Five Minutes Of Freedom

Today Nathan played unsupervised for a whole five  minutes on the driveway.  Not such a big deal to most 14 year old boys, eh;) ... but this little guy has been known to take off.  He possesses an extra chromosome and has been a challenge to figure out most of his life.  Lack of his personal safety, awareness of his body in space, poor communication skills, and a myriad of other baggage has haunted him and our family for years on end.  He had this freedom because I was reading his mind.  Today is his bowling day with the family to celebrate his birthday.  I knew he only wanted to wait until the family was out the door.  Ann asked, "do you want Nathan outside unsupervised?"  ... yes, perhaps just this once ... after all ... it is HIS five minutes of freedom and my five minutes of being a normal mom ... we have strange ideas of normal in our family:)

Sunday Afternoon ... Rest ?

Another day of rest as I recover from a pinched nerve in my neck.  Mr. Mac and Patrick headed out to church this morning.  I stayed home with Nathan ... he seems a bit agitated and complaining about his head hurting ... he seems not to notice the more he screeches the greater his head hurts ... no amount of reasoning seems to work with him.  My job is to sooth him and set him on a path for calming his inner being.  Not an easy task at times ... especially when the 'calmer/mother' is trying hard to rest quietly.  A dog chasing after its tail is a good description of life in my world today. 

Photo credit: Here

Donkey Feet Again

Change and Nathan are not a good mix.  Five.  1,2,3,4,5 that's the number of days until he can stay home from school.  Four.  1,2,3,4 .. 4:00 PM is the time he may veg out in his room.  It's going to be a long day for him.  After his bath ... and morning routine ... and thinking he understood about the 1,2,3,4,5 days until the weekend ... he turned into a stubborn donkey ... firmly planting his feet ... and had to be carried out to the car by dad.  I can't wait for Mr. Mac to get back from dropping Nathan off at school ... to see if Nathan 'got it' that vacation mode is over and he's got to switch to 'school mode' ... a hard task for my boy that dances to his own music. 

Mommy Had A Meltdown

again ... and Hubby came to the rescue! What to do? I had to pick up Nathan from school to get him to a dental appointment last week. This after the day before taking him for a psychological evaluation all by my lonesome. Not to mention it was the docs first day .. and Nathan was his first patient. My child shyly hid behind my arm barely engaging or looking the doc in the eye .. and I had to interpret his muttered speech. I think the doc was amazed I could translate a favorite movie beas chs..mssss into 'Beauty And The Beast, The Enchanted Christmas'. How on earth an evaluation can be made with a non compliant child is beyond me ... but pray that the doc got enough info because we really need the eval. On to the meltdown ... after suffering through the previous day ... my nerves were frazzled. This dental appointment was made a few months ago. Most days I can count on one of my adult children or husband to keep an eye on things at home so I can run a few errands. But one by one as I asked nonchalantly what everyone's plans for the day were ... they had somewhere to go. How would I manage Nathan at the dental office AND take care of my little two year old grandson? Hubby was soon to be on his way to work ... I had only mentioned is the car seat in the garage ... when it was discovered that Ann had it strapped to a seat in her van ... sitting in a parking lot at college ... thirty minutes away. Here comes the meltdown part. My knees started getting weak .. I had that queasy feeling wash over me .. for a moment I even thought about calling the dental office and telling a little white lie about Nathan being sick ... but they were out to lunch and no one answered the phone ... they require a good reason to cancel so late ... or you get charged for the appointment. I had a good reason ... but one probably not on their list. Come to think of it ... I was too ashamed to make the dastardly call and asked hubby to do the dirty work. Aaah .. well, I can't get a hold of the dentist .. I can't leave to get son because baby is with me and without a car seat ... and hubby is getting ready to leave for work. I was really wondering when hubby would just say ... honey it's OK ... I'll just call into work and take a few hours of personal time when out flew those words from his lips .. that was my green light to head for Nathan's school not even knowing if hubby could get the OK to come in late. God must have overlooked the almost white lie I asked hubby to tell ... and He had gone before me to prepare Nathan to be in a good mood at the dentist office ... and on a scale of 1 to 10 .. he got a 9 for cooperating this time. No papoose or sedative was used ... only a minor restraint from three adults as the doctor lowered the exam chair. Life is not normally this hectic as I don't venture out much and for good reason.

My name is Mrs. Mac ... and I'm a recovering mother of a special needs child ;)
Nathan is my son that possesses and extra chromosome.

A Season of Change

Summer is dragging on and on. Thankful for the blessings .. there is just so much of summer that I can stand .. then it's time for a change. This has more to do with summer vacation .. as in Nathan being home all summer than the actual 'summer' itself. Today has been one of those days. Nathan was in desperate need of a 'full body spa treatment' .. and that left me in charge of being his stylist. His hair is cut, nails trimmed, ears cleaned, tummy fed. I so had to psych myself up to do this 'to do' list. Here it is Sunday morning. I should be in church. But I feel like complaining instead. The weather outside is gorgeous. I will find it hard to be still in my spirit today. There is just so much I can take .. then my patience wears thin. Patience is usually one of my strong points .. but on beautiful late summer days, and I'm stuck at home again, I'd just like to scream as loud as Nathan did this morning when he was having a bath. Just pour some cold water on me. Some times I just want to run away. Maybe I'll go buy a one way ticket to some unknown place. I'll be better tomorrow perhaps.

Friday reality hit home regarding Nathan's education. When I registered him for school they had set up his classes for general education .. not the life skills class he needs. Now a great sadness came upon me as I looked at his little slip of paper with a 'normal' class routine. Drafting, math, physical education, ... so on. Six different teachers .. a locker with combination .. and a table to pay for extra curricular stuff ready and waiting. He was with me freaking out a bit as we walked through the building. People were laughing .. unknowingly .. upsetting him from their laughter. I looked once again at 'normal' and realized that's just not for him. So we were directed to the counselor's office and had his class schedule changed. A period of sadness came upon me at what could have been .. normal .. has to be exchanged for special accommodations.

Sorry for complaining ... thanks for listening.

Monday Morning

Did I mention that sometimes my home is a 24/7 adventure? This week is supposed to be summer vacation: no morning school bus to catch, no lunch to pack, no alarm clock. Will my family please read my blog and take a hint! I need a week of sleep ..... shhhh! No 5:30 AM alarm clock that wakes me up, Ann girl, that dear old mom has to get up and tell you to turn off. No 6:20 AM phone call ('Soldier Boy ~ now forest Fire Fighter in training) ~ son calling to tell me good-bye for the week while you are away at school; I love you ... but I need my sleep ... send me a text or call me on your lunch break. No hammering at 7:00 AM Mr. Construction worker building a home on the lot next door. Sigh ... It's now past 8:00 AM ... OK, I'm awake. Why is it so quiet now?

Rise And Shine (like it or not)

You know it's going to be a long day when:

1. ... you're awoken from bed to change a stinky/poopy kid at 2:45 AM and hubby assists.
2. ... it's 4:00 AM and you are starting a second load of stinky/poopy kid laundry!
3. ... it's 4:15 AM and you decide to make a pot of coffee and enjoy the 'aloneness' one has in the house at that time of day.
4. ... just thinking about being up half the night knowing that you will be providing 'granny day care' services about noon time.
5. ... you get up before the birds.
6. ... you eat breakfast twice.
7. ... you're finished blog lurking and decide whether or not you should make a stupid post before 5:00 AM.

I'm in for a very long day!

Senioritis My @$$

What's up? I mean with high school seniors and being way too lax about daily attendance. One of my beloved youngins is taking advantage of skipping out on the last period of school ... to the tune of the VP calling to ask if I knew of any recent reasons for leaving early ... four times since mid March. This after said youngin has switched her schedule to include a work release the last two periods of the day ... she gets out at noon and actually does go to work (so I think). My response to the VP was to throw the book at her (no, not literally) ... MAKE HER PAY!! ... by having her attend a few Saturday schools ... or picking up trash ... cleaning toilets ... etc., etc. The school reported it's practically an epidemic this year. I'm not one of those parents to swoosh in to the rescue of poor little youngin ... suffer the consequences as the chips fall ... attend summer school ... whatever it takes to get the message inside her head. Note to youngin: Don't tick me off or I'll turn into a Mommy Dearest!

Yes We Have ...

SNOW! According to the local weather gurus, this latest winter storm has dumped the most snow in the past fifty years! We got about two feet in a day and a half ... that's on top of the 10 inches last week ... on top of the already compacted foot. Yesterday I spent about three hours doing my best to compact the snow on our driveway before plowing some of it. With this much snow ... where to put it is the question? Just getting out of the garage was difficult with four wheel drive ... and coming back from picking up my grandbaby my four wheel truck got stuck on a snow berm. Being a 'manly' woman ... (as my daughter calls me) ... I hiked from the street to the house with baby in arms ... grabbed a snow shovel and dug out the truck ... a nice neighbor came over to help. That hubby of mine! Just where was he?? In San Diego on a vacation day with friends! (And he complained that it was raining ;( ...poor baby!) Of course, all of the school districts took a snow day. Let's see, all last week Nathan was home sick with a cold ... and now a snow day ... I'm so looking forward to him going back to school tomorrow ;) ... he's been bouncing off the walls (me too).

Photo: My front yard and plowed driveway ... btw, that nice plow job is courtesy of my very nice neighbor ... he came and cleaned up my attempt. My time spent: 3 hours. His time spent: 5-10 minutes with his bobcat.

Weekend Agenda

To Do List:

1. help finish up college scholarship applications with Ann
2. finish sewing bedroom drapes
3. clean hard surfaced floors
4. laundry (always)
5. watch the grandbaby part of Sat. & Sun.
6. take myself & the dawg for a hike
7. bake cookies
8. ponder turning 50 next month (oiy vey!)
9. decide what (career) I want to do when I grow up (& don't have kids at home) ... aah never mind
10. pray hard and devise a plan to somehow get to church ... if not ... have a Bible study at home.
11. call the folks

Choosing Not (To Swallow The Pill Of Bitterness)

Yesterday found me with two sick children at home. One child is small and for the first five of his eleven years had fragile health. The other (adult) child was teased growing up that she was 'too mean' to get sick ... she somehow escaped 95% of the nasty germs our family passed around. My adult child, Ann, will head back to school today, none for the weary ... feeling better. The small boy, Nathan, that calls me MOM (from the top of his lungs) will hang around another day ... sick. He has a throat infection and is being treated with antibiotics and should be fine in a day or so. He has Down syndrome ... a genetic disorder that can wreak havoc on a persons body and mental capabilities ... it will not go away and I've come to terms with the associated problems. Those terms sometimes include sleepless nights on both our parts. Last night was one of 'those terms' and I must have gotten up at least 11 times with him. Eleven times woken from sleepy dreamland to comfort him. Eleven times to change his pants because he needs help. Nine of those times I almost lost my patience ... and two of those times I remembered that he is only a small child, a gift from God, and needs extra protection and help. We chose life for him .... a high percentage of parents would have 'thrown him away' before birth. My inconvenience is short lived ... his 'inconvenience' is never complained about ... he takes his condition one day at a time and in his best efforts, makes beautiful music. Bitterness? Not on my watch.

"A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 17:22 (NIV)

Motherhood Really Stinks

Just gag me with a spoon already! Sometimes mothers have the yuckiest jobs on earth. We change the baby's diapers, wipe up their spit-up and vomit. Wash the dirty laundry, investigate strange odors from under kids' beds and inside closets. Today I have had it up to my eyeballs with the nasties of life relating to all things children and dogs. My youngest son held his legs crossed so tight so as not to have to use the potty at camp ... only to come home crawl under his bed covers (freshly changed) and mess his britches ... he was too embarrassed to have me help him to the bathroom upon his return from said camp because we had a strange workman in the house ... he held it for so long that he complained his ears hurt. The dog on the other hand decided to retch her guts out on the garage floor (we're talking major puddle here) ... then I discovered why her dog kennel down in the basement didn't smell quite kosher ... she had done the same deed during the night ... at least it was contained and didn't end up on my new carpet ... if I've told that dog once, I've told her twice ... "stop eating deer poop"!! Her new gained freedom (wireless fenced yard) is coming at a cost to her digestive system. Now I have piles of laundry sitting in the basement laundry room, a freshly hosed out garage, and a kennel that still needs to be cleaned out. It's no wonder I've lost my appetite for dinner tonight what with dunking dirty soiled clothes in the toilet and all ... maybe later I'll pull out a box of cereal and call it quits for the day ... now excuse me while I go wash my hands.

"All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth." Isaiah 28:8
"As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Proverbs 6:11

Off My Duff

OK ... I'm off my duff today! My brain has been overloaded again and was a blank slate filled with just bits and pieces of life ... nothing to string together to write about. A hodgepodge of ideas and memories just floating in grey matter. That is until last night when I got an email from dear old mom saying I needed to post more on my blog ... that she misses me. OK mom, one day soon, you will have to de-lurk and post a comment or two! :)

Yesterday, winter tried to rear its ugly head with a blast of cold weather including an icy mix of rain and snow puffs (my term used for Styrofoam looking bits of snow). But, alas, today is glorious with plenty of sunshine, fluffy white clouds, and a spring breeze to remind a person that winter is a thing of the past for the time being. One day of sunshine in North Idaho, makes up for the periods of gray and overcast skies.

On the home front, we had our gravel driveway paved and the exterior trim is being painted today. The great room's freestanding stove was installed, and my new wooden rockers from the Cracker Barrel Country Store arrived and I assembled them. They will be nice to use this summer out on our front porch balcony to rock the new grand baby. Next week I'd like to get red geraniums planted in some flower boxes. I also put in my mail order for some fabulous scented geraniums that will perfume the air with their various scented leaves. Weather permitting, the landscaper should start putting in the lawn and flowerbed sprinklers.

DH called last night to see if I wanted a buffalo robe (queen size blanket). Only he would ask me such a question ... and only his friend Bob would offer us such a possession. But, being that the winters are cold, I told him to ship it up and I may use it in the family room down in the basement. I'm hoping such a thing doesn't smell awful! (edit: I just google searched buffalo robes and was shocked to see they cost about $1,000 for the size we're getting!) Whilst I'm working getting the house in order, he's off to Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Jamestown ... etc., etc. on the last of his all guy macho trips. He has some nerve leaving me here to do all the work! When he returns home, I'm going to take a few days off and visit a spa (alone ... or with a girlfriend).

It's too nice of a day to be surfing the web ... so I'm going outside to enjoy the sunshine. May the Good Lord bless your weekend and may you be a blessing to Him.

The Breakfast Thief

This past week found me working in the "yard" raking and burning debris. It will probably take a few years to get the overgrowth down to a manageable size. Me thinks me needs to get in better shape as all the strenuous work and breathing in a bit of smoke caused a bout of vertigo. Wednesday was the worst day ... and brought back high-seas-ship-board memories of a few boating adventures! My home office is up a long flight of steps ... thus the lack of posts this week.

Now on to the breakfast story. A mom's work is never done ... including making breakfast. Today started off relaxing enough. Nathan and I donned our robes and outdoor slippers to trek and get the newspaper ... this is quite a hike from the front door ... down a very long gravel driveway. Upon our return it's decided we will have French toast, bacon, coffee, and melon. The little guy has quite an appetite and can usually polish off four pieces of said toast (minimum). The table was set for two, plates warmed and waiting, prayers said, coffee poured, and then the familiar ring, ring of the telephone. Being only 7:30 AM, I thought it a bit early for a Saturday morning ... caller ID presents a not familiar name ... but I answer anyway. My oldest son, Patrick, was at the other end announcing he had just landed at March AFB after a 10 hour flight from Korea. We chit chat and acknowledge how good it is for him to be back on American soil, 10 ... 15... or so minutes transpire ... we say our good-byes and hang up. When I returned to finally sit down to breakfast, I notice my plate is empty! Not to mention the coffee is cold! ... And Nathan is asking if he can have more French toast! I have actually forgotten the last time I sat down to a warm meal!

The Dentist Visit

There's just nothing "routine" about taking my youngest son, Nathan, to the doctor or dentist (age 11 and possessor of an extra chromosome)! He's just plain a handful, armful, bodyful ... Today I took him for his dental visit. I had his pediatrician recommend a pediatric dentist office with all the bells and whistles. Now days that consists of TV's embedded in the ceilings to watch whilst reclined in the exam chair, Playstation 2 games in the lobby and a myriad of other mind numbing gadgets to relieve some of the nervous stress. Unfortunately, none of these things were strong enough medicine to entice my wee man and off he ran back through the security doors and to a corner of the waiting room. He weighs roughly 50 lbs, and I weigh (blah, blah, blah, eh, um) ... a lot more than that! I couldn't muster enough strength to coerce him back to the new room (this one with a locked door and with sound proof walls) ... It was here that we placed him on a padded board with a Velcro body blanket to hold him still for the exam. It's six PM and I need a Calgon moment, hot tea, and a cd of soothing music. Dh so owes me big time for this expedition!

Send Me To My Room ... Please!

Christmas day was pleasant enough; not too busy or fussy. Christmas Eve was a Sleepless in Idaho night ... along with Christmas night .... along with last night. My little Mr. Nathan was having some GI (intestinal) problems ... (no, he's not sick) ... some weeks are a little rough on his body ... and ... for some reason ... the nights seemed to be his choice time to complain (and rightly so). This meant dear old mommy had to get up more than her normal share of times to get up ... in turn making mommy dearest a bit over-taxed. I'm hoping and praying that tonight will be a good night for both of us. Dh made a comment today that when he's up here for good he'd take turns getting up with the little guy ... I corrected him and requested that he take the first year getting up at night as that's what I've had to do (he replied something about maybe wanting to go back to work right away ahem ... ).

I did get out for a bit today to check on the order for new interior doors, trim molding and stair rail parts ... along with interior wall finishes and colors schemes ... that was fun. The interior of our new home is taking on its character.

I've been lurking the past few days and it seems like most of you all had a blessed Christmas.

Good night ... sweet dreams (I'll try too!)

Batten Down the Hatches ... Parenting 103

Having been a mom for nearly 24 years, I've seen just about every type of behavior a child can dish out. The latest adventures involve the (mis)use of my cell phone ... and an adult child tweaking her curfew to suit her social life. Let's start with the phone ... I have a plan that has 400 peak time minutes that are shared with my dh, unlimited night time use, and 500 on the weekends. This has always been more than enough time for the two of us. Enter my sixteen year old daughter that has been sneaking my phone or abusing the times I have allowed her to use it. My normally $39 bill was $172 when it arrived in the mail this week. I have always had a policy that my children could only have their own cell phones when they held down a paying job and paid their own bill. Occassionally, I would let them use mine when they went out. Daughter #2 has made friends in our soon to be new town via the internet (with my permission) and even gone to a high school basketball game in February when we visited. They communicate via the computer ... and more recently my cell phone. After checking on line with Verizon, I found over 1700 minutes of outgoing/incoming calls up to Idaho for a one month period. Mind you, once my 400 peak minutes are used up, it's $0.45 per minute unless it's an after hours call. To her surprise, I made her fork over $130 from her savings account to cover the extra expense. ...Boy, did she argue with me and point fingers ... as this chaos was transpiring, I got a call from daughter #1 asking to stay out to 1:00 AM ... then go spend the night at a friends. She too argued with me and I fianlly hung up the phone. She called several more times to try to convince me that she should be allowed to stay out late. Her curfew is midnight ... she's 21 (employed) and as long as she lives at home rent free, she's obligated (in my opinion) to live by my rules. Otherwise, why leave the nest and good home cooked meals? I have on occassion, said she could stay out late ... and she will spend the night with one of her girl friends once in a while ... but with the upcoming move, we need her to be home and not in some zomby state of mind from staying up so late. We've got lots to get packed and moved in the next few days. I held my ground and did not give in to either girls poor behavior. After raising three "normal" children, my youngest with Down syndrome has become the model child of the family.