Me-Ming!!

We finally got to go ME-MING!! (swimming) Molly is so funny. She NEVER gets excited about ANYTHING. That morning, she was not wanting to get up for school, as usual. She was laying in her bed, looking at the iPad, but only had one eye open. 

I told her what today was...TODAY we get to go SWIMMING at SCHOOL! TODAY we get to ride the BUS and go to the POOL!!

Well lemme tell you...miss always calm tossed that iPad, JUMPED up off the bed and YELLED.."DAD, BACKPACK!"  Daddy usually prepares her backpack while I get her dressed, then she yells at me "I, (she calls me "I" not mommy...thank you very much, daddy) "I, Tow-well"  and I might add, she was verbalizing all of this, which again, is something that rarely happens.

 I was trying to get everything together but evidently not fast enough and daddy and I both laughed as we watched her run to get into my vehicle with only one shoe on, and her hair not brushed.  I would say she was excited.

She had a blast..and thank goodness for the number of teachers that volunteer for this outing, because at one time, as always, she made a move that was too fast for me. She always seems to wait for that moment when she thinks I'm not paying attention, being the sly little skunk that she is. 

She slipped away from the little kids area of the pool, to the section of the pool where there was deeper water. Molly is comfortable in the water, and we have a pretty big above-ground pool, but it's all one level and she can't float.... but she doesn't understand yet that she can't float. She's been getting her dog-paddle and freestyle 0 stroke down, so she thinks she can swim and has no fear.  For some reason, and to the dismay of all parents of children on the spectrum, she is drawn to the deep water with this lack of fear. 

I have purchased a flotation belt for her, and had it in my swim bag, but wasn't given the option to put it on her. Bee-line girl had made her move through the pool, while I had to run AROUND the pool. 

We have been trying to teach her how to jump into the pool, but she doesn't like that. At the pool that day, I decided that we would NOT try to teach her to jump anymore. THAT would have been disastrous. She made the bee-line for the ladder, and started to back down into the pool.

 I was running, but not fast enough and hollered ahead at the teachers closer to 'GRAB HER!!'  All we could do was hang on though...that 120 pounds of water-balloon-down-syndrome flop&drop-body wasn't coming out of the water. Three adults couldn't pull her out. (UGH) Then one of the teachers ran for the belt, and I was able to show her the belt and use the ABA training (which was a stretch because the 1/2 panic 1/2 angry mommy just wanted to scream) and said MOLLY!! FIRST BELT THEN SWIM!! Finally, she understood we were going to let her swim, and allowed us to drag her out and put the swim belt on...and then away she went happy as a lark...she paddled over to where the boys were jumping in. She paddled over to where all the other 13 yr olds were.

After about an hour, she got out of the pool and was thinking about taking her suit off. I know, I saw the look in her eye. So I asked her if she was done. Her 1-1 was standing there...I think she knew, too! :-) No matter how much this girl loves an activity, she's only good for a short period of time. A whole hour was amazing to me...she's usually Miss 15 minutes. No Theaters for us. 

We gathered up her stuff, and instead of staying to lunch with the other students, we just came home. She did make me stop and open the back of the Tahoe, though, so she could recover her sack lunch, drink, and fruit i had in the cooler. 

Maybe...she'll take a rest this afternoon, and not destroy the house!! 

We can always hope.

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on a sad side note...our little red headed boyfriend up there? our 'bobbert' the little boy who has been molly's protector and voice this past 6 years at their little k-8 school, was recently diagnosed with AML Leukemia. Please join us as we pray for him and his family while they fight this horrible beast. 
https://www.facebook.com/PrayersForBobbertRobertEvans?ref=hl

The worst mommy EVER!

Summer school is upon us. It's a wonderful program! Molly gets to continue speech therapy, they study great topics thoroughly, and there is a field trip weekly! 

I like to go on the field trips with her, that way she's not susceptible to long bus trips and the teachers have back-up...mommy back up. Her teacher for the year is one on one, and her 5th grade teacher AND a friend, Miss L, and we are VERY happy about this. Miss L started facebook messaging me one week before the onset, EXCITED to be getting to work with Molly. I CANNOT emphasize enough HOW wonderful it is to have a teacher EXCITED to GET to work with your kiddo!! 

If they attend all days of summer school, they get to go to Silver Dollar City at the end of the session. They go free, family members get reduced ticket prices, and since 3 of my babies are born in June (Aubrey Jo on the 7th,  Little Bill on the 11th and Molly Kate on the  22nd) we are making it an annual family day! (plus, I'm really cheap cheap!!)

Friday, the field trip was swimming. It's still chilly here, and I'm not ready to have her swim.  I'[m a little apprehensive about taking her to swim by myself anyway...she's bad to run and jump in deep ends (I have a belt...I've seen her take the belt off at motel pools and go jump in the deep end) and there is the 'too much excitement-maybe leak' aspect to worry about (ordered special garbs to cover that) and then there's always the "I don't want to leave and am gonna melt" aspect..which is impossible to deal with at her body weight and with the limber 'flop&drop' body our kiddos with DS have, which just takes patience. Now mind you, NONE of things would happen, as a parent, though, we tend to let our minds wander to the worst case scenarios  so that we can be ready...or sometimes we just talk ourselves out of joining in the fun.

On this particular day, daddy and I both had appointments, so would be unable to attend....BUT I didn't want her to be counted absent, so we agreed to attend school up until the time they went to the buses to go to the pool in Willow Springs.  I just figured she wouldn't know, anyway...and we could go get pedis and have a girl day in between our appointments. 

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!!

When the kids started to line up to get on the bus, I went to pull Miss Molly out and she gave me 'the look' ?????? WHAT ?????? are YOU freakin' KIDDING ME?? WE'RE going ME-MING!! (that's how she says swimming) ON THE BUS!

OMG! How did she figure this out??? okay..okay...I can talk her out of this...Lets promise...ummm...ICE CREAM!! yea...lets go get ice cream! 

NO!! ME-MING!!!

Ms L tried her best...she offered her a sack lunch. It had an apple in it. Ms L is regretting that as Molly hauled off and LAUNCHED it at her...Ms L ducked in time, but i think that apple may have glanced off her forehead. MOLLY NO! 

She then figured out she had gone too far, and she really was trying to reign in a full melt-down, so she took off running and screaming for my Tahoe. It was horrible. I made apologies to our wonderful teacher, assuming all the blame for this one as I, yet again, had underestimated my girl.

Driving home, she cried...she cried and kept verbalizing "Me-ming" but settled a little. I think she was holding out hope that I was going to drive her to the pool, because when I put on the left blinker to head down our highway home she let out a war hoop, and then a new word. 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! ME-MING, DAMMIT!!!

Yea, I'm blaming the sarge on that one. The sarge and the KC Chiefs losing football season. I WAS impressed that we have a new word.. I'm relatively sure it DIDN'T come from the therapist and THRILLED that it was used in context...but...well....you know. 

To make matters worse, after having the electrician out to fix the power to the pool, and the Spa people out to rebuild the motor to the pool, it turns out that the motor isn't going to hold. OUR pool is still not up and running. The new motor is sitting here in the living room, Spa girl is coming in the morning to get it fired up, and hopefully Molly will have her OWN pool within the week....but that's just not soon enough.

 Maybe she'll just forget all about it if we have a nice, fun, relaxing weekend. 

Yea, that's right..she has Down Syndrome, she is on the Autism Spectrum. Surely I can make her forget about a little mishap that happened 3 days ago. 

This morning? As we were leaving for school? She ran back into the house. She forgot something. I saw her run back out to get in the truck with daddy. 

She was holding a beach towel.

Epic Fail. 

Well I NEVER!!

We've been out of school a week...and this week starts summer school! YAY! I have been SO excited to start my new life as a SAHM (stay at home mom) but have found that it's just not as easy as it's cracked up to be! I cannot start any special projects while Molly is at home, I can barely keep up with the 'maintenance' part of keeping a house...she is so much help. I need SAHM bootcamp, for sure. 

My sweet little "angel" is a just this disaster just waiting to happen, and the house just seems to fall apart around her as she walks through it. Every single day I spot something that is amiss, something that I would have never believed she would do. The other day, daddy pulled Dorothy the Dinosaur handpuppet out of the light fixture. We have vaulted ceilings...

This morning? My bluetooth Jawbone earphone. I use it around the house all the time so that I can talk on the phone while I'm cleaning up the "Molly Messes."  I hang it up on the little piano light above the rolltop desk my computer is on, so that i don't lose it. It is very small...who would notice such a thing? 

This is what it looks like..it's about one inch long

Molly would...this is all that is left of my earpiece.

That means, miss OCD saw it, didn't want anything hanging from HER lamp, and tried to pull it off. I guess I should be glad she left some evidence as I know now I need to look for it...as opposed to just thinking I lost another one in my old age scatterbrain. UGH!!

Yesterday, I bent down to look under the bed for something Larry lost, and OMG!! the rest of my day was spent cleaning out her "hoarding" spot! It was easy to see under there, as daddy's favorite LED flashlight was turned on and laying wayyyyyy in the middle. We have a king sized bed, so you just cant reach things there without aid, so i have one of those 'grabber' things...ordered special extra long, just for this purpose...but i can't use it, because it's sitting right next to daddy's flashlight. Most of my afternoon was spent on my belly, grunting, straining, and cussing...then, of course, there were dust bunnies to deal with...nothing worse than dust bunnies under an immoveable bed, on carpet.  Thanks Molly. (I'm relatively sure that it was at this time she was busying herself killing my Jawbone)

In prepping her for summer school (Molly is not a good transition girl) I've been showing her pictures of Ms Driscoll. (DRE-SKO!) Ms Driscoll has been FB messaging me all week. She was Molly's 5th grade home room teacher, has worked with her during summer school before, and is an amazing woman & phenom teacher just in general, and is going to be with Molly for summer school this year, too! I cannot tell you how much it warms a mama's heart, ESPECIALLY a mama of a kid like Molly, when a teacher starts messaging you a week before and is all excited about getting to see your kid, getting to work with your kid, and telling you about the plans she has to excite your kid! A.MAZ.ING.

Anyway, we show up at school bright and early this morning. There is no fussing about getting miss "been sleeping in till 10am" up at 6am...she pops right out and gets preparation business taken care of without fuss.  

This is the kicker...we walk up to the front doors, and DRE-SKO!! comes out to meet us...'HEY MOLLY!!' she yells...Molly turns and gives her a big ole hug. (yay...pictures and talking did the trick!)  She THEN?  THEN? turns to me...places her hand on my chest...gives it a little push and VERBALIZES..."Bye"

WELL, I NEVER!!!

My little monster is growing up. She'll be 13 next month...and she is acting like it already. 

The sarge and his 3 daughters, Molly next to Tammy, and Kelsi
next to him. 

LIVID!!

I just got off the conference call with the DOJ, NDSC, NDSS. Susan Goodman was doing most of the hosting. They had met yesterday to discuss the Ethan Saylor case and what we can do moving forward. 

Moving forward.

ETHAN SAYLOR WAS MURDERED!!

http://www.justiceforethan.com/

Tackled by off duty police officers because he wanted to watch a movie for a second time, and didn't understand about purchasing a ticket. His aide had gone to get the car leaving him alone for just a minute. 

They could have waited. They could have talked to him. They could have bought him a ticket. They could have de-escalated the situation. What THREE LARGE MEN did was shove Ethan face down onto a stairway, handcuff him and smash his larynx....killing him.

And what was questions were answered by this much anticipated conference call?

Why have no charges been brought? Why no investigation? 

Because he had down syndrome.
Communication Problems
We need to focus on police training on handling people with special needs.

What will make this better and not happen again?

We need to write to our newspapers.
We need to write to the Maryland Attorney General.

Statement that most ticked me off?

This is not about Down Syndrome. But now the Down Syndrome community is involved. If he had Autism then all the Autism groups would be involved. Then we would have to train for all sorts of disabilities.

Most heartwarming phone calls:

Jacked up mommas calling from all over the country. They hung up on one. Everyone hosting are confused as to why all the moms are calling for the NDSC to DO MORE and WHY all these moms are so  ANGRY!!! 

We do need to something...and yes, this momma is angry, also. We need to more than just write letters. We need to stop being so complacent about this. 

We need to RODNEY KING it...we need to TREVON MARTIN it. WE NEED TO MARCH!! We need to make sure the ENTIRE COUNTRY is aware of what happened and that WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS. This young man needs to be our Matthew Shepherd. We need to remember his name for eternity, and NEVER ,NEVER, NEVER let something like this happen....EVER!

We need to DEMAND JUSTICE for this young man. They need to lose their jobs and be charged with manslaughter at the very least. These men don't get to kill a man and walk away....just because he has down syndrome.....and because they think no one will stand up for him. 

Susan Goodman? THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO!  

EARLY RETIREMENT

That's what I'm calling it....and I couldn't be more pleased. Still working out the details, and trying to learn how to be the thing I've always wanted to be...so the first blog post is this.

How do you be a stay at home mom?

It seems easier right now, because molly is still in school. The alarm goes off and the hustle and bustle begins....but what happens next month? Ok, summer school. The alarm will go off earlier.

I'm finding my days at home are MUCH SHORTER than my days at work were. I've been off a week, and NOTHING is done!

How do you manage the work load? Do you have a daily schedule? Do you home school or have a learning schedule for the kiddos?

SAHMs...I need your input!!

Next week?

More input....Tell me about your horrible bosses! :-)

I'm backkkkkkkkkkkkkk

I know. It's been awhile, but I'm fixin' to change that! Stay tuned for some exciting news and lifestyle changes, which will include more time for us to chat. 

YAY!!

Fire on the Mountain

I consider myself an Ozarkian now, although I hale from Nebraska, have roots in Wyoming, and spent the bulk of my young adultness in Colorado. The majority of my dad's side of the family live from Central City to Denver, and my brother and sister have also migrated there. My mom is currently with my sis in Colorado Springs, where she is getting the best medical treatment and dialysis. Yesterday, my mountain, Pikes Peak, which towers over the city of Colorado Springs, became engulfed in fire...and is quickly moving towards the city.


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Chapel Hills


 




 Air Force Academy the devastation and loss of the Flying W Ranch Please take a second this morning, and pray for a resolution to this disaster. Pray for the firefighters and law enforcement giving their all to get it contained, pray for those that have been displaced, will be displaced, and those that will be starting over with nothing. Please Pray for Colorado