A total 180

So tonight was one of those great nights!  I posted on Facebook that my 5 year old saw me pick up the Study Bible, to look something up, and then he proceeded to pick up the hymnal, they are the same color and similar in size.  He asked me about mine, and the difference between mine and his.  Then he started to read/sing some of the songs in the hymnal.  All be darned if that kid couldn't read "Jesus", "Christ", and "church".  WOW!  He also knew how to read it, that you read the line of music and then go to the next stanza to read that line.  I recall showing him that once!  WOW! WOW!  Then he got me even more excited when he grabbed his Ukulele and started to play along with the music, just like daddy does! And sing.  It was awesome.  Little brother joined in and I was able to get 20 minutes of video of them playing and singing together. I know that tonight was one of those nights I will hold on to when I have a night like last night, or when they are grown-up and gone. 

One of those nights.....

My mistake. I decided to indulge myself by catching up on my favorite and only show I watch, The Good Wife.  I have to watch it on my laptop as we can't afford cable, and the desktop is too slow.  I have missed a few weeks and thought I would catch one before the kids went to bed.  In hindsight I see that wasn't a good idea.

I noticed a foul smell but assumed it to be the diaper wearing 2 year old.  Again, my mistake. :(  It was the 5 1/2 year old.  Who made a major mess of his underwear and then tried, unsuccessfully, to clean it out.  That was evidenced by the diaper wipes being open and used ones in the trash.  The underwear were not salvageable, but his shirt and pants are soaking in a Borax/H2O solution.  There was poop on the floor, the holder for the toilet paper, and the faucet handles.  It was one of those overwhelming moments that I just wanted to cry.  I tried to just breathe deeply, but the smell was overwhelming :(

I did not raise my voice, score 2 points here for mommy, but communicated that I was very upset with his poor choices this evening.  When questioned about the "cover-up" he admitted that he tried to clean it up so he wouldn't get the Wii taken away.  *Side note, if he has an accident while playing the Wii, he loses Wii time* So I explained that when you do something like that it is like lying and lying is not good.  I told him that has he come to me and told me that he needed my help he would have lost the Wii for a day or 2 (as per our normal "consequence" schedule), but now he was going to lose it for much longer. I still don't know how long, I will consult with my husband when he gets home and decide.  He also lost playtime in the bathtub tonight.  Whatever we decide I know this isn't the last pair of poop filled underwear I will have to throw away for the boy. 

I love him and his wonderful personality, but this is one of those times I wish for him to be "normal".

Disappointed :(

Wow Oprah, you got it wrong this time :(  Thanks for featuring SPD on your show, but you have many of the facts wrong. During the show, 2 young boys were featured.  One had Bipolar Disorder.  The other child was only shown to have a diagnosis of SPD.  Clearly, this little boy had problems.  None of which I have ever seen in my son, or in the other children who have SPD that I know.  They also categorized SPD as a mental illness, of which it is not!  With all of the talent that works behind the scenes at the Oprah show, they should have known this!  So sad that there is now mis-information out there!

Here's your sign!

So yesterday both the SPD Blogger Network post and my Proverbs 31 devotion were about the "balancing act" that all moms do.  Whether you work outside the home, have an "at-home" business, or are *just* a mom [as if you get to sit around and eat bon-bons all day] there is always so much to do.  Throw a special needs child into the mix and boy do you have a juggling act.  Then add in a spouse, family, friends, and volunteer commitments and you really have a show!

The problem, however, is that this frenzy is not good for the soul! What both of these readings said, and what spoke to my heart, is that it is NOT good to become addicted to the frenzy and feel better about myself because I can check off a "laundry-list" of items on my to-do list, including the laundry!  I realized that I teeter between feeling a GREAT sense of accomplishment and being overwhelmed.

So it is time to scale back.  I am so excited that I found someone to take over 1 of my 5 church commitments.  Yet, it hurts to give that up.  I have someone who is willing to take over my moms' group at church as well.  That has been my "baby" for 4 years now.  I really enjoy it!  Yet, I know that it is time to start handing it over to someone else :(  SO HARD!!!  Partially because that means we are done having children, and I haven't gotten myself okay with that.  Then again there is no way I could add an infant to this mix and not be hospitalized with exhaustion.

*Breathe in*......*Breathe out*....notice that the overwhelming feeling isn't so great.....

Mind you I still have 3 more commitments at church, but this is helping me.  I have already decided that in a year when I am up for "re-election" on my Board I am going to decline.  And once I give up my Nursery commitment and my Mom's group commitment I can relinquish my Women's Ministry commitment.

*Breathe*

So the research is worth the time

So while my son is in OT I work on my SPD presentation.  The one I plan to give at the Concordia Chicago Early Childhood Conference in August. I do this while sitting in on his session, thanks to my bff who is letting me borrow her laptop.  My OT said it is great to talk to a parent who knows what is going on.  She said that I could probably be an OT without a degree ;)  While I don't plan on it, it is nice to hear.  Like I was telling my hubby tonight she can talk in OT language and I understand, and can speak it back.  I guess that is what reading 6 books, and spending hours reading things on the internet has brought me to.

Progress!

So today was week 4 of swim lessons.  And he actually put his face in the water!!!!  WOO HOO!!!!!!  He put his face in to get a dive stick that was located at his feet.  What a great activity for him to work on visual perception too!  I am sure that his swim instructor didn't know it, but I was taking notes ;)  He still will not lay back in the water, and maybe never will.  But we are really okay with that. It's all about his timing of things.  The sweet little dear kinda psyches himself up for it on the way there, saying I won't be scared mommy.  There was another little boy who was terrified of the water at the first lesson. He is now "swimming" around with his noodle.  Mine still stays at the wall.  And I am really okay with that.  Swimming is another form of therapy for him.  Great for resistance, and tactile stimulation!