Since Father's Day is so close, I thought I would give props to my dad. I don't think I take the time I should to thank him for everything he does for me, John and the boys.
Growing up I was a crazy insane child. If you know Crockett, I was just like him. Always pushing the limit and just as strong willed as can be! I remember my dad taking me to fishing rodeos and trying to get me to sit still long enough to catch something. I remember going with my dad to work (at Fed Ex) cause I won a contest to have an airplane named after me and cowering behind his leg as if I were shy and him patting my head and hugging me. I remember him always making things for us to use in school projects because he was and still is the master of rigging things. Dad made us cool little wall shelves to put our nick knacks on. (Mine was filled with little glass ponies, unicorns and all the astrosnicks and smurf figures you could find.) I remember him carrying us to bed some nights and "tossing" us down.
One of my most vivid memories with my dad and one that I am not sure if he realizes that I cherish is when I was 10 or 11 years old (could have been older) and he took me to an empty field and we flew his model airplanes. On the way home we always stopped at a little corner store and got a Cream Soda in a glass bottle. We did this several times that year and I will forever remember it. I don't really like Cream Soda now (and I think I only liked it then because my dad did) but every time I smell or taste it, those memories flood into the front of my mind and make me smile.
Another memory that will forever be ingrained in my mind is a not so pleasant one. I was around 14 or 15 and my dad had finally given me the go ahead to cut the grass on our new riding lawnmower. I was so excited because it gave me a reason to wear my bathing suit outside and get a tan. I got completely done cutting our acre of grass and was traveling back toward the house from the backyard going a good speed. I looked down to assess my tan, not paying attention to my surroundings and I looked up just in time to realize I was about to run in to my dads boat. I didn't stop in time and ran smack into the boat, ramming it into his work shed. I saw no evidence of damage to the boat or the shed, so I parked the lawnmower under the carport and went inside to shower. After my shower, my dad came to me just as calm as can be and asked me if I had hit something with his mower. I said no. He asked me again. I said no. He took me outside and showed me a dent on the lawnmower and asked me again. I again, said no and that it was already there. He then took me to his shed, but before opening his door, he asked me again. I didn't say anything. He opened the door and every hammer, every nail, everything that had been on the wall was on the floor and the end of the trailer that held the boat was protruding through. I was speechless and was grounded "not for doing it" my dad said, "but for lying about it." He taught me a very valuable lesson that day. Just because you can't see the damage from the outside, doesn't mean it's not there and lying about it only makes it worse.
A note of thanks to my Daddy,
Thank you for all you do. Thank you for loving my mom and showing us how a man should treat his wife. Thank you for loving me and Wendy and for giving us "tough love" from time to time (which we so desperately needed---Wendy more than me, of course)! Thank you for coming to my house and doing odd jobs that we don't have a clue about or that would go undone because of Johns work schedule. Thank you for coming to my house early on some Saturdays to sit and wait for the boys to wake up so I wouldn't have to get up so early when I had to work. Thank you for giving my boys "tough love" when necessary. Thank you for your patience that is so hard to have when dealing with them and for all the time you spend with them as their Poppy! Thank you for being a great Christian example and always leading us to do what's right. Thank you for providing for our family growing up and working long hard hours to do so.......and for providing occasional meals for us now too! (some things never change, huh?) There are so many more things that I could thank you for but just don't have the time to do........I love you so much and thank God for you!
I am going to add one more thing to this post. I knew both of my grandfathers growing up. I was very close to them both also. I never realized just how outside of the norm that was until I met my husband. He did not know either of his grandfathers and was jealous of the relationship I had with them since he was not allowed that opportunity.
My dads father was a very loving and caring man.....always had kind words to say and made you feel at ease when you were around him. My fondest memory of him was when I was in school and my parents went out of town and left me with my dads parents. He went out of his way to make sure that I had what I needed to make me feel comfortable. When they didn't have any diet coke in the house (I was in 7th grade so that tells you how long I have been addicted...LOL), he went out at 9pm (which was late for him) and got me some. He passed away in 2001 and I miss him dearly but I still have the wonderful memories that we made and know that I will see him again one day! Thank you Grampa for being an awesome father and grandfather! I love you!
My moms dad also passed away in 2001 but he was a great great man! Pawpaw was one of those people that you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that is in heaven praising God! He was so gentle....so kind....so sentimental and so loving. He loved his family deeply and loved God with all his heart. He was one of the most patriotic men I knew and was so proud to have been in the Navy to serve our country. The thing I miss most about my Pawpaw was his stories. I could sit for hours and listen to him talk about his past experiences. We would ride down the road and he would point things out along the way and tell about his life as a child or young adult and a memory connected to it. He also loved for me, Wendy and Summer to sing together. He would brag on us and when we sang in church he would always tear up, break out his handkerchief and raise his hands in praise. I miss my Pawpaw everyday and wish my boys had been able to meet him. Thanks Pawpaw for being such a great father to my mom and her sisters and such an awesome example to the entire family on what it truly means to love. I love and miss you so much Pawpaw and Happy Fathers Day.
To everyone, thank God for your dads, grandfathers and any other father figures or mentors that play the role! Not everyone has the luxury of having a father, so if you do, you are blessed! Don't let this time go by without telling them!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Just Knowing
It's been a while since I posted on my blog. I have been so busy with the last few weeks of school among other things that I have been slacking! So sorry!
I recently posted on my facebook page about my oldest son, Trey, having strep. Well, here is the story behind that status update.......
Thursday morning (the first day of summer break sleep in) Crockett wakes me up at 745am. This is too early for me so I make him lay down on the couch and watch cartoons while I snooze in my chair. Trey wakes up at 945am and comes into the living room just as bouncy and happy and snuggles up with me in my chair. When he starts talking to me I notice that his voice sounds different. I think it's a hereditary thing because when my voice sounds different, I either have a sore throat or I am getting strep. Anyway, as soon as I hear the change in his voice, I ask him if his throat is hurting. He responds with a no and goes about his morning, riding the scooter thru the house and asking for every piece of food in the house.
We get ready and go meet everyone for lunch at Arbys in Southaven and he eats a hearty lunch of a regular roastbeef and some curly fries and a big ole mountain dew (I know! I know! !). We go straight to Target and do a little browsing and the entire time I keep asking him if his throat hurts. He keeps telling me no and by hour 5 of me asking him that, every 30 minutes or so, he finally gets frusterated and yells at me. I can't really blame him cause I know it would annoy me too!
At about 2ish, I tell my mom that I am going to take Trey to the doctor and when she asks why, I tell her because Treys voice has changed and I KNOW he has strep. She takes my word for it now when I think something is wrong and she immediately told me she would keep Crockett while I took Trey to the doctor. At this point Trey begins acting kinda puny and very moody and asks to go to the car. Now if you know Trey, you know he does not want to leave Target EVER!
Trey's pediatrician had an available appointment for 2:30pm so we went straight there. We were pretty much immediately taken back to the room. When we got back there and they asked what was wrong, I told her that I was 99.999999999% positive that he had strep throat. She asked if he had a soar throat, I said no. She asked if he had fever, I said no. She asked if he had nausea, I said no. She asked if he had loss of appitite, I said no. She asked if he was acting sick or out of the ordinary, again I said no. She looked at me like I was crazy but still did the throat swab. As she left the room, the doctor walked in. He looked at his throat, ears, eyes and nose and said everything looked fine. He said, he doubted anything would come of the swab and he wouldn't need medicine but to watch him. As he left the office, the nurse came back and said, "The test was positive." The doctor said, "The test was WHAT?!" She repeated herself and he peeked into the room and said, "Ok, well, I guess momma knows!"
Yep! Momma knows! We got our prescription and went on our way. They also informed me when I was leaving that Schnuks gives free Oral Antibiotics. I walked into Schnuks, gave them my prescription and walked out 30 minutes later with the prescription and having paid nothing. I also read, for those of you having babies, they fill prescription prenatal vitamins for free too!
When we got home, Trey started acting sickly and took a long nap. He woke up the next morning feeling MUCH better and ready to start the weekend!
Now, I know that moms just have that God given intuition about them that allows them to "just know" when something is wrong but momma's of non-verbal children or children with disabilities and lack of communication skills have to read non verbal cues with their children so often, they know something is wrong before outward signs show. Because it has always been so hard for Trey to communicate what is wrong when he is sick, I have always known that his voice changes when it's strep. When he is about to throw up, he swallows alot and his eyes water. When he has to go number 2, he gets all serious, furrows his brow and doesn't think ANYTHING is funny. It also helped me when I was trying to poo poo train my youngest. I watched his non-verbal cues (and they were only non-verbal cause he chose not to tell me about them, not because he couldn't) and I knew and still know, when he needs to go. No fooling this mommy!
Just a little word of encouragement for those that have infants and young children, non-verbal children, limited communcative children or just special needs children in general........you can use this special God given/Supernatural abililty of intuition and "just knowing" to your advantage and you are AWESOME!!! And for those of you without it........FINALLY there is something for you to be jealous of! Eat your heart out! (And I mean that in the nicest way possible!)
I recently posted on my facebook page about my oldest son, Trey, having strep. Well, here is the story behind that status update.......
Thursday morning (the first day of summer break sleep in) Crockett wakes me up at 745am. This is too early for me so I make him lay down on the couch and watch cartoons while I snooze in my chair. Trey wakes up at 945am and comes into the living room just as bouncy and happy and snuggles up with me in my chair. When he starts talking to me I notice that his voice sounds different. I think it's a hereditary thing because when my voice sounds different, I either have a sore throat or I am getting strep. Anyway, as soon as I hear the change in his voice, I ask him if his throat is hurting. He responds with a no and goes about his morning, riding the scooter thru the house and asking for every piece of food in the house.
We get ready and go meet everyone for lunch at Arbys in Southaven and he eats a hearty lunch of a regular roastbeef and some curly fries and a big ole mountain dew (I know! I know! !). We go straight to Target and do a little browsing and the entire time I keep asking him if his throat hurts. He keeps telling me no and by hour 5 of me asking him that, every 30 minutes or so, he finally gets frusterated and yells at me. I can't really blame him cause I know it would annoy me too!
At about 2ish, I tell my mom that I am going to take Trey to the doctor and when she asks why, I tell her because Treys voice has changed and I KNOW he has strep. She takes my word for it now when I think something is wrong and she immediately told me she would keep Crockett while I took Trey to the doctor. At this point Trey begins acting kinda puny and very moody and asks to go to the car. Now if you know Trey, you know he does not want to leave Target EVER!
Trey's pediatrician had an available appointment for 2:30pm so we went straight there. We were pretty much immediately taken back to the room. When we got back there and they asked what was wrong, I told her that I was 99.999999999% positive that he had strep throat. She asked if he had a soar throat, I said no. She asked if he had fever, I said no. She asked if he had nausea, I said no. She asked if he had loss of appitite, I said no. She asked if he was acting sick or out of the ordinary, again I said no. She looked at me like I was crazy but still did the throat swab. As she left the room, the doctor walked in. He looked at his throat, ears, eyes and nose and said everything looked fine. He said, he doubted anything would come of the swab and he wouldn't need medicine but to watch him. As he left the office, the nurse came back and said, "The test was positive." The doctor said, "The test was WHAT?!" She repeated herself and he peeked into the room and said, "Ok, well, I guess momma knows!"
Yep! Momma knows! We got our prescription and went on our way. They also informed me when I was leaving that Schnuks gives free Oral Antibiotics. I walked into Schnuks, gave them my prescription and walked out 30 minutes later with the prescription and having paid nothing. I also read, for those of you having babies, they fill prescription prenatal vitamins for free too!
When we got home, Trey started acting sickly and took a long nap. He woke up the next morning feeling MUCH better and ready to start the weekend!
Now, I know that moms just have that God given intuition about them that allows them to "just know" when something is wrong but momma's of non-verbal children or children with disabilities and lack of communication skills have to read non verbal cues with their children so often, they know something is wrong before outward signs show. Because it has always been so hard for Trey to communicate what is wrong when he is sick, I have always known that his voice changes when it's strep. When he is about to throw up, he swallows alot and his eyes water. When he has to go number 2, he gets all serious, furrows his brow and doesn't think ANYTHING is funny. It also helped me when I was trying to poo poo train my youngest. I watched his non-verbal cues (and they were only non-verbal cause he chose not to tell me about them, not because he couldn't) and I knew and still know, when he needs to go. No fooling this mommy!
Just a little word of encouragement for those that have infants and young children, non-verbal children, limited communcative children or just special needs children in general........you can use this special God given/Supernatural abililty of intuition and "just knowing" to your advantage and you are AWESOME!!! And for those of you without it........FINALLY there is something for you to be jealous of! Eat your heart out! (And I mean that in the nicest way possible!)
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Our Exceptional Child
On Tuesday of this week we had Trey's IEP Meeting. IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan. Children with special needs are on so many different levels as far as their level of special services needed that they do an Education Plan suited specifically to their level of need. It's really a cool thing! For example, my Trey might need ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) Therapy and need specific help on learning math skills but another child only needs OT (Occupational Therapy) and needs help with handwriting while yet another child needs all therapies available. The school system pays for each child to get the help that they need! Our tax dollars HARD at work! Literally!
I made the appointment on a day that I knew John could come because we both want to be hands on and involved in every aspect of his education. So I met him at the school for the meeting. You must also understand that these meeting must include everyone that has any interaction with Trey. In our meeting was me, John, the Vice Principal, the speech therapist, the ABA therapist, the Behavioral therapist, the Occupational therapist, Ms. Gwen (his SPED teacher) and Ms. Hobbs (his Kindergarten teacher).
When we started the meeting, they began telling us how impressed they were with Trey and the strides that he has made this year. Ms. Gwen went over his objectives and goals and said that academically he has met or exceeded all areas that were previously set for him and that socially he has come SO far. She said that Trey's kindergarten teacher, Ms. Hobbs, was upset with her for what she was about to tell us. I was kinda nervous by this statement cause I thought it was going to be bad news. Ms. Gwen then told us that she was recommending Trey for 1st Grade because he was academically exactly where he should be in Kindergarten. He has met all his skills!!! We were ELATED! The reason Ms. Hobbs was upset was because she said that she LOVES Trey and was wanting him to be in her class again next year. So sweet! Ms. Hobbs told us that if she had to say where Trey was delay-wise, she would place him at the developmental stage that the Kindergartners were at when they came back from Christmas! That is only 3-4 months delayed! When he was first diagnosed, he was developmentally delayed 1 year to 18 months. WHAT A TRANSFORMATION!
After learning this exciting news we got more great news. The Occupational Therapist thinks that Trey won't need to go out of the classroom to see her and that she will just be available for things that he needs periodically in the class. She is still going to write it in his IEP for next year so that he CAN have it if he needs it but right now it looks like he tested out of OT. Also, they said, if he had tested this high before he started Kindergarten that he probably wouldn't have even been in SPED at all, he would have been coming out for a few therapies but been in mainstream classroom.
Next year he will be in the classroom 80% of the time and will only leave for a few of the therapies. Now things may change when he begins school next year and he is in the classroom. He may need more time out of the classroom at first so he can transition into full time classroom time but they really think he is going to be ready!
They told us that his best subject is math (surprise, surprise!)---he IS his daddy's child---and his least favorite subject is Art. I was a little disappointed in this because I love artsy stuff but I still have hope in Crockett. They said he would tell them that "Art is for Crockett. Crockett likes ART, not me!" Every time he was going to art, he would tell them this. They said they laughed every time.
The last thing we discussed was whether Trey should go to Extended School Year. They asked if we wanted Trey to be at ESY this year and that it was strictly up to us as it was our call. We went ahead and suggested that he be in ESY with weekly ABA Therapy so he and I don't get out of practice and so he doesn't lose anything that he has learned this far! ESY only goes from the end of regular school year thru June. You still get the month of July off to have a summer vacation.
I can not begin to explain how much I appreciate the teachers, therapists and the assistants that have helped our Trey come so far in such a short time. As a parent of a Special Needs child, the main fear you have is that your child will never have the quality of life that you want them to have. You wonder if they will ever be self sufficient. There are so many times that bring you down and make you think that you will never get past this time in your life. Meltdown after meltdown, conference after conference, complaint after complaint, dirty look after dirty look. And then the day comes that you have a conference or meeting like the one I had this day, where they tell you that your child is beating this thing.....that he is exceeding expectation and not just meeting it! I issue a challenge to all of you parents out there that are struggling......Go to God and ask for His GRACE! Ask God for His PEACE! Ask God for His direction in your life! I have no idea how we would have gotten through these past 6 years without His guidance and direction in our life!
It reminds me of an old song......HIS strength is perfect when our strength is gone. HE'll carry us when we can't carry on! Raised in His power, the weak become strong!
I have had to cling to the HOPE of Philippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who give me strength." I am a different woman for having been blessed with Trey! Go kiss your babies and thank God for allowing you the opportunity to be a parent even when it's not easy. If you are a parent of a special child, thank Him for sparing you the monotony of a "typical" life and allowing you to have the blessing of a "special" life!!
I made the appointment on a day that I knew John could come because we both want to be hands on and involved in every aspect of his education. So I met him at the school for the meeting. You must also understand that these meeting must include everyone that has any interaction with Trey. In our meeting was me, John, the Vice Principal, the speech therapist, the ABA therapist, the Behavioral therapist, the Occupational therapist, Ms. Gwen (his SPED teacher) and Ms. Hobbs (his Kindergarten teacher).
When we started the meeting, they began telling us how impressed they were with Trey and the strides that he has made this year. Ms. Gwen went over his objectives and goals and said that academically he has met or exceeded all areas that were previously set for him and that socially he has come SO far. She said that Trey's kindergarten teacher, Ms. Hobbs, was upset with her for what she was about to tell us. I was kinda nervous by this statement cause I thought it was going to be bad news. Ms. Gwen then told us that she was recommending Trey for 1st Grade because he was academically exactly where he should be in Kindergarten. He has met all his skills!!! We were ELATED! The reason Ms. Hobbs was upset was because she said that she LOVES Trey and was wanting him to be in her class again next year. So sweet! Ms. Hobbs told us that if she had to say where Trey was delay-wise, she would place him at the developmental stage that the Kindergartners were at when they came back from Christmas! That is only 3-4 months delayed! When he was first diagnosed, he was developmentally delayed 1 year to 18 months. WHAT A TRANSFORMATION!
After learning this exciting news we got more great news. The Occupational Therapist thinks that Trey won't need to go out of the classroom to see her and that she will just be available for things that he needs periodically in the class. She is still going to write it in his IEP for next year so that he CAN have it if he needs it but right now it looks like he tested out of OT. Also, they said, if he had tested this high before he started Kindergarten that he probably wouldn't have even been in SPED at all, he would have been coming out for a few therapies but been in mainstream classroom.
Next year he will be in the classroom 80% of the time and will only leave for a few of the therapies. Now things may change when he begins school next year and he is in the classroom. He may need more time out of the classroom at first so he can transition into full time classroom time but they really think he is going to be ready!
They told us that his best subject is math (surprise, surprise!)---he IS his daddy's child---and his least favorite subject is Art. I was a little disappointed in this because I love artsy stuff but I still have hope in Crockett. They said he would tell them that "Art is for Crockett. Crockett likes ART, not me!" Every time he was going to art, he would tell them this. They said they laughed every time.
The last thing we discussed was whether Trey should go to Extended School Year. They asked if we wanted Trey to be at ESY this year and that it was strictly up to us as it was our call. We went ahead and suggested that he be in ESY with weekly ABA Therapy so he and I don't get out of practice and so he doesn't lose anything that he has learned this far! ESY only goes from the end of regular school year thru June. You still get the month of July off to have a summer vacation.
I can not begin to explain how much I appreciate the teachers, therapists and the assistants that have helped our Trey come so far in such a short time. As a parent of a Special Needs child, the main fear you have is that your child will never have the quality of life that you want them to have. You wonder if they will ever be self sufficient. There are so many times that bring you down and make you think that you will never get past this time in your life. Meltdown after meltdown, conference after conference, complaint after complaint, dirty look after dirty look. And then the day comes that you have a conference or meeting like the one I had this day, where they tell you that your child is beating this thing.....that he is exceeding expectation and not just meeting it! I issue a challenge to all of you parents out there that are struggling......Go to God and ask for His GRACE! Ask God for His PEACE! Ask God for His direction in your life! I have no idea how we would have gotten through these past 6 years without His guidance and direction in our life!
It reminds me of an old song......HIS strength is perfect when our strength is gone. HE'll carry us when we can't carry on! Raised in His power, the weak become strong!
I have had to cling to the HOPE of Philippians 4:13 which says, "I can do all things through Christ who give me strength." I am a different woman for having been blessed with Trey! Go kiss your babies and thank God for allowing you the opportunity to be a parent even when it's not easy. If you are a parent of a special child, thank Him for sparing you the monotony of a "typical" life and allowing you to have the blessing of a "special" life!!
Our Guard Bird
I will be the first to admit that I am NOT an outside girl! Those of you that know me, know that I will avoid being outside unless I have nothing to do that day! I don't like to sweat. I don't like bugs. I don't like to smell like the great outdoors or recess when I have just taken a shower. I don't like my feet to get dirty (which means I don't like to walk in dirt when wearing flip flops) and I don't like my hands to get dirty either.
That being said, I had decided to go outside (I know...SHOCKA!) and plant some bulbs that a sweet lady at church had given me and pull some weeds (with my tennis shoes and gloves on, of course) and as I walked out the front door I heard a LOUD chirping and screeching and look up to see a "wounded" bird floundering around on the grass. I knew it was "pretending" to be hurt and must have some eggs somewhere in the area so I begin walking toward it.....the entire time it screeches and screams at the top of its little birdy lungs and flops around and charges me several times. Mawsy always said they were called Killdeer. I found the eggs in a neat little nest on the ground in our flower bed.
I got weirded out and let it talk me out of doing any yard work, because I really didn't want to be attacked by our guard bird.
This was about a couple of weeks ago and since that day there have been several humorous things happen with folks coming to our front door. I had ordered several things on the Internet, one with a Fed Ex delivery and one with a USPS and the first one to show up was the USPS delivery guy. I was sitting inside and watched him pull up to the front of the house and get out. He strolled up to the door, not really paying attention to where he was going and as he stepped on the front walkway, the bird when ballistic and started chasing him. He takes off running back into the yard and the bird back off. He takes a second to catch his breath and formulate a game plan. He then takes a running start and darts to the door, tosses the package at the front door (from about 6 feet away) and takes off back out in the yard. I watched from the front window and laughed so hard I cried. Poor USPS guy! LOL!
The second person, Fed Ex guy, came to our house while I was away but I can only imagine that something very similar must have happened. I say this because the package from Fed Ex was sitting in front of the garage door! Haha! All I can say is the Fed Ex persons decision to put the package by the garage (right next to the front path to the front door) kinda made a little bit more sense than chucking the package at the front door while ducking and dodging the scary Guard Bird!
The third occurrence was when my sister and her kids were leaving my house. Apparently my nephew (who is 3) got a little too courageous and ran toward the bird. My niece, Morgan, gave me this account of exactly what happened. Now if you know Morgan, you know that this may be a wee bit fabricated!
Morgan - "NiNi! Did you hear about the bird in your front flower bed attacking Manning?"
Me - "NO! What happened?"
Morgan - "The bird pecked him in the eye!"
Me - "NO WAY! Are you serious?!"
Morgan - "Yah! Manning ran up to the bird and the bird did a backward somersault and flew up and pecked him in the eye!"
Me - "OH MY! Is he okay?!"
Morgan - "Other than he lost an eye, yeah, he is okay. I'm just kidding....yeah, he's fine."
And that was it. Manning was fine but I bet he learned his lesson even if he wasn't chasing the bird on purpose, I bet he will watch for the warning signs of an Attack Bird or Guard Bird! We have a cat that lives across the street from the house and it came over during the winter and killed the three mice that lived under my lawnmower in my garage. He sat under John's truck everynight and would catch the mice when they came out. Now I keep catching him prowling around my front yard at night and I think, by the sound of my Guard Bird's urgent screams, that he is trying to get at the bird or her babies. I have actually been appreciative of the bird for continuing to keep solicitors and salesmen and so forth out of my yard so I scare the cat away when I can. Hopefully she can keep the eggs safe for a few more weeks and then there will be baby "killdeer" running around! They are so adorable when they just hatch. Long skinny legs and a little body scampering around behind their mommy! Just reminds me of the joys of babies and also makes me appreciate spring and the creation of new life!
That being said, I had decided to go outside (I know...SHOCKA!) and plant some bulbs that a sweet lady at church had given me and pull some weeds (with my tennis shoes and gloves on, of course) and as I walked out the front door I heard a LOUD chirping and screeching and look up to see a "wounded" bird floundering around on the grass. I knew it was "pretending" to be hurt and must have some eggs somewhere in the area so I begin walking toward it.....the entire time it screeches and screams at the top of its little birdy lungs and flops around and charges me several times. Mawsy always said they were called Killdeer. I found the eggs in a neat little nest on the ground in our flower bed.
I got weirded out and let it talk me out of doing any yard work, because I really didn't want to be attacked by our guard bird.
This was about a couple of weeks ago and since that day there have been several humorous things happen with folks coming to our front door. I had ordered several things on the Internet, one with a Fed Ex delivery and one with a USPS and the first one to show up was the USPS delivery guy. I was sitting inside and watched him pull up to the front of the house and get out. He strolled up to the door, not really paying attention to where he was going and as he stepped on the front walkway, the bird when ballistic and started chasing him. He takes off running back into the yard and the bird back off. He takes a second to catch his breath and formulate a game plan. He then takes a running start and darts to the door, tosses the package at the front door (from about 6 feet away) and takes off back out in the yard. I watched from the front window and laughed so hard I cried. Poor USPS guy! LOL!
The second person, Fed Ex guy, came to our house while I was away but I can only imagine that something very similar must have happened. I say this because the package from Fed Ex was sitting in front of the garage door! Haha! All I can say is the Fed Ex persons decision to put the package by the garage (right next to the front path to the front door) kinda made a little bit more sense than chucking the package at the front door while ducking and dodging the scary Guard Bird!
The third occurrence was when my sister and her kids were leaving my house. Apparently my nephew (who is 3) got a little too courageous and ran toward the bird. My niece, Morgan, gave me this account of exactly what happened. Now if you know Morgan, you know that this may be a wee bit fabricated!
Morgan - "NiNi! Did you hear about the bird in your front flower bed attacking Manning?"
Me - "NO! What happened?"
Morgan - "The bird pecked him in the eye!"
Me - "NO WAY! Are you serious?!"
Morgan - "Yah! Manning ran up to the bird and the bird did a backward somersault and flew up and pecked him in the eye!"
Me - "OH MY! Is he okay?!"
Morgan - "Other than he lost an eye, yeah, he is okay. I'm just kidding....yeah, he's fine."
And that was it. Manning was fine but I bet he learned his lesson even if he wasn't chasing the bird on purpose, I bet he will watch for the warning signs of an Attack Bird or Guard Bird! We have a cat that lives across the street from the house and it came over during the winter and killed the three mice that lived under my lawnmower in my garage. He sat under John's truck everynight and would catch the mice when they came out. Now I keep catching him prowling around my front yard at night and I think, by the sound of my Guard Bird's urgent screams, that he is trying to get at the bird or her babies. I have actually been appreciative of the bird for continuing to keep solicitors and salesmen and so forth out of my yard so I scare the cat away when I can. Hopefully she can keep the eggs safe for a few more weeks and then there will be baby "killdeer" running around! They are so adorable when they just hatch. Long skinny legs and a little body scampering around behind their mommy! Just reminds me of the joys of babies and also makes me appreciate spring and the creation of new life!
Monday, March 15, 2010
The past few weeks have been really crazy for me!! Despite my efforts to take dyes out of my children's diets, it was not changing their crazy ways enough to notice. In fact, Crockett has almost been worse since changing his diet. For two weeks I have received calls from Crockett's school and was called to his church classes on Sunday and Wednesday nights telling me that he was uncontrollable and impossible to deal with. He was yelling, kicking, screaming and just acting all around terrible. The first time the school called me, I talked to him on the phone and warned him that if I had to come there that he would get a spanking and he calmed a bit, long enough to make it to nap time and then to the end of school. That was a Tuesday but on Thursday of that same week, he was in time out and was being so defiant that a phone call wasn't doing it and I had to physically go down there and discipline and by the time I got back to pick him up, he was in time out again and crying and carrying on. It was TERRIBLE! There were two things I was struggling with. First, I didn't want to leave Crockett there for the teachers to worry with anymore but the second thing was that I also didn't want to give him the pleasure of going home. He needs to know that he can't just throw a fit and go home. SO, I disciplined at school and made him stay. This way he knew that I was in charge and dictated what he did, not him.
This past Tuesday was better but not perfect. Still a few time outs but tolerable. Then on Thursday, Crockett was broken out and itchy so I gave him a little benadryl before he went to school and he had the best day he's had in a LONG time! When I dropped him off that morning, I was talking to several other parents in his class and they were telling me that Singulair caused behavior problems in their kids. I had researched that before but there was nothing saying that it was a side effect so I dropped it. These moms swore that it affected their children adversely and were so passionate about it that I decided it couldn't hurt to try it. (BTW, out of 9 boys in Crockett's class, 4 of them have some kind of allergy or asthma....kinda sad statistics!)
I called the doctor as soon as I left the building to make sure it was okay to take him off the medicine just to see and they said it was fine. They suggested that we take him off over the weekend and watch him and decide if that was the problem. He didn't have any Singulair on Thursday night and on Friday he was an ANGEL! I had NO problems with him. He never had a meltdown. He did exactly as I told him to with little or no hesitation or back talk. He was just an all around different child in just about every way! I am CONVINCED that is what was causing his attitude!
I am going to call the doctor tomorrow to see if there is an alternative medicine that he can be on and go from there. I am so excited about the prospect of having my sweet sweet little boy back!
Please continue lifting our family up in your prayers as we figure out the right mix of meds that work with Crockett and don't affect him adversely!
This past Tuesday was better but not perfect. Still a few time outs but tolerable. Then on Thursday, Crockett was broken out and itchy so I gave him a little benadryl before he went to school and he had the best day he's had in a LONG time! When I dropped him off that morning, I was talking to several other parents in his class and they were telling me that Singulair caused behavior problems in their kids. I had researched that before but there was nothing saying that it was a side effect so I dropped it. These moms swore that it affected their children adversely and were so passionate about it that I decided it couldn't hurt to try it. (BTW, out of 9 boys in Crockett's class, 4 of them have some kind of allergy or asthma....kinda sad statistics!)
I called the doctor as soon as I left the building to make sure it was okay to take him off the medicine just to see and they said it was fine. They suggested that we take him off over the weekend and watch him and decide if that was the problem. He didn't have any Singulair on Thursday night and on Friday he was an ANGEL! I had NO problems with him. He never had a meltdown. He did exactly as I told him to with little or no hesitation or back talk. He was just an all around different child in just about every way! I am CONVINCED that is what was causing his attitude!
I am going to call the doctor tomorrow to see if there is an alternative medicine that he can be on and go from there. I am so excited about the prospect of having my sweet sweet little boy back!
Please continue lifting our family up in your prayers as we figure out the right mix of meds that work with Crockett and don't affect him adversely!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Receipt Randomness
Today I met John for lunch and we decided to go to McAllisters. When we got there we ordered. We had a nacho appetizer for starters (we were both super hungry cause we didn't eat dinner last night). I ordered a Spud Ole with vegetarian chili and John ordered some kind of Cranberry sandwich and a bowl of chili. I had diet coke and he had sweet tea cause we had a coupon for a free sweet tea. We also picked up a bowl of loaded potato soup for one of Johns friends. And that entire paragraph was unnecessary and acted as filler for this blog.
While we sat at McAllisters and talked, John pulled a receipt out of his pocket and said I had to look at it. He was in Walmart earlier that day and was in self check out and as he went to get his receipt, there was one left from the last person. He pulled it off and looked at it and he thought it was amusing and wanted me to see it. There were two items on the receipt. One singular CORN DOG and one singular MOUSE TRAP. John and I immediately started creating scenarios on what was said before that trip to walmart.
"HONEY.....I am going to walmart to get one corn dog and a mousetrap! Be back in a few!"
"Hey honey, can you stop by walmart on your way home and pick up a corn dog and a mousetrap?"
"Darn that stupid mouse, he keeps eatin my corn dogs. I'll show him......"
"I love corn dogs....I think I'll get one.....hmm....that is marketing genius to have an end cap with Corn Dogs AND Mouse Traps! Leave it to Walmart to know exactly what I need when I need it!"
Excuse me, Ms., could you please tell me where your single serve Corn Dogs are? Oh, and are the Mouse Traps on that same aisle?"
Anyway, you get the idea. SO, what I want to know is if you have ever found a receipt or had a receipt that had random things that just seemed funny to buy together. If so, comment and share the humor with us all! :0)
While we sat at McAllisters and talked, John pulled a receipt out of his pocket and said I had to look at it. He was in Walmart earlier that day and was in self check out and as he went to get his receipt, there was one left from the last person. He pulled it off and looked at it and he thought it was amusing and wanted me to see it. There were two items on the receipt. One singular CORN DOG and one singular MOUSE TRAP. John and I immediately started creating scenarios on what was said before that trip to walmart.
"HONEY.....I am going to walmart to get one corn dog and a mousetrap! Be back in a few!"
"Hey honey, can you stop by walmart on your way home and pick up a corn dog and a mousetrap?"
"Darn that stupid mouse, he keeps eatin my corn dogs. I'll show him......"
"I love corn dogs....I think I'll get one.....hmm....that is marketing genius to have an end cap with Corn Dogs AND Mouse Traps! Leave it to Walmart to know exactly what I need when I need it!"
Excuse me, Ms., could you please tell me where your single serve Corn Dogs are? Oh, and are the Mouse Traps on that same aisle?"
Anyway, you get the idea. SO, what I want to know is if you have ever found a receipt or had a receipt that had random things that just seemed funny to buy together. If so, comment and share the humor with us all! :0)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
I choose not to DYE
I have been struggling with what to do with my Crockett. At four years old he should not be so strong headed and so hard to control. When he goes to his church class on Sunday or Wednesday night, they should not come get me from my class and tell me that he is throwing stuff at other kids, the teachers and being all around defiant. When he goes to his Mother's Day Out twice a week, I should not get a call from them saying that he is calling what his teacher wants him to do (or maybe possibly his teacher) stupid and refusing to do what they say. I will NEVER be one of those parents that thinks that it is someone else's fault that my child is acting like a hellion! Although he could be sleepy and need a nap or be itchy cause his eczema is flaring, it is NEVER okay to be like that to an adult or to anyone, for that matter! It falls back on me and my hand, in turn, falls back on him. Nobody makes MAMA look stupid!!
Wednesday night Crockett was brought from his classroom for the second time in about an hour. He has already had a warning so it was time for the second step, spanking. I don't do bare bottom spankings but I have gotten tired of dealing with this disrespect issue and figured this was my last resource. So, without going into detail, after the smack on the bottom and a good talking to, they said they had no problems with him for the rest of the night.
The next day was MDO. He goes from 8am-2pm and by 11am, I had a phone call from the director saying he was yelling at the teacher, falling on the floor and refusing to get up for time out and either called his teacher stupid or what she was asking him to do. INEXCUSABLE!
I told her to give the phone to Crockett and if what I said to him didn't straighten him up, I would come get him. Crockett answers the phone with the sweetest little "Yes, momma?" I had to remind myself of why I was talking to him. I asked him if he remembered me giving him the bare bottom spanking at church the night before and he said, "yes, momma" and then I asked him if he wanted me to come there and give him another one? He said no and I began asking him if various questions. Trying to make it clear that he what he was saying and doing was WRONG. I asked, "Do we throw toys at our friends? he said, NO. Do we call our teachers names? NO! Do we act ugly to our friends? NO! Do we ever say stupid? NO! Do we do what our teacher tells us to? YES! Do we do our school work? YES! Do we be good until mommy comes and picks us up? YES! Then I reminded him that if I had to come up there and get him early that he WOULD get his bare bottom spanking again and he said, "yes, momma, I be good." And that was that. They said they didn't have another problem with him that day.
In between that phone call and picking him up, I began researching reasons for unruly children (besides lack of discipline). I had spoken previously to a friend, Brandy, about different dyes and colors in food and how it effects her son. I figure it's worth a shot to try this new strategy. SO, effective as soon as I get most of the groceries I JUST purchased out of my house (because I can not afford to waste anything), my boys will be on a dye free diet. Crockett can't have most of the things that have red dye in them anyway so I am thinking that this may help. Here are a few things that I have found while researching that might help you know the signs to watch for in your children!
Dyes can cause an outbreak in eczema or an eczema flare up! Multiple posts suggested that if you are keeping the foods from your child that they are allergic to and their eczema is still flaring, it could possibly be due to dyes which are not able to be tested for an allergy.
Many food that children ingest could have these dyes. Candy such as gummy bears, Skittles, Popsicles, ice creams and lollipops all have food dye. There is also food dye in many cheeses, crackers and breads. The key is to read the label! Some labels may just say artificial color and flavors, which is a catch all phrase. Certain medicines could have dyes (Benadryl & some others have a dye free version available). This hits home with me because many times I use benadryl and have used it to clear up an allergic reaction. If my child has an allergy to dyes, I have been forcing one of these allergies into his system. :0( Many lotions and shampoos and soaps have dyes in them. Some children react to topical dyes and others react only when ingested.
Skin - urticaria/angiodema, atopic dermatitis, sweating,itching, flushing
Gastrointestinal - abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea
Respiratory, asthma symptoms, cough, rhinitis
Musculoskeletal - muscle aches, joint aches, fatigue, weakness
Neurologic - behavior and mood changes, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, migraine headaches, numbness, Cardiac palpitations, arrhythmias
ADHD like symptoms can result from a food dye allergy, especially to the red dye. Many parents of children diagnosed with ADHD have taken all food colorings out of their children’s diets and seen remarkable improvements in behavior. Studies have shown that there is a firm link between food dyes, allergies and ADHD like behavior. This can be very difficult for children, as schools are prone to seek labeling and perhaps special services, when all they need is a modification in their diet.
Most of these symptoms have effected Crockett. The atopic dermatitis, asthma symptoms, behavior, attention and hyperactivity problems. I am truly hoping that taking these dyes out of his diet will greatly effect his quality of life!
Wednesday night Crockett was brought from his classroom for the second time in about an hour. He has already had a warning so it was time for the second step, spanking. I don't do bare bottom spankings but I have gotten tired of dealing with this disrespect issue and figured this was my last resource. So, without going into detail, after the smack on the bottom and a good talking to, they said they had no problems with him for the rest of the night.
The next day was MDO. He goes from 8am-2pm and by 11am, I had a phone call from the director saying he was yelling at the teacher, falling on the floor and refusing to get up for time out and either called his teacher stupid or what she was asking him to do. INEXCUSABLE!
I told her to give the phone to Crockett and if what I said to him didn't straighten him up, I would come get him. Crockett answers the phone with the sweetest little "Yes, momma?" I had to remind myself of why I was talking to him. I asked him if he remembered me giving him the bare bottom spanking at church the night before and he said, "yes, momma" and then I asked him if he wanted me to come there and give him another one? He said no and I began asking him if various questions. Trying to make it clear that he what he was saying and doing was WRONG. I asked, "Do we throw toys at our friends? he said, NO. Do we call our teachers names? NO! Do we act ugly to our friends? NO! Do we ever say stupid? NO! Do we do what our teacher tells us to? YES! Do we do our school work? YES! Do we be good until mommy comes and picks us up? YES! Then I reminded him that if I had to come up there and get him early that he WOULD get his bare bottom spanking again and he said, "yes, momma, I be good." And that was that. They said they didn't have another problem with him that day.
In between that phone call and picking him up, I began researching reasons for unruly children (besides lack of discipline). I had spoken previously to a friend, Brandy, about different dyes and colors in food and how it effects her son. I figure it's worth a shot to try this new strategy. SO, effective as soon as I get most of the groceries I JUST purchased out of my house (because I can not afford to waste anything), my boys will be on a dye free diet. Crockett can't have most of the things that have red dye in them anyway so I am thinking that this may help. Here are a few things that I have found while researching that might help you know the signs to watch for in your children!
Dyes can cause an outbreak in eczema or an eczema flare up! Multiple posts suggested that if you are keeping the foods from your child that they are allergic to and their eczema is still flaring, it could possibly be due to dyes which are not able to be tested for an allergy.
Many food that children ingest could have these dyes. Candy such as gummy bears, Skittles, Popsicles, ice creams and lollipops all have food dye. There is also food dye in many cheeses, crackers and breads. The key is to read the label! Some labels may just say artificial color and flavors, which is a catch all phrase. Certain medicines could have dyes (Benadryl & some others have a dye free version available). This hits home with me because many times I use benadryl and have used it to clear up an allergic reaction. If my child has an allergy to dyes, I have been forcing one of these allergies into his system. :0( Many lotions and shampoos and soaps have dyes in them. Some children react to topical dyes and others react only when ingested.
Skin - urticaria/angiodema, atopic dermatitis, sweating,itching, flushing
Gastrointestinal - abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea
Respiratory, asthma symptoms, cough, rhinitis
Musculoskeletal - muscle aches, joint aches, fatigue, weakness
Neurologic - behavior and mood changes, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, migraine headaches, numbness, Cardiac palpitations, arrhythmias
ADHD like symptoms can result from a food dye allergy, especially to the red dye. Many parents of children diagnosed with ADHD have taken all food colorings out of their children’s diets and seen remarkable improvements in behavior. Studies have shown that there is a firm link between food dyes, allergies and ADHD like behavior. This can be very difficult for children, as schools are prone to seek labeling and perhaps special services, when all they need is a modification in their diet.
Most of these symptoms have effected Crockett. The atopic dermatitis, asthma symptoms, behavior, attention and hyperactivity problems. I am truly hoping that taking these dyes out of his diet will greatly effect his quality of life!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Stranded Loser
At the end of February 2009, I decided to go try out for Biggest Loser in Nashville. It was kind of a last minute thing with very little preparation. I asked my mom and dad to drive me down there and asked my in laws to watch the boys while I was gone. The doors were to open at 8am and I wanted to be sure that I was there at least two hours early so we were on our way at 4am that Saturday morning.
We knew when we left that they were predicting snow for that evening and later in the day but we figured SURELY we would be home by that time! We could not have been more wrong.
When we got to Nashville, it was really really cold and raining heavily. I had my big heavy winter coat and a big umbrella AND a folding chair. The auditions were being held at The Wild horse Saloon downtown and when we got there, around 630-7am, the line was about 300 people long and wound about 5 blocks around the buildings. Let's just say standing in line like that had to show some kind of endurance for those of us out there and they really should pick more people that try out in person if for no other reason than that fact.
It was freezing cold, even with gloves, a scarf and a big coat, so my parents went and parked somewhere for a little while until closer to time for the doors to open. They brought me back some breakfast and a drink and finally by 8am the line started moving. In all fairness, the line moved relatively quickly at first. We moved about 2 blocks and then stopped. It was still a little misty but I could finally put my umbrella and chair up and just wear my hood. That made life a little easier anyway. It was really quite fun sitting around talking to the other people and just learning about them and making fast friends. Mom would come and go from the line and stand in line for me when I had to go potty and just wanted to thaw out a bit.
Finally, around 4:30pm, I got in the door. We were herded in like cattle through the front door, up some steps and made to stand single file between ropes that wound around like rivers on a map through the bar area and around the waiting area and finally ended at a door to the back of the house. Everyone was standing there wondering what to expect when we finally got back to the audition room. You had to have a 4x6 picture of yourself and an application completed in order to get into the holding room. I had been standing in line for 10 hours before I finally got back into the room for my interview. I assumed it would be one on one but it was a group of about 25 or 30 people shoved around a long conference style table. The lady that spoke to us first told us to be loud; be heard! They were looking for people with great personalities so let yours shine through. I didn't have a hard time with that but, by golly, some of those people were down right annoyingly obnoxious. The guy comes in and we have to state our name, age, where we live and where we work. After everyone is through, he asks us questions about things like, how you handle conflict.....basically just questions to get everyone talking so they can see how we interact with each other. You had to SHOUT over each other to be heard or you would be overshadowed. Good grief, some of those people were just shouting and interrupting until finally the instructor had to ask them to give someone else a turn. It was so crazy! And then it was over! 10 hours of standing in line for about 15 minutes of time with these people!
I left there with a feeling of accomplishment for having stood in line all that time and for actually doing something instead of just talking about it but I knew nothing would ever come of it. There were just too many people there.
While I was back in the interview room, it had started snowing. When I finally got out around 5:30pm, I was starving. I hadn't eaten anything since that morning so we stopped in the outskirts of Nashville and grabbed a bite to eat at Blue Coast Burrito. We finally got back on the road around 730 or so. As we drove, the snow got heavier and heavier and the roads got worse and worse. Just outside of Jackson, TN we stopped and got gas, went to the restroom and grabbed a little snack. The snow there was about 6-9 inches and my mom and I were in heaven! In case you didn't know, we LOVE snow!
It was around 915 or so and we were about 20 miles outside of Memphis.....maybe 45 minutes from home and the traffic was moving at a creepy crawly pace. There was ice and snow piled up on the road, as well as off the road. We had to keep slowing down and stopping and starting and finally we got to the point where we were only moving maybe 10 feet every 15-20 minutes. Finally we were at a stand still for about an hour and we didn't know what was going on. The snow was coming down harder and harder and the roads were getting even worse than they already were. The opposing traffic had stopped too so we figured they must have shut down the interstate. Mom, Dad and I got out of the car and talked to the drivers of other cars, including the big rig drivers who informed us that they had indeed shut the interstate down. There was no getting off the interstate either cause we were a LONG way from the next exit and that was an incline and it was closed as well. SO, my mom and I did what every normal person would do in a situation like this. We made the best of it and built a snowman! Yes, at 10 at night! We took pictures and then got back in the car and hunkered down for the night. Thankfully we had just gotten gas and gone to the bathroom so we were all set. We had a small bag of chips and a few candies to snack on. We didn't want to drink much because the thought of wading through that knee deep snow was not something that sounded even the least bit interesting!
I had the entire back of the Explorer to myself and I covered up with my coat and my parents and I talked until we finally fell asleep (well, I did anyway) at about 2am~ish. Because we had filled up, dad was able to turn the car on and off all night and get it nice and warm in the car when it got cold. It actually was not near as horrible as it sounds. Now if I had brought my kids with me, that would have been horrible but thankfully my inlaws volunteered to keep Trey too just before I left. What great inlaws I have!
So, I woke up the next morning at around 9am to my dad saying that the traffic was moving. I was a little stiff but all in all I had rested fairly well! It was slow going for most of the rest of the trip. The first few exits we came to were closed because the off ramps were on an incline and impassable. We finally found a place to stop and go potty, stretch our legs and get a bite to eat. After all was said and done, there was 13 inches of snow and we finally got home on Sunday morning at 1130am.
A few days after we got home, I received a call from Action News 5 and they wanted to do a story on my wacky weekend. Ironically, a year ago today is when that story was on Channel 5 news one of the top news stories for the day! It was even one of the teasers that they did during the evening to peak interest and get people to watch.
That weekend is one that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. Some people may have looked at that entire experience as a negative and very annoying experience but I did not. I am a person who looks at a situation and realizes that you make it what it is. You can be stranded on the side of the road in over a foot of snow and be angry and mad and still be stranded. OR you can do like I did and get out and enjoy it. Take pictures in the snow, build a snowman, update facebook every few minutes, and crack jokes with the family about the irony of the situation.
Thank you God for the experiences in my life that allow me to appreciate the little things! These turn out to be the defining moments that make you who you are today! Enjoy your life and realize that if you can't change it, make it fun!!
We knew when we left that they were predicting snow for that evening and later in the day but we figured SURELY we would be home by that time! We could not have been more wrong.
When we got to Nashville, it was really really cold and raining heavily. I had my big heavy winter coat and a big umbrella AND a folding chair. The auditions were being held at The Wild horse Saloon downtown and when we got there, around 630-7am, the line was about 300 people long and wound about 5 blocks around the buildings. Let's just say standing in line like that had to show some kind of endurance for those of us out there and they really should pick more people that try out in person if for no other reason than that fact.
It was freezing cold, even with gloves, a scarf and a big coat, so my parents went and parked somewhere for a little while until closer to time for the doors to open. They brought me back some breakfast and a drink and finally by 8am the line started moving. In all fairness, the line moved relatively quickly at first. We moved about 2 blocks and then stopped. It was still a little misty but I could finally put my umbrella and chair up and just wear my hood. That made life a little easier anyway. It was really quite fun sitting around talking to the other people and just learning about them and making fast friends. Mom would come and go from the line and stand in line for me when I had to go potty and just wanted to thaw out a bit.
Finally, around 4:30pm, I got in the door. We were herded in like cattle through the front door, up some steps and made to stand single file between ropes that wound around like rivers on a map through the bar area and around the waiting area and finally ended at a door to the back of the house. Everyone was standing there wondering what to expect when we finally got back to the audition room. You had to have a 4x6 picture of yourself and an application completed in order to get into the holding room. I had been standing in line for 10 hours before I finally got back into the room for my interview. I assumed it would be one on one but it was a group of about 25 or 30 people shoved around a long conference style table. The lady that spoke to us first told us to be loud; be heard! They were looking for people with great personalities so let yours shine through. I didn't have a hard time with that but, by golly, some of those people were down right annoyingly obnoxious. The guy comes in and we have to state our name, age, where we live and where we work. After everyone is through, he asks us questions about things like, how you handle conflict.....basically just questions to get everyone talking so they can see how we interact with each other. You had to SHOUT over each other to be heard or you would be overshadowed. Good grief, some of those people were just shouting and interrupting until finally the instructor had to ask them to give someone else a turn. It was so crazy! And then it was over! 10 hours of standing in line for about 15 minutes of time with these people!
I left there with a feeling of accomplishment for having stood in line all that time and for actually doing something instead of just talking about it but I knew nothing would ever come of it. There were just too many people there.
While I was back in the interview room, it had started snowing. When I finally got out around 5:30pm, I was starving. I hadn't eaten anything since that morning so we stopped in the outskirts of Nashville and grabbed a bite to eat at Blue Coast Burrito. We finally got back on the road around 730 or so. As we drove, the snow got heavier and heavier and the roads got worse and worse. Just outside of Jackson, TN we stopped and got gas, went to the restroom and grabbed a little snack. The snow there was about 6-9 inches and my mom and I were in heaven! In case you didn't know, we LOVE snow!
It was around 915 or so and we were about 20 miles outside of Memphis.....maybe 45 minutes from home and the traffic was moving at a creepy crawly pace. There was ice and snow piled up on the road, as well as off the road. We had to keep slowing down and stopping and starting and finally we got to the point where we were only moving maybe 10 feet every 15-20 minutes. Finally we were at a stand still for about an hour and we didn't know what was going on. The snow was coming down harder and harder and the roads were getting even worse than they already were. The opposing traffic had stopped too so we figured they must have shut down the interstate. Mom, Dad and I got out of the car and talked to the drivers of other cars, including the big rig drivers who informed us that they had indeed shut the interstate down. There was no getting off the interstate either cause we were a LONG way from the next exit and that was an incline and it was closed as well. SO, my mom and I did what every normal person would do in a situation like this. We made the best of it and built a snowman! Yes, at 10 at night! We took pictures and then got back in the car and hunkered down for the night. Thankfully we had just gotten gas and gone to the bathroom so we were all set. We had a small bag of chips and a few candies to snack on. We didn't want to drink much because the thought of wading through that knee deep snow was not something that sounded even the least bit interesting!
I had the entire back of the Explorer to myself and I covered up with my coat and my parents and I talked until we finally fell asleep (well, I did anyway) at about 2am~ish. Because we had filled up, dad was able to turn the car on and off all night and get it nice and warm in the car when it got cold. It actually was not near as horrible as it sounds. Now if I had brought my kids with me, that would have been horrible but thankfully my inlaws volunteered to keep Trey too just before I left. What great inlaws I have!
So, I woke up the next morning at around 9am to my dad saying that the traffic was moving. I was a little stiff but all in all I had rested fairly well! It was slow going for most of the rest of the trip. The first few exits we came to were closed because the off ramps were on an incline and impassable. We finally found a place to stop and go potty, stretch our legs and get a bite to eat. After all was said and done, there was 13 inches of snow and we finally got home on Sunday morning at 1130am.
A few days after we got home, I received a call from Action News 5 and they wanted to do a story on my wacky weekend. Ironically, a year ago today is when that story was on Channel 5 news one of the top news stories for the day! It was even one of the teasers that they did during the evening to peak interest and get people to watch.
That weekend is one that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. Some people may have looked at that entire experience as a negative and very annoying experience but I did not. I am a person who looks at a situation and realizes that you make it what it is. You can be stranded on the side of the road in over a foot of snow and be angry and mad and still be stranded. OR you can do like I did and get out and enjoy it. Take pictures in the snow, build a snowman, update facebook every few minutes, and crack jokes with the family about the irony of the situation.
Thank you God for the experiences in my life that allow me to appreciate the little things! These turn out to be the defining moments that make you who you are today! Enjoy your life and realize that if you can't change it, make it fun!!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Internet Courage
Hey everyone! This blog might be one to step on toes.......mainly mine......but I wanted to get this out there so everyone can examine themselves and their facebook style, if you will.
I have been on facebook for several years now. Prior to that, I was on myspace for several years and all these sites are the same. They give people the satisfaction of reconnecting with family and friends that they haven't seen in a while. They give an outlet to talk about frusterations and to joys and to share what's going on in their life. They give people a really really cool way to keep friends and family informed and to update them with pictures, stories and such. And it's really easy too! Anyone can do it, wether you are a 10 year old or a 90 year old, you can learn facebook!
I have always loved facebook and the social internet sites. They have always been a fun way to express myself without having to think. I am sure most of you understand where I am coming from. The popularity of these social sites can't just be to reconnect. There must be others that agree with me about not having to think about things or be deep when on facebook. It's like sitting around with your group of friends and talking......but without the feeling that you need to entertain and without the awkward silences. (Although I can't tell you the last time I had an awkward silence in a group of my friends. LOL!)
But there has been a growing trend on facebook and I have heard it called INTERNET COURAGE.
How many times have we done this? You are sitting at your computer and you are trying to figure out what to post as your status. Not really thinking about the implications that can come with your post, you say something like, "The KJV Bible is the ONLY Bible." or "Poor Michael Vick......he shouldn't have gotten so much prison time. It's not like he hurt a person." or "this team totally didn't deserve that win"...............anway, you get the picture. Many times we don't mean them the way they sound. Many times we do. And yet other times we just don't think before we speak.
Next is the commenting on other peoples statuses or posts. How many times have you done THIS? You are reading the statuses of other folks or the comments on other folks statuses and you see something that you don't like or that just doesn't sit well with you. It could be for many reasons.....it could be someone used a derogatory term in their status and that is something that you are passionate about. Or maybe someone said something about President Obama and his liberal views or praised him for something and it infuriated you. Or someone commented on someone elses status and was poking at you or a loved one and you just broke. There are sooo many scenarios. I'll use the same examples as I did above.
BAD EXAMPLE #1:
Bobs Status: The KJV Bible is the ONLY Bible.
comments:
Jim-I don't know if I would go THAT far.
Bob- I definitely would go THAT far and you are STUPID if you think otherwise.
Jessica-WOW.....that was a bit harsh, Bob, don't you think?
Jim-Well, Jessica, consider the source. Bob has very little education and really doesn't even go to church so they probably don't read their Bible anyway.
BAD EXAMPLE #2:
Chris' Status: Poor Michael Vick......he shouldn't have gotten so much prison time. It's not like he hurt a person.
Comments:
Betty-He totally deserved that much prison time.......probably more!!
Chris-Whatever! Although I hate that he was inhumane to animals, they still aren't people and they have no souls and I think that someone who hurts an animal shouldn't get more time than someone that hurts another human being.
***this one would go on for about 80 million comments and believe me, I know!***
I could go on and on with examples but you get the picture. Is it really worth it to cause tension and strife between friends just so you can speak your mind? Maybe those posts could have read like this........
GOOD EXAMPLE #1
Bobs Status: I think that the KJV Bible is the best Bible translation.
Jim-I don't really agree with that. Why do you think that?
Bob gives his reason for saying that and they carry on a civilized conversation. They don't bring up liberal vs. conservative views. They don't talk about education levels. They don't call each other names or seek to anger the other person. The discussion can get heated but the more mature adult should know when to back off and agree to disagree!
The other problem with controversial statuses and updates is that sometimes when you say something, you are joking but tone of voice is impossible to know if you are typing or reading something. I know from experience, even putting LOL or a :0) isn't always gonna tell the other person that you are joking or aren't picking on them. You have to SAY that you were kidding and gauge wether you think that other person is going to be easily offended. It's such a fine line to know when and what to comment that sometimes it's just not worth it. The best thing to do if you have to think that hard about it is probably not to do it at all!
Here is my advice:
When writing a status.....think about it. Use your brain. Will this offend someone? Could this be something that might cause an adverse reaction? Can I handle someone acting adversely to my status and respond with dignity and grace, if they do?
When commenting on a status........think about it. Use your noodle. Do NOT act on impulse!! Will this offend someone? Could I hurt someone? Will I regret saying this right after I post it? Will I be embarrassed to see the person that I am commenting to again because of my reaction?
I know of many times, myself, that I have responded to something someone said and they took it completely the wrong way and blasted me for it! I also know of many times that I have posted or commented on something in a negative way and did it cause I wasn't doing it in person. My INTERNET COURAGE got the best of me. I was hiding behind my computer screen and said things that I NEVER would have said had I been speaking in person. When you do post based on your feeling you are either: a.) a hothead who speaks their mind no matter wether it is in person or not. Or b.) you WISH you had the guts to speak your mind in person but you don't like confrontation so you choose to do it via the internet where you can say what you want without the guilt afterwards of hurting someone's feelings.
I'm not saying that a little healthy discussion is wrong. There have been plenty of "heated" discussion that became learning experiences for me and for the person I was talking to because both of us came in with open minds and not to offend, but to educate each other on how we felt. Neither of us called each other names or degraded each other in any way. We also didn't see eye to eye even in the end but I know it made me feel validated to be able to discuss, like a rational adult, the way I felt about something.
And lastly, forgive and ask for forgiveness! If you have offended someone or think you have offended someone in any way, go to them (wether it be via phone, text, face to face or email) and ask them to forgive you. Swallow your pride and do this! If you are anything like me, which I am sure some of you are, it will eat away at you until you do so. AND when someone comes to you to ask for forgiveness, FORGIVE THEM! Who are we to hold them to a higher standard than our God holds us to? When we ask for forgiveness from our God, it is as far as the east is from the west!!
A few bible verses to remember when playing on facebook:
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Pr. 15:1)
A hot tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel (Pr. 15:18).
When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him (Pr. 16:7).
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out (Pr. 17:14).
It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel (Pr. 20:3)
Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful (2 Tim. 2:23-24).
All of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble (1 Pet. 3:8).
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue (Pr. 11:12).
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Rom. 12:10).
Show proper respect to everyone; Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king ( 1 Pet. 2:17).
He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity (Pr. 21:23).
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken (Mt. 12:36).
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13).
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:32).
LOVE YOU ALL!
JEANINE :0)
I have been on facebook for several years now. Prior to that, I was on myspace for several years and all these sites are the same. They give people the satisfaction of reconnecting with family and friends that they haven't seen in a while. They give an outlet to talk about frusterations and to joys and to share what's going on in their life. They give people a really really cool way to keep friends and family informed and to update them with pictures, stories and such. And it's really easy too! Anyone can do it, wether you are a 10 year old or a 90 year old, you can learn facebook!
I have always loved facebook and the social internet sites. They have always been a fun way to express myself without having to think. I am sure most of you understand where I am coming from. The popularity of these social sites can't just be to reconnect. There must be others that agree with me about not having to think about things or be deep when on facebook. It's like sitting around with your group of friends and talking......but without the feeling that you need to entertain and without the awkward silences. (Although I can't tell you the last time I had an awkward silence in a group of my friends. LOL!)
But there has been a growing trend on facebook and I have heard it called INTERNET COURAGE.
How many times have we done this? You are sitting at your computer and you are trying to figure out what to post as your status. Not really thinking about the implications that can come with your post, you say something like, "The KJV Bible is the ONLY Bible." or "Poor Michael Vick......he shouldn't have gotten so much prison time. It's not like he hurt a person." or "this team totally didn't deserve that win"...............anway, you get the picture. Many times we don't mean them the way they sound. Many times we do. And yet other times we just don't think before we speak.
Next is the commenting on other peoples statuses or posts. How many times have you done THIS? You are reading the statuses of other folks or the comments on other folks statuses and you see something that you don't like or that just doesn't sit well with you. It could be for many reasons.....it could be someone used a derogatory term in their status and that is something that you are passionate about. Or maybe someone said something about President Obama and his liberal views or praised him for something and it infuriated you. Or someone commented on someone elses status and was poking at you or a loved one and you just broke. There are sooo many scenarios. I'll use the same examples as I did above.
BAD EXAMPLE #1:
Bobs Status: The KJV Bible is the ONLY Bible.
comments:
Jim-I don't know if I would go THAT far.
Bob- I definitely would go THAT far and you are STUPID if you think otherwise.
Jessica-WOW.....that was a bit harsh, Bob, don't you think?
Jim-Well, Jessica, consider the source. Bob has very little education and really doesn't even go to church so they probably don't read their Bible anyway.
BAD EXAMPLE #2:
Chris' Status: Poor Michael Vick......he shouldn't have gotten so much prison time. It's not like he hurt a person.
Comments:
Betty-He totally deserved that much prison time.......probably more!!
Chris-Whatever! Although I hate that he was inhumane to animals, they still aren't people and they have no souls and I think that someone who hurts an animal shouldn't get more time than someone that hurts another human being.
***this one would go on for about 80 million comments and believe me, I know!***
I could go on and on with examples but you get the picture. Is it really worth it to cause tension and strife between friends just so you can speak your mind? Maybe those posts could have read like this........
GOOD EXAMPLE #1
Bobs Status: I think that the KJV Bible is the best Bible translation.
Jim-I don't really agree with that. Why do you think that?
Bob gives his reason for saying that and they carry on a civilized conversation. They don't bring up liberal vs. conservative views. They don't talk about education levels. They don't call each other names or seek to anger the other person. The discussion can get heated but the more mature adult should know when to back off and agree to disagree!
The other problem with controversial statuses and updates is that sometimes when you say something, you are joking but tone of voice is impossible to know if you are typing or reading something. I know from experience, even putting LOL or a :0) isn't always gonna tell the other person that you are joking or aren't picking on them. You have to SAY that you were kidding and gauge wether you think that other person is going to be easily offended. It's such a fine line to know when and what to comment that sometimes it's just not worth it. The best thing to do if you have to think that hard about it is probably not to do it at all!
Here is my advice:
When writing a status.....think about it. Use your brain. Will this offend someone? Could this be something that might cause an adverse reaction? Can I handle someone acting adversely to my status and respond with dignity and grace, if they do?
When commenting on a status........think about it. Use your noodle. Do NOT act on impulse!! Will this offend someone? Could I hurt someone? Will I regret saying this right after I post it? Will I be embarrassed to see the person that I am commenting to again because of my reaction?
I know of many times, myself, that I have responded to something someone said and they took it completely the wrong way and blasted me for it! I also know of many times that I have posted or commented on something in a negative way and did it cause I wasn't doing it in person. My INTERNET COURAGE got the best of me. I was hiding behind my computer screen and said things that I NEVER would have said had I been speaking in person. When you do post based on your feeling you are either: a.) a hothead who speaks their mind no matter wether it is in person or not. Or b.) you WISH you had the guts to speak your mind in person but you don't like confrontation so you choose to do it via the internet where you can say what you want without the guilt afterwards of hurting someone's feelings.
I'm not saying that a little healthy discussion is wrong. There have been plenty of "heated" discussion that became learning experiences for me and for the person I was talking to because both of us came in with open minds and not to offend, but to educate each other on how we felt. Neither of us called each other names or degraded each other in any way. We also didn't see eye to eye even in the end but I know it made me feel validated to be able to discuss, like a rational adult, the way I felt about something.
And lastly, forgive and ask for forgiveness! If you have offended someone or think you have offended someone in any way, go to them (wether it be via phone, text, face to face or email) and ask them to forgive you. Swallow your pride and do this! If you are anything like me, which I am sure some of you are, it will eat away at you until you do so. AND when someone comes to you to ask for forgiveness, FORGIVE THEM! Who are we to hold them to a higher standard than our God holds us to? When we ask for forgiveness from our God, it is as far as the east is from the west!!
A few bible verses to remember when playing on facebook:
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Pr. 15:1)
A hot tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel (Pr. 15:18).
When a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him (Pr. 16:7).
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out (Pr. 17:14).
It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel (Pr. 20:3)
Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful (2 Tim. 2:23-24).
All of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble (1 Pet. 3:8).
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor, but a man of understanding holds his tongue (Pr. 11:12).
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves (Rom. 12:10).
Show proper respect to everyone; Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king ( 1 Pet. 2:17).
He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity (Pr. 21:23).
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken (Mt. 12:36).
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13).
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:32).
LOVE YOU ALL!
JEANINE :0)
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Back to embarrassment
Because I think this is so funny, I have decided to blog about my husbands most embarrassing moment! Go to the bathroom before you start reading this.
John grew up in Central Church. If you don't know where Central Church was, it was at the corner of Kirby and Winchester. It was shaped like a roulette wheel (or atleast that is what I thought it looked like). It was round and that is what most people remember about it. It now has that big ole redonkulous Statue of Liberty in front of it......if you still don't know where that is, then you probably never will! Anyway, he grew up there. His parents were very involved in church and his uncle was the associate pastor. He and his cousin, Philip (who is the son of the associate pastor uncle) would sit together during church. John's dad sang in the chior and Philips dad was, of course, always on or near the stage so they were told to be quiet and because their parents had full view of the sanctuary from the stage, they were watching them the entire time. This particular Sunday morning John and Philip had been in the balcony at the tip topest row just kinda quietly doing the things kids did.....you know, laying down on the pew drawing or napping or coloring. Well, each Sunday they would sneak out of the sanctuary during the closing prayer and roam the halls until time to go home. This Sunday was no different. First Philip would go out, tip toeing the entire way, so as not to draw any wandering eyes up to their little corner. (Ther were upwards of 2,000 people in attendance on any given Sunday) He would get out safely and then John would follow suite. This particular week Philip successfully descended the stairs from the tip top balcony row and John got up to leave. He made it down about three stairs and tripped and tumbled down the stairs. Reminding you they were praying and how loud balconies are anyway, the thud on each step he hit was radiated across the sanctuary....curplunk, curplunk, curplunk, curplunk.....and CRASH. Once he reached the bottom step he plowed right into the railing at the bottom with a HUGE CRASH! Next thing you know, he popped right up and ran out of the sanctuary with just about every eye searching the balcony to see what had happened.
He successfully forgot about that experience until he reached youth age and one of the girls he was then friends with reminded him of the experience and explained that she was in the chior at the time of the event and that it was SO loud that he could have been tumbling right beside her and it would have been no louder. She told him that even the preacher talked about it later and laughed about it. She said the giggles being surpressed and the shaking sholders in the entire sanctuary told her that everyone else had noticed too!
John grew up in Central Church. If you don't know where Central Church was, it was at the corner of Kirby and Winchester. It was shaped like a roulette wheel (or atleast that is what I thought it looked like). It was round and that is what most people remember about it. It now has that big ole redonkulous Statue of Liberty in front of it......if you still don't know where that is, then you probably never will! Anyway, he grew up there. His parents were very involved in church and his uncle was the associate pastor. He and his cousin, Philip (who is the son of the associate pastor uncle) would sit together during church. John's dad sang in the chior and Philips dad was, of course, always on or near the stage so they were told to be quiet and because their parents had full view of the sanctuary from the stage, they were watching them the entire time. This particular Sunday morning John and Philip had been in the balcony at the tip topest row just kinda quietly doing the things kids did.....you know, laying down on the pew drawing or napping or coloring. Well, each Sunday they would sneak out of the sanctuary during the closing prayer and roam the halls until time to go home. This Sunday was no different. First Philip would go out, tip toeing the entire way, so as not to draw any wandering eyes up to their little corner. (Ther were upwards of 2,000 people in attendance on any given Sunday) He would get out safely and then John would follow suite. This particular week Philip successfully descended the stairs from the tip top balcony row and John got up to leave. He made it down about three stairs and tripped and tumbled down the stairs. Reminding you they were praying and how loud balconies are anyway, the thud on each step he hit was radiated across the sanctuary....curplunk, curplunk, curplunk, curplunk.....and CRASH. Once he reached the bottom step he plowed right into the railing at the bottom with a HUGE CRASH! Next thing you know, he popped right up and ran out of the sanctuary with just about every eye searching the balcony to see what had happened.
He successfully forgot about that experience until he reached youth age and one of the girls he was then friends with reminded him of the experience and explained that she was in the chior at the time of the event and that it was SO loud that he could have been tumbling right beside her and it would have been no louder. She told him that even the preacher talked about it later and laughed about it. She said the giggles being surpressed and the shaking sholders in the entire sanctuary told her that everyone else had noticed too!
Great Things
Playing with children can be so fun and can reduce your stress level by leaps and bounds. One thing that you must remember while you are playing with children with Autism and Developmental Delays is that they play different than other typical children, most of the time.
I was talking to John on the phone on my way home from work and we were discussing the fact that Trey is sometimes harder to play with than Crockett. While he CAN play games and enjoys playing some group games, sometimes he wants to do things that are either repetitive or things that revolve around him instead of games that can be played with multiple players or that require imagination. An example is this.......Crockett and John were playing with swords and Trey wanted to play but didn't really want to play fight with them. John couldn't understand what he wanted him to do or what it was he wanted to "play" and began to get a little frusterated with Trey. I told John that he should indulge Trey sometimes and not always force him to play the way the typical child plays. So what if Trey wants to rotate in a circle and make weird noises as he does! Do it with him. Rotate in a circle, make weird noises and have him slap hands with you as you do it. It makes a "team" game for him that is fun for him and it is also teaching him how to "play" with other kids while he does something HE wants to do. After I reminded John of our conversation of acceptance of Treys quirks, his whole demeanor changed and Treys little games didn't HAVE to make sense to him. Trey LOVED playing this spinning game with daddy and playing it under his own terms and by the end, Crockett was playing it too and we were all giggling at how silly and somehow fun it was!
John and I have discussed this issue before. We want to make sure that Trey always has the chance to express himself in whatever way he wants to at home. We want home to be a place where he can be comfortable....where he is accepted for who and what he is and not forced to be someone he's not. While we still get frusterated and yes, sometimes angry about his little quirks that can be infuriating at times, we remind ourselves that our acceptance of him AS IS is something that will always make him feel comfortable in his own skin and will help him excel in anything he puts his mind to.
Thinking outside of the box and thinking atypically is what leads to new discoveries and to cures for diseases, among other things. Who ever said that a child that was seemingly challenged in some way doesnt have the cure for cancer somewhere in that special brilliant mind of theirs? Or more ironically, what if my Trey grows up to find the link to curing autism and the thing that made him "different" is the very thing that made him see differently enough to find that cure!?
To those of you that have Autistic children, children with disabilities or for those parents who have typical children with interests and quirks that you don't understand..........ACCEPT THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE, HOW THEY LEARN AND WHAT THEY ARE because one day they are going to do great things!! God placed Trey, just the way he is, in our lives and on this earth for a reason and I am CERTAIN that it is to do GREAT things!
I was talking to John on the phone on my way home from work and we were discussing the fact that Trey is sometimes harder to play with than Crockett. While he CAN play games and enjoys playing some group games, sometimes he wants to do things that are either repetitive or things that revolve around him instead of games that can be played with multiple players or that require imagination. An example is this.......Crockett and John were playing with swords and Trey wanted to play but didn't really want to play fight with them. John couldn't understand what he wanted him to do or what it was he wanted to "play" and began to get a little frusterated with Trey. I told John that he should indulge Trey sometimes and not always force him to play the way the typical child plays. So what if Trey wants to rotate in a circle and make weird noises as he does! Do it with him. Rotate in a circle, make weird noises and have him slap hands with you as you do it. It makes a "team" game for him that is fun for him and it is also teaching him how to "play" with other kids while he does something HE wants to do. After I reminded John of our conversation of acceptance of Treys quirks, his whole demeanor changed and Treys little games didn't HAVE to make sense to him. Trey LOVED playing this spinning game with daddy and playing it under his own terms and by the end, Crockett was playing it too and we were all giggling at how silly and somehow fun it was!
John and I have discussed this issue before. We want to make sure that Trey always has the chance to express himself in whatever way he wants to at home. We want home to be a place where he can be comfortable....where he is accepted for who and what he is and not forced to be someone he's not. While we still get frusterated and yes, sometimes angry about his little quirks that can be infuriating at times, we remind ourselves that our acceptance of him AS IS is something that will always make him feel comfortable in his own skin and will help him excel in anything he puts his mind to.
Thinking outside of the box and thinking atypically is what leads to new discoveries and to cures for diseases, among other things. Who ever said that a child that was seemingly challenged in some way doesnt have the cure for cancer somewhere in that special brilliant mind of theirs? Or more ironically, what if my Trey grows up to find the link to curing autism and the thing that made him "different" is the very thing that made him see differently enough to find that cure!?
To those of you that have Autistic children, children with disabilities or for those parents who have typical children with interests and quirks that you don't understand..........ACCEPT THEM FOR WHO THEY ARE, HOW THEY LEARN AND WHAT THEY ARE because one day they are going to do great things!! God placed Trey, just the way he is, in our lives and on this earth for a reason and I am CERTAIN that it is to do GREAT things!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Sorry it's been so long since I've had a post on my blog! Our family has been inundated with sickness this past week or so. First Trey, then me, then Crockett and now finally John. Hopefully we are gonna get over this and it will be a LONG time before we get sick again.
To lighten my mood and make me feel better, the following three stories are my top three most embarrassing moments of my life. They may not seem that embarrassing to you when you are reading them but rest assured that they were VERY VERY traumatic at the time!
Number Three most embarrassing moment:
Number Two:
About 8 years ago or so, John and I were walking through Kroger doing some grocery shopping. We didn't have any kids yet so we always went grocery shopping together as a little date, per say. Anyway, we were walking down the cereal aisle and John was pushing the basket. We both stopped and were focusing more on what looked good to us than on what was going on around us. There weren't many people in Kroger at the time so we just kinda meandered mindlessly back and forth. We kinda spoke to each other off and on but nothing really major. I decided on which cereal I wanted and was holding the box making my way back to the basket. Still eyeing the cereals, so as to make sure that I was getting the one that I wanted most, I walked over to John and patted his bottom and said, "Did you find the one you want baby?" I looked up and there was a complete stranger staring at me! He grinned a sheepish, somewhat embarrassed but somehow pleased smile and said, "Yeah, honey, I think I did!" I don't think I ever told anyone about that because I was so embarrassed! I look back on it today and think it's hilarious and realize that if that same scenario happened today, I would take it in stride, probably adding a taste of sarcasm somewhere in there cause, once agian, that's just how I roll!
And brace yourselves! Here is the number one most embarrassing moment in Jeanine Nichole Hallberg Burnside's life! So far.........
I had lost over 70 lbs during the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I was finally able to wear lots of different style clothes that I had never been able to wear before. My birthday is April 18th and I had just gotten a babydoll dress back when they were popular. Those of you that knew me back then surely remembers this outfit cause I was so proud of it...It was my fave! It was black with short sleeves and big huge yellow sunflowers with green leaves all over it. I had gotten matching tights that were also black with about half dollar size sunflower designs on them. I also had gotten a pair of black babydoll shoes and some quarter size real looking sunflower earrings and matching ponytail holders with big quarter size sunflowers hot glued on them (I wore my hair in little baby pony tails using these). So our youth group was going to a concert at the coliseum and I decided to wear my new outfit. I wanted to look cute for the boys, of course. As we walk to our seat at the coliseum we were very close to the top and if you remember correctly, it had no rails to hold onto and the stairs went STRAIGHT up. Also, remembering I had a dress on, you realize by now that was already a recipe for disaster. On the way up the stairs I trip forward and give a full moon to the people that were following me up the stairs and to 90% of the coliseum too.....do you guys remember how immature middle school and early high school boys can be? Heck, all boys are immature. They teased me a little but I got over that and had a great time and as we were walking to the bus after the concert, we were acting silly, like 9th graders do. We all were doing the Monkee Walk......you know, you drape your arm around the other persons shoulder and then you all put your right foot forward, then bring around your left foot.....go YouTube The Monkee Walk and watch one of the videos...you'll understand. As we began the walk, I somehow got tripped up and stumbled forward but this time I actually fell down and once again, mooned half of Memphis on the way down. Yeah, that's funny....but just wait.
On the way back to church, we stopped at the McDonald's on Stateline for dinner cause it was really the only thing open at that time of night. I keep saying the phrase....once again...but it's the only thing that accurately depicts what's going on. SO.......Once again, being a 9th grade girl and all, we all decided, after we ate, that we would go out on the playground and pile into the ball pit while we were waiting on everyone. BAD BAD DECISION. Definitely the wrong thing to do in a dress! Especially considering how my night had already gone however, I am not the brightest crayon in the box sometimes....not the sharpest tool in the shed either! I climb in the balls and after a few minutes, Summer say, "Jeanine, is your dress ripped?" I looked down and the seam between my chest and the skirt part of the dress was ripped about 6 or 8 inches across and my goods were on display. I pulled it together and began trying to get out without flashing the rest of my junk for others to see when I realized that one of my new sunflower earrings was missing and was most likely gone forever in the ball pit. I had "my girls" look for that while I went inside to our youth director, Bro. Steve, who was one of two adults on this outing and neither was a woman who would have a sewing kit. I asked everyone I knew and also random strangers if they had any safety pins or just push pins.....anything but no one had anything but a stapler......Needless to say, my dress was stapled together and it stayed really well until my parent came and got me. Oh yeah, and my girls found my earring too! That was my most embarrassing night ever! I don't think I will ever top that night. At least I HOPE NOT!
Runner Up:
***On the way to NOLA to visit Andy and Kelly when we first got married, I was driving and I was speeding. I had never been pulled over before and had no idea where to pull over on the interstate or really anywhere. The cop pulled behind me and turned on his lights and I started trying to pull over on the left side of the interstate instead of the right side like a normal person. The cop looked at me like I had three heads when he came to the car and asked me if I really thought I should pull over on the three inch median as opposed to the one the size of three lanes on the other side. I plead ignorance and he let me go but that was still enough to make me feel stupid and embarrassed at the time.
Runner Runner Up:
***This one just happened the other night. I was walking into the movie theater on a date with my awesome hubby and I wasn't watching where I was going and I stepped on a piece of uneven pavement and I fell down. I did a gainer into the pavement. John said I fell so fast that he didn't even process that I was falling until I was already down. Thankfully I caught myself with my hands mostly and a little wiht my knee. I was so embarrassed that I was up almost instantly! It did kinda help that there werent but a handful of people around.
To lighten my mood and make me feel better, the following three stories are my top three most embarrassing moments of my life. They may not seem that embarrassing to you when you are reading them but rest assured that they were VERY VERY traumatic at the time!
Number Three most embarrassing moment:
My sister, Wendy was about 8 months pregnant with my niece Morgan, who will be 16 in June. So, about 16 years ago, my mom and sister and I were in Kmart when it was on Stateline Road (where Burlington is now) and we had been seeking out the specials.....cause that's how we roll.....and as we were leaving me and Wendy began picking on each other. Keep in mind that I was round about 16 and she was round about 19 almost 20 and also keep in mind that she was 8 months pregnant. As we are walking through the parking lot I am in front of her and she decides to kick my foot behind my leg and trip me. I fall to the ground and roll. And I didn't stop rolling until I was under the car that was parked next to ours! The really really really uncool part of the whole thing was: A.) there was someone in that car. B.) there was someone in the car behind that one. C.) there were people all over the parking lot. D.) I looked like an idiot rolling all over the ground. E.) I got my clothes dirty and the main one F.) I couldn't not kick the living C. R. A. P. (and you have to spell that word cause it doesn't sound as bad when you do) out of my sister cause she was flippin 8 month pregnant! Definitely embarassing at the age of 16......you can call me grace.....
Number Two:
About 8 years ago or so, John and I were walking through Kroger doing some grocery shopping. We didn't have any kids yet so we always went grocery shopping together as a little date, per say. Anyway, we were walking down the cereal aisle and John was pushing the basket. We both stopped and were focusing more on what looked good to us than on what was going on around us. There weren't many people in Kroger at the time so we just kinda meandered mindlessly back and forth. We kinda spoke to each other off and on but nothing really major. I decided on which cereal I wanted and was holding the box making my way back to the basket. Still eyeing the cereals, so as to make sure that I was getting the one that I wanted most, I walked over to John and patted his bottom and said, "Did you find the one you want baby?" I looked up and there was a complete stranger staring at me! He grinned a sheepish, somewhat embarrassed but somehow pleased smile and said, "Yeah, honey, I think I did!" I don't think I ever told anyone about that because I was so embarrassed! I look back on it today and think it's hilarious and realize that if that same scenario happened today, I would take it in stride, probably adding a taste of sarcasm somewhere in there cause, once agian, that's just how I roll!
And brace yourselves! Here is the number one most embarrassing moment in Jeanine Nichole Hallberg Burnside's life! So far.........
I had lost over 70 lbs during the summer between 8th and 9th grade. I was finally able to wear lots of different style clothes that I had never been able to wear before. My birthday is April 18th and I had just gotten a babydoll dress back when they were popular. Those of you that knew me back then surely remembers this outfit cause I was so proud of it...It was my fave! It was black with short sleeves and big huge yellow sunflowers with green leaves all over it. I had gotten matching tights that were also black with about half dollar size sunflower designs on them. I also had gotten a pair of black babydoll shoes and some quarter size real looking sunflower earrings and matching ponytail holders with big quarter size sunflowers hot glued on them (I wore my hair in little baby pony tails using these). So our youth group was going to a concert at the coliseum and I decided to wear my new outfit. I wanted to look cute for the boys, of course. As we walk to our seat at the coliseum we were very close to the top and if you remember correctly, it had no rails to hold onto and the stairs went STRAIGHT up. Also, remembering I had a dress on, you realize by now that was already a recipe for disaster. On the way up the stairs I trip forward and give a full moon to the people that were following me up the stairs and to 90% of the coliseum too.....do you guys remember how immature middle school and early high school boys can be? Heck, all boys are immature. They teased me a little but I got over that and had a great time and as we were walking to the bus after the concert, we were acting silly, like 9th graders do. We all were doing the Monkee Walk......you know, you drape your arm around the other persons shoulder and then you all put your right foot forward, then bring around your left foot.....go YouTube The Monkee Walk and watch one of the videos...you'll understand. As we began the walk, I somehow got tripped up and stumbled forward but this time I actually fell down and once again, mooned half of Memphis on the way down. Yeah, that's funny....but just wait.
On the way back to church, we stopped at the McDonald's on Stateline for dinner cause it was really the only thing open at that time of night. I keep saying the phrase....once again...but it's the only thing that accurately depicts what's going on. SO.......Once again, being a 9th grade girl and all, we all decided, after we ate, that we would go out on the playground and pile into the ball pit while we were waiting on everyone. BAD BAD DECISION. Definitely the wrong thing to do in a dress! Especially considering how my night had already gone however, I am not the brightest crayon in the box sometimes....not the sharpest tool in the shed either! I climb in the balls and after a few minutes, Summer say, "Jeanine, is your dress ripped?" I looked down and the seam between my chest and the skirt part of the dress was ripped about 6 or 8 inches across and my goods were on display. I pulled it together and began trying to get out without flashing the rest of my junk for others to see when I realized that one of my new sunflower earrings was missing and was most likely gone forever in the ball pit. I had "my girls" look for that while I went inside to our youth director, Bro. Steve, who was one of two adults on this outing and neither was a woman who would have a sewing kit. I asked everyone I knew and also random strangers if they had any safety pins or just push pins.....anything but no one had anything but a stapler......Needless to say, my dress was stapled together and it stayed really well until my parent came and got me. Oh yeah, and my girls found my earring too! That was my most embarrassing night ever! I don't think I will ever top that night. At least I HOPE NOT!
Runner Up:
***On the way to NOLA to visit Andy and Kelly when we first got married, I was driving and I was speeding. I had never been pulled over before and had no idea where to pull over on the interstate or really anywhere. The cop pulled behind me and turned on his lights and I started trying to pull over on the left side of the interstate instead of the right side like a normal person. The cop looked at me like I had three heads when he came to the car and asked me if I really thought I should pull over on the three inch median as opposed to the one the size of three lanes on the other side. I plead ignorance and he let me go but that was still enough to make me feel stupid and embarrassed at the time.
Runner Runner Up:
***This one just happened the other night. I was walking into the movie theater on a date with my awesome hubby and I wasn't watching where I was going and I stepped on a piece of uneven pavement and I fell down. I did a gainer into the pavement. John said I fell so fast that he didn't even process that I was falling until I was already down. Thankfully I caught myself with my hands mostly and a little wiht my knee. I was so embarrassed that I was up almost instantly! It did kinda help that there werent but a handful of people around.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
That child doesn't have ADD......he has a case of BAD
Living with autism and having to go to public places can sometimes be a chore. It can sometimes be an adventure and sometimes it seems like a circus....Your very own little BIG TOP.....three rings.....wild animals running everywhere.....one announcer trying to keep or maintain control but everyone is watching the side show and not paying attention to the lil ole announcer, including the wild animals. I am assuming that I don't have to explain who's who in that scenario!
One day about a year ago, I had to take Crockett to the allergist and the Southaven office was closed so we had to go to the one off of Walnut Grove on Humphreys. I asked my mom to go with me so I didn't have to drive out there by myself AND so we could go shopping afterward since we would be so close to Saddle Creek. Well, this meant we would have Trey with us at the doctor but he was doing so much better with his anger and loud outburst and general meltdowns that I figured it would be fine.
We all walk into the allergist to find a big waiting room with a play area for children. We were very relieved to see both because we knew the play area would assist in helping entertain the boys and the waiting room being big would help cut down on my kids annoying other guests. Crockett and Trey migrated to the play area and my mother sat down to wait while I checked us in. While checking in, Trey quickly became bored with the "kitchen" play area and started trying to take a car from Crockett. When Crockett wouldn't give it up, Trey began screaming and having a meltdown. My mother ran to him and held him, calming him down. Everyone watched and no one said a word but when your child has a meltdown in public no one has to say a word.....you can read it in their expressions. When she let Trey go again, he ran straight for the door to the back of the offices and opened it, just to watch it shut. He did this one more time and I walked over and pulled him back to the play area to redirect his focus on something less distracting and less annoying to those around. At this point Crockett told me he had to go potty and since it was so new for him, I had to go immediately. Mom had charge of Trey while I took Crockett. I wasnt gone but for a minute and when I got back, mom was furious....she didnt start crying until I asked what was wrong and she continued snatching things up and pulled Trey by the arm out of the room.
Now, if you know my mom, you know that she is VERY non confrontational! She avoids confrontations like the plague! She had taken Trey out to my car to watch a movie so I called her to find out what happened while I waited. Apparently, while I was gone Trey was running around like a crazy man.....getting into things, opening doors and closing doors and just doing things that a recent 5 year old shouldnt do. It didn't help that he was WAY bigger than he should have been at that age because people always expected him to act older than he was.
Mom preceeded to tell me that the lady at the counter (who had already been very short with me form the beginning, pre Trey craziness) was watching trey and glairing at him every time he did ANYTHING. Mom finally had enough of it and let that lady have it! Mom told her that she didn't appreciate the way she was acting toward Trey and that God forbid she ever have a family member or someone she loves be diagnosed with Autism.
I was LIVID! I decided not to cause a scene because my mother had already spoken our peace and said enough AND the rest of the staff was very very kind and understanding. I didn't want to punish the rest of the people just to get to one lady. So I did the next best thing......I hand wrote a letter to the Office Manager. Instead of degrading that lady, I just explained what had happened and offered a solution to their problem. AWARENESS! I suggested that they print pamphlets or information sheets or even offer a class on dealing with developmentally delayed children or children living wtih Autism. I really didn't want this lady to lose her job but I did want her to understand that judging a situation and not knowing the entire context was unexcusable for anyone especially in a place of business.
A few weeks later at my doctor visit in the Southaven office, Dr. Treadwell told me that the problem had been addressed and that they were taking necessary steps to ensure tolerance and awareness was being taught to their manager.
My word of advice for the day is this: If you are out and there is a child having meltdown or if there is a family situation that you think looks like a discipline problem, PLEASE do not judge these people! There will be exceptions to this rule from time to time. However, it is still not your business. Next time you have that overwhelming urge to GLARE at someone who's child is throwing a fit in Target or maybe the urge to SLAP someones kid who is crying uncontrollably in Walmart or if you are thinking, "why doesn't that mother spank that child. All he needs is a good spanking", remember that walking a mile in someone elses shoes is sometimes harder than it looks! And if you don't believe me, I have a 6 year old with developmental delays that will give you the perspective that you need to NEVER.....EVER.....think that it's just a BAD child!
One day about a year ago, I had to take Crockett to the allergist and the Southaven office was closed so we had to go to the one off of Walnut Grove on Humphreys. I asked my mom to go with me so I didn't have to drive out there by myself AND so we could go shopping afterward since we would be so close to Saddle Creek. Well, this meant we would have Trey with us at the doctor but he was doing so much better with his anger and loud outburst and general meltdowns that I figured it would be fine.
We all walk into the allergist to find a big waiting room with a play area for children. We were very relieved to see both because we knew the play area would assist in helping entertain the boys and the waiting room being big would help cut down on my kids annoying other guests. Crockett and Trey migrated to the play area and my mother sat down to wait while I checked us in. While checking in, Trey quickly became bored with the "kitchen" play area and started trying to take a car from Crockett. When Crockett wouldn't give it up, Trey began screaming and having a meltdown. My mother ran to him and held him, calming him down. Everyone watched and no one said a word but when your child has a meltdown in public no one has to say a word.....you can read it in their expressions. When she let Trey go again, he ran straight for the door to the back of the offices and opened it, just to watch it shut. He did this one more time and I walked over and pulled him back to the play area to redirect his focus on something less distracting and less annoying to those around. At this point Crockett told me he had to go potty and since it was so new for him, I had to go immediately. Mom had charge of Trey while I took Crockett. I wasnt gone but for a minute and when I got back, mom was furious....she didnt start crying until I asked what was wrong and she continued snatching things up and pulled Trey by the arm out of the room.
Now, if you know my mom, you know that she is VERY non confrontational! She avoids confrontations like the plague! She had taken Trey out to my car to watch a movie so I called her to find out what happened while I waited. Apparently, while I was gone Trey was running around like a crazy man.....getting into things, opening doors and closing doors and just doing things that a recent 5 year old shouldnt do. It didn't help that he was WAY bigger than he should have been at that age because people always expected him to act older than he was.
Mom preceeded to tell me that the lady at the counter (who had already been very short with me form the beginning, pre Trey craziness) was watching trey and glairing at him every time he did ANYTHING. Mom finally had enough of it and let that lady have it! Mom told her that she didn't appreciate the way she was acting toward Trey and that God forbid she ever have a family member or someone she loves be diagnosed with Autism.
I was LIVID! I decided not to cause a scene because my mother had already spoken our peace and said enough AND the rest of the staff was very very kind and understanding. I didn't want to punish the rest of the people just to get to one lady. So I did the next best thing......I hand wrote a letter to the Office Manager. Instead of degrading that lady, I just explained what had happened and offered a solution to their problem. AWARENESS! I suggested that they print pamphlets or information sheets or even offer a class on dealing with developmentally delayed children or children living wtih Autism. I really didn't want this lady to lose her job but I did want her to understand that judging a situation and not knowing the entire context was unexcusable for anyone especially in a place of business.
A few weeks later at my doctor visit in the Southaven office, Dr. Treadwell told me that the problem had been addressed and that they were taking necessary steps to ensure tolerance and awareness was being taught to their manager.
My word of advice for the day is this: If you are out and there is a child having meltdown or if there is a family situation that you think looks like a discipline problem, PLEASE do not judge these people! There will be exceptions to this rule from time to time. However, it is still not your business. Next time you have that overwhelming urge to GLARE at someone who's child is throwing a fit in Target or maybe the urge to SLAP someones kid who is crying uncontrollably in Walmart or if you are thinking, "why doesn't that mother spank that child. All he needs is a good spanking", remember that walking a mile in someone elses shoes is sometimes harder than it looks! And if you don't believe me, I have a 6 year old with developmental delays that will give you the perspective that you need to NEVER.....EVER.....think that it's just a BAD child!
Monday, February 1, 2010
A follow up.....
Here is the follow up to the potty training story. I think you all will appreciate this.
On Fridays Trey has SNAAP (see previous blog regarding SNAAP) at the YMCA in Olive Branch. We usually go see John at work and take him a Sonic drink to kill a few minutes before we go to the Y since his office is just two seconds away from the Y.
One day we had stopped in and it was at a time when Trey was just starting to really want independence and he said he wanted to go play on the playground (it's just right across the hall from John's office). I agreed to let him go and he insisted that I stay in daddy's office while he went to play. While John and I were talking I got this feeling down deep in my gut. I don't know if any of you have ever had "that feeling" down deep but when you're a momma, you know something is about to shake down. I got up from my seat while John was mid sentence and walked out of his office, peering into the play area as I walked out. Trey was not playing in the normal place he usually did so I walked closer. He wasn't in the play area at all. I figured that he must have had to go potty and that was where he went. I turn to make my way to the bathroom and I hear someone say, "JOHN, I think your boy needs help." As I look up I see Trey waddling down the hall with his pants down around his ankles saying "wipe my bottom, mommy." I just about flipped OUT! I was SO embarassed. John was mortified and just about forbid me to let Trey go anywhere in his place of business alone again.
I can look back on this situation and laugh and laugh now but I promise you, at the time, it was not so funny! Kids DO the darndest things!
On Fridays Trey has SNAAP (see previous blog regarding SNAAP) at the YMCA in Olive Branch. We usually go see John at work and take him a Sonic drink to kill a few minutes before we go to the Y since his office is just two seconds away from the Y.
One day we had stopped in and it was at a time when Trey was just starting to really want independence and he said he wanted to go play on the playground (it's just right across the hall from John's office). I agreed to let him go and he insisted that I stay in daddy's office while he went to play. While John and I were talking I got this feeling down deep in my gut. I don't know if any of you have ever had "that feeling" down deep but when you're a momma, you know something is about to shake down. I got up from my seat while John was mid sentence and walked out of his office, peering into the play area as I walked out. Trey was not playing in the normal place he usually did so I walked closer. He wasn't in the play area at all. I figured that he must have had to go potty and that was where he went. I turn to make my way to the bathroom and I hear someone say, "JOHN, I think your boy needs help." As I look up I see Trey waddling down the hall with his pants down around his ankles saying "wipe my bottom, mommy." I just about flipped OUT! I was SO embarassed. John was mortified and just about forbid me to let Trey go anywhere in his place of business alone again.
I can look back on this situation and laugh and laugh now but I promise you, at the time, it was not so funny! Kids DO the darndest things!
Friday, January 29, 2010
I can think of WAY more fun ways to spend $800 bucks!
Crockett has always been a curious child. He has always been a romer. You know, the kid that you can't take your eyes off of for a second because when you turn back around your house will be burnt down. Yeah, that kind of kid. Which brings a certain story to mind........
Six months after we moved into our house, Crockett was just over 2 years old and he began that phase where he wanted to put things in the toilet. Trey was in and out of the bathroom alot still getting used to going potty on his own and I didn't want to keep the bathroom door locked. Every so often, I would realize Crockett wasn't around and I would find him in the bathroom doing multiple things. Once I found the following items in the toilet.........two entire double rolls of toilet paper (not unrolled), his sipee cup, Treys toothbrush, a small shoe, and all the garbage from the small bathroom garbage can. At any other time I might find five or six hot wheels, a thomas train or maybe a sock or some coloring book papers and a few crayons. We spanked hands, we did time outs and we scolded but to no avail.
I had gone out with my girlfriends to a jewelry type party of some kind and Wendy brought her kids to my house and was gonna babysit until John got home. The kids were playing and Wendy was in the living room watching tv. Morgan was going back and forth from Treys room to the living room playing with the kids. Trey walks into the living room where Morgan and Wendy were talking and says, "Crocketts going Potty." This was around the time that Trey was still talking a little jabber and was somewhat hard to understand and it took Wendy a few seconds to realize what Trey said. All of a sudden she understood, jumped off the couch and ran into the hallway on the way to the bathroom and there was water sloshing up out of the carpet. As she peered into the bathroom, Crockett was standing over the toilet with a look of horror on his face and there was several inches of water on the floor. He had thrown a brand new roll of toilet paper in the toilet and it had stopped up the hole and then he flushed and flushed and flushed it until it overflowed.
I got the call while I was at the party and by the time I got home my mom and dad were there surveying the damage. The water had gone from the bathroom into the hallway and halfway into both Trey and Crocketts rooms and into Crocketts closet which is right beside the bathroom. I didn't have a clue what to do. John was still at work and it didn't look like he would be getting off anytime soon. My dad finally took care of the issue. He pulled the carpet up and we put some fans on the stuff underneath so it wouldn't mildew or stink and so it would go ahead and dry.
A few weeks later I was at home with the boys and I was doing laundry. I heard the toilet flushing and figured it was Trey. I glanced into the bathroom as I walked by on my way to put up clothes. Crockett was standing in the bathroom once again.......only this time he had NOTHING in his hand. I looked into the toilet and there were five cars piled up in the hole. I sighed, thankful that they were too heavy to go through the pipe, held my breath and reached my hand into the toilet to pull them out. After I got them out, I flushed the toilet and it ran extremely slow. I got the plunger and plunged for a while. That didn't work so I got the snake thing we bought and had already used five or six times in about a week. That didnt work either but atleast I knew something was stuck in the crook cause it wouldnt force whatever it was down. I called John to let him know what was going on and he said I would have to call a plumber. We called Mitch Wright and they came out that day. They tried their industrial snake thing. They tried that for about 30 minutes and still couldn't get it. So he said he would have to remove the toilet and see if he could reach up in there and pull whatever it was out. I stood by and watched as he lay on the front lawn with his arm reaching up into the crook of the potty. And then we found the culprit...........It was Clairabelle.......you know, the coach that Thomas the Tank Engine pulls.......and she was stuck and was NOT coming out without breaking the toilet.
We had to get another toilet. The guy offered to break the toilet to get Clairabelle out but I asked him not to because I could see the same thing happen again. It was $800 buck to replace that toilet!! A toilet that was barely a day over 6 months old and we had to replace it.
I could have taken the whole family on a train coach and paid to name it Clairabelle for the price of that dern toilet. Such is life of a parent!
Six months after we moved into our house, Crockett was just over 2 years old and he began that phase where he wanted to put things in the toilet. Trey was in and out of the bathroom alot still getting used to going potty on his own and I didn't want to keep the bathroom door locked. Every so often, I would realize Crockett wasn't around and I would find him in the bathroom doing multiple things. Once I found the following items in the toilet.........two entire double rolls of toilet paper (not unrolled), his sipee cup, Treys toothbrush, a small shoe, and all the garbage from the small bathroom garbage can. At any other time I might find five or six hot wheels, a thomas train or maybe a sock or some coloring book papers and a few crayons. We spanked hands, we did time outs and we scolded but to no avail.
I had gone out with my girlfriends to a jewelry type party of some kind and Wendy brought her kids to my house and was gonna babysit until John got home. The kids were playing and Wendy was in the living room watching tv. Morgan was going back and forth from Treys room to the living room playing with the kids. Trey walks into the living room where Morgan and Wendy were talking and says, "Crocketts going Potty." This was around the time that Trey was still talking a little jabber and was somewhat hard to understand and it took Wendy a few seconds to realize what Trey said. All of a sudden she understood, jumped off the couch and ran into the hallway on the way to the bathroom and there was water sloshing up out of the carpet. As she peered into the bathroom, Crockett was standing over the toilet with a look of horror on his face and there was several inches of water on the floor. He had thrown a brand new roll of toilet paper in the toilet and it had stopped up the hole and then he flushed and flushed and flushed it until it overflowed.
I got the call while I was at the party and by the time I got home my mom and dad were there surveying the damage. The water had gone from the bathroom into the hallway and halfway into both Trey and Crocketts rooms and into Crocketts closet which is right beside the bathroom. I didn't have a clue what to do. John was still at work and it didn't look like he would be getting off anytime soon. My dad finally took care of the issue. He pulled the carpet up and we put some fans on the stuff underneath so it wouldn't mildew or stink and so it would go ahead and dry.
A few weeks later I was at home with the boys and I was doing laundry. I heard the toilet flushing and figured it was Trey. I glanced into the bathroom as I walked by on my way to put up clothes. Crockett was standing in the bathroom once again.......only this time he had NOTHING in his hand. I looked into the toilet and there were five cars piled up in the hole. I sighed, thankful that they were too heavy to go through the pipe, held my breath and reached my hand into the toilet to pull them out. After I got them out, I flushed the toilet and it ran extremely slow. I got the plunger and plunged for a while. That didn't work so I got the snake thing we bought and had already used five or six times in about a week. That didnt work either but atleast I knew something was stuck in the crook cause it wouldnt force whatever it was down. I called John to let him know what was going on and he said I would have to call a plumber. We called Mitch Wright and they came out that day. They tried their industrial snake thing. They tried that for about 30 minutes and still couldn't get it. So he said he would have to remove the toilet and see if he could reach up in there and pull whatever it was out. I stood by and watched as he lay on the front lawn with his arm reaching up into the crook of the potty. And then we found the culprit...........It was Clairabelle.......you know, the coach that Thomas the Tank Engine pulls.......and she was stuck and was NOT coming out without breaking the toilet.
We had to get another toilet. The guy offered to break the toilet to get Clairabelle out but I asked him not to because I could see the same thing happen again. It was $800 buck to replace that toilet!! A toilet that was barely a day over 6 months old and we had to replace it.
I could have taken the whole family on a train coach and paid to name it Clairabelle for the price of that dern toilet. Such is life of a parent!
KFC........Kids (are) Freakin Crazy!
I had left church Wednesday night and had forgotten to get some dinner for my husband, John. As I drove home, I decided to stop at KFC in Hernando to get him something. We are on a very strict budget right now and I only had $10 in cash on me. There was nothing in the house to eat either. I assumed that I could definitely get his favorite meal of Mashed Potato Bowl and Chicken Pot Pie for ten bucks! You would think, right? Well, while I am on the interstate, I am talking to John on the phone and the boys are in the back of the car going crazy. Crockett is hollering "MOM.....MOM....MOMMA.....HEY MOM....MOMMY......MOMMMMMAAAAA." and Trey is giggling and poking and bugging Crockett who, in between each mom, is squealing at the top of his lungs. As soon as I get off the phone, they stop. So I get to KFC and have to make sure I am getting the right thing for John and I pick the phone up again. IMMEDIATELY, they start in again......screaming, squealing, laughing, hollering.....anything that is LOUD. I get off the phone, only this time the boys don't stop being crazy. I start trying to place my order and can't even hear myself think. I politely ask the order taker to hold on for a second. He agrees and I turn and lose my cool and yell, "SHUT IT!!!!" My heart was racing and I was so angry because the boys made me lose my cool. You see, I am normally a very even tempered and pleasant person. I can tune out almost anything and can be nice even when in a bad mood but that night, for some reason, I couldnt. Trying to remain calm, I asked the guy taking my order how much the bowls & pot pies were individually (they only had the meals posted) and explained to him that I had ten dollars and THAT WAS ALL and I needed to make sure that I didn't go over that amount. He said they were four something and I should be fine. So I pull forward for my total and the boys start in again. Furious at the lack of respect my kids had for me and the fact that I didnt have any way, short from leaving the drive thru, to escape, I rolled the window up and tore into my kids. I took off my seat belt, turned around so I could look them in the eye and, with steam radiating from my ears, calmly but oh so firmly and with that psychotic mom look, explained to them that I was about "this close" to losing it and if they made one more peep, I was going to get out of the car, pull them each out one by one and wear them out on their bare bottom. Wanna talk about quiet....you coulda heard a pin drop in that car. However, my heart was still beating 90 to nothin and I still wasn't calm. Poor guy at the window. He opened the window and proceeded to tell me that my total was $10.96. Once again, I blew up. With extreme annoyance, I said, "I THOUGHT YOU SAID THEY WERE FOUR SOMETHING AND I WOULD BE FINE. So, because you said that and all I have is 10 bucks in cash.........HERE IS MY 10 BUCKS, I HAVE NO MORE MONEY. GIMME MY FOOD." He must have sensed that I was at my breaking point because he sweetly said, "Yes, ma'am." and took my money from me. With a smile, he returned to the window with my food, thanked me (I guess for not pulling out a pistol) and I drove away.
Let's just say, I am not proud of my actions on that night but I must say that sometimes you do have an excuse. MY KIDS MADE ME DO IT!
Let's just say, I am not proud of my actions on that night but I must say that sometimes you do have an excuse. MY KIDS MADE ME DO IT!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
To train or not to train........THAT is the question
As I was driving to work the other day, I was thinking about potty training. This is a very touchy subject for a lot of parents out there and I would like to throw my two cents into the mix. If you don't like reading about potty training or poop and peepee...then don't read the following story! ;0)
Do all children learn at the same pace? Are all children alike? If you FORCE a child to do something, does it help them or hinder them? These are age old questions that can be asked about many things but I am asking today regarding potty training. The following story is MY story of potty training two different children and two different ways.
My boys were different ages when they were potty trained. Trey was 5 when he was completely potty trained. Of course his developmental delays played a huge part of his delay in training.
When Trey was 3 we began trying to get him on the potty but he would not have it. I stopped trying because it was around the time that he was diagnosed with DD and Crockett was diagnosed with Allergies and Asthma and I had too much on my plate. He finally began showing signs of readiness by staying dry for hours at a time, hiding when he was going, wanting to change his pull up immediately after going in it......you know, the basic signs of readiness. BUT I could not catch him to get him to potty before he did it in his pull up. So I have decided, PULL UPS ARE FROM THE DEVIL!! All it is is a diaper with less absorption. So you have to change it more often......they are good for night time diapers but HORRIBLE for toilet training!
So anyway, around 4 and a half, I decided one Saturday to try the "Shoot the Cheerios" game in the potty. We stayed at home all day and I rearranged my plans that day so we could focus ONLY on potty training. That day he finally got it and would shoot pee pee at the cheerios that were floating in the potty. He did this for about two weeks before he finally didn't need them anymore and hasn't worn a diaper during the day since. We still had problems getting him to poo poo on the potty. He would hold it and hold it and would cry because it hurt him to go cause he had waited so long to go. This happens to children with disabilities and special needs a lot because their diet isn't what it should be. The dietary issues are usually due to not liking certain textures or some other kind of oral issue. Trey's was because all he ever wanted or would eat was chicken nuggets. Trey would go for a week at a time sometimes without a bowel movement. He would get sick and throw up because he would not go to the bathroom. We tried adding Benefiber and other fiber supplements to his meals and that didn't work. We tried using laxatives, they didn't work. So finally we had to start using enemas when he hadn't gone for 4-5 days. We only had to use them two or three times before Trey finally made the decision to go on his own rather than get an enema. He hasn't had a problem with it since then! :0)
Crockett, Crockett, Crockett........he has been a much easier trainer. Obviously, you see from my early entry that he has always been interested in the potty. We started trying with him right after he turned 3. He would do it sporadically but never with any consistency. I would try underwear and he would wet them while he was playing (only minutes after taking him) and then he would take them off and hide them so I wouldn't know he had wet them. (still trying to figure out why he thought I wouldn't notice he was naked? hehehe) So I kinda put the whole potty training on the back burner until around the middle of summer. He did pretty good and would go when I asked him if he needed to but he really wouldn't tell me he needed too and if it meant getting up from playing, he would rather wet his pants than do that. We finally got to where I would just carry his entire wardrobe (it seemed) in his backpack and just change his pants if he wet them. Some days he would do great and not have ANY accidents and other times he would go crazy and have five or six accidents. I knew that if he wasn't potty trained that it would be embarrassing to put him in a MDO program and I NEEDED my me time. I considered him completely pee pee potty trained around July or so. However, here comes the hard part. I could not get him to poo poo on the potty for anything. We would put him on the potty before bed because his natural tendency was to go in his pull up at night time. He would sit there for 20 minutes, yelling, screaming, acting the fool until it was getting so late that we had to let him get up. We would put his pull up on, put him in bed and when I would go in to turn off his tv, I could smell his fragrant present! UGH! I didn't know what to do. I couldn't FORCE him to go. So I didn't. He very rarely had poo poo accidents ever cause he had an uncanny ability to hold it til night time. We would catch him every so often and be able to get him to go cause there was no way possible he could hold it any longer.
Finally, a few weeks ago when we were in Gatlinburg, I was with him ALL the time. 24 hours a day, the entire time we were there. I knew his signs that he had to go. The waddley walk, the scared bug eyed solemn stare that he would give cause he was concentrating to hold it in and when I would ask him if he need to go potty and he would immediately and with much force reply "NO!" gave him away EVERY time. You see, the good thing about having boys is that daddy has to take them potty when you are out somewhere so every time I would see the tell tale signs that he needed to, I would tell John and he would take him to the bathroom. EVERY TIME, John would be stern with him and sometimes threaten him to go and every time he would! It was really quite amazing. By the time we got home from our trip, Crockett would tell us when he needed to go poo poo and we haven't had any trouble since!
My theory is that if you can not spend all day, everyday with your child then your commitment to getting them potty trained will have to wait until you can have that time available. Like my opinion or not, but we all live in a world that's GO GO GO and I am of the belief that the reason children are 4, 5 and 6 being potty trained is because parents like me and you are so busy and have so many things pulling us in so many directions that we can't or don't want to take the time to do the things that NEED to be done. Like watching our children for signs of readiness and acting on it instead of putting it off, putting it off. It's not gonna just magically happen, we have to be steadfast and ready when the first signs come up. There are the exceptions, like Trey, who might have delays that keep them from learning at a quick pace but those are few and far between.
What you should learn from this blog:
1. NO PULL UPS. They only hinder the potty training unless you use them at night only to keep them from wetting the bed.
2. Forcing your child to potty train when it's convenient for YOU isn't going to be successful. You must be willing to take time with your child and rearrange your schedule to do so.
3. If you are a woman that has girls, I am so sorry that you have to take your children to the bathroom all the time. If you are a woman with boys........LIVE IT UP and MAKE your husband do it now cause one day you might have granddaughters! LOL!
Do all children learn at the same pace? Are all children alike? If you FORCE a child to do something, does it help them or hinder them? These are age old questions that can be asked about many things but I am asking today regarding potty training. The following story is MY story of potty training two different children and two different ways.
My boys were different ages when they were potty trained. Trey was 5 when he was completely potty trained. Of course his developmental delays played a huge part of his delay in training.
When Trey was 3 we began trying to get him on the potty but he would not have it. I stopped trying because it was around the time that he was diagnosed with DD and Crockett was diagnosed with Allergies and Asthma and I had too much on my plate. He finally began showing signs of readiness by staying dry for hours at a time, hiding when he was going, wanting to change his pull up immediately after going in it......you know, the basic signs of readiness. BUT I could not catch him to get him to potty before he did it in his pull up. So I have decided, PULL UPS ARE FROM THE DEVIL!! All it is is a diaper with less absorption. So you have to change it more often......they are good for night time diapers but HORRIBLE for toilet training!
So anyway, around 4 and a half, I decided one Saturday to try the "Shoot the Cheerios" game in the potty. We stayed at home all day and I rearranged my plans that day so we could focus ONLY on potty training. That day he finally got it and would shoot pee pee at the cheerios that were floating in the potty. He did this for about two weeks before he finally didn't need them anymore and hasn't worn a diaper during the day since. We still had problems getting him to poo poo on the potty. He would hold it and hold it and would cry because it hurt him to go cause he had waited so long to go. This happens to children with disabilities and special needs a lot because their diet isn't what it should be. The dietary issues are usually due to not liking certain textures or some other kind of oral issue. Trey's was because all he ever wanted or would eat was chicken nuggets. Trey would go for a week at a time sometimes without a bowel movement. He would get sick and throw up because he would not go to the bathroom. We tried adding Benefiber and other fiber supplements to his meals and that didn't work. We tried using laxatives, they didn't work. So finally we had to start using enemas when he hadn't gone for 4-5 days. We only had to use them two or three times before Trey finally made the decision to go on his own rather than get an enema. He hasn't had a problem with it since then! :0)
Crockett, Crockett, Crockett........he has been a much easier trainer. Obviously, you see from my early entry that he has always been interested in the potty. We started trying with him right after he turned 3. He would do it sporadically but never with any consistency. I would try underwear and he would wet them while he was playing (only minutes after taking him) and then he would take them off and hide them so I wouldn't know he had wet them. (still trying to figure out why he thought I wouldn't notice he was naked? hehehe) So I kinda put the whole potty training on the back burner until around the middle of summer. He did pretty good and would go when I asked him if he needed to but he really wouldn't tell me he needed too and if it meant getting up from playing, he would rather wet his pants than do that. We finally got to where I would just carry his entire wardrobe (it seemed) in his backpack and just change his pants if he wet them. Some days he would do great and not have ANY accidents and other times he would go crazy and have five or six accidents. I knew that if he wasn't potty trained that it would be embarrassing to put him in a MDO program and I NEEDED my me time. I considered him completely pee pee potty trained around July or so. However, here comes the hard part. I could not get him to poo poo on the potty for anything. We would put him on the potty before bed because his natural tendency was to go in his pull up at night time. He would sit there for 20 minutes, yelling, screaming, acting the fool until it was getting so late that we had to let him get up. We would put his pull up on, put him in bed and when I would go in to turn off his tv, I could smell his fragrant present! UGH! I didn't know what to do. I couldn't FORCE him to go. So I didn't. He very rarely had poo poo accidents ever cause he had an uncanny ability to hold it til night time. We would catch him every so often and be able to get him to go cause there was no way possible he could hold it any longer.
Finally, a few weeks ago when we were in Gatlinburg, I was with him ALL the time. 24 hours a day, the entire time we were there. I knew his signs that he had to go. The waddley walk, the scared bug eyed solemn stare that he would give cause he was concentrating to hold it in and when I would ask him if he need to go potty and he would immediately and with much force reply "NO!" gave him away EVERY time. You see, the good thing about having boys is that daddy has to take them potty when you are out somewhere so every time I would see the tell tale signs that he needed to, I would tell John and he would take him to the bathroom. EVERY TIME, John would be stern with him and sometimes threaten him to go and every time he would! It was really quite amazing. By the time we got home from our trip, Crockett would tell us when he needed to go poo poo and we haven't had any trouble since!
My theory is that if you can not spend all day, everyday with your child then your commitment to getting them potty trained will have to wait until you can have that time available. Like my opinion or not, but we all live in a world that's GO GO GO and I am of the belief that the reason children are 4, 5 and 6 being potty trained is because parents like me and you are so busy and have so many things pulling us in so many directions that we can't or don't want to take the time to do the things that NEED to be done. Like watching our children for signs of readiness and acting on it instead of putting it off, putting it off. It's not gonna just magically happen, we have to be steadfast and ready when the first signs come up. There are the exceptions, like Trey, who might have delays that keep them from learning at a quick pace but those are few and far between.
What you should learn from this blog:
1. NO PULL UPS. They only hinder the potty training unless you use them at night only to keep them from wetting the bed.
2. Forcing your child to potty train when it's convenient for YOU isn't going to be successful. You must be willing to take time with your child and rearrange your schedule to do so.
3. If you are a woman that has girls, I am so sorry that you have to take your children to the bathroom all the time. If you are a woman with boys........LIVE IT UP and MAKE your husband do it now cause one day you might have granddaughters! LOL!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Learning our Letters
Learning letters, their sounds and beginning to learn how to spell words has always been a big thing in our house. If you are around either of my boys for any amount of time, they will FORCE you to spell a word that they have heard. Sometimes they even ask you to spell an entire sentence. Trey constantly points out memorization words like UP, ON, EXIT, OPEN and so forth. Crockett enjoys sounding out words and figuring out what they start with. He also likes to look around as we drive and ask if me to spell random things he sees......"MOMMA, SPELL TREE.....MOMMA, SPELL ROAD........MOMMA, SPELL DVD (LOL).......you get the picture.
When I would have to lock the boys in the bathroom with me while I took a shower, when they were little, I would entertain them by writing words in the steam of the shower door or drawing pictures. This played a vital role in them learning their alphabet. Now that the boys enjoy taking a shower instead of a bath, they quiz each other by drawing letters in the steam of the shower door. They LOVE doing this and it gives them a daily refresher course that I don't have to be involved in. It also gives Trey the social interaction and teaches him how to ask questions correctly (as I jump in and correct him if he has trouble) and how to answer questions appropriately.
MOMS and DADS......when you have to take a shower with your kids in the room, make it into a learning experience! It can't hurt and sometimes it even helps. Let's all do our part and make learning fun! :0)
When I would have to lock the boys in the bathroom with me while I took a shower, when they were little, I would entertain them by writing words in the steam of the shower door or drawing pictures. This played a vital role in them learning their alphabet. Now that the boys enjoy taking a shower instead of a bath, they quiz each other by drawing letters in the steam of the shower door. They LOVE doing this and it gives them a daily refresher course that I don't have to be involved in. It also gives Trey the social interaction and teaches him how to ask questions correctly (as I jump in and correct him if he has trouble) and how to answer questions appropriately.
MOMS and DADS......when you have to take a shower with your kids in the room, make it into a learning experience! It can't hurt and sometimes it even helps. Let's all do our part and make learning fun! :0)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
My life behind bars (a look into a criminals past)
This blog will blow your mind. A bunch of you have already heard this and if you have, bear with me because I think those that have not heard this story will find it quite intriguing!
In November 2002 I got a speeding ticket, in my neighborhood as I was leaving for work. I was going 15 over the speedlimit (45 in a 30). I totally deserved the ticket. This was during the time that John had lost his job and was making significantly less and then you had Christmas right around the corner and we didnt have much extra money. We decided to go to court and find out if I could postpone payment until January or February, just to get past the holidays. I went to my court date in mid-December and when I asked the judge about postponing it, he said as long as I paid $50 bucks of it, I could pay the rest the next month. I agreed and wasn't really thinking about the fact that that would mean that only $22.50 remained. Had I been thinking about that, I would have just paid it all then and forgot about it.
Anyway, December went by and January comes around. I completely forget about the $22.50 that I owe for the ticket and I go out of town on our annual Gatlinburg trip. My court date happens to be the Friday that we are gone to Gatlinburg. Well, as soon as I get back and realize that I have forgotten to pay this, I immediately write a check and put it in the mail. That Monday was a holiday and so the mail wasn't picked up until Tuesday. I never thought another thing about it.
Thursday night around 1130pm we get a knock on our front door. I'm sitting on the couch with my pj's on and covered in a blanket. John is lounging too. John opens the door and in walk two police men, one of which I road this bus with and who lived behind me as a child. We knew each other by name. He says...and I quote...."We are looking for Jeanine Burnside." I said, 'that's me." and they come over and say we have a warrant for your arrest for contempt of court. I was confused and asked why and they said they didnt know, they were just told to come get me. So I was like, I already paid the rest of my ticket, if that is what this is about, and I explained that it was sent through the mail. I asked if I could atleast put my bra and shoes and a jacket on before they they took me and the guy walked me back to our bedroom and made me leave the door cracked so he could see me the entire time I was changing.....the perv.....just kidding.
So I get dressed and come out and the guy I knew from school proceeds to get his handcuffs out. I was floored by this time. Come to my house at 1130 at night, watch me change clothes and then handcuff a big ole girl like me that you've known since gradeschool.....seeing as I am sure that I could outrun these young guys that are in better shape than they were in high school, it totally makes sense to handcuff me and also knowing that I am a known felon....I mean, come on.
So back to the story. I beg them not to handcuff me. I tell them that I promise I am not gonna run and then try to joke that they would catch me anyway. They don't find that too amusing and he pulls my hands behind my back and handcuffs me. He leads me out to the cruiser, doesn't even attempt to help me into the car (they guide even the hardest criminal's heads into the car so they don't knock their noggin) and to make matters worse he listens to heavy metal music all the way back to the jail! I was scrunched down in the back crying my eyes out and praying. It felt like I was in a bad dream, no.....a nightmare!
We get to the jail and again, he doesn't help me get out of the car. I have to struggle out, on my own. He pushes me into the holding room and takes the handcuff off one arm. I breathed a sigh of relief until I realized that he was just taking it off so he could handcuff me to the bench! REALLY!? He then tells me that I should call someone to come bail me out. I looked at him like he was crazy and reminded him that I had never been in that situation before and that I didn't have a clue what that meant. He told me to call any of the bail bondsmen to come to the station to post bail. I picked up the phone, still crying like a baby and called the first person I saw. After I hung up with the bail bondsmen, the officer uncuffed me long enough to take my mugg shot and then promptly recuffed me, leaving me alone for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, John had left immediately after I had and he went to my mom and dads and informed them of what was going on. They originally thought he was joking with them and it took him a few minutes to get them to believe him. They got dressed and the three of them came to the jail to rescue me! I was lucky they got there when they did cause when he came to let me know someone was there to post bond, he also informed me that if they had been even two minutes later, I would be on my way to the Hernando Prison.......can you imagine, ME in a REAL jail!! When I came into the room with my parents and John, my mom was scwalling like a baby (I think worse than I was) and my dad was smirking at me and making random jokes about his criminal daughter!
My bail was set at $2500, so we had to pay the bail bondsmen 10% of that in order to get out. We finally were out of there and home by around 230am. I had trouble sleeping that night but I was determined to be at the courthouse when they opened so I could see what was going on with my payment I sent four days prior. When I got there and spoke to the cashier, she looked in the computer and said that there was no payment posted to my name. She then went and pulled my folder and opened it and low and behold, there was my check, in the folder, just as pretty as you please, paperclipped to the envelope I sent it in. She pulled it out and said, and I quote again, "Hmm.....I don't know how that ended up in there. It's stamped received on Wednesday but it's not posted to your name on the computer."
All that I had been through and the money was sitting in the cashiers hands when the warrant was issued on Thursday afternoon!!!! She had made the mistake that led to the series of events that cost me 250 bucks!! I had another court date for February and I was determined not let them get away with this.
Wendy was working at Austin Law Firm at the time and we were able to get one of her friends to represent me so I wouldn't be found guilty and have to pay all the fines and penalties and such. She was great and I was able to leave court that day only oweing 25 dollars in court costs!
There are several morals to this story..........
1.) Don't miss a court date.
2.) Don't speed in Horn Lake (well, don't do it anywhere, really...but if you have to, do it in Memphis, you get away with alot more!)
3.) Don't forget to pay tickets.
4.) Don't think that just because you have known someone seemingly your entire life that they will treat you any differently than a common criminal.
5.) Don't open your door at 11:30 at night unless you KNOW you don't have a warrant out for your arrest! LOL
In November 2002 I got a speeding ticket, in my neighborhood as I was leaving for work. I was going 15 over the speedlimit (45 in a 30). I totally deserved the ticket. This was during the time that John had lost his job and was making significantly less and then you had Christmas right around the corner and we didnt have much extra money. We decided to go to court and find out if I could postpone payment until January or February, just to get past the holidays. I went to my court date in mid-December and when I asked the judge about postponing it, he said as long as I paid $50 bucks of it, I could pay the rest the next month. I agreed and wasn't really thinking about the fact that that would mean that only $22.50 remained. Had I been thinking about that, I would have just paid it all then and forgot about it.
Anyway, December went by and January comes around. I completely forget about the $22.50 that I owe for the ticket and I go out of town on our annual Gatlinburg trip. My court date happens to be the Friday that we are gone to Gatlinburg. Well, as soon as I get back and realize that I have forgotten to pay this, I immediately write a check and put it in the mail. That Monday was a holiday and so the mail wasn't picked up until Tuesday. I never thought another thing about it.
Thursday night around 1130pm we get a knock on our front door. I'm sitting on the couch with my pj's on and covered in a blanket. John is lounging too. John opens the door and in walk two police men, one of which I road this bus with and who lived behind me as a child. We knew each other by name. He says...and I quote...."We are looking for Jeanine Burnside." I said, 'that's me." and they come over and say we have a warrant for your arrest for contempt of court. I was confused and asked why and they said they didnt know, they were just told to come get me. So I was like, I already paid the rest of my ticket, if that is what this is about, and I explained that it was sent through the mail. I asked if I could atleast put my bra and shoes and a jacket on before they they took me and the guy walked me back to our bedroom and made me leave the door cracked so he could see me the entire time I was changing.....the perv.....just kidding.
So I get dressed and come out and the guy I knew from school proceeds to get his handcuffs out. I was floored by this time. Come to my house at 1130 at night, watch me change clothes and then handcuff a big ole girl like me that you've known since gradeschool.....seeing as I am sure that I could outrun these young guys that are in better shape than they were in high school, it totally makes sense to handcuff me and also knowing that I am a known felon....I mean, come on.
So back to the story. I beg them not to handcuff me. I tell them that I promise I am not gonna run and then try to joke that they would catch me anyway. They don't find that too amusing and he pulls my hands behind my back and handcuffs me. He leads me out to the cruiser, doesn't even attempt to help me into the car (they guide even the hardest criminal's heads into the car so they don't knock their noggin) and to make matters worse he listens to heavy metal music all the way back to the jail! I was scrunched down in the back crying my eyes out and praying. It felt like I was in a bad dream, no.....a nightmare!
We get to the jail and again, he doesn't help me get out of the car. I have to struggle out, on my own. He pushes me into the holding room and takes the handcuff off one arm. I breathed a sigh of relief until I realized that he was just taking it off so he could handcuff me to the bench! REALLY!? He then tells me that I should call someone to come bail me out. I looked at him like he was crazy and reminded him that I had never been in that situation before and that I didn't have a clue what that meant. He told me to call any of the bail bondsmen to come to the station to post bail. I picked up the phone, still crying like a baby and called the first person I saw. After I hung up with the bail bondsmen, the officer uncuffed me long enough to take my mugg shot and then promptly recuffed me, leaving me alone for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, John had left immediately after I had and he went to my mom and dads and informed them of what was going on. They originally thought he was joking with them and it took him a few minutes to get them to believe him. They got dressed and the three of them came to the jail to rescue me! I was lucky they got there when they did cause when he came to let me know someone was there to post bond, he also informed me that if they had been even two minutes later, I would be on my way to the Hernando Prison.......can you imagine, ME in a REAL jail!! When I came into the room with my parents and John, my mom was scwalling like a baby (I think worse than I was) and my dad was smirking at me and making random jokes about his criminal daughter!
My bail was set at $2500, so we had to pay the bail bondsmen 10% of that in order to get out. We finally were out of there and home by around 230am. I had trouble sleeping that night but I was determined to be at the courthouse when they opened so I could see what was going on with my payment I sent four days prior. When I got there and spoke to the cashier, she looked in the computer and said that there was no payment posted to my name. She then went and pulled my folder and opened it and low and behold, there was my check, in the folder, just as pretty as you please, paperclipped to the envelope I sent it in. She pulled it out and said, and I quote again, "Hmm.....I don't know how that ended up in there. It's stamped received on Wednesday but it's not posted to your name on the computer."
All that I had been through and the money was sitting in the cashiers hands when the warrant was issued on Thursday afternoon!!!! She had made the mistake that led to the series of events that cost me 250 bucks!! I had another court date for February and I was determined not let them get away with this.
Wendy was working at Austin Law Firm at the time and we were able to get one of her friends to represent me so I wouldn't be found guilty and have to pay all the fines and penalties and such. She was great and I was able to leave court that day only oweing 25 dollars in court costs!
There are several morals to this story..........
1.) Don't miss a court date.
2.) Don't speed in Horn Lake (well, don't do it anywhere, really...but if you have to, do it in Memphis, you get away with alot more!)
3.) Don't forget to pay tickets.
4.) Don't think that just because you have known someone seemingly your entire life that they will treat you any differently than a common criminal.
5.) Don't open your door at 11:30 at night unless you KNOW you don't have a warrant out for your arrest! LOL
Okay! It's your brothers turn now!
"MOOMMMMMMYYYYY!!!! I WANT TO HOLD THE MOVIE!!! " Those were the words of my last born son, Crockett, as his brother, Trey, held the "Monsters Inc" case just out of his reach. I knew when I brought the movie out to the car that they would fight over it but hoped that Crockett would forget Trey had it. Yeah, right! Crockett is like an elephant, he doesn't forget ANYTHING! As I drove down the road listening to the crazy fight between my boys, I realized that there was only one way to handle this situation.......the counting game!
Trey starts out with the movie and counts to 10. Then he gives it to Crockett and he counts to 10. Then Trey gets the movie back and he counts to 10. (Crockett cheated and counted to 13 several times but Trey didn't notice) So, they go back and forth doing this for about 5 minutes until they realize that it's annoying and then I change the game to find the stop sign. This game is where they hold it until we come to a stop sign or stop light. I know there are only three stop signs or lights on the way to moms house but they don't. This worked like a charm for the rest of the trip. Once we got there we went inside and they watched the movie peacefully until I left for work.
As I am sure most of you know, peacemaker is one of the many hats that parents wear and with each passing year you learn more and more about how to keep the peace between the siblings. I am not looking forward to the day when my boys don't fall for the simple games anymore. I am also not looking forward to the day when I have to look up to my boys when I am getting onto them. Just tonight Trey came out of his room after we had tucked him in cause he "forgot" to give me a hug. I was sitting in my oversize chair with my legs stretched out on the ottoman and Trey crawls into my lap.....HE WAS LOOKING ME STRAIGHT IN THE EYE AND HIS TOES WERE EVEN WITH MY TOES!! Ya'll!!! He is SIX years old!! What the WHAT?!!? Anyway, I can barely believe that my boys aren't babies anymore.
The next few posts will be flashbacks to stories that have happened to me and family over the years. Some will be personal stories (be watching for my arrest story) and some will be kid stories (LOTS of potty humor, literally)! Be watching!! Coming soon!!
Trey starts out with the movie and counts to 10. Then he gives it to Crockett and he counts to 10. Then Trey gets the movie back and he counts to 10. (Crockett cheated and counted to 13 several times but Trey didn't notice) So, they go back and forth doing this for about 5 minutes until they realize that it's annoying and then I change the game to find the stop sign. This game is where they hold it until we come to a stop sign or stop light. I know there are only three stop signs or lights on the way to moms house but they don't. This worked like a charm for the rest of the trip. Once we got there we went inside and they watched the movie peacefully until I left for work.
As I am sure most of you know, peacemaker is one of the many hats that parents wear and with each passing year you learn more and more about how to keep the peace between the siblings. I am not looking forward to the day when my boys don't fall for the simple games anymore. I am also not looking forward to the day when I have to look up to my boys when I am getting onto them. Just tonight Trey came out of his room after we had tucked him in cause he "forgot" to give me a hug. I was sitting in my oversize chair with my legs stretched out on the ottoman and Trey crawls into my lap.....HE WAS LOOKING ME STRAIGHT IN THE EYE AND HIS TOES WERE EVEN WITH MY TOES!! Ya'll!!! He is SIX years old!! What the WHAT?!!? Anyway, I can barely believe that my boys aren't babies anymore.
The next few posts will be flashbacks to stories that have happened to me and family over the years. Some will be personal stories (be watching for my arrest story) and some will be kid stories (LOTS of potty humor, literally)! Be watching!! Coming soon!!
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