As I sit here nursing the baby, Whirlwind is in a raging outburst. He is yelling that I don't care about him. I won't help him, no one will help him and he hates this stupid family. He wishes he wasn't a part of our idiotic family.
I could go on, but sufficed to say, it's not very pleasant.
Lately I've been reading my scriptures in the mornings, and it has given me an added measure of peace during the day. I feel that when I start my day with my scripture reading and a prayer, I am more prepared for the day and that I can more readily listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Right now I feel that I should let Whirlwind finish venting and then approach him when he is calmer. It is more than just experience or a gut feeling, but a calm knowledge this is what I should do.
I find with my children I am often sending up quick prayers or pleas for help in how to handle a situation, or what advice I might give or how to respond to something they tell me. I am grateful for the inspiration The Lord gives me though the Holy Ghost on their behalf. I hope I will always do my best to listen and obey.
Right now the following scriptures come to mind:
Mark 4:
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
While our lives, and at times Whirlwind's emotions, may turbulent, I find peace and comfort in our Savior who calms the tempests both temporal and spiritual.
May you too find peace and comfort this day.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Follow-up on Baby Girl
Baby Girl had her nine month well visit. Overall the pediatrician is happy with the progress she has been making. She seems to have a rash/ dry skin/ eczema. We are not entirely clear on what is causing it. I am going to go back to the basics with her diet and see if we can figure out what we need to do food wise for her. She is always scratching at the back of her neck. She hates bibs on her. I don't know if that is a result of her skin condition or a sensory issue like her brothers. She also cries when anyone chuckles or laughs when she is tired. Maybe I am hyper-sensitive to the issue because of the other boys. Our pediatrician and I talked and she said we would just have to watch her carefully for now. It's too early to tell.
We may try and get involved in some studies at our favorite medical center to monitor her development. Other than that, it is a bit of a waiting game. So we wait.
We may try and get involved in some studies at our favorite medical center to monitor her development. Other than that, it is a bit of a waiting game. So we wait.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Things You Should Never Have to Say to Your Children (But I Have Actually Said to Them)
Don't lick your brother.
(To an 11 year old) stop biting the couch.
Do not stand on your brother's face.
In what world was it a good idea to karate kick the banister spindle?
(To a 12 year old) Why didn't you lift the lid to the toilet seat before you threw up in it? (It rebounded off the lid and onto EVERY surface).
How am I responsible for you losing.... ? (Fill in the blank with homework, music, scout shirt, Legos, etc.)
(To an 11 year old) Did you really just bite your brother on the behind?
You need to go trick-or-treating.
No, I'm sorry, you cannot have a pet wolf.
No, it is not a vacation every time I sit down to feed the baby. (To which the 11-year-old replies, "I guess I'll never understand women.")
Stop reading your book and... (Fill in the blank).
Don't pour dish soap on the carpet!
Why did you think it was a good idea to bounce a golf ball against the wall?
I am not a jungle gym, please stop climbing on me.
No, I'm sorry, you may not have a pet owl.
Please try the chocolate ice cream.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
So much for dinner
Well, I tried to make a nice meal for my family for Valentine's Day. Yeah, not so much.
I know not every recipe I try will be a hit, but it is kind of insulting when without one word of thanks, people get up and start doctoring your meal with tons of brown sugar and additional spices.
I think I could have handled, "Thanks for making this. If you don't mind, I think it could use a little more sweetness. I'd like to add some brown sugar."
I must remember to give positive reinforcement when I dish out any constructive comments/criticism, because the alternative sort of stinks and makes you feel like a loser.
Happy Valentine's Day y'all.
I know not every recipe I try will be a hit, but it is kind of insulting when without one word of thanks, people get up and start doctoring your meal with tons of brown sugar and additional spices.
I think I could have handled, "Thanks for making this. If you don't mind, I think it could use a little more sweetness. I'd like to add some brown sugar."
I must remember to give positive reinforcement when I dish out any constructive comments/criticism, because the alternative sort of stinks and makes you feel like a loser.
Happy Valentine's Day y'all.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Feeling like I'm putting out fires
Lately I feel like I just keep putting out one fire after another. I'm always trying to stay on top of things with my kids and that includes checking in with them and their grades. We recently decided to make the move to no video games during the week because they were rushing through assignments to play their games. That means our lists have been off the fridge.
It's been more chaotic around here.
Yep--stating the obvious.
Anyhow I haven't had as much time at home because of all the errands and appointments I've had to get to. Last week I finally dragged myself to two stores to return a Christmas present and some snow boots I had picked up which were the wrong size. I had a third and fourth item at two additional stores, but I forgot one of the receipts and the kids had moved one of the bags with the items. I frankly gave up on returning the party favors from the fall because my 90 days to exchange had long expired.
Last week I also had to take Whirlwind in for an early appointment to the orthodontist. He had been chewing on a pen cap and had dislodged the bracket on one of his front teeth. Lawboy had an appointment with a LCSW at our favorite autism medical facility (2 hours away) and Firstborn had an all-day youth activity on Saturday for which I had to write tons of emails and coordinate the carpool. DH drove and was gone all of Saturday too. Fortunately we had all done most of the cleaning on Friday, so though I was down two helpers, I still managed to work on catching up some things--including this blog.
In the midst of our Friday appointments and cleaning, (DH made dinner-how awesome is he?), Lawboy forgot about some key homework he needed to do. He remembered Sunday evening. Fortunately it wasn't due until yesterday. The homework? The final draft of a massive research project they've been working on for months.
In my dream world Lawboy would use the flash drive I gave him, pull up the rough draft he turned in one month ago, and just revise based upon insightful comments the teacher made on his returned project. In my reality Lawboy has lost his flash drive, found it, and accidentally sent it through the wash. I put it into a bowl of rice--hoping we could salvage it the way we salvaged his iPod, but I have no clue if it worked since he promptly lost it again. Unbeknownst to me, he has been borrowing his sister's flash drive the last couple of weeks.
For the icing on the cake, the family computer which had saved the rough draft on kept crashing. We couldn't pull anything off of it.
Fortunately I have my laptop, but basically he had to start from scratch. He didn't realize he could look at his returned rough draft, type it, and then alter it.
It being Monday, I got him started, and then helped the other kids get going on their homework, practicing, etc. Princess Ballerina had her piano lesson, and she and Acroboy had a gymnastics class this's week. I pick up Firstborn and our neighbor from school and we also had family night. I kept checking on Lawboy to make sure he was working, but we were quite far into the evening before I realized how little he had accomplished since he didn't even have his rough draft in front of him. I asked him if he knew what a research paper was supposed to look like, and he did not. I showed him an example online.
While Lawboy kept working, I dug through his bag and folders to find the rough draft. It had been awhile since we had cleaned out his bag and it was a mess. Even though there are supposed to be divisions, things were completely mixed up. I eventually found two papers related to the project, but there was so little information/work done, there were not many useful comments.
We sent Lawboy to bed.
The next morning we got him up at his usual time and set him to work. After getting his siblings off to school, I worked with more with him. I explained footnotes, attributing quotes and more. I even had to explain punctuation. I knew he had trouble with some of these things, but until we worked closely on this project, I didn't realize the full extent of his troubles. So now we have to sit down and create a plan of action to help him improve his weaknesses.
Do we get him a personal tutor? I can work with him on my own, but I'm not sure how effective I will be with all of the inevitable interruptions. Suggestions are welcome. This is a fire I need to work on immediately before it gets out-of-control.
It's been more chaotic around here.
Yep--stating the obvious.
Anyhow I haven't had as much time at home because of all the errands and appointments I've had to get to. Last week I finally dragged myself to two stores to return a Christmas present and some snow boots I had picked up which were the wrong size. I had a third and fourth item at two additional stores, but I forgot one of the receipts and the kids had moved one of the bags with the items. I frankly gave up on returning the party favors from the fall because my 90 days to exchange had long expired.
Last week I also had to take Whirlwind in for an early appointment to the orthodontist. He had been chewing on a pen cap and had dislodged the bracket on one of his front teeth. Lawboy had an appointment with a LCSW at our favorite autism medical facility (2 hours away) and Firstborn had an all-day youth activity on Saturday for which I had to write tons of emails and coordinate the carpool. DH drove and was gone all of Saturday too. Fortunately we had all done most of the cleaning on Friday, so though I was down two helpers, I still managed to work on catching up some things--including this blog.
In the midst of our Friday appointments and cleaning, (DH made dinner-how awesome is he?), Lawboy forgot about some key homework he needed to do. He remembered Sunday evening. Fortunately it wasn't due until yesterday. The homework? The final draft of a massive research project they've been working on for months.
In my dream world Lawboy would use the flash drive I gave him, pull up the rough draft he turned in one month ago, and just revise based upon insightful comments the teacher made on his returned project. In my reality Lawboy has lost his flash drive, found it, and accidentally sent it through the wash. I put it into a bowl of rice--hoping we could salvage it the way we salvaged his iPod, but I have no clue if it worked since he promptly lost it again. Unbeknownst to me, he has been borrowing his sister's flash drive the last couple of weeks.
For the icing on the cake, the family computer which had saved the rough draft on kept crashing. We couldn't pull anything off of it.
Fortunately I have my laptop, but basically he had to start from scratch. He didn't realize he could look at his returned rough draft, type it, and then alter it.
It being Monday, I got him started, and then helped the other kids get going on their homework, practicing, etc. Princess Ballerina had her piano lesson, and she and Acroboy had a gymnastics class this's week. I pick up Firstborn and our neighbor from school and we also had family night. I kept checking on Lawboy to make sure he was working, but we were quite far into the evening before I realized how little he had accomplished since he didn't even have his rough draft in front of him. I asked him if he knew what a research paper was supposed to look like, and he did not. I showed him an example online.
While Lawboy kept working, I dug through his bag and folders to find the rough draft. It had been awhile since we had cleaned out his bag and it was a mess. Even though there are supposed to be divisions, things were completely mixed up. I eventually found two papers related to the project, but there was so little information/work done, there were not many useful comments.
We sent Lawboy to bed.
The next morning we got him up at his usual time and set him to work. After getting his siblings off to school, I worked with more with him. I explained footnotes, attributing quotes and more. I even had to explain punctuation. I knew he had trouble with some of these things, but until we worked closely on this project, I didn't realize the full extent of his troubles. So now we have to sit down and create a plan of action to help him improve his weaknesses.
Do we get him a personal tutor? I can work with him on my own, but I'm not sure how effective I will be with all of the inevitable interruptions. Suggestions are welcome. This is a fire I need to work on immediately before it gets out-of-control.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Update as of January 2013
I've worked on my blog sporadically, but after encouragement
from a few friends, and more than a few promptings, I feel like I need to work
more on this blog and share more of my story.
Who knows? Maybe
there is someone out there I can help by sharing our experiences.
In the past I've referred to the kids by their birth order
(C1, C2, C3, etc) I think though it
might be easier if I refer to them by a pseudonym or moniker.
So here is a little about my family now. I have six children--four boys, two
girls. All four of my boys are on the
Autism Spectrum.
C1-boy-aka Firstborn has Aspergers. I plan to write more on our journey with each
of our children and their diagnosis.
C2-boy-aka Whirlwind.
Whirlwind has constant energy. He
also has volatile emotions that can swing from euphoria to anger in just
minutes. He was first diagnosed with
ADHD and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).
It was only a couple of years ago he was also diagnosed with Aspergers.
C3-boy-aka Lawboy (he thinks he wants to be a lawyer at the
moment). Gets distracted easily. Was originally diagnosed with ADD, but has
gotten more hyper as he got older and is currently diagnosed with ADHD. He was recently diagnosed as being ASD
(Autism Spectrum Disorder) with the old diagnosis of PDD (Pervasive
Developmental Disorder). He is rigid in
his ideas and standards and has an extremely difficult time making
friends.
C4-girl-aka Princess Ballerina. She loves to sing and dance and unlike her brothers,
is not ASD. She feels put upon when her
brothers take over electronics and will
sometimes get whiny, but I am trying to teach her how to stand up for
herself.
C5-boy-aka Acroboy.
Acroboy is constantly running, jumping, doing handstands on the couch
and climbing things. He had a speech
delay--he really wouldn't talk until he was two--and still has some speech
issues. He was diagnosed as PDD-NOS (the
NOS means "not otherwise specified") which puts him on the Autism
spectrum as well. Additionally he was
diagnosed as ADHD.
C6-girl-aka Baby Girl.
Baby girl is all sweetness at about 9months old.
I am concerned she is showing sensitivities to certain noises and
doesn't like things touching the back of her neck. Her well visit is soon, so I will see what
the pediatrician says. She does make
lots of eye contact and is very smiley.
I look back and realize how much of our journey I have
missed blogging about. I will attempt to
rectify that by using journals and notes and previously started, but unfinished
blog posts. If I post something from the
past, I'll put FLASHBACK at the top of the post with the date I'm going back
to. At some point I will take the
flashback tag and date of and change the posting date so it reads
chronologically with the other posts.
Hopefully that will catch this blog up.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
My Baby Whisperer
Baby Girl is the sweetest. She LOVES to be held and really only sleeps well if she is being held. As much as I would love to accommodate her, I have to get things done for the rest of the family.
To my rescue comes my Baby Whisperer--aka Whirlwind. Who would have guessed? He loves to hold her and help her be happy. He can calm her down when no one besides me can.
What a blessing to all of us! Whirlwind is developing a special bond with his baby sister, and I take every opportunity to praise and thank him for his efforts.
To my rescue comes my Baby Whisperer--aka Whirlwind. Who would have guessed? He loves to hold her and help her be happy. He can calm her down when no one besides me can.
What a blessing to all of us! Whirlwind is developing a special bond with his baby sister, and I take every opportunity to praise and thank him for his efforts.
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