I love the Oscars. Every year I watch and, in the past 2 years, I’ve twittered my thoughts live. Like anybody cares. Seriously. But it’s fun to get the random stuff that flies through my head down as I’m thinking about it.

Who decided that Kathy Ireland qualifies to host anything? Yes, she’s pretty, but then we could just put a picture of her up the corner and let someone of quality actually TALK. She actually moved like a Barbie doll, with the bent arms and cupped hands. It was creepy. Oh, and, crazy eyes. Eyes completely filled with CRAZEE. It was painful and disturbing to watch. When the wonderful Gabby Sidibe had her turn with Kathy, I was hoping she would just hip check Kathy right off the platform. For being too skinny, too out of place and to eliminate the crazy eyes. I mean, LOOK at that. If that doesn’t qualify as crazy, I don’t know what does.

Charlize Theron. Honey. At what point did you look in the mirror while wearing this and exclaim, “I have never been prettier!” You’re CHARLIZE THERON. You can do way, way better than the gown worn by Ms. Cinnabons 2009. We know you have breasts and approximately where they are – trust me, we don’t need you to wrap taffeta ribbons around them to remind us. Okay? Thanks.

I was absolutely blown away by the orangeness of the attendees. For example, Sandra Bullock was so orange that I was blinded by the part in her hair, which…..wasn’t. I can’t find a picture of it, so maybe it was my TV, but when the camera came in on her from above, at first all I could see was her PART. Which was shining white. And didn’t match her face. But, she made up for it with her gown. She was breathtaking in that thing. I didn’t get the full impact of it until she crossed the stage with it, when it turned into a sparky, silver treasure. She was gorgeous.

However the worst orange offender was, by far, Sarah Jessica Parker. She looked like 20 miles of well-worn road. Especially standing next to her normally-colored husband, Matthew Broderick. This, I believe, is a wonderful advertisement for eating a big mayonnaise and bacon sandwich. Look how creepily her skin pulls across her face, around her eyes & nose. Her eyes have disappeared (perhaps due to the weight off all the eye makeup she’s wearing) and look a bit too “possessed by Satan”. Her shoulders look as if they are only held on by her skin. Her orange, orange skin. Way to make your husband look like he’s been ravaged by consumption on the plains, SJP. Oh, and your dress? Looks like a bedazzled tablecloth poorly wrapped around you as you play “Oscar Night” at home.

Then we were treated to the most horrifying commercial I’ve seen in a while. OSCAR WINNER Whoopi Goldberg portrayed a wide range of historical & fictional female characters who all share one special character trait. They pee their pants when they sneeze. Or laugh. Or drive down a bumpy road. Really? Really?!? Whoopi, you realize you’re an Academy Award winning actress, right? Just because someone asks you to do something doesn’t mean you have to do it. You CAN say no – you know that, right? Did you see this thing? If you missed it, take a gander.

Yes, it’s an issue many women have – myself included. It’s not at all unusual. However, this was not the way to address it. It was nasty, jaw-dropping and made its target audience go, “Wait…..WHAT?!? The Princess & the Pea?? Joan of Arc??? My brain hurts.” It was a major EW moment.

Then we got to the actual program. Can I just say that I hate this new trend where another actor talks about how cool, amazing, rockin’ & brilliant the nominee is? Actors are, by nature, egocentric creatures. They think way too highly of themselves and their “craft” and the last thing they need is to sit there while their peers stroke them so grossly. Can we just see a clip or two from their nominated performance? Thank you.

Neil Patrick Harris? I love you. Your flamboyant and delicious show-boy opening number was my favorite part of the night. Can we all just agree that NPH should host everything there ever is that needs a host, ever?

When Colin Firth smiles, lights dim. That’s how incandescent that thing is. He keeps getting more adorable and it isn’t fair. He’s just so….Colin Firthy.

Best Supporting Actor – I knew Christoph Waltz was going to win, but can I just say that Creepy!Stanley Tucci is C.R.E.E.P.Y.

Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin did a pretty good job. I’ve lost all love for Martin, though. He’s gotten too smarmy and the “I’m too cool/important for all of this” comedy isn’t playing for me anymore. And I really dislike Alec Baldwin as a human being. However, their Paranormal Activity short was hysterical. Especially when Steve punched Alec. Well done. I really loved when they were riffing on something and cut to Taylor Lautner & Zac Efron in the audience. Taylor Lautner looked TERRIFIED.

Okay – why on earth is anyone encouraging, nay, allowing Miley Cyrus to participate in something as prestigious as the Oscars? She’s not an actress (no, being in a movie does NOT make you an actress) – heck, she’s barely even a singer. And she shows up to this event in a horrible dress, channeling Slouchy McCrouchyDroop with shoulders that looked like she was carrying a yoke on her shoulders. It was particularly evident when she came out with Amanda Seyfried (who looked INCREDIBLE). Amanda looked just stunning and Grace Kelly-like. Miley looked as if she was afraid to stand up straight, lest her bosoms come shooting out the top of that thing. So, dear Oscar Producers, stop shoving these Disney stars down our throats like they’re actual actors. Leave that to the Helen Mirrens and Meryl Streeps of the world.

The Brat Pack/John Hughes reunion made my 16 year old heart so very, very happy. Molly Ringwald (who people used to say I looked like in high school, which….wha??), Matthew Broderick (Bueller??), Anthony Michael Hall & Ducky!! Judd Nelson looked awful and I think he had cocaine on his nose. Ew.

Robert Downy Jr. & Tina Fey was the best duo of the night. Let them to do more, plz.

One moment came that was one of the single most terrifying moments of the past year for me. This includes Paranormal Activity, a bunch of zombie movies, clowns randomly appearing here & there and my son being hit in the head by a television. All of a sudden, I looked up at the TV and saw this:

What the sweet, holy hell was this? Why, Ben, why? This is horrifying, terrifying & is wrong on so many levels. I used to think Ben Stiller was funny, about 15 years ago. Not so much any more. I know what they were going for with this bit, but Ben pushed it way, way past funny. It went on too long and wasn’t funny after about 30 seconds. And I will never be able to remove this image from my brain.

The Best Score dance number? Stop it. I know Adam Shankman is the dance man, but just stop making us watch dance numbers. That’s not why we tune into the Oscars. I don’t want to watch people do the robot to The Hurt Locker.

I would have been very happy if Barbra Streisand hadn’t been included. Just because she directed a movie or 2 and the winner was going to be a woman (try to tell me they didn’t know before they booked her..go ahead, try.) doesn’t mean we need to be subjected to her. I cannot stand Barbra. I find her self-important, self-aggrandizing, horribly annoying and I really want to smack that smirk off her face. Oh, and Babs? Just a note: None of it was about you. Shut up and get off the stage.

Kathryn Bigelow was visibly shaking when they won Best Picture. How cool is that?

My picks for best dressed?

Kate Winslet is my go-to for well dressed. She’s perfected the simple yet elegant look that combines old Hollywood with gorgeous sleekness. Her hair, her dress both flow perfectly. Amazing.

Cameron Diaz is not normally one I think looks good at these things. In general, I don’t think she looks very good. Her face is weird and she usually pick odd clothes to put with it. However, this time, her stylist deserves a huge, monstrous raise. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this good. The dress flatters and is appropriately glam without having some sort of growth coming out of it or some 7 foot train, it flatters her skin tone and her figure. Her hair is amazing. Luscious, soft, shiny. No wacked-out updo here. Cameron – call your stylist and buy him or her a new car.

Helen Mirren is who I want to be when I grow up. She classy but fun, stunning and age-appropriate and she’s just plain hot. Her dresses always flatter. Her hair & makeup are always flawless. I wish I looked this good now.

How can you not love this girl and this dress? I adore her & I think she looks absolutely lovely. It cannot be easy being a woman of size in Hollywood. When those around you call Kate Winslet “curvy”, you’re basically screwed. But she doesn’t care. She doesn’t apologize for who she is, instead she puts on a gorgeous dress and WORKS IT. She glows and shines with a smile so big her face almost disappears. We need a heck of a lot more of this in our society & way less bony Skeletor mindset. Besides, girl is FUNNY. She had me with this quote about Mike Tyson: “I’m sure he’s a very nice man, but there’s something about a face tattoo. It says, ‘I’ve gone as far as I want to go in society.’”

Okay. That’s my Oscar recap. Happy Monday!

I haven’t joined up with one of these things in a long, long time. This one seemed fun, so here I go!

1. What’s your favorite time of the day, and why?

I love early-mid evening. After dinner, when everyone is fed & happy & engaged in their own activity. I can go upstairs, pull out the computer, fire up the TiVo and have a little “me” time.

2. If health wasn’t an issue, what food could you live off of?

Oh, so many, many things. :hee: A good Starbucks frappucino, a big bag of Black Forest gummy bears, and the famous gondola sandwich from Avanti’s in Peoria or Bloomington, IL. I honestly can eat those things until my stomach fights back & my jaw cramps from chewing.

3. If you could have one wish granted (besides wishing for more wishes), what would it be?

To have the word (and sentiment behind the word) “retard” eliminated from the English language. To have my son, Henry, who has Down Syndrome, find accomplishment, success, love and, most of all, acceptance in his life.

4. What’s one thing that you get teased about a lot?

Probably my comic pratfalls. For some reason, I have the grace and dexterity of a drunken llama and my husband gets a lifetime of giggles from watching me trip myself, lose my balance and tip over and walk directly into doorframes.

5. If you could choose one movie, book, or TV show to spend your life in, which would you pick? What type of character would you be?

I’d love to live in the Harry Potter universe, I think. It would be cool to go to Hogwarts, learn magic and have Professor Snape to secretly dream of detention with. Oh, and there’s Lucius Malfoy, too. Look, I can’t pretend it’s really for any reason other than to hang out with Alan Rickman & Jason Isaacs. To pretend otherwise would be a big fat lie.

6. If you could have one talent that you don’t already have, what would it be?

I would love to be magically proficient on an instrument like piano or guitar. Or even drums. It would rock to be able to just sit down and accompany myself and do it well. I wouldn’t mind being an amazing writer, either.

7.If money were no object, where would you go on vacation?

All over Europe. I went to part when I was in high school, but didn’t visit as much as I’d like. I’d love to see Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Italy (again), Greece – the whole deal.

8. If you were an awesome singer, which genre would you sing?

I don’t know how awesome I am, but I do sing already. If I could be a successful singer, I’d probably choose Praise & Worship

9. If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, what would it be?

Amazon.com. If online doesn’t count, then Target. Definitely.

10. If you could live in any point in time, when would it be?

I love living now, but I’ve always been attracted to the Regency period. Cuz it’s filled with delicious British guys in breeches. Yeah, I’m a dork. But I’d have to be wealthy. It would be bad to be poor in this time period.

11. If every outfit in your wardrobe had to be one color, what would it be?

PURPLE!

12. If you were one of the seven dwarves, which one would you be?

(Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy, or Dopey)
Sleepy. Hand’s down.

13. What’s the last album you listened to?

I don’t listen to entire albums, but I did listen to some songs from Lady Gaga’s album today.

14. What’s something we’d be surprised to know about you?

I got run over by a Homecoming float my freshman year of high school. Though, considering the answer to #4 above, how surprising is it, really?

I’m tired of tiptoeing around it. I’m tired of pretending like it doesn’t matter. I’m tired of living in a society that treats its most innocent like rubbish. It has to stop.

I know I’m being dramatic. I can’t help it. We all get ferocious when it comes to our kids and how they’re treated by others. When our kids get bullied or teased by their schoolmates, our claws come out. When they get treated like second class citizens by teachers or other adults they come in contact with, we fight back. But imagine if everyone who comes in contact with your child views them as inferior. As a child. As a teenager. As an adult. At best, they’re treated like they can’t understand anything and perhaps ignored. At worst, others laugh at, ridicule and call names right to their face. People see them and snicker with each other, bandying about hurtful descriptors or smile condescendingly and talk about how “cute” or “sweet” it is that your child is out functioning in the world in whatever capacity. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could take that. I couldn’t sit by as my Henry was mocked, ridiculed, laughed at, or treated like he shouldn’t exist. But Henry (and others like him) just suck it up and take it. They don’t shout, “Back ‘atcha bee-yotch” or smack somebody in the face or even politely correct their misapprehensions. They just drop their eyes and try to blend into the woodwork, pretending perhaps like they don’t understand or they didn’t hear it. That just sucks in so many ways, I can’t fully express it.

This has to stop. It HAS to. What have we become? Sometimes I think we’ve come so far in this area since we no longer institutionalize people with special needs and they’re being mainstreamed in education, getting the intervention they need and accomplishing more and more every day. But our attitudes in general haven’t changed. We avoid people who are different. We don’t look at them. We don’t talk to them. It’s almost as if we think if we’re nice to them and treat them like actual HUMAN BEINGS, we’ll catch their cooties or something. GET OVER IT. You can’t catch Down Syndrome. You can’t catch autism. You can’t catch Fragile X or cerebral palsy or hydrocephalus or any of the myriad other developmental & cognitive delays that make people “different”. But you know what you CAN catch from these people? Unconditional love. A more inclusive worldview. A redefinition of what it means to accomplish something. Learning what joy, excitement, happiness really are. Finding amazement in little things. Becoming a better person who’s less focused on yourself and what you can get your hands on or how you can climb the ladder. God forbid any of us should catch any of THAT.

Today is a very important day in our house. It’s a day to get the word out about the word “retard” and its derivatives and how very, very hurtful, hateful and disparaging it is. It’s an attempt to get people thinking about how “retard” is no different from the n-word or f**got or any other pejorative word that refers to someone’s race, sex, religion or whatever. It’s no different because it devalues a group of people by making them small. It’s an attempt to get people to stop using that word. Please. Stop using it. It serves no purpose other than to hurt. It makes an entire group of people into nothing more than a joke. THAT IS NOT OKAY. Ever. For any group of people. But especially for this group because they won’t tell you how you’re mistaken in your view of people with special needs. They won’t challenge you, front you down or beat you up for insulting them.

Today, Maggie gave a speech in her school. It was given to the 3rd-8th graders and she nailed it. She took a stand and did something about it. I was so incredibly proud of her. I did tape it, but she asked that I not share it here. Basically, she took the speech that Soeren Palumbo gave a few years ago and added a few bits of her own. Actually, it was some things I’ve written in the past about the subject. Here’s what she added:

We’re a country that’s supposed to be about inclusion. Acceptance. Opportunity. A place that discourages hatred, disrespect and cruelty. But, time and time again, people choose to use a word that has no purpose other than to belittle and deride. Of course, there will always be people who choose ignorance over kindness. Hatred over acceptance. Cruelty over inclusion. But if each of us does our part, we can make that percentage smaller and smaller.

I’m setting this off in its own paragraph, because I want to highlight it. Using the word “retard” or “I’m so retarded” or anything like that (joking about the “short bus”, the Special Olympics, etc) does NOT make the use okay. You’re not simply degrading  yourself. Break it down – if you say, “I can’t believe how retarded I acted Friday night!!”, what are you really saying? You’re saying that your behavior on Friday night was stupid, ignorant, embarrassing, or somehow not up to the usual standard to which you hold yourself. And by calling that behavior “retarded”, to whom are you comparing yourself? People with Down Syndrome, people with developmental delays, people with cognitive delays. Don’t deny it – that’s what your sentence is saying. You may not be coming out and saying, “I behaved like a person with Down Syndrome – how dumb!!”, but that IS what  you’re saying. It’s exactly the same as saying, “Sorry I’m late – I must be on colored people’s time!” or something similar. It’s absolutely, completely unacceptable. If you compared yourself unfavorably with a group of people based on race, gender or religion, you’d be held accountable. Why should this particular group of people be afforded any less dignity, respect or just plain kindness?

We’re all familiar with the idea of being part of the body of Christ and that we all have a purpose to serve. However, I think most of us haven’t given a lot of thought to how (or if?) people with special needs fit into that plan. Let’s see the whole verse.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 1 Corinthians 12:21-26 NIV (emphasis mine)

I believe that we as the body of Christ aren’t doing a really good job with this, in general. So what do we do? How does God want us to respond? Until we can rewire our society to understand that people with special needs are worthwhile, useful people who deserve respect just like everyone else, we’re going to face ignorant comments, prejudiced viewpoints, incorrect assumptions and all manner of frustrations regarding these people. What I believe is that it is OUR JOB to replace these comments, viewpoints, assumptions and frustrations with God’s. To respond, with love, in a way that teaches, reaches and helps people understand that our children are also an important part of the body of Christ. In fact, if I’m reading those verses correctly, they are a part with special honor and they’re indispensible. What a powerful idea that is! These people aren’t just EQUAL in God’s eyes; they’re given GREATER honor. They’re INDISPENSIBLE. I can’t tell you exactly why, but maybe it’s because God knows they have something incredibly special to share with others and teach us about Him. Maybe.

Best part was that she included Henry. She finished that last bit there and then invited Henry in. He ran right up the aisle, did a lap around the kids, found a chair, sat down, moved to a different chair, got down & went up to Maggie and smacked her, did another lap around the kids and then we went out. The best visual aide ever. Because this is what I believe: an issue like this means nothing to you if it’s not made personal. If you don’t know someone personally who fits into the category, you won’t care. So how can I make you care? Make you know someone. Meet my son. First, just realize he exists and he’s attached to someone you know. Then get to know more about him. Now you know someone that this is about. Now, maybe, you’ll care a little more.

If you don’t care at this point (but have somehow kept reading), meet Henry. He’s a person with Down Syndrome. He’s not Down Syndrome. It’s not who he is – it’s a small portion of who he is. He also is a person who loves animals fiercely – especially cows, giraffes and farm animals – who dances with a passion and joy unlike any I’ve ever seen, loves to sing (and if he doesn’t know the words, he’ll simply insert animal names), adores big, heavy books that he can set on his lap to flip through. He loves his family with abandon. Sometimes a little too much abandon, but still. He has a special affinity for his Pop-Pop. He loves to eat bananas and graham cookies. He digs spinning, Elmo, Yo Gabba Gabba, Little Bear, Signing Time, books about animals, Jack’s Big Music Show, bouncing, wrestling with his siblings. He’s a person. He has things he loves and things he hates. Just like you. Isn’t that something?

If I’ve reached you, even a little bit, please consider going to www.r-word.org and pledge to stop using that word. But, more than that, pledge to start seeing people who are different as the individual human beings they are. Maybe pledge to get to know somebody who has special needs. I promise – it will change your life.

Who do I have to pay to get rid of these illnesses? Seriously? Because I will pay and pay handsomely. I am so incredibly sick of this. Everyone in my house is and has been on antibiotics for their full courses and, of course, since Henry’s been finished for 2 days, he’s SICK AGAIN. I picked him up from school and he had a slight fever and his nose had begun its bi-monthly green river. Hateful. Annoying. I’m so, so, so, so sick of it. I called the doctor when we got home to see what she wanted me to do and, thankfully, she called in another round of Amoxicillin instead of making me bring him back in. We’ll see if THIS particular round of pink goo makes a difference. I am praying so very, very hard that the fact that Steven, Maggie & I are still on our antibiotics, we won’t get sick again. Because….did I mention hate? Yeah.

I am still working on getting a yearbook up & running with the kids at Maggie & Steven’s school. It’s difficult because their computers are wicked old and wickeder slow and don’t have the software we need. Trying to get the kids to work on it is impossible because I don’t have anything for them to work on it WITH. Today, I tried to get some of them to sit down and brainstorm together to design a page or two. I said, “Just get some paper, sketch out 2 pages (like in a book) and rough out where you’d like pictures to be, writing, stats, etc. They’ve never done something like that, so they didn’t know where to start. All the people who are done are guys, so they’d just start drifting over to where this one popular girl was sitting and gathering around her like dogs around a steak. I’d disperse them and, 5 minutes later, there they’d be again. How can a lowly volunteer teacher compete with the lack of materials and the hormones of middle schoolers? Sheesh.

I’m attempting to find a way to get new computers for them. Someone alerted me to Walmart’s Community Giving program where individual stores can allocate donation $$ or products for groups. So I went in on Friday and filled out the paperwork – hoping to get maybe 8-10 laptops for the 7th-8th graders use in the computer lab and their classroom. I figure if the laptops are $400-500 apiece, that’s $4000-5000 total. Maybe they can do that, I’m not sure what their qualifications/requirements are and if we’d even qualify. But the school is a 501(3)c corporation, so maybe that’ll help. I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I’m willing to give it a try. I have secured a separate donation for purchase of computer equipment for the school, so I’m hoping we’ll get Walmart to donate something so this other donation can be used for software, flat-screen monitors for the desktops already there (their monitors are horrific – blurry and starting to burn out) or other computer-related things that will help. Trying very hard to get the most we can get for the amount of $$ there is to spend. However, I also want to hurry up and get these computers so the kids can actually have something to work on during class time. I have to really restrain myself to wait for the best choice rather than the quickest one.

In other news, guess who had solid food for the first time today?

At almost 7 months, he hadn’t taken any yet. I tried with sweet potatoes about a month ago, but he just sat there with his mouth open and a very, very confused look on his face. I figured he wasn’t ready yet. None of my kids have had solid food before 6 months – because there wasn’t a need for it. They all (except Henry) nursed for over 2 years, so nursing exclusively for 6 months isn’t that big of a deal. So today, I pulled out the bananas and gave it a whirl. And he LOVED it this time! Maybe it was sweet potatoes vs. bananas, I’m not sure. But he ate the whole jar of them. Yay for him!

I’ll leave you with this. I went downstairs to start dinner and saw Henry in front of the TV. I’m not sure how he managed this one, but I see it as his own personal fashion statement. Maybe there’s a crazy designer down in there somewhere.

Since about October, Steve has been busy every weekend with the speech team he helps coach. Tournaments are held on Saturdays, so he’s spent nearly every Saturday since the beginning of October away from us. Which is just the way it is. Well, the state finals were last weekend, so he is now DONE with speech for the year. Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!? So very, very happy to have him back. He decided that we’d have a family day today which we decided to spend at the mall. I know. But it’s somewhere Steven has been asking to go and Steve wanted to go to the Sony store to look at a new laptop, so we went.

First, we went to Rainforest Cafe for lunch. When we used to live near this mall, we never went there. Every time I’d go with the kids, they’d beg to go & I’d refuse because 1) the food isn’t that good and 2) it’s wicked expensive. but today, as a special treat, we decided to go. Thought all the kids would really like it. With Henry and his love of animals, this should be a slam-dunk. Or so you’d think.

As we walked in, a “thunderstorm” was going off. Henry’s switch was flipped and he was in major, major sensory overload. Shouting, babbling, talking to his hands, eyes bugging out of his head. We sat by a big fish tank facing the animatronic gorillas. A huge butterfly was to his left. He liked that. Truthfully, I’ve never seen him like this. It was as if he were on speed – his head kept whipping around, he kept talking and talking and talking turning in his seat. It was freaky. I snapped this picture with my iPhone and, I think, this is exactly what the whole experience was like for him.

He was WILD. Then….the gorillas went off. Dude. It is so very incredibly, deafeningly LOUD in there. Even without the animals going off. But when the gorillas started “ooping”, Henry lost it. He was horrified and terrified at the same time. He started shouting, “QUIET!! GORILLAS, QUIET!!!” while crying. He’s shouting at his right hand and crying and trying to convince me to TURN THE STUPID GORILLAS OFF NOW, MOMMY. Which, of course, I couldn’t. I just hugged him tight and tried to calm him, but he was MAD. And scared. And very, very upset. When they stopped, he insisted they were “ALL DONE.” and told us it was time to go to the car. But we hadn’t eaten yet. This repeated another 3 times while we tried to wolf down our food and each time he got progressively more upset. In his view, there was absolutely no reason why those gorillas should even be there, much less be shouting at us with the volume turned up to 11. He was very, very happy when lunch was over and it was time to leave. Oh. And he hates the crocodile at the front of the restaurant, too. He actually screamed at it.

We got to visit Lush (yum), Lego Store, Sephora, Sony Store & Mrs. Fields. It was so nice just to be out, all of us together, and have 2 adults instead of just me.

I’m here waiting at the doctor’s office and, of course, the doctor is running late, so I decided to blog. Since I felt like I haven’t been blogging well lately, I’ll take advantage of the wait and get some blog on.

It’s William’s 6 month appointment, even though he’s nearly 7 months already. At least it isn’t another of the 57438648736 sick visits we’ve had in the past month. :sigh:

Maggie had an awesome idea. She’s been really upset about how many of the older kids at her school use the “r” word in that derogatory & flippant way kids do. It really hurt her and, rather than just sit on the feeling, she decided to do something about it. She told me she wanted to do a speech about the issue and asked for my help. I had a major proud-momma moment and said I’d totally help her. I talked to her principal about the idea and she thought it was a great thing to do. I realized that March 3rd is Spread the Word to End the Word, so it couldn’t be more perfect. We decided that she’ll give the speech during school chapel on the 3rd. And she’s totally taking charge on it. She’s writing the speech (using a bit from the great speech then-high schooler Soeren Palumbo gave at his school a couple years ago), using Henry as a visual aid and having me put together a slide show using pics of Henry and other kids of people I know who have developmental/cognitive delays, set to music. So, hey, by the way, if you’re a mom of a kid with special needs and you wouldn’t mind Maggie using his/her picture in her speech, let me know. I’d love to include your beautiful child as well.

I’m very excited for her and so very proud. She’s got so much more confidence than I ever did. That she’d even think to do this, much less really do it is amazing to me. It couldn’t have worked out better, since Spread the Word is happening at the same time, there are lots of resources out there that we can use. I actually bought a tshirt from their site that I’m going to wear and they have posters to print out, too.  Steve’s actually going to take one and post it in his classroom, too.

Y’know why this is important? Because there’s an entire segment of our society who feel like they almost need to apologize for their existence. I’m so incredibly sick of it. Let me share with you my breaking point.

Steve is one of the coaches of his high school’s speech team. His team did really well this year and several of the events made it to state, which was this past weekend. He watched a lot of competitors from other schools and, while he enjoyed most of them, there was one that literally had him so angry he was vibrating.

He sat there, as the father of an amazing child with Down Syndrome, watching as this duo did a piece where they played a couple who are expecting a baby. They’ve just discovered that their baby will be born with Down Syndrome. They entire piece is them arguing about this – he wants to keep the baby and she insists on an abortion. She argues about how the baby will be “profoundly retarded” and she can’t and won’t do that. She deserves a perfect child and this time, which should be all perfect and happy has now been totally ruined. There’s no actual FACTS presented in this piece about what people with DS are really like, just this insane, offensive, self-absorbed crap about how this woman “can’t” have this baby (can’t? Let’s be honest. WON’T is more like it) and that he is a controlling jerk because he even feels differently. The title of this life-affirming lump of poo? THE CHOICE. It literally took all his control to not get up and walk out. I asked him how he did it and he said that he knew that walking out would reflect badly on his school and he didn’t want to do that to his kids. But he sat there, arms folded over his chest, his body getting tenser & tenser, glaring angrily. He couldn’t help it. He wouldn’t clap at the end, either. He was sitting by one of his students who was so taken aback, he said, “Sir…you’re being rude.” “I know,” he responded. He couldn’t help it. Sitting and listening to an entry that said a child like ours shouldn’t have to be born. What. The. Hell?

I’m sick of it. Just sick of it. Do you know what the statistics are for this very issue? What percentage of pregnancies diagnosed in utero with DS do you think are aborted? 30%? That’d be pretty high. 50%? That’s almost unthinkable, actually. Nope. Way off.

NINETY-THREE PERCENT. NINETY-FREAKING-THREE PERCENT. That is beyond unthinkable. It’s obscene. It’s horrifying. Ninety-three percent of a segment of our society is being systematically eliminated. Would anyone stand still for 93% of African-Americans being aborted? Or 93% of red-haired children? Or even, once they figure out how to identify the gene for homosexuality, 93% of potentially homosexual children? It would never, ever, ever be tolerated. But it’s okay to kill almost all children diagnosed with DS because having one would be inconvenient. Let’s not pretend otherwise. The only reason to choose abortion in this instance is because you don’t want to be inconvenienced with a child who might have some extra needs or isn’t “perfect”. People are filled with misinformation & ignorance about what it means to have a child with DS. It’s reprehensible that this is happening. That prospective parents are getting the wrong information or nightmare scenarios when they get this diagnosis. And very few people care. They don’t care about these children before or after they’re born. In fact, it’s the opposite of caring for many people. I’m totally tired of it. I’m tired of feeling like I have to apologize for the existence of my children with special needs because they look different or act differently than what’s expected. I don’t apologize. My children are just as precious as everyone else’s. Just as important. Just as special.

I wish that we could just get past all this crap. That we could realize that everyone who is here is worthwhile and useful. That we could accept that just because something is different doesn’t make it scary, bad or ripe for ridicule.

Sorry. I know that was a rant. I’m sure I’ve offended someone and will get some comments attacking me for daring to share my anger about the Down Syndrome abortion statistic. “How dare you tell me what to do with my body” kind of thing. Oh well. This is how I feel and I won’t apologize for it. Hopefully I haven’t driven off too many readers, but I stand by what I believe.

K. I’ll shut up now. Have a great Tuesday.

Apparently. Because we cannot keep healthy for the life of us. It’s been a month now of constant sickness. One gets better and somebody else gets sick. And around and around and around. Thursday, Henry tested positive for the flu AND strep. Horrid little snotty, feverish mess. Today Steven said his throat hurt, so kept him and went to the doctor where HE tested positive. Thankfully, we have the best health-care provider ever because she knew Maggie would be next and gave a prescription in advance for her so I don’t have to bring her back in a day or 2. I’m praying that I won’t get it since I’m still on the Augmentin I got when I went in. So I’m praying that Will and I will avoid getting this, too. It would be awesome to be healthy by Easter. Sheesh.

What else….I have been surrounded by zombies lately. I’ve always loved zombie movies & the like. We rented Zombieland and, y’all, that movie is HYSTERICAL. I think the writers were in my brain. Every time something would happen and I’d think “boy, it’d be great if they….” – THEY DID. Almost before I could finish thinking it, it would happen. Brilliant writing. Then, back at my birthday, I bought the book World War Z. This book is so awesome. Usually, zombie movies & the like don’t really scare me. Especially when the zombies are all slow and stumbly. That’s just funny. (Don’t get me started on the whole fast vs. slow zombies debate, okay?) But this book? Seriously spooked me. It’s so realistic and well-written that I found myself actually thinking it all had actually happened. It took me a while to get through it, because it was spookin’ me if I read too much, but it was a fantastic read. Highly recommend it. Of course now I’ve found myself thinking about preparing my family for the zombie apocalypse – wanting a stronger front door and learning how to build a moat or a strong, tall wall.

…people with Down Syndrome ruled the world?

• Affection, hugging & caring for others would make a big comeback.
• All people would be encouraged to develop and use their gifts for helping others.
• People would be refreshingly honest & genuine. People with Down Syndrome are nothing if not straightforward & unpretentious. As the expression goes, “what you see is what you get”. When you say to people with DS, “You did a good job,” most will answer simply & matter-of-factly, “Yes, I did.”
• A stuffy high society would probably not do well. However, BIG dress-up dances would flourish. People with DS love dressing up & dancing at big shindigs. They have a ball & can they dance!
• People engaged in self-talk would be considered thoughtful & creative. Self talk rooms would be reserved in offices & libraries to encourage this practice.
• Order & structure would rule.
• Schedules & calendars would be followed.
• Trains & planes would run on time.
• Lunch would be at noon. Dinner at 6:00.
• Work time would be work time.
• Vacation would be vacation.
• People would be expected to keep their promises.
• Last minute changes would be strongly discouraged (if not considered rude & offensive).
• Places would be neat, clean & organized (not just bedrooms, but cities, countries – the whole world).
• Lost & founds would go out of business.
• The “grunge look” would be out. Way out.
• “Prep” (but not pretentious) would be very big.
• There would be a great deal more tolerance for: repeating the same phrase or question, use of the terms “fun” & “cleaning” in the same sentence, closing doors or cabinets that are left ajar (even in someone else’s house), arranging things until they are “just so”.
• The words “hurry” and “fast” would not be uttered in polite society. “Plenty of time” would take their place.
• Art & music appreciation would be BIG.
• People would have time to work on paintings & other art projects.
• Acting & theatrical arts would be encouraged for all.
• The President’s commission on physical fitness would recommend dancing at least 3 times per week.
• Richard Simmons & John Travolta would be national heroes.
• Elvis, The Beatles & the Beach Boys would still be #1 on the charts.
• Musicals – like “Grease” and “The Sound of Music” – would be very, very big.
• Classic TV hits would take of at least half the TV schedules.
• Wrestling would be very popular.
• “Life Goes On” would be replayed regularly.
• There would be fewer movies, but they would be replayed over & over.
• Movie theaters would allow people to talk out loud to tell what happens next.
• People would not hurt the feelings of others and they would also not lie or keep secrets.
• Therefore, there probably would be no secret service agents, spies or terrorists.

(Excerpted from an article by Dennis McGuire, PhD of the Adult Down Syndrome Center. Read the entire thing at nads.org/pages_new/news/ruletheworld.html)

I read this in newsletter I get. I totally loved it because it gives a bit of insight into the way people with Down Syndrome work. They like what they know. They like to have a routine & things they can count on. They don’t understand or have patience for subterfuge or dishonest behavior. They love music and dancing. Many do engage in self-talk – because it’s comforting. It helps them keep on task and remember what they’re supposed to do.

Henry fits into these rules so incredibly well. He adores dancing. He loves watching the same shows or videos ad nauseum. He talks to himself (and anyone who will listen) almost nonstop. He has absolutely no problem speaking up and saying exactly what’s on his mind. His new favorite? Saying “quiet!” over and over and over again when we’re talking over his music or it’s a song he doesn’t like. Rude? Yes, but it’s certainly saying exactly what he thinks.

I don’t know about you, but I think the world needs a heck of a lot more of these attitudes. Seriously – how come these people are called “retards”? Seems to me finding happiness in simple things, knowing what you like and being sure of yourself is the OPPOSITE of that. I know I’d much rather live in that world.

This is my poor husband earlier in the week. You may remember that he has pneumonia. And, for some reason that no doctor has been able to identify, his lips and/or tongue will randomly swell up to gargantuan proportions – causing him embarrassment, discomfort and, occasionally, trouble breathing. When it’s really bad, like this, the skin just splits and causes great pain and difficulty eating. I sure wish someone could find out what he’s allergic to or what strange biochemical dealy-job is going on inside him to cause this problem. Thankfully, he was sick when this happened and didn’t go into school, but imagine being a high school teacher and having to go in and teach looking (and feeling) like this. He can’t talk properly and his poor face looks like he belongs on awfulplasticsurgery.com. And, just so you know, I had his permission to take the picture and blog it, so there ya go.

Okay. Now to serious. Have you heard of “Spread the Word to End the Word“? If you’ve read here for a while, you have. If not, let me share with you. This is a campaign by Special Olympics to get people to understand the demeaning, hurtful & hateful consequences of the word “retard” and its derivatives. This is an issue I have discussed here over and over and over again. People want to dismiss this issue as no big deal and “get over it” and all that. Though….really?!? Would you tell Revs. Sharpton & Jackson to “get over” the n word? How about telling Rosie O’Donnell & Neil Patrick Harris to “stop being so sensitive” about being called a “fag” or a “big ‘ole dyke”. It’s something the Special Olympics has been working on for a while and captured beautifully in these very challenging ads done last year.

Anyway. Spread the Word to End the Word is happening again this year on March 3rd. I want to encourage, edify & urge you to go to http://r-word.org/ and pledge to really make an effort to eliminate this word from your own vocabulary and to hold others accountable as well. The difference between intolerance of the “n” word and the “r” word, I believe is that those hurt by the “r” word won’t make a fuss and return the vitriol (as John C. McGinley put it). Please join the fight today. And maybe, just maybe, people like my Henry won’t have to feel they need to apologize for their existence. Oh, and if you do join in, please use some of the buttons, links, badges, etc on your blog, Facebook account, Twitter to help Spread the Word. We’ll never completely eliminate ignorance & stupidity, but we can make a dent, y’know?

Sick. Our whole house. Sick. Started with William over a week ago. Little cough & snuffling. Spread quickly to Henry who simply gets the most nauseating nose you’ve ever experienced. It runs like a faucet and it’s thick and nasty like rubber cement. Except green. Then? Maggie got hit. She was home half of last week. Then me & Steve &, finally, Steven. We are all coughing, snuffling, running fevers and feeling generally creepy. And, of course, Steve gets hit the hardest. Which I hate because, admittedly selfishly, he can’t do anything when he’s sick, so I’m on my own taking care of 5 people while I’m sick myself. Though, can ANY man do anything when he’s sick? We moms are expected to continue doing all we do, but the men just hole up in bed and do nothing but ask for juice.

Steve went to work sick on Friday and when we went to the nurse’s office to ask for an Advil, she noticed he was feverish. Took his temp, which was 101, and sent his behind home. In the middle of the school day! He came home and went right to bed. Saturday, he woke up sicker. Unfortunately, me, too. Plus, Henry’s nose is still a mess, even though he’s been on Amoxicillin since Tuesday, Maggie’s feeling better, but not great, Steven started running a fever and was lethargic and Will’s cough amped itself up to 11. I’m coughing, having trouble with breathing and my sinuses feel, once again, like small rodents are burrowing behind them. By the time evening rolled around, I was a mess. Everyone was fussy, crying or clingy. I was trying to get laundry done & decided to pick up Chinese for dinner. (Because nothing helps illness like Chinese soup). Of course, nobody wants to do their chores (especially the dishes), so the house is a mess. I’m really trying to hang in, but I’m slowly getting angrier, more frustrated, more overwhelmed. It’s 6:30, still 2 hours until bedtime. I’m trying to fold 3 baskets of laundry in the bedroom while Will is fussing & crying. But I’ve got to get it done before I can even go to bed. And Steve comes in and gets in bed to go to sleep. While Will cries. And Henry’s asking for whatever downstairs. I’m trying to get Will to shut up and I’m losing it quickly. Steve tells me to “do the laundry later”. I snap that I can’t if *I* want to go to bed…but what does that matter? Nobody cares about me or how I feel as long as they get what they want. I stomp downstairs to put cloths away in the kitchen and see that Maggie STILL has not done the dishes after the 4th time I’ve told her, and…..that’s it. I completely snapped. I start SCREECHING at her and screaming that my family sucks and nobody gives a rat’s behind about anybody but themselves and THAT’S IT, I’M DONE!! I stomp upstairs, grab the baby, and scream that I’m leaving. March downstairs (yeah…still screaming), put the baby in the carrier and snatch my purse and attempt to get out the back door before Steve can stop me. But he’s quicker than I and grabs the carrier handle, telling me I’m not going anywhere – especially with the baby. In my insane, crazed, foolish tantrum, I think I can insist he “give me my baby” and wrench the carrier from his hands. which….nope. I can’t. I try 3 times and finally let go and run out to the garage where I shut myself in the car so I can scream & cry at the top of my lungs. After about 3 minutes, I’ve worked myself into a full-blown panic attack, complete with asthmatic whooping & wheezing. I struggle back inside to dump out my purse & find my inhaler. It actually took me 5 more minutes to regulate myself. Now, however, I’m too embarrassed to go back in to the family. I’m desperately embarrassed. And my amazing husband tells me that I have nothing to apologize for or be embarrassed about. That it wasn’t my fault. Which….what?!?

But I have to. I have to apologize to the children I scared. Who thought I was actually leaving them. Steven insists he “wasn’t affected by it” (his words, not mine). Maggie was, understandably, angry with me. Really angry with me. I don’t blame her a bit and I told her so. I told her I was so, so sorry and I hope she can forgive me. But, boy, did I cry. I think it was all the responsibility and everything loaded on my shoulders while I’m sick while getting no help from anyone. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I couldn’t. I don’t ever have the luxury of just ignoring the rest of the family and taking care of myself when I feel horrid. Everybody else in the house does. And, to be perfectly, transparently honest, it pisses me off.

So. After all that drama and chaos, it was time to put the kids to bed and get ready ourselves. Steve tried to get settled, but he could not breathe well enough to go to sleep. I suggested that maybe he needed to visit the ER before it got any worse. Off he went at a little after 9pm. I got myself and Will ready and we were in bed by 9:30. I woke up to feed Will at midnight, 2:15 & 4am. Steve still wasn’t home. I called his cell and he was on his way home, picking up prescriptions, with a diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia. Perfect. What a mess. Will did a ton of coughing all night long and seemed to get even more congested as the night continued. Even with his humidifier going right next to his bed. When morning rolled around, I decided I’d better take Will in to the ER, just in case. If Dad has pneumonia, it’s possible that Will could, too. And, when I hear the word pneumonia, I kind of panic a bit. Not without good reason, though. Of course, Will pulled the time-honored trick that all small children pull. They’re sick as a dog when at home, but as soon as you get to a health-care professional, they’re fine. He didn’t cough or anything while we were there. Instead, he smiled winningly at every person he came across. Other than all the goop in his eyes, he looked perfectly fine. They must have thought I was a big, fat, stinky liar. Or trying to pull a Munchausen’s by Proxy dealy-job. We got amoxicillin for him, though, so hopefully that’ll make a difference. I hate hearing him unable to breathe and coughing like he’s losing a lung. Sheesh, I hope we’ve turned a corner. I hate being sick.

Finally, I got these other wall decorations done for my own bedroom. Remember the ones I did for Maggie’s room? At that time, I had made some for our master bedroom as well. We had nothing for over our bed – just a bare, green wall. I made these, and just recently got them framed and hung last night. I love them. So I’ll leave you with something pretty after the unpretty that was this post’s tale. Each one is 12×12, framed in a mahogany colored frame. Plus, I actually measured to hang them properly.

Is a big, big deal here. See, the movie with Bill Murray was filmed here. And, in typical small town fashion, we squeeze every single drop of interestingness from that small moment of fame. Tomorrow will find a reenactment of the whole Punxatawny scene on our square and there have been showings of the movie in our theatre all weekend. It seems a silly thing to make such a big deal of, but if it makes people happy…

Sorry my posts have been so sporadic, but the busyness around here has actually increased. Can you believe it? Because I didn’t have nearly enough to do, I signed on at the kids’ school to take over the position of computer teacher for the 5th-8th graders. It’s a volunteer position – helping the kids get through this book that teaches about databases, spreadsheets, word processing and other basic computer info. The problem? The book is dull as old, dry library paste. Sure, it’s walking them through basic skills like making a table in Word, using spreadsheet formulas, etc. But there are big problems. One is that we just have the books – not the supplemental material that they’re supposed to have. So, when it says “Open Lesson 19″ in the instructions, there is no lesson 19 to open. So I have to quickly figure out if there’s a work-around or whether they should just skip the lesson. Then, the book will tell them to do something like “set tabs” or “create a table”, but it doesn’t tell them how. Not how they might want them to do it, not different other ways to do it. So I have to quickly read them and figure out how to do what they’re supposed to do without looking too inept.

The first class is just the 5th graders and they’re a simple class to handle. They don’t chatter or socialize or anything. Just do teh work. Then the 6th-8th graders come in. And they are the stereotypical middle school kids. Being all social and loud and completely not caring about what the classwork is because it has no significance to them. Like, seriously. Why would they need to know how to format a table? Booooring. And, honestly? I totally don’t blame them one bit.

How to resolve this? I came up with an idea. How better to make a subject/lesson relevant to kids than to make it about them? After looking at what they’d learned and thinking about how to implement it, I decided that we’d make a yearbook. They haven’t had one at the school before so this is perfect. On Friday, I talked with the kids and shared my idea and got a pretty good response. I told them they had to finish the book before they could participate because, boring as it is, it’s still the assigned material. A handful of kids are already done and giving them something to work on will, I hope, cut down on the mindless chatter and foolishness going on. Plus, suddenly the other kids are actually WORKING to get through their books. So I may have hit on something here. We’ve got 3 months to put it together and if they focus, I think we can do it. Thankfully I have my scrapping background, so I can help them power through it if need be. It’s all basically making scrapbook pages anyway, so we’re good. Today I had the kids who were done choose what sections they want to work on, gave them some basic guidelines and told them to go to town. Tomorrow, I’ll take team pictures of the basketball team and cheerleaders and set up some times for volleyball team pix and class pix. I basically gave the kids carte blanche to take pictures however they want and bring them in, so I think we’ll have a lot of good candids. My main focus is to be sure that all the kids are represented, so it’s not just the popular ones. I’m very, very excited to see how the kids step up and own this. It’ll be very exciting for them, I hope!

Will’s got his first real cold, too. He’s had an ucky cough for a couple days now, but the doctor said it’s good. Other than the cough, he’s fine, so I think it’s just a cold. Henry came home after school with one of those grody noses and chapped face from all the wiping. Hopefully some vitamin C & my own magical brew will clear him up. Cuz Momma needs those kids in school. And he has Friday off, so I’ve already lost one day.

Okey-doke. I’m wicked tired. Time to prep for bed. I’ll try not to take so long next time.

moar funny pictures

see more deMotivational Posters

see more deMotivational Posters

see more deMotivational Posters

see more deMotivational Posters

I know, I know. “That’s so dangerous, Christy. You might sprain something.” Bwah. Ha. Ha. Seriously. I was doing my blog hopping and I saw 2 different posts that really triggered something to talk about for me. which, when you have a blog, is a precious, precious thing.

My first stop was one of the many scrapbooking blogs I frequent, Cathy Zielske’s Bits & Pieces. She had this great post which was a journaling challenge which, by the way, is a great way to get me to stop & pay attention. She talked a bit about the time-honored idea of using travel time in the car to connect with your kids. That time is optimal because your kids are trapped and they’re often more receptive to opening up and sharing and you can offer up tidbits of wisdom since you can’t look directly at them since you’re driving. I think that, actually, is the kiss of death in teen/parent communication. Having to look directly into what I call the “Eye of Sauron”. Y’know?

Anyway, I have found in my experience that time driving in the car ends up being pretty good for me & Maggie to talk. She will often bring something up that’s bothering her or that she’s thinking about and we’ll talk about it. But you know what’s NOT conducive to the whole “hashing it out” vibe? Hearing a constant “What?!? What are you talking about???!!?” shouted from the back seat. Because someone else in the family, who’s not involved in the conversation, cannot STAND not knowing everything that’s going on.

Okay – off topic for one minute. Distracted by what’s on TV. Can we PLEASE stop these horrible commercial for Human Societies? Between the one with Sarah McLachlan crooning her deathly haunting “Arms of the Angel” over photos of very, very sad animals, the new ASPCA one with Willie Nelson whining “Always on My Mind” over similar gut-wrenching photos, or the one I JUST SAW. Wendie Malick and the Humane Society just ripped out my soul & stomped on it with horrible, sharp kitten claws. I literally exclaimed, “Oh, my GOD” by the 4th picture.

We GET IT, animal groups. Stop it. Just stop it. You’re killing me here. Though, for some reason, I started laughing when the white, cross-eyed cat came on. I know. I’m all dead inside.

Okay. Back on topic. My point was, I love the idea of connecting with your kids in the car. I love the idea of scrapping the moments of sharing and connecting with your kids in the car. However, it all becomes far less…ummm….memorable when one kid starts talking about an issue they’re curious about and a constant, “WHAT???!!??” interrupts from the back. Not that I’d expect anything different. Since I can’t even have a phone call without being interrogated about who it was and everything we talked about. Yeek.

Then, I stopped by The Junk Drawer, another blog I love. She had a post about blogging and the idea of not wasting all your good blog material with little Tweets & Twitters & Facebook status updates. Which I do a lot of. I’ll have a short idea or thought & rather than try to flesh it out, I’ll just Tweet it. Leaves me with precious little to blog about sometimes. I’m going to try to do that more, because even a small thought fleshed out a bit could be a decent blog post. Or they could all just end up like this:

Ten plastic surgeries at once? Triple-D implants that still aren’t big enough? Turning yourself into an inflatable doll? Heidi Montag? There are boxes of hair smarter than you. I have two words for you and you really, really should take them to heart.

Jocelyn Wildenstein

If that don’t haunt you for days on end, you have no soul.

Of course. There’s always so much random mayhem running through my skull – it’s amazing I don’t simply burst into flame.

Let’s see. First there’s my dad. He had his surgery on Thursday. We are so incredibly lucky that we weren’t in a crisis situation – panicked and trying to find a donor organ before his kidneys completely gave out. He wasn’t even on dialysis yet. A donor, who chooses to remain anonymous, was found a while ago and it was just a matter of waiting until the doctors said it was time to go. I called my mom on Thursday at about 11am just to leave a message, but she answered and the surgery was already over! My mom said she was told that everything went perfectly and he was doing really well, as was his donor. I couldn’t believe it happened so fast! For some reason, I thought it would be, like, an 8 hour surgery. Apparently, it was only 2.5 hours. Which is awesome. I also learned that they didn’t replace his kidney with the donor organ, like I thought. Instead, they spliced the new one in and tucked it up under his ribs, not in the abdominal cavity. I thought there’d be one taken completely out, but I guess not! How cool is that?

That night, I called to check up again, and my brother, Andrew, hooked me up with Skype and was able to actually see and chat with dad – how cool is that? He looked WONDERFUL. I could not believe it. He didn’t even look ill, much less like he’d had a major surgical procedure. Plus, his face had pinked up more than I’d seen on him in a long time. By last night, he had been walking around and sitting in a chair and everything. I could hear him talking as I was talking to my mom and he sounded great. I’m just so thankful. So very, very thankful. I cannot possibly thank his donor enough. You have given us our dad back and there simply are not enough words to thank you.

So that’s the most important thing. Last weekend, Maggie & I enjoyed the Golden Globes together. We’re major Gleeks, so we were rooting for all the Glee nominees. I always get such a big kick out of this show – it’s all whiskey-soaked and foolish – the stars are more low-key and it’s more hysterical than any other awards show. Plus, RICKY GERVAIS, y’all. I love, love, love him. His sense of humor isn’t for everyone, but he constantly makes me laugh so very hard. My only disappointment with him was that they didn’t use him enough. When he was on, he was great. I wanted more, though. Much more calling Hollywood out on how silly, self-absorbed and ridiculous they are. When he did the whole, “Don’t get me wrong, I love a drink just as much as the next man. Unless the next man is…Mel Gibson.” I DIED. That was simply perfect. I’ve been listening to his podcasts/audiobooks, too, and they are slaying me. I was listening to one when I was running through the grocery store (my new favorite thing to do, iPod listening while shopping) and several times I had to stop dead in the aisle because I was laughing so hard I had to bend over. Definitely the best part is Karl Pilkington – his comments are so random and crazy and hysterical. But, I digress.

The Globes were ridiculous. First, there’s Julia Roberts who was the biggest attention whore I’ve seen in a long time. Sitting with Paul McCartney, making everything all about her. She said something about she’d never gotten so many texts EVAH than sitting next to Sir Paul. Flipping her stupid hair all around and looking like she made a pit stop on the way to a working brunch at the 4 Seasons. Felicity Huffman couldn’t even read the teleprompter. She had to be totally drunk. She started & stopped like 5 times. I think Meryl was a little tipsy, too. Her acceptance speech just rambled and was so random – but she was still totally charming and adorable. What, pray tell, was nesting on Brad Pitt’s chin?? That is the single most ridiculous bit of facial hair I’ve ever seen. Shave, dude.

Speaking of adorable, I am totally in love with Craig Ferguson right now. Truthfully, I’d never seen his show – mostly because WHO CAN STAY UP THAT LATE?? But with all this late night brouhaha, I found myself watching a lot of clips of different hosts’ monologues about it and I saw a couple of his. How have I never seen this before?? I LOVE him! That Scottish brogue, that sense of humor, his totally silly attitude. I love his opening when it’s just him right there in the camera. He’s totally adorable, y’all! He’s completely added to my Tivo, cuz I needs all the laughter I can get.

Crud. It’s almost 11pm. I gotta get to sleep. I have more to talk about, so I’ll do my best to pop back in tomorrow and share it. I’ll just leave you with this. I was driving through town the other morning and saw a guy walking down the road, looking almost exactly like Mark Lowry if he was a dirty, possibly drunk hobo. Which made me think of what I will name a band if I ever have one.

Odd Dopplegänger

It’s even got an umlaut, y’all. It’s doesn’t get any better than that.

Is hopefully what we’ll be eating in a couple weeks. No, not really. See, I have this dad? He’s had kidney disease for over 25 years now and it’s been managed and controlled via diet and meds. We’ve known for quite a while that he would eventually need a transplant. It was just a matter of when.

Here’s my dad with Maggie a couple years ago. He’s a great man and a wonderful dad. Actually, he’s my stepdad, but you’d never know it in the way he treats me & my brother. Anyway. The time has finally come for his transplant. It’s been really rough for him the past year or so. Thankfully, he hasn’t had to be on dialysis, but you could almost see his energy and strength drain away as the progression got worse & worse. We’re also so blessed in that we had someone we knew who’s a donor so we didn’t have to wait on the transplant list or anything. He was on it, but it turned out like this, which couldn’t be better. He’s at the hospital now having all his final tests and stuff and the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday. We’re all nervous and anxious and excited (none as much as he, though) and praying that everything goes according to plan tomorrow. If you’re of a praying mindset, please remember him (Kelly is his name), his donor, the doctors and our family in yours. If you wouldn’t mind.

I think the person who is going to have the biggest problem with all of this is Henry. For the past 2 weeks, he has talked of nothing but his Pop-Pop. And bananas. But mostly Pop-Pop. He hasn’t been able to visit during that time for fear of bringing germs to Pop-Pop who then would have to cancel his surgery due to illness. Pop-Pop will be in the hospital for at least a week and then be recouperating at home for several weeks to a month. And Henry won’t get to see him. It, of course, is necessary and for the best, but Henry doesn’t understand and I think he’s really missing Pop. I don’t think about what I’ll do if something goes wrong up there, and Henry will never fully understand. But everything’s going to be fine & Pop will even have more energy in the long run to be with Henry. So there.

Wii Fit is still going strong around here. I missed 2 days since I started and I’m down almost 10#. I’ve cooked nearly every night with yummy recipes from Cooking Light. I got a couple of their old “Annual Recipes” books, so we are loaded for bear. If only I could take the time to go through them all. I’m recruiting Steve to do it, since he’s the real foodie in our house. He just has to remember that I’m mostly cooking deficient, so the recipes must be easy. And can’t take hours of prep and cook time. Because I lose interest easily. And have the attention span of a gnat. Seriously.

What else….oh, yeah. Here’s something I wanted to talk about. The difficulties of having play dates when your child is developmentally delayed (and a little odd). My cousins came over with their kids. My older cousin has a 3 year old and my younger cousin has a 5 month old. Henry and Jerry are the same size. But Henry can’t play properly with these kids. At all. At first, he’s all assaultive – grabbing hold and hugging WAY too hard while pelvic thrusting on them. Which….who wants THAT? So, naturally, the other kids don’t want anything to do with him. And when playtime starts, Henry’s contribution is to pick up whatever toys are being played with and whip them around. Occasionally hitting someone in the head. Or spinning around wildly, knocking over train tracks, bridges, blocks, etc. Or just walking up to someone and smacking them in the head or chest. We know this isn’t appropriate and we’re working on it, but in the meantime, no one wants him around. The only way anyone can enjoy themselves is if Henry is in the other room. It is completely unfair to everyone. I want Henry to be able to participate and join in, but allowing this makes things unhappy for the others. I can’t be there right on top of him due to having William, so all I can do is yell at him from a chair or something. I can’t be down on the floor with him AND Will or he’ll hurt Will, as he does. So I just sit there feeling awful. Awful for Henry who should be allowed to join in the fun. Awful for the other kids who shouldn’t have to worry about their safety as they play trains. Awful for the other parents who want to be accommodating, but rightfully worry about their own kids getting beaned with a wooden train. Or having a meltdown because Henry just Godzilla’d their train yard. I have to say, I hate it. I’m bad at figuring it out and I hate it.

So that’s where I am. Today. Thanks for reading.

That’s how I feel today. Beat down like a big ol’ bass drum. Can I just reiterate how much I cannot stand half-days, institute days, late start days and the like. I totally need the kids in school. Yes, I love them very, very much. I do like spending time with them. But when my routine is messed up, for some reason it totally shreds me.

So today was an institute day for Maggie & Steven’s school, but Henry’s school had 1/2 day. I got up later than I should have to take Henry to school and we were running like the wind to get there on time. Then I went over to the other kids’ school to work with the teachers on setting up a website for them to share what’s going on in their classes and stuff. They’re in the midst of getting an actual website up and running, but weren’t sure how to make a site where the teachers could have access to post what’s going on, post pictures and stuff. The principal contacted me since she reads my blog and knew I have some knowledge & experience. So I thought maybe setting up a Wordpress site for them would work. I shared with them and they seemed to think it’ll be doable. So got the domain bought, the server set up and Wordpress installed. Now they will choose a template and I’ll get it tweaked up for them. Hopefully it’ll work the way they need it to. At the very least, it will get them started and have something for  them.

After that, I ran to the store to buy bananas for Henry and then time to pick him up. Back home for lunch and then Will & I took a nap. I woke up at 2:58 and realized that Henry had therapy at 3. I moved like the wind to got there at 3:07 – only a little late. H has his therapy and then back home. To Henry crying about an animal book from the therapy center, William crying that he wants to eat or get attention paid him, Steven freaking out that I’ve asked him to DO THE DISHES, OMG. And Mommy  lost her calm, y’all. I’m trying really hard. Really trying. But tired + stress + everybody screaming at once = Mommy losing her calm. I’m working on it, though. I’ll get there.

Made lo-fat burgers on whole wheat buns, sweet potato fries & corn for dinner (258 cals for the burgers, 150 for the fries and whatever corn has). Watched Maggie do Wii Fit and then sucked it up to do it myself. I DID NOT WANT TO. At all. But I did it. But I did 37 minutes. Burned 280 calories, apparently. Now I hurt all over. Especially my feet.

The kids are finally in bed, so I’m gonna feed William and go. to. sleep. I hope tomorrow’s a better day. Or at least a CALM one, right?

A lovely nap this morning, my 30 minute Wii Fit workout, a scrumptious dinner of herb-baked salmon, green beans & rice and now sitting with Maggie watching my pretend celebrity boyfriend as the most delicious Captain Hook ever. I mean, seriously. If there’s a Hook that’s yummier than this, I don’t wanna know. It would make me swallow my tongue.

Anyway…..let me attempt to get my focus back. Wait…it’s the final fight scene. Dang, he’s good…

“A thimble…? How like a girl.” LOVE that line and his delivery of it.

Okay. 10 minutes later…

I love my Wii Fit. I have done 30 minutes every day since we got it. I love it. And I’m doing quite well. Between the exercise & the delcious Cooking Light meals I’ve been making, I’m already down NINE POUNDS. And, I know, I don’t want the weight to come off too fast, but, believe me, I’m eating just fine and not doing anything extreme. Plus, when you’re as heavy as I am, the weight falls off pretty fast at first. It’s getting ALL of it off that’s the real problem. It’s just really cool. I’m actually enjoying exercising. I’m not getting bored yet (which I always do) and it’s set up so nicely to keep things interesting and fun. It’s much more fun to do exercises if you’re getting feedback on them (am I doing this right? how many calories have I burned?) plus, turning them into a game rather than just a series of annoying repetitions is awesome. They’ve even got premade routines based on what you might want to work on, like Warm Up, Hips, Tummy, Figure, Balance, Arms, etc. that put together 3 different exercises into a 7-8 minute focused routine for you. No thinking required. I’ve been doing about 4 of those and then finishing up with the Basic Run or Rhythm Kung Fu or Island Cycling for a fun finish. I mean, I’m RUNNING. Not much, not fast, not hard, but I’m RUNNING. You’d be hard-pressed to come up with a monetary figure that would have forced my big ‘ole butt to run previous to this.

In addition, Steven and Maggie are enjoying it as well. Steven’s getting a big kick out of all of it – just running and cycling and boxing and kung-fuing to his heart’s content. I actually have to tell him to stop so he doesn’t overdo it. He’s lost almost 3 pounds already. Maggie is doing great, too. She wants to focus on the fun balance exercises which aren’t hard, so I’m trying to encourage her to do more of the actual exercises that will help her body. She’s started doing some of the routines, too. I can’t remember how much she’s lost, but she’s down as well. I see nothing but positivity resulting from this. Even if we don’t “get skinny”, which I probably won’t, because I’m not built like that, it will rock to be more healthy, more active and less manatee-like.

In lighter news, Steven has made a decision about his future. After much consideration, he will be moving to Seaside Heights, NJ to join the cast of Jersey Shore. He will become a “guido” and attempt to take over the world with hair gel, light sabers and Bionicles. My prediction? That, at eight years old, he will be smarter, more capable and less horrifying than all the castmembers put together. He’s got the ‘tude goin’ and that “yeah, I’m better than you” rockin’. He’s gonna have to work on his tan, though.

Reach for the stars, buddy. Reach for the stars.

You spammers, you. You know who you are. Out there writing exactly enough in a comment to attempt to get past my comment moderation/spam filter so my blog will link back to your stupidness. I HATE you. You have annoyed me so much. Every day, I get comment moderation notification for 6-10 comments and, with each one, I get all happy that someone has read my blog and thought it worthy of comment. Then I realize the comment was on an entry from a while ago and it’s filled with such intriguing and insightful comments as:

This is such a heartwarming story it’s great howm families can be so close to each other

or

Congratulations Christy, and jubilations I want the world to know da da da da da daaaaa

or the eloquently worded

It is always great to share the innovative ideas with others on our demand.That is the main way for the people to know about the good types of techniques to equip it. It will really gives the crucial moments for others to know about it. It is a great passion for the people to select the great categories of the stories on the requirements of using it.

I don’t know what’s more insulting – that someone (or somebot) would think I’d approve that comment or that they even think those qualify as sentences. Whatever the deal is – STOP IT. So, I installed an extra anti-spam dealyjob for comments that hopefully will eliminate some of it. I’m sorry to make your experience as an actual reader of this blog (and hopefully, a commenter) more annoying, but there it is.

Enough of that. What I really want to talk about is my new Wii Fit. I bought it for our anniversary – sort of a combo present for both of us. Oh, yeah, the 7th was our 15th anniversary. So that’s cool. Since both of us really need to lose weight and get more fit, it seemed like a really good present. Kind of a “let’s do something so we don’t die on one another in 10 years” kind of gift. I signed up on it right away and have done 2 days worth already – plus the 2 days over at my mom’s. Now, I’m no fitness expert. All you have to do is look at me to know that. But I’m pretty impressed by the quantity and variety of exercise options available on Wii Fit Plus. At first, the aerobics exercises looked stupid, but I didn’t realize how hula hooping can tire you out when you’re out of shape. What I’ve done so far is try to do 30 minutes every time & mix it up with different things. Yesterday, I went everything on the aerobics menu except for the long run. I was really sweating by the end of it! Today I did the top line of yoga, some strength exercises, both hula hoops, basic step and then did Kung Fu and the Island bike ride under Training Plus. Thirty minutes and MAN do my legs ache now. The only problem I’m having is that, because you have to use the balance board without shoes, my feet are hurting. I’m assuming that will improve with time. I’ve got a high instep and running or stepping a lot without shoes makes it cramp.

Now the fun part. When you first sign up on Wii Fit, you have to enter all your information and have the balance board measure you, calculating your BMI, weight, Wii Fit age by testing your balance capabilities and comparing it to your age, weight, etc. Here’s what’s funny. I don’t know who made this decision regarding the script of the Wii Fit, but this makes me laugh hard. When you’re doing all this body measuring stuff and the training, the program tells you to wait to step on the board. Then it tells you to step on. And, in a high-pitched, cartoony voice, the board says:

“OH!”

Now, occasionally, it will say, “Great!”, but mostly it exclaims, “OH!” In alarm, discomfort and panic. I’m hoping this is not exclusive to me and my family (since it happens for me, Maggie & Steven). But I fully expect it to, one day, let out a Elmo-ish “HOLY CRAP!” when I step on. Apparently, it is not on the Wii Fit’s agenda to make you feel all snuggly about yourself. It wants you to be as alarmed and panicked about your weight as it is. :hee:

After you’ve entered your information, it then measures you. And, depending on your weight/BMI, a little thermometer-like scale on the left lifts up to tell you whether you’re underweight, ideal, overweight or obese. Looks like this (and no, this isn’t mine)

See the little blue line & arrow showing where this guy fits on the scale? That thing rises to wherever you fall. Mine? Raced to the top and burst through, leaving a trail of “obese” red blood droplets pouring out the top. Happy me. I knew it, though, so it wasn’t much of a shock. If you’re obese, like I am, your little Mii character plumps up like a Ball Park frank, reminding you what a chubby sausage you actually are. No fantasy here. When you’re done, it takes you to tell your Wii Fit Age, which I’m not sure how they calculate, because at my mom’s, I got 51. My first day at home, I got 36. Today, I got 44. Apparently, I am ageless – like a whispering wind or a stand of pine trees. What’s hysterical is that your Mii stands on a stage in a spotlight as a drum roll precedes the reveal of your Wii Fit age – when a Tetris-style huge number falls on your head. If your age is good, your Mii jumps up & down with happiness. If not, your Mii’s head falls and shakes in despair. Hysterical.

We also love the little music piece that plays after a game if you don’t do so well. Your Mii gets all sad & despondent and this melancholy music plays. Maggie & I started singing to it:

“You faaaaaail, you faiiiiiil….you’re baaaaaad at this gaaaaame. Don’t tryyyyyy, just go hooooome……you are baaaaad and you faaaaaail….”

It’s so funny.

Also – when you pick your personal trainer (who does strength training & yoga with you), you will be creepily alarmed by this animated person who talks to you WITHOUT MOVING THEIR MOUTH. It alarms me, I tell you.

But I’m doing it. Plus….OH, PLUS!! Get this: I have cooked EVERY NIGHT THIS WEEK. Healthy recipes from Cooking Light. We did roast chicken with potatoes & squash, tuna noodle casserole, fettuccine Alfredo with bacon, chicken fried rice and spaghetti. And none of the first 4 meals had more than 400 calories per serving. Does that rock or what?? I have to say, I really, really hate all this. I hate exercising, I hate eating healthily, I hate cooking. It would be nice if fitness was like on the Sims – just one good workout and you’re back in shape. But, since I guess I don’t wanna die, I’d better do this.

I like having a Wii. For years and years, we insisted we would never having a gaming system in our home. It’s too distracting and, for an addictive personality like me, troublesome. I decided it stays in our bedroom unless we want to play Rock Band (because I don’t want a drum kit in my bedroom). That way I control who uses it, when and for how long. I got an account at GameFly (a Netflix-like game rental thing) and am awaiting my first actual games. Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine and Resident Evil 4. I have such diverse tastes, don’t I?

The “CALM”, that is. I’m still trying. Though, yesterday, the kids were working on bustin’ it.

I was looking forward to getting the kids back to school so I could come home and nap with Will. However, he decided that he didn’t really need to nap and woke me up after about an hour. Which…..noooooooo. So we gave up & got up. That stank. When I picked up the kids, it all started. I was happy and calm even though Steven had begun to wig out already. Something’s going on with him and everything is all about how we don’t love him and everyone’s against him. How we only care about Henry & William & Maggie and he’s always wrong and horrible. Of course, he completely overreacts to everything (wonder where he got that from??), especially the few chores we ask him to do. You’d think I had him cleaning up after farm animals, waxing the driveway, building an addition, power washing the siding & jetting the septic field. Dude, I’m just asking you to pick up the toys in ONE ROOM, clean up your bathroom & take out the trash. CHILL.

We went over to my parents to try out our new Wii Fit Plus (yes. I’m trying AGAIN) and he kept freaking out over there. Me, Maggie & Mom-Mom all made our Miis and got signed up. Then Steven wanted to do it. And had a tantrum about it. He signed up and then wanted to do the Rhythm Boxing. But he was totally annoyed that he couldn’t just punch how he wanted and went to throw the Wii controller down. Mom-Mom don’t play dat. So he got reprimanded for that. Then, while I was doing the Basic Run, he pushed our big exercise ball at Henry, who proceeded to fall over and bonk his head on the granite floor. He started crying and Steven got angry that we “didn’t understand that it was an accident”. I kept trying to point out that I KNOW it was an accident, but Henry still got hurt, so we’re a little upset about it. I cuddled Henry and talked to him and Steven’s whining that we don’t care about him and he wants to run away. DUDE. :sigh:

I’m just trying to stay calm. Stopping to breathe rather than start shouting, freaking out and crying. But he just kept pushing and pushing and pushing. But…I didn’t yell at him. I talked to him calmly, told him what he’s doing wrong and why and that I wasn’t going to take it.

Then Maggie gave me trouble about the dishes. She really hates being on dishes and does her job halfway, trying to get out of doing it by just doing it a little bit and hoping I’ll pick up the slack. I think. But she does all the obvious dishes (after much prodding and nagging), but if something’s not right next to the dishwasher or a little difficult to do, she just ignores it. For example, there were 3 of William’s bottles waiting to go in the dishwasher. She couldn’t get them unscrewed but rather than asking for help, she just left them. When I got annoyed and said “You’re not done!”, she pulls out all the excuses. I say, “You can’t ASK FOR HELP? Even Steven asks for help when he can’t do something so he can get the job done right.” She didn’t like that. But, hey. Don’t just ignore it & walk away. Don’t try to engage Steven in something else so you don’t have to do the dishes. Don’t go play with Henry in hopes that I’ll forget to remind you. And do NOT raise your voice to me when I call you on it. Got it? Kthxbai.

So “CALM” definitely got a workout yesterday. I only yelled a couple times and it was pretty much at Henry. This morning we got off to school with no yelling at all. Even though Steven pulled the whole “I’m not going to school today” thing.

Oh well. Off to the grocery store for things to try to cook more healthy dinners, thanks to Cooking Light. My life is so interesting.

So, yesterday I claimed my words for this year. Today was the first day I tried to implement the word “CALM”. And, while it was a challenge, I did pretty well, I think. Somehow, already, the idea of this is implanted in my brain. I know this because every time I felt I was losing my cool, the word “calm” started passing through my head. Which calmed me. I actually only screamed at my kids 3 times today, which is really quite awesome. Usually, when the kids are home all day, I scream close to a dozen times. Today, it was 3. The other times, I stopped myself and just did some breathing. Then I handled the situation calmly. I can’t believe it. And when things weren’t going necessarily the way I wanted, I just went with it. Though I did tell my kids when their actions were disappointing or upsetting  me – I just didn’t yell about it. I cannot fully express what a big deal this is in my house. If you look up the word “overreaction” in the dictionary, there’s a picture of me losing my cool right there in the margin. I overreact. A lot. I flip out. Way too much. I’m really, really proud of how I did today.

Then there’s “HARMONIZE”. Today I saw that word as meaning working in what my kids wanted to do in with what I wanted to do – “harmonizing” our wants & needs. I knew that Steven & Maggie were dreading going back to school tomorrow. They wanted to do SOMETHING before they go back. I can’t do a whole heck of a lot since I’ve got Henry & William on board (Steve had to go into the school to prep for tomorrow), so anything outside or where Henry will want to “get down” was out. I knew that Steven wanted to check out Toys R Us to see if the new line of Bionicles was out. He still had Christmas money to spend, so I decided we’d do that and maybe go to the bookstore. We did that & I also picked up The Game of Life – which, awesome family game. Then we went to Barnes & Noble to use our gift cards. I got another game for us to play and a couple magazines. Maggie picked up some more books, too. Then we headed home. I fed William & we headed over to my parents house for some more Wii. Mario Kart, Lego Rock Band and Karaoke Revolution today. Steven is so very, very competitive on these games and freaks if he can’t win or do it his way. We have been working on that, but it’/s still an issue. But, I kept my CALM and simply explained to him how we were doing things today and he had to cooperate if he wanted to play. Of course, he wanted me to abandon the Wii and come play Bionicles with him – which….no. I wanted to play Wii. I have no interest in Bionicles. We went over there to play Wii, not Bionicles. Which, to him, translates to, “You hate me”. Can’t figure out how he gets from point A to point B on that one, but that’s not the case. So we did that for about 2 hours.

Home to feed William and Henry. Maggie started the pasta for dinner while I did that. Then we pulled out The Game of Life and set that up to play. This is the first time we’ve ever sat down as a family and played a board game. Daddy got home just as we were sitting down and he decided to join us. We took a little longer playing than I thought, but it was really good. The kids really liked it, I liked it, too. We also have Cranium & a kids version of “Would You Rather” that they’re looking forward to playing. I think we’ll do a once-a-week game night and see how it goes.

Speaking of Rock Band…I wanted to share these pictures I took. The first ones of Steven drumming are “We Will Rock You”. He loves that song.

Here are Steven & Maggie jamming on “We Are the Champions” with my brother, Andrew on vocals.

Here’s Andrew singing – isn’t he cute?!?

Here is my lovely husband doing something (I can’t remember!!) with Maggie on bass, Steven on drums and Henry on the all-important pillow.

Look how much fun my mom’s having with this! She’s just holding the baby while all of us rock out, and I think she’s having more fun than any of us!

And these are totally my favorite pictures. After watching and watching and dancing around, Henry figured out what to do with the drums. I looooove it!!

I am totally loving this. All of us, together, rocking out and enjoying each other’s company. Thank you, o Wii.