The return of Spike

Well, in the past I have commented that the return of "Larry" (the name for any and all toads) is a sign of spring time.

Caitlyn ran into the house and I saw she had something, so I said, "No Larrys in the house".

"This isn't a Larry, it's a Spike"

My mistake.
And how was your day?

God loves the little fishies......

I said no more fish in the house.  I meant it.  At least, until Conner's fish in the pond turned belly up.  The face....the tears.....sigh.

The following Friday we took a trip to Walmart in Clovis and purchased some "house" fish.  Conner used a gift card and got three Rosie Reds and a goldfish.  Two of the Rosies have died.
Caitlyn got one gold fish and two Rosies.  One Rosie died. 

So I said it again, after these meet their Maker, no more fish in the house.  God really must love them to call them home so quickly, but three toilet funerals in one weekend are my limit.

And how was your day?

I love quotes!

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
— John Wooden

"Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself."
— Lois McMaster Bujold (A Civil Campaign) 

 

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."
— J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) 

 

"Happiness is a warm puppy."
— Charles M. Schulz

 

"'This is motherhood for you,' said my own mother. 'Going through life with your heart outside your body.'"
— Jennifer Weiner 

 

"The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity."
— André Gide 

 

"Change isn't easy... changing the way you live means changing what you believe about life. That's hard... When we make our own misery, we sometimes cling to it even when we want so bad to change because the misery is something we know. The misery is comfortable."
— Dean Koontz

 

"Human beings can always be relied upon to exert, with vigor, their God-given right to be stupid. "
— Dean Koontz 

 

 

"Where there is cake, there is hope. And there is always cake."
— Dean Koontz

 

""Nobody's perfect. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him....""
— Christopher Moore (Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal)  

 

"Canada is a myth people made up to entertain children, like the Tooth Fairy. There’s no such place."
— Christopher Moore

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unsung hero

 Let me tell you about the unsung hero of our family.
James is twin number two, baby B, and the third child born into our family.  His older sister is the only girl and little princess of our family.  His twin brother has difficulties and has high functioning autism.  His baby brother is only 19 months younger and is the true baby of the family.  Where does that leave James?

James is my eternally laughing, joking, sweet and loving child.  He is the one that can appreciate a joke, give teasing back and cares for us all.  Occasionally he has frustrations and I can see that "third child" syndrome working at him and I feel badly because I know that of all of my children, he can be the most independent. I feel that I have leaned on him too hard or too often.

So here is to James, my Laughing Boy.

 Thoughtful to his team members.....

Ever, the peace maker during a water fight.

I thank God for sending you to me!

To Serve Man, or how to cope with chronic pain

No, this isn't a post about that old Twilight Zone episode where in the end serving man meant serving him for dinner.
I had a unique but readily available opportunity to serve yesterday.  My mother is one of a group of ladies that serve a free lunch at the Wesley House on the Eastern New Mexico University campus.  I was invited to join and as I have been recently reshaping my lifestyle in a healthier and happier way, I felt this was going to be a fun thing.
We arrived early to start preparing an honest home cooked meal.  It was decided that Spaghetti with garlic bread, salad and massive amounts of dessert were the way to go.  The ladies were very efficient and welcoming.  I swung right into their rhythm and we had sauce cooking and bread cut and tables set.
Then the students came in.  They were orderly, polite and hungry.  They used the finest manners and were so grateful for the meal.  Some cautiously asked for seconds.  As long as we had food, we kept serving.
In the end we served somewhere in the area of 50 college students.  And in doing so, we served ourselves.
I was delighted to find this act of service to be so rewarding to me.  It felt wonderful to try and find extra ways to make these kids happy.

And now for the bigger secret.  The one lady who heads up this group, also heads up about a dozen other service projects.  She bakes constantly and shares the efforts of her labors with bible school children, and the elderly, committee meetings and friends.  She tackles organization, shopping and the front lines.
She told me that you can never do enough and it was easy to see just how good all of this made her feel.  Especially when she said, she had to keep busy because she had chronic pain.  Her pain was constant and she felt, why be miserable at home.  Why sit and be alone , when she can go out in the world and make a difference.  She smiled, she laughed, she joked.  She moved, she cleaned, she swept.  She never once acted like someone in pain.  She said the act of helping others was the biggest relief, so she fills her days with it.
She is now the second person I have known in my life who has chronic pain and makes it their mission to use service as pain relief.  I have also know some with deep emotional pain, and they find solace in service.

But be warned!!!!  Service is addictive!  So catch a high, go out and help someone!

Conner's Sniff Test

While being the laundress of our household, I learn many things about my family.
I learn what they were doing by the contents of their pocket, the stains on their knees and other assorted small clues.
It came to my attention over the last week's worth of laundry, I had only found two pair of underwear in Conner's pile.
This evening, as Conner comes skipping down the stairs from his shower, I asked.
"Conner, are you wearing clean underwear?"
He turns and gives me the upward eye roll only possible as a five year old, pulls down the front of his pajamas, exposing a pair of batman undies and replies.
"Yeah. Wanna sniff?"

There is no anticipating boys. There just isn't.


And how was your day?

World Autism Awareness Day

April 2nd. World Autism Awareness Day.
Approximately one in one hundred twenty six children will have autism or aspergers.
These children range from high functioning, to where it is almost difficult to tell, to profound, where there is such sadness for a child to be locked inside themselves.
Early intervention is the key.
My having premature twins sent an early intervention group to my door. We worked on all sorts of delays due to prematurity. Through this process we noticed distinct differences in one of the twins.
Five years later we found out he is a high functioning autistic.
Let me make this perfectly clear. I don't feel badly about it. I am not upset. William has had so much intervention that he functions at almost "normal" levels. Except in some things, where he is above the norm.
Sure, sometimes he has a fit because the weather is cool in the morning and warm in the afternoon. Sometimes he is upset because the fresh butter has "wrinkles" in it. And casseroles are the enemy.

I know children often repeat what their parents say. So let it be known. William is not retarded. He should not be called retarded and his slightly irregular social skills should not be an excuse to call him that.
So children at school seemed to think it was ok to say that to his sister. Caitlyn is a strong defender of her brothers. Granted, she wants to sell them on occasions, but she is a stalwart protector of them and she takes pains to make sure that this talk never finds its way to his ears.

So educated your kids, educate yourselves.
Autism isn't retarded.
Autism is a brain that is structured differently than "average".

So on April 2nd we will be wearing blue.
Supporting Autism Awareness.
When you see the child having a fit in the grocery store because of the noise, or re-arranging the soup aisle so the cans are all turned the same way, don't judge.
Smile, instead. You may be the only person to smile for that parent today!


and how was your day?

Couch Debris

KABOOM!
My family room could not look any worse should a bomb explode.
Let me back up a minute.
Steve and I recently bought a sectional sofa unit. This was huge for us. We haven't bought new family room furniture in 13 years. Our other sofa died a slow horrible kid related death (augmented by dogs) and we replaced it with one from Freecycle (God bless you!). The "new" one had some years on it, but at least the cushions weren't half eaten!
So we had a mismatched set for some time now.
Then there was a huge sale at Skeen Furniture Warehouse. We got this wonderful section over 50% off! Yay!!
It comes today!
So what is the logical thing to do while I wait? Move the old ones and give the floor a fresh cleaning while nothing is there!
Oh-Em-Gee. When I flipped back the love seat, the "check" under it.....I think I hit my target pulse rate.
Under the couch were the expected dog bones and the errant seven pair less socks. BUT WAIT! There's more!
I also found no less than one ray gun and three cap guns (arsenal?) a years worth of granola bar wrappers and empty gogurt tubes (it is a wonder army ants didn't stage a take over). I also found the instruction manual for the Wii (don't ask), two books, a Frisbee, Lego's, game parts, dust bunnies the size of chihuahuas and marbles (I knew I lost those!)
Grumbling under my breath, I swept and cleaned and picked and trashed.
Then I went to the other couch. It made a noise when I moved it. A scary noise. I took up my broom and cautiously made my way to behind it. SCOURGE!! Popsicle wrappers, old homework that "couldn't" be found, rechargeable batteries, more of my precious marbles, more granola bar wrappers (I am pretty sure I feed my children often), three dog bones, two tennis balls (so where are the other dozen?), pencils, birthday cards, pixos, a Christmas ornament and a multitude of things I just couldn't identify.
I am humbled. I know I am out numbered, I went from playing man on man to playing zone as soon as the twins came. I know they sneak, it is a childhood rite of passage, but, WOW.
I think I am going to have to be more proactive in keeping up the family room.
I think it should start by only letting food less, sock less, toy less, naked children into the family room. Well, it's a start.

And how was your day?