Recovering Noah

Just thought I'd pop in and say that I'll be gone for a few days. I'm headed out super early (like, middle of the night early) for the the 10 and a 1/2 hour trip to TN. Noah's coming with me and Eli and Nandi are staying with Sim. Oh, heaven help us! Or, rather help Sim. :-) I'll be back late Wednesday and then we have our last post-placement report with Nandi's social worker on Thursday. Can you believe it's almost been 6 months already??? Wow. Okay, I am absolutely NOT packed and still have a million things to do. I'm gonna get about 2 hours sleep tonight - eek! I've been wasting time downloading CD's off of ITunes for the trip and the last one (The Robbie Seay band - whom I absolutely adore... reminds me of Peter Gabriel a bit) is almost finished up. Which means, I've gotta get cracking. Hope everyone has a great week! What on earth am I going to do without the internet for 4 days???? Leslie

Sorry, I haven't been on much lately. Things have been crazy around here. Sim and I came to the conclusion that I need more RPM training, so I've been busy trying to fulfill the requirements to attend a 4-day training session in Austin. It'll be in June and I'll be going all by myself. Yeah... like a mini-vacation. All by myself. That's like my dream come true. Except now that the reality is approaching, I'm actually wishing the whole family would be there. I'm not going to want to go to Phil's Icehouse by myself - sitting there eating my ice cream like a big goober and missing my kids. Oh, who am I kidding. I'm going to have a blast! Anyway, one of the requirements is that you video yourself doing RPM with your child. And therein lies the problem. I suck at it. I'm awful. I'm sure they are going to view the video and immediately contact me and schedule an emergency training session ASAP. It's that bad. I did take after take after take...

A few weeks ago I blogged about how quirky my kids are. Well, let me tell ya, Eli hit a home-run in the quirky department Saturday night. Lately, something strange has been up with my younger two kids. They decided to clean the bathroom all on their own - which actually involved soaking two full rolls of toilet paper in the sink and then stuffing a whole other one down the toilet, but they tried. And, then, not long after that they decided to spontaneously empty our dryer and piled up all the dry clothes on the couch and left them there... just like they've seen their momma do day after day. Oh yes. They are a product of their raising. And then they decided to help us out by washing the dishes. And even though they put all the dishes back in the cabinet all soapy and sopping wet, it was the thought that counts, right? But when Eli suggested Saturday night that I lay down on the couch so that he could rub my feet... well, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Now, honestly, I...

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. I guess the fact that I even blogged nearly daily for a whole month was pretty impressive. Especially if you look back in my archives and see that there were periods were I'd go two months without even logging in. Lately, though, I just haven't been feeling it. The kids are getting up the moment the first bird chirps (why do birds start chirping so early???) and that pretty much seals the deal. I'm just trying to hang out with the kids and get off the computer as much as I can. For some reason, though, it's 6:30 and they're still asleep. Hmmm... I wonder if all that bird poison I put out is working. Kidding!!! We actually feed the birds everyday. Hey. Maybe that's it. I need to move their feeding time to around 10:00. I bet they're chirping me awake to let me know they're hungry. And I'm not joking. I once forgot to feed the squirrels in our yard and one of them went ballistic on me. Started jumping o...

Anyone know how long it takes a tooth to work it's way down the digestive system??? You'll have to excuse the grossness of the chewed up food. Trust me. I took a gazillion pictures and this is the best one I could get. It's his first tooth!!! He's growing up. He's not a little boy anymore. Waaaahhhh! On the plus side, I guess it's better to search through a diaper for a tooth than to fish it out of the toilet. Or is it? I'll get back to you on that one. Leslie

The boys had their first baseball game yesterday. Let me tell you, I never in a million years thought that I'd be seeing Noah play baseball, but there he was in his little blue jersey making a homerun. Awesome! When we first moved out here (to a place I affectionally call "the sticks"), I was really upset. We moved from Denton - where everything geared towards kids with special needs was right at our fingertips. I was so mad at my husband for moving us an hour and a half from Dallas - where the school district was awful for kids with autism. Where there were no Autism Mom support groups. Where basically, in my opinion, nothing existed. But we are very fortunate that the most incredible Occupational Therapy clinic opened up in Kaufman. And there are some amazing parents there. One of them started a local "Buddy League" baseball team for all the kids in our area with special needs - from Crandall all the way to Athens. They have these type of leagues all ove...

The kids are watching the movie "Annie" and Eli just came to me and said, "Where did we get this movie from? Me: "Mommy's friend Laura" Eli: "Where does she live?" Me: "Up north" Eli: "Like in heaven?" Me: "No, Virginia" Eli: "Virginia?" Me: "Yeah, Virginia" Eli: (pauses) "But isn't that where Nandi pee pees from?" Now how can I possibly throw myself a pity party when I get to hear gems like this all day?

I don't even know how to start this post. I am just so amazed and grateful for everyone who visited my pity party and cheered me up. I think I have a pity party about every 3 months - which is actually kinda embarrassing. I guess I get into a real funk about 4 times a year... although my husband would tell you that it's more like one whole week out of every month... but what does he know, right? :-) Anyway, the post was never intended as a way to beg for compliments. I hope it didn't come across that way. But, boy, did your comments make me feel better! I hope you don't mind if I respond to them here. Is that okay? Christine, your homeschool posts from last week were hysterical... and so right on the money. I read them all and so identified with everything you wrote. Your post on "taking a chill pill"... well, it was as if you'd written it directly for me. So, I don't have a clue why I let myself wallow in my own misery when just a few days ago I was ...

I've been in a funk lately. I'm not sure why. We are still dealing with lice. I thought we had it under control and discovered that it's alive and kicking beneath the mass of Nandu's hair. We haven't been to church in two weeks. We haven't been to Lifegroup . We are banned from participating in Buddy League Baseball (for kids with special needs) until Nandini's lice goes away - even though she's not playing and will just sit in the stands with me. And, on top of it all, I just feel like a crappy mother. Do you ever get that way? When we started homeschooling, I would read all these blogs of other homeschooling families to get ideas. Now, I just don't even want to read them because they depress the life out of me. There's a particular blog of a lady who lives up north. I swear she must be June Cleaver. She is perfect. Everything's all perfect and pristine. She has "Tea & Cake" days and does all sorts of arts and crafts. Her k...

Well.. I could blog about my trip to Austin... but there's not much to say. I have absolutely no idea what Noah learned because I stayed in the waiting room with Noisy Nandini and Excited Eli. I spent the whole hour trying to keep them quite. In retrospect, that's kind of silly because, after all, it's a therapy place for kids with autism... not exactly the quietest clientele around - know what I mean? So I stressed myself over nothing. Anyway, because I wasn't able to view the session, they had to make a DVD of it for me to watch at home, and it cost me an extra 25 bucks. That, plus, all the food we bought... lots of moolah down the drain. We did stop off at the Waco zoo on the way down there. We got in free because we're members of the Dallas Zoo. Let me say.. I loved the Waco zoo! Sometimes those smaller zoos have really got it going on. They have a cool little playground and this really neat slide that slides right through the otter exhibit - and the otters swim...

I can't write much... have to leave in 30 minutes for Austin. Sim is working today - so I have to take all three kids with me - which means Nandini and Eli have to do the miraculous task of sitting still and being quiet for the whole hour that Noah's in session. Hmmmm... short of duct-taping their mouths shut, I'm not sure how this is gonna happen. I have already bribed them with donuts, Sonic and the entire contents of the nearest Toys-R-Us. We'll see if it works. We're leaving early because we're making a detour to the zoo in Waco. Never been - but I see the sign everytime I head home from HALO - and since we're members of the Dallas Zoo, we can get in for free. Plus, it breaks some of the montony of driving... and Nandini's limit in the carseat is - oh - about 15 minutes. Uh oh! As for coming back home... I am the worst night driver ever. Well... to be perfectly honest... I'm not exactly the best day driver, either. So I like to just head on ho...

What are little boys made of? Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails That's what little boys are made of ! "What are little girls made of?" Sugar and spice and all things nice That's what little girls are made of!" I could not wait to have a little girl! After spending several years of my life surrounded by hot wheels and dinosaurs and dragons and fart jokes, I was ready for a little bundle of pink. I envisioned sitting around a play table with my daughter - having tea parties and playing dolls. Wearing matching Mommy and Me outfits. Hitting the bargain racks. Watching Annie together. Giggling over which Wiggle was the cutest. I had images of this..... And this... And this.. Instead, I got this... A child who dresses up in pull-ups instead of Disney Princess.... A surfer chic who likes to dress herself in boys swim trunks over her pajamas, wear red knee socks, and a jacket that says, appropriately, Rascal ... A plumber's butt... A girl who likes to get...

So many of you have asked what Noah does when he goes to Austin every other week to work with Soma and Erica at HALO. Well, last Friday CNN did a report on HALO and I'm linking to their video here. It's really fascinating stuff. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/28/Tito.autism/index.html#cnnSTCVideo Leslie

to bring you an important announcement about lice, sleeplessness, and general malaise. We hope to resume normal programming as soon as possible. ************************* Yeah, the lice is still there. Some people warned me that the Rid treatment might not be enough to get rid of it. They should rename that stuff "Might Get Rid Off" treatment... 'cause that whole plain Rid thing is so not 100% effective. So far, just Nandi seems to be having an issue with it. The treatment worked great on Eli - and, fortunately, Noah, Sim, and I have all seem to have been spared. Although it didn't stop Sim from buzzing his hair off the other day and pouring half a bottle of listerine all over it. Hee hee. Yeah, apparantely he learned of that trick - as a "natural de-licer" on the internet. Just to let all you men folk out there know... don't go buzzing your hair and nicking your scalp and then pour listerine all over it. Nicked scalp + Listerine = Massive Pain (and Symp...

Nandini has lice. There, I said it. It's out there. There's no going back. Nandini has lice. You know... lice. Nits. Cooties. My little girl has cooties. Ugh! This is so mortifying. How did she get them? How is it that she survived three years living in an orphanage with a hundred other kids without so much as a bug looking at her... but then we adopt her, bring her to Texas, and she gets lice?? How is that? Where did they come from? We homeschool. It's not like she's gallivanting all over the hallways of our nearest public school. We haven't even been anywhere this week. Well... except for one place... the place where all disease runs rampant... Walmart. I'm going to blame it on Walmart. We've been 3 times this week. Maybe this is God's way of reminding me that I need to stick to our budget. Do you think He'd use lice as a way of reeling in my Walmart expeditions? Because if so, it's working. I don't ever want to step foot in there again. Gu...

I love my kids. I really do. They are so hilarious. I honestly can't remember a time in my life when I laughed so much. They are just the funniest, quirkiest bunch of kids I've ever met. Now, don't get me wrong. If I'm completely and utterly honest, there have been a few days where the fighting and whining got to me so much that I just wanted to get in the car and drive away - without the kids. Of course, I never did - because I understand the repercussions if I did something like that... but, boy, the thought was there. And if the truth be told, at least once or twice a week for the past few years - when we're eating supper - I say to Sim, " Oh, honey, this food doesn't agree with me. I'm not feeling too great ".... and then I dash off to the bathroom, lock the door, sit down on the bathroom floor and read a book or flip through a magazine. And then about 15 or 20 minutes later, I emerge feeling " a lot better " and join the family. ...

Yesterday, I blogged about the eye-opening movie Born into Brothels - and how there's an educational curriculum online that discusses a lot of the issues brought up in the movie... and how important it is for us learn about these issues and what's going on in the world outside the 4 walls we live in. For me, personally, I get jaded - a lot. I'm not too crazy about the younger generation that is going to someday lead our world. To me, it's just a bunch of selfish, video-game playing kids who sit in front of TV's all day playing the latest PS3 or Xbox or Wii or whatever. Although, I'm a selfish 30 something who sits in front of the computer all day... so who am I to complain, right? And, honestly, I'm sure my parent's generation viewed my generation in the same way... and I think we turned out okay. It probably just has to do with me getting older and I forget that I used to be one of those punk, goth kids that I now eye warily. Oh, how we forget. And,...

Has anyone seen the movie Born into Brothels ? It is hands down one of the best movies/documentaries that I have ever seen. In fact, it even won an Oscar for Best Documentary. It is THAT good. I watched it in last January when I was laid up in bed with the most awful cold of my life. It probably didn't help that I was an utter mess to begin with, but then I watched this movie and, I mean, the floodgates opened and I'm surprised that it didn't cause a natural disaster. In fact, I really do think that the water level at Cedar Creek Lake rose solely based on all those tears I shed. Wow. I guess my description isn't going to make any of you run out and get the movie, is it? I mean, who wants a movie that's going to be a tearjerker, right? But do it. Get the movie. It will change your life. It's inspiring and uplifting and heartbreaking all at the same time. It's the movie that made us go ahead and take the mad leap of faith to adopt Nandini . Sounds strange, bu...

and left about 3 dozen broken plastic Easter eggs all over our house. Easter Bunny... I'm not sure you're welcome in our house next year. Seriously, though, we don't buy eggs each year. We reuse them and whittle them down each year. Which goes to show you that at one point in my childrens' lives I went absolutely berserk and bought a billion gazillion Easter eggs in order to make their day oh so special. That was back when I naive and didn't realize how annoying it is to find plastic bits under the bed and under the couch and stuffed here, there, and everywhere. Grrrrr... does anyone else hate those plastic eggs as much as I do? I think after yesterday's affair, we have about 6 whole ones left... and so after next year...... maybe none... and then... FREEDOM! You see, my kids could play with those things all year long. Plastic Easter eggs rank up there on my All-Time-Hate-List right along with playdoh and markers (because they always end up on the kid and not th...