a day in the life of.....

today, i got nothing accomplished. Nothing...it's my "i have to go back to work" time of vacation week, and i am just stalled out!! I have the house to myself, and by george...IT'S MOMMY TIME!!

Larry eventually returned home from a long roundtrip picking up Kelsi in KC (9 hours) and he looks around the toy-strewn livingroom and asks if i'm feeling ok. I should have made up some 'female' disorder at this point, but that would call for quick thinking and energy output, so i just stick my tongue out at him.

He collapses on the couch, Boondock Saints is playing on network, and tries to chill out and watch TV. 3 seconds later he's passed out. What am i to do? Vacuum and wake him??? I lay on the other end of the couch and help him, like a good wife!

Blessed, overcast, sunday afternoon nap time. We can affort this little slip in parenting, because the front door is latched, and Kelsi is here to keep an ear out for any molly shinanigans. Molly is currently in my room, stretched out on my bed, and uncharacteristically calm watching a DVD.

1/2 hour later, she walks out in a fashion designer outfit! There are men's underware on her head, black dress socks on each hand, 2 pairs of MY socks on her feet, inside-out spongebob jammie pants under a sundress, which is under a pink shirt, and admiring herself in the mirror. Yes, in that 1/2 hour of my quiet peace...she sized up the situation and jumped on the opportunity to unload all of our dressers!! (as well as those 2 laundry baskets waiting to be folded) UGH!


(I'll bet you think I'm making this stuff up, aren't you?)

I move onto supper...a nice one to welcome Kelsi home...grilling KC strips and baking potatoes. It's later than the usual supper time, and Kelsi has switched to the Simpsons (special episode starring michael jackson *sniff*)and we set up molly's little table and chair in the livingroom and allow her to eat there! She, in the meantime, is in the kitchen with tongs...which is Mollyspeak for "no thank you, i would rather just have a pickle"

Tonight i put my foot down, and tell her "your food is on the table, go eat!"

She throws a fit, and when i say fit, i mean she SCREAMS out this gutteral noise so loud I am sure the neighbors (closest is 4 acres away) are calling 911....then she slams herself into her chair, picks up a spoon and hurls it into the big screen! (Big.... slow.... breaths, mommy.....1, 2, 3, 4, 5..... )

She's off to time-out in her room (which translates into i now have 2 rooms to reclean) and even though 2 minutes ago i couldn't WAIT to dive into that perfectly grilled steak, i have now lost my appetite. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Larry, has come out to see what all the noise is about,and immediately jumps at the front door & HE STARTS SCREAMING!! He's yelling at the cat, in his "emergency" voice. HATTIN!! COME HERE!! HATTIN!!! (this is a cat, and you KNOW this is not what they repond too....cmon sarge...can you say "herrrrrrrrrrre kitty kitty kitty????)

I bolt from the kitchen, (and my now cold, unwanted steak) and run to the door, a little ticked off about another loud interruption, but still hearing panic in his bellows, and yell..."WHAT is going ON??"

"Hattin is chasing a skunk down the road, and is in attack mode." EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! Now I'M flying out the door and Mizzy the dog decides she needs to help me. I try yelling at the female shep, who being newly adopted and still skiddish immediately flops and drops and starts wetting the sidewalk. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

I finally make her understand that she needs to get in the house, when Lucifer, the old black cat, has to come stick HIS nose into the situation. He procedes to do what he does best, and that is "put the explanation point" on any direction i give the dogs. SMACK SMACK-HISS HISS...which sends Mizzy yelping and flying back out the front door, all the while Larry is continuing to scream at Hattin.

We finally get all animals contained, including the hoisting of Mizzy back in the house, and I run across the yard trying to catch up with Hattin, but not too fast which invites the "catch me if you can" game he so likes to play...said skunk has now disappeared behind the blackberry briar that separates the road from the neighbors sheep field.

I pick up the city kitty...and carry him back to the house, and look at the sarge who is SMILING!! "He was in crouch and conquer mode" Larry seems to love this about cats...the way they pounce and jump prey, which up to this point has been an occasional lizard! He can almost respect cats for this, and is actually BEAMING at the returning soldier.

I'm just frazzled and confused at my KC transplanted husband/trooper.

"LARRY!! SKUNKS are NOCTERNAL!! AND they carry RABIES!! There is NO GOOD REASON for a skunk to be WALKING DOWN OUR ROAD during the DAYTIME!!"

Sheeeeeeeeeeeze!! talk about your city kitty....I'm married to city-guy!


Now? all is quiet, I finally have a topic for the weekly blog. It's time to clean up from another typical day in the Wilson Home...and prepare for the dreaded return to the work place, which honestly is beginning to look more like a welcome place of escape.

Larry is quietly sitting out front.

With the Glock.

Autistic Traits

oh yea...there are the traits you read about on all 'diagnose Autism at home' websites, but then there are the others....

This week, on the dual diagnosis board i lurk at, the topic is dumping and throwing. I've discussed the dumping here before...all the toy bins...all the dresser drawers, and the fact that my silverware is in tall tupperware tubs out of reach of my little dumper...

but have i ever spoke of throwing things?? Until now, when Molly just had Down Syndrome, honestly? I was too embarrassed to discuss the 'less than desireable' types of things we deal with. Coming out about the Autism seems to have freed me a little of that embarrassment, so you need to know.

Kids with Autism, tend to vent in ways that make old woman yack in a grocery stores...one being..they throw things. It was intolerable when she was a baby...but now that she can put some weight behind that toss?? it simply HAS to stop!! A full tippy cup hurling across a classroom can do damage.

So, just as a clue-in if you are one of the "sooooooooo much better than me" moms at Walmart who witness a "meltdown" of one of our kiddos??? Try to understand that we are working on this behavior non-stop. NOT taking them into public for fear of the above? Not a solution. In fact, the more our kids are mainstreamed, the easier it is for them to learn to be appropriate.

This was my post back to another mom just facing the long term of her 3 year old's awesome arm:

I would like to say that Molly is over throwing things...but last night? She went for a popsicle...now it's bad enough mommy hasn't been to the store in a week and she is left with just purple ones...(AS IF!!!) BUT the one she pulls out??? it was born with no stick. I hear the cry of anguish explode from her, and honestly, you would have thought someone had just ran over the dog....

AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!


and then i see the offending member FLY across the kitchen and come to it's final demise on my coffee maker.


ugh


She did throw a tippy cup at summer school last year, and hit her boyfriend in the eye. Not good (although he did beg the aide not to tell anyone) so I am blantently aware of what HAS to happen. We work on this constantly, as it is SOOOOOOOO inappropriate...on one level.


On the other?? for the non verbal??? what else is there?? How else is she to let me know that THIS is a circumstance that is JUST NOT TOLERABLE!! I can so empathize with her...throwing things is as easy to stop for her, as is stopping my tears when im REALLY ANGRY. As much as I don't want them to fall, as inappropriate when i am trying to express myself like a sane human in a situation that I feel is WRONG WRONG WRONG!!

the angrier i get, the more they fill my eyes. After 50 years, is still uncontrollable.


I feel like i need to try to make her understand, that no, in the case of a broken popsicle, this IS not appropriate...but if the big scary man is wanting you to come to the closet with him???

You Go Girl!!!

What a line to walk.

BIRTHDAY TIME!! and a FAMILY REUNION

yesterday, Mommy almost yacked when she discovered she had deleted all the pics from the longggggggg weekend. Shauna armed with Gabes DSL in Springfield came to the rescue (being stuck on sattelite really adds to the frustration) and found them....YAY, for the pics anyway...we decided on El Charro for the birthday dinner, and their delicious enchiladas and the stress over the pics ....made mommy's tummy a virtual volcano!

I am pleased to be able to add the pics and tell you about my fabulous week! First....Ally came to visit on Wednesday, catch some rays and pool time, and bring the baby down. Rays are easy to come by as we are in a stalled weather system that is giving us 100 degree days!! AUGUST IN JUNE!! After the winter we had....no one is complaining. She left Aubrey Jo home with us and went back to Springfield to work...I love having the baby here, even though she steals my toys and pretzels! She is funny! I don't mind that mommy has to spend alot of time with her...but i REALLY DID MIND when bill was loving up on her. THE NERVE!!



She's ready to go!! Actually, this is an adorable float, but wayyyyyyyyy to old for her! mama brought a floatie with a canope on it that worked much better.



The cat got in on the action, trying to teach her how to open the door, but she is still too short



Grandpa Sarge also had some instruction on ham radioes....Aubrey Jo LOVESSSSS her grampa...anytime she'd get bored, she wander down the hall to the radio room. He is like a magnet to little ones!







Then Shauna made it in from DC! YAY! She had a 10th High School Reunion to attend.



She did some Pilates~ in the morning...Aubrey Jo helped with them, too




then FINALLY mom and dad made it in! They missed me SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!




Uncle Bill and Angela joined in...and we just had bunches of fun after that....




In addition to all the kids at my house? everyone brought PUPPIES!! Only Jager, the chocolate lab, was able to manuver the stairs to my hideaway, though...silly dog!




My sibs fight all the time in a funny way....one morning Shauna woke Bill up with my super soaker squirt gun!! He ran out of the bedroom and threw her in the pool with all her clothes on!! They are really funny!!



All that fun left us all tired, but mommy said she was GLAD that the "family couch" was full again!





Then we went to El Charro for a birthday Celebration! MOLLY IS 9!!! She got a plate of her most favoritest rice...and then? SURPRISE!!














All in All...it was the best birthday a girl could want...Momma and I are very tired today, as we clean up...but both of us decided the best kind of vacation, is the EVERYBODY COME HOME vacation.

WELCOME SUMMER!!

Today starts THE WEEK!! I'M SO EXCITED!!

Shauna comes home Thursday, I'm taking the week off...hopefully BOTH the boys will be home...Ally may be down Wednesday to "Club-Spa Gramma" and use the pool, and let me play with Aubrey Jo...Molly's Birthday is the 22nd! so im hoping to have a party for ALL THE KIDS! and I AM JUST PSYCHED!!

I just love it when i can get all my chicks under my wings at the same time. Doesn't happen very often, for SURE!!

Last weekend, instead of blogging, i was at a Birthday Party for a little girl WHO TURNED ONE!! can you BELIEVE IT!! ONE YEAR OLD!! ALREADY!!

it was a blast....

molly and Aubrey got a little face time:



She loved her cake and presents:



Molly fell in love with a zip slide attachment at the park...which I'm currently looking for to add to her playset!



But Aubrey was too little to try...check out that adorable party dress!!



Maybe she's all of one year old...but grampa is STILL HUGE TO HER!!


Molly is still loving every minute of summer school...and all that summer is here in the ozarks. She has no idea her WORLD is about to be ROCKED with the reunion of her siblings. She also LOVESSSSSSSSSSSSSS everyone being home!!

have a GREAT WEEK!!

the last of May is over!! *WHEW*

wow! what an ending to a month! School is out, Graduation is over, and the POOL is OPEN!!






I'm over my little pity party...I'm not why it is so necessary for me to wallow a little bit, before i pull up my big girl panties, and get on with the tasks at hand....but i do. Didn't mean to be a bummer....Judevine comes tomorrow and starts us off with a 3 hour training session. Hopefully THEY will teach ME how to deal with some of molly's more undesireable habits....and either get her talking, or get us all signing!


This is a pic the school sent over after i posted about the fishing trip...lmao! doesn't molly just look THRILLED with the field trip???





and ally's graduation:













Gabe barbeque'd for all the families, and the food was delicious!




And we were granted a beautiful day for the outing...it had rained the previous 5 days, and was looking bleak, but it just turned out to be a perfect day:

We took molly out to a party our local Hospital was throwing, on the occasion of thier 50th year of operations...She had a ball! (and a blue coconut sno-cone!) The main pic on the title of the blog was her coming down a TWO STORY SLIDE~! ALL BY HERSELF!! (ok, one dad had to get up there and talk her AND his little girl into the tall climb)










After that we made what's become an annual event, and stopped to have lunch with Texas, a friend and workmate from the old Walmart Days! She lives in Branson now, but comes over every Memorial Day Weekend!

And some exciting stuff for you bird watchers out there! We have returning Killdeer to our yard...strange little things lay thier eggs in the open field (where we may not mow anymore) and hatch them there, before moving them to the lake. There were 3 eggs, and we timed the peek just right to see the last little one




mama kept a close eye on us:




And the adoption effort puppy is still with us. I haven't heard from anyone close, that i think would be a good family for her, although there have been several long distance opportunities from wisconsin and illinois ???????? what is with THAT? so she is still hanging around, waiting for me to move her:





So it's been a busy month...June is the month of birthdays around here...Aubrey Jo has her #1, Molly turns 9 on the 22nd and Bill has one on the 11th! I got this in the mail this week: Isn't she just adorable?? I mean really, have you EVER seen such a beautiful baby??? (sorry, couldn't help it, grammy keeps BLOWING outta my proud chest!! She is ABSOLUTELY the BEST!! and now? The invitation to her first birthday party!! YAY AUBREY JO!!






And we'll do it all over again when Shauna comes to town on the 18th! We will celebrate ALL the kid's birthdays then, when they'll all be together! So ON WITH JUNE!! I hope it is as eventful as May!!

I'll let you know next week how my training goes...and our new life in Summer school as a mom of a child with the dual diagnosis! I am happy to have her, blessed with FOUR healthy children, and with the love they have brought to me twofold, with the addition of the ones that THEY love...and surrounded by the love of good friends. I have MANY MANY THINGS to be thankful for, and won't let a little "label" get me down!

A new title, a new life, and a rainy day blog

Yea, I've been off awhile...partly because we've been so busy with Ally's graduation/end of school stuff/and acceptance. I'll talk about the fun in a future posting...it's just been a blur in my life as of late...for now? we'll focus on one topic:

Acceptance


Molly Kate now has a definite diagnosis of being on the Austism Spectrum. There, I've typed it for the world to see...My skunky, funny girl is Autistic.


tears...*sniff*



She went to Kindergarden twice...the first time? FABULOUS!! Everyone loved her, she was gaining a vocabulary, and was elected princess candidate of the spring festival...purely a popularity election. She was the only one on stage to engage the audience in the Wonder of Molly Kate, bowing, throwing kisses and inviting applause and adorable admiration. The pinacle which spoke of the future, and just how much of a "poster child" for Down Syndrome she would become. No need to fear...I'm just like YOU!!






Year two? things started to change....her circle of friends started dwindling to 1 or 2...she had previously dropped the signs when she verbalized the word...but now she was dropping the words, too...and she became more obsessive/compulsive.....playing only with toys that would stack well...then forgoing toys altogether for better stacking utinsels like paper plates, spoons, and oreo cookies.


denial



For 2 years i watched the changes...they were also noticed by teachers and tagged as a possible "A word" in her IEPs, (still not ready to accept the possiblity) and then? i started talking to other moms, and visiting other websites.... Moms with kids on the spectrum.



I'm Angry



I was so careful with her innoculations, only to find out i could have separated the MMR and taken it in 3 different doses....knowledged gained too late. I'm not saying it WAS the MMR, I'm saying i don't feel like i was given enough knowledge about all the alternatives at the time of innoculation....(hers was definitely mercury free) and we still don't know why this disorder is attacking our children at the current estimates of 1 in 150.

Since she has Down Syndrome and the majority of physicians don't believe that our children can have Autism (they think it more of a level of the DS)so I too kept dragging my feet. It's taken me two years to grasp the idea and call in the experts...and the experts have come and filmed an evaluation, studied it for 2 months...and sent us the diagnosis.

She is mildly autistic by their standards...but still...another diagnosis, and this one packing SO MUCH MORE OF A PUNCH than the DS did....I so worry about "losing" her...her spitfire...her sassy...her demonstrative love......this diagnosis has just knocked me for a LOOP!


I'm slowly getting on board. Judevine has promised parent training...support...playdates...respite...horse & music therapy and of course we will persue any and all opportunities for her as always


but.... (sorrow)



It still leaves me feeling lost. She's different from her peers, now (friends with down syndrome) and we again find ourselves in the limbo world of parenting. Time to start all over I guess, and accept it...support it...learn it..fight for her and her place in this world ....and advocate.





soon

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Happy Memorial Day sounds like such an oxymoron. Thank you! more appropriate.

Thank you to my dad and uncles who fought in the big one, WWII....thanks to all of you from my generation who fought in Nam, and didn't get the thanx when you came home.....and as our own 1138th prepares to leave for that horrible place, THANK YOU and prayers for our servicemen and women currently serving in this lastest conflict.


We especially honor and remember my Father in Law, Glen Wilson, who left us too early at the hands of Altzheimers, after surviving the Germans.

After fighting in Germany, he came home and devoted his life to his 5 children and wife... and the Missouri State Patrol for 33 years...

always the public servent...and the bar to reach for. We miss you, pops

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

I sat down to write a touching Mother's Day blog, but was interrupted by a SNOOTY little MISS KNOW IT ALL...who is currently fighting me on the wearing of the big girl panties. It's not that she isn't potty trained...she is...it's just the fact the "bypers" are the norm, and in NO WAY should we ever venture away from our routines. MOLLY THE MULE!!

Such is Mother's Day to SO MANYYYYYYYYYYY wonderful moms i have the pleasure of knowing...my sisters. We can discuss panties, hormones, flop&drops, poop & IEPS. We know enough collectively to make one fantastic physician!! (as well as how to make a geneticist cringe)

We have shared our joys, and screamed our losses and just about the time we are ready to give up???...we lift each other up in love, in shared stories, and touching phone calls, and prayer....never with condemnation or pity (which is possible from the typpies)....but with the love of true understanding and compassion. Our children have taught us lessons in patience and diversity we would have never learned without them, and along the way have introduced us to each other. We Celebrate Them! and thank them for that awesome gift!


We meet face to face, open our homes to each other without a second thought...the sisterhood kows no anxiety over things like that...we just love "hangin" with each other. We come from every demography imaginable and yet we are family by the one link that binds us closer than blood.

We understand. That's just it...we UNDERSTAND.

I hope one day...the whole world can reach this level.




HA HA!! PANTIES!! I WIN!!
*****************************************************************************

This week marks the beginning of the "end of school" parties...we didn't post last week, nor have the parties been as much fun, because of the rain and tornadoes....but we keep trying. One day daddy went to school and all the kids went fishing!! Molly caught the first fish!! (She wasn't impressed) The MUD was pretty awesome though!!


this is her and our beloved miss stephanie, who is not even afraid of splitting up worms and hooking them for 30 kids!!




and this is Chloe our newest temporary "child"....we are re-homing her...I am thinking about calling her Karma, because thru the advertising I've done, we may have found the original breeder, as well as a woman with the same name as her 2nd owner, who ALSO lost a female german shep! (that was a wrong number, BTW!) I have lots of wonderful prospects for homes for her, and will be sad to see her go.....she's been a HOOT!

have a GREAT DAY!! Enjoy the pampering and THANK YOU MOMS for all that you do for ME!!

love,
e & molly kate