Well, have I got a treat for you! I'm out of town at the moment for a work retreat, so I'll make this short and sweet.
I talked to The Hubbs yesterday morning. Apparently, when he walked into The Princess's room to check on her while she was playing on Saturday evening, he found a giant poop in her pink froggy potty.
And, it seems he forgot to put her in her overnight Pull-Ups on Friday and Saturday. And she was dry. Both nights.
That is all.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Waving
The Hubbs: "Hi, Princess. Hiiiiii."
The Princess:
At five and a half years old, she's finally beginning to understand the concept of waving. She still seems a bit confused by it, but it's slowly working its way into her vocabulary of actions.
The Princess:
At five and a half years old, she's finally beginning to understand the concept of waving. She still seems a bit confused by it, but it's slowly working its way into her vocabulary of actions.
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Best Decision I Ever Made
In my life, I've made my fair share of mistakes. Everybody has. We all know this about ourselves and those close to us. But I love my mistakes; I hold them close to my heart, because they paved the way for the best decision I ever made.
If I hadn't had that four-year brain fart starting in high school (who shall remain nameless), I never would have needed karaoke to show me my way home.
If I hadn't spent seventeen years with my so-called best friend (who shall remain nameless), who stabbed me in the back countless times, I never would have developed a thick skin. A thick skin that has been my saving grace these last few years as I've dealt with these people - we all know one or two of them - who have no worldly idea how to treat another human being. "Nameless" and these other people have also taught me how to stand my ground when I know I'm right, and for that, I thank them.
If I hadn't had such a love-hate relationship with a few certain people over the years, I'd never be able to fully appreciate true, unbiased, unconditional, full-wattage love when I saw it.
If none of these things had ever happened the way they did, I have no idea where I'd have been on March 27, 2003. I may never have met the love of my life.
Seven years ago, I married my best friend. Today, as I look back, I can't help but thank God for all of the little mistakes along my path, the ones that brought me to him and him to me.
He never wanted to get married before we met. I, apparently, have such a profound effect on men (ahem) that I decisively changed his mind over the course of six months...without ever having any idea that this is what I was doing.
You see, I had given up on the idea that I needed a man to complete me. I had had enough of serious dating, and I was out to have a little fun and be myself.
And that's when it happened.
Somewhere between him adamantly not wanting to get married and me just wanting to have fun, we found our soul mates in each other.
Every day since we met has been another fairy tale.
Happy seventh wedding anniversary, Swatta. I love you, and I can say with absolute certainty that you are the best decision I ever made.
If I hadn't had that four-year brain fart starting in high school (who shall remain nameless), I never would have needed karaoke to show me my way home.
If I hadn't spent seventeen years with my so-called best friend (who shall remain nameless), who stabbed me in the back countless times, I never would have developed a thick skin. A thick skin that has been my saving grace these last few years as I've dealt with these people - we all know one or two of them - who have no worldly idea how to treat another human being. "Nameless" and these other people have also taught me how to stand my ground when I know I'm right, and for that, I thank them.
If I hadn't had such a love-hate relationship with a few certain people over the years, I'd never be able to fully appreciate true, unbiased, unconditional, full-wattage love when I saw it.
If none of these things had ever happened the way they did, I have no idea where I'd have been on March 27, 2003. I may never have met the love of my life.
Seven years ago, I married my best friend. Today, as I look back, I can't help but thank God for all of the little mistakes along my path, the ones that brought me to him and him to me.
He never wanted to get married before we met. I, apparently, have such a profound effect on men (ahem) that I decisively changed his mind over the course of six months...without ever having any idea that this is what I was doing.
You see, I had given up on the idea that I needed a man to complete me. I had had enough of serious dating, and I was out to have a little fun and be myself.
And that's when it happened.
Somewhere between him adamantly not wanting to get married and me just wanting to have fun, we found our soul mates in each other.
Every day since we met has been another fairy tale.
Happy seventh wedding anniversary, Swatta. I love you, and I can say with absolute certainty that you are the best decision I ever made.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Loved to Hate It
Every week since she turned three, The Princess has brought home a potty chart in her backpack. This evil little scrap of paper loves to mock all of our efforts, and I love to hate it.
I suppose I should really say, "I loved to hate it."
Why, you may ask? See for yourself.
That's right. A perfect record. It only took two and a half years at school, and - damn it - it was worth every single second of the wait.
I suppose I should really say, "I loved to hate it."
Why, you may ask? See for yourself.
That's right. A perfect record. It only took two and a half years at school, and - damn it - it was worth every single second of the wait.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Potty Training, Picture Day and the Death of a Dishwasher
Buckle up, folks...this post is gonna be a rambler. ;)
Since we talked last week, a lot has happened. We've continued our daily trips to the local state parks, and The Princess continues to love it.
Don't believe me? Here's your proof:
Go ahead...just try to tell me that's not a happy kid.
She is still a major fan of the stroller rides, and I'm so unbelievably proud of her. Are you sitting down? No? Grab a seat. I'll wait.
Not only is our girl rockin' the big girl panties every day, but she's decided to take things up a notch. She now stops what she is doing, gets up, runs to her potty, goes, pulls up her drawers, removes the pee bucket from the pink froggy, and attempts to empty it into the toilet herself. Without being prompted. I mean, like, all by herself.
I know. I almost plotzed the first time it happened. And the second. And the third. I think I'm finally starting to get used to it.
Just shy of five and a half years of wearing diapers every single day...and it was so totally worth the wait. Sure, it took years of grueling potty training, but when this girl gets something, she gets it. There are no words for the pride I feel.
***
Thursday was Fall Picture Day at school. I have a hard time saying that without a snarky little whine creeping into my voice. Autism + Picture Day = Hell On Wheels for everyone involved. At least, that's been my experience over the last couple of years.
Unbelievably, this year seems to have been different. I'll have to reserve my final judgment for after we hear back from her teachers, but it doesn't seem to have thrown her at all.
Five minutes before our alarm was set to go off on Thursday morning, The Princess woke up and started singing. As we walked into our room, I noticed that her hair looked amazing. Yes, my girl, the one whose bedhead is epic and can last for days, woke up with not one single hair out of place.
We cruised through our morning routine with no hiccups, The Princess cooperating every step of the way. She even chose her own outfit for her school picture.
After putting her on the bus with her backpack and an in-case-of-emergency change of pants, The Hubbs and I returned to work.
No phone calls. No emails. No panicked correspondence of any kind. For Picture Day, it was eerily silent.
And then her bus arrived at the end of our driveway. She greeted us with a smile and a song, still wearing the outfit she had chosen that morning and giving no indication that anything remotely out of the ordinary had happened.
We were warned in advance that this year's pictures would be taken in the gym, and that this can often be unbearable for at least some of the kids in the autism program. No kidding. We live with one. Big, cavernous space + lots of antsy kids + waiting in line and being expected to do specific things = the mother of all meltdowns just waiting to happen.
But there was nothing. She was happy. No notes from teachers, aides, therapists. No worried calls from school nurses.
Nothing at all.
I can't wait to see this picture, y'all.
***
And in totally non-Princess-related news, we've been fighting with our dishwasher for some time now. We received it as a hand-me-down about six years ago. and I couldn't have been more thankful. There was no way we could have afforded one at the time, and, hey...it was free.
Over the last five or so years, I've torn that machine apart more times than I can count. My momma didn't raise me to be a needy little girly-girl, so I dive head-first into repairs in my own home the way she always has with hers. Probably a month and a half to two months ago, the dishwasher started acting up again, and I just didn't feel like I had time to check it out. Fast-forward to September, and The Hubbs and I were just totally O-V-E-R the idea of hand-washing everything. All meals in our little yellow house are made from scratch, and we do a lot of crock-potting and baking.
Something needed to be done.
I ripped apart the dishwasher yet again, pulled diagnostic codes from its onboard computer, flipped it on its back, removed and tested all of the electrical components and came to a decision. The capacitor and pressure switch alone would cost over $100 (plus shipping), and I didn't even know if that would fix the problem or not. My first attempt - replacing the heating element - didn't do it, so my usually sunny outlook was gaining more than a little cloud cover. With so many things testing in the bad-to-dead range, I was afraid there was a short somewhere in the machine.
Never one to give up, I called every store in the area that carries dishwashers. I found one for $224 - brand new - and borrowed Momma's truck. A few hours later, our new dishwasher was running the first load of dishes, and it does a great job. In fact, I'm listening to it now.
And, can I just say that I'm feelin' pretty good about myself here? I'm no helpless girly-girl, for sure, but this is the first time I've done this type of project from start to finish completely on my own. Between the mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects of the job, this has inflated my ego just a smidge.
***
All in all, I'd say it was a good week in our little yellow house. But I can seriously do without any additional appliance weirdness for a while. Here's hopin' the next week is on the quiet side, and we can have lots of uninterrupted family time.
Since we talked last week, a lot has happened. We've continued our daily trips to the local state parks, and The Princess continues to love it.
Don't believe me? Here's your proof:
Go ahead...just try to tell me that's not a happy kid.
She is still a major fan of the stroller rides, and I'm so unbelievably proud of her. Are you sitting down? No? Grab a seat. I'll wait.
Not only is our girl rockin' the big girl panties every day, but she's decided to take things up a notch. She now stops what she is doing, gets up, runs to her potty, goes, pulls up her drawers, removes the pee bucket from the pink froggy, and attempts to empty it into the toilet herself. Without being prompted. I mean, like, all by herself.
I know. I almost plotzed the first time it happened. And the second. And the third. I think I'm finally starting to get used to it.
Just shy of five and a half years of wearing diapers every single day...and it was so totally worth the wait. Sure, it took years of grueling potty training, but when this girl gets something, she gets it. There are no words for the pride I feel.
***
Thursday was Fall Picture Day at school. I have a hard time saying that without a snarky little whine creeping into my voice. Autism + Picture Day = Hell On Wheels for everyone involved. At least, that's been my experience over the last couple of years.
Unbelievably, this year seems to have been different. I'll have to reserve my final judgment for after we hear back from her teachers, but it doesn't seem to have thrown her at all.
Five minutes before our alarm was set to go off on Thursday morning, The Princess woke up and started singing. As we walked into our room, I noticed that her hair looked amazing. Yes, my girl, the one whose bedhead is epic and can last for days, woke up with not one single hair out of place.
We cruised through our morning routine with no hiccups, The Princess cooperating every step of the way. She even chose her own outfit for her school picture.
After putting her on the bus with her backpack and an in-case-of-emergency change of pants, The Hubbs and I returned to work.
No phone calls. No emails. No panicked correspondence of any kind. For Picture Day, it was eerily silent.
And then her bus arrived at the end of our driveway. She greeted us with a smile and a song, still wearing the outfit she had chosen that morning and giving no indication that anything remotely out of the ordinary had happened.
We were warned in advance that this year's pictures would be taken in the gym, and that this can often be unbearable for at least some of the kids in the autism program. No kidding. We live with one. Big, cavernous space + lots of antsy kids + waiting in line and being expected to do specific things = the mother of all meltdowns just waiting to happen.
But there was nothing. She was happy. No notes from teachers, aides, therapists. No worried calls from school nurses.
Nothing at all.
I can't wait to see this picture, y'all.
***
And in totally non-Princess-related news, we've been fighting with our dishwasher for some time now. We received it as a hand-me-down about six years ago. and I couldn't have been more thankful. There was no way we could have afforded one at the time, and, hey...it was free.
Over the last five or so years, I've torn that machine apart more times than I can count. My momma didn't raise me to be a needy little girly-girl, so I dive head-first into repairs in my own home the way she always has with hers. Probably a month and a half to two months ago, the dishwasher started acting up again, and I just didn't feel like I had time to check it out. Fast-forward to September, and The Hubbs and I were just totally O-V-E-R the idea of hand-washing everything. All meals in our little yellow house are made from scratch, and we do a lot of crock-potting and baking.
Something needed to be done.
I ripped apart the dishwasher yet again, pulled diagnostic codes from its onboard computer, flipped it on its back, removed and tested all of the electrical components and came to a decision. The capacitor and pressure switch alone would cost over $100 (plus shipping), and I didn't even know if that would fix the problem or not. My first attempt - replacing the heating element - didn't do it, so my usually sunny outlook was gaining more than a little cloud cover. With so many things testing in the bad-to-dead range, I was afraid there was a short somewhere in the machine.
Never one to give up, I called every store in the area that carries dishwashers. I found one for $224 - brand new - and borrowed Momma's truck. A few hours later, our new dishwasher was running the first load of dishes, and it does a great job. In fact, I'm listening to it now.
And, can I just say that I'm feelin' pretty good about myself here? I'm no helpless girly-girl, for sure, but this is the first time I've done this type of project from start to finish completely on my own. Between the mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects of the job, this has inflated my ego just a smidge.
***
All in all, I'd say it was a good week in our little yellow house. But I can seriously do without any additional appliance weirdness for a while. Here's hopin' the next week is on the quiet side, and we can have lots of uninterrupted family time.
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