Tag! I'm "It!"

Stephanie from Daily Smiles tagged me with some fun and thought provoking questions.


1. If you blog anonymously, are you happy doing it that way; if you are not anonymous do you wish you had started out anonymously so you could be anonymous now?

Nah - there's no need for anonymity. I think everyone should know who they're pointing and laughing at.

2. Describe one incident that shows your inner stubborn side.

Just one? I despise limitations. Hmmm...I'm pretty sure I wear my "inner stubborn side" right next to my "outer stubborn side." Most recently it was at the start of The Skink's hospital adventure. It was clear there was something wrong when I took The Skink in to the ER, but after looking her over and doing an X-ray, they wanted to send us home. I said, "No. Absolutely not. Please admit her...  or I'll have a tantrum." Thank goodness - it was a life-threatening condition. 

Of course there was another time back in college when a course I wanted to take was too full. The professor told the class that anyone who was not a Junior or Senior should leave. I was a freshman, but I didn't go. After the class I went up and told him I wanted to stay. He told me I couldn't because I was a freshman. I asked, "If I come to every class, turn in all the homework and take all the tests, will you give me a grade?" I ended up getting an "A."

3. What do you see when you really look at yourself in the mirror?

Some days I see a very tired woman and I just can't figure out where she gets the strength to keep going. Other days I see someone who does not look like a 40-something, and it makes me want to go buy something alcoholic just to see if I can get carded.

4. What is your favorite summer cold drink?

Arizona Diet Green Tea! No ID necessary!

5. Is there something you still want to accomplish in your life? What is it? 

What? Like you think in the last 40 years I've accomplished even half of what I want to do? I want to travel all over the world, raise money for Reece's Rainbow, write a number of books, advocate change in the cultural perceptions of people with disabilities, raise my children to the best of their God-given abilities, and so much more!

7. When you attended school, were you the class clown, the class overachiever, the class shy person, or always ditching school?

In high school I was apparently socially disfigured. I was the "weird" girl. In college I achieved normalcy and had tons of awesome friends!

8. If you close your eyes and want to visualize a very poignant moment in your life, what do you see?

Wow! That's a tough question to answer without risking becoming the "weird" girl again. Ummm... past, present or future?

9. Is it easy for you to share your true self in your blog or are you more comfortable writing posts about other people or events?

I share true events. It's not always easy, because some of the things we experience on a daily basis are very different from what other families experience, and may be hard for some to relate to. On the flip-side, I sometimes feel very alone dealing with some of our middle child's autistic traits. While I have found a wonderful and supportive social network of families who have been touched by Down syndrome, stories of life with a daughter with Asperger's seem to be harder to come by. If I don't share our stories, I am just leaving other families to feel alone. We ARE that family in WalMart that other people point at. It's not easy. 

In the past, people tried to hide anything that seemed different. I suppose our society was based upon a British elitist system, and no doubt everyone wanted to be seen as special, or elite, for these people received the most respect... in the olden days. My mother asked me just recently if I really wanted people to know "all that" about the things that happen in our home. The way I figure it, we used to hide family members with Down syndrome, "crippled" people, mentally ill people and people with autism. Who did that help? Certainly not the misunderstood "imperfect" children who must have felt so terribly unwanted and unloved! It certainly didn't help spread understanding in our society! Only by sharing these experiences can we spread the gift of acceptance.

No - it's not always fun and easy to raise kids who are unique. S*** happens (and sometimes urine, too) but I'm not embarrassed by it. It's my life, and I'm proud of everything God has given me. For some reason He though I could handle this. I take that as an amazing compliment!  And having those really low, lows? Those just make the highs SO much more amazing!

10. If you had the choice to sit and read or talk on the phone, which would you do and why?

I would write... because it is a great release... and because I like making my own choices :o)

OK, now I'm supposed to tag some unsuspecting reader. if you've already been tagged sorry, if not lets hear your answers. 

I hereby tag Whitney S., Lisa from Loving Alina and Patti from To Love Endlessly

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Weekend Update... finally

On Friday we said "good-bye" to a dear friend.

It was tough to watch the car that had served our family so well be hauled away. Unfortunately, it was well beyond totaled by the lady-on-the-cell-phone incident.  These are some close ups of the actual damage:

On a far more happy note, there was a Renaissance Festival near us on Saturday - the perfect medicine to get our minds off our vehicle woes. The day could not have been more perfect. The temperature stayed in the 70's with clear, sunny skies and a backdrop of the Blue Ridge mountains. Celtic music rode on the breeze as we wandered about, showing the children all the wonders of the (somewhat glorified) Middle Ages. It was like being in Victorian England, but without the plague, lepers, foul odors or rats.  

We saw interesting sights and touched parts of dead animals. This one used to be a mink... But The Skink was unimpressed.

 

And then we armed Iraq, because... why not?

 

And might I add, she surprised everyone with her good aim! Just another reason not to piss her off!

And while The Skink took a long nap in her wagon, Iraq tamed a local bear.

And what could be a better end to the day than Mexican food? One of The Skink's favorite words is "Taco!"

She may have been just a little excited to get her own taco.

And playing with your big brother is ALWAYS fun!

 

And while the weekend was quite fun and interesting, on Monday we got back to business as usual. Unfortunately we had some more behavioral issues with Iraq on Monday, but today was actually quite nice!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy week!

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The Good, The Bad and the Just Plain Yucky!

The Good: Homework time went well! Iraq did her work quietly while The Skink kept her glasses on and practiced putting pennies into a jar  :o)

And some of our favorite toys don't cost much at all:

The Bad:

A lady in an SUV made a left turn in front of my husband - - she was talking on her cell phone.

AND... The Just Plain Yucky:

This is what happened...

The Hubby swerved to avoid T-boning the lady's SUV, and his front end went completely underneath her SUV - the SUV's muffler tore through The Hubby's right front quarter-panel. Then, The Hubby's car rammed into yet another vehicle, sandwiching The Hubby and his car between the SUV and the other car.

Our sweet Camry is a 1997 with over 200k miles on it - what a great car! Interestingly, though the impact was fairly harsh, the airbags did not deploy. Our theory is that if they had, there would have been a weak "Pppffffffffffffffffff" sound and the bag would have come out limp, throwing a small cloud of moths into the air.

The cell-phone addicted SUV driver was charged in the incident, but we're still out a car for now. Grrrr...

Just glad The Hubby and the other folks involved in the incident are all OK!

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Nearly Wordless Wednesday - Beds

Up until earlier today, Iraq had bunk beds... the problem was that the otherwise unused top bunk had become a favorite hoarding spot. So, while the kids were at school, both girls' rooms got a bit of a "makeover."

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

The only problem with The Skink's bigger bed is that now I'll have to make more Cow Bedding! Christmas is coming I suppose. Is anybody interested in some custom infant/toddler cow bedding?

And... there was a new toy in the living room... for a while...

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UPDATE: Though Iraq likes her bed and thinks it's "Awesome!" it is still a change, and thus... this evening I found one of the cats locked in a toy oven. *sigh*

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Boats and Cousins

My sister and her family are in town from Louisiana, and it is SO nice to see them! If anyone thought for a second my 2 lb 7 oz preemie (The Skink) was small, their "Little Pistol" took the prize at 1 lb 8 oz! He was a 28 week baby and was born early for the same reasons The Skink was... darn high blood pressure! Ain't he a cutie??

The best thing of all is how well the Little Pistol and Iraq get along! Sis and the family have been staying at our parent's house on the lake, and while I have been going home each night, Iraq has been staying to play with the Little Pistol. It's been great for everybody!

The only downer is that this week has been overcast and rainy! We had hot, sunny weather up until they arrived, and then BOOM! rain...  But, we did get in a boat ride despite the clouds and temperatures in the 70's!

Uncle B. keeping the troops entertained.

The Little Pistol and my little sister...

14 knots due North, captain!

It's not true... the fish was MUCH bigger than that!

Sisters are great to have!

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The Magical Minivan of Wonders and Unusual Odors

Shortly after Iraq was born, I traded in my shiny, red Toyota Celica for a 2000 Toyota Sienna. Although I never saw myself as a minivan person prior to the purchase, I was quickly sold on the spaciousness and features of the cute little behemoth. Over the 7 years I drove it, it continued to be reliable no matter how many M&M's were melted into the carpets or drinks of various flavors and colors were spilled in it... but it did have it's own odor.

It was perfect for our needs in Texas, but since moving to Virginia we have found that the mountain pass my husband must travel to work can become more than a little dicey on early snowy winter mornings. Last winter we had a really fun and interesting adventure un-sticking his Toyota Camry from the snowbank in which it had become unwillingly incarcerated after sliding down an icy hill. It was stuck on it's poor belly like a kid over a barrel.

With 2 kids still in car seats and one teenager who simply doesn't fit between them on a bench seat, we needed a minivan with all-wheel or 4-wheel drive. Toyota makes an AWD Sienna, but there is not a reasonably-priced used one to be had anywhere within a 300 mile radius. SUVs are great, but also gas hogs, and many don't come with 3rd row seating. And then we found the Ford Freestyle - it's kind of somewhere between an SUV and a station wagon, it has AWD and 3rd row seating. Nothing against my Ford-owning friends, but my hubby and I have both had Fords in the past, and we aren't big fans. We're Toyota people. But here's the catch... the Ford Freestyle is build on Volvo technology, not Ford technology (for the most part). Um... Volvo is good!

I have to say, it was tough saying "goodbye" to my Sienna last night. I went out to "clean it out" so no one would see my shed a few tears. It was a GREAT car for a LONG time! But alas - say "goodbye" I did.

And (hopefully) for the next 7+ years, "Skye" will be my ride!

And in other news, Iraq is tasting the sweet rewards of her gardening endeavors.

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PANCAKS!

Last night we went to IHOP - for us, going out is kind of a big thing. IHOP is the reining favorite among my offspring.

First, we checked out the menu.

Iraq insisted upon bringing her fuzzy toy dog into the restaurant even though I begged her to leave it in the car. Sometimes the best way to learn WHY mom wants you to leave your fuzzy, shedding toy dog in the car is to not listen to her. She quickly discovered she didn't like fuzzy food as much as she thought she would.

Then we created masterpieces while we waited for the food to come.

At times it was necessary to correct the masterpieces of others.

And, there were those who wondered WHY I brought a camera to dinner. "Mom. Really?"

And The Skink sat in a booster seat like a big girl, and ate with her fork. She's getting really good at getting food on to the fork and getting it to her mouth - all by herself!

Sometimes it takes some concentration to get those slippery eggs to comply!

"You're mine now, Mr. EGG!"

And a lovely time was had by all!

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