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.


\
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

How Smart is My Kid?????

When trying to describe Molly to workers/teachers/case workers/doctors/nurses, I always tell them how smart she is. They usually give me the "pity look" ...like I'm still swimming in some kind of IQ denial. She is smart! and very tuned-in to those closest to her!!  I think she is also smart enough to figure out that if you flip your teachers breakfast tray onto the floor, mom (whom she KNOWS was not preparing for a work day) will probably come right back to school and pick you up.


In addition to the Sarge (hubby) and Molly Kate, we house 4 pets....2 dogs, Sarge and Mizzy....(yes, I am aware my dog and hubby have the same name) Hattin the Cat & Lucifer ;I have tried not to get too attached to them, them making it easy to achieve that goal for me in the spring with ALL THAT HAIR....but my resume would read..."a lover of animals" right after 100% Mom. 


One of my cats is old, probably 16 yrs or better...Lucifer, the crotchety old overseer of all that enter this home. He rules the puppies as well as any workers or visitors that come into his realm. He prefers grandpa's room now, as it's off limits to little girls, and as much as he loves them his old body doesn't tolerate them too well.


and one fairly young...4 to 5 yrs. The latter is my grand-kitty, leaving home with my eldest for the big city as a tiny kitten, only to return home. His now-over 10 pound size, and inability to cope with Sissy's 18 hour away-from-home days was wearing thin on the both of them...he's a needy thing.  >Hattin the Cat (Shauna came up with that cleaver spoof on Dr Seuss) is quite the clown, and even the crusty ole Sarge (daddy) who vowed to me his dislike of ANY felines has come to refer to him has "his cat" Molly just calls him "Coo" (don't ask, i can't tell you...she calls Old man kitty, Lucifer..."cat cat cat cat CAT!!")


So Monday, I notice that Hattin is not acting his typically irritating self (running by, taking a flying leap and biting my arm, for fun) AND he doesn't want to partake of his nightly treat. (Usually he SCREAMS & trips me until i give him the treat.) So Tuesday morning, I call the kitty doctor, who's up to his whiskers in sick animals, and make an appt...we have to wait for Wed morning...THIS morning, right after i drop Molly at school. I have to guiltily mention at this point about feeling a little grrrrrrrrrrrrrr at the fact that on the ONE day off that didn't involve  an appointment of one kind or the other, BAM, the CAT has to go! 


We got up this morning, and Hattin was not to be found. 


Called the vet, my fear evident in my voice, as I hear his receptionist say "I'M SOOOOOOOO SORRY!" which nearly sends me into tears, but I am super woman, and WILL find this cat if it kills me....and it feels like it nearly did.  Crawling through the woods in the spring is a prickly thing to accomplish. I have found the blackberry patches that are ready to pick, and returned several toys to the fenced yard,  but am scratched to pieces, and probably ate up with chiggers. (something only southerners will understand)


Each time I left to explore a different side of our property and the adjoining sheep pasture, Molly would pull on her shoes and ready herself to help me. "No, Molly, Mommy is looking for Coo, Coo is gone, and you need to stay here with daddy" ,.....and so it continued all day. Mommy was short tempered and focused on a task, and although I wasn't paying attention to Molly too close during this time, she was paying attention to me.


I did take a break and take her swimming, but ventured out soon afterward to explore the woods behind the house. At one point I thought I may have heard one "meow" and did a dash that caused me to sprain an ankle, but never heard it again. 


I finally gave up and came in to soak off the chiggers, (hide/cry in the bathtub) and no sooner had slipped in when there was a knock at the door....and then i heard it....the loud Hattin wail...


Jumping out of the tub and grabbing a towel,  I throw open the door to see the Sarge standing there and cradling a very sick kitty. 


"Where WAS he?"


The Sarge just looks at me and says "I don't know, Molly just walked into my room, and handed him to me"


By the type of dirt that was falling off of him on the vet's examining table, I'm guessing he crawled up under the deck to die.


 He is currently at the kitty hospital staying overnight for observation. Blood tests have cleared him from any fatal, tick-born  illness, and now we just wait for him to recover. 


Yep, that kid of mine is something else........and Very Smart!
********************************************


Hattin the Cat died that Saturday night....*sniff* We are so grateful for having him in our lives as long as we did. He was a HOOT!!

Where did i go? I've been hiding.

wow....still reeling i guess. Still getting used to having a kid on the spectrum.  I heard a mom refer to her denial & depression of the Autism as "Pre-Diagnosis" and laughed. I knew just what she meant.

She KNEW that her child had fallen onto that spectrum we had heard so much about, but wasn't doing anything to hurry along a diagnosis. Some parents want to know, they need a reason, and i think those are mostly the parents of NTs. Those of us that have a kid already born with designer genes, don't want another dx.

Then, i got the dx. (that's diagnosis for you NT parents) (NT= "neuro-typical" for everyone else..hahahah or "typpies" as i say, as in  "my other kids, who are all typpies") Yes, we have our own language.

I had a great team at school. They saw it happen, too...and started making adjustments for it while waiting for me to catch up. We started referring to it as "the A word" in IEP meetings. This started happening the summer between 5yrs and 6. In between the two times she attended Kindergarten.  I thought she was angry because we held her back....and hung to that reasoning for 2 years.

Then we contacted an Autism specialty group called Judevine, later bought by a bigger group and renamed Touchpoint. I am still happy we went this route...as they sent a trained eye out with a camera...filmed the testing, and then took it back for review by other experts. It took 6 weeks to get their results back, but the day the envelope came (Larry opened and read, just nodding at me) I got phone calls from all over the state. Technicians wanting to come in and teach us how to teach molly, support, and technical advising. They were wonderful.

I was not wonderful. I cried for a year every time i tried to verbalize the word Autism. Every single time.

That is when the blogs slowed down. you know, if you can't say something nice.........

Then i saw this statement from the blogger group:
http://autismpositivity.wordpress.com/about/

 A couple of weeks ago, someone somewhere googled “I Wish I Didn’t Have Aspergers”.  The phrase popped up in a blogging dashboard and struck the blogger as being particularly sad.  She wished she could have answered.

We don’t know who it was.  We don’t know where he/she lives.  We have no idea if he/she found what he/she was looking for in that search.

So, we got to thinking.  What would we say to that person?  What if it was a kid, desperately trying to make it through tough years of intolerance and ignorance?  What if it were a person who might never stumble across the amazing voices speaking for autism acceptance?  What if that person thought himself/herself all alone?  What would we say about the present?  What would we say about the future?  What would we say about happiness?  And hope?

Each of us in the autism community –- self-advocates, parent advocates, friends and family, teachers, health professionals—we would all have different messages for #IWishIDidn’tHaveAspergers.  But likely we would all try to send the message that there is a brighter future and that friendship and support are out there.

We are asking every blogger in the autism community to write a message of positivity to #IWishIDidntHaveAspergers.  So that next time that individual (or another) types that sad statement into Google, he or she will find what they need – support, wisdom, and messages of hope from those who understand.

And – for those of you who do not blog but wish to join in – please post your positivity message to http://autismpositivity.wordpress.com/ or send us an email at autismpositivity@gmail.com

Please join with us on the last day of Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month – April 30^th – in a flash blog .

Those are some pretty amazing people. And now that I've been slapped out of my funk,  I will also try to get back on the writing horse  and share my Molly, and all her glory, with all of you. She will be 12 in June, and it's time for me to get over it, and get on with it. 

Today? they asked her to stop riding the bus. 

*sigh*