Joshua's Ruining Chrismas.

Went to the annual Christmas-at-Target event today. I think I've posted about this event for the past 3 yrs now, because it's usually a noteworthy (albeit somewhat traumatic) event for me.

Each year the Target here in Carrollton hosts a Christmas event for all the special needs children in the Carrollton school district. They have carolers, santa, free baked goodies.. In theory it's really sweet and picturesque. IN REALITY it's a madhouse. Last year the boys' classes didn't go - only Rachael's class attended. I guess the boys' teachers felt seasoned enough to take on Target this year.

As usual, I got there late with Abby and Daniel. Jacob had already tried to coax his teacher into buying him about every R rated movie on the shelf. His teacher said she felt just the slightest bit hysterical saying over and over "No Jacob, you can't have "Disturbia". No Jacob, you can't have "The Hills have Eyes".. and so on and so forth. Joshua's teacher had him pretty covered - they had him sitting inside a shopping cart. Rachael was with her favorite aide in the whole wide world, Ms. Karen, and was walking up and down the aisles shouting "where's the neckhorns!" (unicorns, in Rachael speak). She finally settled on a Barbie horse with 2 interchangeable heads (which I find rather disturbing). Who knows.. some days you just feel like a brunette horsey instead of a blonde..

THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE EVENT, however, was not Jacob finally settling on a lowly PG movie, or Rachael and her 2-headed horse, but Joshua taking on Santa Claus.

To set the stage for the "Santa incident", as it will now be called, I need to talk a bit more about Joshua and his fluff obsession. Now let's face it, we're not stupid here. We know our house is not the vacation destination of choice, but to those who have mustered up the resolve to visit us recently you would probably take note of a couple things: 1) shredded Christmas tree tinsel everywhere.. and I mean everywhere 2) the trojan horse (formally Rusty, the wooden rocking horse with mane and tail) sitting in the corner of the living room and 3) tufts of black fur - looking suspiciously like the faux fur mane on Rachael's stuffed horse toy - in those few areas not already covered with red metallic tinsel. Yes.. this is all the work of Joshua. The boy loves to shred things and toss the pieces in the air. The other day Rachael walked up to me with a hand full of plucked garland and a sad look on her face. She said "Joshua's ruining Christmas, momma." (by Christmas, she meant the tree)

Well getting back to poor Jolly Old St. Nick.. when it came time to take pictures, Joshua wasted all of about a second before he started yanking tufts out of the store Santa. The beard.. the white fur on the custume.. I ask you: what is not for a Joshie to love?? Me and Joshua's school aides laughed hysterically, and then tried to deter him from plucking Santa for a moment to look at the camera. Say "Merry Christmas!"

"Here lizard, lizard..!"

..at least that was the message Deren left on the answering machine last hour, taunting me. After he left for work, I put Daniel in the highchair with his crunchies, and went to do dishes. Moved a pan out of the sink to run some water, and there was a FREAKING LIZARD in the kitchen sink!! We have geckos here at the house. On a warm night you can open the blinds and see them hanging on the window screens. And they like the garage. Deren figures one got in during all the trips Joshua took in and out of the garage yesterday. The neigbor has a tree just outside our garage, a type of red bud. It leaves nice, big, crunchy leaves on the ground in the fall. Joshua is quite partial to those leaves, and tries to sneak outside at every opportunity to grab leaves then crumble them over the hood of Deren's new car (very particular about that, too). I took some of the leaves and threw them in our backyard - no dice - need a new car to crumble them over.

Anyway, back to the lizard.. I screamed bloody murder. After realizing I wasn't screaming at her, Abby laughed at me and my efforts to contain said lizard. Yes, she laughed at her momma! If Rachael were home she would commiserate with me. She's my girly girl. One time there was a lizard on the ceiling of her room. She wouldn't walk into her room for quite a while after that. We had to first go into her room and make sure the coast was clear.

So I decided to try to wash the lizard down the drain - not the best idea, I know, but I have no intention of EVER touching a lizard, if I can help it. And in the process of running hot water I guess I boiled it, because it wouldn't budge. I ended up scraping it into a bowl and throwing it outside (amidst Abby's catcalls). I called Deren up and told him about the event (see title above for his reaction).

In other news, the girls got out scissors yesterday and we clipped items from toy catalogs for Christmas lists. Abby is pretty straightforward - no dolls for her - get her cars, trucks, tractors and trains. Rachael is already sounding like a teenager. "Mommy, I want a BIG horse, not a little one." She's narrowed her list to just 2 items - at a couple hundred dollars each!

Not too much time to blog.. I'm off to do errands today. The kids passed around a nasty bug. We had been on a run where all the kids were getting sick at the same time. I was lamenting the days when they staggered getting sick. Well those days are back. Jacob got sick, then 2 days later Joshua, 3 days later Rachael, 2 days later Abby & Daniel (though it seems like Daniel had a watered down version - thank the Lord!). Rachael went 5 days eating next to nothing. She wasn't chubby to begin with. Now she looks all skin and bones.

So back on house arrest. Hopefully I'll be able to get out with Abby & Daniel some next week, because the following week the kids are out of school, and there is really no place that has such an incredible lure that I'm willing to have a go with all 5 kids. With that ratio it's a guarantee that at least one will throw a fit, throw up, throw themselves into traffic, you get the picture.

I've mentioned that Rachael is in a PPCD (public preschool for children w/disabilities) class. She has 2 buddies, Gavin and Ian. Gavin has autism, but is quite verbal and just a sweet little boy. They all ride the bus together, and Gavin gets picked up before Rachael. After missing a couple days of school, Gavin directed his parents to our house (they had no clue where we live) and had his parents ring the doorbell so that he could see Rachael because he was worried about her. Of course, Rachael stayed on the couch yelling "I'M SICK!" and wouldn't go anywhere near the front door. Well, she was still really sick, and goodness knows that he's better off for her not coming and coughing all over him. But he was SO cute! I saw Gavin's mom the next night at an autism seminar sponsored by the school district. She offered to bring dinner by. I politely refused... and if you believe that...! I hesitated for a brief millisecond before yelling "heck yes!"

So we got dinner last night (Friday). And if I had known in advance how good a cook she was I probably would've went home with her, never to return! I kept saying over and over "isn't it GREAT to eat food that tastes good for a change?!" Deren, being the wonderful husband he is, kept saying "You cook great food all the time, dear." Anyway, Gavin's family came to drop off the meal. He has a little sister, Bria, who is Abby's age. She & Abby exchanged "hi's". They brought Rachael a balloon and a stuffed puppy dog. Rachael and Abby were thrilled. And Gavin gave Rachael a good-bye peck on the cheek. The cutest thing EVER!

So Joshie, being Joshie, stole Bria's panda bear, ran into the house with it, and was gleefully plucking it by the time I caught up with him. I hadn't noticed.. I was talking with Gavin's mom when his dad politely said "your son took off with her panda bear." Doh! The plucking bandit strikes again!

Halloween Halloween Trick or Treat! ..that's the chant I've been hearing from Rachael for the past month - over and over. Guess she learned it at school. We're switching up costumes hourly now. She came home from school yesterday and announced she wants to be a ghost. And she insists that Daniel needs to be a baby unicorn ("neckhorn" she pronounces it). I have a hand-me-down ducky costume from Jacob. "No, Daniel neckhorn, momma!"

Deren is looking for another car. We contacted a man that goes to used car auctions. Our neighbor has used him on multiple occassions. So keep your fingers crossed. Abby brought me Daniel's carseat and favorite blanket this morning "go bye bye in car." Sorry dear, we're on house arrest..

Here are some pics. I spent half the day on Sunday doing haircuts - the girls, the boys (minus Daniel, including Deren). And I took the halloween pics this morning.

Let's play a game. It's called "Compare Your Week"

I'll go first:
Overall.
We've all either had one cold after another, or one cold that is morphing, but we've all been snotty and coughing for 4 weeks now. Haven't had a good night's sleep since I don't know when.

The Joshua incident.
Rachael's teacher stopped by the house Thurs afternoon. I was supposed to go to a parent teacher conference with her the Thurs prior, but my babysitter (aka Deren) showed up right about when I was supposed to be at Rachael's school in Dallas. So Rachael's teacher offered to stop by the house for the conference. I had taken Abby & Daniel to Target, and was going to vaccuum and straighten up right before she was due to arrive. But the best plans of mice and men.. (or women, should I say). Here's the blow-by-blow: Joshua got home from that school that day and decided potty training was overrated. Right when Rachael's teacher was due to arrive he pulled down his pants, and pooped and peed in the hallway. Then he decided that was totally gross (he doesn't like messes you see.. Ironic, huh?), and he ran to the laundry room, took all the clothes I had just folded off the washer and dryer and started to attack the poop on the floor. Then he tracked through the, uh, excrement, and trailed it across the back part of the house. Can I once again just say "Thank God for laminate flooring?!" So Rachael's teacher was at the front door, and half the house (including Joshua) was covered with, uh, excrement. Rachael's teacher stayed in the living room and played with Rachael while I cleaned floors, cleaned 2 bathrooms, the laundry room, and Joshua. After that, I ran into the living room to talk with Rachael's teacher. While we were talking Jacob, Rachael, and Abby came into the living room, all covered in chocolate, and "THANKS BE TO GOD IT WAS CHOCOLATE!" and not something else! They had broken into the Halloween candy I had picked up from Target, and were shoving chocolate in their mouths as fast as was humanly possible.

For the next couple hours the kids proceeded to run around like little demons, smacking and screaming at each other, disobeying about every instruction headed their way. They were sugar possessed monsters. I told Deren I wanted to leave. He said "Oh, you want to take Daniel and get away for awhile?" I said "No. I want to leave and go somewhere by myself. For a *long* *time*!"

The Abigail incident(s)
..always plural with Miss Abby. She has no concept whatsoever of safety. Matter of fact, she thinks is funny to run away and hide from me when we're out in public. Can only imagine what other people think as I'm standing in stores, bellowing "ABBEEEEEE" at the top of my lungs..

The Jacob incident
Actually, this is second hand. Jacob's teacher emailed me and asked if we had any toy tool sets at home. I said "yes" but that the girls hoarde most the toys and won't let the boys play. Well, apparently Jacob is trying to empower himself at school, because he tries to tackle any classmate that gets near the toy tools at school. I said as much to the teacher (while I was laughing).. don't think she thought it was too funny..

Rachael. Have to brag on her. Other than the chocolate exorcist moments, she's been working on being nice to everyone when she gets home from school. Even though she's tired after a long day, she gives her sissy a hug :-)

Daniel. Has his first sign. He signs for his "crunchies", which he prefers to his baby food that I mix up for him. Tonight it was spinach, kidney beans, rice, acorn squash and apples. He really wanted his crunchies afterwards!

Oh, and the Deren incident.
Well, we got a car in September, a Toyota Sienna. So we were once again a 2 car family. Well, until today, that is. Deren totalled the taurus in a wreck. So it's back to house arrest until we find another car.

So, it's been a banner week. If anyone can beat this, by all means share. The winner will receive whatever chocolate the kids left behind (excluding Joshua, that is rofl!)

I ordered some play silks on Friday, and they got here today. Daniel and Abby enjoyed them. Rachael was too busy preoccupied being Miss Cranky Pants to bother with them yet. She fights going to bed at night, and doesn't get enough sleep. Add to that, she's going to all day PPCD (public preschool for children w/disabilities), and she's often in a foul mood when she gets home. A couple weeks ago I drew the line in the sand, and told her she either says "hi" to her sister Abby when she gets off the bus (she was snarling at Abby every day. And poor Abby, she would be in the doorway jumping up and down because she was so excited to see her sissy home). So today Abby was asleep when Rachael got home, and Rachael took out her bad mood on the new playsilks.

We're home from church today. We all have a cold to varying degrees. At this point we should just home church, I think. I'll put that on my list of 101 things to do but will likely procrastinate on. We made it to church last Sunday. It was the first Sunday since school started that we had kids (and parents) healthy enough to go. We've had stomach bugs, we've had cold bugs, we've had simulataneous stomach and cold bugs. Each year I think "It's got to be better than last year", seeing as how we pass so many bugs around you would think the kids would be developing some type of immunity by now. But no dice.

We are at a loss with Joshua. He's pretty low in the autism spectrum, we're not wringing our hands about that. What has us worried is he has been so UNHAPPY all the time - at home, at school. He doesn't even want to take car rides, which his Grandpa David can testify was high on the Joshua list of loves. We don't know if he needs meds, if something traumatic has happened that he can't talk to us about.. we just don't know. His eating has been worse than usual. He spends his time either crouched in grass outside, shredding grass and leaves, or inside laying down on the couch and miserable. Oh, he spends a lot of time engaged in OCD (obsessive compulsive) behavior. He opens the screen door to a certain point, closes it, opens it to that point.. over and over. He runs whenever you open a cabinet door and wants to shut it just right. Joshua's teacher called on Tuesday to ask "What is up?!!".. his behavior was so "off" at school. Like I said, he's not high functioning, and he has plenty of unusual behaviors under his belt, but being so unhappy and so disinterested in everything. So his 6th birthday was not what I would call happy by any stretch. He started bawling as soon as he got off the bus, and stayed pretty upset the rest of the day (including the running away from the cake episdoe).

Oh, and Jacob's shirt is filthy, I know. I made Joshua a birthday cake from a box mix on Tuesday. We showed Joshua the cake. He cried and ran away (Joshua is a whole other story right now, he's going through some hard times). The rest of us, sans Daniel, pigged out on the cake.

I got sick that night, and we decided it wasn't health food anyway, so to pitch the remaining cake. When Jacob saw Deren throwing away the cake, he yelled "Oh No!" and ran to the trash can and started scooping out the cake. Next time, we'll have to throw it away when the kids are sleeping. But Jacob had gut issues, too, that day (won't go into details) so I think it was a good idea for him to not have any more cake, especially a cake that wasn't made by his daddy.

What a miserable creature I am. I've reverted to extortion for blog posts ;-)

Deren's parents, David & Priscilla, are travelling to Peru on the 25th. To ensure that I get some goodies from Peru, I'm demanding goodies in exchange for blog posts. Is that sick or what? But I may get some nice peruvian wool out of the exchange, so maybe the ends is worth the means? (err.. probably not). Anyway, D&P, how about a "My In-laws saw machu picchu and all I got was this t-shirt" t-shirt! Would serve me right.

But, as promised, via telephone negotiations (err.. extortion) this morning here is a Halloween pic and a cute pic of Jacob. I bought Rachael a witch costume for Halloween. The girls love to dress up, so I figured it will get much use. Deren then came up with the idea that Abby (aka the sidekick) should be a black cat. I bought Abby a black shirt, and she already has black pants, but in the pic she's half-dressed. Deren was getting all nervous. It's a Dora the Explorer pull-up, for pete's sake, not porn!

And then Jacob wanted in on the picture. He thought it was neat to see the image on the digital camera afterwards. So here's Rachael, either crossing her eyes or acting like she's taking a picture of me, Abby, half-dressed, and Jacob, with remote it tow. I'm not going to show all the pics, just the best one (and this is the best of about 30 or so. May as well be trying to take a group pic of cranky cats). Jacob wanted his remote displayed for each pic. It was pretty funny!

One hand in the air.. "I solemnly pledge to start posting regularly"!

Right now, I gotta get the house in shape before Deren gets home, so I'll leave you with a little crumb of what is to come..

..and I gotta add that I started to chuckle when I scrolled down and saw the smiling Daniel picture. Have you seen the kid movie The Incredibles? If so, and you can find a graphic of Jack Jack where he's sprouted horns and turned into a demon, forward it to me, will you? I'll cut and pasted that for Daniel's picture of the month lol!

It's been awhile since I last blogged, I see. Daniel has done a reversal of the typical fussy baby progression, in that he went from being fairly mellow during his first months to a screaming mimi as time has progressed. With the other kids having colic, they started to mellow out around 4 mos. I hoped to take some evening exercise and sewing classes once the kids started back to school, but we may as well have a newborn with a roaring case of colic in the house, because the late afternoon/evening hours are tough around here. So I've been in survival mode, and not getting much of anything done, including blogging.

BUT I wanted to write down a version of red beans and rice I've been making before I forgot it yet again. It's easy to make - a requirement here as of late.

Easy Red Beans & Rice

1 lb smoked turkey sausage
1 C onion
1/2 - 1 C celery
1/2 - 1 C green pepper
1/2 tsp emeril's original essence spice (I make it myself - the recipe is at foodnetwork.com; you can also buy it at the store)
3/4 tsp salt
1 C chicken broth
2 C cooked rice
1 can kidney beans, rinsed

Saute onion, celery & green pepper. Add sausage and heat through. Add chicken broth & seasonings and cook a bit more on lower heat. Stir in cooked rice & beans and heat through.

and finally, some pics of Mr. 8 Monther!

and more pics!

Here are some pics I said I'd post, oh, about a month ago.

So my FIL David sent me an email asking for an update. Sorry about the lapse. I've been in busy mode with more than a dollup of self-pity added in. The kids are home from full-day school for the summer. The boys are to start half-day summer school tomorrow. They go to school for 3 wks, then off 2, back for 3, and off 2 more before full-day school resumes. So the kids have been home and bored senseless. I share the senseless part, but I haven't been too bored. For example, a quick summary of a day, let's do Friday.. Jacob decides that if he can't play in the water in the backyard, then the water park will just have to come inside. SO he floods the kitchen (by swiveling the faucet over the coutertops instead of the sink). While I'm cleaning that up, he floods the bathroom (by holding his hands immediately under the faucet and spraying water everywhere). While he's flooding the house away, Joshua, Rachael, and Abby are terrorizing the Home Depot man who's installing a screen door to the backyard. And can I just say that screen doors do little to nothing in terms of keeping out the bugs when you have kids purposely hold the door wide open to get a reaction out of you!! I've lost count of the number of times Abby has stood there with a demon grin on her face. Oh, and let's not even mention the caulk incident. I told Deren that, in looking back, I should have had warning bells going off in my head when the girls were intently watching the install man caulk around the new door. Let's just say that cault does not come out of clothes easily and that small amounts are apparently okay to ingest. But the new door is sturdy. Joshua tested it by giving the glass several jumps after the guy took it out of the box.

So after the caulk incident, I spent the better part of 2 hrs coaxing and nagging at the kids to eat. After giving the caulk girls a bath, I sent them to bed. Jacob then started back up with the water park theme - this time in his pants. The boy peed on himself for about a half hour straight. Every time he got dry pants on, there he went again.

So by then I was about 1 hr late nursing Daniel. I decided to check on the girls. They had gone through every (and I mean EVERY) drawer in the their room and dumped the clothes in one big pile on Rachael's bed. I told them to start cleaning - they laughed at me. By now the county psych ward was starting to sound pretty darn good.

And we're down to one car now - that's BIG, BIG on the pity party list. The van reeks of gas. It's had the problem off/on for 2 yrs, and it's getting worse. I went to drive it for a quick errand yesterday, and made it a couple blocks before my stomach was turning. We don't want the kids in it. So the alternative is, well, house arrest. No summer camps, no library ventures - we're stuck. So I'm thinking zoloft about right now.. I know I need to do SOMETHING because I've had a horrible attitude and Deren's in misery. Anyway, pray for wheels for us, if you're inclined.

BTW, on a non-whining note, here are some of the latest happenings:
1) Deren's parents visited over the Memorial Day weekend. In keeping with our holiday tradition, the kids were all sick. And their flight down here was cancelled and they ended up driving all the way. And the weather was cool and stormy. And I thought I was going to stop with this whiney business!!! I'll post some pics.

2) Mr Daniel is saying "ma ma." He IS a mommy's boy! He's such a cute sweetie pie! He's doing better with his baby food, but having problems with his, ahh, movements, shall we say. He's not sitting up yet. He's following after Jacob and Abby, and is showing low muscle tone (hypotonia).

Daniel and Abby are sick with a cold right now. And why is it called a "cold" when their temper is hot, their foreheads are hot, and it's 100+ heat index outside?! I'm thinking the boys will get sick in the next couple days, just in time for summer school (sigh)

..I'll post pics later. Daniel's wailing for the momma.

Didn't take Joshua to the dr for the IV chelation last week. Daniel came down with a fever last Sunday, and Rachael followed. Abby has a bad cough at night, and some nasty diapers (let's leave it at that), and Joshua must be coming down with something, too, because his eating has been particularly bad. New routine: come to the table, vomit until he empties all his stomach, eat a couple bites of meat/protein, empty stomach again (about 50% of the time - sometimes he keeps it down). Mallory, who helped me with the kids last summer and here and there throughout the school year, was here yesterday. Joshua had just thrown up everything he drank since he got home from school. Mallory said "Are you done? Take a bite of meat now!" She's definitely a keeper. Many would have gone running from that scene. Joshua is apparently doing better with his eating (though not all that great) at school, so I am going to meet him for lunch this Monday and feed him there. Hopefully they'll be able to give me some new ideas/pointers.

So, with all the sickies, I cancelled Joshua's appt. And I don't know whether to take him in now, or wait until he's eating better. The told the dr about his eating, and he thought that the antifungals plus the chelation would get Joshua on a better track. And I forgot to call in and ask for a different antifungal. Oh well, start my "to do" list.

Rachael is excited about Mother's Day. My first child who sort of gets Mother's Day! As soon as she got off the bus yesterday she yelled "Happy Mother's Day!" Then she opened her backpack and gave me the present she made at school. It was a potholder with her handprint on it. And it says "This is the hand you used to hold when I was only 4 years old." Awwwww.. (sniff, sniff). She also brought home two red suckers (the kind that you make at home with the molds) - one was a butterfly and one a flower. I was standing there trying to figure out whether they were edible or not (they sure were pretty - maybe they were for decor?) when the girls ripped them open and started eating them. I asked them to let mommy take a bite. "No No No!!" Come on now, these are my suckers, right?! So I called Rachael's teacher and verified they were edible. Rachael's teacher said she got the sucker molds and candy at WalMart. They were sooo cute! I think I'm going to look into them, and see if I can try it out with chocolate (a major food group around this house).

I'm off to eat breakfast and get on with the day. Daniel's been up since 5 a.m with his congestion. So maybe I'll get a head start on the day and go walking. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Looks like the girls are working through the whole gender issue. Rachael still calls me "Ms. Mommy." And she calls Deren "Ms. Daddy." Abby, meanwhile, calls Deren "Mommy" all the time. "Daddy" was her favorite word for months on end. Now both me and Deren are "Mommy." Deren has been scolding me for not correcting them more - I'm always too busy laughing and calling for him - "Abby's calling for her Mommy!"

For those of you who may be familiar with Dora the Explorer, Abby has taken to saying "Swiper No Swiping!.. Oh Man!" Even Jacob is saying "Oh Man!" And if you're wanting more week-in-the-life-of-Abby moments, Deren came out of our room chuckling this morning. He asked Abby what she was doing. She said "Nothing!" hah! that'll be the day! This evening Deren came to me again chuckling. He said that Abby took the tiny baby that goes in the dollhouse, put it on the changing pad in the bathroom, got some wipes from the counter, and 'changed' the baby's diaper!

Joshua is on yet another hunger strike. This time he's forsaken his main source of calories, chips, along with the protein. So all he wants to eat is candy and popsicles. Oooooooooookay. I took him to his autism doc on Monday. The dr has seen Joshua since Joshua was just under 2 yrs old. The dr observed Joshua, who was acting rather psychotic from being up since 2:30a.m. He kept saying "we really need to DO something." He prescribed Joshua nizoral for his on-going yeast/gut issues. Unfortunately, Joshua will not take the crushed nizoral for anything. The dr also recommended IV chelation. Joshua has a IV challenge appt this coming Tuesday. The plan is to give him a challenge dose of DMPS and EDTA, then collect his urine for 6 hrs. If a lot of metals show up in the urine, then it may signify that Joshua has a lot of 'trapped' metals in his body that are not being eliminated like they should. Ugh! I hate to make these decisions, knowing full well that Joshua won't have a darn clue what is going on, and that IV chelation holds more of a risk. On the other hand, he's starving himself, he's not sleeping, he's withdrawing more and more. It's not looking good for the Joshua.

The following week Abby goes in to see her neurologist, who will decide if she needs to stay on the phenobarbital.

The boys & Rachael have 2 1/2 weeks of school left. Where has time gone?! Mentally, I feel like I'm still at the beginning of the year. And here I am staring down a summer with the crew! And Mr. Daniel is still VERY attached (emotionally & physically) to the milkmaid. We've tried him on applesauce - he shudders and spits it all out. I tried sweet potatoes yesterday - a bit better than the applesauce, but still not thrilled at all. So, if given his way, he would stay "hooked up" most the day, which is going to be a bit tricky, what with the other 4 running around on their own devices. So kinda worried about that. On the other hand, I'm happy with how things are. With the other kids I so often thought, "I wish they were old enough to do this or that." With Daniel, I'm really enjoying this time and loving on him.

For those of you wanting a Joshua picture - here it is. You may think "How cute! He's loving on a teddy bear." Remember now, he's autistic! He's been obsessed with stuffed animals lately because he likes to pluck off their "fur", throw it in the air, and watch it fall. At any given time our house looks like it's been invaded by dust bunnies (that's what the balls of faux fur resemble). You'd never find dust bunnies laying around my house (insert hysterical laughter).

*News Flash* Daniel rolled over from his back to his tummy this morning, and he has 2 bottom teeth!!! Keeping with tradition, I was clueless about the teeth up until the moment I was bitten. He was really fussy on Thursday, and was crying at the top of his lungs. I called Deren at work and he came home from work early when he heard Daniel screaming in the background. I was even going to take him to an urgent care clinic, but decided against it at the last minute. That would have been priceless - well, not actually - I would have spent $75 to have someone tell me he's teething. And I have how many kids???!! So for anyone out there inclined to think "Wow, she must be on top of her game with 5 kids" - think again, people! I'm as clueless as it gets!!!

Are you familiar with the skunk mating season?? We are now. Turns out, the little buggers go around repeatedly spraying to attract a mate. To make it even more personal, we had one doing it's mating ritual, I guess, right outside our house from about 1:30 - 4 am on Thursday. The smell was so strong it woke us up from sleep. My stomach was turning. Deren searched the backyard with a flashlight twice, looked under the cars, and searched the attic (yes, the smell was that strong). He figured if he did any more trolling around the house for the skunk a neighbor would either shoot him (this is Texas, you know) or call the police. So we all still smell a little skunky around here.. The smell woke Joshua up, too. So just about 4am when the smell started to abate, Joshua was in full manic giggle-screech-till the-whole-house-is-up mode. He went to sleep about 1/2 hour before the alarm was due to go off. I was talking to my neighbor later in the morning (she's the one who informed me of skunk mating season). She asked me if I kept him home to let him sleep. My response "Are you kidding?!" I was in quite a "skunky" mood myself, and took more than a little bit of glee waking him up for school. Needless to say, he slept 12+ hrs the following night.

Rachael has been in a skunky mood, too. She comes home from school with all her crafts and worksheets. Abby wants to look at the stuff. One day Rachael literally came in the door and kicked Abby before she made it a couple steps. And needless to say, many an art project has landed in the trash because of it. I almost felt a little twinge of guilt when I threw her horsey in the trash today, but she really sent Abby flying when Abby got ahold of it (sigh). Yesterday it was almost like a scene from the twilight zone. She came in the door "Hi Abby. Want this?" (gave Abby her art project). She helped me pick up, gave Abby hugs, helped Abby with lunch and gave her other toys. She was calling me "Ms. Mommy", giving me hugs and saying "You're so sweet, Mommy!" You see, we got a copy of a kids' bedding magazine the afternoon before, and it had a horse quilt and pillows in it. Oh yeah, she was buttering me up! She's since lost the catalog and was back to throwing punches and kicks today..

Looking back, I have to admit it was cool being "buttered up." In the soon-to-be 7 yrs of being a mommy, I've never had a child say anything in the ballpark of "You're so sweet, Mommy!" And I'm feeling more twinges of guilt about the horsey in the trash right now, but seeing as I have raw chicken and hamburger on top of it, I'll just have to live with my guilt.

Abby is getting around much better. She still has a limp, but she is trying her best to run full speed ahead. A neighbor a couple houses down has a beautiful yard, and has wildflowers in the spring. I asked the wife's permission to take some pictures with the girls. Another neighbor met me there today and helped try to keep the girls from picking every flower in sight - it was looking iffy for awhile - I thought I was going to be in real trouble. And, of course, the girls wouldn't smile for the camera, so I took a bunch of candid shots. When Deren got home Rachael told him "Say cheese for the camera, daddy!"

Joshua has had a big splinter in his hand all week. Deren and I looked it over this evening. It doesn't look infected, so we agreed to put it off until tomorrow. Oh man, is it ever going to be a nightmare getting that thing out. He won't let us near it. It takes the two of us to just get a glance at it. That boy, for all his smallness from lack of eating, has superhuman strength when he's riled up.

Jacob's birthday is next Wednesday. He's going to be 7 yrs old!! Happy Birthday to Jacob, Happpy Birthday to you.. Have no clue what to get him. He has lots of dvd's. They're exciting until he watches them a couple times, and then he's back at the computer hacking his way onto motion picture sights and watching trailers for horror movies. We have one of those internest security/blocking programs. We apparently need a different one, or something, because he gets around it all the time. He's gotten to where he won't walk to the bathroom at night without someone with him.

And on the 28th Mr. Daniel (aka cutie pie, momma's baby sweet boy, flirtie bird) will be 6 mos. Time is flying!

Deren and I are doing Weight Watchers. Actually, I am, so Deren's eating what I'm cooking. The thing is - he still snacks on candy throughout the day, eats larger portions, doesn't exercise, and he's losing the weight easier. What a man thing to do!!!!

We've been sick with a cold bug for the past couple weeks. Gee, how many times have I said that phrase in the past couple months?! Anyway, the kids aren't up all night coughing anymore, so that's definitely an improvement. They just have junk coming from their noses the whole day long.

I'm trying to figure out if Abby has OCD about spilling things - I mean, REALLY spilling things. If she's not spilling and making messes she's asleep. I thought I was being overly crabby today. Then Deren got home. After about 10 mins he was saying "Did she take a nap?! What's gotten into her today?!" So it wasn't just me..

Daniel will be 6 mos old on the 28th. 6 mos old!!!!!! My little baby isn't such a little baby! He's not rolling over - just occassionally gets stuck on his side. He doesn't like to sit upright too much. Oh well, he is not in a family of overachievers in the gross motor department.

The boys are going on a field trip to the Wiggly Play (center?) on Wednesday. I'm hoping they'll be healthy. Jacob was going to go on a field trip to the Dallas Aquarium with the first grade class last Wed but he was way too sick.

Here are some pics. When I was out running errands yesterday Deren played in the backyard with the kids. Jacob and Rachael were making nests for the dinosaurs and their eggs (rocks Deren found), and were feeding the dinosaurs leaves. Deren said it was soooooooooo fun to watch Jacob playing.

Update from the ranch - well, not quite "the ranch" because we live in the burbs, and our lot is really small, but you get the idea..

Abby got her cast off last Friday. I wasn't thinking she would be off and running, but it's been disheartening to see how much trouble she's having. She rarely uses her leg, and if she does she holds on to something and limps. She mainly scoots, crawls, or cries and screams for help (she's been doing a lot of that lately). It hurts to see how much she's struggling. I called and spoke with our OT from ECI yesterday. She said what Abby is going through is totally normal, to give her another month or so to get up and moving.

Jacob's ARD is this coming Monday. He's been doing well at school, and they are not going to recommend summer school. He's going to be soooooooo confused when Joshua gets on the bus. Rachael will be able to 'get it' after a week or two, Jacob.. I don't know..

Daniel is now a five monther! I took him to our favorite chiropractor/naturopath this past Tuesday. He recommended probiotics for his gut/reflux, and did some adjustments to help his ears drain. We've decided against the tubes for now. We're going to see how the alternative treatments work for awhile. The chiropractor was noting all the gas and reflux problems Daniel has, and said that the by-product of Daniel's immune system doing overtime in his gut is mucous, which could be aggravating the ear problem. Something to think about, isn't it.

Daniel is getting curious, and he is getting fast. The other day he grabbed off Rachael's glasses before she knew what hit her. Speaking of Rachael.. she finally got in to see the eye doctor. She's wearing a patch 2 hrs/day, and got her lenses changed AGAIN (we've spent several hundred dollars in lenses now - going from pre-surgery eyes to post-surgery back to more crossing/may need surgery again eyes). She's in bifocals again. Hopefully the new lenses and patching will head off surgery, along with praying - I haven't been good about praying lately. I've generally been feeling like a total failure at being a wife and a mom. But isn't that just what happens when you start getting lax with the Word and praying?? I need to kick by bottom into gear..

We got all the receipts mailed off to the IRS, and we're waiting to hear back. We haven't even thought of doing this year's taxes. Deren was comparing tax products online last night. He was looking into the audit assistance components, seeing how Uncle Sam has been coming after us every year about our medical bills.

Is that enough whining for you? My mom's probably clicked out of the blog by now - she hates it when I whine! Can you just tell we've had about 2 wks of cloudy/rainy weather?! I'm getting so moody!

..just took these pics

Oprah Smoothie Recipe

A month or so ago I actually got to watch some grown up tv. Oprah was on and doing a show with Bob Greene on eating fit. She was making a smoothie that I've since become addicted to.

Strawberries
Banana
Chocolate Soy Milk

Blend above. I add a small amount of stevia and 1 Tbsp of flax oil (my favorite brand is Barleans). I've used plain soy milk a lot, too. But the chocolate is the best.

Let me tell you about my day yesterday..

It started off with Deren leaving for work late, because he stayed home to help me get ready to take Daniel to the doctor. Now ordinarily, getting ready by 9:45 is not too big of an issue, but throw in spring break and everyone on different schedules.. let's just say I don't have my game on, okay?

Made it to the doctor. Daniel has joined the ranks of the wheezing. Jacob and Daniel have both been on breathing treatments for bronchiolitis. The other kids are working on it. Abby's cough is starting to sound pretty bad, but not in the chest yet. Joshua is bawling more than usual. My voice has gone south again. And it's funny. It may be me just being sick and in a bad mood and all, but it seems like Deren gets more chatty than usual when I lose my voice. All the sudden he's asking me questions left and right - questions that involve an in depth answer - not just "yes" or "no". Deren and I generally have a "talk to the hand" policy with each other when we get sick. One of us starts whining, and the other is walking out of the room whistling. "Oh, were you saying something?" Yes, it's something we need to work on. But with all the kids sick for what seems like FOREVER, a "Can I go take a long nap because I don't feel good?" comment falls on deaf ears. So, I'm whining here!

Anyway.. back to yesterday. Got to the doctor. Spent $25 more bucks confirming he's wheezing and we should continue breathing treatments (we already have the medicine at home). Nursed Daniel in the car. Side note: Daniel has decided the ONLY way he'll nurse is with a pillow and blanket over his head. So I loaded a nursing pillow in the car and he was in heaven nursing in the parking lot. He wouldn't nurse at all in the office. Finally finished nursing him. Called home to check on Mallory, our babysitter. She said all was fine. I then proceeded to back into the truck behind me in the parking lot. This is the second time I've run into another car in the same parking lot. I barely ran into the truck - the van has no marks on it whatsoever. But the owner of the car was pointing to a tiny dent and saying "oh, that's going to be very expensive to fix!" Gave the lady my information. Called Deren and told him about the dr appt and the fender bender. Conversation went something like this "*#&#^@ $@#&# %#!@" (Deren speaking).

Made it home. Saw Mallory off. As she was leaving Rachael came up to us and started talking about poop in the potty. Went and checked. Jacob had apparently stuffed half the container of toilet wipes in the toilet. Oh - and he had bad diarrhea - let's not forget that tidbit. When I flushed the toilet the diarrhea water went pouring over the toilet. I pulled up on the lever thingy inside the tank - did nothing. The diarrhea water went everywhere. I started crying. Jacob came in to check on me. He trailed through the water, walked down the hall, got onto our bed, and started rolling around on the bed - with diarrhea water on the bottom of his sweatpants (there was a good 2" on the floor in the bathroom before I got the water turned off) and on his feet. I cried more, and more, and more. Jacob started crying with me. He kept wiping my tears off my face and crying along. I called Deren. He's like "get a grip! You're having a breakdown!" I called my neighbor Monique (Mallory's mom). "Monique can you come over and help? I'm having a breakdown." Monique came over until Deren got home - yes, he's on the show up late leave early policy this past week. Monique directed clean up efforts and watched the kids while I cleaned up. We agreed that the bath towels used needed to be burned.
Deren got home a short time later. He finished clean up. Maybe that's why we're all doing worse today, come to think of it. He dumped enough bleach in that room - I could feel my lungs burning! He got the toilet plunged, and we're back on track (minus the tank lid that got knocked over and shattered during cleaning.)

I guess that about sums it up. I got a grip, mopped the house, started tackling the mountains of laundry.

Gotta go. Daniel is doing worse today, and poor little guy is crying.

Happy Birthday to you.. Happy Birthday Dearest Rachael! Rachael turned 4 on the 6th. Deren made an awesome chocolate cake for her (and for me, I guess, because I ate more than everyone else!).

Jacob can write his name. Hooray for Jacob!!!

Our little big guy!!

I guess I'm on the once-a-month post schedule.
Abby had an accident, and broke her leg just above her ankle. She's in a full leg cast until the end of this month.
We've had one kid or another throwing up every weekend since the first of January.
We're passing around another (who-knows-how-many-now) cold.
Joshua is on another hunger strike, albeit more sever than some of the others. All I have to say is "Time to eat!" and he runs and gets his barf bucket. Yesterday evening I was feeling a bit sadistic. I kept saying "Joshua, time to eat!" ..Poor guy gagged I don't know how many times. I suspect that he got a bit of a tummy bug, then that prompted his most recent hunger strike. So I'm not pushing him to hard. If he wants to go outside and play or watch a movie, he has to take a bit of soy yogurt. After crying for minute or two, he often does. OR he throws up. And does anyone know if you can selectively throw up things. A couple days he ate some pretzels, followed by some hamburger. He threw up only the hamburger - no pretzels (and "yes", we've cleaned up enough pretzel puke that we can tell the difference.)

Needless to say, we're celebrating our spring break in usual fashion. It's also been raining this week, so Joshua is positively stir crazy. The sun peaked out a bit ago. I was talking with Deren on the phone. I told him I was thinking about taking the kids for a walk. His response was something along the lines of "Do you have a death wish?!"

Took Daniel to an ENT specialist this a.m. Looks like he's going to get tubes. Daniel has his third ear infection at the tender age of 4 mos. He also has the respiratory yuck that the others are passing around, and has a bad cough. The doctor said that research shows that kiddos who get their first ear infection when they're under 4 mos usually have many to follow. Seeing how Daniel is on #3, it's not looking good. And since we don't like to give antibiotics to the kids in general, let alone every other month, Daniel's getting tubes. Poor baby.

In other Daniel news, he's growing - he's 17 lbs, 12 oz now. He's also taking prevacid for reflux. It was so weird. The other kids started having reflux problems when they were a couple weeks old. We thought Daniel was going to beat it. But he started having all his problems late last month. Finally, he's lifting his head up like a pro. I will post a pic later. Abby has a swiffer and it sounds like she's pounding the dickens out of something in the bathroom. And she's squealing and laughing to boot, so I'd better go check!

Took Abby to the neurologist on Monday. The doctor was pleased with how she's doing. Her MRI was normal. He recommended keeping her on phenobarbital for at least another 3 mos - until the main cold and flu season is over, reasoning that she may have additional seizures with all the bugs she's having otherwise. And speaking of bugs, we're passing around another cold, and Joshua was throwing up this past Saturday. I think we've had about 5 days since the first of January when we've had the kids semi healthy! I'm sooooooooooooo ready for spring!

And speaking of spring, it was close to 80 degrees here today. We kept Rachael home from school because she was coughing so much last night. I planned that we would stay outside most the day - we would do some more work in the garden, break out a seed starting kit with Rachael (and let Abby 'plant' beans from the kitchen, go for a walk, nurse Daniel in the sun.. have a blissful day in the sunshine. Bwaa haa haa! You'd think I would learn by now. Rachael pooped in her underwear while I was nursing Daniel in the living room. Instead of telling me, she hid under the covers in her bedroom. Abby wanted to play with sissy Rachael, so she followed her back there. I thought the girls were playing nicely - Abby was (sort of), if you count treading through poop on the floor in the category of 'playing nicely.' In her defense, I don't think she did it on purpose. It kind of camouflages into the flooring. While I cleaned up Rachael, Abby attacked the humidifier in her room, dumping about 1/2 gallon of water on her floor. And while I mopped the house the girls traveled from one toy box to another, dumping all the contents out.

So we stepped outside about 1 pm, and by that time it was pretty warm. Abby had tired herself out, between her cold and her a.m. exploits. I sat down to nurse Daniel, and she threw a whopper fit because I wouldn't push her in the swing. I hauled her inside, still screaming (Abby, that is). She passed out on the floor in the hallway while I nursed Daniel. After I nursed Daniel, I put her and Rachael in the stroller. Rachael fell asleep. Abby woke up, took all the toys Rachael had in her hands and threw them out of the stroller, and poked and prodded her unconscious sister the rest of the walk.

..not the day I had planned, but who am I to think that I call the shots?

Well our little giggle boy is now also a raspberry boy! He's been blowing raspberries left and right this week - too cute! The OT from ECI was here today. She said "Just wait until he does raspberries with a mouth full of baby food!" That brings back memories of Miss Abby. Speaking of which.. her stomach is still upset off and on - don't know why - maybe the seizure medication is causing a more or less constant low grade nausea?? She will eat, then sound like she's going to throw up. She says "Bucket!" and runs and gets her barf bucket. Poor peanut.

Activity wise, she's full speed ahead. She's driving Deren crazy. When he gets home from work she wants all his attention, so she gets into one scrap after another so he'll come rescue her. Last night she danced on top of the boys' dressers, the back of the couch, the high chair.. all within about 1/2 hr time span. I thought Deren was going to have a nervous breakdown. I'm thinking we should put her in her crib for a bit while we eat dinner (she can climb out of her high chair), then get her out and play. It's that or have Deren go nuts every night.

While Rachael was at school today, Abby walked around the house, saying "Where's sissy?"

Abby had her MRI Tuesday morning. Still haven't heard about the results. I guess no news is good news.

It's official - he's a giggler! Daniel giggled at me today during a flirt session. He is such a sweet baby. He has had a temperature for days now with his ear infection, but he still has a smile for all.

Abby had another rough week last week. Last Sunday (Jan 28th) she started throwing up in the evening. She threw up off and on all week long, until she got some phenergan at the dr's office on Friday. She spent a couple days crying the whole day long. Deren took off 2 days (that he didn't have) to help at home. My neighbor Monique - God Bless her - also came and helped. Abby's doing better now. She's still not eating a lot, and all her pants are sliding to her hips because she's lost weight. Providing tonight goes well, she has an MRI tomorrow morning. Please keep our baby girl in your prayers.

Joshua got sick with the current stomach bug last Friday. He seems to be doing better today. Although I'm a bit nervous about the variety he's eaten. I'm hoping it won't come up tonight - ugh!

We see little of Jacob since he's learned to surf the net. He will stay at the computer until he pees on himself. He doesn't want to leave the computer and have a sibling take over. He loves to watch movie trailers online, and he's quite industrious at finding them. Deren said he was scary himself silly watching a trailer for Snakes on a Plane. But he'd come right back to it and watch it again! We've blocked many sites, but as I said, he's quite industrious. He'll see me coming around the corner, quickly exit the site he's on, and pull up the Disney website.

Miss Rachael is halfway potty trained. She refuses to poop on the potty. Although she did poop on the potty twice for Grandpa David when he was babysitting her in January. We decided that, on some level, she knew that Grandpa wasn't up for the job of changing out poopy underwear! All bets are off for mommy and daddy, though. She goes and hides and does her business. No amount of bribery thus far has worked. David plied her with so many chocolates yesterday she looked positively green.

..better go. Miss Abby is feeling better today and sowing her oats. She's running around the house with a ballpoint pen.

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Pics of the boys sick & Abby on the mend