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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)