I Want My Mommy

My mother and my mother-in-law are both very wonderful people. I have alot of fun with both of them and I truly love their company. I think they know that. But, the reason I want (need) them in my life right now, and by "in my life" I mean living within a 10 mile proximity, has nothing to do with my enjoyment of them as people (no offense), but it has to do with their love for their grandchildren. Ok, maybe its their love for me. Why am I beating around the bush here? I NEED BABYSITTERS! One of the biggest stresses in my life is finding someone to watch my children. I despise the whole process with a passion. While its hard to find someone with whom I feel comfortable watching Jacob, who has autism, my biggest need right now is finding someone to watch my youngest, who is 2, so my husband and I can both work during the day. And I know everyone is well aware that its actually not financially worth it most of the time to hire someone or put your child in daycare. Alex and I so desire to have grandparents near by. For those of you who live close to your parents or in-laws, please don't take it for granted...appreciate it! I know that "life is always greener on the other side," but I know for certain that having grandparents in our life would make it so much easier. That and winning the lottery. Whoever said money doesn't buy happiness doesn't know what in the world he/she is talking about. :)

I've Been Tagged

I have been tagged by my friend Amy at Life and Times of Life at Home and my "assignment" is to create a 6 word memoir of myself. Here it goes...

Strong

Jack of all trades, master of none

(does that count as one word?)

Honest

Musical

Biased

(I think my children are God's greatest creations)

Fun

(at least to those who know me best)

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

I tag:

Sarah
Ashley
Kit
Joanna
Carrie

Have fun!!

Is It Really Worth It?

I've happened to "stumble" upon the new game show "Moment of Truth" the last couple of weeks, and while a part of me is very curious and quite interested in the show, another part of me cringes at certain points. The premise of the show is telling the truth, based on a lie detector test, and making lots money despite the fact that the truth has the ability to destroy every relationship that one may have. The truths that are revealed are very personal and the overall theme seems to be lies and betrayal. While it makes for good television, as I am guilty of watching, something is very wrong here. My biggest issue with the show is the family's, and especially the audience's, reaction to the announcement that the truth has been told. Here is an example:

The host: "Have you ever had sexual relations with the wife of one of your friends?"

The contestant: (after a much suspensful pause for effect) "yes."

The "voice": "That answer is.......true."
(the audience cheers as the contestant has just won $10,000.)

Now some of the questions are much more innocent that this, but even the contestant's supporters, who often consist of a spouse, girl/boyfriend, mom, dad, sibling, or best friend, are often seen applauding. And why??? The almighty dollar! Should we ever, for any reason, celebrate betrayal? I think not! While those who cheer may never admit to celebrating the actions of the individual, they are condoning it because of the monatary outcome it may provide for the contestant....disgusting!

And yes, Mom, I will probably continue to watch on occasion :)

While we're on the subject...Do you think it could ever be beneficial to keep a truth from someone you love, especially it the truth may hurt that person?

The Past Week

I just realized it has been a few days since I've posted anything. Just a few little tid bits of what's happened over the past week:


1.Made a midnight rush to the store after realizing that one of my children was getting jipped for Easter (poor Josiah... and he is the only one who really cares about that sort of thing)

2. Watched some college basketball while my husband cooked a pork tenderloin for Easter dinner :)

3. Called my Aunt Barbara to wish her a happy 60th birthday.

4. Jacob pooped on the potty for the very first time (albeit an enema was involved)

5. Received my "prize" from my friend Amy. (for those who are unaware, click here)

6.Watched Dancing With the Stars and American Idol, but had to miss John and Kate +8.

7.Purposefully did not weigh myself on Monday because I pigged out on Sunday.

8.Got extremely behind on laundary which I've realized now that I'm working this will be a weekly ritual.

That about sums it up without getting carried away.

Too Funny Not to Mention...Despite the Gross Factor

One of the reasons I started this blog was to provide a way, an easy way, to record all the cute, funny things that my kids do and say. I haven't done much of that yet, but I plan on making that a priority. And thankfully my kids are young enough not to be completely embarassed about my telling others these stories. That time will come, I'm sure.

The following is a short conversation between me and Josiah:

Josiah: "Mom, my bottom started itching a little while ago."
Mom: "Well, let me take a look at it.... Yep, it does look a little red and chapped."
Josiah: (looking horrified) "I have absolutely never licked my butt hole in my whole life."
Mom: (laughing very hard) "Alex, you've gotta hear this..."

I've always told him that licking his lips would make them chapped. :)

Music To My Ears

Jacob said "bath" the other day for the first time!!!!! (and yesterday as well) Well, actually it was more of a "ba, ba, ba." But, it was an obvious attempt to communicate IN WORDS to us that he wanted a bath, as he was stripping his clothes off. Even though he has done this sort of thing in the past with words like "mama" and "bye bye," only to not ever say those words again, or having months go by before you hear it again, I still get extremely proud of by baby when a word or a word approximation comes out of his mouth. He really is trying. We just need to pray for a true breakthrough. Will you join me?

Quick Update

No pounds lost this week, but none gained. Guess thats what happens when one is doing Weight Watchers flexpoints and he/she doesn't count points for a week. The frustrating thing is that when I stick to it, I do very well, losing 2-3 lbs/week. I've just gotta stick with it for more than 1 week at a time. Its been a 1 week on, 1 week off kinda thing for me. I've gotta change that rountine! So, still a grand total of 12 lbs lost.

It Pays to Comment :)

Check out a post by my friend, Amy. She had a contest honoring the 2 year anniversary of her blog.... and guess what? I won...by doing absolutely nothing but posting a comment. Just thought there would be some of you who would be interested in checking out her blog about it because she posted some pics of us in college. The trip down memory lane was alot of fun. I guess maybe I should have some contest to get people to comment on my blog. (hint, hint - to all you readers who don't do so :))

The Dreaded Dental Cleaning

Most of you know that I work in a dental office and have been doing so for close to 5 years now, with the exception of last year. I feel very comfortable in this particular setting...that is until I take Jacob in for a cleaning. He can get pretty freaked out by the entire process. Upon entering the waiting room his poor little body begins to shake like a leaf. He will not open his mouth upon request and has even bitten the hygienist's finger before and, yes, there was blood involved. One time, when we first visited a dental surgeon, the doctor actually performed his exam of Jacob's mouth on the floor because thats where Jacob was, shirtless I might add because the struggle to get Jacob to the exam room caused him to wiggle out of his shirt. (just wanted to clarify that Jacob was shirtless, not the doctor) I honestly laughed so hard at this experience upon leaving the office. It was quite humorous even though it was stressful.

I feel really sad for Jacob. I don't want him to be afraid. Even though I don't really know all that he's capable of understanding, its much more than I give him credit for. So, I talk to him in the car all the way to his appointments, explaining to him all that will take place. This really seems to help. Fortunately he CAN do very well depending on the day. There have been times when he has totally blown me away with his compliance and good behavior. Well, he has an appointment tomorrow for a cleaning, so lets hope he's having one of his good days, not so much for my sake, but for his.

Better News This Week

Well, after my 4/10 of a gain last week, I got rid of 2.6 pounds this week. That is, as of this past Friday. My scale was drowned yesterday by a big glass of orange juice and consequently was not working this morning on weigh-in day. But, having an issue with being tempted to step on the scale throughout the week (which is a no-no), I was able to discover the loss of 2.6 pounds. So, my grand total is 12 lbs lost. I'm just starting to be able to tell a difference in the way my clothes fit. Thats a lot of fun! :)

A Day in the Life of Me

Alex and I have been a one car family for over a month now. His escort has needed a new alternator and we have just been putting off the expense. Today was the day that we had made plans to try and get the battery charged enough to get it to our mechanic. I also had quite a bit of running around to do since I started my new job this week and have had no time to run errands. When I get home from work around 5:30, I meet my husband in the yard, give him a peck on lips, he hops into our only working vehicle and goes to work, leaving me stranded. So I have not been able to go to the grocery store all week, and since I am not the most organized person in the world, I didn't plan appropriately and make sure our cubbards were full last weekend before I started my job.

Alex had a physical therapy appointment scheduled at 11:30 (he hurt his back at work a few weeks ago), and then he had to be at work at 2:00. We thought we would jump start the car, let it charge for about 1/2 hour, take it to our mechanic, Alex would then drop me off at the grocery store, go to his appointment, pick me up from the grocery store, we would go home, and then he would go to work. Sounds busy, but very doable. Well, guess what I discovered this morning before dragging Alex out of bed. Our one and only working vehicle was parked nicely next to our broken down vehicle and what did I see?...a flat tire! And we don't carry a spare, just a little temporary doughnut.

I will try and make the rest of this story as short as I can. Needless to say we were frustrated. But our plan could still be carried out after Alex changes the tire. Well after charging his escort for about 20 minutes, he removed the jumper cables and his car didn't die...good sign, right? About 5 minutes later it was dead again. Before we started the process all over, Alex wanted to change the flat on the van. While doing so he noticed one of the lug nuts was stripped and he couldn't get it tightened like he should. He didn't like that discovery too much.

Well, we finally got the battery in his car to keep the charge so we raced to our mechanic even though we shouldn't have been racing with a temporary tire and a loose lug nut on one of our vehicles. By this time Alex had cancellled his PT appointment. And since our mechanic no longer "does tires," we had to take the van to someone else. Fortunately there is a little place just about a couple of miles from our house. I drop off Alex and Micah, who is snoozing, at home and then go try and get a new tire. They tell me it will take about an hour a half for the tire to get to them since they had to order it. I'm not making this a short story, am I?

I go home to get my grocery list, thinking I could do that while waiting for the tire to arrive. Alex doesn't feel at all comfortable with my driving the van in its "condition." So, I don't go to the grocery store. Oh, by the way, by this point Alex has called in "late" to work. Well, we wait and wait and wait and 3 hours later the tire finally arrives. I received this anticipated information within minutes after getting the phone call from our mechanic telling us it will cost $420 to repair the escort.

I go get the new tire put on and go directly to the grocery store. Its now around 4:00 pm. There is not a lick of food in the house and Alex and Jacob's therapist (who comes to our house 3 times a week) are trying to entertain 3 very hungry, very cranky little boys. I get home around 5:30 and boy did I get alot of help carrying the groceries in. Before I even turned off the ignition, it seemed as if people were coming out from nowhere to get these groceries in the house. And once that happened it was quite a sight. Alex and Jacob's therapist were obviously "fried," and 3 little boys were swarming over the grocery bags. Alex left for work, being 4 hours late, and I began opening string cheese, yogurt, and cheese-its. Have you ever had just a snack night for dinner?

Here I am now recording the day's "wonderful" events, not being able to figure out if the moral of my "story" is: 1. car trouble sucks!!!! or 2. don't ever run out of food with 4 boys in your home.

Remembering Papa Dink

My 94 year old step grandfather passed away early on Saturday morning. He was married to my grandmother for almost 32 years, so he has been apart of my family for close to my entire life. Just imagine a hard-working man living in rural southern Arkansas who loved to hunt, garden, and spend time with his grandkids. He owned his own company and worked until he was in his 80's. He and my grandma lived about 1/2 hour from where I lived as a child. Whenever we would drive over for the day, I would always know when Papa Dink would be home for lunch - within minutes of the town clock ringing 12:00 noon. My grandma would have a wonderful meal prepared for him. Lunch was the big meal of the day. He would take a quick snooze in his recliner and then back off to work. When he got home in the evenings he would tend to his garden. I always enjoyed it when he took me to join him there. I wish I would have actually paid attention to what he was doing because I cannot keep a plant from dying to save my life. He also had a passion for his grandkids.

We moved to Massachusetts when my older kids were 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 so they were unable to spend alot of time with him, but the time they were allowed was memorable. Josiah remembers Papa Dink driving him around the garden in his golf cart. Papa Dink had a very special place in his heart for Jacob. His love for him was very obvious and very refreshing. So many people shy away from interacting with him because they just don't know what to do or say. Not Papa Dink. I loved that so much. He and Alex got along very well. Since Alex has been involved in landscaping the past couple of years, they alway had lots to talk about. We will all miss him very much.

I sure wish I could have been there for the funeral on Monday, but hopefully everyone knew my thoughts were there. Just wanted to share a little bit about a great man.

Don't Ever Give Up Hope!

Click here to watch a very inspiring story of hope and perseverance. For every time I hear someone tell me that if an autistic child is not communicating by the time he/she enters first grade, I see or hear of a story like Carly's. I will never give up hope! Just thought I would share.

Oh My Goodness, Its Monday

Does this mean that I actually have to let everyone know that I gained 4/10 of a lb. Yep, I did. What was I thinking when I came up with the brilliant idea of broadcasting my weekly results? (just kidding, I'm not really that worried about 4/10 of a lb). And I have a whole week to redeem myself.

I started my new job today and I don't know what it is about being out there in the work force, being productive, and making a difference, (not that I'm tootin my own horn, its just that every person has a job to do and hopefully I will do mine well), but it makes me want to take better care of myself. I haven't had my hair cut in a year and a half...talk about a stringy mess. Its up in a dad burn clippy everyday. Josiah was looking at my wedding pics one day and he looked very puzzled and asked, "Momma, where's your clippy." I think its time to get a hair cut. :) Just wish the weight issue could be remedied as easily and quickly as the hair issue. But it sure will be worth it in the end.