Unhappy Rudloph!

While decorating the house for the holidays Saturday I ran across this antler headband that I wear at my school before Christmas. I put them on Spencer to take a pic and he was not happy! I told him just 1 pic and he looked at me with the look that said...."ok lady hurry up and get this over with because I do not like these things on my head!" What a pic....can you tell he doesn't like them but tolerated them for me long enough to get a picture. What pressure we put on our kids to get that picture that we think will be so cute? The things we put our kids through especially during the holidays......a trip to see Santa, which they hate and can't understand why we make them go sit on a stranger's lap that has a strange look and then they freak out and have a meltdown and we look like idiots trying to console them! I'm sure we all have stories to tell....share one with me so I can see how silly I am for asking my child to be tolerant of these experiences! I really don't do the Santa thing because after the 1st meltdown with him seeing Santa I decided right them and there it wasn't worth it! We pick and choose what we want to battle and a picture with Santa is at the bottom of my list! Happy Thanksgiving!

A Girl's Night Out!

WOW is all I can say....what a great group of friends I have to be able to meet, talk about alot of different things, laugh, cry, agree to disagree and just have fun! It was awesome to know that we all share our love for our special children and we have their best interest at heart and that we would do anything for them. But also to share our deepest, darkest secrets(you guys know, but remember it's our secret) laugh have other things in common other than the special needs world, but we always tend to come back to that somewhere in whatever conversation we are in. I love you guys and since my family is not here, I rely on you guys for advice, laughter, tears and whatever I need to make it through. Thank you all for being a very special part of me and Spencer's life...Mike to!

Sunday afternoon

What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon then with family! Tammie and Syd were in Charlotte with Ronald and stopped by on their way back. Samantha came over from her Dad's house and we had a great, restful, enjoyable afternoon.....played with Spencer and Syd, watched movies with Sam, helped Tammie with her cookie business online, jumped on trampoline with Spencer, made lasagna for lunch, made homemade mac 'n cheese for Sam for dinner.....what a great day. I am so glad they came and spent the afternoon with us! Syd is growing so much, Sam is a typical teenager(which in a earlier blog she corrected me, she doesn't play a cello, she plays a viola) Spencer loves them both and Mike and I love spending time with all of them! Tammie is a good mommie and loves her girls with all her heart and does a good job of taking care of them! Thank you guys for spending time with us this afternoon...I enjoyed it alot and love you all very much!

Sleep

The hardest part of having a child that is non-verbal is that you never know for sure what is happening with them or to them. This week Spencer has been up every night.....last night it was 3:30am and he stayed up the remainder of the morning. By the time we got home, he bathed, we ate dinner and was relaxing, he was gone! So sleepy he could barely hold his head up. We pottied, brushed our teeth, lotioned up, sprayed the nose, started the cool mist machine and went to sleep. This was just before 7am. Around 9pm I heard something in the kitchen, I was in our bedroom surfing the net. I went in and there he sat in the middle of the floor, half asleep and not wanting to get up. Mike was gone and I can not lift him anymore. So I finally convinced him to get up, took him to the potty and led him back to his bed. He layed down and within seconds he was asleep for the 2nd time.

It makes me wonder what the heck is happening.....bad dreams, is he hot, is he cold, does he have sleep apnea, does he have anxiety or hyperactivity.....all these thoughts invade my mind and I have no idea what is going on because he can't tell me. So here I sit typing my thoughts and praying that God will give Spencer the peace he needs to sleep all night and get his rest. I give Benadryl religiously during allergy season which usually helps him relax, but am also thinking maybe he is developing a reverse effect to it. I'm so confused, so if you have any thoughts I would appreciate you sharing them with me. Broken sleep is so hard and I haven't had to do that for many years and I don't want to start again. He needs his sleep so he can perform to his highest ability and I need my sleep to also perform on my job! The body needs a deep sleep so that our bodies can restore and recover for a new day!!

VOTE!

Today we went to vote. What a privelege to have this right! As I stood there waiting for a booth to open, I told the lady not to forget my "I voted" sticker so I could get my free cup of coffee from Starbucks! Those of you that know me know that is my one bad habit!! So off to Starbucks we go after voting. We stopped and 1st I went in so Spencer wouldn't have to get out. What a line, there were more people in there getting their coffee free than were at the polling place! The lady in front of me said "don't we live in a great country?" I told her YES we do and I hope it stays great! I hope I didn't offend her, but this country is the best and we all need to continue praying for our country, our leaders(whoever they may be), our troops and our people! GOD BLESS THE USA!