Normal to us.....

It is so interesting to see how different people live their lives. I love watching people and how they do their day to day routines.....



I find it so odd for example to see a kid Tobey's size walking without someone holding their hand, or people with no kids attached to them at the hip. When I hear about people spending less than a $100/ week on groceries, I am in shock! It is so weird how your life becomes your reality, and everything else seems foreign.



We were at the park a few weeks ago and I seen parents sitting there with a book reading while I am chasing down Tobey and telling Edwin for the one thousandth time that day not to try to blow people up....Sometimes I admit that I am jealous of that carefree lifestyle. While I am doing kid counts to make sure I haven't lost one they are able to carry on a actual conversation. And, then as I finally sit down and let Eddie take over and trying to have that adult conversation with another parent....a bus pulls up and out steps a group of adults from a home for special needs and I see the look on the other parent's face, and then am sucked back into my reality. I am the mother of 2 kids with Autism, and even though I wouldn't trade my life for anything....there are sometimes you are scared that is all that you are.....Every book I read, almost all of my favorites are Autism sites. nearly half of the phone calls I make are concerning the boys. And, even though it drives me nuts at times.....90% of the time I honestly couldn't see myself doing anything else, it is my reality.

So, here is what is "normal" to us.....

We have not left our home without a leash for Tobey in over a year.
It takes us a half hour a day to find shoes, that I bought a special shelf for.
I make 27 plates of food a day!
Whenever we split up as a group Eddie and I yell out the number of kids we are responsible for.
We love to take drives, though rarely have enough nerve to leave the comfort of South Bend.
We have the worst yard out of our entire neighborhood, are porch looks like we are hicks!
Our car, every time we get out a Capri Sun , Coke bottle, or McDonald's item falls out.
We have to pay extra for trash service.
We enjoy the benefits of handicap parking...thank you Autism!
All the girls in the house LOVE Tinkerbell, including me.
All the kids in the house LOVE Phineas and Ferb, including my husband.
I have to lock up everything, including Shampoo.
We only have 1 phone in our home that stays in the room with me, for fear Edwin will call 911 again.
All the kids have nicknames and love them except for Lena.
Eddie has a side job of making Cd's for my Dad called "Eddie-Bam Beddie Recordings, LLC".
The dishwasher is my favorite appliance of all time!
Eddie and I are currently having a contest to see who can get the most friends on Facebook, he is winning.
We survive on 5 hours of sleep a night...is it because we have 7 kids? No, we watch too much TV!
My favorite place to shop for the kids is Once Upon A Child.
Eddie's favorite store was Steve and Barry's....I still hear about how much he loves that place, he needs to get on with his life now.
My favorite store is Target, big shock! Even though I am lucky to get there every other month!
We keep saying that we hate Wal-Mart, yet end up there weekly!

So, that is our "normal"...and now onto the next blog!