).  Since I heard the dogs barking and yipping I figured he was out by the fence.  So I pop my head out the door.  The garbage can is still at the foot of the driveway.  Hmmm......where's Nick?  I pop out the door and look around (between the house & the building, near the fence)...No Nick!  Pop on around, check the tracker (Jeff sometimes has Pepsi in the tracker and Nick loves pop).  No Nick!  I run back into the house, tell Jeff Nick has vanished. 

Jeff is leaving to go pick up the younger two boys and says he'll check down the road for me to stay at the house and yell for Nick.  I do, No Nick and no answer to my yells.

Jeff gets back, I've doubled checked inside -- No Nick.  Jeff didn't see Nick.  Youngest calls for Nick, we hear a faint answer.  I take off through the woods (direction the answer came from yelling -- no response).  Jeff locks in the hubs and takes the tracker up the dirt road (4-wheelers have created) and sends me back to the house with the younger boys.

Beyond the woods is a field and as luck would have it a farmer is working the field with his tractor (this is what caught Nick's attention and drew him away from his 'job').  Jeff gets the tracker up as far as he can (has to park it due to some trees he can't get through or go around) and gets out and walks.  Farmer asks, "You looking for a little boy about yeah high, kinda autistic?"  Jeff answers "Yep!"  Farmer points Nick out almost to a road and offers Jeff a ride on his tractor, which Jeff accepts.  By the time Jeff gets to the road, Nick has hightailed it to a farm house (after visiting with horses and cows and ripping the seat out of his pants on a fence) and is hiding under their table crying, "I'm sorry, I'm scared, I'm hungry."  Farmer comments to Jeff -- boy was real polite, said his name was Nick and where he was from then asked for a drink.

By car he ended up about 4 miles (round trip) from the house.  Not sure how many acres he traveled in 45 minutes since he went crossed country.

It amazes me how a boy who can move so slow and complain at times about walking on a paved trail can move so fast and not complain when he takes off cross-country.

Well, I'm off to de-stress -- Long soak in the tub and I think I need to wash the new grays out of my hair.

Before I sign off I thought I'd show you how peaceful and angelic he can look after the scare he gave his mother!

Life -- It's an Adventure!

Sunday evening we all decided to hit the Rail to Trails out at the local state park.  It was wonderful to get back out there and walk, even with my bronchial spasms!  We ended up walking 1.25 miles round trip.  I know it's not much, but when you consider the 6, 8 & 14 year olds ran and walked it without complaint it's pretty good.  (The 44 and the 50 year old woke up a little sore this morning.)

At any rate, Jeff and I decided to hit the trail again this morning, we're able to maintain a faster pace alone.   Yes, I realize the boys run ahead but they also slow down and walk and play along the way so mine and Jeff's pace is a little slower than if we're alone.  It was so nice just walking and talking with my sweetheart.  For the most part we were alone on the trail too.

This afternoon, since Jeff had to work tonight (and he's on his feet all night), the boys and I took off for the trail and Jeff stayed home and fixed dinner.  I love watching their excitement as we head down the trail.  Since they'd put in a full day at school, Nick did start complaining before we turned back.  (He hates to sweat and tends to get heat rash very easily.)  But he persevered and we made it the 1.25 miles!

Our goal is to walk it everyday, hopefully I (with Jeff or alone) will manage to get in two walks a day.  Walking was always a great de-stressor for me and I often would bring a book and disappear into the woods for hours at a time.  Since having children I've missed that, the Rail to Trail offers a little bit of the walking in the woods feel while still having a clearly defined path to keep the boys on while we walk.

ooh, since mentioning de-stressors I think I'll list my top 5.  If you decide to blog on your top 5 de-stressors drop me a line and I'll check them out!

How do You De-stress?

1. Long walks
2. Long baths
3. Long showers
4. Snuggle time with my husband
5. Hugs from my boys

Or Life with Nick -- It's an Adventure!

First let me show you my handsome young men after church on Easter Sunday:

As you can see, they all look very nice.

Today for church the boys decided to wear these same outfits.  No problem.  They get dressed and off to church we go.  The boys each attend their age appropriate classes and Jeff and I go off to the sanctuary for our worship time.  Jeff and I are thinking things went smoothly today even after Nick balked because he saw some classmates in the gym playing ball and wanted to join them (we wouldn't let him).

We go upstairs to retrieve the boys after the service.  Jeff goes after the younger two and I go after Nick.  Nick is sitting in the hallway on the lap of a female helper sobbing and the male teacher is looking on.  I get closer and discover my oldest son is covered in paint!  (Black and orange paint to be exact.)

Trust me it looks a lot worse close up!

Seems about the last 10 minutes of class, Nick got bored? Distracted? Who knows and he sure wasn't telling!  Anyhow, he got up and wandered into the adjoining room.  The helpers didn't think too much of it as he has often done that and either laid on the couch or played the fooseball game.  Today for some reason he opened up the supply cabinet and got into the paint.  (Once home Nick informs me he wanted to paint a picture of me, my long hair, etc.)  For some reason he tried drinking the paint too, thankfully it was non-toxic and he didn't like the taste but he did scare a few people.  At any rate, not only did he get his clothes but he got windows and the rug in the classroom.  Thankfully it all cleaned (or so I've been informed) and no one seemed mad at him (or me for not training him better).  I will say this in my defense on the 'not training him better' this was totally unexpected as Nick typically has a tactile aversion to getting paint on his hands and/or clothes.  Up until this year he typically did whatever he could to avoid doing any painting in art class.

I decided to blog about this because I'm sure (after talking to one of the helpers "L") that one day we'll probably laugh about it -- not sure when that day will come.  Anyhow, "L" is a nurse and she was extremely worried since Nick got some of the paint into his mouth so she took it upon herself to call not only Poison Control, but our local university hospital, several ER doctors she knew personally and Duke to verify that the paint wouldn't hurt Nick.  The staff at church was extremely compassionate and wanted to know how they could help him.  To be honest, I'm not sure.  Hopefully we get some answers soon as I've contacted a Behavioral Clinic to help us with these types of behaviors.

We've started doing a Family Movie Night here a few years ago and the boys have really enjoyed it.  This past January, Jeff's schedule got changed again and became more predictable.  We'd tried for years to get a set schedule (works so much better with Nick and his issues) thought we'd gotten one and then the scheduled got changed in January.  At first I was furious, but I've come to like the new pattern as it let's Jeff have every Saturday and Sunday off (unless something happens) and every other Friday too!  So Family Movie Night has a current 'permanent' day -- Saturday night! 

What is Family Movie Night?  Well, it's the night we set aside to watch a family oriented movie with the boys, eat dinner while watching the movie (so dinner is usually pizza, hot dogs or hamburgers).  It's a great bonding time for all of us.  The hardest part is finding family oriented movies that won't bore the adults or the children.  Sure wish Hollywood would realize there is a need for that type of movie!  We joined Blockbuster for a while and are now trying Netflix.  It's great to have movies delivered and it really is a fraction of the cost of going to the local video place weekly.  Downside?  Waiting on the movie to get delivered (so occasionally we still have to hit the local video place).

Tonight's movie is Enchanted.  I don't have a movie for Jeff and I to watch after the boys go to bed, but we have some TV shows we haven't watched (thanks to the DVR we can watch them tonight).

Suggestion for tonight?  Grab a movie (new or old), picnic indoors while watching it and then snuggle with your loved ones.  Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered what happened to simple pleasures?  You know the ones I'm talking about!  The ones that don't cost a dime, put a smile on your face.  The ones that make your heart skip a beat and make you yearn for them over time.

Well, on a message board that I belong to (Hearthkeepers) it was recently suggested that those of us who have blogs update them more and to get us started we were challenged to write a blog on 10 simple pleasures.  What are your simple pleasures in life?

10 Simple Pleasures

1. The opportunity to spend quiet time with the man that I love -- my friend, my confidant, my biggest supporter, my husband --- Jeff.
2. Snuggling on the couch watching a movie (or TV show) with my three boys.
3. Hearing one (or more of my boys) ask me, "Mom, have I told you how much I love you today?"
4. Asking one (or more of my boys {oh, Jeff's included in that list}), "Have I told you how much I love you today?"
5. Snuggling with my husband after the boys are asleep for the night.
6. Long walks in the woods.
7. Cuddling in front of a fire.
8. Watching snow softly fall to ground on a starlit night (especially when we have nowhere to go).
9. Reading a good book.
10. Watching my boys discover God's majestic creation with their wonder all aglow.

Quote

75 recommendations made for 'No Child' law - Politics - MSNBC.com

 

You know when "No Child" first was announced, I was excited.  I honestly thought this would be a great thing for all kids, including my oldest son who just happens to have Down Syndrome.  Unfortunately, I've come to find out the way it was written has been disasterous for all involved.  The premise sounded good...no child would be left behind, our schools would have to educate every child not just pass them on to the next grade!

In actuality what has happened is school systems are being punished because they can't reach the goal set by the feds.  No one is actually measuring how much our kids are actually learning.  And our teachers are being forced to teach children how to take and hopefully pass a standardized test so the staff and the school can get a 'passing' grade!

What I'd love to see is teachers teaching children to think and reason, not spew facts.  What I'd love to see is every child have an IEP (I know you teachers probably hate that idea, but think doesn't every child deserve an education that takes into consideration their individual strengths and weakenesses?).  What I'd love to see is teachers' effectiveness at teaching measured.  How would we do this?  Well, one way would be to see how much a child actually learns each year.  For example, a 5 year old starting kindergarten who knows his ABCs, 123s and is writing his name and leaves only knowing that...what did he actually learn that year.  Whereas, a 5 year old starting kindergarten who knew nothing (academically speaking) and leaves knowing his ABCs, 123s, etc. has made great strides and in all likelihood had a teacher that taught him/her something!  So test the kids at the start of every year and then test then at the end, measure their improvement (or lack thereof) and if a teacher consistently has students who show no signs of progressing put that teacher on probation or re-educate them on their art.

JMHO.