Happy Birthday and a Birthday Candle Fail

The big news is that we have a new teenager in the house!  I can't believe that Jay is 13, but it's true!


Jay requested a healthy birthday dinner.

Oh wait, that was in my dreams.

Jay requested an ORANGE birthday dinner:  a HUGE pizza, cheese puffs, and orange soda!

 

 

 

Jay held his ears when I cheerfully suggested a grain-free, sugar-free, vegan cake with kale-tinted green icing. 


Instead, he insisted on an Ice Cream Sandwich Cake with lots of crushed up Oreos on top.



In spite of my continued efforts to stay organized, I had another epic fail when it came to the candles.

You may recall Fail #1, several years ago, when I couldn't find matches or a lighter anywhere, so Jay had to blow out unlit candles.


Last year, I couldn't find the candles, so Nate had to blow out matches!


This year, I knew exactly where the candles were.

Or so I thought...

When I went to get them, all I could find were those big number candles.  I prayed for a one and a three.  No such luck.  The closest we had was a one and a four, so that's what we had to use.  Jay saw that and got creative by adding more numbers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, Happy 1400th Birthday, Jay!

 

Our Lack of Candle Organization

 in No Way Defines

Our Love For You!

 

 

 We Love You, Jay!!!

 

Hope you Made a Good Wish!

 

 

P.S.  I found the candles the next day...

in a big bag full of water balloons! 

Where else??

 

 

 

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Murphy Lives Here ~ Even When Something Goes Right!

Because there's so much going on with our kids, Mr. A joined our team of therapists.  He came over to meet the kids after school.

In the days prior, the afternoons had gone something like this:

E raced in the door after school and ran to the bathroom, screaming that he had to go.  The minute he saw GracieGirl walk by, he ran out, saying, "Never mind."  The only reason he'd run in there was because he thought that she had to go!

GracieGirl wanted a certain piece of paper, and E stuffed it in his mouth and ate it, rather than let her have it.

The kids screamed that they were starving and needed food immediately.  After having a snack, one of them repeated the screaming/begging for food episode, again and again.

Nate stormed in, saying that he had the worst day of his life (his typical line after school), threw down his stuff, and stomped up to his room.

E started annoying Jay, begging to get on the computer, throwing things at him and frustrating Jay to the point that he got up and started fighting with E.

GracieGirl fell to the floor, hysterically crying, but refused to tell us what was wrong.

There was lots more, but that's been the general theme of things.



Mr. A arrived here before the kids got home.  They had no idea that he was coming, and even after I introduced him, they didn't know what his role was.  They're used to lots of new people in the house and they don't even bat an eye anymore.  He, however, had met with us several times, as we'd shared the gamut of behaviors that we live with each day.  He'd come out to observe them.

Here's how that particular afternoon unveiled:

Nate came home from school, gently set down his backpack, walked over, smiled and shook Mr. A's hand.  They chatted for a few minutes before Nate excused himself to go study for a test.

GracieGirl and E walked in with smiles, stopped to hug me, said hello after I introduced Mr. A to them.  Then, without being asked, unpacked their backpacks and put everything away. 

Jay came home, looked at Mr. A when I introduced him, and said hello.  He then asked politely if he could please go on the computer.

Mr. A asked E if he would like to play a game.  E said yes (unheard of), and went to choose a game.  He asked Mr. A if he would please help (E does not ask for help; he screams and throws things when he can't do something on his own!) because he couldn't reach it.  They played Jenga together, and when E caused it to fall, I cringed, waiting for the tantrum.  Nothing.  He just smiled and said, "Fun game!" 

At that point, I was freaking out.  This was not my child!

E then wanted to play Pokémon.  He asked GracieGirl if he could please borrow her Pokémon cards.  Again, I cringed, waiting for the screams of protest.  GracieGirl said, "Sure, go head."  E thanked her.  He then asked if he could keep two of her cards.  She looked at them, smiled, and said yes.

Now I was really freaking out.  Neither of these were my children!

E asked Jay if he would like to play Pokémon with them.  Jay answered (miracle #1), said that he would like to play (miracle #2), and turned off his computer game to go play with them (huge miracle #3)!

Meanwhile, GracieGirl asked if I would like to play a game, and she decided on Sorry and Crazy Eights.  I love playing games with my girl, but she doesn't handle losing very well (understatement of the year), so I'm always a bit apprehensive.

We played Sorry first, pausing only as she got out her Bible and started asking me Bible trivia questions.  I won the game, and involuntarily tensed up, waiting for the fallout.  She smiled and said, "Good game, Mommy!"

Unless you live in this house, you're just not going to understand how monumental these things are!  My children just do not behave like this.  Ever.

I looked around the room, seeing Jay, E, and Mr. A sitting around the coffee table, calmly playing together.  Nate was quietly studying, and GracieGirl and I had moved on to Crazy Eights.  Before I took my next turn, she pulled out her Bible again and read a verse to me.  Just because.

At this rate, this will soon be us!
 

Believe me, I'm not complaining.  It was nice.  Norman Rockwell could have captured it on canvas.  It's just so far from our reality, the reality that we needed Mr. A to see so that he could help us!

Introducing our New Family
 

It's just so darned typical that it would happen on the day that Mr. A came to observe.

Nick used to say, "Murphy's Law."  Now he just says, "Murphy lives here."

It's true.  Even when something goes right, it's wrong!

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Why I Don't Wear Shorts!

  

I have lymphedema on my mind today. 

I was going to write about it

but figured that I've already said enough

in previous posts:

 

National Lymphedema Awareness Day

  

Lymphedema Symptoms

 

Lymphedema Thoughts

 

Lymphedema and an Attitude Adjustment

 

 

I've written a lot of about lymphedema

but I've never shared pictures.

I don't like to even look at pictures!

But, to hopefully further promote

Lymphedema Awareness,

I decided to post this most unattractive picture!

 

My left leg is just one part of my body

that's affected by lymphedema.

 

This is what it looked like this morning.

 

 

Yes, it's as painful as it looks.

I was well aware of that at 3:00 AM,

as the pain prevented me from sleeping.

 

Note the swollen leg. 

 I joke with Nick on any given day,

describing my leg as the size of Ohio

or the size of Texas.  It isn't as big as

Ohio today, but it's still uncomfortable.

And heavy.

 

Note the hair;

there's no shaving with lymphedema!

 

Note the red bumps on the upper calf;

they appear frequently and can

potentially turn into serious infections.

 

Note the swollen, deformed ankle.

Even though it's not as red

as my leg, it hurts all the time.

The swelling has made me lose

a lot of mobility in my ankles.

 

Note the swollen foot.

I used to love wearing cute shoes and sandals.

Those days are gone.

 

Note the lovely floor,

torn up by my desk chair,

where I spend the vast majority of my days.

 

 

 

And that is why I don't wear shorts,

or dresses or capris!

I've said it before,

and I'll say it again:

I wouldn't wish lymphedema on anyone!

 

 

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You know you're tired when:

You're sitting at your desk, drinking your morning coffee...and you fall asleep!  You wake up when the coffee hits your skin, but not before it hits the keyboard, mouse, and everything else on your desk!


The phone rings, and you go to answer it, but it's not there.  You hear it, so you start frantically moving papers on your desk because it's your husband's ring and you need to talk to him.  You check across the room for the other phone, and no matter where you go, it sounds like it's right there, but you can't see it.  The ringing finally stops, so you drop your arms in defeat and exasperation...only to hit the phone with your wrist because it's been in your pocket the entire time!


You're having a conversation with your husband, making some important business decisions, and the next thing you hear is, "Are you kidding me?  You can really fall asleep just like that??"


You're typing an email to your friend and fall asleep, sending two full lines of the letter K.


You fall asleep on the toilet...twice in one day.


And last but not least, you accidentally publish your blog post before you've finished it, and you're so tired that you don't even know how you did it!!


True story.  And it all happened today.  :)

This picture makes me laugh, although it's not even close to how I look.  I'm so stressed that I fall asleep sitting upright, with my head held high!  I never fall forward or slump back like he's doing.  It's great because the kids come up behind me and start talking to me, having no clue that I'm asleep.  They just get mad because I'm not answering them!

 

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Our Little Literal Guy

Nate very nicely made breakfast for everyone yesterday.

E, who doesn't do well with any foods that are different than what he's used to, took a bite and spat it out, saying, "Ew!"

Nate looked at him and said, "Thanks a lot, Buddy.  You could have at least said it behind my back!"

So E got out of his chair, walked around the table and stood behind Nate's chair and said, "That was GROSS!"

Even Nate couldn't help but laugh!

***********************

Mother's Day Gifts from the Heart

I know that I make a big deal every year about what a loaded day Mother's Day is.  I'm happy if others enjoy it, along with all of the traditional ways of celebrating; I just try to point out that it's a really difficult day for many people, for many different reasons.

So, while I don't go out for a special meal or get big bouquets of flowers or boxes of candy, I do get presents that mean the world to me.

This year, I got a very sincere, "I love you, Mom; you're the best" from Nate.  I could tell that it was sincere both by the tone of his voice and by the fact that he said it on Monday, not just because he felt obligated to say it on Mother's Day.

Without being asked, Jay went out and picked some lilacs for me and gave me a hug, which is huge for him.  Lilacs are my favorite flowers ever, and I was so happy to put them in a vase and be able to smell them all day long.

E made a beautiful card for me with lilacs made from purple tissue paper.  And he didn't even add a spider to this year's card!

GracieGirl made a Mother's Day card for me, complete with a portrait:

I think it's beautiful.  Nick pointed out how she even

added the gray to my hair since I'm going natural!  :)

 

This is last year's card from GracieGirl. 

One of us has has come a long way;

I'm just not sure if it's her with her artwork

or me with my appearance!

 

 

 This is GracieGirl's acrostic poem to me.
 I'm not sure what the O means. 

Maybe it's that I have other things to do
but I still take good care of her. 

My favorite line is the last one. 
I laughed so hard when I read "so far". 

I guess she's hesitant about committing
to the whole parenthood package
and will only admit that I've done "really good" so far!

 

Next week's lesson: Grammar!

 

I love this, too. 

Finally, someone acknowledges the fact

that the laundry doesn't just do itself!  :)


Although I see the humor in the gifts
from my children, I see the love first,
and that's what melts my heart!


Oh, and I got another surprise yesterday
when two girls from our neighborhood
brought me a sweet card that they'd made,
along with some beautiful flowers
from their azalea bush.
I told them they made my day!


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Patience and Blessings

Someday, I'm going to learn to complain less, worry less, accept more, and maybe even learn to enjoy the ride!

Nick had a three-day show over the weekend.  My in-laws stayed with us, with my father-in-law helping Nick, and my mother-in-law helping to keep the kiddos entertained.  We had a really nice weekend.  Nick did so well at the show.  People really love his different flavored creamed honeys!  At home, Mom Mom took the kids shoe shopping and to their favorite park and out to eat several times.  She even persuaded me (by not taking no for an answer!) to go out to breakfast with her while the kids were in school!  I have to admit that it was nice to get out.  We also played many games of Qwirkle, and I didn't even sulk when she beat me repeatedly!

After they left on Sunday, Nick shared an email that he wrote to them, thanking them for all that they do to help us.  He's never, to my knowledge, emailed them like that, and I told him that it was funny because I was going to do the same thing.  I'd been thinking about how many times they've dropped everything to help us out, even though they live a couple of hours away.  I was also thinking about how many people are no longer a part of our lives since some of the kids' special needs and my physical issues came into play.

So, I was feeling sad and a little bit abandoned, with a small dose of self-pity thrown in (I just love admitting this stuff!), but I was also feeling very blessed and thankful for my in-laws.  It's hard being in our house, and it's hard understanding all of the different needs that the kids have and how to (and not to) respond to them. Mom Mom said that their sermon on Sunday was about patience, and we all believe there are no coincidences!

I sat down and wrote them an email, telling them how much we appreciate them, and how we've lost most of our friends, and thanking them for their willingness to help.


Okay, here's where God comes in.  :)


I went to bed, and at 4:00 AM, I had a seizure.


I've never had a seizure in my life.  Nick jumped up to help, but it was over with that quickly.   Although I was exhausted, scared, shaky, and sore, I felt okay afterwards. 

A few hours later, he called my doctor, we got reprimanded for not going to the ER, and we headed off to the hospital.


And then things changed.


One of my sisters came up to attend a special event at school with GracieGirl.  Afterwards, she came over to the house and cleaned up the cat's area in the basement.  I haven't been down there in a year or two, but I know that it's bad and I know that she worked really hard to clean it.

Another sister came over with the ingredients to make dinner, cooked dinner for all of us, and then did some body work on me, which felt amazing because I was still very sore.

Nick got the mail and was surprised to see a letter from one of his sisters.  Inside was a generous grocery store gift card, and a note thanking him for going to his parents' 50th anniversary party the weekend before, even though she knew that it meant missing a show which mean missing much-needed income.

Then another of my sisters called, offering to help in any way needed.

So, once again, God is patiently teaching me to just keep my mouth shut, to trust, and to wait for the blessings!

Oh, and I opened my email yesterday to discover that I'd won a book, that I'd really, really wanted, in a giveaway!  See?  In addition to getting our needs met, I even got one of my wants met!

 

 

 

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