Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Other Autism moms

I have gotten a few comments from other moms of children with ASD over the past few months. I am always happy to talk to other moms dealing with the same things, however I often am unable to see their blogs so I can send a message back. So if you do leave me a comment wanting to talk please let me know how I can message you back. It is always nice to exchange stories and ideas with other moms!

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Someday I will laugh

I hope someday Bethany has a child just like her. I will laugh and laugh every time she calls me to tell me what that child has done.
This morning I took the girls to the library for a Winnie the Pooh party and National Popcorn day. Basically it was stories about W the P, while eating popcorn, and then gluing popcorn onto pictures of W the P. Bethany ran about 40 laps around the room then managed to escape out the door twice, both times running into the conference going on in the next room. I had to walk in, and drag her out by her arm as she did the dead weight thing and screamed. We don't go anywhere without making our presence known. Then after the event was over, we walk out and it was windy and pouring rain. I was holding Shea, 3 jackets, my purse, a diaper bag, and Bethany's hand and balancing the umbrella, when the wind blew the umbrella inside out. I tried to corner Bethany against a pole to fix it, but she got away and ran off through a field in front of the library, so off I went chasing after her. She got to the middle of the field and decided to lay down in a big mud puddle. I got to her, and once again had to drag her by the arm because she wouldn't stand. We finally got to the car, and I buckled them in, and got the heater going in the car while they screamed because they were both soaking wet. Bethany and I were both muddy and soaked to the underwear. And I just sat in the car in the parking lot and cried for 20 minutes. Sometimes I am a baby and I cry when I get frustrated and stressed. Both kids got over it, and Shea fell asleep and Bethy was singing, and I was still crying! Finally I drove home, stopping at Sonic because I was not in the mood to find something to put together for lunch for everyone. We came home, I put the kids in the tub, and put them in warm Jammie's, and down to nap, and took a hot shower myself and put on sweats. Now that they are in bed, and I am relaxing, I can laugh. At least my life is never dull. Sometimes I wish for a different kind of excitement, but who knows, maybe one day I will write a bestseller about raising Bethany.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Things that make me happy

~ Listening to Bethany sing "Jingle Bells" in January, when she would have no part of Christmas music in December. ha ha!
~Watching Shea's face light up with excitement when she gets pushed in the swing.
~Falling asleep at naptime with Shea, and getting to snuggle with her.
~Hearing the pride in Aaron's voice on the phone as he e-mails me a picture of a helicopter with his name on the side.
~Scrubbing the bathtub with no distractions and standing back to admire a sparkly clean bathroom.
~Watching my girls laughing together, even if they are doing something they shouldn't be.
~ Sisters that call me up just to chat, because we are friends.
~Closing my eyes, to remember what Aaron's hand feels like in mine.
~ Wonderful people at church who let their hearts be led by the spirit.
~Bethany starting Sunbeams and showing me that I had nothing to worry about.
~Bethany making sure I kiss Elmo and Ernie goodnight, then watching her tuck them into bed with her.
~ Knowing that the quickest way to cheer Bethany up is to push on her nose, and say "ribbit!" Then let her push my nose, and say "beep". (Aaron's nose says "honk" by the way.)
~Shea trying to imitate the word "stinky".
~Watching Shea boogie to the "Cha cha slide" song at her My-Gym class.
~The thought of Aaron coming home on leave in a few weeks!
~ Taking walks with the girls and watching them giggle at the squirrels, get excited to meet the dogs we encounter, and watching them examine the different leaves and flowers we find.
~ That little window that comes up on the bottom of the computer screen that says, "Aaron is online".
~ Singing Primary songs in the car on the top of our lungs.
~ Reading stories with Bethany and Shea, and Bethany trying to read us stories too.