Just What A Mother Does

Evan has been a little iffy on his naps lately. About a week ago, I put him in his room for his nap, and like he often does, he whined a bit and was at his door turning the nob. We have one of those safety things on his door due to the fact that his room is on the second floor, so he wasn't going to open it, although he gave a good effort.

After a few minutes, I went up to put him back in bed.

Only, I couldn't get the door open.

It was locked.

We've lived in this house for a year now, and we've never given thought to the locks on the inside doors. Now some inside doors have those locks that just push in. With these, you have to push in and turn to lock it. He can't get to the lock because of the safety plastic thing on his door knob, but I guess with him messing with it so much, it became locked?? I don't know, but I do know that my baby was quite upset because there I was on the other side of the door, and I wasn't opening it.

I tried hangers and paper clips--didn't work. I called John; he suggested kicking in the door...yeah, right. I went outside to get the heavy duty ladder--John had just been trimming the trees the day before--but even with Matt's help, I couldn't get the ladder propped up against the house--it came falling down on me (which I'm guessing is where the huge bruise on my arm came from; I didn't notice it until the next day). I have very little upper body strength.

By this time, I'm crying because he's crying and doesn't understand why I'm not getting him. I called John again, and he suggested going over to ask our neighbors for help. So I went over there, tears in my eyes, and explained the situation. He smiled, said his boys used to do that (they have grown children), and that his wife had something she used to open doors. He goes inside, tells her about it, and she comes out with a very small screwdriver. Basically, she couldn't get it open either.

So, it had been probably 45 minutes, and he's still crying. I call her husband, and he comes over with a few more tools---still, nothing.

I tell him that if he could get the ladder up against the house, I'll go through the window. I knew it wasn't locked, because I had just closed it before Evan's nap.

We go out, he gets the ladder up, and then I start the climb. Not a big fan of heights, but, this wasn't too bad. BUT, he had put the ladder to the left of the window, and when I got close to the top---as far as I thought necessary---he gently told me I would have to go two steps higher. That's when I really started to feel a bit uncertain about being up there. I slowly made my way up those two steps and cut the screen.

The next step was to remove one leg from the ladder and put it through the window.

Evan grabbed that leg. As I'm in the air with one leg halfway through the window, my neighbor tells me that I'm going to have to take my other leg off the ladder. Oh, yeah....Okay, at this point fear sets in a bit, but I knew I had to do it--I had to get to my baby! So I get my leg off the ladder, and there I am, straddling the window sill. The window isn't that big; I had to wiggle my way in...it felt like I was stranded there with one leg in and one leg out a long time, but I'm guessing it really happened in seconds.

I know, going up a ladder isn't that big of a deal! But it was!!! I used to climb tall trees when I was younger; I'm not sure when my fear of heights set in.

Yeah, John took the lock out of his doorknob that night.

NATIONAL FRAGILE X AWARENESS DAY :-)

I am a carrier of the Fragile x gene. I didn't know this until Kyle was diagnosed...I had never heard of the gene before that time.

Fragile X syndrome is the most common known single gene cause of autism.

Approximately 1 in 260 (maybe ever 1 in 130) women and 1 in 800 men carry this gene.

Fragile X is the most common cause of inherited mental impairment. This impairment can range from learning disabilities to more severe cognitive or intellectual disabilities.

Visit Fragilex.org...

Oldie But Goody

This picture makes me smile every time I come across it. It's more than just the picture that causes the smile; it's also a poem that John had written to me that I think about when I see this...

First, notes about the picture. They're both left-handed...notice how Matt not only is eating with his right hand (while spoon remains in the bowl), he has his left hand conveniently tucked behind his back! Kyle at least has the spoon in his left hand, and, in his defense, he might just be pushing food that was escaping back into his mouth...this time. Yes, those were the days, the days of constant

"Use Your Spoon/Fork."

John has a great sense of humor, and occasionally likes to use his humor in a poetic way. One Mother's Day--around the time-period of this picture, or maybe a little before, John went out for an early morning golf match. No big deal; I know, it was Mother's Day, but he left before I even woke up and was home within a few hours.

When I woke up, I found the poem he had left for me. It was about 2 pages long--skipped lines :)--and for the most part, very sweet. But, it was the end that made me laugh and still does (I still have it somewhere...not sure where at the moment). I think it was because the poem was sweet--telling me what a great mother I was and such, not one of his humorous ones, that made the ending so funny. The last line went something like this,

"I love you my darling

and I'll be home soon

Don't forget to tell the boys

to eat with their spoon!"

Laughter keeps us sane...

The Green Grass Grows all Around and Around...

What a magnificent day outside today! Part of the day including planting flowers...lots of flowers. John has often commented that we should just plant ones that come back every year, but I would miss the process. Although John is definitely into landscaping, up until about two years ago, it was just me would put the flowers into the ground. Now it's a team effort! And I finally found my favorites today--my Salvias. Yes, those aren't difficult to find, but for whatever reason the Bonfire ones are a little harder to find around here. I adore those--they get to be approximately 2 feet tall; some of the other ones are only around 8 inches or so. Last year, I planted ones from the seeds I saved from the year before, but this year, I didn't get seeds started soon enough, so I bought the plants.

John also planted 4

Forsythia bushes.

(wish I had a picture of the one we had growing up--I need to ask the siblings about that)
We had one when I was growing up, and I remember the comfort of going inside the one we had--not sure how old I was, definitely young, and not sure if it was for just one season or more than one. I do know, from what mom says, it had gotten a bit out of control--but hey, that was perfect for hiding, although I'm not sure how hidden I was. But I remember liking it, and bringing all the items from nature that I collected in it with me. So, I convinced John that we needed to have some of those...problem is that that are planted in an area that is considered part of the front yard, and there is NO WAY John will let them get out of control. Oh well. Maybe, just maybe, I'll plant one somewhere in the backyard that will be

all

mine!

I miss the yard I grew up in--in CT...it was just about perfect for a child. There were 3 hills (Side note: thanks to the glaciers over 700,000 years ago, I live in flat country now) for sledding, although one of them went off a 4 or 5 foot wall onto the street. I think we only did that one a few times, and somebody was on car watch duty while the other person would go...hurt a little, but it was fun! No, mom and dad weren't aware. There were also a couple of flat areas--one often used for badminton, the other sometimes for crochet. A huge garden area, a bushy area with berries, and a wooded area perfect for climbing trees and being alone, and the best part---a steep hill that led down to a creek. We had paths on that hill, but several years after leaving home and the house no longer ours, I looked at the hill and didn't see any those supposed "paths." Oh, how fortunate I was to have parents that didn't hover over us. It was a world of "danger" and discovery.

Yards, I'm not into the whole chemically induced green grass thing. For years, I wouldn't let John use chemicals in our yard. Several years ago, I gave in, because the yard was looking a bit pathetic, so we had it "treated" for about a year. Yep, great looking yard. Yep, huge increase in the number of seizures our dog had. So we (I) stopped that.

But now, we're in this new yard (1 year in July), and with it, comes new weeds. The neighbors to the left and right of us "take care of their yards." John feels the pressure to do the same. I have a HUGE opinion about this...not happening, at least not with the standard treatments that are readily available with a quick phone call. I've started searching for environmentally friendly ways to take care of a lawn. Tips are welcome.

This is a photo of our lawn in the backyard before the first mowing of the season...I think those are pretty! But, yeah, I purposely didn't include any dandelions in the range of the camera's lens. Not a fan of those.

This and That

Not knowing about the boys' diagnosis until Kyle was almost three had its benefits...I didn't analyze every little thing that they did.

With Evan, I frequently try to compare him to the older two, but it's kind of tricky, because I really didn't keep track of their development--I know the major milestones, but it's all the "other things" that I wonder about.

Here's one thing that I don't remember the boys doing: While humming, Evan will turn his head quickly side to side as if he were watching a fly going back and forth in front of him. This is definitely a "zoned out" time. Kyle used to hum and very infrequently still does, but we didn't get the rapid head turning to go along with it.

Hand-flapping--right now, I think the only time he does it is while watching TV, and he gets some air under those feet while doing it. I wonder if, or should I say, when, he will flap about other things? I wonder what would happen if we never watched anymore TV? Kyle still flaps occasionally; Matt has always been a wrist-twister, but once again, it's just about always when they are watching TV, although Kyle used to do it for anything that made him nervous or excited.

And crib jumping? I don't know what happened, but for the past 3 weeks, there has been, like, none. We went from 45 minutes before bed, 45 minutes during the night (at least), to suddenly none. We'll see if that last. I really think the fact that I was home for 2 weeks contributed to the sudden halt--he stopped on day 3 of vacation--but we'll see.

Oh yes, it's a cloudy, cold, dreary day. My mind is wandering. Speaking of the weather--the title of my blog: Sunny Day. Where did that come from? What is the deep meaning behind it? Drum roll-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.----The sun was shining the day I started my blog, and while racking my brain trying to come up with a title, the fact that the sun was hitting the floor by the computer caught my eye. I didn't start the whole blog thing with the intention of "meeting" other people. I started because I have a teen-aged daughter who was always on the computer! At the time, she frequently blogged (now Facebook is more "her thing"--so I'm there now, too!), and I wanted to join her world--or just bug her a little--I really didn't intend on doing much with it (hence, the 6 months between my first post and the second). It was when I was doing an FX search and stumbled upon Fragilemom's blog that I thought, "Wow, cool, there are people out there that I can relate to!"

Sunny Day--sometimes I think I'll change the title, but really, I do like sunny days, and yes, my kids are my "little sunshines"--for years, I sang "You Are My Sunshine" to Kyle at bedtime-- so I don't know. Maybe on another day when my mind is wandering again I'll change it.

(Yes, the other kids had their songs, too. Matt's was the "I Love You" song from Barney, Chelsey's was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and Evan, well, I have a song that I made up, but it's not a nightly thing...how sad).

Okay, just a little more. Back to "You Are My Sunshine." I sang that song to Kyle for YEARS. I remember when he got older, and he got some creativity going, he would change the words. I would stop during the song so that he would say the word that went next. To spice things up, he would put a completely different word in (I think because he knew it would make me laugh). My favorite was when I would sing "When skies are..." and he would say quite dramatically, "Vanished!" or "Vanished, Out of Here!" Oh, how I wish I had blogged back then (or at least kept a journal).

Hanging with Ky

When I got home today, Kyle came up to me with a question that he and John had rehearsed; it was asked in a very formal manner, but basically, he wanted to know if I would go to the basketball game with him. The thought of heading out in this freezing weather wasn't very appealing, but I do like going to games. It cracks me up that he now enjoys doing things like that. When he was younger, that was pure torture for him...and us.

After Chelsey graduated, I thought that my game days were pretty much over. It's not that I went to a lot--she didn't play high school sports--except soccer her sophomore year. She did, though, play in the pep band, was on the dance team her senior year, and sang the National Anthem a couple of times. In elem. and middle school, she played v-ball. She decided not to play in high school...ouch.

I'm very competitive---it hurts to lose. I played b-ball in Jr high through my sophomore year and v-ball all four years in high school. In v-ball...we were good. We lost the state championship our JR year, but won our SR year. The year that we lost, oh, the pain on the bus ride home. We listened to the song "Yesterday" by the Beatles on the long trip home as we shed our tears...how pathetic.

Back to the game--it was great! We led the entire game--that is until the final buzzer. With 2 seconds left, the score tied, the other team brought in the ball from under our basket, a kid threw the ball from around the foul line all the way down to the other end of the court, and it was one of those golden moments. It's just too bad it wasn't for us. I think I saw the mother of the kid who made the shot...some woman had her hand over her mouth, another woman was hugging her...I was happy for her.

Kyle looked tired and was yawning during the 4Th quarter. It was, after all, after 8:30! He was fairly quiet during the game, just kind of taking it in. At one point, when the score was low, he was relating the score numbers to different levels on his Star Wars PlayStation game. There's a girls game tomorrow night, but I'm not sure if he'll be up to going 2 nights in a row.

Quirks and Randomness

I'm combining two tags---one that is way overdue. So here are random/quirky facts about me!

1. I can't stand to hear people chew. It's been a problem for me ever since I can remember. Crunchy food is a little easier to handle than mushy food that is sloshing around in the mouth. My family is usually nice about accommodating me by having some sort of background noise while we are eating. Gum chewing---not good. Because of my problem with this, I'm very aware when I am chewing to do it discretely; I don't want to annoy other people. Yes, how ironic, having children where chewing with the mouth closed is an issue.

2. I procrastinate. It's like I feel I have things done because in my head, they are done! I compartmentalize everything up their very neatly and replay stuff over and over, so it's almost like it's done! (at least, that is my excuse)

3. In high school, I received the serving award in volleyball my junior and senior year. Within the last year, my left shoulder started hurting anytime I extend my arm up, reach for something (a big reach), or throw a ball. Connection to the past, maybe.

4. Finger nail polish on other people usually looks very nice. I've tried wearing it, really I have, but it doesn't last very long---an hour maybe? The way finger nail polish feels on my fingernails----I might as well just spread dirt on my nails. I do, though, keep my nails long.

5. I can wiggle my pinkie toes sideways.

6. When I was a kid, I spent so much time outside---climbing trees, catching toads and salamanders, smashing rocks, playing near the creek, riding my bike, hanging out with our animals, playing games with neighborhood kids, etc. Now that I'm "a grown-up," I feel like I spend way too much time indoors.

7. My two favorite kinds of ice cream are mint chocolate chip and coffee. Hmmm, I might need to go to the store now and buy some coffee ice cream and make a milk shake!

Happy Birthday..

..to me!

Overall, it was a quiet birthday. My parents came over for a dinner of shells and meatballs (John cooked---now THAT'S a good birthday!). My mom brought some yummy french loaf bread that we baked in the oven---that provided one of the highlights of my birthday. I was breaking off small pieces of the bread for Evan and having a hard time keeping up with him shoving them in his mouth. At one point, I had stopped giving him pieces, and he pointed to the bread in the middle of the table and PERFECTLY signed more!!! I have been working on that sign for a couple of months now (at least), and this was the first time that what he did really looked like the sign. In the past, he had done something that I wasn't sure was a sign---he would very quickly bring his hands together---and it would almost look like it was only a result of him being very excited. Recently, he has been clapping a couple of times when I asked him to "say" more. It was beautiful!

The boys both picked out birthday cards for me when they went shopping with John. Matt insisted on a musical card---"Can't touch this." Of course, I had to do a little dance (scary sight). I was very impressed with John's shopping this year. He got 3 shirts that I actually like---a lot! He also gave me a couple of pairs of pants; definitely a good effort---I like the color (can't go wrong with black and brown), BUT, I'm not into elastic waistbands, they were a size too big (not his fault, I recently went down a size), and most importantly, I don't wear pants that are labeled "short." It had a tag that had that word at least 7 times!

So, I don't feel any older, there's nothing particularly exciting about turning 38, except for the fact that I get to.

Not THAT Long Ago!

Four weeks of summer school ended on Friday, and I have approx. two weeks to get ready for school. I decided to take it easy today, and look where that brought me......

Look what I used today. We've had this stereo a very long time, but it was basically stored away for many years. Well, in this house, we now have a space for it...in the sun porch.

I played a record for the first time in a long time: I popped on a 45..."Mickey", by Toni Basil. When it comes to music, I tend to be just a bit stuck in the 80's. I like a lot of other music, too, but I can't imagine a day when the 80's music doesn't give me that warm and fuzzy feeling. Music has always been big in my life; I spent a lot of time in my room during my teenage years with the radio on; I looked forward to Casey Kasem's countdown each week, especially when he would have the letters from viewers each week...so heartwarming!

After "Mickey," it was on to the first full length album that I ever bought....

Oh yeah, Olivia Newton-John. I used to play that over and over. I didn't own too many LP's, partly due to cost, and probably because cassettes were the popular thing---I have SO many of those!

And while I'm on the subject of music and the 80's, the first concert I went to (and only concert when I was a teenager)----Bryan Adams. I still have the t-shirt. I went with two of my friends (I think it was just the three of us). The only other concerts that I've been to are Raffi (I think that counts) and Billy Joel. A friend of mine from work bought tickets as a Christmas present for us and one other girl we worked with. This friend wasn't even a Billy Joel fan (I AM), but she admitted after the concert that he put on a really good show (of course!).

Okay, so good music memories today, BUT, my day got even better!

Chelsey agreed to play games with me this evening!!!!! Although I can get the boys to play games sometimes, it's just not the same as playing with John or Chelsey. More tomorrow....my brain is getting sleepy.

Be very, very quiet..

I don't think John would think that taking a break from moving is being productive...I don't think so either...I'm supposed to be packing...we moved some of our stuff over to the new house yesterday...still have a lot more...I've done so much painting at the other house...we have tons of "stuff"...it's a bit overwhelming...14 years at this house...break is almost over...ugh

A New Journey

On Tuesday evening, I received the phone call I had been waiting for. I got a fourth grade teaching position! So many emotions are running through me, which is probably part of the reason it has taken this long to write about it. And now that I'm typing, I still can't come up with the words to describe it. I feel like I've been given an opportunity to have a positive impact on many lives. Wow.

In two weeks, I start teaching summer school (1st grade); that last for four weeks. I will then have two weeks before I meet the students I will be spending several months with. Again, wow.

~A little history~ I didn't go to college after high school; I had a short stint in the A.F. Marriage and children were soon after. When the older three were younger, I was a stay at home mom. When Kyle was 7 months old and Chelsey was 2 and 1/2, I started taking care (8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week) of sisters that were the same age as Chelsey and Kyle. This lasted for a couple of years, and I then took care of a little boy that was Kyle's age. Having other children around for Kyle, and eventually Matt, was a good thing. They learned so much about playing "make believe." I know, such a basic thing to learn. Chelsey and the other little girl were masters of it!

At some point, I started waiting tables part-time in the evenings. This ensured that either John or I would be there for the kids (occasionally Mom would come to the rescue when our schedules overlapped a little). I remember when I first started, it wasn't like going to work.... I felt like I was going on a vacation! After all the kids were all in school, I worked even more, days and evenings.

Then, in Dec. of 99, one of the waitresses I had worked with told me about a job she had tried but just couldn't do. There was a little boy in kindergarten who had autistic type characteristics, but at this point, the testing process had just begun. Let's just say that he wasn't handling kindergarten social skills very well. I practically fell in love with him before I even met him. I worked with him until half way through 2nd grade. It was then, January of 2003, that I started taking classes at an IU campus about 45 minutes from our home. I finished in December of 2006. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, in August (maybe September) of 2005, I found out I was pregnant. That semester, I had a very full schedule, including an accelerated class that was from, like, 5:45-10:00 p.m., once a week for 6 weeks! It was at the beginning of the pregnancy, and I was so tired. The second semester was a doozy too because in my schedule was an evening class that met two nights a week; it was an micro-economics class that I was taking because I wasn't going to be able to take the one that they offer to education majors. The education one was a two week class that started in mid-may.....Evan was due May 17. Classes were over the first week of May, and Evan was born May 23.

I still had one thing left to do---my student teaching. I debated (and cried a lot) about waiting another semester before doing it. I came to the conclusion, though, that if I didn't just get it done, I may never get it done. So there I was, bringing my Medela pump to school so that I could continue to breastfeed. What a journey! I was extremely fortunate to have a wonderful teacher to work with. She was understanding and helped me through the semester. It could have been disastrous had I ended up with a teacher that wasn't so kind. AND, I also couldn't have done it if I didn't have my mom close by to watch Evan. There is no way I could have trusted someone else to take care of him.

I graduated in December of 2006, but I was in no hurry to find a job. I didn't send out my resumes until June, which resulted in me not getting a job. Then in August, when I was registering the kids for school, I heard that there was an opening for a paraprofessional in the Lifeskills class (moderate and severe disabilities). I got that job; what an awesome experience! I'm going to miss those kids next year---I'm going to be in our other elementary school.

NOW, the search for someone to care for Evan begins............that's another story.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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**Update on Matt's shirt**

I finally fixed Matt's shirt yesterday morning. With a reserved smile, he said, "That was fast. You don't have to be that fast."

Uh, let's see. He was reminding me almost every hour. Yes, I had to be that fast.

~~

More from Matt--We were driving home yesterday and passed someone with a cute bear costume (advertising). The bear was waving, and as we passed, he gave us the thumbs up. Matt, who was quite visibly sitting in the front seat, gave him a very visible thumbs down. He then said very casually, "If he wants to wrestle, I'll take him down!" So brave from far away. If we were to get out of the van, he wouldn't go anywhere near that bear!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World

just because