ODE TO OUR BORDER PATROL!!!!

Well, it is Monday already, boy how vacation time flies... we are down in Naples, Florida right now, and just got off our cruise ship this morning. The boys are doing great and have been having the time of their lives. They did so well with grandma and grandpa for 3 days while we were gone and everyone down here is amazed and excited about the progress they have made in speech and how physically better they have gotten since last year! When you are with your child all the time you can see a little progress, but you do not realize how much progress they have made. Zachary is swimming all by himself now, and Dan started swimming by himself for little periods at a time. They have been to Sanibel beach, found shells, ran from big man-o-war jellyfish and most importantly... went on their first real deep sea fishing trip. Sadly, we only caught 1 fish, but no one threw up or cried! Yeah for that! As for Jay and my trip to Atlantis... it was amazing and we really had some time to catch up with each other and forget about all the bills, therapy and work. By the way, always put your swim fins on IN the water. We tried to snorkel, and I think I got laughed at by every tourist passing by as I tried to walk down the beach in my snorkel gear! The fishtanks are amazing and the pools...wow! One day we will take the boys there, but no time soon.
Anyways, you are probably wondering about the name of this post. Well, if everyone is sitting at home feeling secure right now, this might make you think, laugh, be frightened, etc, etc. It has occured to me that Jay and I somehow ended up on the 3 minute debarkation cruise! Border patrol is a strange thing. We walked off the ship with our luggage (we only had 2 pieces- yes I actually packed smart, now if I had just packed some long sleeve shirts??), gave in our room keys, showed our passports to customs and walked out of customs and into the streets of America. You may be wondering what is wrong with that? You are so lucky? Well Mr. Border Patrolman, this Bud's for you. Never once during embarkation or debarkation was our luggage ever checked or scanned... never once were we asked a question... never once did I see someone pulled to the side, or a bag looked into. What is wrong with this? EVERYTHING!!! You and I both know that we are not terrorists, but what about the person behind me? What if someone brought something illegal on to the boat? Well, for that blunder, we , as Americans, win the "are we dumbasses?" award. So, thanks for getting me off so fast, so I could sit for 2 hours in a parking lot waiting for my ride, and thanks for not checking my bags, because, hell now I know where my tax money is going, but most of all... thanks for letting in every idiot out there that brought illegal items and fruit with new diseases (keeps our government agents busy) or that little bit off pot they could not live without and lastly, the people who felt that marine life should not stay in the Bahamas! I guess there was one thing about Carnival cruise lines I liked: they enjoy saying "now get the hell off and give me my tip!"
Ok, otherwise, we had agreat time and I highly recomend Atlantis as a place everyone should at least visit once! Happy holidays!

JUST LIKE DAD

I am always amazed with my boys. I know that is a weird way to start, but I really am! It is 9pm at night and we are all laying in mom and dad's room watching scooby doo. Danny has a fascination with Daphny (I think that's how she spells it), he want's her to be captured all the time and he say's she is really pretty. Of course as a mom I say, "but Velma is so much smarter...", that is not working. He still likes Daphny. Zach could really care less about girls, he is more into himself right now! So, we are laying here and Danny starts to ask why boys like girls so much? I think I am saying all the right things: smart, pretty, take care of you and then he replies: is it because they like girls boobies? Uggghhhh. Not my son, not at the age of 5, is he a pig already? Did I raise him wrong? I always think about how well I was brought up and that if I said that to my mom, I would get in trouble. I am having trouble trying not to laugh, but trying to say the right thing, so what do I do? Pass it to Dad! I think this is a DAD area, don't you?
Dad's and son's are a funny thing. Yes, there is some truth to the mother/son bond, but tonight as the boys pretended they were taking their insulin shots, just like dad does, it really hit me how much the kids learn from us. Right now, the big thing is "we are men now, mom"! The two of them think they are just like their dad. Dan want's to go to work like dad, that will make him a man and as for Zach, he told me that he does not want to be a man because he dose'nt want to work. Oh well, there is always one! I have always told them that they never have to leave me, I think Zach is taking that literally. We will see in 20 years! We all wonder what our children will be, and when you have a special needs child you wonder if they will be able to be what they want? I know alot of my friends have that on their mind (the future), but for tonight, they are still our "little men". Good night everyone.

WHEN DID MY CHILD GET SMARTER THAN ME???

Ok, how do I explain what just happened? I guess some background first. My son Zachary woke up sick on friday morning at 2am, he has a barky cough (croup?) and a non-stop runny nose. I sat up with him the rest of the night, but I did send him to school (read past logs and you will know why). He again was up last night sitting on the couch with me watching endless spongebob, which is ok because if you know me well, you know I am a spongebob fanatic... really! Ask me anything, I can answer it. Anyways, I digress. So, of course this morning he is still wide awake and I am crabby from 5 years of no sleep. We decide while dad is out that we will make cookies and then play santa. Playing santa means that I write a long list of toys I want, and they get out all the toys we just cleaned up and put them by the fire place while I pretend to be asleep and then vice-versa. Anyways, the boys decided to start fighting, after untangling kicking legs and punching arms, I tell them to both go sit down on seperate couches. Danny is really good at taking his punishment, except for the fact that he gets the "boo-boo" face and makes you feel like you are taking away his puppy, Zach is another story. He has never once taken a punishment well, there s no punishment that I have found that works on him. So, I hold him down on my lap and somehow he slips though and in the scuddle his arm comes out of his shirt, so I grab the shirt arm and pull on him, which of course makes the shirt pull against his neck. Do you know what he said to me? "if you hurt my neck and I end up in the hospital, I'm gonna tell them you did it." WHAT???? Did he just say what I think he said? I let go of his shirt, he put it back on and I had to walk away. I did not know whether to laugh or be afraid, very, afraid.
When did my 4 year old get so smart? How does that little mind come up with such a statement? Oh, well... if I end up in jail, don't bail me out for a couple days... vacation!
Go Bears.

A 5 YEAR OLD SCHOOL DROPOUT?????

Well, well, well. It is that time of year again, school report cards! If you are a parent of a PDD child, this can be either a fantastic or frustrating time, as I have learned. Dan got his report card last friday. I guess the more I look it over, the better I feel, but it was not what I expected and I even showed it to his old preschool teacher and she was a bit dssapointed too. The grade by numbers, 1 is "can do consistently " all the way to 3 which is "needs a lot of help". I thought we were on top of things and I was expecting 1 and 2's. To my dismay, there were alot of 3's thrown in there. In places I did not expect, letters, self esteem, gym,reading...etc...etc... Yes, I realize that it is better to get them first quarter then fourth, but you almost feel like a failure as a mom, as if you are letting your child down. Do I not read enough to him, am I not working enough with letters? It has taken me since friday to realize that everyone learns at their own pace, and if he does not get straight a's and b's, such is life. My friend put it best: "if my kids writting sucks and they can not do algebra, it is not the end of the world. They will learn to read and write, and not everyone goes to college... it takes all kinds to make this world work!". That helped me alot. So, the moral is moms: Do not put yourself down, you are doing everything you can and we are all making our kids the best they can be. A "c" is average, and there is nothing wrong with averaage!
Now, on to the funny part of his report card! Dan recieved a letter letting us know that he has been absent 7 times, and if he continues on this road of absences, he will end up a school drop out!!! HUH? Is he 5 or 12? I fully understand that some mom's take their kids out for stupid reasons, but he had MRI's and has been having a lot of asthma problems! He does not CUT class. So, the principal and I had a "fun" talk. She understands my side, and tells me she knows I am a responsible parent. Well, I guess not enough? So mom, the moral: Send your child to school sick and then let them send them home, because that does not count as an absence!

This morning, I had the boys in the tub together, as as any mom knows, put 2 kids together in a tight spot and hell will break loose, so after 10 minutes it was so quiet that I walked in wondering what I was going to find? Guess what? Dan was completely bent over the side of the tub, and Zachary was sticking letters on his butt trying to spell his name! Oh, goodness... I put that to an end really quickly! Dan's but looked like an alphabet blackboard, just cleaner! Ok, that was my funny story for the day, sorry I have not written lately. Oh, a note for a special person, and you know who you are... You are strong, you are too good and you will find better! Love ya!