You know you're a mom when . . . . . . .

Ohhhh, I am so excited!

So excited!

Andy is going on the potty.

I know.  I know.  It's a miracle!!!

Andy is 3 1/2 and as stubborn as they come.

We have been trying to potty train this boy for months and months and months.

I've tried everything.  Stickers, charts, candy, a new car, all the ponies in the world if he would just go on the potty.

He knew what was going on and he did not like it one little bit.

One night Davin tried to get him to go while I was at the store.

He told him he could have ice cream if he went.

Hello!!  I offer him this everyday.

That is not going to work.

Well, apparently coming from Daddy it meant a lot.

He went.

I brought home ice cream from the store.

He was starting to get it.

On the way home from Grandma's yesterday we heard a cute little voice from the back say "Mommy, I need to go potty."

Davin and I both whipped our heads around  "You need to go potty!!!!  You need to go POTTY!!!!"

We took him home and he went.

Hallelujah!!!!!!!

He woke up dry this morning and went on the potty.

Okay, he had a little trouble and mostly went all over the potty and all over the floor.

You know you are a mom (maybe a very desperate mom) when you are more than happy, maybe even excited to clean pee up off the floor.

Congratulations Big Boy!!!

Awareness Month

April is almost over.

These months are flying by, which means summer vacation will be here before you know it, which means baby will be here before you know it!  Uh oh.

Before this month ends I feel like I have to do my part.

It is Autism Awareness Month.

I know I share a lot on this subject, but I feel it is soooo important.

I knew pretty much NOTHING about autism before my boy. 

I thought I knew, but I didn't.

If I can help at least ONE more person to understand something important about this disorder than I feel like I have done my part.

The thing that has been plaguing me lately is the fact that my son's autism is what I call "subtle autism."

There is no arm flapping, rocking, sitting alone in a corner.

I have more respect than you can imagine for parents with severely autistic children.

I in no way wish to take away from the things they are going through.

I would only like to share my experience with Asperger's and the difficulties it also brings.

 Asperger's Syndrome can be devastating in its' subtlety.

Everyday, I get the comment "He can't have autism!  He talks!"

I get people trying to comfort me by telling me that he will do fine in school, that we all have something quirky about us.

Yes, agreed.  We ALL have something quirky about us.

Even though it is frustrating, I appreciate their willingness to comfort and to be supportive.  I was completely ignorant when we first heard that my boy might be autistic.  Christopher was 3 and we were living in Oregon.  At a normal well check, the doctor suggested that my son may have high functioning autism.  Family and friends were shocked (as was I) and we were angry that this doctor had even suggested such a thing.  Christopher was a talkative, bright, beautiful boy.  We said "He can't have autism!  He loves to talk!"

My boy does not arm flap, rock, or sit alone in a corner.

My boy was the infant who could go a whole night without sleeping.

My boy was the toddler who couldn't go to sleep at night unless all his toys were lined up in his bed beside him.

My boy is the one who will rip up papers and scream at school because he can't stand writing while everyone is quietly whispering.

My boy is the one who cannot coordinate his legs to ride a bike,  his hands to catch a ball or color a picture.

My boy is the one who can only function with medicine I never would have believed I would give to my child.

You would think I would be happy to hear people say, "He can't have autism!  He talks!

In some ways it feels quite the opposite. 

It almost feels like someone you love has died and after you have finally accepted that fact someone says "He's not dead!!  He looks so alive!"

It is an emotional rollercoaster.  You start to feel like you are crazy!!  Do I not know my own child?

I relish in the times I get to speak with Christopher's therapists and special doctors. 

They understand the seriousness of his disorder.  They snap me back to reality and into "supermom" mode and give me the courage to get Christopher the help he needs.

Christopher's disorder has taught me to never minimize others problems. 

We can give a listening ear and offer our help.

Let's all be that for somebody.

I have wonderful family and friends who are there for me and I love them all for that.

I loooove my boy.

He is an extraordinary person. 

Autistic people are amazing.

Happy Autism Awareness Month! 

A break for spring . . . .

Wow.

What a couple weeks this has been.

This was my first spring break with a kid in school and it was so much fun!

It was so nice to have Christopher home for the week.

I thought it might get difficult just because he was out of his routine, but his anxiety level stayed pretty low almost the whole week.

The weather was pretty nice and we spent some time outside.

Daddy even came home early enough one night to play outside before the boys went to bed.

What a treat for these boys!

Thankfully, we are pretty much DONE with tax season and our Daddy comes home at a reasonable hour! Yay!

The boys dyed easter eggs at Grandma's house this year and Christopher could not get enough of it.

He begged and begged me to do more.

We already had a fridge overflowing with dyed eggs so I suggested we paint some pictures of eggs.

They loved it

and Christopher did so well with the painting.

Normally this would have put him over the edge, but thanks to all his therapy he is doing pretty well.

We decided to make a card for Camp Hippo (his therapy place) as a thank you to celebrate his beautiful egg paintings.

We had a great Easter!

The boys baskets were a little silly this year.

They got a toy whale and an octopus that grows. The boys are very interested in ocean creatures lately. Okay, Christopher is very interested in ocean creatures and Andy loves to play anything with his brother. The octopi are sitting on my kitchen counter.

Very appetizing as I prepare dinner :)

I teach young children at my church and I was asking them what they got from the Easter Bunny. Their loot was impressive - roller skates, big pink bunnies, someone even got a new bike. Christopher was so excited to share - "I got a whale! It's really cool!" The kids just stared. The other and teacher and I tried so hard not to laugh.

I got my very own Easter surprise.

My wonderful husband got me an Easter gift.

We NEVER get each other gifts, so this was a big surprise.

He bought me this book -

Sooooo good.

He knew I enjoyed her blog and I had been wondering whether I would like the book.

I do.

It's excellent.

I hung the lanterns in the baby room.

I decided to do it by myself and, believe me, I'm surprised a few of those lanterns were not ripped to shreds because of my frustration. I did it though and I really like it. Now I am just terrified a huge paper lantern will fall on the baby while he is sleeping. Ha ha.

All in all, we had a great break and it was sad to send my boy back to school.

Did you have spring break? How was your Easter?