I Did It!

I did it, I did it! I blogged every single day of November for Nablopomo!
And here is today's post, this is something I have been thinking about for a while.
The FCC says:
"Recent data indicates that, on average, children in the United States spend almost three hours a day watching television. This invited "guest" into our homes has the potential to significantly shape our children's development"
With this in mind, I am going to share with you some disturbing images that my child and perhaps even your child have been exposed to. You might wish to shoo your children away while you read this post the images are graphic and disturbing.
Case Number One:
Dora the Explorer

We will not even touch upon the relationship between these two cousins!
Instead I wish you to focus on the unnatural shape of Dora's head. Her head resembles a football. She is obviously a victim of hydrocephalus and perhaps even a premature closing of her fontenelles. Her cousin has a normal shaped head and so do her grandparents and parents. I think Dora is a victim of medical neglect, since she has never seen a cranial specialist, nor does she have a shunt for her abnormal amount of cerebral spinal fluid. Neglect and medical abuse. And to think! Your children too are being exposed to this! Daily! Sometimes, if your kid is obsessed, MANY times a day. I just want you to think about what you are letting your children watch!
Case Number Two:
Lilo and Stitch,
Agent Pleakly

While this image may not seem disturbing on the surface, once you apply some critical thought, I am assured you will be as horrified as I was when I realized what Disney was doing to my child!
In the above image, you will see Agent Pleakly dressed, as Agent Pleakly often is, as a woman. What you have failed to note is that Agent Pleakly is a MAN! Referred to as a HE and MR!!!
Cross dressing on Disney!!! What has this world come to. My child can't even watch a cartoon without being exposed to the liberal, new age influence.
I am sure once you begin to apply your mental faculties to this issue you too will be able to find more examples of disturbing images your family is being exposed to day to day.
Good luck, go out there and get um!

Feeling Blue

Feeling a bit blue about my boy today. Yesterday was just so awful and I get tired of fighting every inch of the way for what he needs and what we think is best for him. Today I remembered this wonderful book and CD Bald Man bought for me a few Christmases ago. It is a good thing to remember today.

Sometimes Miracles Hide


Bruce Carroll
They were so excited
It was coming to be
Two people so in love
Now soon there would be three

For Many years they'd planned it
Now it would soon be true
So she was picking out the pink clothes
and he was looking at the blue

The call came unexpected
The doctor had bad news
Some tests came back and things weren't right
He said, "You're gonna have to choose"

"I'll wait a week for your decision"
Then the words cut like a knife
"I'm sure everyone will understand if you want to end its life"

Thought they were badly shaken
They had just one choice
They knew God creates no accidents
and they were sure they heard His voice saying,

(chorus)
Sometimes miracles hide
God will wrap some blessings in disguise
You may have to wait this lifetime
To see the reasons with your eyes
'Cause sometimes miracles hide

It seemed before they knew it
The appointed day arrived
With eager apprehension
They could barely hold inside

The first time they laid eyes on her
Confirmed the doctor's fears
But they held on to God's promises
'Cause they were sure they both could hear

(chorus)

Though she was not like the other girls
They thought she was the best
And though all the years of struggle
Neither whispered one regret.

On the first day that she started school
And took her first bus ride
They remembered the words that God had spoke
And they both broke down and cried

See to them it just did not matter
Why some things in life take place
They just knew the joy they felt
When they looked into her face

They learned sometimes miracles hide
They said, "God wrapped our blessing in disguise"
We may have to wait this lifetime
To see the reasons in our eyes
But we know sometimes miracles hide.

I Survived (with a Thesarus)

I started another post earlier, but I was interrupted by an urgent call from Bald Man who said his work van had caught on fire and could I come pick him up? Time just slipped away and I had a meeting with Little Man's school today, so the other post shall have to wait til tomorrow.
This time I took an Excedrin BEFORE the meeting. It worked, I didn't have a headache when I left. Not through ANY lack of trying on their part.
I got them to make the concessions I wanted, and in return, I said I would leave Little Man at that school for now. They apologized. The teacher even said, "I sent a note home apologizing." I told her it said she was sorry for the way it made me "feel", which wasn't the point.
The coat, the coat. I can't believe this whole coat thing. I will now post a copy of one of Little Man's goals from his IEP.

When I saw this goal, (you may now choose the adjective that you think is most likely to describe me at that moment) I was: choleric, convulsed, cross, displeased, enraged, exacerbated, exasperated, ferocious, fierce, fiery, fuming, furious, galled, hateful, heated, hot, huffy, ill-tempered, impassioned, incensed, indignant, inflamed, infuriated, irascible, irate, ireful, irritable, irritated, maddened, nettled, offended, outraged, passionate, piqued, provoked, raging, resentful, riled, sore, splenetic, storming, sulky, sullen, tumultuous, turbulent, uptight, vexed, wrathful.
Any or all of the above apply.
What I was, was incredulous. Can you believe it?? With all of the brouhaha that happened before this meeting, they had the NERVE, the unmitigated GALL, the cheek, arrogance, brashness, brass, brazenness, chutzpah*, conceit, effrontery, guts*, haughtiness, impertinence, impudence, insolence, overbearance, pomposity, and presumption to write a goal for Little Man to put on that coat!!!
I made them take it off. Plus they apologized for ever saying it. I told them I never wanted to hear another word about his clothing. EVER!
End of story on the coat. (I am still shaking my head in disbelief about the whole coatastrophe. Pun intended)
The principal had the NERVE, gall, (see above) to say to me, "You wouldn't want me to go ahead and do what I think is best for Little Man, even if you disagree?" I bet I sat there for 30 seconds til my jaw hit the floor and I picked it back up. I said "I can not believe you are even asking that question! Of course I would not want you to do ANYTHING I disagreed with, no matter how good you thought it was for him. What a question!" What about Parental rights? GRRRR. I would love to punch that smug little jerk right in the nose. He is do darn patronizing. I said right to his face that his attitude is part of the reason I wanted Little Man moved from that school. I said we were willing to try to make it work, but if there was ANY more of this nonsense, it would be over.
See all of the words above pertaining to anger, I bet I fit everyone of them. We shall see.............

Mountain Monday Comin' Atcha!

And yet another Mountain Monday is upon us. I think I shall leave the pic for the end.
Instead, let us first discuss how fun it is to watch people watching you! By this I mean my stats counter. Fun thing. I have way more traffic than I expected. There is terrific little area where you can read how people got to your blog if they were referred by another webpage or google, or bloglines.Pink Elephant's Randomizer has given me lots of hits. I hate to see what happens when Nov is over!
The weird things people type in google, I mean really! Torturing rats, mormon funeral potatoes, breaking up with your girlfriend. I think I shall start posting the most interesting one of the day. Let me see.... Oh boy! This is by far and away the most interesting today! Fussy! of Nablopomo no less, was peeping in on me today! Must be checking to see if I have been a good blogger, (I have!) and been posting every day of November. We shall see if I win any of the good prizes from randomly chosen rule following November bloggers.
Other interesting tibits about stats. Global! Wow. I have a fair smattering of people from Canada, and Australia even. One Hawaii visitor and it seems I might have a regular reader from Dubai! Way cool. Any of you lurkers, feel free to come out for a brief moment in the spotlight and say howdy! We don't bite very hard and most of my readers are harmless.
I am shamelessly addicted to checking my stats counter, many times a day. It is fun to watch those who are watching me. Maybe I will ask for an upgrade for Christmas??
So your reward for hanging in to the end. My beautiful mountain, picture taken from my window.

Happy Monday to all of you. I have grocery shopping in my future today. Seems as though all these folks have eaten us out of house and home. Turkey soup for dinner with homemade noodles no less. Yum.

The Twilight Zone

Weird, it was just weird. I am still not sure if I can explain how it happened. But here goes!
As long as we have lived in in Utah, we have known there was another man with the same name as Bald Man. So if my hubby were Sherman Bleep, then this guy is also Sherman Bleep. But we are the only Sherman Bleeps in the phone book. The other Sherman Bleep is unlisted. We have gotten many phone calls over the years for the other Bleeps. We have found out he works on VW bugs, that he works at a local large business, they are raising their grandchildren, they have a nephew named Mike, etc.
While we have often wished we had their phone number, we never have found it.
I was napping yesterday and ignored my cell phone ringing for the sake of sleep. When I got up I checked my missed calls and there was a number I didn't recognize. I called the number back, the lady answered and and I told her I was Jo. She said she hadn't called me and yelled to her hubby, did you call someone named Jo? He said no. I informed her their number had come up on my missed calls. She said well this is the Bleeps. I gasped and said, well I am a Bleep too. We both laughed and laughed and acknowledged we had both gotten both calls for each other over the years. We were both amused that our paths had finally crossed after more than a decade. Funny small world isn't it?
The part I can't figure out is, how in the world did they get my cell phone number and who called me from their house? :::: insert Twilight Zone music here :::::::::

Peek A Boo, I See You!

A couple of you already know about this, because I emailed you about the whole thing. Now that I have decided not to close down this blog and restart another one, I will explain what happened.
When I first started my blog, I chose not give anyone I knew in real life my blog address. It isn't so much about being anonymous, but about having the freedom to say what I needed and wanted to without having to censure myself or worry about hurt feelings. And really, I don't think I said anything that I wouldn't have said anyway. There are a couple of things, that I might not have told you if we weren't better friends, but otherwise, if you and I know each other well, then you have already heard everything that I put on my blog.
I recently found out that a group I used to belong to had posted my blog address publically. After a great deal of thought I finally figured out why it bugged me so much.
These are women I know in real life, not great friends, but people I would consider friends anyway. You know what? Even if they read my blog, knew that Little Man was in the hospital and with all the problems we have had in the last year, not one of them bothered to call me.(They all either have my phone number or know someone who does) But, they didn't offer a prayer, a meal, or even a kind thought for our troubles. That bothered me. Still bothers me.
I seriously considered starting a new blog, but changed my mind about being chased away from my blog. Intead I put on a stats counter. So now I am peering back. Peek a boo!

Post Thanksgiving Debrief

Yesterday was incredibly eventful day. In fact probably the most eventful Thanksgiving we have ever had.
First off, Pygmy Child walks in the apartment in the morning with this!

Brown Boy wrote her a song, telling her how much he loves her and then proposed on one knee. Everyone is pretty pleased about the whole thing.


Eating was enjoyed by everyone. Meeko enjoyed some Wheat Thins and Peter the Rat LOVED the stuffing he got for his Turkey Day.
Little Man was not very happy. Too many people and too much commotion for him. He was grumpy and difficult. Everyone was very happy that he went to bed early.
Before he feel asleep though, our family got to enjoy another holiday gift.
The sound of Oldest Son's baby's heartbeat. Ah, the benefits of being a retired midwife with a doppler! There were smiles and tears. The baby's heartbeat sounds great, from a professional standpoint. What a Thanksgiving! There was gratitude, laughter, stories and love aplenty. Who could ask for anything more?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You know what the end of our Thanksgiving meal? Perched like a cherry on top of a large pile of whipped cream? Pea proceeded to vomit all over our table. Thank goodness we were all done eating, cause suddenly no one was hungry anymore. I hear from the Princess she puked all night long. Hoping she gets feeling better today.

Thankamony

I don't observe Thanksgiving as a recognition for being "discovered" by the white folk or use it as a time to bemoan the destruction of my culture. Instead, I like to use it as what I see as the essence of Thanksgiving. Giving Thanks.
Once a month, generally on the first Sunday of the month, we have a fast and testimony service. Members who are able are supposed to fast for worthy causes. When we attend church, the members are invited to go to the front of the congregation and declare their testimonies. (A witness to what they know.) The elders of our church are often encouraging us to stop giving Thankamonies, but this is my blog, it isn't church and a perfect place for my Thankamony.
This year has been a difficult one for myself and for my family. But even with all the things that have made me whine and cry and long for release, there are also many things I am grateful for.
First and foremost, I am grateful for my family. And for the GROWTH of my family. A wedding in April. (it's official, she has a ring!), so a new son in law, a new grandbaby in June, my little Sweet Pea. My sweet hubby and his longsuffering, my mom and my sisters and various other extended family. (Don't forget my new baby Meeko, I adore her, what a sweet birdie she is!)
Health issues have been rampant this last year, but I am grateful that JJ's cyst is not a tumor and that in spite of everything else, it looks like we have Little Man's seizures under control for the first time in about 3 years.
We have plenty of food, money is better this year than it was in years past.
And don't forget yourselves. I am grateful for my bloggy friends. Who knew, when I started this how much I would end up loving you? Caring about you and your circumstances?
Hoping your giving thanks takes up more time than you realized and that the list is longer than you ever imagined. I know mine is.
THANKS!

Thanksgiving Eve

Thank you for your kind and heartfelt responses to my Gotcha post. I wrote it with my heart and you got it! Hugs to you for letting me share that with you.
I don't think I am capable of writing two deeply felt posts in a row, so you will have to settle with an update from Utah. And I already had this post mostly written when the power went off, so who knows how it will suffer for having to be written twice.
I spent all day yesterday getting ready for tomorrow. Brown Boy arrives today, (we think the formal proposal will happen tonight!) and my carpet was beyond filthy. Ya know it is time to clean the carpet when you are having to photoshop spots out of it in pictures! We rented a steam cleaner, (mine died) and the carpet looks lovely again. I don't much like day to day cleaning, but there is a certain amount of satisfaction in deep cleaning, the kind that stays done for more than 5 minutes.
Shopping had to be done, so the turkey had time to thaw. Good thing I got all that done, cause Little Man did not have school today as I had thought. The paper said he did, but alas, he didn't. So I took the boy to go see Happy Feet. Cute movie, I only got bored once. Little Man laughed out loud a few times and I LOVED the penguins with the mexican accents.
Our Thankgiving will consist of all the regular stuff. Turkey, mashed tatoes, green bean casserole, jello, pies, (cherry, apple, pumpkin, cheesecake, and chocolate)rolls. Things I am willing to take shortcuts with: Stovetop stuffing, (my family doesn't care), a turkey oven bag, (love it!) and frozen pie crusts.
Things I won't take shortcuts with: my rolls (homemade, light and fluffy!) my mashed tatoes and gravy, and the pie fillings. I can and have done it all homemade, but as I have gotten older and tireder, I found what I was willing to shortcut and what I wasn't. I hate yams so I never, ever make those. ewww. No one really likes cranberry relish either, so we usually skip that. But I found out Brown Boy likes the canned stuff, so we shall have to pick up a can.
I need to get my pies done today and the rest of the cooking will get done tomorrow. And then? This homemaker ain't cooking again for at least 3 days!
Hope your holiday prep goes well.

Gotcha!

Adopting a child is infinitely more complicated than giving birth to one. Our story is no less heart-felt, grief-filled and miraculous than most adoption stories.
I HATE it when people say about adopting a child, "oh you decided to do it the easy way!" I look them straight in the eyes and say there is no road more heartbreaking or difficult you will ever set your feet on than a journey to adoption. And I mean it.
When we started, we thought it was going to be easy. It wasn't. The loss of our beloved children, the ones we hoped to keep and couldn't is a story for another day. A little girl, two newborn boys, a slew of foster children and five years of tears, led my husband to request we remove our names from any adoption list we were on. He said he couldn't bear the heartbreak anymore, couldn't stand to see me suffer. Angry and desolate, I did as he requested, what else could I do? He laughed bitterly and said, "if God wants us to have another baby, He can jolly well knock on the door and give us one!"
And yet the heartbreak was still there. The dreams of the lost children. I had one recurring dream, where I could hear a baby crying, my baby, and I was looking in a huge house with hundreds of doors for my baby. Desperate, I would open one door after another, to nothing, as I heard their cries, needing me. I would dream of my little boys, the ones we didn't get to keep and I would pray to never wake up, because in my dreams, they were still mine.
So even with the withdrawal of our names, I could not withdraw my dreams, my heart's longing for another child. It seems so selfish and it is. I had five, who did I think I was? Daring to ask God for another. But yet, even with those thoughts in my mind, I could not find a way to have my heart stop the yearning.
One day, nine years and three days ago, I poured out my heart to the Lord. Please, God, please, don't make me do this anymore. I ask just one of two things. Either send me my child, or if it is not to be, allow me to shut the door on this longing. I can't bear to hurt like this anymore. Just please, stop the pain.
The next day, the phone rang. A baby boy needed a forever home. Did we think we could take him? He was a drug baby, but there was little risk in a placement. Shaking, I called Bald Man and waited with my breath held for his answer. The yes was all I needed to call the social worker back and say YES!
Less than 24 hours later, Little Man arrived. We had no information, no weight, no clothing size, diaper size or anything. 24 hours of frantic preparation. He came, with almost nothing. A snowsuit, a pair of socks that were too big, a short's outfit in Nov! In Utah! The diaper on his butt. Nothing else. No car seat, no letter, no wipes, no bottles, nothing at all. He was 3 months and 3 weeks old.
9 years ago. Gotcha darling boy. Nothing has been the same.

The social worker didn't look like God at all, yet there he was knocking on the door, handing us our baby. Watch out what you tell God Bald Man!

What Day Is It?

Say it with me... Mountain Monday! Ooooppsss sorry, a little too much Dora and Deigo. But still, it is Mountain Monday. But I think I shall save the mountains still the end of my post, just to switch it up a bit.
First. Big sigh of relief, Little Man wore his coat today! Yay! I wrote a note to the teachers saying they were not to work with him on getting him to put his own coat on, since the repercussions of his refusing to wear it actually impacted his health. I also mentioned he wore other clothes if they really felt the need to work on getting him to be more independent with his clothing. (A little sarcasm, but I couldn't help myself, really!)
Second, Bald Man got his work van running! Yay again! I have my mini van and my freedom back. Of course that means I get to babysit for Pea today, but there are worse things in life than being snuggled by the cutest 15 month old in the whole world! Here she is, going shopping with Gramma after a quick trip through Mickey D's. What a big girl! Chicken nuggets and apple juice, with a straw! (Her mommy won't let her have apple juice undiluted, but gramma will!)

Her feet in her cute boots are blurry cause she kept kicking them, non stop. That kid is cuteness in motion.
Our new kid is doing very, very well.

Meeko is stepping up very nicely more and more. Nipping less and less. She hopped off her cage last night to come hunt me down for some loving. Of course she got it. What a cute birdie she is and she is adding a new note of joy and delight in my daily life. She even gives me kisses whenever I ask for them now. So cute!
Okay, Okay, what you have all been waiting for! My beautiful view! Lucky lady, aren't I?

Hope all your mondays are good ones.

Sabbath Musings

Bald Man and Tank worked ALL day yesterday while it was daylight, taking the old tranny out of Bald Man's work van and putting a new one in. Bald Man continues to work on it today, and I am praying it is running, cause this thing of having no car is wearing thin.
Bald Man and I managed a date after the sun went down. Very nice! Applebee for dinner and Casino Royale for a movie. I am not enthralled by the new Bond dude. One, he isn't my type, I didn't think he was sexy at all. Now Pierce Brosnen? Oh yeah! The movie was entertaining, but not my favorite Bond movie. It was very nice to be out with my sweetie. It has been way too long.
And yesterday? I was able to talk Oldest Son into babysitting while the we girls did some more wedding dress shopping! Pygmy Child is so very small, just a smidge over 4 and half feet, she has a hard time finding dresses that don't make her look shorter. She also inherited from her mother, a VERY short waist so finding anything that doesn't make her look really blocky isn't easy either. But guess what? We found a lovely style that makes her look like her slim self. For your approval, I present what very well may be the winning style, if not dress!

The picture quality stinks cause we snuck a camera phone shot. I love the chiffon draping from the side, it lets you see how very slim she is.
So today is Sunday. We are all supposed to be going to church. The Mormon church is a family thing, with children always welcome. Well, we are having serious problems with Little Man and church. Getting him ready? Yikes, melt downs and violence. Being there? Even with his happy pills, more meltdowns and sometimes violence. (When I say violence, I mean on his part. My scratches from last week have healed now) So I really don't think church is a good thing for our boy. So what do we do? Trade off perhaps, Bald Man one week, me the next. It would have been done today, except Bald Man is working on his van, which leaves me with the boy. So instead, I am blogging to you. I know without a doubt God understand, I just hope the people at church do.
We will be having everyone over, lasagna for dinner tonight, another family favorite. With garlic bread and salad of course!
Thank you, thank you, once again for your support of my issues with Little Man's school. I can't tell you how much it has helped and made me feel better about the conflict. I might have to break the Sabbath today and get him a new coat, since he continues to refuse to wear his old one. He has to stay warm. Darn them anyhow.

A Coat Too Far

It looks innocent enough. I didn't sense any evil coming from it and it hasn't done anything untoward that would make us think it was inhabited by evil spirits. In fact I think it looks rather forlorn, laying there, abandoned by its' owner.
The coat! How in heaven's name and all that is good and holy did a coat become a Waterloo?? An unpassable pass? A bridge too far? I do not know why Little Man's teachers have decided this coat is the everything of anything, but they have.
I realized yesterday, even though I want Little Man out of that school like yesterday, it was not going to happen. Monday will come and if the weather was what it has been it would be 27 degrees and I will have my son refusing to wear his "stupid" coat. My son with the weather related syndrome
Raynaud's Phenomenon who needs to keep his core body temp up or he can suffer from a very painful attack of his condition. He is most likely to end up in the hospital from this at this time of year.
So I call the teacher and explain to her that Little Man refused to wear his coat that day because she had called it stupid. She said, "well it is! It is a real pain in the butt!" I absolutely could NOT believe what I was hearing. I repeated to her that this was his only coat and he needed to wear it AND I would appreciate her fixing what damage had been done. I also said that no one else had ever complained about his coat before. She snorted and said she was surprised. When did people get so lazy??
If I was mad when I posted yesterday, I was even madder by the time I got off the phone. I called and called the district and even though I left numerous messages, by two thirty no one had returned my call. I called again and FINALLY got ahold of someone. I proceeded to vent my pressurized spleen at her for the next hour. She was saying, oh we can work this out, and I said NO! Absolutely not, we will not work this out, we will change schools. I repeatedly asked her to please call Little Man's after school program so she could talk to someone who had witnessed the teacher's unkind and brusque attitude with my son. I also refused to meet with their "team" unless Little Man's team could also be there. That would be the director of his afterschool program and his case manager from his
waiver program and of course me.
Yesterday afternoon when Little Man got home, there was a note in his backpack with an insincere apology about the teacher's comments about his coat. They were sorry for the way it made me "feel" and they were trying to teach him to put his coat on, but it was hard with that particular coat. Ya know what?? I do NOT care! Why are they so focused on his coat? Why not work on helping him with his underwear and pants and shoes and socks?? Why are they being so awful about it?? My thought is that they are using the excuse that he is struggling with his coat, but the real reason is they are LAZY and they do not like the extra step of having to make sure the sleeves are in a proper position. (His coat has a zip in liner so it has the layers he needs and he always has the proper attire, no matter what the weather.)
I will NOT be buying him a new coat. (Okay, I might, if he utterly refuses to wear it again, I will blame them and buy him a new coat, because his health determines it, not because his teachers are idiots.) Would someone like to explain to me why I am having to defend my choice in my son's outerwear at all? I am royally furious that I am having to explain why he is wearing this kind of coat, and why I don't want to buy him a new one. What if he didn't have a health condition? What if that the the coat he has? (and it is, actually) but I am so angry that I am having to do this at all!!! Why?? WHY???
So there ya go. We will be meeting next week and he will be going to a new school soon or some heads will be rolling. Gosh darn it all anyway. Like I needed this. Stupid people, don't they know better than to back someone into a corner? What else am I supposed to do? I need to protect my boy. I guess since they don't care about his coat, I had better double check on making sure they are putting on his mittens too, when the temp outside is below 50. Who knows what other short cuts they are taking with his health, safety and welfare????
Thank you for the abundance of supportive comments,I really need them.

Fury!

I am so angry today! I am ready to dance on someone's head in rage. There is nothing that can elicit this kind of wrath in me except when I feel that one of my children is being harmed.
This is about Little Man and his school. I have been unhappy with his new school since the beginning, but I haven't said anything about it because I was trying really hard to make things work and I was making sure I was keeping things as positive as I could with my thoughts and words.
We had a parent teacher conference last week. Little Man's old teacher had kept meticulous records on a daily basis of everything he was doing or not doing. When you have a child like our son whose performance varies from day to day, it is important to not take a day's work and say, this is what he knows.
It was very clear to me at his conference the teachers had never even looked at the binder of things his old teacher had sent. They were talking about setting a goal of knowing his time to the hour and half hour, I said, he already does that! Oh, they said. That went on and on until I had a horrible headache by the time I got home from being polite when I was so angry.
They are not watching him on the playground during recess and he got in trouble for inappropriate behavior. I was soooo upset. This child needs to be in line of sight and earshot of an adult at all times. He is not a safe little person. The principal was a complete jerk about it when I asked for more supervision.
I got a report from his afterschool program that when they pick him up, the teachers are brusque, unkind and one even shoved him to get him to hurry one day.
I could go on and on, but this is the LAST straw!
Parent teacher conference? The teacher complained about Little Man's coat. He has one of those coats where it has a zip in liner, so you can use different pieces depending on the weather. The teacher said it was hard to put on and they wanted us to buy a new coat. I said no, we like his coat and I like knowing no matter what the weather is, he always has appropriate clothing. She said it it too hard to put on. I said, sorry, we like it.
Yesterday? Little Man came home and announced he needed a new coat because his teacher said his was stupid. I told him it was a nice coat and no we were not going to buy him new one.
This morning? We had a melt down because he REFUSED to wear the coat the teacher thinks is stupid. WE ARE SO ANGRY!
Geez I bought him new shoes without asking them first if they approved! I didn't realize I now had to pass his clothing through a approval process!
That is it. I am calling the district today and having him moved to a different school. This school has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they do not have my son's best interest in mind. Heaven and earth know no fury like a mad mother bear, watch out, my claws are out and I am smelling blood!!!!!!!

Miracles Happen

I didn't get my answer about my eagle messenger until my day was almost over yesterday.
The message was a confirmation about choosing social work as my current life's work. It was confirmed to me that I can do good things with this and bless other people's lives. I am supposed to be doing this. Cool mail system, eagles from the spirit world!

Parenting a child with disabilities is a different road to travel. It is not the one you expected and in many ways it is grief filled and heart breaking. Once you put aside your expectations, the most amazing thing happens. Pebbles that just looked so ordinary before, markers on the path of raising a child, become extraordinary. While we were proud of our other children for learning to pedal a bike, or to achieve any of the other so expected milestones, they were expected and sort of ordinary because we never thought of any other outcome.
With Little Man, the ordinary milestones become shining bright jewels in his life and ours. I present to you something we didn't expect. Come celebrate with us, my heart is filled with joy and wonder at the miracle we call our Little Man

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I know I sound all matter of fact in the video, but what you can't see is our hearts bursting with joy and gratitude.

That Kind of a Day

I am sure you are looking at that picture and wondering, what the heck? Some of my bloggy friends with the potty mouths are probably using stronger language.
Know what that speck is you can hardly make out?
THAT, my bloggy puddings, is an EAGLE! As in bald headed, amazing, soaring, incredibly beautiful bird. Wow!
For many Native American tribes, the bald eagle is a sacred symbol, often seen as a spiritual messenger. In the Lakota tradition, the bald eagle is considered a spirit which may be called on for aid, traditionally presiding over councils, hunters, war parties, and battles. In addition, the bald eagle is central to many ceremonies,including marriages and burials, with bald eagle feathers and other parts playing an important role
Hopefully I will be able to figure out what the message was being sent to me today, through this magnificent creature. Seeing this fellow tribal member of mine, I feel watched over and cared about.
Any of you have any ideas?
Otherwise, I am still car-less which is less than optimal, but still okay. Feeling a bit hemmed in and not really wanting to do housework all day.
So that is all the news that is fit to print bloggity dears.

Cute On Every Level

Today shall be an exercise in cuteness. Lucky me, I am surrounded in cuteness on a daily basis.
First there is my new baby, Meeko, (4 yr old Bare-Eyed Cockatoo if you are newcomer)

Here she is right after a shower

And there is my Little Man, always handsome and sometimes sweet.
I love his laugh!


Put the two together, and what do you get???

Super Cute!


And another!


Last but certainly not least, The Pea! A source of delight, wonder and cute, cute, cute!
On Sunday, she and Uncle Tank were playing with each other's tongues.

Let me have that!


Hmmm


What does my tongue look like anyway?


There ya go! Hopefully Blogger won't post any cuteness related deaths due to this post.

Mountain Monday And....

First off, your regularly scheduled Mountain picture. The clouds finally cleared up and left you with a very nice glimpse of the first real snow.

Very beautiful, don't ya think? I erased the power lines this time, I figure there is room for some artistic license in our relationship. As I sit here and type to you, I can look up and see this beautiful landscape. Some days I feel so lucky.

And now, the AND part....
It is Nov 13 and JJ is 17! I can't believe it. He is our youngest bio kid. He was born at home, like most of our kids.



Right away things were a bit funky with him. He was not a good nurser and just seemed, well, lethargic. By the time he was 24 hours old, he was inpatient at the NICU. They didn't know at the time what was wrong, but we would find out later he had had a stroke before he was born. We were unsure if he would even survive his first week, but he did and we rejoiced. Weeks passed and he was just not meeting his milestones like our other kids did. It soon became apparent that he was paralyzed on the right side of his body. We did alot of praying and we had a nurse coming out and giving us exercises to do with him. By the time he was 9 months old he was army crawling and mostly dragging his right arm and leg. Then the miracles began to happen. After a couple of weeks he began to have more movement on the right side of his body. Within a few months he was walking and you would NEVER known anything was ever wrong with him. He continued to struggle with other health issues for the next couple of years, but they eventually resolved too. Even his doctors called him a miracle. They said they had no idea why he got better, but he did! His neuro released him from care with a final eeg that showed NONE of the abnormalities of his other ones. The doctor said he must have rerouted around the damaged areas. We don't know how, we are just grateful it happened.

This kid was such a risk taker! By the time he was one, he was swimming under water. He was always such an eccentric child. We figure it is because he was just so dang smart. He was playing chess by the time he was five.

He has always had a fascination with money. When he was small he would ask us for our pennies. After he collected 25 pennies, he would trade us for a quarter. It took us months for us to realize we were buying and rebuying our own pennies!

Along with his passion for earning money, this child has been blessed with the most generous heart. He always wants to share, and to this day, it is the delight of his heart to be able to share anything of his with his friends or family. He would make a great rich man, he could do alot of good with it.
What an imgination! He once, for about a week, pretended to be a monkey. He had a belt for a tail and he wore gloves on his feet instead of shoes. What a hoot he is.
He went to kindergarten, and his K teacher said she had never heard another 5 year old sing opera!
He has always been the leader of the pack and our house is often the gathering point for stinky teenaged boys. He is such a free spirit, I guess his friends like that.
The last six months have improved his teenaged attitude a great deal, much to our relief. Instead of a hormonal grump, he is once again, our bright, smart aleck, a bit strange but funny kid. Happy Birthday JJ. We all survived!

Sabbath Meals

Like the Jews, the Mormons have a thing about food. A Mormon joke goes this way: How many Mormons does it take to change a light bulb? 10. One to change the light and 9 to plan and serve the refreshments.
I have heard outsiders say because of all the other restrictions in our religion, food and married sex are our only allowed recreation. Thus leading to Utah being the top Jello eater in the U.S. and the high number of kids per captia in our Zion here. And since the church frowns on group sex, that just leaves eating as a group activity.
There are the classic Mormon Funeral Potatoes. Served after every Mormon funeral I have been to, whether it was in Utah or California.

Funeral Potatoes (classic)
6-8 potatoes, cooked, peeled, and grated or cubed
1/2 c. minced onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/2 c. grated cheese
3/4 tsp. salt
optionally:
2 tbsp. melted butter
1 c. crushed cornflakes

Spread potatoes in a buttered casserole dish. Heat soup, sour cream, and onion in sauce pan, then pour over potatoes, but DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle cheese on top if you’re Aunt Marilyn Crandall; if you’re Julie Nielsen, mix the cheese, butter, and cornflakes together, and then sprinkle them on top. Bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes.

This is a heart attack in a casserole pan, but man oh man, does it taste heavenly. Served with ham and rolls, it is the staple of our religion's funerals.

For my family, especially as the kids got older and busier, Sunday dinner has become an important part our week. A time to gather, a time for fellowship, laughter and a time to catch up on everyone's news. And personally? Although it is a fair amount of work for me, I LOVE seeing all my kids, (and extra's) faces gathered around our Sabbath meal.
A shortcut I have been taking with the hot summer weather and our late Sunday schedule is a crockpot potroast. I will halve the recipe for my internet peeps, since I doubt many of you own an extra large crockpot.
Jo's Easy Sunday Pot Roast

1 roast, 1-2 lbs
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 envelope of brown gravy mix
1 lb of baby carrots
2 lbs of potatoes, washed and in quarters or eighths.

Put the roast in the crockpot
put the carrots and potatoes on top
mix the 2 envelopes with a cup of hot water,
pour on top
put the lid on
cook for at least 5 hours.
Enjoy! Yummy! My family loves it! Easy and keeps the heat down too.
I put it on in about 10 in the morning and it is done by 4.
Served with some rolls it is a great meal.
Today we are having homemade rolls, regular pot roast, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed steamed veggies and if I am not too tired, homemade brownies with ice cream on top. My family with be groaning with joy.
Hope you have a good Sabbath day too!

It's Cold Outside!

Winter, although slow to arrive this year is finally getting here. We had to turn on the heater! Poor Bald Man, it is 43 at 10 in the morning and he is outside, all bundled up, pulling the tranny out of his work van. He found another one at a junk yard, for a couple of hundred, so it won't be too expensive to fix. Makes me rather glad I am married to a fix it type of guy. Little Man and I have plans to get his hair cut and go to the movies. Thank goodness the movies will buy me a couple of hours of peace and quiet with the child. He likes to watch movies. It is a good thing.
Bald Man and I are struggling to find time with each other. Things have in general been a bit hectic and then with Little Man not sleeping well, we are getting NO time in the evenings. Saturdays have been our date day for years. We used to go out in the evenings, but we found our built in baby sitters (the older kids) were usually busy on the weekend nights, but rarely during the days. So we switched to Saturday days years ago. The great part about Saturday day dates? Movies are cheaper, meals are cheaper and it is easier to find a sitter. So the switch was a good one. It has been at least a month, and more probably two months since we have had our Saturday date. We miss each other, miss our time with each other, feel like other things are taking up our time with each other, (which they are!) And now, the stupid van needs his attention. Deep sigh. I am left with a very messy apartment and Little Man. Not a great trade. It will be fine, but there are other things I would rather be doing today. Hope your weekend is a good one.

No Car Still!

Remember on monday I was okay without my van? I don't think I am okay anymore. I feel soooo housebound. And that would be fine if I were feeling in the mood to clean or something. But nothing, I don't want to anything at all...

I've got the blues
The stuck in the house,
can't escape, bluuuueeessss
Bald Man broke his van
and now he has mine
so I am trapped, bbbllllueeessss
No chocolate to eat,
No new books to read
Nothing to watch on TV, bbbbluuuueeeeessss

Tomorrow, he promised tomorrow he is putting a new tranny in his work van, so I can have mine back. I shall take Little Man to go see Flushed Away and we will eat buttered popcorn and I will drink Dr. Pepper so I don't fall asleep.
And you? Hopefully you can look forward to a pretty picture of lightly snow dusted mountains on mon if it doesn't melt.

Bad Mommy

After reading The Naked Ovary this morning, I thought I would post my worst Mommy moment ever.
In a galaxy far, far away and a long time ago.... oh alright, it was here in Utah and two years ago.
Little Man had to have surgery and developed a HORRIBLE, life threatening infection afterwards. So bad he had to have a PICC line placed for long term antibotic use. A PICC line has a port sewn to your arm, (like the end of an IV) and then the line is threaded through your veins until the tip is placed a large vein, near your heart. This enables the use of IV antibotics that would erode right through a smaller vein. As you can imagine, it is a HUGE pain in the butt to take care of, sterile precautions, a pump, tons of supplies...


Here is a pic of Little Man and his pump and line.

He had to wear that back pack every single waking hour of the day.

This also means a caretaker who is on top of things.
Letting his line run dry can mean the end of the PICC line.
One day, I dropped by the hospital on my way home from school to see a classmate who was very ill there. Well, being me, I lost track of the time, plus cell phones were not allowed, so I had left my cell phone in the car. Even though I wasn't paying attention to the time very well, I wasn't too worried, because I had at least two hours until I needed to change the Little Man's meds and stuff.
WRONG! When I got out to the car, there were like a million messages from my long suffering hubby who said Little Man's pump had been beeping that it was running dry for over an hour and where the heck was I anyway??
To his credit, my hubby did not divorce me or even yell at me. I was panicked! Thank goodness his line was still open and we were okay, but it easily could have been another surgery to place a new line. I was a BAD MOMMY! How about you? Any bad parent moments to share?

A Tale of Two Ducks

Rubber Duckies! Is there anything cuter?? Sometimes they can even be theraputic. Have you ever heard of sensory integration dysfunction? sometimes nerve endings don't work right and leave the person with either heightened or deadened reactions to various sensory stimuli. Little Man has it and so does my friend's daughter. There is big money in sensory products now to help our kiddos live more normal lives. If you go to South Paw Enterprises you can find many things to help with sensory issues. Things to chew on, things to watch, things for your hands, things for your feet,things to squeeze you, etc. You can also buy a really cute rubber duckie that vibrates, is waterproof and looks just like this:

being waterproof and vibrating means you could help your child in the bath become calmer and feel better.
My friend decided her daughter needed one and ordered it from the aforementioned South Paw.
Imagine her surprise when the cute lil thing arrived, packaged with a brochure from the company that manufactured it. On the brochure was a picture of this!

Seems as though the company that makes cute, waterproof duckies also makes other things....Eeek!

Boring Post I am Sure

Not much to say of great interest. Bald Man's van's transmission went out so I am without a vehicle today. That is neither bad nor good. I wouldn't have minded running errands today, but I am okay in the house. Maybe I will get some needle felting done??? One big thing on my list is to make some birdie bread for our little sweetie. After our little intervention with the Bird Whisperer, Meeko is doing so well with stepping up and not nipping. She is a little love bug and generally speaking, there are lots of people around her to give her the cuddles she wants. We are working on getting her to pellet diet instead of the all seed one she has been on. You should see her stare at you while she puts her foot in her dish and throws the pellets out! How dare you insult the princess with pellets?? I pooh pooh your pellets, I throw them in your face!
Yesterday's appointment with the shrink? Oh yeah, that was nice of Little Man to show the new doctor his very worst side. The nice thing about it was the doctor said I was doing a really job with him. That made me feel good. In spite of almost having one of my fingers dislocated, (I felt the edge pop out and go back in, ouch!) bit, scratched, hit and choked, I was very patient. It helps when you get enough sleep to be patient I have found. New meds to try to make him sleep. Nothing to note so far.
I told you this was boring! Sorry!
A Little Man funny for the day: Today in the shower he was extraordinarly clumsy and kept knocking everything over. I was getting exasperated and sighed heavily. Little Man said, "sorry, my feet are on backwards today!" That made me laugh.
Happy Tuesdays all my bloggy friends!

Mountain Monday Again

No one has complained about my Mountain mondays and all the comments have been positive, so for your viewing pleasure, the mountains outside my window. I could edit out the powerlines and the new townhouses, but I've decided that the truth is valuable, even without being prettied up. So this really is the view from my window.

This morning the Pea is over visiting while mommy is at the doctors. Cute shields in place? I would hate to find out that some bloggy friend's guts had exploded all over from cuteness overload.





Don't you LOVE her little piggy tails?? Oh they slay me. I adore them.
And another. This is the Pea signing bird while she gazes raptly at our lil birdie.




Her signing isn't precise, but it is soooo charming!
Little Man has a doctor's appt this afternoon with his shrink, we are praying for some help with his sleep. It isn't as bad as it can be, but it is NOT good. He is not falling asleep until 10 or 11 and then is up early. Bald Man and my relationship is suffering from having NO time alone together and it is getting stressful.
So a nice long drive to the city. How in heaven's name did we survive parenting our other children without portable DVD players??? I know not how.
A funny for the day:
Little Man picked up a toothbrush we had given Meeko to chew on, turned it all around, looked up and said, "how do you turn it on?" Yes, we have 21st Century children! Happy Mountain Monday to all of you!

You Will Get Sick of This Yet

Day five of Nablopomo, perfect attendence! Where is my gold star??

Ah yes, my Bloggity cupcakes, like any new parent, I have many pictures of our new baby and you are sort of being forced to "enjoy" them politely!
Meeko darling had a rough day yesterday. My birdy friend came over and gave our family some lessons on how to become the Alpha bird. Seems as though our darling baby has spent far too long being spoiled and in charge and she needs some tough love. No more scritches for our little darling unless she has stepped up. (Meaning she has accepted the command and stepped up to your finger) And ta da!

She doesn't like stepping up and she is BAD nipper, but she is learning and we were surprised at how little time it is taking for her to do better.
Do you know what a barn sour horse is? Meeko is cage sour. Anywhere near her cage she is bratty and wants to go back to her cage and try to bite you if try to pick her up. Once you get her away from her cage she is much more snuggly and managable.
Proof:
Along with lots of loving though, she needed to be clipped badly. That part she didn't enjoy.

My bird mentor did the clipping, which saved us some money and saved our lil sweetie from the extra trauma of going to the vet while she is still settling in.
She is a goofy bird! She loves to entertain and will do anything for a laugh. She says Bad Cat, Hello, Hi, I love you, squeaks like the door shutting and imitates your laugh. She also always coughs back at me when I cough. (Fairly frequent there, remember I am recovering from broncitis.) She loves to throw things and it is really funny. We are enjoying her so much. Sorry about another Meeko post, but hey, it is what is going on in Chez Tangled!
And one last pic of our pretty bird

Introducing.....

Meeko!

Meeko is our newest family member. She is a Bare Eyed Cockatoo. We adopted her through a local bird rescue. Because she is a Bare Eyed and she is such a social little clown, she is adjusting way faster than we thought she would. Everyone in the family has had chance to "scritch" her sweet little head. (By the way? Scritch is an official techno term in the bird world!) Even Little Man! Meeko rather enjoys his antics, as long as he isn't too close, she is entertained by his bouncing and chattering. Little Man is laughing his face off right now. When anyone opens the front door, Meeko makes the sound of the door creaking. Little Man is highly entertained by this.
Because Cockatoos live such a long time, (60 years!) we know we are signing up for a lifetime of birdiness. The older kids are already fighting over who gets to adopt her when Bald Man and I die!
Day number 4 of NaBloPoMo.

(Can ) Father-son bond of Dick and Rick Hoyt

An incredible story.

Save Me!

(by the way? That nice little seal above is a link too, so if you want to see a 400+ list of other blogs participating, click away!)
Yesterday, after I showered, I had all these wonderful plans of cleaning up from Halloween's mess. With all the kids over and Pea, boy the apartment gets messy fast! So I am doing laundry and what not, the phone rings.... I look at the caller ID, it is Little Man's school. His teacher is calling to tell me that Little Man is making like a volcano and spewing his stomach contents everywhere. Deep sigh. I love my boy but he is soooo much work. There goes all my hopes of cleaning up or anything else productive. He was pretty good yesterday, feeling under the weather.He only threw up one more time, all over the bathroom. I rented Over the Hedge and he watched that 3 times.
But! Today?? He is feeling better and quite wild. Driving me crazy in fact. It is going to be a long day. I don't dare send him to school, part of me wants to (the selfish part that wants some peace and quiet and doesn't want to spend the day locked up with a wild animal type child all day, and would really like to get something done, like a nap...) but being a good mommy, I need to make sure he is feeling all the way better.
So, bloggy dears, pray for me, send me good thoughts, offer sacrifices to goddess of sanity, whatever, it will all be appreciated.
(Two days of perfect attendence in Noblopomo!)

Now I've Done It

Well, I did it, I went and joined

I committed myself not to the funny farm, (although I am sometimes quite sure I belong there!)but to blogging every single day in November. So check in often and cheer me on!
I promised my Little bloggy puddings that I would share Halloween pics, so todays entry will mostly consist of pictures.
Little Man was Spider Man.



Pea was Tigger!



Tank dressed up like a scarecrow-type guy and scared the dickens out of everyone!


We found some leaves on the walk back home






As you can tell, fun was had by all!


Little Man's laughter is priceless.

Little Man was um, manic I guess, really wild, but since we were out walking, it ended up pretty darn good. He was able to be silly and energetic without too many problems. He really had a good time. Pea was a bit clueless, but she really liked people giving her stuff. Hope your Halloween was great too! If you celebrate Halloween that is.. if not, I wish you some chocolate today, everyone should have chocolate the day after Halloween. See ya tomorrow!