Help report the doctors who are committing fraud.

I saw the signs in Madison Saturday to get fake sick notes. Help report the doctors who are committing fraud.

http://tiny.cc/hber1

The democrat Fleebaggers are still missing.

The Fleebagging democrat senators are still missing. I'm glad to hear that the Wisconsin senate Republicans will be starting on Tuesday to vote on non-fiscal legislation. Yea!! Voter ID.

The Teachers union knows that they are losing  the battle and they have told teachers to go back to work. The Madison teachers are still calling in sick and they have shut down and closed Madison schools.


Archbishop Listecki's gave us a statement on Workers' Rights and Unions. Archbishop, please take care of the bankruptcy problem and stop embarrassing yourself with social justice statements. Your statement says that difficult economic times call for hard choices and financial responsibility. OK. the state is in difficult economic times also.

That's all for now....


 

Andrew Breitbart in Madison

I read my share of conservative blogs and I love what Andrew Breitbart has done to dominate the media. I also read Gateway Pundit and I saw Jim Hoft in Madison also. Great folks, and we are glad to have these patriots on our side.

Here is a little of Andrew speaking.

They abandoned the children...Support Gov. Walker Tea party rally Madiso...

Hubby and I spent the day in Madison in support of Gov. Walker.

I live in the conservative suburbs and find it unwelcoming in the liberal enclave of Madistan as some people refer to it.

We were going to meet in Waukesha to take the bus to the rally. When the bus arrived, there were 5 x's more protesters than buses so we talked with the crowd and we caravaned to Madison (about one hour away) and meet up at Badger Bowl (Thank you Badger Bowl!!!) where they had shuttle buses to the rally downtown.

We met the president of the College Republicans and her group drove over 4 hours to attend. Nice to see young folks there. Most people were our age, 40-50.

There were not too many teachers visible, I guess they work at protesting Monday -Friday when they are paid and can abandon their children. Saturday is their day off so the space belonged to the Walker supporters.

The TEA Party and the Madison protest

Jerry and I will be leaving for the TEA party rally to support Gov. Walker. Family will be home watching the kids. I don't want them subjected to union thuggery.




My question is, why force me to join a nurses union to work, use my contributions to support democrat politician who I disagree with and make it difficult to opt out. If I opt out, that is, contribute but not be in the union, they take away my malpractice insurance. Does this sound fair? If anything republicans learned with obama's elections, unions are just an arm of the democrat party. No more no less. Try to stop them and they will turn violent.

.

Christmas break

This is my Christmas break and I so badly needed it. I am exhausted. School is getting brutal but only 10 1/2 months to go. Countdown....
I had such as easy time at Stritch for my first degree in the 80's but I am now 50 and the brain doesn't work like it used to. Memorizing new material like serotonin and dopamine transmitters, psychopharmacology and DSM-IV is a challenge but I will complete grad school and I will pass certification and become a PMHNP. Goodness knows my children inspire me to know more about mental illness. 

But I will enjoy the last week of rest and relaxation before I hit the books again.

Not a tissue

I read the article about the teen on a show 16 & pregnant ( I have never watched) that aborted her 2nd child.  The show was trying to highlight that abortion is common, easy and a good alternative.

Speaking as someone who has heard about the devastating after effects of guilt and sorrow that can extend a lifetime, I would council young and not so young women to consider adoption if the baby is not right for you. You will still feel sorrow over the loss but at least you gave the child life and this is the greatest gift of all.

HT:Red State

Grieving mother to mother of son's killer.

"In case you didn’t understand it yet: I am the mother of the boy that was brutally slaughtered by your son"


Sometimes we forget who's human rights are really harmed. Read this mother's letter.

Fox News Viewers Are Misinformed Study, The Critique

This study shows the bias is really against FOX News.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! Peace and love to you and your familiy. Enjoy this link.

TSA abuse has risen to a new level of outrage!

I am outraged by this video. These people have just been unionized with the right to abuse us and not get fired. You are giving your rights to a $12.00 federal union thug. Don't tell me the ones you have met are nice, stories like this are coming out every day.  We need to take back our right and the TSA should be dismantled. I have written my nursing organization asking for their support. Please contact congress and the TSA and complain. I added the links to make it easier. I know we are all busy!

I hope those of you who agree that we should not be conducting naked body scans and intrusive pat downs please contact congress and the TSA.
To complain to Congress 

To complain to the TSA

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a beautiful Thanksgiving. I am grateful to my God,  family and friends.

My son

What 10 years old looks like in my world

My son has turned 10. Physically, emotionally, spiritually he is not 10 but about 5 or 6. We are still working on helping him learn to read. Math is slow but we are about a 1st grade level.  We struggle every day with his attachment and acceptance of our role as his parents. Every day he tells us what new toy he wants. I tell him I could give you all the toys in the world and you would not be happy. You will only be happy when you allow yourself to trust mom and dad. ; and that is something that after 7 years he still can not do.

The Cartel - Local Spending

Orthopaedics vs Anaesthesia

Too funny!!!!!!!!!

Draft Sarah Palin

Draft Sarah Palin for GOP chair!

Attachment and the brain

 Here is a good clip on attachment and the brain.

HT:http://reactiveattachmentdisorderlife.blogspot.com/

Madonna - Ray Of Light (Video)

My life feels like a ray of light.

My beauty garden

The day turned itself around. All is calm and I did get to garden a little. Here are some shots from my beauty garden.

A long day.

We had plans for the weekend. I asked each child what they wanted to do that didn't cost any money. They decided that the wanted to go to the library and the park.


Great. My husband had to work part of the week end but we would still have time to attend a graduation party and have a family cookout, play in the small swimming pool and for me to garden.

I should have figured that if I spent time organizing, the plans would be sabotaged.

My son woke up pissing mad. Literally pissing mad with a wet pullup and he refused to take it off. He crawled in a box he was playing with yesterday and I let him eat breakfast in there.

I couldn't leave the kitchen because he was calling my daughter names, dissing me and when I stepping in the next room for a minute, he hit my daughter in the face.

Time out.

While I consoled her and made sure she was OK, I sent him to his room and his alarm chimes to tell me his door is shut. After consoling my daughter and have her complain that it's going to be a terrible weekend, I sent her outside to play.

When I went to check on him, the room reeked like poop. He had a finger full of poo and he had drawn on the wall, the dresser, the window sill, and the floor. He was swearing, threatening and unable to calm. My husband shut his door and went on door watch while I started calling friends and family. I dropped off my daughter at a friend who knows what we live like and has been great at last minute rescues.

When I returned home my son was cleaning the poop from the walls and my husband was supervising. I kissed him goodbye for the day and continued to monitor the clean up. After an hour of picking up the room, washing and bleaching the walls, furniture and windows, he was calmer.

Now we are outside and he is cleaning and vacuuming my car. In between, every few minutes or so, I have him stop and work on feeling processing sheets. They help him tell me what's wrong when he can't tell me what's wrong or how he feels.

We are on page 8 and he is calm, in control but continues to have NO insight on why his behavior is wrong. "Because you made me clean"

Dah, the poop you already smeared.

This may be a long day.

Sacred music

A pet peeve I have is the terrible music in the Catholic mass. This video helps understand what is sacred and what is not.

Reality

We're back on Concerta and life is better. Yesterday my son was sick. He woke up vomiting and stayed home with me. Alone, without his sister, he was so sweet and non-oppositional. What a roller coaster his emotions are, I truly feel for him.

Waiting

Can't get into the psychiatrist until Friday. I told my son I would like to keep him home but we need to be safe. If he continues to bother (terrorize) his sister I will have to have him hospitalized. The voices continue but he is safe at this time.

Terrible day

We had a terrible day. Our son was taken off Concerta this past week due to increased aggression and it really helped. But in it's place we have seen a more disorganized internally preoccupied self absorbed son. Today, he started the day verbally abusing our daughter and then on the way to church he pushed her on her face out of the blue. He was disruptive at Mass and I even asked him if he needed to go to the hospital. The day disintegrated into urine and fecal incontinence and a lot of fecal smearing. I even asked him to clean up the poop and when I came back he had drawn a smiley face in poop on the wall. I thanked him for the art and told him I was going to get the camera to shoot the "art" he gave me, he became aggressive, swearing and I started to get mad. I can't get mad with him because I have to be in control for his safety. RAD kids push buttons all day and at night when I'm tired I walk away or I'll want to spank him. My husband took over, we tag team when one of us needs a break. I came back 15 minutes later and they were talking. Our son finally admitted he was having constant and disturbing hallucinations. The voices and visions tell him to hurt everyone, hurt himself and smear poop because mom hates it. We are very confused. Is this a big story or is he really this psychotic? I will be calling the psychiatrist tomorrow.

The Catholic Church revised

I am not a fan of the New York Times. As a conservative I see bias in most MSM. But as stumbled upon this article by Nicholas Kristof, I have to agree with his logic about the Catholic Church.

He describes the church he met in Sudan.
It may be easy at a New York cocktail party to sniff derisively at a church whose apex is male chauvinist, homophobic and so out of touch that it bars the use of condoms even to curb AIDS. But what about Father Michael Barton, a Catholic priest from Indianapolis? I met Father Michael in the remote village of Nyamlell, 150 miles from any paved road here in southern Sudan. He runs four schools for children who would otherwise go without an education, and his graduates score at the top of statewide examinations.



Father Michael came to southern Sudan in 1978 and chatters fluently in Dinka and other local languages. To keep his schools alive, he persevered through civil war, imprisonment and beatings, and a smorgasbord of disease. “It’s very normal to have malaria,” he said. “Intestinal parasites — that’s just normal.”
Father Michael may be the worst-dressed priest I’ve ever seen — and the noblest.
Anybody scorn him? Anybody think he’s a self-righteous hypocrite?


On the contrary, he would make a great pope.
Sister Cathy would like to see more decentralization in the church, a greater role for women, and more emphasis on public service. She says she worries sometimes that if Jesus returned he would say, “Oh, they got it all wrong!”


She would make a great pope, too.

And unless we’re willing to endure beatings alongside Father Michael, unless we’re willing to stand up to warlords with Sister Cathy, we have no right to disparage them or their true church.

My daughter just had her First Holy Communion and I want her to love the church I love. The servant church that reaches out to the poor and oppressed. The church that faith and covenant remains the same. The church that traces it's line back to Christ. Good or Bad; the church remains a constant. The people may corrupt it by their sins, but it is the people, not the church. More and more, those people are the hierarchy or the church. After the priest scandal was revelled, I was angry with my church. I wanted them to do more than say sorry. I wanted them to sell everything and start over as a poor church, a beggars church and grow by faith alone. Of course this will never happen.

But I can hope.

Returned child to Russia

I read the story about the adoptive mother who returned her child to Russia with a note pinned to him.

The boy arrived unaccompanied in Moscow on a United Airlines flight on Thursday from Washington. Social workers sent him to a Moscow hospital for a health checkup and criticized his adoptive mother for abandoning him.



The Kremlin children's rights office said the boy was carrying a letter from his adoptive mother saying she was returning him due to severe psychological problems.


"This child is mentally unstable. He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues," the letter said. "I was lied to and misled by the Russian Orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability and other issues. ...
"After giving my best to this child, I am sorry to say that for the safety of my family, friends, and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child."

When I read stories like this, I have to try and remember what it was like when hubby and I adopted. How naive we were. We knew nothing about RAD and even how severely abused, neglected or alcohol exposed these children were. Coming from an intact 2 parent loving home, I couldn't even imagine what these children experience.

I pray for this child and the mother who made the decision to return him.

Donny Osmaond speaks for me.

Donny Osmond has slammed Lady Gaga and Beyoncé for including "profanity, sexual exploitation, nudity, and graphic violence" in their "Telephone" video -- insisting he's "upset as a parent."
Good! More musicians need to speak up and say stop the trash our children are subjected to. From clothes to music to TV. Every where children go they are subjected to foul potty mouth humor, shows that make fun of grownups, sexual images, violence and dysfunctional families.

Ever try and shop for a 8 year old girl? Slut clothes in size 7/8.
I refuse to buy anything objectionable and hope you do to.
HT: Big Hollywood
 

Why abilify works

Why abilify works.

Abilify is a atypical anti psychotic used for the treatment of several psychiatric disorders.

•Use as an add-on treatment to an antidepressant for adults with Major Depressive Disorder who did not have an adequate response to antidepressant therapy


•Treatment of manic and mixed episodes associated with Bipolar I Disorder in adults and in pediatric patients 10 to 17 years of age

•Treatment of Schizophrenia in adults and in adolescents 13 to 17 years of age

•Treatment of irritability associated with Autistic Disorder in pediatric patients 6 to 17 years of age
 
Most common side effects (≥10%) from all clinical trials involving adults or pediatric patients include:

• ADULTS: Nausea, vomiting, constipation, headache, dizziness, an inner sense of restlessness or need to move (akathisia), anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness

• •PEDIATRIC PATIENTS (6 to 17 years): Sleepiness, headache, vomiting, extrapyramidal disorder (for example, uncontrolled movement disorders or muscle disturbances such as restlessness, tremors and muscle stiffness), tiredness, increased appetite, insomnia, nausea, stuffy nose/sore throat, and increased weight

My experience with abilify is with pediatric and adult populations. It is not my first line choice anti psychotic but for some people it really works.

Sunday morning bath time, mommy quiet time

My daughters recovery is going well. All post-op visits are infection free and no further retinal tears. She is home with me as she recovers and homeschooling is going OK. I still get riled up over the math homework but I am incorporating my "old fashioned math" so she will have some skills without a calculator.


We are also home schooling for her First Communion as she is skipping CCD while recovering.

As a product of a Catholic education and the daily Mass and daily religion, I'm saddened I can't give her this Catholic experience and I want her to feel a closeness to God but also a connection with a faith. I am one of those people who thinks a faith benefits a life and I want everyone to feel Gods love. But I also think the Catholic faith is the authentic church; as failed as it's members are.

I know the Catholic faith will continue. If the Catholic Church had to sell off everything and begin again to restore it self, it would. Evil will not destroy it.

OK, back to my daughter. Hubby and I decided we wanted to keep both of he kids in public school so they wouldn't be separated. If GL needs special ed and he Catholic school can' provide it, then they both will go to public school and we will bring our faith to them.

Speaking of GL, we were weaning the Abilify and hoping the Concerta was enough;sadly we were wrong. His level of aggression and anger was getting uncontrollable. We will just have to deal with he metabolic effects.

When I write this blog I always think I'm talking with another parent of a RAD child and not just a random reader. Without the experience of living with a child with RAD, it is nearly impossible to understand our life.

The looks we get in stores when my 9 year old son walks up to a perfect stranger mom and hugs her and lovingly looks at her. The rage and destruction he saves for his family.

Last night I made a great GL meal (he is a carnivore). Pork chops, mashed potatoes, snap peas;all home made with love. As we sat down and after prayers he turned to me and said this meal is "poop". Of course I calmly told him to go to his room. After dinner, when I brought him out and he was hungry I told him to help himself as I will not serve "poop" to the son I love so much. He piled all the food on the plate and ate up every bit of it.

He has also been doing a lot of art lately, unfortunately it is on his walls and with his own feces. Yes, we buy bleach in bulk and yes, he is the one who cleans it up. And thank you to who ever invented the magic eraser, it removes sharpie and crayons from any wall.

All in all, hubby is busy with his new job and I'll return to nursing as soon as my Family Medical Leave is ended in April. BTW: school is going well. Count down, 5 semesters left and I'll finish grad school. Shhhhh! Don't tell hubby I'm thinking of finishing my doctorate. They need some conservatives in nursing health care leadership.

Some decisions are suckish

My daughter and son were playing UNO this afternoon when my son said" I suck at this game' of which my daughter replied "You can't suck at this game, but you can make suckish moves". How insightful!

My baby girl

My baby girl, well not much of a baby at 8 but still my munchkin, is having surgery tomorrow. She was adopted at 22 months and we knew she had one blind eye and low vision in the other. Well, her blind eye has finally started to die and it has developed staphlomas or growths that make it impossible for her to fully close her eye and will eventually rupture. She has also developed a small retinal tear on her "good" eye. So tomorrow we are off to the Eye Institute for surgery where the tear will be lasered and stopped and the other eye will be enucleated (removed).

I'm going to home school her for 7 weeks until her prosthetic is made and back to school. She is also having her first Holy Communion  late April so she will look beautiful and holy. Of course to me she is always beautiful.

Here is my little raspberry tartlet ( I always call her by the name of food) and her big brother.

My favorite poem

This is my favorite poem which I read and memorized at Pius High School many years ago. I still can recall the cadence of speaking the poem as I recited in class.

Reflections On a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

Received from a

Friend Called Felicity

by John Tobias (1966)

During that summer

When unicorns were still possible;

When the purpose of knees

Was to be skinned;

When shiny horse chestnuts

(Hollowed out

Fitted with straws

Crammed with tobacco

Stolen from butts

In family ashtrays)

Were puffed in green lizard silence

While straddling thick branches

Far above and away

From the softening affects

Of civilization;



During that summer-

Which may never have been at all;

But which has become more real

Than the one that was-

Watermelons ruled.

Thick pink imperial sheaves

Melting frigidly on sun parched tongues

Dribbling from chins;

leaving the best part,

The black bullet seeds,

To be spit out in rapid fire

Against the wall

Against the wind

Against each other;



And when the ammunition was spent,

There was always another bite;

It was a summer of limitless bites,

Of hungers quickly left

And quickly forgotten

With the next careless gorging.



The bites are fewer now.

Each one is savored lingeringly,

Swallowed reluctantly.



But in a jar put up by Felicity,

The summer which maybe never was

Has been captured and preserved

And when we unscrew the lid

And slice off a piece

And let it linger on our tongue:

Unicorns become possible again.
 
 
Have a peaceful night.

IEP day

Today was my sons IEP. We have these annually to update and add any changes needed for his education and to modify his behavior plan as needed. Since most of his behavior problems are at home, they don't see or have to cope with the worst of it.

Everything was updated and we carry on. Reading, math and speech special services and 1:1 at school.

The Concerta is helping is chatter talk and hyperactivity. A very good day.

My daughter is dealing with 2nd grade girl drama. They are already forming little cliques. I thought that didn't start until 6th grade. What do I know?

I continue to fight the school on the "new" math curriculum. My 2nd grader was told to use a calculator. I refused. I told her when she can do it in her head or on paper she can check with a calculator and not before.
I was in Office Max a few days ago and I needed them to take 10% off a $230.00 item. The 2 twenty somethings were running around asking for a calculator. I watched amusingly and said the discount is $23.00.
They were SHOCKED I could figure it out in my head. They didn't believe me and continued to look for a calculator. When they found it and verified my calculation they were a little short with me when I implied they were idiots. They said they learned math on a calculator. I reminded them they were helpless until they found it.

A contented evening

I sit here this evening feeling tired yet contented. My son has been a psychiatric pharmacology lab rat for the last 2 months. I know something has to work. I know the mood stabilizers such as Lithium, Tegretol and Depakote did not and in fact made him sicker. I don't even want to list the meds we have tried over the last 6 years.

A few days ago I called the psychiatrist because GL was raging, running in circles and it was pathetic, heartbreaking and distressing for him. I tried a sedative to calm him but he was too ramped up. The doc suggested we try a stimulant even though we had in the past and it didn't work. Well this time it worked.
I couldn't believe it. After all of this time the racing and hyperactivity was manageable with Concerta? He still has RAD and is angry and unattached but at least we are able to calm his mood and he can listen and focus a little better. Small miracles in my book. And that is why I am content tonight.

This is really hard

Well, the Tegretol doesn't seem to work and is causing the same agitation and mania that the Lithium did.  My baby boy came home from school and began a hypo manic rage and was so unfocused i couldn't even understand him. I tried to comfort him but he pushed me away. He thinks the medications are making him "kook coo". I agree, they certainly seem to be. We're going to hold the dose tomorrow and contact the doc.

Where we go from here is unknown, the mood stabilizers are working in the opposite way they should.

More roller coaster times

The Lithium is gone and we are now giving our son Tegretol. The Lithium caused hyper aggression and he even assaulted a younger female on the playground and that hasn't happened for a long time.

The Tegretol may take up to a week to have a noticeable difference so in the mean time I pray for patience and forgive myself when I loose it. I hate this but at one point today I said "Just shut up". first of all I hate that sentence, i don't allow my kids to say it and i find it really mean. But I said it out of complete frustration when i was busy with cooking and getting a project wrapped up and he just stood by my side chattering in the RADDY way about nothing to irritate me. So I will push him away. And i did. As soon as i said it I stopped and asked him how he felt. He said he wasn't sure; I think he was in shock. I told him how his chattering make me feel and how irritating it is. I asked him to not talk for 5 minutes but stay by me. He did and we got through it. I also put the project away since i should know that i can't do 2 things at once and parent my kids.

Cross your fingers

The lithium is on day 3 and all is well. The evidence states that most children with adverse effects of lithium will be seen in the first week or so. Let's hope this helps. I'm also pleased with the effects of the alprazolam. The medication makes him sleepy and calm. I needed to find a med for rage periods and not for daily use. I also know about the addictive properties of Xanax and I want to minimize his dependence.

I've also ramped up the home therapy. He is shut down. No second chances, only consequences and lots of time in with mommy. I get all of the love... I told him I'm so glad he made me aware that my breath stinks and my butt is big. I'm very grateful to hear about those physical aspects that i was never aware of :)

Yesterday we started reading "Me and My Volcano" by Deborah Hage.  After we discussed a few pages he was very angry and said the book made him angry. I'm glad. He needs to continue to use his words and not his hands to communicate his anger.

My daughter is asking us to "get rid of him". I told her he would always be her brother, whether he lives here or not. But that mom and dad want to try our best to keep him home.

I'm trying to do more one on one play with her; it sounds like she needs it.

New Meds

We had a retched weekend. My son had one of the most exhausting days with me Saturday. Hubby was gone helping his dad so he wasn't home to help. We like to work as a tag team when GL is raging. It gets so tiring and when tired it is easy to get mad and not be in control. I admit there are days I have to put my son in his room with the alarm on just so I can get refocused and remember getting angry or taking it personal doesn't help.

So, Saturday he started out very disrespectful, hurtful and destructive. He recently acquired a few decorations for his room and they were destroyed. All morning it was time out, time in with mom, strong sitting and finally a call to the doctor for some help. Thankfully, a local church offers a respite program once a month and I dropped my son off for 3 hours so that I could take my daughter bowling and shopping. A tomboy girl day; sports shopping for snowboard equipment. We both had a blast and it was fun to be with someone who is happy and fun. I only hope my son can get there some day.

OK, the doc called me while I was on the way home from work. we discussed his prior meds and suggestions for treatment. We are going to start Lithium and I wanted a prn (as needed) med for rages so we are going to try alprazolam (Xanax). He really wants to wean off the Abilify. My sons A1C test (diabetes) was elevated at 5.9 and this is the pre-diabetes status. A A1C over 6 used to be diabetes but the ADA just revised this to 6.5. Atypical antipsychotics such as Abilify, Geodon,  Seroquel, Risperidone, Zyprexa and others have the adverse effect of increasing the risk for metabolic syndrome and diabetes. If the Lithium works as a mood stabilizer, we will wean the Abilify off. I started the meds tonight. I wondered about the Xanax since it should relax my son but everyone has a different reaction and I know that it can dis-inhibit some patients and cause an opposite reaction. I was glad to see him yawning 20 minutes after receiving it.
Sweet dreams baby boy.

The medication waltz

Well we saw the new psych MD yesterday and I'm not sure what to report. They all seem nice the first meeting. It isn't until a few meetings when the disinterest and arrogance shows up.

We have to get labs tomorrow and see him again next week. I already told him we need more help with a mood stabilizer and a prn like Seroquel for really raging days. I hope he hears me and we start on a right path again.

Another psychiatrist!???

Tomorrow we are off to meet a new psychiatrist. Number 4 in 5 years. Now I'm a patient woman and I respect the medical profession. I'm part of the medical profession in a nursing psychiatric kind of way.


I'm in school to be able to prescribe psychotropic medication. But I can't seem to find anyone who respects my "mom" knowledge. Who will believe me when I call and need help, a prn medication, a tweaking of the meds or an ear to listen. I need someone to hear me; not just say "hospitalize".

No, I am not expecting a miracle from meds but I know that a mood stabilizer may help, that meds need changing because of loss of effectiveness. We had that happen with the Abilify. It worked with the guanfacine for over 2 years when it just didn't. We did a med wash. What hell was that! No meds at all, daily continuous rages, the distress of watching my baby boy suffer from anxiety and confusion. The trying risperidone, depakote, lamictal and the anti-depressants.

Well, we'll see what happens...tomorrow.

A day in a RAD mom life.

This article is an excellant example of what we as RAD parents go through every day as we tightrope the issues of patience and guidance.

Through the house the words rang as they had rung hundreds of times before,

No anger, no edge, no tension, just,

"Come into the bathroom, kids.

Hang up your wet towels.

They'll never dry on the floor."

And so the children come,

pick up their towels,

so they'll dry.

No problems, no fuss,

just grasp it with both hands and hang it over the hook.
Yet one child seems to cower in his room.

Facing me in the bathroom with a wet towel at my feet is too much for him.

I call again, knowing whose towel it is that is left.
Stiff with fear,

his bony thinness evident through his pajamas,

he slowly approaches the bathroom.

Standing in the doorway, his eyes watch my every muscle,

trying to discern the first twitch indicating impending violence.

None comes.
He enters, steps above the towel so that it lies between our feet.

I try to say, gently, again, "Hang up your towel".

But five minutes after a 30 second task should have been done leaves an edge of impatience

in my voice.

He stands, unable to pick up the towel for fear of losing sight of me.

For fear of bending his head and not seeing the blow that is sure to come.

What do I do now?

My mind races over the possibilities.

Do I pick up the towel for him and relieve him of his fears?

Do I master my voice and say again as kindly, as softly as possible, "Honey, you need to hang up your towel."

Do I stand quietly, waiting for the trust that will allow him to bend over and pick up

the towel?

Do I give him a hug and suggest that together we pick up the towel so he can still see

me every second?

Do I leave and let him pick it up alone?

I am not used to watching my few relaxing evening moments evaporate while a child wallows in fear

over the seemingly simple matter of hanging up a wet towel.
There is accusation in his eyes.

Accusing me of inflicting pain,

bearing the accusation for those who did.

My patience ebbs away.

The ebbing he had been waiting for.

The ebbing he knew would come.

The ebbing which would prove his fears were justified.
I abandon the reasonable options my mind has outlined and enter the world he has imagined for me.

Harsh words bark out!

"Pick up this towel immediately!"

In an instant he has grabbed up the towel,

wadded it into a ball,

thrust it onto the top of the hook,

no more able to dry than it had been on the floor.
His eyes have never left me.

The new position of the towel is worse than the old.

I am angry.

To wait so long and see such a mess made of it.

I grab his hands,

force him to take the towel down,

shake it out,

rehang it properly.

His stiffness is alarming.

His eyes try to veil the well of tears,

the sense of rejection and failure.

He flees to his room.
I go from room to room and bed to bed,

kissing each cheek,

settling everyone in for the night,

sharing evening blessings and small talk of the day.

One small body huddles against the wall,

refusing my touch,

rejecting my feeble efforts at reconciliation.

He stiffens against my embrace,

still I pick him up in my arms and try to hug his straight arms and body.
We are both crying.

Six months of patient effort to bring him out of his tomb of fear.

Lost.
Lost because of a tired mom,

and a wet towel,

lying,

on a bathroom floor.
 
 
  Deb Hauge   http://www.deborahhage.com/

Roller coaster of Christmas

My son has been on the roller coaster of Christmas emotions; loving one minute but mostly confused, hypervigilant and destructive. We work everyday to keep him home by keeping US safe. After a really crappy week of violent outbursts, fecal drawing and fighting for control, today was nice. He listened, was respectful, played alone and didn't bother his sister and even took care of his evening hygiene without a mess. I am blessed today.

Mass School Suspends Child For Drawing Crucifix

Mass School Suspends Child For Drawing Crucifix


Have we come to a point when a Catholic child can not draw a picture of a crucifix without needing a psychological exam? I pray for this poor family. Schools need to get real and use a little common sense.

Late night.

Today was one of those crazy days. I left for work at 6 am, visited my in laws for supper and  help with some physical cares ( my mother in law is in her mid 80's and has Alzheimer's) then off to school for my last class of the semester...yea! A long day but I need to be away and use my mind and help others to feel stronger. Make sense? Hubby stayed home and is wonderful and even more patient than me. He put our son to bed early for disrespect and hitting. I tucked him in at 9 pm since he had fallen asleep on the bed with clothes on. No pull-up on so lots of laundry to anticipate.

I have to work again tomorrow so off to bed.

Snow Day

Well, we got through the night. After raging a few hours my son passed out. I covered him up, kissed him and shut the door and set his alarm. He can't live here with us without an alarm. I would never be able to sleep and none of us would be safe.

Today was a snow day! The kids were thrilled and I was glad that it was my day off. As a nurse there is never a snow day and even though I drive 30 miles to work, I would have to make it in. Instead I got a day to catch up with a little homework, make hot tea for the kids, watch my hubby shovel us out. 12 " of snow. Heavy wet snow. Now as a born and bred upper Midwesterner, I love my snow, especially the first few storms. Just like everyone else here I get really sick of it by March and hate those late May snows or freezes. Well, what do I expect; I live in Wisconsin.

My daughter had a blast outside and then she took her new Rip Stick board in the basement to practice-my little jock.

My son tried to play outside but just ended up trying to hurt his sister, threw snow at daddy while he was snow blowing-unsafe. So he won the big lottery, mommy time wit me...all day and I'm exhausted. Let's see, he pulled my hair, tried to scare me repeatedly, made a mess every where and finished it of by defecating in his pants and making such a mess trying to clean up I finally did it myself. I then got to bleach down half the house.

He did sit next to me late this evening for a while and even put his head on my shoulder for about 15 seconds before calling me a jerk. He finally put him to bed at 7pm when he screamed in my ear. And I wonder why I have tinnitus? He raged a few minutes and knew I wasn't going to bye the "I'm sorry"  and "I didn't mean it" and after a few more choice words he settled and went to bed.

A new therapist

Today was day one with a new therapist. This time I decided to work with a woman,; our last 2 therapist were men.

I am also considering a new psychiatrist.

Anyway, This is the first time I didn't go in with my son. After an hour he emerged and therapist said it was a great first meeting. Well....It must have stirred up some good strong feelings because he was digging out poop and drawing on the walls for me tonight. He also hit, spit kicked and pulled my hair.

I am almost considering a hospital stay  for respite for hubby and I. And I hate psych hospitals for kids. I think they are expensive glorified day care and my son comes home sicker than before and learns even better profanity and gang signs...yeah ;(

I'll try to keep him safe and quiet tomorrow, I think we will be having a snow day.

Older adoption

My sons birth brother has contacted us. We found him 2 years ago but we were not in the emotional position to adopt him as we were in the throes of dealing with the hardest times with our sons RAD; including 2 hospitalizations.

We are now not in a financial position to help adopt him.

He has asked and I don't know what to do. My heart is large enough for him but my wallet is empty.

Please add him to your prayers and help us decide how to best help him.

Happy Thanksgiving

The kids are in bed. A rough evening but now all is well in the world. I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving.

Quiet night

Everyone is sleeping...all is quiet. Baby boy found a sharpie marker and proceeded to scribble all over his bedroom wall, mattress, pillow, and body because he way angry. I calmly handed him a Magic Eraser (they truly are magic, I love them) and told him  to start cleaning. He later snuggled with me.

But now I'm the only one up and all is quiet on the RAD front...for tonight :)

Incredible

It is just incredible. For the last 2 days my son has been almost normal. Yes, there is still sibling rivalry that goes on but not too much of the Raddy behavior. A few broken pencils and one short outburst after school but I thank God for days like this.

My hubby's work is winding down and my school and work schedule are not overly busy, maybe he is just reacting to our relaxed behavior. I have to stop over analyzing and just relish the moment.

The complexities of RAD

Here is a photo of our  pumpkins this past Halloween.  Between the four of us: Hubby, myself, my son and daughter guess which one has RAD.

Following the leader

I have been reading a lot of RAD blogs lately. As things act up in our home, I am curious about how other families cope.  One thing is clear, patience, patience, patience!

Anxiety driven RAD

My RAD baby boy is anxiety driven, picking his skin until bleeding, hitting his head and obsessively calling out you-ee you-ee you-ee. I found another feces filled diaper under his dresser this morning where he was on a time out after hitting his sister.  He can't take my affection for more than a few seconds, that RAD creeping up and covering his heart. I hug him and kiss his cheek and all of a sudden I feel a tenseness and he sticks his face in mine or pulls my hair or says "you stink'; all intended to push me away.

Bleach time

My Baby boy is raging again. We tried to cuddle tonight for a few minutes and he became very restless, starting picking his scabs open and ended up wiping feces on his door and wiping himself with the cream colored shower curtain. He just wants us to reject him, push him away or hurt him. I tell him he is safe and loved. He still doesn't believe me.

Send in the clowns

I haven't posted for a long time. Thing have been difficult the last year. Hubby and I are fine but the kids are challenging. My son has been hospitalized and struggles daily. My daughter is finally talking about her birth mom.

What Flower??

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?

I love Palin!!!

Wow, I can finally vote for McCain enthusiastically.

Palin is the new energy, integrity and strength that the Republican party needs. Bravo!!!


http://www.johnmccain.com/

My Favorite Song

I know this dates me but what a classic!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zJdbpzfJMs

A busy time.

It's been a busy winter and spring. We finished the addition to our home, I continue in school and really love it. I'm taking an online Bochem class this summer thru Colorado Colleges Online. I'll do the lab in the kitchen with a microscope I purchased. Should be fun.

The kids are just about finished with school, but summer school awaits! My son will continue with school for 6 weeks. I hope it helps him retain some of the 1st grade work he learned.

We need to finish landscaping but we have all summer.

A wonderful day

This sleepy, snowy winter day.

Children playing, hubby shoveling snow and plans to go bowling later. I'm watching a chick movie and enjoying my day.

Where did the time go?

I checked on this blog and I couldn't believe that it was over 2 months since my last post. Where did the time go?
1. I now work part-time.
2. I went back to school and am taking 9 credits this semester.
3. When I am not working or studying I am with the children or my hubby.
4. My son is having many more behavior-educational problems this year that are really making me rethink his behavior plan and our parenting of him at this time.
5. My daughter is in full time kindergarten and I volunteer at her school when I can.
6. I am volunteering in the school health room once a month.
7. Hubby and I are planning to remodel our home and we are drawing up plans and meeting with contractors.

As you can see, things are busy. and when I do have computer time it is usually spent looking up research papers or online discussions with other students. (All of my classess are online and I love it. )

I'll try and post when I can. In the mean time, do you know that I have to take a statistics class and it scared me to death. I am now really enjoying it and I have found that even though it makes my brain hurt and I sometimes start crying when I study, I am challenged by this class and am even getting a B in the class so far. It goes to show, you are never too old to go back to school.:> One of my classmates said her goal is to get her PhD by the time she is 60. Sounds like a good plan.

The end of summer vacation

The summer is winding down. The kids went to the zoo with a aunt yesterday. This will probably be the last time of the summer. We will be off for a few days of camping next week before school starts and we have a rush of haircuts and doctor appointments before the end of vacation time.
The garden is growing like a weed- or maybe it is a weed! Really, I weeded the vegetable garden last week and now I can see where the cucumbers and tomatoes are. This is a great time for the garden. I am sick of zucchini and I wonder why I plant three plants when one is all I need. Anyone need baseball size overgrown zucchini? But I love making fresh cucumber salad, garlic and butter roasted beans and fresh cherry tomatoes.
And remember those little chickens we got in spring? They are now 10 fat and happy hens with free range all over my property. They should start laying in 2 weeks. Then it will be eggs, eggs, eggs all of the time.

My Anniversary

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary. The kids are with an aunty- my sister, and hubby and I spent the day at the Wisconsin State Fair.
Really, I loved it!

The new me.

I 've decided to show you the new me. Last year when I was ill for a while, I didn't keep up with coloring my hair. After a while I decided to grow out my coloring to see what it really looked like. I was pretty grey but hubby liked it so I kept letting it grow out. Well, after the last of it was cut off I'm left with a beautiful head of mostly grey hair. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it up but now I really like it. And it's really nice not to color any more. My hair seem much healthier, also. I did get a funny comment from my daughter asking me why her mom is a old grandma. What!!!:) But after explaining that kids have all different kinds of ages of moms, she is ok.

End of the school year.

The kids will be done with school tomorrow. I know it's late but they needed to add extra days to make up for the lost snow days. We had my daughters branching out yesterday. This is a little ceremony when the K4 children branch out to their new elementary school. Very cute! I have the summer activities planned. So that my son continues to learn and not lose what he has learned, I have decided to home school during the summer. I have a set schedule for Monday thru Friday and it includes 2 hours of school per day. It also includes crafts, lost of art and plenty of fun outside play. Both of my children benefit by a routine and I believe this will work for them. Let's see!

What is spring for?

Spring keeps me busy. In addition to working part time, keeping the home as best I can, playing with and teaching the children, helping hubby as needed with his work, ...I love to garden.

The poppies are starting to bloom, the bridal wreath is in full bloom. The nepeta, iris, euphorbia are blooming. I have planted my annuals for the year. Only $200 worth. I can usually spend that much or more on the front alone. I saved up and had a rummage sale for my annual flower cash. In fact, the Salvation Army truck came today to haul away the left over rummage stuff, they are great! And I always look for ways to help the Army. A few dollars for the bell ringers at Christmas, donations for their stores. I once was a scared 20 year old in Calcutta, India on my way to volunteer for Mother (now Blessed) Theresa and the Salvation Army gave me a place to stay. I've always been grateful.

But I digress, ...the garden. I planted a large cocoa liner basket on the fence with shady flowers and sweet potato vines. I planted celosia and petunias, geranium and Red Fountain grass (annual) in the planter beds in front of the Boxwood hedge. I do love my garden. I'll have to shoot some before and after photos later this year to show how everything fills out. Oh, and I added some more Pink Knock Out Roses since they are soooo fabulous and bloom all summer (with lots of feeding, Osmocote is what I use).

Not blogging lately.

I don't know why I'm not blogging lately. I am busy with my new work routine and schedule. But mostly I think it's because it's spring and my free time is spent outside. Unlike the other 6 months of the year that I am more sedentary, May is my month to plant, clean and start the year new.
The kids are busy, and I don't have much to say.
Sorry.

Box load of chickens

Hubby cleaned out the old chicken coop yesterday and said "Let's get some more chickens." Well, we have had chickens before and I'm surprised he wanted them again but the kids love it and if we don't over winter them it won't be too expensive. I agreed and we went to the Merton Feed Mill for a box load of chickens. $1.25 each. 10 in all. Little brown chicks for big brown eggs. We'll free range once they are able to get out side in 8 weeks or so. We are leaving them on the porch for now since the weather is too cool. I put them in a big plastic bin so the kids cane watch them and run to tell me when they need more feed or water.

My first day as a soccer mom.

We had our first soccer practice for my daughter today. All day I heard " I'm sooo excited, I can't wait to play soccer." My daughter is a 5 year old jock. She shouldn't be, with her eyesight and chance of retinal detachment. But she is a strong energetic girl who loves sports and being physically active. She has her protective eye wear and she has the approval of her pediatric opthamologist but it still worries me that she needs to play so rough. This is baby soccer, indoors with 4 & 5 year olds but still she charges around playing aggressively, pushing boys over to goal. I'm actually not embarrassed of her just proud that she is assertive and takes charge of everything she does. I'm kind of a loud assertive gal so it feels right to me:)

Another day on Easter break.

Well, the days are a bit slower. The kids are getting bored. We did art projects, a reading work sheet, ran to the store for more construction paper and pipe cleaners, more art projects, lunch, outside time to play in the snow, more art and more art. At least they like art:)

April Snow Storm

We are in the midst of an April snow storm. Looks like 5-10 inches. The kids are on Easter break so we are having a fun indoor day with breaks for the kids to run outside and romp in the snow. We decorated paper bag puppets that I found on this site. and they had a puppet show and played dress up.

New special needs blog and website

Here is a new blog I found about Specail Needs. I love the name...
Shut up about your perfect kids.

Happy Easter!

He is Risen. Alleluia!

Easter Candy in the snow

We took the kids to the Sussex armory for the annual Easter Candy handout. Cooooold!!! We made a mad dash for the goods and got back in the car to warm up.

We had a lazy afternoon. The kids played dress up Batman and Robin, played cars, and with blocks.

I read a book and thought about cleaning the house but reconsidered.

The book was so enjoyable.

Easter Weekend

It's Easter weekend and I have some nice quiet time with the family.
Of course this is Wisconsin so it just started to snow again. I was hoping for a little gardening, maybe start fertilizing and putting out my peony cages, but I have to settle for a walk around the garden with my winter coat and mittens. Easter Mass tomorrow and lunch at my sisters. It should be nice.
I sent an email newsletter to all of the Mommy Time moms. If you didn't get one, email me and I'll add you to the list.
Have a wonderful weekend!

My new life.

I've changed a big part of my life recently. I went back to work. Part time but still a big change. I've been a stay at home mom for the past 3 years and I had gotten so used to the home routine. Working for someone else is a new challenge.
Right now I'm still in orientation so it's full time for 3 weeks and very hard on the kids. I'm lucky that hubby is in Real Estate and has such flexible hours. The kids are always with a parent or family except when at school so they are coping.
I guess I'm lucky that I chose nursing as a profession oh so many years ago. Nursing has given me the luxury to choose my specialty, hours, quit for years and step back in. All great things to have. This job is days and I will be gone while the kids are in school so it shouldn't impact them too much. The only sad part is the weekend rotation but people are sick 24/7 and I chose a specialty that has patients every day, night and weekends.

Wisconsin Fish Fry

It's Lent in Wisconsin and I love this post from Tom McMahon.

Fish fry in Wisconsin is sacred stuff and every friday in lent and all through out the year folks stand in line for a great fish fry. Cod or Perch?

I'm a cod girl myself.

Sample Letter of Intent

I read this article from Parenting Special Needs and found this sample letter of intent to be a useful tool for parents of all children.
If my husband and I died suddenly, I have a great family to care for my kids. But what do they really know about the day to day life of the kids?This tool would clarify doctors names, activities they are involved in, school routines and plan for the future.
I want to make sure that I write one of these letters for each of my children. But I'll pray that no one ever has to use them.

How to stock a pantry.

I like to keep an organized home and I am proud of my well stocked pantry. As someone who loves to cook, I need 2 things to function in the kitchen. The Joy of Cooking Cookbook and a pantry which will provide the basics for any good meal. I think the list from this blog site will give you a great starter on the basics of your pantry or kitchen.

New IEP today.

I had a lengthy and involved IEP meeting for my son today. I have to credit the Hamilton school district for the wonderful professionals that worked with my son and evaluated his needs.
I was asking for additional evals for emotional and learning disabilities and found that he doesn't need these services. We will continue his speech, add OT and a psych component to his education but he has made so much progress by the half day schedule and working to redirect misbehavior.
Of course the medications have helped greatly and the time to allow him to know and feel safe at school.
He is now back on track to full days and hopefully advance to first grade next year. I feel very hopeful!

Would you want this mom?

I read about this woman who went to have an abortion, the abortion didn't work and she ended up having the baby. She is now suing for damages to pay for the child rearing costs of this little girl. How ghastly!
This poor child will find out she was to be aborted and that her own mother wants damages for the act that she survived! The best thing this mother could do is let this child be adopted to a family who loves her dearly and places her needs above theirs.
I dearly pray this mother finds unconditional love for her daughter or someone else that can provide it for her.

These women should never vote!

When I see a video like this, my conservative side kicks in and I don't want anyone to vote unless they are at least 25 and own property. Women! You are smarter than this!

I'm finally logged in.

I had a terrible time getting into my blogger acccount to make posts. Google let me use the old version of login for a while but they finally made me switch to the new version of Blogger. Since then I have been unable to login. Until today.

My whole family is home sick and snowed in. We have had the flu for the past week. We didn't get flu shots and it has been so long since any of us had the flu I think we forgot how tottally wretched it is.!!! Both myself and my husband have had trips to the ER to get fluids and in my hubby's case antibiotics for now a new pneumonia.

We also have had over a foot of snow in the last day and we are snowed in. I called and had someone plow out the driveway since neither of us has the strenghth to snowblow. And the snow is the heavy wet kind that will cause heart attacks all over town from unhealthy folks trying to clean up when they should leave it for someone younger or healthier.

Hunkered down

The arctic blast continues and the kids are going stir crazy and looking for any opportunity to move. We went for an errand to Walgreen's this
morning and my daughter asked me to park really far away so she can run. I did. We have been mall walking and looking for places to go and get out. The average temp should be 31 not 10 and I'll be very happy when we warm up.
There was a rash of discussion about school closings and cold weather. My children were off this week for 2 days because of the cold.
I guess we are all a little wussified and we forget that when it's cold, dress warm and in layers. I won't start with the stories of how I walked to school, but things were different then. Now the news exaggerates every change in the weather so that every new weather pattern is the worse we've ever seen. I'm to blame also. The cold affects me more as I've gotten older and I don't want to spend time outside. I'm sure my children hear me and hubby complain so they don't want to go out when it's really cold. Well, I have to stay positive and think that every day is closer to spring.
I brought some potting soil inside and had the children pot up starter seeds. Maybe watching them grow will help us feel better.

-12 degrees. Where is the global warming when you need it.

-12 degrees and it's not fun. We live in an old farm house and the insulation is almost non- existent. We had the walls filled with blown insulation when we bought this home 12 years ago but I'm sure that it has fallen down the walls.
The windows are old and our dear old oil furnace is chugging along without a break. Once in a while I will hear it stop, only to hear it start up again.
The kids have three comforters on the beds. I have a electric blanket on my bed.
The kids are going stir crazy because they can't play outside. Even I, who believes in daily outside play time, won't subject them to such cold.
Now I might just sound like a big waa waa, especially to my Fargo moms,
but it's cold.

TB Scare

We just had a TB scare at my home.
When my children were adopted 3 years ago, I didn't do a full post adoption work up. They had so many other health care issues that I put it on hold.
I decided to have a full work up done late this past year and I'm so glad I did.
I found out my son was anemic and I was told my daughter had latent TB.
What a scare. I understand how she got TB. The conditions of the orphanage were ripe for the transmission of many diseases, but I was still in shock. On one hand I was glad it wasn't active and contagious TB and she didn't have any symptoms. But with latent TB, the child still has to be treated for 9 months with medications to completely kill the disease. That's a lot for a child to go through.
But we heard about the quantiferon blood test to double check the PPD and we did it. Yes, she had to have blood drawn but it was well worth it. We just got the results back and she is negative. Yeah! A big scare but I am so grateful that we had the tests done to confirm the diagnosis.

Registration for Mommy Time

I think the problem with registration is resolved. For the time being, when registering on Mommy Time, I need you to fill out the registration page, accept terms and wait for the Welcome email. This email will link you back to fill out your family names so that I can complete the background check.
I hope to get the process back to one step soon but for now at least it's working and you can have access within one day.
Now for those of you already registered, email a mom and get yourself some Mommy Time!

My birthday.

Today is my birthday. I wanted to write a long thoughtful post about my life as it is at this time. Unfortunately, today is so busy I can barely find time to post these few words. Maybe tomorrow.

Read this if you plan on registering.

To all of the moms registering at this time, I am having some site problems. If you register, try to complete all of the pages right away. Registration, terms and family name info. It looks like if you stop after the first page and try to complete later, the site may not let you in. I have someone looking into the problem and it should be resolved soon. For those who can't get in at all, email me with your name, address and family names and I'll manually enter you. So sorry!

To those of you who have emailed the last 2 days, I have returned all of my mail. The family was at the Kalahari Water Park in Wisconsin Dells for a winter get away.
I usually like this place but today the water was COLD. My 6 year old was shivering after a few minutes and I who has ample body fat was shivering as we floated down the lazy river. Not good. And the internet access was $5 per every 15 minutes so I waited until we came home.

Save Baby Gavin

I received this information and wanted to share it with everyone.

I am writing to you about a 10 month old baby named Gavin Winslow. My hope
is that you can help us save Gavin by posting the attached flyer at your
place of business. I received your name from the business directory on
Milwaukeemoms.com.

Gavin was born with Congenital Kidney Failure. Without a kidney transplant,
Gavin will not survive. Sadly, without a payment guarantee, a child cannot
even be placed on an organ transplant waiting list. That is why his family,
in conjunction with the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) has
started a fundraising campaign, in his honor, in which they are trying to
raise $100,000.

To help reach this staggering amount of money, I have organized a Children's
Concert and Kids Fest featuring award winning children's artist Jim Gill.
Your support advertising this concert would be appreciated.

A CONCERT OF MUSIC AND PLAY WITH JIM GILL
Sunday, January 21, 2007
3:30 pm (doors open at 3:15)
Sheraton Brookfield Hotel in the Brookfield Ballroom
Purchase tickets at: www.savebabygavin.com or call 262-548-0614

Activities after the concert:
Pictures with Elmo
Magician
Balloon Artist
Face Painting
Tattoos
Silent Auction with great family and children items for bid

Again, I would sincerely appreciate your support advertising this concert
with the attached flyer.

One hundred percent of all funds raised are used for patients' transplant
and transplant-related expenses. COTA's priority is to assure that no child
is denied a transplant or excluded from a transplant waiting list due to a
lack of funds.

To follow Gavin's story, please visit www.savebabygavin.com.

Gratefully,

Samantha Christiansen

24 is here!

Well, the new 24 is here and I just sat through the first 2 hours. I warned hubby that I will be unavailable except for emergency's from 7-9 pm and I even got the kids down to bed with 3 minutes to spare!!! Yipee!!!I have to say, I don't know if I'm tired tonight or Jack is just getting a little too predictable. Of course I love 24 and will watch every episode and all of the reruns I can find on cable. Channel 9 in Chicago has them on regularly for my 24 fix. It just seems like how many bombings and how many presidents are we going to have? And how did Wayne get to be president?
All right, I must just be tired and I'll be perched on the edge of the sofa tomorrow at 7 pm for another 2 hours.

My Thinking Spot

Just like Pooh Bear- my daughter needs a thinking spot. I found her climbing into the small cupboard that has my rags in the utility room. She said it's a quiet spot and she likes to go in there when the wash machine is on.
We all need a place to get away and I'm glad she found hers.

It's 3 am, what are you doing?

Well, this 3 am and the kids are having a party. Actually my son woke up and couldn't sleep who in turn woke up my daughter and their playing woke up the dog who woke me up and now after getting everyone settled, I'm the one who can't sleep.
Good thing I have nothing scheduled for tomorrow. It's going to be a sleepy day.

The world will stop until you do.

I'm sitting here in my sons bedroom while I wait for him to clean feces off of a bookshelf. He just had a rage with hitting, spitting and kicking. Not a good day. He refuses to clean but he knows the mantra "The world stops until you do" No playing, no music, TV, bike or computer until the job is done. He swirls the sponge around in the bucket, rage filled eyes and I ignore him. He may throw the bucket, he might spill it but he knows I'll just get another one. He also knows not to say the bucket is too heavy since I will only add water to it. Wait, he is finally washing.
"Done!" he says, but I ignore him. "I'm Doooooone!!!!!" I ignore. "Mom, I'm done now with washing." OK, I look. "That's done, please start removing the crayons marks from the walls." I sit and write. I see that the sponge isn't working on the crayon so I send him downstairs to get the Magic Eraser."Ok, put your blinders on" and he places his hands on either side of his eyes. "Blinders on, run and get the Magic Eraser from under the sink, no distractions, no talking to your sister or dad, just run."
Wow, he's back in less than a minute and back to scrubbing walls. "See mom, it's working" His eyes are soft and he smiles. The rage is over. He'll finish his task and we will have weathered another post adoption attachment storm.

Happy Birthday Bailey!

Today is our dog Bailey's 9th birthday. The children wanted to have a party and Maria made cookies for him in the Easy Bake Oven and he had a special treat.

He may be the stinkiest dog I know and shed a lot but just like Old Yeller he's the root'n toot'nest dog in town!

Mommy Time for Free!

I want to announce that Mommy Time registration is now free!
I really want any mom who needs us to register and I don't want cost to be an obstacle. Now that we are advertising regularly, I can use the advertising revenue to offset the cost of the site. So, please patronize our advertisers. Order merchandise through the site, visit the directory or advertise in the directory and then choose these businesses and help me keep the site free.

What kind of mom I am.

I saw a Google ad stating "What kind of mom are you? and I had to respond.
Like all moms, I wish I was a better mom. When we adopted our children, I thought because I was in my 40's I would be more patient and laid back. I don't think so. I work hard to be patient. My husband and I never yell or shout at each other but I sometimes shout at the children and wonder where that voice came from.
I am an affectionate mom. We cuddle and kiss a lot.
I am a cooking mom. We love to cook and we spend most of our time in the kitchen.
I am a reading mom. I love to read and I want my children to understand the gift of reading.
I am a gardening mom and I want my children to love and appreciate nature.
I am a firm but kind mom and I believe in disciple and consequences.
I am a Catholic mom and I want my children to have a strong faith filled life.
I want my children to care for the least of our neighbors and see God in everyone.
I want my children to be well educated, smart and useful but I would rather they be the best garbage collector than a thieving CEO.
I want my children to have love of a family to help them and as a mom I try to show an example of a loving family.

Back to school.

Back to school for the kids today. My daughter is happy, excited and eager to resume school and learning. My son was complaining, negotiating and asking to stay home. After school it looks like my son may need a few days to adjust to the school routine again. He was distressed and complained about the noise levels. I think noise triggers anxiety for him and he just can't function. A lot of cuddles and a quiet night and he looks much better. We've been trying the Meletonin at night and it really works to relax him and allow him to sleep. And no night terrors.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all. We are house cleaning, organizing tax info, Ouch! and playing outside. Such unseasonable weather and sun even has hubby smiling:)