Flippin for ya

Something big happened today! My daughter rolled over. Well not really rolled over, she flipped over. Yes, she is 14 and we are so excited! Now if we could just get her to sleep through the night.
Our daughter, along with most aspie kids, has horrible sleep patterns. Put that together with some anxiety and that makes for many nights on the couch just down the hall from our room. At first I was going to do what all the parenting books told me to do and force her to sleep in her bed....but without going into all the side effects of sleep deprivation, (which can be quite nasty), I think it was the night that all the trees in our backyard were chasing me, I gave in.
And so it began. It was slow at first. So slow that without time lapse photography you wouldn't have noticed. Then I sat across from that couch that was giving it's life so I could sleep. The cushions were no longer beautifully symetrical. To look directly at it you would think the house was listing sharply to the right. The only way she could be saved is if my daughter flipped over and laid with her head at the other end. YA RIGHT! CHANGE? ARE YOU JOKING?
So without even the slightest hope, less than that actually, I blurted out the question......"Hey hon, when you sleep in the couch could you lay the other direction? That cushion is begining to look a lot like you from the back." (Oh ya, I also asked the moon to set in the east)
So today began like any other day and I stumbled out for a cup of coffee. Like a "fembot" ( I threw that in there for those in the over 40 set) I reached, poured, turned and shuffled back to my room. My husband emerged from the shower and I said without thinking "She is asleep on the couch again but she's laying the other way." WAIT A MINUTE........SHE'S LAYING THE OTHER WAY! Our joy became unbridled! "She loves us!" we shouted in our loudest whisper. This was huge. We are still riding the buzz. If that isn't love I don't know what is.

You gotta see the video!

Someone asked me the other day(granted it was pre-caffeine) if I had seen the clip on the girl with Asperger's on CNN. "Yesterday....yesterday...hmmmmmm" I thought as I quickly swallowed some coffee. "What day was yesterday? Where was I? Who are these people?"
"Oh...right! Let's see...I remember briefly seeing Oprah's face and then some tragic falls on the Olympic highlights...sooooooooo no....no CNN."
"No, I don't think so." I replied hoping the coffee would reach my brain soon. They proceeded to re-tell what they remembered but unless I have consumed the entire 80 mg. of caffeine it's in one ear and out the other. Then as "chance" would have it and I was looking up some tragic local news, I ran across the link to the CNN clip.
As I watched it I thought THAT IS MY DAUGHTER! It's not really my daughter but it could very well be a story about my daughter. It was amazing. If you know anyone with Asperger's or want to know more about it, I recommend you watch this clip.

Cinderella lessons

(Fairy Godmother) You are going to the ball
(Cinderella) Oh, oh my clothes
(FG) Oh dear of course how thoughtless of me. THERE!!
(C) Oh Fairy Godmother how beautiful! I am dressed like a princess
(FG) And here are your slippers
(C) They're made of glass
(FG) Put them on
(C) They fit perfectly! Oh Fairy Godmother how wonderful it all is!

It's possible for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage.
It's possible for a plain country bumpkin and a prince to join in marriage.
And four white mice are easily turned to horses
Such fal de rah and fiddle dee dee of courses. Quite possible!
For the world is full of zanies and fools who don't believe in sensible rules and won't believe what sensible people say.
And because these daft and dewey eyed dopes keep building up impossibe hopes impossible things are happening every day. It's possible!

Desitin...take me away

I discovered today that Calgon has nothing on Desitin. I have both of these products in the cabinet of my master bathroom...my sanctuary.....my retreat....yes, my personal asylum. After the daily exchange with E this morning, I subconciously fell back on to the old chant of "Calgon, take me away!"
As the warm water filled the oasis bath, and my long hair flowed in supple waves down my back (oh sorry...a little too dramatic) I pondered the "take me away" part of that popular ditty. Sure, escaping this routine would be nice, and I guess that's where the advertisers were hoping your mind would stop and your hand would pour in the Calgon and the fantasy begins. But isn't that where Lydia Bennet made her grave mistake?
You see, Calgon, in all reality, is the Mr. Wickham of bath products...sure it promises to take you away but what if you don't want to go to Scotland or London for that matter....only to find yourself stuck with more trouble than you had before you left.
No! It's Desitin you want...the Mr. Darcy of the bathroom. For Desitin protects, relieves and promotes healing. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Follow the bouncing child

I looked up the definition of bouncer because I realize that is what I really need to get my daughter off to school in the morning.
bouncer: a person whose duty is to throw troublemakers out.
Wow! How perfect is that?!
My friend was talking to me about a book she was reading on non-violent communication between parent and child. Originally I was interested in what the book had to say because aspie's love to argue and it often starts in our house upon waking.
Then I thought....wait a minute....non violent communication? I do that! The first 30 times I make the request, such as ... "Can you please stop clapping your hands." are pretty non violent for the most part (well on the outside they appear pretty passive however inside I am visualizing The Clapper wired to a trap door in the floor so when she claps......you get the picture). It's not until I have been completely and totally ignored and she's clapping like she just finished a school assembly on the cancellation of academia....... that my communication becomes.... say..... intemperate....ahhhhh who am I fooling! I have my own ideas about alternate forms of non violent communication but I spose I better stick with what the book says if I want what's best for my little angels.

credit.....the good kind

Thanks be to you
my friend true blue
that always said, "You
should write something too."
And I said, "Sue,
I haven't a clue."
And you said, "You?
"You know what to do."
I knew it was true.
So thanks I owe you
my dearest friend Sue.

Oatmeal and cleaning the pantry

There's something about oatmeal with just a little peanut butter and some maple syrup that is comforting. It has to be thick so not much water. Thicker is better, more like what the pioneers must have had....and they ate it and were happy. I too eat it and am somehow happier.
When I go to the store to buy the oatmeal, the checker always asks me if I want paper or plastic bags. Our paper bags don't have handles on them (I know some do) so I occassionally ask for plastic...because there are days when I need to have a handle on at least one thing in my life...and if that thing is a plastic bag, then so be it. Today is one of those days. So I start my day with thick pioneer oatmeal and then I clean my pantry. The word pantry also conjures up a simpler time when people didn't realize that there would someday be hundreds of books on parenting and people telling them that they should up their medication or make smiley faces on popsicle sticks in order to communicate with their aspie kid because all else has failed up to this point. In the olden days they just put food in their pantry and were happy (unless of course someone on a nearby farm had "consumption" and then everything began to spin out of control) But I will believe that my farm and the farms around me are free of contagious things and clean my pantry and be happier for it.

The ride to school

(Joe) Mom, what do I tell my teacher when she asks why I am late to school?
(Emily) Tell her to stop being such a stalker!

Carolyn........I owe it ALL to you!

Where would I be today if it weren't for you!!! I shudder to think. So this one's for you : )

February 8, 2006

Well, this is it! My first post to my first Blog. Pretty exciting...well for me it is! Anyway, the adventure has been underway for 14 years already, I am just now getting around to writing about it. It should make you laugh...hopefully it will make you laugh. Even if you should otherwise be crying I hope you laugh, because you see, that is the only way I have made it through these 14 years (and counting).