The End

So, here we are. One year and 365 blog posts later, the challenge is complete. 

Some posts were a bit late (not many, but some), some were just not good, but they are all there. I did it. 

I'm not sure where to go from here. Ideally, I'd like to have my own website with fancier graphics, but we'll see. 

For now, I'll wish everyone a safe and happy 2015. 

Thanks for reading. 

I Love You, Man

Every night around 7pm, it begins, without fail. Alex gets super affectionate and tells me "I love you, Mommy!" about every 12 minutes. He reminds me of a little drunk man; he will interrupt a conversation to tell me, or stop whatever he's doing to remind me. I can't help but giggle sometimes. 

It is super sweet, though, and I love hearing him say it. 

Resolutions

I was chatting with the kids about the new year, and asked them what goals they have for themselves in 2015. 

Alex eagerly told me that he doesn't want to have any more bathroom-related accidents. This is especially awesome because he came up with it on his own. 

Addie is determined to perfect her passé releve in ballet. With her dedication to dance, she will have no trouble achieving this. 

When it was Andrew's turn, I asked him the same question. "What is your goal for 2015?"

His excited response? "TO FLY! I WANT TO FLY!!"

After the giggles and a brief explanation of what we meant by "goal", he decided that tying his own shoes and riding a two-wheeler would be better things to work toward in the new year. 

What are your goals for 2015?

Three to Go...

...and yes, I forgot to post last night. Ugh!! Only three more days to go before we can end the daily blog challenge. Will I make it?!?

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Respite

The kids were invited to sleep over at their grandparents' house; this is something they do fairly often, but it's always a treat for them. 

It's a treat for me, too, and a much needed break. I got to grocery shop by myself, run errands at the mall, get take out for dinner, take a bath (seriously, first leisurely bathing experience in ten years!), and now watch tv in peace. 

Truth be told, I miss them. But, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled chaos soon enough. Until then, I've got more turns on Soda Crush calling my name. 

Never Try to Eat All the Cookies

So, earlier I declared today Pajama Day, and decided I might eat all the leftover Christmas cookies. While I didn't eat all of them, I ate way too many and now regret it. Here is why you should never try to eat all the cookies:

When you try to eat all the cookies you end up feeling like a lazy blob, and you crash on the couch. 

When you crash on the couch, the kids think you are sleeping and try to get away with murder. 

Ok, maybe not murder, but Alex will open the back gate and let the dog escape. 

When the dog escapes, you have to chase her down the street...in your pajamas (because you declared today Pajama Day). 

Because you are chasing her in your pajamas, all the neighbors are outside to watch, because of course. 

Because they are watching, the dog is stubborn and you have to pick her up and haul her home (she is a big dog). 

While you struggle down the street, in your pajamas with the dog, your husband will text you from home. He'll text "need help", but forget the question mark and accidentally text it to his mother first. 

Because she receives a random text for help, she thinks Mark is in danger and is understandably worried. She calls all the cell phones to make sure everyone is ok. 

You finally stumble through the front door, with the dog, and collapse on the couch and refuse to make dinner because you might vomit because you tried to eat all the cookies. 

Trust me on this: do not try to eat all the cookies. It's so not worth it. 

Christmas 2014

We had a wonderful Christmas! The kids are thrilled with their gifts, and more importantly, we had a terrific time with our family. 

Andrew fell asleep on my lap last night for the first time in ages, and then I put my tired self to bed. (Hence, the late blog post.)

I have officially declared today Pajama Day, which will include playing new board games and eating all the remaining Christmas cookies. Oh, and perhaps finally finishing the holiday cards. As long as they're out by New Year, it will be ok, right? 

Christmas Eve

Alex is just way too excited. After telling us "Merry Christmas!!" about 12 times, he finally got in his bed, only to stay there maybe six seconds before he started his "I'm not tired" routine. 

Ugh. I still have things to do, but it is a struggle to stay awake at this point. 

I can do this! Christmas will come and go either way. 

Making Christmas...

Yep. Still up, wrapping gifts. The most difficult category is finished, and I'm about to begin the next category. I'll leave family gifts for tomorrow. 

So ready to fall over somewhere...

Two more days...

...and I'm no where near ready. 

Must sleep now so I can power through this monster to-do list tomorrow. 

Nutcracker

This evening I had the pleasure of attending BalletMet's The Nutcracker with my mom, daughter, sister, and niece. It's become a holiday tradition, and a favorite one at that. 

The ballet was beautiful, as always, but what's better is watching Addie's reactions to the performance. I could hear her whispering to my niece, who said "How do they do that?!?"

Addie's response came quickly: "They practice a lot!!"

It was so fun to watch Addie, on the edge of her seat, wildly applaud the Sugar Plum Fairy after her dances. Addie admires ballerinas as some people admire rock stars. 

Perhaps, one day, a little girl will gaze starry eyed at my Addie as she twirls across a stage. 

Family Gathering

Today, part of my family gathered together to celebrate Christmas. It's definitely one of my favorite holiday traditions. 

No matter how long it's been since we've seen each other, there is always laughter; it's a guaranteed good time. 

After visiting, watching the kids play, and laughing together, my heart is full. 

Meltdowns

First day of winter break = meltdown city. 

Exhausting. Trying again tomorrow. 

...And, Scene

'Tis the season...for exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, and just wishing for the arrival of 12/26. 

There is so much to do: finish holiday cards, wrap all the gifts, bake stuff. Will it ever end?

It will. Of course. The holiday will come and go, and as far as the kids are concerned, it will be awesome. 

And that is why I'll keep plowing through the to-do list. 

Getting Close...

Christmas is just a week away. The kids are starting to break under the anticipation of all the holiday fun coming up in the next several days. Even the dog is flipping out. 

We can do this. With many deep breaths and loads of patience, this holiday will be fantastic. 

Sleepy

Sometimes, in a busy time of year, you just need a break. 

I reached that point tonight. Tired, cranky, and just feel like laying around.

Hopefully my to-do list appreciates the break, too. 

Visit with Santa

We took the kids to visit with Santa last week, and we somehow managed to get all three kids into the photo. Trust me, after waiting in line, that is no small feat! The kids shared with Santa some of the things they hope to find under our tree on Christmas morning, and it was really cute.

After paying an obnoxious amount of money for a photo with the big guy in the red suit, we let the kids browse through a nearby toy store. While they enjoyed shopping the store, it was probably kind of cruel to set them loose this close to Christmas. Obviously, we weren't about to buy them new toys (Hanukkah starts this week, too!), but they were allowed to look for quite a long time.

Alex somehow stumbled upon a toy gun that shoots out bright orange foam balls, and he fell in love with it. Because, of course. Guns are one toy that I discourage for my kids; I just don't like them to play with them (if you do allow it for your kids, that's great; but, I prefer not to, and that's great too). Alex was determined, though, to buy this particular toy. I explained to him, again, that we were not there to buy toys that night. He refused to leave the check out line, though, so we launched into one of our stand offs (where we have to wait in a particular place so I can out-stubborn him).

This kid has become quite clever, though. He finally conceded that I wasn't going to buy the gun, so he decided he would just take it out to Santa so he would know what to bring him. I then had to remind him that we can't leave stores with an item if we don't pay for it, and asked him for maybe the 23rd time to put it back on its shelf.

But, Alex had other ideas. Tilting his head, he explained to me that he would just leave the toy on the counter and ask the toy store lady to tell Santa about it. I kind of wanted to see this play out, so I agreed that this was a good plan.

He proudly marched up to the counter and when the lady asked him if he was ready to check out, he answered "No. This is for Santa to bring to me."

I was standing right behind him, and the lady's eyes met mine and I nodded. "Oh! Of course we can leave this for Santa! What is your name? I'll put it on the toy so he'll know which one you want."

Alex was thrilled. They continued chatting, the lady paying careful attention to what he said and seamlessly carrying on their conversation. She made him feel like such a hot shot; he turned to me, just beaming, when he was ready to leave. I thanked her as we left, hoping she realized how important this encounter truly was.

The next day, I returned to buy the toy gun, so that Santa can leave it under our tree with all the other cheerfully wrapped items.

While I was there, I asked who the lady was that helped Alex the previous night, and was told that it was the owner of the store. I plan to send her a note to thank her again for her kind service, but if you are local and still in need of some gifts for the holidays, please consider shopping her store.

It's moments like these that remind me that the holiday spirit really is all around us, if we are willing to see it.

Busy Little Elves

There's a busy little elf in my house...and I'm not talking about the one that hides from the kids each day. My holiday to-do list is so long that I feel like an overworked elf, yearning for that week after Christmas where everyone can just chill and breathe. Don't get me wrong; I do love the holidays. BUT, it's exhausting.

That's it for tonight, as I'm trying to cross at least two more things off my list before the night ends...

Night Out

Mark's crazy holiday schedule makes it difficult for us to spend much time together. Last night, we finally had a chance to escape for a bit. 

We joined our friends for a mead-drinking-Master's-degree-completion celebration. (Mead is quite tasty!) Then, Mark and I headed out for a quick dinner. 

It was a short and simple outing; sometimes those are the best ones.  

Tick tock...

Anyone else feeling the pressure of the holidays? I just need to calm down and realize that if something doesn't get done in time, to match my expectations, the world will go on. Cards might be late, and that's ok. The packages might not get wrapped with custom made, fluffy bows, and that's ok, too. The baking may not be as delicious as I want it to be, and that's...well, let's face it, that would be sad. Nobody wants burned Christmas cookies.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good amount of caffeine to get this all done in time.

Restoring the Holiday Spirit

The holidays: a busy time that is commonly accompanied by stress, chaos, and crankiness (that last one is typically caused by the other two). I am not immune to these; just this morning, I was running frantically from one errand to the next, determined to make the most of my "free time", which was just an hour and 28 minutes this morning.

Dealing with the stress and chaos of preparing for my family's holidays (Hanukkah and Christmas...our house is so festive this time of year!) definitely caused some crankiness for me this morning. I was tired of encountering rude people every where I went. I mean, seriously, would it kill people to smile and be pleasant to the tired cashier that is on the rough end of everyone's bad moods?

Anyway, by the time I headed over to the kids' school to volunteer at their Epcot Day event, I was in a fairly foul mood. In fact, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that I now have one week left before the kids are out of school (which means that my restricted free time will be completely nonexistent from 12/19-1/5...and that's a long time!), that I was ready to give in and let myself be taken over by the Grinchy, bah-humbug spirit that creeps in every now and then. But, I plastered on a smile and marched in to the school, ready to help out with this truly great event for the kids.

Each December, the PTO puts on Epcot Day, during which the kids learn about our global community through presentations, crafts, and activities representative of that year's countries. It is a huge undertaking, but the kids love it and it is really a great day. My job today was to help out at the Marketplace; each student is given two "dollars" to buy trinkets that cost one "dollar" each. There were several things from which to choose: pencils, erasers, keychains, worry dolls, nesting-type wooden dolls, ornaments, friendship bracelets. Every twenty minutes a new group of kids came through the gym, and the Marketplace was one of the activities.

I was amazed at how carefully the children shopped; each item was taken into careful consideration before a purchase was made. During my "shift", the older kids came through first and were a bit more decisive, and much quieter about their choices. But, when the younger kids started to trickle through the gym, the process started to take a bit longer. I soon realized why that was so, as the younger kids were more willing to chat about their purchases.

One little boy chose an ornament, handed me his "dollar" and said "My mom will love this!" Another boy picked out a ring (made of tightly rolled paper, maybe?), and told me that it was for his mom, and that he would have to be careful to hide it from her so she wouldn't find it before Christmas. One of my youngest son's friends selected a little wooden doll, explaining that he chose it for his sister. Many dads will be the recipients of key chains and pencils, while grandmothers will receive handwritten notes on postcards chosen by their grandchildren.

I was blown away. These kids were given this "money", with no expectations except that they could only choose two things from the Marketplace. They could have easily selected two souvenirs for themselves, but so many of them were thinking of others they could gift these trinkets to on Christmas morning. It was heartwarming, and definitely restored my holiday spirit on a day when I really needed it.

Grinchy attitudes, be gone. These young people need to have better examples to look up to so that their beautiful little holiday hearts won't be crushed as they get older.

Wrapping

Why is it more fun to buy gifts and wrapping supplies, but pure torture to have to wrap everything?

That's my perception, anyway. 

Random Thoughts

Holiday exhaustion is setting in. Here is just a snap shot into my thoughts this evening...

*Wow, the house is truly blown up. 

*Gotta get those holiday cards out. 

*Why do they start the Christmas shows at 8pm?!? So much for their 8pm bedtime.

*What on earth am I going to write about for the rest of this year?

*What day is it again?

*I wonder if I am really finished shopping. I feel like I am forgetting something. 

*There must be an easy cookie I could bake, that I don't like, so I won't eat them all. 

*Eating three cookies before bed was a bad idea. 

*Don't forget the elf, don't forget the elf, don't forget the elf...

Forgot Again

Seriously. I had every intention of posting last night. Obviously, it didn't happen. 

22 more days...

Love Bug

Alex can be very difficult. He will readily tell you that he is stubborn; once he has his mind set on something, especially something that doesn't agree with what we want him to do/think/say, he will rarely change his mind. It can be exhausting.

But, he does have his moments.

Each evening, as he gets sleepier and sleepier, he will spontaneously hug me and say "I love you, Mommy" (only, because we are still working on his "l" sounds, it comes out "I yuv you, Mommy".

Too. Stinking. Cute.

Tonight, after dinner, he finished first and proclaimed the meal "the best dinner EVER!" He started to leave the table, but stopped, and came back. "Oops! I forgot something! Guess what I forgot? I forgot to give you a HUG!" Then, I got a big hug and an emphatic "I love you, Mommy."

This kid. It's amazing how all the difficult moments are pushed aside when he does something like this.

Yawwwwn...

This is not good. Only the 6th of December, and I am very ready for a long winter's nap. 

Zzzzzzz...

Birthdaypalooza, Andrew Edition

My baby turned six years old today. Where has the time gone?

My last born is a witty, kind, loving little guy, and he is so excited for his birthday. He celebrated yesterday with his M/Th classmates and today with his Friday classmates and his family, and he will celebrate again tomorrow with his cousins and a few friends at his birthday party.

It's exhausting, but he is having a good time, so it's more than worth it.

Happy 6th birthday, my sweet boy. I love you.

Alex Quotes

I have a headache. Stress or sinus; not sure which. All I want to do is sleep, but that is still a couple hours away if I want to accomplish anything tonight. 

As I was sitting down for a moment, Al came and plopped down next to me. Soon after, I noticed a strong, unpleasant odor. Al looked at me, his eyes twinkling, and said "I didn't toot. I farted!" Lovely. 

Moments later, as I stood up to go into the kitchen, Alex said "Hey, while you're in there, get me some more chocolate milk."

What?!? Part of me was appalled by the lack of manners, but another part was thrilled to hear him put that sentence together. (And no, he did not get the chocolate milk.) 

Alex can be such a funny little guy. Frustrating as all hell, but definitely funny. 

Chugging Along

Alex did not have such a great day, potty training wise. I'm not sure how today was so different, in terms of routine, but we'll try again tomorrow. 

Halllllllelujah!!

Today was Alex's first day at school without Pull Ups. I was anxious all day; I was just afraid that he would get discouraged if it didn't go well, or that someone would tease him if he had an accident.

I shouldn't have worried about it. This kid has it under control.

He got off the bus and ran toward the house...wearing the SAME PANTS THAT HE WORE TO SCHOOL!! No accidents!! He flung open the door, and I was so excited that I could only spit out, "ALEX! Your PANTS!!"

He was slightly thrown by my probably somewhat overwhelming response, and immediately showed me where he ripped the knee of his pants. I didn't even care about the ruined pants, because nothing else mattered except that he made it through the whole day and didn't have an accident.

This is going in the right direction. I'm quite optimistic. Keep those good vibes coming!!

Potty Training...Take 458

Having a child with special needs obviously presents extra challenges. One of these is potty training. I have three children, and I have yet to successfully potty train any of them.

That's probably a little misleading. The truth is, two of my three kids trained themselves. We've been trying to get Alex trained for so long that the other two just kind of mastered it on their own, when it was developmentally appropriate for them to do so. In the meantime, we've attempted potty training many, many times with Alex. It obviously never ends the way we hope.

The average age for a child with Down syndrome to be toilet trained is eight. We are two years past that, and I'm done. He can totally do it, but for some reason just won't. He is about 80% trained, but still can't stay dry, and we've allowed him to stay in Pull-Ups, thinking he would let us know when he was ready.

Well, he's ready. We made that decision for him, though, because it's just ridiculous now. It's easier for him to not stop what he's doing to use the bathroom, and he probably enjoys that sense of control that he then maintains over the situation.

Sorry, pal. Time's up.

He did really well yesterday, and while today was a little rough, we stuck to it and made it to bedtime. I thought he was doing so well this evening, and then discovered that he had changed into a Pull-Up at some point. I wasn't sure if I should be frustrated because he ditched the underpants, or admire him because he managed to get one over on me.

Tomorrow is a new day, and another chance to try again. And try, try we will.