Halloween

We've come to that dreaded time of year. The time when people with masks come out, leading to months of terrified children.

This year, we did remarkably well. Not only did the kids go to the trunk or treat, but they all did remarkably well, and only had a few people they wouldn't go near because they were terrifying.

All in all, I was greatly impressed with halloween. It was lots of fun. Jacob was a fireman, Brandon was a farmer (and we actually got the hat on him), and megan was a cute little dinosaur.

Sensory Integration

Sensory Integration disorder, OCD, vs ... my sanity.

Score: not very pretty.

Let me explain something about my son here ... he's not spoiled. He's not the way he is because he's special or because I have let him act like this.

He's ... just Jacob. If everybody would accept that he is the way he is, life would be easier.

Jacob has sensory integration disorder. You know how when you run your fingernails on a chalkboard, it bothers you? Imagine that ... except worse, and you don't know how to deal with it.

Some things in his life .. just ... bother him. And he doesn't know how to deal with it.

Toe socks, Buttons, Snaps, Zippers ... these are all in this category. They just bother him to an extreme that he doesn't know how to process.

We've come such a long way.

Mom: Jacob, it's time to go.

Jacob: alright.

[Snapping seatbelt on]

Jacob: {breathing deep} it's not in order!!!!

This used to confuse me, now it doesn't. He's not hysterical, Yet. But he's close. His problem is simple, his seat belt is twisted, not straight. If I fix it, we can go on, and life is great.

If I am in a hurry, and leave it alone, his mental process overloads and we have a meltdown ... and it will continue until either his seatbelt is off, or "in order."

We can't all work around him, there are plenty of times I can't work with it. But when its' something that takes two minutes to fix, its' quicker are fix it then deal with it.

This morning, I put Jacob's blanket on him as I left for work. He immediately started getting upset. The blanket was bunched up in places and folded in places. So I pulled it tight, straight, and he drifted to sleep again, because his world is once again, in order.

We don't like mud on our hands, or anything gross like that. Or our feet for that matter. Socks don't work on occasion ... and we can completely forget overalls.

Costumes ... another that doesn't go well. Random guy in a bear, or dog, or anything else suit .... we have a meltdown. This includes Santa. In fact, he's terrified of Santa. Last Christmas I had to promise him Santa would not come in his room before he'd go to sleep.

Yet sometimes, it's hard, because all I hear is .. "you just need to be strict with him", "you spoil him" ....

It's hard wired. It's not parenting, it's not me. It's not him. Its' just ... his brain. He's learned so much. Two years ago he just broke down. Now even when he's upset, he can explain the problem, and I can fix it. sometimes we still have problems. But we survive.

Babysitters: ick. Ick. Ick. Ick.

believe it or not ... I have had two good friends tell me, "I'm sorry, but I can't babysit your kids at my place anymore."

Really? No way! Apparently, my kids have problems with people they don't know and meltdowns over things. Especially Jacob. Yes, especially Jacob.

So when I get lucky, like now, to find a friend who likes babysitting my children ... worth more than gold!!!

Anyway, that's my random diatribe on my child. Who by the way, is not spoiled, or a bad child. He just has problems with sensory.

Grandma Power

Here is Grandma Reading the little old lady who swallowed a fly

There she takes them to the park

Then she reasons with them.

And we know the lego's weren't for the children

But when all is said and done, we have happy, well adjusted, superheroes.

The end.

Dream Jobs 101

Alright, here I'm listing a few jobs that are rewarding, entertaining, and wonderful in their own right .... ready? Although I'm a mom and a transcriber, the rest are just cool.

Transcriber: woohoo! Dream job! I get paid to go to class, NOT do homework or tests, learn awesome stuff!

Pro: go to classes I never would have taken, and learn really awesome stuff.

Con: I don't get to play with the cool toys, like transistors, resistors, and computers!

Think Geek Product Tester:

Hey, I'm a transcriber! I should wear their "I void warrantees" shirt, I am rough on everything. I love looking through the totally awesome stuff on their website (www.thinkgeek.com), and there are some stuff I would have so much fun playing ... err.... working with ......

Now if only they had something really cool as a laptop case that stays on when it opens, you know what I mean? Holes in the back for cords to go in where they belong, and little pockets so you can put flash drives and other stuff you need in little pockets. Cause I hate searching in my bag for a flash drive, or where the heck does my Internet card go when it's in use? (Attached to computer with a short cord. It ends up on my lap or keyboard)

Pros: find cool problems and play with cool stuff. get to give feedback that people read.

Con: trying to think of nice ways to Say, "yeah, this product is awful," or "somehow I broke your two hundred dollar toy, and I don't know how to fix it!"

Ok, this isn't even a job that people need to get paid for, it's fun it it's own right! The paycheck is a bonus!

Mom: yeah, it's awesome. Get to play with the kids, and their "I love you" is the best reward a woman can ask for!

Pro: you can't get fired, and rewards are endless.

Con: you can't get fired, and never get breaks, but we love it anyway.

Blogger:

Wouldn't it be cool for people to care about what you write?

Pro: people pay attention to you!

Con: what happens when you get writers block?

and times up, gotta head to work!

Sand Dunes

We took the kids to the sand dunes earlier this week. It's the last week before school starts up. Tuesday I start school, Wednesday for Jacob. So we had to have a little fun this past week. :-)

And I played apples to apples the other day with a couple friends. You know how the green cards y

ou win are supposed to say something about you? (Well, not really, but its' funny to read them all). I finished with these cards:

Hello. My name is inigo montoya, you kill my father. Prepare to die.

So my computer and me have been fighting. When I'm here, I either have no time to write, nothing to say, or the only place I have to write stuff is the "entry title" line, because my computer has decided the entry box shouldn't be allowed to be viewed. Go figure.

Jacob has been officially diagnosed with tourettes. I knew he had it, but the diagnosis makes it more final I guess. And honestly, I don't intend to do anything with the diagnosis unless he has problems in school and needs a service plan. lets hope that never happens, but should it happen, at least we have that there to get him the help he needs.

And the fall semester, it appears I'll have lots of hours, 20-30 a week! That means I'll have to buy a bus pass, because I'm not driving one hour drive, five days a week, each direction. Yeah, not gonna happen.

As for me ... well, I've been exhausted, cramping, and pretty miserable for months on end. Finally, with my monthly two months late, I went in. Cysts. Lots of them ... the right ovary has one as big as the ovary itself. which explains a lot, but doesn't make the cramping go away! Pity. (good that that anybody that reads this knows me ... cause now you get to listen to me whining!)

I love work. I love my kids. It's amazing how the two feed each other. As long as I have a chance to work, to prove to myself I'm capable of working, to give my mind time to stretch, I enjoy every second with the kids. I enjoy life. It's good for me. When I don't work, I have kids 24/7 ... I almost have a harder time.

I know being a stay at home mom is noble and all, but I can't do it. I don't have it in me to NOT work. It's too hard. I need to be out, and not just for the money. Its' for my sanity. honestly, you guys that stay at home 24/7, I admire you. I really do, because I've learned that emotionally, I'm a wreck when I'm home all the time.

The cysts ... hurt! I'm sorry for whining, but freak, they hurt!

So that's the short of things, Jacob's ticcing, I have cysts - and am definitely totally NOT pregnant, and the IUD is also definitely not in there. Remember a few months back when they couldn't find the IUD? Well, last week the Dr. did a complete evaluation of my insides to search for the pain. They found the cysts ... and between the external and internal ultrasounds ... yeah, there is SO not a baby in there, and the IUD is not there either. So who knows what is going on. My biggest worry now, with the cysts, can I get pregnant again?

My family is not complete. I feel deep inside, I am missing somebody. One more child. But can I get them here?

Got a new Internet card ... for work I need Internet access, I can't live without it. So I finally had to replace the lost one. And honestly, I like this one better. It hooks up differently, and is a lot less likely to break. (A good thing when I have three kids).

what am I forgetting? Oh yeah ... the reunion! Lets talk about cool ... the westover reunion was last week, and I honestly enjoyed it. So did the kids. But putting them inside now? They don't like that idea so much. They have enjoyed being free to run. Brandon has grown up a lot though, today he told me he was ready for a nap. So I laid him down, and he went to sleep. I was shocked!

Well, that's all the news there isn't. Love you!

Just pictures