Ass Burger, WHAT?

So, I have this nephew that's been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. In case you are unfamiliar with it, it's a form of autism. It's more of a social thing. For some very helpful information go to kidshealth.org I found their site to be useful. When I told people that he had Asperger Syndrome, they would say what are ass burgers? How did he get them? Think I'm kidding?

Anyhow, we always thought our nephew was so funny, he was like a little toolman, plumber's crack & all. At about the age of 2-4, he was obsessed with Bob the Builder. He had all the tools - hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches & even toolboxes, plastic of course. He would go around all day & "fix" things. As he got older, he wanted anything he could build. Spare boards could be made into anything if you nail them together!! He then progressed to Lego's & war toys. That's pretty much it for him. If he can't build it, he might as well blow it up. (in his mind only, of course!)

While my kids wanted to play with something different all the time, heaven forbid they might get bored!! My nephew was & still is content to build for hours.

What we really noticed as he got older was his complete lack of understanding that some of his behaviors might be wrong. As a toddler, he would get mad & lash out if things didn't go his way. Hurting someone by hitting them or throwing things was his response to anything that he deemed unfair to him. The problem was, the situation wasn't always unfair for him. He didn't "get" sarcasm or joking. Things got really bad as he got older & had no problem throwing bigger & heavier objects at people, sometimes without warning. I once made the mistake of jokingly calling him underwear boy because he had taken his pants off to change & ducked just in time before he would have landed a slap across my cheek. His mother nicknamed him literal boy.

Unfortunately, with autism, there are so many different types. My nephew is lucky. He is in mainstream classes now. He has a good future ahead of him. Those around him are in for a long haul. Hats off to his mom!! The treatment for his form is constant reminding & enforcing of good behavior. I mean constant. It's a lot of work, I feel for anyone who is going through the same thing & welcome your comments or stories here.

Is she crazy????!!!!!!!!!???

Maybe it's just me.
I can't be the only one that thinks Nadya Suleman has completely lost her mind. If you don't know by now, she's the one who recently gave birth to octuplets. Why do I care? Is it my business? YES! I'll tell you why it's everyone's business.
Everyone should be concerned that there are doctors out there that would do a potentially dangerous procedure on one of their patients. I've watched all the birth shows!! Most doctors will not implant that many embryos because the higher number of embryos, the higher the risk. Do people realize how fortunate it is that these babies not only survived, but are doing ok. That's not always the case. I can't believe that a woman that supposedly loves children would risk the lives of eight!!

Now , she's lining up the book & movie deals so that she can afford all of these children. Great!! Can anybody say "new trend"? How long before someone tries for nine? Hey, why not? Maybe they can sell their movie rights, too.

So S.A.D.

I swear that I have S.A.D. Winter seems like it never ends!! If I have to clean snow & ice off the driveway one more time, I'll just go nuts!!
It starts out so great, the 1st snow of the year. We sled, build forts & snowmen. Slowly, the days seem monotonous. It's the same thing everyday. I end up sitting in the house when I'm not cleaning snow. I get sick of sledding, I dread building snowmen! Maybe I'm just complaining because this year seems so much worse than others. My Christmas decorations are still up outside, for crying out loud!!!! They froze to the ground!!!!

What can I do? I guess I'll go salt the driveway!!

My daughter

Along came my daughter, our lives would never be the same. Certainly we will never have peace again!! My daughter came into this world with a high-pitched screech, it's how she lives her life. The minute she started talking, she never stopped. It's such a constant noise in the background, that I had to learn to block it out or I would go insane!! My husband sometimes just snaps! I keep telling him to learn to block to save his sanity.
Between the ages of 18 months & 2 years, my daughter learned the word hate. The 1st time she used it was while slamming the door to her room in my face during a time-out. I've had to learn creative ways of dealing with her. My response to "I hate you!" is to say, very calmly, very seriously, "Well, I don't hate you". After yelling & stomping in her room for a while, she usually comes out, flings herself in my arms & says " I don't hate you mom, I love you!!" It's how I get through those tantrums.
After my daughter was old enough to speak, friends were no longer telling me how easy I had it, how lucky I was. Now, there comments were more like " just think, she still has to go through puberty!"
My daughter used to give herself time-outs. She would be in one of her teary-eyed tantrums & say to me " I NEED TO GO TO MY ROOM UNTIL I CALM DOWN!!" To which I naturally reponded "please do!" The cool thing about time-outs is that she usually comes out of one & actually behaves for awhile, it's amazing!!
I must sound like I don't like my daughter very much! On the contrary, I think that she's one of the funniest people I know!
She does not hold back, tells everything like it is!!
Once, she had a urinary tract infection. For weeks after, everywhere we went, she would tell everyone that would listen how she had to pee in a cup. She thought this was the greatest event ever!! There we would be, standing in line somewhere & at the top of her lungs she would say "did you know I had to pee in a cup last week? Wasn't that funny mom?"

yeah, it was funny

Just the other day, she sat next to me & told me my legs were spiky & I needed to shave. What could I say, she was right!!

My son

When my son was born, my husband & I could barely contain our joy! We did everything with him. He was the most important thing in the world to us. Everybody said he was a great little guy, so well behaved. The only time he had a tantrum was when we took him shopping.

Parenting is easy, I thought!!

Every time I saw kids screaming & crying in the store, I would just think "they don't know what they're doing!". My son doesn't act like that! Being a parent is so great!! So fun!!
Family & friends would say "you don't know how lucky you are!" I would think "luck? It's just good parenting. He's just responding to our love & adoration"

Then my daughter came along....

About myself

I am a 37-year-old mother of an 11-year-old & a 5-year-old. Believe me when I say that I am not one of those mom's. You know the ones I'm talking about -- the one's that seem to be at every school function, no matter how small, cheering everyone on & taking pictures for the yearbook. The one's that have all these seemingly well-behaved kids no matter what. The ones that volunteer & bake for every community function, even if it's summer. Who bakes in the summer, I ask you, who? Those moms do.

I am not one of those moms.

Let me tell you what kind of mom I am.

I am the kind of mom who will usually go to school functions & spend the whole time trying to figure out where my kids went. I usually forget my camera at home or forgot to charge the battery on my video camera, either that, or I forgot to pick up film for them. I bake occasionally, in the winter. Most times, not from scratch. The boxed mixes can be quite good! My kids are usually the ones fighting amongst themselves or with me when we are out in public. Are you one of these moms? This site is for you.