The Modern Mama

2015-01-18T16:58:00.001-05:00

It's been two years since my last blog post, and I've decided it's time. Time to return to the vast domain of the webisphere and regale you with my wit and wacky mom life. Since my last post, this military family moved from Hawaii to the east coast. Much closer to family and living with people who completely understand me when I slip into my dirt road southern accent, we have been very happy here. We are also now preparing to move again (woohoo), and this time we are headed north for just one year.

Oh, the joys of packing and unpacking.

But for now--we are trying to knock out our must do list for this location. One of our activities was supposed to be camping. I don't camp. I just don't. Not. Even. Interested. We do however have a base recreational area on a local lake with cabins you can rent. So as an appeasement, we rented a two bedroom cabin for this Saturday night. Of course, we had to haul all the tent and sleeping bag equipment along as well--never mind that the temperature was going to be a low of 34 degrees.

Off we went 45 miles away packed up as if we were heading west on the Oregon Trail. The stuff we need for one overnight trip boggles my mind.

In typical fashion for our family, we had completed all the activities in an hour after our arrival. We fished (unsuccessfully), and we kayaked. It was my first time kayaking, and I took our seven year old son out. After working arm muscles that I wasn't aware existed and turning us hopefully around in circles for ten minutes, we made it back to our dock. I was pretty impressed with my paddling; we didn't turn over, I didn't get too close to other boats or fishermen, and I didn't require rescue. As we were coming into the dock (a little hot--we required a nice catch from my husband), my son scrunched down in his seat and said "That was not the boating experience I was hoping for."

His super hero dad then took him out, paddled around a little island, and successfully gave him the "boating experience" he was looking forward to having. I learned that even in a rental cabin you have to bring your own paper towels and bath soap.

Checked off, done.

Realistic Expectations

2013-01-20T15:36:00.003-05:00

We wrapped up our Christmas break here, have had the grandparents visit, took a 48 hour trip to Kauai, and went back to work and school.

And here we are, January 2013. I get a lot of blog hits from parents looking for help with their sensory processing kids, and I've failed to update you on Olivia's progress as we have entered the first year anniversary of her diagnosis and medication.

Overall, I would have to say that things have improved significantly. As in Hurricane Olivia was at a category 5 in November 2011, and now she hovers around a 1 or 2. Despite the really huge going back to school thing, she's mostly hung in there and continued to work on her issues. She's doing an awesome job with figures of speech, but we have also improved at catching them and explaining--you only say "Keep your eyes out!" as your Aspie kid rides off on their scooter ONE TIME.

Socially, the other area where she's impaired, she is coping well. Unfortunately, she has not found a real buddy at school, and I've felt that if we had a good friend where she spends so much of her time, she might be happier. And last Monday, a new girl started in her class. Hallelujah. It's made a big difference already, enough that her teachers noticed too.

A few other things we've started doing--she has a ticket she can use when she gets too overloaded sensory wise in class. Many, many, many times she flat out refused to do her work and gets sent to the office to do it. Cha-ching! This was exactly the "punishment" she was looking for--getting out of the loud classroom and going to work in the quiet room at the office. She happily completed her assignments there, but to get there she was having to be naughty. Luckily, the principal and teachers were receptive to trying my idea, and after a week, it's working well--she has only used it twice and had no office trips this week.

Just to give you an idea, she maxed out her office visits in 3 days last week and ended up in the Reflection room--this is basically an in school suspension, but she gets to do her work in a quiet, dark room with a counselor. Again, a lot like homeschool and it is NOT a punishment for her.

My overall impression of private school for her has been that she is still spending quite a bit of time out of class. I haven't ruled out homeschooling again next year for her. Sometimes I feel she's falling behind because she isn't getting the teaching time, but she is ready well and keeping up with her math.

Lastly, her OCD symptoms have continued, some of which detrimental. We've had to increase her medication slightly, and she's coping well with resisting the urge to do some of the more physically damaging behaviors. This has been scary for us--scratching until she bleeds, vomiting, and other similar things makes me really afraid of what might be coming. But we're doing the best we can for now.

So, now that things with her are pretty stable, I started thinking about this whole gluten free thing again. We've attempted at other times, but she was in such a bad way that it wasn't possible. I've been reading What's Eating Your Child (a book everyone should read if you have a kid or are 90), and I think it's time to try again.

The author saves the Sensory Kid for the last of her scenarios in the book, and basically, it begins with "You have a sensory kid and want to go gluten free? Great. First, you're going to need a priest and a shaman."

We are going to take this slowly. I'm on the six month plan with this one--a big improvement for me personally, since I'm usually the one that's all like "Awesome! Let's be healthy! No sugar, no alcohol, no soda, no caffeine, no bread--TODAY. Whoo-hoo!".

And then I wonder why I crash and burn. Nope, this time I will demonstrate my own self-help skills and start very slowly. I truly think we will see a significant difference in her, maybe enough to lower her dosage of medication or eliminate it. And if not, then we'll still know gluten isn't an issue here. However, getting off meds is not actually my goal here--my goal is to help my child become the best she can be and identify what is keeping her from meeting that goal.

Off to call that priest and shaman.

Peace

2012-12-29T19:33:00.001-05:00

As New Year's approaches, I was thinking back over 2012 and remembering my "goals" from last year. The ones I got around to writing in February? This year, I'm ahead of the game.

First, let me say that just reading last year's list showed such huge growth in myself because I didn't view it as a failure! That goal list got almost nothing checked off. BUT my brain instantly began arguing with that evil little voice and was all like--

"Guurrl, you better shut it."

Here's last year's list.

Because, holy confetti, look at what I did do! I homeschooled successfully, and both kids stayed alive and I am not seriously dependent on any illegal substances! I got my kid on the right medicine. I went back to work! I am working on my teacher certification. As for that 4 pounds I decided to forgive myself for--well, I haven't gained any more! And I can run about 1.5 miles. I ROCK.

I am putting one thing on this year's list. One thing. And it's going to be so freakin' huge if I can do it.

I want to be able to sit down and do nothing.

Yep, nothing. Because right now, I just can't. Here I am on a Saturday afternoon with no chores to do, a freezer full of precooked meals, and children occupied with non-dangerous activities....but I'm blogging because I can't sit still.

Obviously, I want to complete this year of teaching and successfully get my license, but that seems like a given. And I have proven I can keep up with working out while employed. So, yes, please--if I can learn to be calm and just listen to my own heart beat and accept that as being a perfectly acceptable way to spend an afternoon, that would be amazing.

We're still here! December 22, 2012

2012-12-22T15:10:00.000-05:00

Is there anything sadder than the blog you pull up only to see it was last updated in March 2007? When the world was going to end on December 21, 2012? (Well, at least Hawaii escaped the Mayans. Buhahaha.)

And now that blog is mine. Lost and alone and neglected in cyberspace.

November and December have been a steady fist fight with life and work. I have earned my working mom stripes this year. Now that I have a tiny holiday vacation, I can take a breath and work like mad on organizing my house, cleaning, and cooking freezer meals. That is my break and I am HAPPY to be doing it.

Relaxing is for wimps. No, honestly, if you've been reading my blog for any period at all, you know I'm just a bit crazy and this kind of hustle around my home makes me very happy. A natural prozac.

We are working on a digital Christmas letter with lots of pictures, and I hope to have it up by Christmas Eve. Thank you for reading my thoughts here and bearing with me as I get myself into a groove with work and home. I'm still very happy teaching, and I'm excited to finish the year and also complete my "homework" so I can be qualified for teacher certification by May. Happy Holidays 2012!

Fall Break

2012-10-07T17:38:00.001-04:00

I'm going to just point you to my blog-crazy husband this week. Colin has been on fall break this last week, and Olivia joined them for two days. I had to work, including professional development days. He did an amazing job keeping them happy and busy, and I was impressed. I was just a bit jealous of all they did this week---I certainly don't compare to all the activities the husband had planned and executed. I've warned the children that Christmas break is going to seem very dull when they ask what we are doing that day and my response is, "Watch TV. Bake cookies. Nap. Repeat."

Oh, Fuddruckers!

2012-09-27T12:06:00.001-04:00

On a Sunday morning a few weeks back, Colin is hanging in the kitchen as his daddy begins to fix pancakes and says "Hey, what does it mean to do this?"

And shoots him a bird. More specifically, middle finger extended, other digits in.

The husband chokes. "Something really bad, and you will get in a lot of trouble if you do it! And who taught you that!!!!"

I meander through about this time, and the husband gives me a heads up.

I see my five year old's mind wandering as his middle finger slowly starts to ascend again, his eyes watching this suddenly magical finger.

"Colin," I say, "it's like saying a really bad word but with sign language. You will get in trouble at school and at home if you do it. If you need to, go do it in private."

He moved on, and the husband and I stood there a bit stunned. Obviously, I know they will start coming home with stuff, but it's still a shock when it happens.

Later that weekend, I caught him sitting in the middle of the bounce house in our back yard, examining that middle finger.

"Whatcha doing?"
"Nothin'." Snatches hand back down under his leg.

Two days later, walking to get the mail.
"But Mom, why can't I do this?" And gives me the middle finger.

I explain again.

Luckily, it seems to have lost its appeal. I haven't heard any complaints from school or within the neighborhood that he's still doing it. Now if I can just come keep coming up with creative answers to "Mom, what is the F word? But Mom, I won't say it--just tell me!" (So far it has been "frog" and "fudge".)

Miss Teacher Lady

2012-09-19T00:56:00.001-04:00

Downright embarrassing. And yes, for some of the kids that only have me for one class a day, they sometimes do call me Miss Teacher Lady.

You'd think I'd have so much more writing material now, but no, we are in survival mode here at my house right now. As in Mama's gone back to work survival mode. That is not to say it isn't going well--it really is, thanks in large part to great friends, a husband who tries to support me, and a housekeeper that comes every other Sunday and scrubs my shower til it shines.

My new goal is to blog once a week, a major dump of witty stories and observations, and also post more pictures during the week. I figure I can surely use my iphone to snap a picture for you a few days a week, right? I enjoy writing, and I don't want to let it fall to the side despite my other obligations. So, I haven't forgotten about you!

This morning, Olivia and I were in the car on the way to school when she began to complain about her tennis shoes. I would rather have a bikini wax than go shoe shopping with my sensory processing kid. (And shhhh, I've never had a bikini wax but once I tried to wax my legs, and Jesus and I made a deal that if I ever got out of that mess, I would NEVER try it again.) If I had all the money back from the shoes that she never wears, I could just hire my housekeeper to come weekly--no, daily--- rather than twice a month.

The issue is mostly with the feel, and the laces (which she is still not great at tying), and now the added fact that all the kids at school wear them. So I was getting a little frustrated, and she calls me on it.

"Yes," I said. "I am upset. I buy you really great shoes, you always say you will wear them, and then you just want other ones that will feel right, but we can NEVER find the ones that feel right."

"Mom." From the backseat. "Tell it to my Aspergers."

Touche.

Wow!

2012-08-26T13:04:00.002-04:00

Hellllloooo!

Crickets.

I've left you hanging since August 8th, and girl, LET ME TELL YOU.

Wow. Just wow. One of my favorite children's authors is Kevin Henkes, and one of his characters is Lily. There are many times that the people in Lily's life look at her and say "wow. Just wow." That is how I feel about my life these last two weeks.

In just 11 days, God has knitted my 37 years of life experience into right where I'm supposed to be. It has been profound, and my husband says he's never seen me so happy. I've never felt so peaceful and content.

Before we begin, bathroom break? Do you have coffee and maybe a snack? You may be here a while.

First, the backstory. When we discovered in December of 2010 that we were coming to Hawaii, I began researching schools (who, me? researching?). One of the websites I came across was for a private school that catered to special kids--those that are gifted and/or dyslexic and have other learning challenges. It was spitting distance from the Air Force base. It sounded amazing. But it was $20,000 a year, and internet, you know how I like to eat and drive my car.

So it was tabled. We worked our way into our own way of homeschooling, and things began to fall into place. Olivia started to get the diagnosis and medication and therapy that she needed, and I began to learn how to teach a child who's not typical. How to teach with flexibility and positivity. Basically, how to keep my cool.

And then Classical Conversations came along. Somehow I was led to offer to tutor (which is really teach) a class. I was on some heavy duty cough medicine at the time, but I did get the job. It felt great! I was working, even if it was very, very part time, and this tutoring job gave me even more of a sense of purpose. Now I was helping my child and other people's children! I would get a teeny paycheck, but the self-worth was the most important.

I worked all summer on Classical Conversations. We had formal training and meetings, and the tutors planned and planned and planned and practiced and practiced and practiced. On August 8th, we had orientation. And then on August 15th, we had our first class--all that I had been studying for would come to pass in a fast paced 3 hours.

Somewhere in those days, Olivia and I began school again. Math was hard. I found myself wondering what I was doing---could I really do this? Why had God brought me this far? What was the name of that fancy private school? OH, forget it. $20k a year was not a possibility.

On the night of August 14th, my friend and neighbor texted me. She had gotten a teaching job at that special private school when she moved here this summer. She had told me how amazing it was--yoga! cooking! little classes and 2 teachers per class! rainbows! $19,600 a year! She asked if I was home. I texted that I was. She called me. I was expecting her to ask to watch her kids or something similar since I knew she had just started preplanning.

Instead, she said that this private school had two job openings due to staff moving around and family emergencies. There was a teaching assistant and a front desk person. And Olivia could go there for 50% tuition if I worked there. She had already talked to the principal about me as a parent who was very familiar with these kinds of learning challenges, and did I want to interview? Did I?

At first, I thought no way. God had brought me to Classical Conversations. I had committed to a year long tutoring job. I had a plan, man! And then I thought about open doors and how much you can learn from an interview. I realized I had nothing to lose. So the night before I'm supposed to teach latin, I'm scrambling together a resume.

The next morning, as I'm driving to Classical Conversations, my friend calls and says she'll text me the email address of the principal. So after I got set up in my classroom, I literally emailed my resume via my iphone. Then I turned off my phone and got busy.

Four hours later, I got to my car. Olivia was loaded up, and I was exhausted. The day had gone really well, and I felt good about it. There was no a/c in our facility, so I was wilted. I turned on my phone. There were two voicemails from the school wanting me to interview. Like in 30 minutes.

Obviously, I couldn't. So I called, told them I could be there at 3:00, and if that didn't work, tough. I still had a job for this year. I changed to a non-sweaty dress and showed up at 3:00 with my two kids and an ABA therapist (because we had an appointment).

At the start of the interview, the principal said she'd already done one interview that morning. Five minutes later, she called her curriculum person into the meeting. Fifteen minutes later, she said she wanted to meet Olivia since she knew we were a package deal. So by 3:30, Olivia is in the head admissions directors office interviewing. And by 4:00, the principal is saying to me that she likes me, and she's just going to tell me--she's making me a job offer to be the second teacher in one of the 7th/8th grade classrooms.

I'm like, um. I kind of thought we were talking about the front desk person. Because as many times as I've researched going back to get my teacher certification, I have never done it. My teaching experience is almost laughable. But she thought the kids would respond well to me, and she thought the parents would like having someone who understands.

This is August 15th, not even a full 24 hours since my friend called me. So, now I take in Olivia's reports and write-ups and drop them off on Thursday morning, because before I take the job, I have to know if Olivia can go with me. I don't mention this to anyone since it may not happen.

By Thursday at 4:00 I got the call and email that Olivia was in, and did I want the job? I wanted to speak to my Classical Conversations director in person before I said yes. But how was I going to do that? She was a super busy lady, and I was going to drag my children over to her house at suppertime....how was I going to---

My phone rang. It was my director. She was in the neighborhood and could she stop and leave some items at my house?

You can't make this up. She was delivered to my doorstep right when I needed her. She assured me that a replacement tutor could be found, but I agreed to continue teaching for a few more Wednesdays. I would go to the private school 4 days a week and go there on Wednesdays.

We started school Monday. By Wednesday, a mom who was in a different location at Classical Conversations had called my director--could her family join us at our site? And yeah, she would consider tutoring.

So she's coming to my house today to train. That means that I can move on from that job to focus full time on my 7th and 8th graders. And thinking back to my interview, I think my summer doing Classical Conversations is exactly why they thought I could do the teaching job rather than the admin job.

Can you believe this?

My week was awesome. Olivia loves it. She has 11 kids and 2 teachers. She has performing arts every week, art, science, computer lab, a fantastic playground structure ideal for sensory kids, and individual counseling. I could weep for joy at how everything has come together. I look back at the last 7 years and can suddenly see the purpose behind EVERYTHING. This is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. This is my calling! And I would not have been good at this right out of college 15 years ago. I was meant to do it now.

Summer in Review

2012-08-08T01:06:00.004-04:00

It seems like I never have time to write. So here is summer 2012 in pictures. Kind of sad to look back, actually, because it feels like we were so busy and few pictures to show for it. To be fair, Colin did summer school in June, and we continued Olivia's home school through June 29th--so really our summer boiled down to one month.

This has been our first week back, and Classical Conversations orientation is tomorrow as well. It has been a tough transition. Not that I didn't expect that (have you met my children?), but I'm a bit worn down today. Days like this make me fantasize about leaving it all for a job at McDonald's and a bike ride to my quiet little studio apartment where no one else will tell me they are "HUNGRY!". Tomorrow will be better.

Colin was in a week long soccer camp and won an Inspire Award. Love those Brits and their accents!

I got a splinter under my nail and had to have a minor surgical procedure to remove it. FUN! But so thankful it wasn't a flesh eating bacteria....

Lots of kitty time.

I coerced my children into taking Irish Dancing. This is Olivia's outfit.

To cap off our Hawaii summer, the kids found a dead Barracuda (per the lifeguard).

Sleeping with Big Teddy

First day of school (angels singing Hallelujah!)

We saw the 4th of July fireworks over Hickam. We spent lots of time outside. We went to the pool. We had sprinkler parties. We saw the USS Nimitz. I went to a change of command on the Battleship Missouri. We had a lot of people over for supper. We watched a lot of fun movies. There was art camp and a week long theatre event. The husband and I had several dates, including our hottest date yet---a trip to the vet, a visit to the dump, and then a mid afternoon supper overlooking Waikiki.

And now we are thankful (Mom, that is) to move into "fall" in Hawaii (insert laughter).

You better straighten up

2012-08-01T21:51:00.001-04:00

Just a quick post to say that THIS is how I think I look when I am giving my children my evil eye.

The Longest Two Weeks Ever

2012-07-28T19:31:00.000-04:00

You know what is really annoying? Bloggers who don't blog. I mean, I check in to see what's been going on in someone else's life that I have never met before, or maybe it's an actual friend, and WHAT? She can't be bothered to write for a week or two? I need her to write. I need to know I'm not a horrible mother. I need to know that you can survive an Aspie child and a 5 year old boy. I need a laugh!

Oh, wait a minute.

I'm always a bit stunned to see how many people are actually looking at my little bloggy thing, and then I feel guilty for not giving my people what they want. I am working on a lot right now, but I am going to write the most amazing post about the last two weeks as well as release a slightly new blog design.

Everybody is good, including Kitty Cat.

So don't give up. I shall return.

I think we all get Inspire Awards for last week--

2012-07-16T14:46:00.002-04:00

Wow. This last week knocked my socks right off. Rather, my flip flops.

Colin had soccer camp. Olivia had art camp. We also had speech therapy, a meet and greet with our new ABA tutor, two shots at the doctor's office, a memorial service, and Daddy was out of town. It was just crazy. I'm so grateful that my kids aren't involved in an activity every single day--this mama is built for just one week of that a year!

Colin did really well at soccer, much better than our last test run. Olivia had to be bribed into art camp at the last minute, but she did it, and she went all 4 days, yes, all 8 hours. They made so many projects, including a very cool stained glass butterfly.

I mentioned that one of my husband's airmen had passed away on July 1st. This death was my first while we have been here on active duty, and certainly the first time (and hopefully only) my husband has had to coordinate. Can I just say that he has been so amazing? From the time the phone call came in until he arrived home late Saturday night, he has been cool and collected for the last 13 days. It was very emotional for him--after all, he's charged with caretaking for these young men and women. In the end, he escorted the young man home to Puerto Rico, presented a medal to his family, and attended the funeral. The children knew that Daddy was taking care of Pablo this last week, and we've had lots of discussions about death and funerals.

On Friday, because he was not here, I juggled things so that I could attend the local memorial service. This was my first time in person seeing the "roll call" where the First Sergeant calls the names of each team member and they respond--until they got to Pablo. Not a dry eye, people, not a dry eye.

Now that the memorial and funeral service are over, I think that we can all start moving into the next stages of the process of grieving. I'm really hoping that he writes a blog post about the experience of taking Pablo home and escorting him from plane to plane, as well as the way the airlines treated both him and Pablo with so much respect. It was very moving to hear about.

In addition, I've been frantically planning for our fall school, as well as my tutoring job. I'm glad the husband is home, glad that we have a smaller appointment load this week, and very grateful for all that we have.

Some pictures from last week--

Added later--I read my post again and realized that I didn't properly acknowledge the tremendous team that helped Pablo's family these last two weeks. My husband relied on some wonderful Airmen to make his job easier, and without them, he would have lost a lot more sleep and been much more stressed. I appreciate them so much, as does he.

Super Saver or Sucker?

2012-07-07T16:10:00.000-04:00

I sure made a lot of people smile yesterday. As I pushed a Costco shopping cart through the aisles and the parking lot (not the safest idea), I got more high fives, fist bumps, and "Hey, Supermom" than in my whole life.

So the kids needed new beanbags. I bought the current ones from Walmart two years ago and spent about $120. They've seen better days, so I've been online shopping and island shopping but can't find what I want. Thursday I nearly pulled the trigger and ordered some from Pottery Barn, but with shipping it was going to be $335. Ugh.

At Costco yesterday, the kids spotted these 53 inch teddy bears. And while they are giddy with the gimmes, I was calculating my savings. $84 for two teddy bears and instant gratification versus $350 and a month til beanbags arrival.

Two bears in the shopping buggy.

My neighbor (Holla!) pointed out that I must have looked like quite a Furry with my Costco liquor stock up and giant stuffed animals. (There was lots of fruit in there too.) And I don't know how I know this, but if you are not familiar (Mother...and if you do know, I don't need to be aware, thank you) then a Furry is a person who likes to dress up in animal costumes and have intimate relations with another person dressed up in animal costumes. That is all I know.

It has been a busy week. We saw the USS Nimitz come in (so cool), attended a Change of Command on the Battleship Missouri which is right next to the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor (so cool), along with various farewell parties, 4th of July celebration, and sadly, a death in my husband's squadron. He has handled this week with grace and great empathy for his airmen, and I am very proud of his actions as he comforted the folks here as well as the airman's family in Puerto Rico.

USS Nimitz moving fast as it comes into Pearl Harbor.

Airmen on the Battleship Missouri

Batman in my living room

I shall point you to the husband's blog for our 4th of July wrap up and leave you with some remaining photos. I have a feeling you are going to see a lot of this genre as the husband thinks this is hilarious.

I need a nap.

Hey, baby. How you doin'?

Must finish this EPR.

Where's my beer?

Sustainability According to a Five Year Old

2012-07-02T16:39:00.000-04:00

My dear son, Colin, has become such a BOY this past year. What happened to the sweet and kind natured little man I used to know? Now he's whacking bigger boys upside the head and attempting to kick them in the testicles (he used a different word at first which he had picked up from somewhere, but the term Mommy prefers has prevailed).

Yesterday, he was placed in time out (again) for hitting and kicking (again).

"When I get out of time out," he yelled as he marched upstairs, "I am so running away!"

He did pack a bag. This is what a 5 year old determines are life's necessities--

Puppy (his sleeping buddy)
slippers (which he never, ever, ever wears)
piggy bank (little Capitalist)
5 military coins that his Daddy gave him

He did not run away. He did sort of apologize. And this morning, he asked me to take him over again to apologize.

The Kitty Whisperer

2012-06-28T21:42:00.003-04:00

Hello, I'm making a triumphant return! First, let me say that I have no idea what is going on with blogger right now, what I've done to make my blog appear so funky, and no idea how to fix it. But I will be working on it.

It has just been an amazingly busy two weeks. You'll be glad to know that my daughter recovered from her cellulitis and still has two legs. Colin was officially accepted into his private kindergarten--(this means to me that I have somehow mothered him into fooling them with socially acceptable behavior). Way to go, ME!

Kitty did get a manicure, and I survived to tell you about it. It was actually much simpler than I had expected. She didn't need every nail clipped, so it was a pretty quick process. I also started her on some treats recommended by one of the vets. They contain Lysine, which naturally combats the Herpes virus that she has contracted. No, she was not a skanky cat--her mother probably was though. Anyway, as we approach her two month anniversary with us, she is almost completely healthy. Her skin infection is almost all gone--she looks so much better. She absolutely loves Olivia, and her favorite spot to sleep is right between the husband's pillow and my own pillow. The husband just loves rolling over and breathing in a mouthful of kitty cat.

Don't make me take that iPhone away from you.

True story--one night I woke up to find her laying limply between us. I reached for her head so I could move her over to my side of the bed (our standard operating procedure), but I found that she had actually stuck her head under his shoulder. I thought he had killed the cat! Suffocated the cat! I was ready to perform CPR when she lazily lifted up her head to say "Could you keep it down? Kitty sleeping here!"

I also have big news for myself. I got a job. It's really more of a labor of love, since the pay is quite low in relation to the amount of work. But I have a job, and that is apparently a confidence boost that I've really needed.

Very quickly, I will just explain that Olivia is participating in a homeschool supplement program this year where she attends a class (with parents) for 3 hours a week and then finishes by eating lunch with the other families. It's called Classical Conversations, and it's a Classical Christian model. You can read more about it on the website, and also let me emphasize that they love them some Jesus. If you don't, you can still come---God loves us all, right? But you may want to avoid talking badly about the J man.

Simply put, they needed a parent to tutor (commonly called teaching) her age group or it wasn't going to happen for us. So, during that week where we were all heavily medicated, I must have overdosed on cough medicine and volunteered. Yeah, me.

Just a few of the items I came away with this week--

I had to attend a parent/tutor practicum for three days to completely win the job. As the universe aligned things, it turned out that the husband was able to take three days to Mr. Mom it with the kids so I could do this.

Here is the brief synopsis of Monday through Wednesday--
The house is still standing. Laundry was done. We managed to eat in every night for supper. Olivia still did school work. Colin was never forgotten during school pick up. The husband LOVED spending time with them. He also loved not shaving for three days--I think he must have used the weed eater this morning to get smooth cheeks again. And it was just the break from the daily grind that I needed--no cleaning, no chores, none of the drudgery of which I was getting so tired. It did me a world of good, and to get a W2 this year (even if it's for $50) is a big help to my self esteem.

Also, SUGAR. (Please allow me to insert my very poor quality photos here.) Daddy allowed them to cash in allowance money for sugary junk that I would never let them have. I mean, if you came up to me with a can of cheese whiz or this jar of sugar, I would probably run into the middle of the H1. It's so bad that I can't even imagine putting it in my body. You dip this lid into the artificially colored blue sugar and lick it. YUMMY. However, they will always remember that time Daddy gave them junk candy, and they are still alive and somehow healthy.

Give me sugar.

Behold the Thespian (with cellulitis)

2012-06-14T17:45:00.001-04:00

Of course, how else would one end the first week of kindergarten summer school than to bring home a nasty virus?

Colin ended up with an ear infection. Olivia has cellulitis, an infected hair follicle on her leg, which can become quite serious. Nothing to mess around with. Last night, she had an allergic reaction to her antibiotic (very reminiscent of the reaction she had to a Zpack last January). I am trying to recover from the same virus as Colin, but it is slow going--although I've done some research and discovered I can use the rest of the antibiotic that Liv is now allergic to. String me up, I'm using my kids medicine without a prescription. We are living on the wild side. It may be about the most illegal thing I've ever done.

The husband had just a touch of the virus, but his main issue has been trying to sleep with my snoring and literally moaning in my sleep because my throat hurts so bad.

The healthiest one in the house is the kitty, who got her vaccinations last week, and as the old veterinarian pointed out to me, "She does have AIDS." Of course she does, dude, I looked up FIV! She's doing great and about to be ready to forgive me for putting ointment in her eyes. Now I have to trim her nails so she'll probably stop texting me and post nasty things on Facebook about me. Yeah, I could load her up and run her to the groomer but YOU put her in the carrier. I have a feeling kitty will be going in for quite a few vet visits, so this mani/pedi thing is something I'm determined to handle myself.

After a few days off, Colin has returned to school. This week, Olivia got a part in a children's theater event, and she has completely gotten the acting bug. Every day when I pick her up from practice, I expect to hear how boring it is to stand around for 2 hours just to move and sing for 5 minutes. But, no, she announces how awesome it was every time. I can just picture our home when she's in high school, filled with drama club people.

I've had a little break this week, an hour or two at a time where the kids are either at school or play practice...which leads to me checking the back seat in a panic and wondering where I've forgotten one of my children.

Kindergarten Summer School

2012-06-05T01:10:00.000-04:00

School was a success.

The afternoon was challenging with a 5 year old who got up way too early for school, was a bit over excited from all the new happenings of the day, and was being a completely irrational human being.

It's now bedtime. Enjoy the pics.

One year ago

2012-06-04T17:46:00.001-04:00

Last Friday was our one year anniversary since arriving in Hawaii. The husband and I often say we would have no idea about when things happened to us if we didn't blog. I thought it would be fun to read what I wrote about our arrival here a year ago, before we knew just what kind of ping pong storm was about to happen to us. We are looking forward to our last year here being more tears of joy than tears of "why did the Air Force send us here?".

Aloha.

And Colin began his kindergarten year today by going to summer school at his new private school where Mama is not the teacher. Pictures tomorrow!

Latte

2012-06-01T00:25:00.002-04:00

So, for about the tenth time I've given up Coke Zero/Diet Coke. I am not a fan of coffee. However, I would happily switch out a diet soda for a cup of coffee--at least one can argue that there are certain benefits to coffee. I can't actually think of a single benefit to diet soda.

Today we had speech for Olivia, and Colin and I have taken to running a few errands and topping it off with a run through Starbucks for a treat for the kids. I decided today to try a skinny Vanilla latte. I mean, mostly milk, 90 calories, and wow! If I could pull this off, I might remove that desire to drink a Coke Zero that is always lingering.

I poured half of my $3.95 drink down the drain.

I hated it. Starbucks 0, Coke Zero 1.

I know, I know. It just didn't agree with me.

Back to Diet Soda Anonymous for me.

9 Years

2012-05-30T20:20:00.000-04:00

Today happens to be our 9th wedding anniversary. It's kind of funny to me that we are taking it so simply this year---I am planning to splurge and order delivery pizzas from Papa John's tonight. We like to live it up!

Neither one of us can quite believe it's been 9 years, or that we've moved 6 times, or that we have a 7 year old and a 5 year old.

Just to keep things interesting, I spent the morning at the vet's with kitty who now has a bacterial skin infection. She's supposed to be wearing a cone. That lasted about an hour. Now I guess we are winging it, because I do not think God himself could get it back on her. They did trim her nails and loaded us up with more medicine. I think I was the one who said dogs were more expensive that cats. Hmmmm. The vet did agree with me that once we get her recovered from this incident, she should be pretty healthy. She's gained 3 pounds in 3 weeks, and her upper respiratory infection is gone.

See the cat cone? It is NOT on the cat.

The husband did a nice blog over the weekend too, so take a peek.

I love you, sweet thang. I hope you can put up with me for about 40 years because at that point I expect to get pretty annoying.

Summertime

2012-05-25T14:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the last day of school for the neighborhood kids, and combining the late night partying that went on with most of the military having today off for a long Memorial Day weekend, I will observe that this morning the entire neighborhood feels like it has a hangover.

We, of course, are not done with school. My daughter will gladly tell you how upset she is about this. But really, we are winding down. She's pretty much finished all her curriculum for first grade except for math, and that is simply because there were 160 lessons that we didn't begin until December. She'll be done with that by Labor Day, when we roll 100% into second grade.

As we finish up 6 months of homeschool, I'm amazed by the difference that has been in our lives by proper medication for our daughter, living close to my husband's work, and being surrounded by neighbors that you can lean on. I know that I can go knock on half a dozen doors at any time of day or night and say "Here are my children." And I can walk away with no questions asked.

However, when I return to pick them up, I better have a bottle of Kinky liquor in hand.

I tested Olivia this week and found that she placed at a 2nd grade reading level. I'm thrilled with that! She's right on where she needs to be. We're doing something right! She also learned about the solar system this week and really went wild with it.

Colin has been cut some slack over this last month as he is gearing up to start summer school kindergarten in June. Despite that, I am shocked by how much he has absorbed just by being around us---he was singing a little song about the solar system that named all the planets. Come on--how many 5 year olds know that already? 10%? And he's quite a little math whiz. He's even had better behavior this week.

Lastly, I want to tell you about our adopted kitty, Pixie. She officially became a part of the family last Sunday. I prayed for a therapy pet for Olivia--"Sweet baby Jesus, please help us find a cat that uses her litter box, loves being around children, and will particularly favor sitting with my daughter." Or something like that.

On our first trip to Petco, we found Pixie. She has FIV, which is the equivalent of HIV. Here's the very official description by Wikipedia, source of all knowledge in the universe. I quickly googled it as Pixie curled up in Olivia's lap in the middle of Petco on a Sunday afternoon. I checked with my cousin who is a vet. I found that it wasn't a big deal, and she had a normal life expectancy with a family who took good care of her. Sadly, she'd been up for adoption for 6 months but every time a family realize she had FIV (which they told us right away), they walked away. We have a child with high functioning Aspergers. That kitty was a special cat for a special child.

Pixie came home. She ended up needing treatment for an upper respiratory infection and is still having some skin issues. But she's gained about 2 pounds and looks amazing compared to the scrawny thing we brought home. She's still settling in. But Olivia will sit with her for hours, read to her, do her homework with her---I knew that this cat was sent by God when I discovered Olivia napping with her yesterday. If you've been reading for any period of time, you know that my daughter has taken 8 naps since age 2, and most of those involved being sick. And now at bedtime, Pixie goes straight up to her room, curls up, and they go to sleep together.

Things are good.

Shameful

2012-05-14T18:07:00.000-04:00

I can hardly believe that I haven't blogged in nearly a month. I know this is a busy time of year for everyone, even homeschoolers, but I have been underwater for a month now. Don't worry--we're all fine, but there is a lot of stuff going on. Isn't there always?

For pictures and updates, please check out the husband's blog. He's done a much better job of updating than I have.

Yes, my father is beginning his cancer treatment on May 21st. He's using a relatively untalked about therapy which I am excited to spread the word about--read all about it here. It is a completely viable option covered by most insurances, but a lot of people have never heard of it. He is feeling as well as can be expected with all the poking and prodding, but so far it appears his cancer is contained in three tumors and has not spread, despite the aggressive rating he got.

Yes, we have decided that my son is so out of control that he can not stay at home for homeschool in kindergarten. He's been enrolled (conditionally) at a local private school which offers a half day kindergarten. He starts summer school (at their request) in 3 weeks. I am so excited.

Yes, we are continuing Olivia's homeschool through the summer and into 2nd grade. I simply can't see how to fit in her numerous appointments, keep things as low stress as possible, and keep her learning in a positive environment. She's beginning to show some signs of an eating disorder, and quite frankly, I am out of league with this one. So we're adding in some extra therapy work too.

Yes, the adoption of a 3rd child has finally come to pass, in the form of the adoption of a rescued cat. Finally, an adoption finalized! She's a bit furrier than I expected, but she's a special kitty and so far is fitting in just as we needed her to.

Yes, I'm fine. Just tired and a bit unfocused on extra stuff, which at this point does include blogging. Hopefully, my delightful witty self will feel like writing again soon!

Black, white, red, and everything in between

2012-04-16T15:51:00.001-04:00

I recently put a new app on my phone, my favorite kind because it was FREE. It's the classic checkers, and although Olivia already knew how to play, Colin had never seen the game. So now it's an instant occupier in the waiting room, during his sister's therapy, or just during the day when we're done with school. He's gotten really good at it, and I feel absolutely no guilt in letting him play--after all, it involves strategy, planning, geometry, and learning sportsmanship. He's the king of double jumps....he's always winning against me with those. And he prefers to be the red player.

Here I'm going to veer off topic, but you'll see how they come back together. So we don't usually call people white or black, we stick to brown skinned, white skinned, etc. I would love to raise children that are color blind and have no idea of religious intolerance. I think we are doing a pretty good so far. After all, my father is very tan but of Irish/mixed Caucasian descent, and Olivia refers to him as "brown skinned". She even commented during our lesson on segregation and Martin Luther King Jr that it was a good thing her grandmother and grandfather were able to get married since one of them had white skin and one had brown skin.

I would post a picture of my parents to fully illustrate how funny this is, but my father doesn't trust the internet and won't allow pictures of himself. Seriously. White people, sheesh.

Back to topic. So a few nights ago, Colin comes racing into the kitchen, yelling at the top of his lungs--
"Mom! Dad! I beat the black people!"

The husband and I were horrified and tried not to laugh. Thank goodness we weren't in a waiting room. We are currently retraining him to say "black pieces".

The cat is on the roof....

2012-04-10T20:54:00.000-04:00

So, let's see. My goal for this year blogging was 3 times a week with more pictures. It's not happening. But this is not an epic fail. It's more like, hey, I'm busy!

Truthfully, I've had a lot on my mind the last two weeks to include single parenting for 6 days (all the Army wives just rolled their eyes at me--"Six days? I can do that with the flu with both hands tied behind me."

Sunday was Easter, and I thought I was very clever. Last year, I had misjudged the whole Easter bunny situation. Result--disappointed children who stayed home moping while I ran down the hill to the grocery store to snag two leftover baskets full of made in China ~~crap~~ goodies, placed them on the front porch, rang the bell, and hid back inside the garage. This year, I made a trail from chocolate eggs leading to a big chocolate bunny for each child and two books.

The kids got up at the same time, and from our bed, we heard Olivia say "Don't just stand there! Eat the chocolate!" And then Colin came back upstairs to ask where was the rest of the Easter basket stuff?

Anyway, yesterday, I had vomiting in the car, an Aspergers diagnosis, and cancer all in the space of two hours. Colin succumbed to a little too much Easter candy, and the whole ride to Tripler Army Medical Center he was moaning. Thank goodness he waited until I had literally pulled into a parking spot and braked---it can be really hard to park there but I found one right away as he was beginning to say "Mom....Mom.....MOM!" And then I had my new little snack bag right beside me. Well, so long snack bag.

I armed myself with what I could find in the back of the car--a large ziplock plastic bag, a recyclable shopping bag, and an old towel I keep for unexpected Hawaii beach stops. Off we went to Liv's doctor appointment. It didn't happen again, and as I figured, it was simply a one time sugar overdose.

I did not blog much about the testing we recently did with Olivia. We knew the results--superior IQ, at risk for dyslexia but not quite there yet, ADHD, and high probability for Aspergers, which (last time I checked) is still on the Autism spectrum. But yesterday, the doctor decide to pull the band aid off and just give it to me straight---we are calling it Aspergers now. The cat is on the roof. The cat jumped off the roof.

He recommended a new medication to add to her cocktail for her compulsive behavior and "autism irritability". I trust this doctor as he's been very respectful of my ideas and opinions and has repeatedly told me how right I was in choosing her current medication. But I declined for now....as is usually the case for us, I'm very cautious. I'd like to try adding back in some GABA powder. We're managing really well at the moment, so I'm reluctant to add in a drug that could help a lot but could also cause liver damage. The decisions I'm making for her could impact her future health, and I don't take that lightly. I don't know if she will marry and have children one day, but it is on my mind. With the help of my neighbor, I'm beginning a 20 hour ADHD seminar next week...I'm sure I'll learn something, right?

And lastly, my father was diagnosed with a highly aggressive prostate cancer two weeks ago, and I heard yesterday that his latest bloodwork was not going in the right direction (as is to be expected at this stage). That kind of diagnosis is a whirlwind---what are we going to do? how do we treat it? where do we go?. Thankfully, my parents are educated, have great insurance, and funds to travel to a great treatment center. We are highly optimistic and grateful to have caught it before it spread into a more difficult treatment.

Quite an afternoon. Nothing a little sangria on the lanai couldn't help!

Daddy's on a trip

2012-04-02T14:34:00.001-04:00

Quick update. Daddy is on a trip. I can tell you (the internet) this because I am in a gated community with armed guards. I dare you. The neighbors and I could use a little action.

Yes, my children did have Lucky Charms for breakfast. With fresh strawberries, so I don't have to turn in my good mother card.

Whoever made up that rule about opening umbrellas inside being bad luck was a frustrated mom who just made that up.

I am tired of my children telling me I look a little pregnant. I am not. I just need to bake less bread. And eat it.

Here's to a great Monday. Or at least--to survival!