Seeing a friends' rock bottom........

Today as I was doing my morning Facebook and Farmville (which I am starting to get sick of) I seen a friends post about her son being burnt on over 60% of his body and her request of prayers. Me, being deathly afraid of house fires did some investigating and found out that he was involved in a mobile meth lab. My heart just dropped, here is a young guy that may not make it through this because of drugs.

I then went to the news link to post a comment that I was sorry, you are in my prayers.... you know the words, the ones that you always say when you have no idea what else to say.... And there was all these negative comments towards this family, made me kinda mad. Who are we to judge and does this family really need this right now? They are scared to death that there son may die, they need love and prayers.... not " I told you so's" or "when you play with fire, you'll get burned". Don't people see that is what drives people further into drugs?

I have never done illegal drugs in my life (really), but I have been at that rock bottom where I can see how that can start. You know something happens....abuse, molested by a relative, a death of a loved one.... and you have a hole. And you probably can't face the day and you need something to get you through it, so you turn to something that will take the pain away. And then you can spiral, and things don't get better, so you do more drugs. It is just a cycle. I don't believe that they do drugs because they have this desire to lose control of their life, they are in pain and they need LOVE and support. They don't need our judgement and ridicule and stupid jokes at their expense. OK, sorry for the heavy start that was just on my heart and I needed some free therapy!

Tobey Jude is home sick, you know what's amazing is how when you wake them up they are too sick to get up... but after breakfast they have the energy to pull off all of your couch cushions and want to watch BOLT when The Bonnie Hunt show is on. Tobey is still talking some, I am now thinking and hoping that this is just the beginning of really getting to know this little dude that loves to torture our cats.

We have a busy weekend coming up, as usual! So tonight after the kids are asleep I may have time to get groceries, I have about a half of a gallon of milk..... so I need to go.

I have simply decided that Lena (aka the teenager) hates me. I now understand that I am solely here on this Earth to irratate her and make her life miserable, or at least that is her view. Yesterday was so bad that I told Eddie I think that if I get any food products from her for Mother's Day, that I may want CSI to come and test them out. haha! I think that part of the problem is that I was never really a teenager, and I didn't have a Mom at that age. When I was 13, I had to take my Mom's place in taking care of a home and helping out with my little brother. There was no dating, or hanging out. And, she wants to that stuff, which terrifies me. I know that I need to cut the cord and let her find herself, but how do you do that and keep them safe? Ahhhh the joys of parenting!

Have a good one!!!!! Holstein OUT !! ( I like that one, thank you Ryan Seacrest)

That was rough......

Last night we went to Church and taped our life story for the I Am Second series at our Church, it is not easy to say on tape every horrible thing that you have experienced in your life. It is hard to relive things that you wish could just disappear from your mind.

On the flip side though, it is amazing to see the changes in our life in just 2 years. It blows my mind that because God is in our life, first in our life.... we are living the life that we want. I am also relieved that we got it all out there, I am in hopes that our story will give other people inspiration to never give up. So, I am glad I did it, but I am also glad that part is over.

I am getting tons of feedback for the support group, which is so cool! I have this feeling that this is going to make a difference in people's lives, how great is that?

Well, that is all today! Have a great one.

Edwin Jesse....

Everyday like clockwork I lay out Edwin's stuff for the day. Now, I know that he needs to do this on his own.... but, when you have 7 kids, there is no time during weekday mornings to fight with the crew. I usually check to see if he has put on all the items, but today Olivia and Emily are sick. So, after making sure that he had his backpack and favorite sweatshirt I sent him off to the bus. Only to walk into the livingroom to see his shoes! I honestly don't know if he has shoes on! He doesn't seem to understand like most Autistics what is normal and what is not. On Saturdays I allow him to get himself ready and he comes up with some unusual combinations like.. a skirt and Notre Dame shirt, or Melody's stretch pants and a Tinkerbell play top. It is kinda our Saturday morning thing to see what he comes up with. So, I swallowed my pride and called the school to see if he wore shoes, this is probably the talk of the day in the office and may be a first there. I am waiting by the phone for their call....

Olivia has pink eye and Emily a fever, both are medicated and resting now. Poor Melody is looking like a lost puppy with no one to play with. Everyone has been healthy the last few weeks (except lead poisoning) so I guess it was due.

Eddie's softball team lost last night, he took it well. He was like a little kid telling me about it. He was never on any kind of team before and I think that he is really enjoying it. He took the 4 oldest to the game and they had a great time. Next week we are all going so that should be fun!

Well, that is the news at Holstein Central for the day.... Holstein OUT!!!!

It is all coming together.....

Have you ever had that feeling that you feel like you are where you are supposed to be and that the plan that God has intended for your life is coming to fruition? I am at that point now....

This coming Sunday Ed and I are coming out of the closet, so to speak about our past... the life (if you can call it that) we had before Christ entered our lives. We are having a series at our Church about the second chance that God gives all of us. To be honest I am really nervous, I know that I need to do this and I know that it will help other people, but it is so hard to put yourself out there. I know how great the people (our family) at Living Stones are, and I know that they will love and accept us anyway, so here's hoping that this goes as well as I pray it will. I feel in my heart that this is the right time to tell our story. Oh, OK I will tell you what it is.... Eddie likes to wear women's clothing and I have an addiction to chocolate that has required therapy! Ha ha just kidding you will have to come to Living Stones this Sunday to find out! Isn't the anticipation killing you?

Well, the support group is coming along.... I think that it may be called Precious Stones or something like that, I just don't want it to sound cheesy. I am really excited that this may help out so many families in our Church and beyond. I have a ton more ideas that I want to get started at our Church but this is the one nearest to my heart.

Speaking of being near my heart, The Spier's who were mentioned in an earlier blog have OFFICIALLY adopted little Jonah! I am so happy for them! When I heard the story of how Jonah was turned down by 2 different families because of a disability it really upset me. But Angela ( his new Mommy) was just so happy that his biological Mommy chose life, I totally see things differently with that now! All I know is we have an amazing God who put all of this into place.

Sorry if I am getting a little preachy, it has been an emotional week! So, here is the kid news.... Lena is back to being the grumpy teenager, she is still with Gazer (God help me) ! Alison got some shocking news from a lady at our Church about her teacher that she LOVES, so that was an issue last night for her. Edwin is not wanting to eat anything but mac and cheese, I know that there could be worse foods... but this has got to change! I think that we may be looking at therapy for this. Olivia is making more plans for the garden, which we are planting Mother's Day weekend. Tobey ate a sandwich! First time ever, he usually just eats the meat and throws away the bread, so that's cool! Emily got booted out of Kids Kanyon yesterday, the kid is very cute, smart, funny... but she is a handful! Melody is making real strides with learning her colors and stuff, it is so exciting seeing how easy learning comes for her and Emily after having to work with Tobey so much!

Tonight is Eddie's first softball game, I wish we could go... but it is at 8:30 at night. So hopefully next week! He is calling himself a semi-professional athlete.... because he has to pay to play. Well, that is all for today! I hope that you have a good one!

Support Group!!!!!!

For quite a while I have been wanting to start a support group for parents of special needs children at Living Stones, I finally talked to my awesome Pastor Sam....and it is a go! If anybody has ideas on how to make this work for them, I am all ears.

Here are my ideas....

• I would love to meet on Saturday or Sundays, because it is really hard to schedule during the week with all the scheduling involved with special needs children... therapy, Dr. appointments, school stuff and well LIFE!
• I am interested in having people come in and talk about services, or teacher's tell us about how to handle things concerning schools, or OT's telling us things to do at home... you get the idea.
• I envision it as being a fun, positive environment... where it is OK to cry because you have had a bad day or week, we've all been there!
• I want an open forum where we can tell each other about services and where to get the best price on weighted vests or ant other equipment that costs way to much.
• I would like to figure out how to have a meeting going on for the siblings of special needs, they walk this road right along with us and they need an outlet too! If anyone has ideas on how to do this with childcare, please contact me!
• Every now and then I would like to figure out how to have a parents day out, here is the scary statistic that if you have a child with Autism, you have an 80% chance for divorce. I attribute that to being so stressed out and child care being such an issue! If you are a single parent dealing with special needs, you have my utter respect and you need a break!

I am open to any and ALL ideas, so Facebook me with those and any questions that you may have!

I would also like to say that I have had this in my heart for a while and I want to do everything in my power to not only make to successful but to also make this a huge blessing to other families.

I hope that everyone has a great day, the hubby will be home soon from softball practice, and I am sure that he will need some babying after his hard day! Have a good one!

An Amazing Family.....

I know a family,that is a shining example of how Christ wants us to live here on Earth. They are full of love and acceptance and happen to be one of the many people responsible for bringing me to God and see how awesome of a life that he wants for my family and I.

They are currently on their way to Missouri to adopt a newborn baby boy that has Down Syndrome, his name is Jonah Michael and I know that he will be a huge blessing to this family. They are in need of $14, 500 to adopt this precious boy, and they are halfway there! So, if you are interested.... here is the link http://Tracieloux.wordpress.com. My prayers are with you and your family.... and Angela in all your free time (haha) you should start a blog. And, if you have any questions about services... I am your gal!

Eddie is home today with a back issue, and starting to drive me a little crazy! He keeps playing the piano and annoying me, ahhh married life! The rest of the crew is doing great..... Lena was in a mood yesterday, but that's life with a teenager! Alison was very eager to please everybody yesterday even asking for extra chores, she wants something. Edwin is obsessed with a computer game that we only have a free trial of, so I will have to buy it for him this weekend. Olivia is doing well, she is so ready for a garden,,, but, with the lead we have to figure out how to do that one. Tobey is awesome.... but, when isn't he! Emily and Melody are doing great, they are the closest thing to twins that I have ever seen.... they even seem to be able to read each other's thoughts at times!

Well, that is all today, it is time for me to go and take care of the biggest kid... Eddie! Have a great day!

A typical week.....

Yesterday on Oprah, the octomom was on, when I was at Target they called me the septomom, but I digress. Anyway, she said that she spends a thousand bucks a week on groceries! What? What in the world is she feeding those kids, who are all under the age of 9 and none are on formula? I was simply in shock! We do our shopping a little differently than most, but I think that I average between 250-300 per week, and that includes non-food stuff like diapers, laundry soap... etc. So, since I have been asked on occasion I thought I would share some of our family stats with you.

• About 160 diapers or pull-ups a week! We are working on potty training though, so hopefully this one doesn't continue
• About 10 pounds of snack food... goldfish, trail mix, animal crackers (little tip, I take an hour a week and put these in little baggies, which is a ton cheaper than buying individual servings)
• We can do between 20-25 loads of laundry a week, depending on bedding
• 8 gallons of milk, 10 pounds of cheese
• Edwin alone goes through a 30 count box of single serve mac and cheese in 2 weeks!
• 20 pounds of potatoes
• 21 cans of vegetables, 4 frozen bags
• I am a little embarrassed to admit this one, but we go through a case of Coke a day!!!
• 10 pounds of apples, 5 pounds of oranges, 5 pounds of bananas and 2 pineapples
• 10 rolls of paper towels and 3 boxes of wipes

But, the trick is to shop at Aldi's, and day old bread stores and get a membership to Sam's ! It must be the diapers that kill her budget!

On a side note about Nadya, I prayed for her last night. For one, she is obviously overwhelmed, she looked very tired. Second, she has a kid just like my Tobey.... 5 years old, autistic, and probably at about the same verbal level as him. I know that just with my 7 (wow, I have never said that before) I feel like I am not doing all I can for Tobey, and when I am getting somewhere with him... I am not "there" like I should be for the other kids. She has got to be so consumed with guilt. Also, because of the chaos that is involved with large family, the little guy that has Autism probably has a ton of meltdowns. which is very hard on a parent....emotionally and physically. So, my prayers are with her and her family, but I am kinda thankful for my "small" one!

Well, I am off to do housework! I hope that you enjoy the day, halfway to the weekend!

Autism, Autism, Autism....

So, if you haven't heard it is Autism awareness month, if you didn't know that, where have you been? There is a million commercials on right now, HBO has got tons ON DEMAND programming for it, and Dr. Phil will soon have his annual show on. But, something really frustrates me about how they want people to view Autism on some of these awareness messages. I know first hand the devastation that is Autism, I experience the one ended conversations with Tobey, I pray that they can make it through the day without any major meltdowns and I get frustrated constantly with the strain of insurance companies and schools who just don't seem to get it!

But, here is the thing ..... not everything about Autism is bad or the end of the world. For the most part they don't lie or play mind games, you know where you stand with them. Once you get a routine down that they like you are golden....even if they don't like that activity they will do it because of their routine... kinda handy at times. Some people think that if you are Autistic, you may be slow... far from it! Was Mozart or Einstein slow? Edwin has a insane talent for computers, he has done things with our computer that Ed and I have yet to figure out. And Tobey has the unique talent for sounds, he can impersonate noises and if he hears a tone on the TV, he will walk right over to the piano and play that note! My personal (non medical) opinion is that they are simply wired differently.... not wrong, just different. The key which is so hard to figure out with every Autistic child is to see what works for them. With Edwin it's computers, if he is having any issue I just have to find a way to correlate it with computers. I have told Edwin several times that maybe he needs to reboot or some other lingo, if he is having a problem socially, I just look up social stories online and have him read them. Tobey is into sounds and music, so if I want him to come downstairs I turn on the vacuum, if he needs to put his shoes on I sing a song that he likes concerning shoes. If I need him to settle down, I turn on channel 22's weather channel with that horrible music, and he settles down (most of the time).

So, if you are reading this and just found out that someone you love has Autism, it is not the end, it is a beginning of a AMAZING adventure. Absolutely you need to grieve, there is times that I still cry about it, that's normal. When you find out that you are pregnant you don't say to yourself... I don't want a perfect child, give me one with Autism! Of course your heart is going to break and you are going to start going through this list in your head of everything that they may not be able to do. But, what you get in return is go great, every now and then Edwin let's me step into his world. Where a trip to Martin's grocery store is full of guards and you get to be on the lookout for bad guys, or it is perfectly acceptable to arrest your teachers at Church and a certain Pixar robot is your best friend in life. So, the good far outweighs the bad, so consider yourself blessed and be ready for all the fun you can have!

Well, that is all for today! I hope that you get to enjoy the sun, it's gorgeous out there!

Yesterday.....

As always had way too much packed into a weekend, but got a ton accomplished. But, yesterday was like any other Sunday, until I seen someone from my past, a past that at times I wish I could forget. But, I would not be the person I am today, the mother I am today if it wasn't for this person. Of all places I seen her at Church, which I think all the blood drained from my face when I saw her. I regret now not yelling out her name and talking to her, thanking her for everything that she did for my family, no matter how painful it was to go through. I have a feeling that she reads this blog, and if you are Thank you, come to Church again, I would love to talk to you again.

Ok, now for the news of the crew...... Lena has a boyfriend, I am not making this up.... his name is Gazer, that's a new name for me.... it reminds me of the Incredibles. She has been in a better mood lately, so thank you Gazer! Alison is still bothering me about piano lessons, which I don't have the money to fix up a 90 year old piano, so that will have to wait... sorry Ali! Edwin has just been a cool kid this past week, he is coming out of his shell so much everyday. Olivia has put herself on a diet, which she is probably about 5 pounds underweight, so I am telling her that I have made a switch to lower fat cooking, (I know probably bad parenting again!). Tobey Jude has been amazing, he has started beat boxing and telling me no. By the way, he will not talk at Church, and I would like to show him off, irritating! Emily is glad they didn't have to cut much hair off of her, she was terrified at Great Clips.... gee Emily, imagine how scared Melody was when you cut all of her hair off, haha! Melody has very short hair now, we went to Once Upon A Child and loaded up on hats. She kinda has a Natalie Portman look to her now. She is cute enough to pull off the short 'doo, but I have called her Tobey a few times... my bad!

Eddie is up for a promotion at work, I am really praying he gets it. He deserves it and it would help us out financially and with schedules... so here's praying! Side story on Eddie.... Saturday he went to softball practice for our Church's team. Sunday morning he woke up and could hardly move. So, as he is slowly coming done the stairs, I am teasing him that he needs one of those staircase chairs like the guy does on Up, and he says... " Well, I didn't see you running up and down the steps the day after you gave birth!". What?!?! I had no idea that he had gone through labor and produced a human being yesterday, I thought he went to SOFTBALL practice! I was crying from laughing so hard!

Well that is all in Holsteinville, have a blessed day!

Bad mood Thursday....

Everybody woke up cranky today, even Eddie and if you know Eddie he is hardly EVER in a bad mood. He is upset about the concert tonight and now simply doesn't want to go. Lena being a teenager is mad at the world! Alison was mad that she didn't have time to draw today before school. Edwin was mad we had school, he even tried to convince me it was Saturday, Olivia who I caught on the computer at 2:30 this morning was understandably tired and not in the mood for school. Tobey was happy but in the minority, obviously. Emily snuck toothpaste in her room last night and woke up glued to her pillow. I think after this week we are going to do intensive room checks on her room! And, Melody is not feeling so great. Me? I am the mother and not really allowed to be in a bad mood, even though they are trying to ruin my mellow!

Tobey is making some real strides with talking, but I am needing to force it out of him, by making him repeat things back to me and making him tell me what he wants without depending on any aids, he is getting irritated with me, oh well. I was talking to Eddie and I was wondering where that line is of encouraging your kids to do their best, but not making them miserable by always demanding better. This is not only for the boys but for the whole crew. I know that Lena wouldn't have skipped a grade if it wasn't for me pushing her, and Tobey would probably not have what language he has if I wouldn't make him. But, I don't want to be the Mom who's kids don't think that they are good enough. I probably went off on a tangent there, sorry.....

The girls are getting their hair fixed tomorrow, poor Melody keeps putting a hat on after seeing the damage, I am going to end up with a 2 year old with self esteem issues! We are checking out preschools next week for them, whatever will I do next fall with no one at home for a couple of days a week? Have bon bons? Take up a hobby? Oh, the choices are endless! I will probably just sleep and play Farm ville.

Well, that is all for today! Have a great one!

Tobey's rough day.....

So, as you know if you have read old posts, Tobey has an aversion to water on his face. He has now gone to a whole new level. He was jumping as usual, and fell. He then started crying, and because his face was wet from tears, he started slapping his eyes. Now here is the crazy thing, Tobey for the most part is the most loving child I have ever seen. But, when he gets hurt and you try to love him up, he hits me. So, you just have to stand there (heart breaking) and wait it out. Only, he kept slapping himself. It was really frustrating and hard to watch. I called his doctor, but I think that even she is not sure what to do on this one.

Well, as you have probably seen, Melody has a mullet thanks to her sister Emily. They are going to the salon on Friday morning to hopefully fix it. I am taking Lindsey's advice and getting her a pixie cut. Emily also chopped off one side of hers, I am hoping that they can save some of the length on hers, she has never had it cut. I really loved her hair long! I know it is just hair, and someday I will laugh about it.... just not yet! Well, I laughed a little yesterday when I seen an ad for Joe Dirt on Encore.

Took Olivia to the Doctor yesterday, only to find out that we have maxxed out our insurance for the year already! It really doesn't take long when you have 7 kids and 2 with appointments ALL the time! We are going to try and apply for Medicaid because they now have no insurance, they wouldn't approve us before.

Lena and I have had a good week, I even spent some alone time with her and there was no door slamming. I am not naive enough to think that we have crossed a hurdle and will now be best friends, but I will enjoy it for now.

We had a Family meeting yesterday, we usually have these on Sunday's but some things needed approached. For one, the scheduling is getting out of hand and it is getting harder and harder to plan family events. Eddie's work is not anything that I can fix, he works a ton of hours! But, I do feel like we can make better use of our time when we are at home. So, we are redoing all the chore charts and such. I am also going to work on saving some money with groceries which is getting out of hand again with the diets that the kids have to be on due to lead.

So, that is all for today! I think that it is supposed to be gorgeous out, I hope that you can get time to enjoy it!

Ahhhh Monday.....

I knew that I was in trouble on Thursday when I was counting down the days until the kids went back, it finally happened today and I was ready for them to return! I think that I wouldn't have been quite so giddy for their return to school except that Eddie was hardly home due to work and the kids can't play in our yard yet. I am not brave enough to take the crew to the park by myself, so we mainly just stayed home during the week. I also had to miss Church on Sunday, so now I feel like I am on the wrong day of the week. Edwin is feeling the same way, he came down yesterday wondering why his clothes for Church weren't laid out.

I was really surprised at all the backlash for the group I joined on Facebook, I wasn't defriended by anyone yet, so I guess that I came out unscathed. Wow, people feel really strongly on that issue, I seen a fan page on flipping your pillow over to the cool side, I decided not to join, not worth the battle!

Eddie and I watched a documentary on HBO about Autism, it had Temple Grandin in it, so I had to see it. It focused on a mother's journey with her non-verbal autistic son. He was probably around 10, and really was about where Tobey is now. She lives in Iceland where there is not a ton of therapy for Autism, she flew him to California where she went to a place called HALO and they got him to the point that he could spell out words with a pencil and a print out of letters. The moment that got me was when he asked her if he could learn how to play piano, the look that she had on her face, was the look I had on my face when I started getting to know my son.

Eddie and I have been talking about the boys' future a bunch lately. Mainly because I am in the midst of filling out forms for the funding, (there is a 10 year wait!). We are pretty sure that Edwin will be able to be on his own or in a group home with some level of care. But, Tobey Jude was the toughie! If I put him into a group home with more care, like Hannah and Friends, I am a little worried that he may not feel like he's part of our family, I know this probably makes no sense. But, if he stays with us, I do not want to take away from his own life, and let's be honest here.... parents plan on their kids moving out when they turn 18 or so. I have dreamed about traveling with just Eddie some day, and just being a couple again. So I think that we have come up with the right solution for our family. Tobey will most likely stay with us and go to Hannah and Friends as a day program, because they are really great there, and I want Tobey to have his life, not a side note of mine. Ok, that was heavy....cute story time!

Eddie calls home everyday at lunch, to make sure I haven't gone crazy, so here is yesterday's call...when he talked to Tobey

Hi, Tobey! Are you ok?
Tobey then says " I am Tobey!" Just cracked me up, because he knew that his name wasn't "ok"!

Well, as usual on Monday's I have a ton of housework to do, I hope that everyone has a blessed day!

One click of the mouse....

So, on Saturday before loading up the crew, I checked Facebook. Now I will be the first to admit that I am a slightly addicted to Facebook and I may need to get some therapy for my issue with Farm ville.

But, I am not going to talk about Farm ville, I am going to talk about a group I joined called Straights for Gay Equality, it got several comments and everyone is entitled to their opinion, so here is mine......

I believe that God does not make mistakes, I can say this a mother of 2 sons that have special needs. I believe that God in all ,his wisdom would not create a person, no matter how they may seem to be put on this earth only to be turned away from his love because of their sexual orientation. For me, I just love people.....what they do in their bedroom and with whom, is simply just none of my business.

I also believe that according to my personal beliefs and the Constitution that ALL people should have equal rights. I see nothing wrong with gay or lesbian partners sharing insurance or being able to visit each other in the ICU, as a threat to anybody , as some more conservative people do. As I said this is just my opinion.

I know that the Bible disagrees with homosexuality, but I also know that I should love ALL my neighbors. Where in the Bible does it say that we should be judging anyone, that is just not my place. Am I supposed to think that a murderer can asks for God's grace and forgiveness, but if you love someone of the same sex, you are NOT deserving of his love?

To those that say "you Christians", I do not believe in grouping everyone into one. We are individuals who are allowed to have our own minds. Christianity is not a cult where we must all wear potato sacks and bite the heads off of snakes.

We were made unique to glorify Him and to give our unique talents to Him. On my time here on earth, I want to love God and bring people to love God. Not turn them away in God's name, that was never his intention.

Now, this blog was never meant to be political, it was supposed to be about the crazy challenges that faces our family daily. But, this issue I feel strongly on.... and just so there are no more surprises here are more of opinions.....

• Chocolate should be the official national food
• Yes, it is ok to let your kids eat ice cream once a year for dinner
• I am sorry to say that I let my kids have TV in their rooms
• my husband is WAY sexy, he told me to put that on here!
• I let my son believe he is Kratos, hey as I said we all are entitled to opinions!

So that is all for today, I am totally expecting this to open the floodgates, bring it on, I can handle it!

Blissful morning......

Today I woke up to the most beautiful sound, no it was not my husband saying that he is staying home and I don't need to lift a finger, it was Tobey Jude playing with my hair and saying " Hi, honey". You just have to love that!

It was not even a year ago and I really knew nothing about this little guy, he was trapped and it was really seeming a little hopeless, and now? I have overwhelming joy, that is the only words to describe it. I have finally got to "meet" my Tobey and he is one of the most amazing, funny and creative person that I have ever met, and he is my boy! I am so thankful for how far he has come and so blessed that I was here to witness it.

He LOVES The Beatles, which all I can say is thank you, otherwise he would not be happy here. His favorite song is "Hey Jude" which he has been sung since birth. He must always have a car, he even sleeps with them. His favorite foods are apples, string cheese, yogurt and any meat. He will never eat bread with a sandwich and ketchup needs to be applied to everything that he can legally eat it on. He figures out things... he got a spin wheel for Easter and he could not get it to go faster (he is the master of all spinning), so he turned on the window fan and let it do the work. Entertained him for hours. He loves to help with vacuuming and using the steam mop, and has a great talent to copy the noises perfectly. His teacher called a few months ago and she knew that we had a new vacuum just from the fact that his noises had changed. He is loving, he just hugs and kisses and cuddles all day, which I am ok with.

Sometimes when our family or strangers see him they see Autism but he is so much more than that. Eddie and I were talking and if someone gave us a pill that would "fix" the boys I am not sure what we would do. I mean you don't want the scary stuff that Autism can bring.... seizures, social issues, meltdowns, food issues, therapies, extra appointments and so on. But, I wouldn't want to lose them.... I know that Autism is only a part of who they are but I LOVE all of who they are, so no easy answer for me on that one.

Well, today is household really and I see laziness creeping up on the children, I hope that you have a blessed day.

By the way, I was wrong on the giver of the gift card, so whoever you are Thank you so much for thinking of us, we will enjoy a lovely lunch on Saturday!

It's only Wednesday?

So here we are halfway through spring break week and the kids are bored out of their minds. We have no fun plans until Saturday, I am not sure they will make it. They are currently watching the On Demand previews on God Of War and begging me to buy it.... I don't think so!

The pictures are online of us at the park, I will have Eddie do the copy-paste thing when he gets home so everybody can visit the website that they are on. The photographer (Eric Buscholtz) did amazing! There is a great one of all 7 sitting on this thing that looks like a toilet bowl, I believe it will be the new blog picture at some point! There is a ton of Tobey running because that is what Tobey does.

I got a surprise in the mail on Monday. It was an unmarked envelope with a note saying how much they loved the blog and in it was a gift card for Applebee's, I was in total shock! I did figure out who it was and I hope to see her at the Plymouth Wal- Mart someday soon, so thank you! I will use it on Saturday before we take the kids to the zoo. The force will be with me!

Eddie grilled out the other day and Emily wanted to go out. She asked me repeatedly and I kept saying no because it was raining. After about the 20th time of asking the same question Lena finally said " Emily what is your motive here? Mom is not going to say yes". Without missing a beat she says, "My MOTIVE is to go outside!". I thought I was going to die laughing.

I am still working on my Temple Grandin book, it is ironic because I need to read this to better understand my sons, and yet the boys make it very hard to read the book.

We are in talks of actually planning a family vacation next year, we have never had one because it just seemed like so much work and money to have one. I have seen the error of my ways and decided that we are simply going to make ourselves do it. We have figured up a budget and if the kids work with us I think we may actually be able to do this. I am already getting excited about it and Olivia is already asking a thousand questions.

Well, I suppose I need to get off... Edwin is staring me down! Have a great one.....

Stepping out of our little world.....

Lately we have been going to places that we don't frequent that often, like the Wal-Mart on Grape or the fancy Martin's by Granger because you just get tired of going to the same old stores. I have been noticing the stares, which have never really bothered me before, but it is starting to get on my nerves. They are not stares because we have a ton of kids, they are stares at the boys' behavior. I guess that I am used to their little quirks. It doesn't seem odd to me to call Edwin "Kratos" or that Tobey has a chewy tube, (ok, that one was odd for me in the beginning). But to us it is all just second nature.

When we go to the park we usually go to Kids Kingdom, there is only 1 exit and Tobey can play with rocks. But for the photos the other day we went to Leeper and Edwin being his quirky self, was getting treated like a disease from some other kids. It simply broke my heart, the really sad thing that he didn't get the hint that the other kids didn't want to play with him. So, I had to intervene and try to interest Edwin in something else, which was not easy because he is still a boy who would like to play with someone else than his sisters.

When did it become wrong to not be cookie cutter? I love the fact that kids are not clones, they are humans with personalities. And if Edwin wants to be "Kratos" than go for it. If Tobey insists on playing with an egg beater and not the $40 toy that I got him (and waited in line for), than let him. But no matter what I want all my kids to know that they should be themselves, (I know how ironic it is that 2 days ago I had them all dressed the same!).

I am currently reading a book by Temple Grandin, if you don't know who she is then you should Google her. If you have someone that you love that has Autism than you NEED to know everything that you possibly can about her. She is the first person to ever be on the spectrum and able to verbalize what it is like to live in that world. HBO just did a movie about her with Claire Danes that was amazing. Now I have read up on Autism for a very long time, but this is so different in the fact that I can finally "see" what Edwin and Tobey "see". One of the things that frustrated me the most is their tantrums or meltdowns, According to her book it is like they lose that chunk of time, they have no memory of it what so ever. I can no longer get frustrated with them, they just don't know any better. By the way this woman's parents were told to just commit her into a facilty and she now has her Ph.D. in animal science. She does the strange obsession with cows and Star Trek, I just kinda skip over those parts.

Well today we are yet again working on the lead problem, I am getting to a point that I think that I may want to have party when we are done with all of this, I am simply getting sick of dealing with this pesky element.

A Very Long Weekend......

So, here it is Monday already, Eddie is home until Wednesday so I am enjoying having him here but my schedule is off.

On Friday we went to Sam's Club and spent way too much money! But I should be stocked up for the month, so that's a good feeling knowing that I won't run out of diapers or laundry soap. We then came home to doll up the magnificent 7 for their "photo shoot" at the park. All the girls were in hippy dresses and the boys were in polo's and dress shorts. I then had an hour and a half of chasing Tobey Jude. I jokingly asked the photographer if he was able to get any of Tobey running, I think they were all of Tobey running! Edwin took an Easter egg and kept hiding it for himself and finding it yet again with a believable tone of surprise in his voice, " Look what I found!". After the pictures we all went out for ice cream and Ed and I were officially exhausted.

Saturday I went Easter shopping with Lorrinda and actually got to eat a hot meal with no pops being spilled on us, or fights about who got the better place mat. We shopped for 7 hours and enjoyed every minute of it. We were actually complaining that we were making to good of time because we were not really wanting to go back home. Against my better judgement I came home to assemble baskets only to find that my family was able to function without me. The kids were dressed, house was clean and there was still 7 kids! He did good!

And then on Sunday, Easter Sunday I got up at 7:00 to get the crew looking perfect for Church. All the girls in their pink polka dot dresses, hair curled or braided. The boys in newsboys hats (Edwin hated his, I had to let him wear sunglasses to keep it on), cardigans with button down shirts and khaki shorts, they were looking good! We then got the honor of witnessing one of Sam's best services EVER! The band was great, the energy awesome, and the kids were a hit! We then had to leave a place where everyone LOVES us and head out to see our families (this is not there for humors sake only, even though it is humorous!). They just don't get us.....we simply don't fit in. I am not saying this as a put down on them, we just don't gel right. They don't get how we parent, or that Autism is a condition that the boys have, not an excuse for weird behavior or bad parenting on our part. Example.... Tobey talks to dogs more than he talks to humans, Edwin is more loving towards dogs than humans. So we are in the talks of getting a dog. My Dad said that we cannot take care of a dog....too busy, too much responsibility, there is a 100 different excuses. So here is what I told him... I handle 7 kids daily, I already have resposiblity, yes we are busy... I will give him that, but it will help the boys and the more that I do now to help the boys, the better off everyone will be. He then went on to tell me that I should just stop wasting my time on trying to " change " the boys all the time, simply infuriating! We then came home and went to Tippecanoe Place. We had a great time and the kids were really good there... tons of compliments. Edwin kept checking himself out in a mirror and making silly faces, it was really cute and didn't seem to bother anybody so I let him continue on. We finally came home ready to drop and realized that the kids had not found eggs yet, ( they got their baskets on Saturday due to chocolate and time restraints) and Eddie literally threw the eggs all over the house and yelled for the kids to come out of their rooms because the Easter Bunny had dropped the eggs. It was 8:00 at night. What do you want from us? I do think my over scheduling is getting to Eddie again. He simply asks me what he's supposed to do.

So that was the weekend, I hope everybody had a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend!

Last night.....

So I know at the ripe age of 33 that not everything goes like you plan it. Last night I planned on Tobey going to sleep within a half hour of medicating him, this boy takes tons of medicine that makes him sleep and nothing seemed to take. The boy was bouncing literally off the walls until 11:30.

Eddie decided that we would watch the Passion Of The Christ with Lena last night. About a half hour into it Lena decided that she was bored. I knew that she was getting nothing out of it when she kept saying that the guy who played Jesus was hot. She will probably kill me for that one! She then went to her room to escape with an episode of CSI Miami only to find out that Eddie wanted to have one of his world famous talks and lectures about maturity.

Olivia's play went great and I don't think that she will be in therapy too long for the fact that her parents weren't there. Eddie got her and Alison flowers to celebrate their accomplishments this week. Sweet, but the cats will probably drag them all over the house.

Edwin has simply decided that he is done dressing himself, he thinks that it is simply easier when I do it. I am curious what he will do tomorrow when he doesn't have to get ready for school. He may just try to live in pajama pants for the entire Spring break. On a side note I asked Lena what she wanted to do for Spring break and she said "Cancun". Yeah.... right, I am having a hard enough time trying to make plans for us to go to Michigan for a weekend this summer.

Two of my favorite shows are getting ready to start up this week. First off Deadliest Catch, I just love that show, Sig is awesome! He is really such a jerk at times but if you ever seen the episode where one of his crew had a death in the family, he just did everything in his power to get that guy back home. I also admire their work ethic, seriously the last time I put in a 30 some hour shift was when I was in labor with Melody. The other show is Little People Big World. This couple has defied disabilities and has manged to make quite a life for themselves. And they are dreamers, which I love! I didn't used to be a dreamer and this show has one wonders for me!

I am ready for some new shows, because American Idol is HORRIBLE this year, I have hardly watched since "Pant's on da ground" episode. Man I hope that I spelled that right. And my all time favorite show off all time " BIG LOVE" is done with it's season. I don't know if you have ever seen it but it is about a Mormon family that practices polygamy. There are some days that I am so tired with the house and the kids that sometimes I think that maybe they had the right idea, but I would only want them to help with the house and the kids. Eddie would be off limits.... so maybe that wouldn't work for me.

I hope that everyone has a great day! It is supposed to be 80 here....YES!