No interest

I have no interest in being a person who wallows. I do not want to be a blog that focuses on one theme. I think of this blog as my therapy. If I am lucky it is your therapy too because you realize you are not alone.

Whether your child is healthy and ornery like Abby or challenging like Boo or your house has a crazy puppy who is equal parts loving and destroying your house. I want all to feel welcome and to feel a connection.

Got humor?

How to survive life as a parent with special needs. Okay that is a lofty goal! It is hard enough navigating parenting with a child who is typical. Add in a few diagnoses and life can get overwhelming. But here is my go-to list for surviving the life I never expected.

I am not a DIY-selfer

Teachers are my heroes. They work for comparatively little salary for the amount of time, effort and dedication they show to their classes. They are hugged, kissed, loved and (in Boo’s case the other day) thrown up on by their students. They handle almost every situation with grace and some bleach.

However after four years of being involved in the education process I have come to a conclusion about teachers and homework.

The Ultimate Soundtrack

When making my mix-tape this week (on time!) I tried to stay current and then realized that the last 4 movies I have seen were from Disney. Oh, and Grease since that is Boo's current obsession. Proving I am a product of my teen years my ultimate soundtrack would have to include:

We should probably live by the line: Just once in his life a man has his time and that time is NOW and I am coming alive?

If you are going to have a soundtrack then you need John Cusack to pay your mix tape. In a boom box outside your window.

I always felt bad for Ducky and after St. Elmo's Fire I never really liked Andrew McCarthy anyway.

 

I fell in love, LOVE, I tell you with Lou Diamond Phillips thanks to La Bamba and of course he played the best Young Gun...

Bon Jovi, Lou Diamond Phillips and a great song? What a way to end my teenage years. But uh to live like a teen in my mix tape, if only Cusack would be in my driveway. Cause I know, just know, if he went to my high school he totally would have crushed on me.

Grab This Button

End of summer

This is, by far, the easiest post I have ever written. Boo has struggled since her first year to overcome sensory issues. She doesn't have a severe disorder that impacts our daily life. Jen Kehl can tell you more about that.

We are not alone in our navigating how to expose Boo to the sensory input she needs while balancing her innate fear. If you are a visitor in Our Land you will see a lot of other examples of having a child that is afraid of hair.

Boo doesn't so much suffer from her sensory issues. It is more like she avoids them and it is easy to do so. For example, snow. We do not have a lot of it, well except when Nemo killed our February vacation. Grass? That was the best defense against Boo's bolting. I really was kind of upset when she overcame that fear. 

Boo still has issues with a lot of sensory input. Be it noise, texture, smell or sand. Boo despises getting her hair brushed, as one example. She has a paralyzing reaction to sand. You can feel her heart racing, she whimpers low in her throat like a cornered animal. With a lot of therapy during and after school, Boo worked really hard to overcome her fear.

The difficult part of this is that Boo doesn't realize she is afraid. She doesn't have that comprehension. She only knows that she "no like". But we live surrounded by the beach. This was one fear, unlike snow, that she had to overcome.

Selfishly the rest of the family really enjoys the beach. In truth, we kind of forced her to like it. The first few attempts were horrid. But we persevered. Every time we got to the beach she would whimper. We forced her out of the Jeep a couple of times over the summer. She would sit on my lap, but eventually (sometimes it took hours) she would stand on the sand. We kept it easy for her, always in her sneakers. Never forcing her to do more than she could.

And then, my friends, Boo danced. 

This is how I finish the sentence, My best summertime memory this year was Boo dancing on the beach.

 

(Gosh I hope the video works) 

Now tell me, what was your best summertime memory this year?

Twisted Tuesday....

Jen is going to be so freaking proud of me. I think I am following the rules this time! Today is the 27th, right? See I even looked a second time to make sure I was paying attention. Then I thought I could have sworn this was already a topic...turns out that was just about dumping some one and feeling bad about it. And then inspiration by way of a  mix tape fairy magically providing inspiration. In the form of an e-mail from Jen telling me exactly what this week's topic is. Phew. Crisis averted.


Since I am so not ready to admit that I suck, I am throwing the best you suck songs into the mix.

Carrie Underwood probably has the best did me wrong anthem and she commits vandalism something we never expected from our sweet American Idol! This you suck song isn't about me but for a rat jerk that just did this to his awesome wife.

Where is that baseball bat? Oh look, Miranda has it. (Quick aside, how many of us think Blake sleeps with one eye open?)

No one can sing you suck better than Ms. Simon. From being vain to not having time for the pain. Her lyrics about those who dare hurt us? Basically she says bite me but in a way that you never realize she is talking about you. Taylor Swift should probably take notes.

And  who says you suck better than Carole King? The ultimate song goddess. For your listening pleasure: You go your way, I'll go mine (because you suck).

Okay, I admit I added the you suck to the end of the song title. But it kind of works, don't you think?

And I just realized that I (sort of) broke the rules by only having four songs on my mix-tape. Crap. But wait, I can totally fix this!!!

Should you be the recipient of any of the above songs saying you suck, may I suggest you reply:

Oh and to my husband, should I ever need to send you a you suck tape be afraid. Be very afraid. Because I am so starting with something from Miranda!