In home help/autism assistant

So we now have a therapist coming into the house to help with Ethan's day to day skills. It's nice to see how they do things and to ask questions and to show what you have "mastered" for them to build on. 

That's our crazy at the moment. 

Have a great day. 

Back to business as usual

Well it's Tuesday. Kids are off to school. One off to work and the Youngest Daughter and I are in Seattle for her weekly meeting with her therapist. 

I did laundry yesterday and cleaned up in general. 

Other than my Eldest Daughter announcing that she's moving out in the next few weeks, which had mixed feelings associated with it... Business as usual for me being home again. 

Nothing TOO crazy this week. 

Have a good day. 

Calm before the storm

Well it is officially my first day back at home tomorrow. And by that I mean I am a work at home mom again.

I've been feeling kind of restless the last few days and not sure what it means, if anything, however I am looking forward to the adventures to come. 

Not much crazy at the moment, but I'm sure that'll change soon.

Have a great night. 

Happy New Year 2016-Catching up

Ok.  Here I go again.  It has been a crazy year.

Eldest Daughter bought her first car (with a co-signer for the loan).

Youngest Daughter had six DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) episodes, five of which ended up with hospitalization and one in the ICU, all in a seven month period.

Eldest Son turned 18 and is a Senior this year.  Went to Italy with his AP class last spring, and just got back from Texas for his grandparents 50th Wedding anniversary.

Middle Son turned 15 just before Christmas.  How did THAT happen?!  His issue this year was his growth/teen hormones and a freakishly hot summer here, that had his seizure meds increased because he was having more seizures than normal.  It's so hard to watch, because I have NO idea if he even knows what is happening. Other than that, his is still his happy-go-lucky self.

Youngest Son is just getting bigger, and as with most children in this day and age, we are concentrating on getting him "disconnected" from electronics. It was rough at first, but it is getting easier-ish.

Me? Trying to hold it all together.  Not always succeeding, but trying. The BEST news for me this year was my sister and her husband moving back home from Arizona.  YAY ME!  her baddest (yes I know the grammar is bad) news, was HER mom passing within the week of her returning home.  At least we have that to support each other now.  I KNOW what it is like to lose your mom, when she is one of your best friends.  All I can do is hug her and tell her, her actions and feelings are normal.

I raised me some chickens.  I LOVE MY CHICKENS.  I have become that crazy chicken lady.  They are so funny, fun and wonderful.  The Ladies greet me every day, and will actually sit and let me and my family pet them.

I did go back to work for the last half of the year. I so love the ladies I work(ed) with.  They are the best crew in the world, as far as I am concerned.  BUT it isn't just me who thinks it either.  We have customers who have to check our data packages that we send them, most of them DO NOT travel to any of their other suppliers, BUT DO come here to Washington, simply to be in the department, to partake of the camaraderie, true helpfulness and Thai Thursday's.  These ladies are an amazing group. And it shows.

My Hubby? Good.  Loves his new job, He's been there a year now.  It is SO nice to see him animated about work and not dreading the trek in, much less the work involved.  He is VERY happy that we started playing our role playing games again.  Friday Night Dungeons and Dragons is an absolute must with us and our friends now, Hubby is the DM (Dungeon Master).  We sometimes revert to our 14 year old selves (ok most times) and the group is wonderful.

So this year I am no longer doing Facebook.  I am trying to get away from Social Media.  I am still on Pintrest (it is a good organizing tool), but NO FB.  It sucks my time like no ones business.  It isn't so much the looking at peoples profiles or anything like that, I have liked certain pages and end up looking at the links and articles.  I can do that in a reading/blog program.  Not to mention, the posts that just keep reappearing.  After almost 10 years on FB, I think I have seen almost all of the fabulousness and idiocy I can handle at the moment.

I am going to go back to a simpler time in my life.  Before all the media input outlets, and information overload.  The constant bombardment takes a toll.  I remember growing up on the farm.  There was always something to do, time to rest and relax, read a good book, lay in the grass with the dog (or horse).  Planting a garden. Talking to the animals.

The rhythm of farm life is slow and regimented to a degree.  The animals NEED to be fed, watered, tended, looked at and loved.  It's a quiet predictable life.  I miss that deep in my soul.  The Urban Chickens in my life have reminded me of that need.

2016
This is the year of ME.  I am concentrating on myself this year.  Getting my groove back.  I am a caretaker by design, and I forgot someone I need to take care of.  Myself.  I am fat, anxious, depressed, unhealthy, unhappy and unfocused.  I am no longer going to tolerate it.  I cannot help anyone if I am in the hospital.  I cannot change anything except myself, my responses and my situations.  So if I don't like something, I am either going to accept it for what it is (my response) or accept my beliefs and be true to myself (my situation) and walk away.

The younger me was happier and healthier and less involved in world connections (media).  I didn't realize how MUCH I liked the old me.

That's it for the crazy right now.
Have a wonderful and crazy fun New Year.

New Year 2015 - New start on Simplifying

So first on my list of things to accomplish.  Blog.  Done!

One of the things I also wanted to do is get my Youngest Daughter started on her goal of acquiring a DAD.  What do you mean by that you ask? WELL...DAD stands for Diabetic Alert Dog in this instance, so I have created a crowd funding campaign for her.

http://www.gofundme.com/DADforMorgan

Organizing - Yup. Doing it.  I love this new site that is helping me get there.

Household Management 101

I am doing fairly well on the Declutter Your Home in 15 Minutes a Day.  The Facebook page is REALLY fun with all the things that get posted with before and after pictures, and the organizing ideas.

I have completed all the days on the calendar the site put out for 2015 EXCEPT for making the Household Binder.  There are so many things to consider in my life, what with all the crazy going on, that I have at least printed it, gotten a binder, and created the sections.  Now, I just have to notate it.

With our crazy family, and my being a relatively new stay-at-home mom, being organized is near critical.  Mostly for MY sanity.

MY Cheats and helps so far?

The Roomba - My husband and I decided to get a Roomba for Christmas.  The 880 is WONDERFUL!  I have it set to run at 4:30 am.  My alarm is set for 6:00 am, so if there is an issue (full bin), I can deal with it and send it back on its way.  How is it a cheat or help?  With Willow the woolly wildebeest service dog, I am having to vacuum every day to just keep up with the shedding, the Roomba 880 doesn't even blink an eye at it.  LOVE!

Yes I still have to clean out the mechanics of it every other day, but this one is TEN times easier than the last one we had.

AmazonFresh.com - How does this help?

1.  I can list all of my family's favorite meals as a list.  I then can simply click "add all available items" and it all shows up together.  I have contacted the web team with some suggested tweaks, like being able to add multiples of an item to the list, currently you can only add a unit of 1(one), so I must make use of the description area to remind me that I need 2 of this or 3 of that.  I also suggested that they give the option of a List or a Recipe.  They stated that they would forward the suggestions.

2.  It helps me stay on budget for meals/food.

3.  I am SUPER picky about my fruits and veggies, and they have really good quality.

AND
4.  Delivery is free, since I never get out of the grocery store for less than $50 anyway.

Amazon.com - I admit it.  Hello, my name is Cherilyn, and I am an Amazon addict.

Organization/Ease
1.  Bread Machine - I bake and use it for dough or for a really tasty loaf of bread.
2.  Cleaning Caddie/Spray Bottles - I got all of my cleaning supplies together in one place and its PORTABLE.  I mix my own cleaning supplies (natural AND concentrates), so I take my Sharpie and mark it with the name AND mixing information.
3.  Bought a huge supply (36 pack) of microfiber cleaning towels.  I can clean up, use them as spoon rests, throw it on the floor for whatever messes happen down there, and they all just get tossed into a bucket in the laundry room after use.

I have tons more to expound on, however I would like to have more than one post. :)

So, here we are...a new year with the same ol' crazy.  Here's to holding on and making my 8 seconds.

Have a great day.

Food and a large family.

With 4 teens and 2 adults in the home, the largest expense aside from rent/mortgage is...food.

How to budget food and make good meals for 4 hungry teens and 2 adults.  Processed foods are so salty, but so convenient.  Although, I do like several sites that I am going to try and make better use of:

Six Sisters Stuff, Yumprint, The Pioneer Woman and many books.  I particularly like Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals, The Convenience Cook by Finlayson, Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo and Easy One Dish Meals by Cookbook Resources LLC.

Six Sisters have great ideas and with, well six sisters? Lots of input.  I first discovered them on Facebook with a posting about freezer meals.  Tried it, and learned a lot.  First I learned that order of items is (almost) critical.  Chopping is something you definitely want to do first, so that packaging goes more quickly.

I really have to say that having items in your freezer to just load into your crockpot is VERY convenient and takes some of the thought process out of your day.

The hardest part is finding recipes that don't repeat very often, although my husband and boys would be very happy with that, I like a bit more variety. Then add in seasonality of your eating habits?  It makes meal time a challenge at my house.  I have salad eaters and people who would consider being in a green room close enough.  I have found that fruits are a big hit with everyone and try to have them available for snacking and we even put the fruit bowl on the dinner table, so that there is at least a choice.

Yumprint is a great add-in for your internet window.  I like what they have done.  I browse the internet, stalking recipes and when it detects a recipe-like format on the page, it pops up a little tab.  The interface is easy enough, click the tab, review what it has pulled from the page, edit if need be, and then categorize your recipe.  You can make a menu, or simply track what you have tried and like.  The only real complaint I have, is their shopping list feature.  I have tried several times to use the menu planning and then click the shopping list, but it never seems to combine things properly.

Of the books, it is kind of hit and miss. I will recommend The Practical Paleo because she REALLY thought out the layout.  It is a good book to have even to just read about the tips and tricks of cutting and chopping, not to mention the recipes have been GREAT!  I loved the "Perfectly Baked Bacon" and several other recipes.  Yes some of the textures are different from what you would normally expect, but so far, I have not had any of my eaters, refuse anything I have pulled out of the book.

The next venture will be into window gardening.  I have been watching videos on making window growers out of plastic bottles.  You can buy something already made at WindowFarm.com, however I would like to recycle some items I already have around the house.

Well, that's my crazy for the day.

Have a great one everybody.

It's a crazy life (aka Thank God Summer is over!)

Back to the blogging now that I have time.

Summer was CRA ZY!  We had 2 kids in summer school, one in ESY (Extended School Year is for children with substantial learning challenges), a family visit, a family member moving into our area, and...I am sure that I have forgotten many things in that list.  I am however, very happy school is back in session.

Oh and on top of all of that, I have taken over the finances for the menagerie, and my husband was informed, very nicely, that "The company is going in a different direction, and while we think you are very talented and have great skills, they just aren't the ones we need right now."

I mean really.  They could have gone the scandalous route and called him in for an "early meeting" and while giving him the heave-ho, packed his office for him (I've seen it done), but they have given him the respect of letting him close things up, cleanly pass things on, and leave on good terms.  I liked the company before, but now I can respect them too.

On the child front:
Eldest daughter is starting college classes today.  She decided to take a year off from school and then go back.  Glad to see her following through on it, and very proud.

Eldest son did a class in summer school and passed with a B, to get ahead.  Kudos!  He is struggling a bit with school this year, but it is just the beginning and he just needs to get a routine down.  He also took an AP test just before school ended in June and got a 5 out of 5.  So woo hoo! A college credit for him!  

What I also like is that he is getting involved in school and making friends.  Aspergers can make that social interaction such a challenge and he is having a blast with his Improv club.

Youngest daughter.  She did really great this summer with her diabetes.  She brought her A1C down from over 14% to 10% in only 5 months time.  She has fallen off the wagon a bit, but I am trying to help her get back into the habit.  She also attended summer school to make up a credit and got a B as well.  She has also challenged a class and is taking 2 mathematics classes this semester.  Eeek! BUT, she is very smart when it comes to math, so if she applies herself, she will do very well.  Her favorite thing this year? Culinary Arts class.  She loves to cook and is having a blast.  I also signed her up for an after school exercise class and she seems to be enjoying that as well.  I know we are enjoying her class, since I had a very tasty classic English Scone for breakfast this morning.

What I am looking forward to for her, is the education presentation she is going to give at her school for staff, parents and students about Type 1 Diabetes.  It is a great presentation.  Very proud of her. I hope she is able to make a group that meets and supports each other.  It seems to be helpful for her.

Middle son.  ESY was fun for him, he had a blast.  The summer for him was go, go, go.  The boys mother and her family took all three boys to Walt Disney World in August and apparently, Middle LOVES roller coasters.  It figures though, he has little or no fear.  The picture his mom sent, had him smiling from ear to ear. 

During his time in Florida, mom forgot to give him his fluoxetine(Prozac which is used for OCD issues as well), and we didn't see much difference in his behavior, until it was completely out.  What most people don't know is that this chemical has a "half-life" and for lack of a better term, wears out of your system.  Well, 2-3 weeks later, his "self-soothing/stimulating" was becoming much more emphatic.  There was a bruise on his hip, the size of a large orange, more vocalization, more hand movement (not flapping per se, just more hand movements).  My husband and I decided to restart the medication and over the last week or two, his behavior has become much less emphatic, and less self injurious.

Now Youngest son, is just the baby of the family and is going into 1st grade this year.  He is still testing waters at the house, seeing what he can get away with and what he cannot, typical kid stuff.  His is whip smart and bores easily.  HOWEVER, our relationship is getting better.  We are interacting more and hanging out a bit more too.  It's nice.  Not use to having a small one around the house, and his battery is just on FULL all the time.

Other items: 

Budgeting. Hate it. Regardless, I am just going to have to get over it.  I am not looking forward to that part.  With 7 people in our immediate family and the ex-wife, we are basically supporting 8 people.  Something has to give and I think it is going to be my sanity.  

Me time.  I am going to have to start taking better care of myself, and that means, dare I say it? Exercising.  Guh!  I like the results of the actions, it just performing them that really drags me down, however the workout high, is great, and it will have wide spread affects for me.  Lower my blood pressure, lower my BMI, lower my anxiety, and help me sleep better.  Now. if I could only figure out how to exercise without having to actually do it.  I'd be a bazillionaire!


Well that's the crazy for today.

Have a great one.

Staying home...never thought it would be my kinda gig.

Quitting work:  So back in January our caregiver/nanny gave notice.  The move to the new house was too much for her and her family on a daily basis, considering she was on until 7pm at night. So, we went through all the places Husband had used previously to locate a caregiver, set up interviews, met people, read "Thanks, but no thanks" email responses, either had no response from Middle boy to the person, or the person didn't respond to Middle OR they didn't want "part-time" work.

When has having a profoundly autistic child, or ANY child for that matter, been a part-time gig?

Anyway, after much angst, debate, number crunching and MY all-time favorite, the Pro's and Con's list, it was decided that I would give notice at work to stay home and take care of the family.  It was a big decision.  I had never been a stay-at-home mom, and I really liked what I was doing and who I was working with/for.

So with much sadness/anxiety I gave a one month notice at the beginning of February and stayed home.

Staying home:  March came, I woke up the first week and went through the paces.

• Kids up.  Check
• Kids fed. Check
• Kids who needed medications, medicated. Check
• New alarms working, so I don't miss anything anymore. Check. (I may have missed the bus a couple times and had to drive to school for Middle)
• House cleaned.  Kinda check. (We still had boxes to unpack from the move 2 months prior)
• Some projects marked off the list. Check and check.

I was really starting to get into a routine, and even had time to do some short notice stuff too. Like taking Eldest boy to appointments when Mom couldn't due to a conflict.  It was nice.

Going back to work:  So I got a call the last week of March from my old boss.  Wanting to know where I wanted to go for lunch for my birthday, we discussed it and plans were made.  Oh, and by the way, would you mind coming back for a few hours a day to help with the work loads?  Would I?!?!  Heck yeah.  I love these ladies, and it is during the time that the kids are in school. 

I never thought I would like being a stay at home mom, but I really kinda like it.  I don't know if I could do it with small kids.  I like when they go to school and I can get some time to do what I want.

Well, that's the crazy for now.

Have a great day.

Santa Dog?

So back on Presidents' Day. My Husband had the day off and was home with the tribe. I get a phone call,

"Babe. You're not going to believe what just happened. (Youngest boy) yelled out 'Daddy come look!'

'What is it (youngest)?'

'Daddy...Willow(service dog) is in the chimney!'"

Yeah. Service dog decided she wanted to lie down in the fireplace-firebox we had not cleaned out or closed off. Did I mention she's a white Pyrenees?

Guess who got a bath?

Staying home?

So a couple of weeks ago our "full-time" caregiver gave notice. The trek to the new house was a bit much and causing strain on her other clients and home life. Well Husband and I advertised on Care.com and thought we had found some great candidates. One was a guy, big, athletic medic from the Army. Woo and hoo! Had him out to meet Middle and while Middle didn't completely ignore him, Middle didn't try and engage either. We were excited anyway for the prospect of having someone who could go to the YMCA with Middle and take him swimming, be out door and physical. Middle really enjoys walking and such. So we were going to have Mr. Medic come over and spend some supervised out time with Husband and Middle. But to no avail. Mr. Medic called and cancelled the outing, stating that it felt like the connection might be forced. Ok. I can respect that. 

One knew ASL and looked outdoorsy too. She wrote back, thanks but no thanks. 

Well two more phone interviews later, and I use the phrase loosely, still no candidate. 

I was lamenting at work and the girls I work with started giving me a bad time about becoming a stay at home mom. 

Went home that night and told Hubby how the girls were razzing me, which led to Husband and I starting to actually talk about my staying at home as an option. Like a plan C. After much discussion, angst, crunching of numbers and my all time favorite Pros and Cons list. It was decided that it made sense for me to take care of Middle. 

I have always worked outside the home, even when I WAS a caregiver myself (yes, I had my CNA at one point and was in an LPN program, but $10/hr is too much for help and not enough to support myself and two children on, so I went back into office work). 

I am scared to death. What if it doesn't work out? What if it does? Holy cow. Anyone who knows me knows, I DO NOT handle the "unknown" very well. I LIKE knowing what is going to happen and having back up plans with back up plans. Just in case. 

Not to mention. The girls I work with are AHmazing people, and it's freaking rocket science for crying outloud. I KNOW what I am doing, what is expected and how to get it done. 

This housewife taking care of the family full time thing? Totally nebulous in my world. And THAT scares me. 

I told Husband that I know how to run a business and projects, so we will have programs for projects, lists of tasks and projects for future accomplishments, weekly "team" meetings and the like. I guess we'll see. 

Well that's the crazy for today. 

Vacuuming Contest

One of the things that really needed to be done this evening was vacuuming the downstairs.  Willow, Middle Son's service dog, is a Great Pyrenees, which means she leaves a cloud of long white hair in her wake.  There were clumps and clusters of hair all over the place.

I'm trying to have Middle Son and Youngest Son involved in the housework where I can.  Middle will largely do what I ask, but for many tasks I he needs hand-over-hand assistance to understand what he is being asked to do and/or to stay on task long enough to finish.  I've had some success lately turning things into a contest with Youngest.  Last weekend I asked him to help mean clean the toilets, then said "Actually, that job is probably too hard for you, so I'll get someone else to help me."  So naturally he REALLY wanted to clean the toilets after that.

Tonight, I told him that after dinner we were going to have a vacuuming contest.  He, Middle, and I would each vacuum a room and see who did the best job.  He thought that was a great idea.

After dinner we were getting ready to start.  I asked Older Daughter if she wanted to be in on the contest.  To my considerable surprise she said yes.  Youngest vacuumed the family room.  My Beloved Wife and I helped Middle vacuum the kitchen.  Older then took the vacuum for her turn in the dining room.  I said I was very pleased that she had chosen to play along.  Beloved said that it was because I had engaged her competitive streak.

When we were done, Beloved, the judge of the contest, said that all the rooms were definitely much cleaner, so everybody won.

A look at our nights.

So it is Tuesday and this was our night, Monday night. 

Got home, no Nanny or Middle boy (who she is paid to watch and help with some daily things around the house to help out). It is an hour before dinner, so I recruit Eldest Daughter's help. 

Text from Nanny states they are stuck in rush hour traffic due to accident. Whatever. Dinner is under way ( irritation is a given at this point). 

So, meal gets made, people get full, dishes done(ok loaded into the dishwasher and turned on) and Eldest Son is now calling to be picked up from an Art Symposium he has been attending, just down the street. 

Apparently Husband is think of taking Middle with him because I get a shouted, "Hey babe. We have situation upstairs. Looks like someone forgot to either lock or shut the bathroom door to the kids bath and Middle is covered from head to toe," (luckily naked as a Jay Bird) in Fructis citrus something-or-other scented shampoo. And VERY excited about it because now that he has been discovered, he is squealing with delight at being in the shower. 

So I take over shower duty for Middle and have now come to L O V E my Delta hand held shower head that detaches to follow him around the shower to get all of this off if him. Now at the old house we had standard wall mounted fixtures and I would have spent a good half hour talking him into the stream of water and then resorting to a cup with water dumped over his head. 

Again love, love, love the handheld shower head. Now Middle wasn't too thrilled and was....yelling? growling? Well let's just say he is not as enchanted with the handheld as Husband and I are. :)

So, disaster has been averted, but he is clean, dressed(even if the pants are backward) and the world is safe once again, and now the evening is winding down and I want to disconnect for a little bit with some Minecraft. So, Husband is amazing and takes over and I get to disconnect and try to explain to Eldest Daughter what I am doing in the game as she tries to understand why I am enjoying it. She likes competitive games. 

Well I have disconnected for a little bit and Middle wends his way about the house and plops himself in my lap. Ok. I probably should take a break since my eyes are hurting anyway. We snuggle and "chat" and I ask Husband the time. It is almost 10pm. Well that would explain why I feel so tired. Pumpkin time for this girl. So I announce that and end with a, "Looks like its time for bed." Shoo Middle off and go about closing the house up on my way to bed, which includes:

Check the front door lock

Check the back door lock

Check the windows are locked (he'll sneak out one if given a chance)

Remind Husband to put the lock on the dogs kennel before he comes up for bed(Middle has been letting the dogs out of the kennel lately - unusual new behavior on his part)

Make sure the napkins and paper towels are locked up in the pantry

Lock the bicycle lock on the fridge (so he does pour stuff out, take bite of something and then change his mind and put it back, or decide to open a favorite of his, the Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls and try to "cook" them)

Make sure all doors with keypad locks are closed and locks engaged

Make sure that the toilet paper is locked up

Which in the new house takes me on a nice little circuit around the first floor, which makes me realize, I haven't seen Middle. But ok. Dad/Husband is up so he'll watch out. 

I make my way up the stairs and see that Middles door is slightly ajar and lo and behold, he is in bed with his covers up to his chin just lying there. I smiled. Apparently my bed announcement meant that EVERYONE had to go to bed. 

He is such a joy and makes me smile so. 

Yes. His diagnosis is frustrating. 

No. He cannot "communicate" traditionally. 

Yes. He's smart as a whip.

No. He will never live on his own. 

Yes. I think I totally "get" him somedays.

No. I don't always "get" him. 

He is an amazing, intelligent young man trapped in there. One day we may be advanced enough to meet him. How amazing would that be?!  Personally. I have a sheep load of questions for him. 

Well that was our crazy for the day. Have a great one. 

Toilet Paper Safe

Several weeks ago, we signed the lease for our new abode and we were sitting around the dinner table discussing the home with it's many features.

Since the home has 2 and 1/2 baths, one in the master suite, one for the remaining bedrooms upstairs and a 1/2 bath or "powder room" downstairs, it was decided to lock the upstairs bath for use by the rest of the kids and leave the one downstairs open for Middle to use at all times, including the middle of the night.  What most people don't expect is the next conversation, that has been shamelessly borrowed from my husbands blog @Thoughts from the Asylum.

"The downstairs powder room will be left with a regular doorknob so that there is a bathroom that Middle can use whenever he needs it.
The question was raised, where are we going to keep the toilet paper in the downstairs bathroom?  Someone said we should get a safe.  I had to admit, that would keep the toilet paper secure.  Then someone said that the burglar who cracks that safe open is going to be very disappointed."

Which of course had us all in stitches.  Can you imagine the looks on the burglars face(s)?

Anyway, what we settled on was a locking two drawer filing cabinet.  Still makes it a target for thieves, but will be less likely to keep me from having to hand the phone over to someone else to finish explaining the theft to the police.

Truthfully.  Not sure how one would explain, how a safe theft would be quite that funny and hysterical because I'm chuckling just writing this, but then again, they don't live our crazy life.

That's the crazy for today.  Have a great one.

Button, button, who's got the button?

Let's just state that moving, packing and the subsequent unpacking are not my favorite activities.  With that being said, it all seems to be going somewhat fairly well.

We have tons of stuff unpacked, and most of it even has been put into a "home" location.  I am sure several things will move about as we settle in.

Our kitty seems to be the most well adjusted of all of the inhabitants.  She has been with me and the girls since she was a tuft of fur from the shelter (8 or 9 years ago).  Second on the well adjusted grouping seems to be Middle boy.  For an individual who is, by the "standards," supposed to dislike change of this magnitude, he seems to be the least affected.  He knows that there is a door now, with food behind it, that he wants.  How do I know this?

1. He has been fiddling with the key-pad to get into it, and
2. SOMEone left the door ajar when they got into it last, and made a mad dash with a very large handful of sour gummi worms.  He is watchful when he wants something.  Note to self:

Dear Self,
Leave some gummi worms in Middle's snack cabinet once in a while.

Thanks,
Yourself

We have since had a reminder to all household members to make sure that the door is securely shut when you get what you wanted.

While the majority of us may be struggling with "where is this," and "where is that," Middle and his photographic memory, goes to wherever he has seen something and simply gets it.  Like the glasses, if he wants a drink, he gets a glass, end of story, except that I have discovered, that he seems to prefer the small "rocks" glasses to the other sizes.

Well, that's the crazy for today, so far.

Happiness and safety are...

So, in my previous post I had talked about securing everything with locks. Specifically key-pad locks. Well, I believe my little family should own stock in Schlage, because just like Frank's Red Hot Sauce, we put that sh*t on everything.

What we love about Schlage products. 

Ease of installation, ease of use, they just look good and they are sturdy. We have tried other manufacturers and they have been complicated at installation or there was a step to remember to activate as you leave each time. Some just seemed...flimsy(?) I guess is the word or like something I would give a kid to play with, you know, toy-like. 

Again, we know most people use them externally, however for the safety of Middle Boy and the sanity/happiness of the rest of the family, we use them on internal doors. The other great thing? We can give the teens privacy while maintaining a parental override on these locks as well, thanks again to Schlage. I have a sneaky suspicion someone might be a parent on their development team. 

Safety features:  meds behind locked doors, anything we think he might think is "fun" but is actually harmful. 

Happiness features: toilet paper can be left out, shampoo and conditioner can be left out. We can control the food/snack situation for Middle, because in true teen fashion, he would eat his weight in junk food if we let him. 

So here are some pictures of our happy safe doors. 

Well, that's our craziness for the day. 

Conversation # 878

The move has occurred and we are as settled as we can be amidst the myriad of boxes. The Nanny was gracious enough to have Middle spend the night with her last night so that we could continue to secure the house, Middle is home tonight and doesn't show any signs of going to sleep soon, so....we secure the house for midnight meanderings. 

Conversation Husband and I just had:

Me:  Honey I need some tape.

Husband:  What kind of tape?

M: Just tape. Like packing tape or something.  I need tape for the garbage disposal. 

H: I have duct tape. Garbage disposal? Why?

M:  Duct tape works. I need to cover the switch because you know Ethan is going to be flipping switches all night. 

And there you have it. The weird conversations that are normal in my crazy house. 

Merry Christmas to everyone. 

Moving and Birthday's

So packing up the house has been a challenge. How much do we disturb the status quo and how much do we just say "screw it. Let's pack it n go!"  It has been a balancing act and one that has actually been more stressful, I think, on us "norms" in the house than anything, because even as much as Middle likes routine, he can be quite adaptable sometimes and this seems to be one of those times.

The other one struggling along with us adults, is Eldest boy. He has been putting off packing his room until basically yesterday and today. He came out yesterday, after a couple of boxes and announced, I wish I could just take out the important things I really want, and blow up the rest. 

Thankfully he does know that this is not an acceptable way of dealing with it, but let me tell you, it sure sounded like a great idea a couple of times today. 

Also amongst our crazy packing, today is Middle boys birthday. It IS official now, we have four teens. 

Well, that's our crazy for the day. You have a great one yoirselves. 

New house-Moving issues

So one thing that has happened, is that we, as a blended family, are too big for the home my husband had with his boys.  And I KNOW we weren't all going to move into my two bedroom apartment. So, we went on the hunt for a new house to rent.  One that would accommodate all 6-7 people, 2 dogs and a cat. OH and I shan't forget our partridge in the pear tree, our full-time care-giver for Middle Son, when we are not home and he is home from school.

Now, Hubby and I, could probably buy a house, but that is a WHOLE other story at this point, so...we'll hold off on that for now; for now, we rent.

Luckily we found a great house, in a nice neighborhood, with great schools for all of our kids needs.  I hope.

Said house is twice the size of our current house.  It has 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a nice large main floor with a living room, a family room, an eating area and dining room.  Large kitchen with a walk-in pantry included.  Woo! and Hoo!

Now, what could be the issue with all of this you ask?  Well, so far we have purchased over $450 in keypad and double keyed locks for the new house and the kids (and adults for that matter) are debating what duct tape will be used were and on what toilet.

Wait. What?!  Locks and duct tape?  What are you people doing??!?!?  Creepers right?

So, the double keyed locks are for the front and back door, because Middle Son hasn't figured out how to turn the key or possibly how far to turn them, to open the doors and escape to wander the neighborhood.

The key pad locks, which most people use on their external doors, WE use on interior doors, like bathrooms, bedrooms and our new walk-in pantry.  You have no IDEA how excited we are about the walk-in pantry.

We have, in the past, placed magnetic child locks (Tot Lok from Safety 1st) on all of the cupboards we did not want Middle getting into, however, he is now 5'8" and 160lbs of muscle-ish teenage boy and man-handles the doors open now, so the locks are not effective anymore (insert sad face here).

They worked fabulously, because when Middle wanted something, he would bring us a magnetic key and we just knew he wanted a snack. NOW...we are going to designate a cupboard that is unlocked, only for him and his approved snacks (he also likes to snack in the middle of the night as well) that we will now have to monitor to make sure he has something available to him.  Not a horrible thing, just new.  And new means getting everyone into a new habit, hard enough WITHOUT being autistic and ultra resistant to change.

Well, that's our current craziness.  Next...Duct tape for the Toilets.  Hmmm...I feel a poll coming on.

I must be crazy.

Most people when they meet me, think I am a little different to begin with.  I am not your typical middle-aged female, in that, I have a corporate type job and VERY visible tattoos, and a great boss/employer who believes that your IQ isn't tied to your physical features.  Yay me!

What is crazy to most people is that I met a wonderful man with 3 boys.  I happened to have 2 girls.  We met, hit it off, our kids seemed to like one another, he proposed, I said yes and we all lived happily every after. Right?  Well, if that were the case, this would be a very quick blog.  Put on the bow and call it a night. However...

Everything I said before is true, so far.  We are quite happy.  We met almost two years ago via the internet (Thank you very much OkCupid.com).  He was very open about having two boys with autism.  One has Asperger's, hereafter referred to as Eldest Boy, and the other profoundly autistic, hereafter referred to as Middle Boy.  Husband's Youngest Boy has developed normally as far as "normal" can be determined in this world.

Middle Boy does not speak or communicate in traditional ways.  He kind of signs and can point to what he wants for the most part.  What I also know about Middle, he has a wicked sense of humor, he is a happy, happy boy, he has opinions about many things, he also eats like any other, almost 13 year old boy. I say almost, because his birthday is this coming week. 

That will give Husband and myself four teens.  YIKES!

What I will be blogging about is my crazy life and the things that happen.  We have crazy things, that are considered "normal" around here, strange conversations that are "normal" around here, and other out of the ordinary stuff that just...happens.

So...welcome to my crazy life.