Hanna Is On A Mission

Hanna has plans today, at least some sort of crazy idea that she is leaving because this is just a dumb family according to her and she does not need a family. She has decided that she is going to run away to her old school where she can as she puts it "be the boss and do what she wants to all to time".

There is one problem with this plan of hers she can not find her way to this school, for that matter she can not find her way anywhere. She thinks she has solved the problem because she asked Lauren to help her get there. I think Lauren could get to the school without getting lost, but she told Hanna that she had to charge up her power chair before going so far away. (That was good planning on Lauren`s part). Hanna went out to the garage to plug in the wheelchair and she was sitting there on top of a pile of boxes waiting for the light on the charger to turn green indicating that the chair is ready to go. I do not know how long it takes to charge a wheelchair battery since we usually plug it in over night.

Dad came home and offered to take the kids bowling so now Hanna has to make a choice to go with everyone else or watch for the green light. I hope she goes bowling and forgets all about running away.

Weekend Rewind

We had a great weekend, well that is all of us except for Hanna who just could not help but get herself into a heap of trouble. I will spare you the details because it is all just to exhausting to rehash, lets just say it involves the usual lying and stealing.

Anyway Karre drove the first 1/3 of the trip and then we picked Jared up and he drove. We stopped to pick up Uncle Dave, Kris, and the two kids and we drove to northern Minnesota where we met Rene` and about 350 other relatives. The kids of Dad`s aunt and uncle were throwing a party to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. These people have 12 kids, 39 grand kids, and 39 great-grand kids. In another week or so there will be two more to add. Anyway we ate, visited, and let the kids run around. There were plenty of kids of all ages so everyone could find someone to hang out with. There was a softball tournament and volleyball, too.

A few more details about the food. There were 3 grills going with pork chops, chicken, and burgers, fresh sweet corn, salads, fresh fruit and vegetables, and of course cakes, cookies, and deserts of all kinds.

After hours of enjoying ourselves outside and then taking the kids swimming there was a dance too! These people play as hard as they work and that is pretty hard. I am usually in the majority in this Scandinavian state of Minnesota, but this part of the state is Polish through and through and we Scandinavians are those who just happen to marry into this clan of wonderful people.

By the way after all of this partying almost everyone made it to Sunday Mass as well. We sure had fun.

Wait Till Dad Gets Home

I am trying to get things organized as we need to go to northern Minnesota this weekend to attend a "Polish Party" with all of my husbands family. It will be great fun once we get there, but first I have to pack everything for everyone up. I have been trying to get this done for hours now, but Paul keeps unpacking while Allen yells at him to stop, and the two girls are arguing over who gets to wear what.

Paul found out that I had not put in his favorite car shirt, which has a rather large stain on it, so I threw it in hoping that he would get lost. He has unpacked the shoes and is as he puts it playing shoes, (that would be clomping around the house in every ones shoes) and when he is done with a pair he just throws them where ever they happen to land.

Allen is trying to be helpful and retrieve the shoes and other stuff and put it back, but I told him to stop because Paul started throwing shoes at him and I do not want to deal with Allen throwing them back at him.

Lauren and Hanna have two closets and four dressers full of clothes that they MUST share. They do not share underclothes or long pants but everything else belongs to both of them since they wear the same size. One would think that they could each find three complete outfits to take along as well as pajamas, and a swimsuit. They both seem to think that they need to have the hot pink shorts and neither of them will give an inch. No one gets to bring those shorts as they are now on my top closet shelf. Hanna is not packing anything, (I guess she does not need clothes) since the only thing she wants to wear are those shorts not even the hot green ones that are the same as the ones I took away. I am finding all of this rather crazy since her favorite color is green and she always wears those. Lauren thinks that she should bring long jeans and hoodies. It is supposed to be 85 plus and humid, but since she is always cold I will let her do her thing. I told her that she had to put in at least one pair of shorts and a t-shirt just in case she decides that she is looking silly dressed for winter.

I give up on this project. I am leaving them for Angie and Karre to handle while I go get groceries for the weekend. I will wait till Dad gets home then I might have a chance to finish what I started early this morning with a little less assistance.

Spuds

Yesterday afternoon I was busy so I had asked Karre to wash some potatoes for dinner as we were going to have loaded baked potatoes since i couldn`t think of anything else to make and we had lots of fresh vegetables to put on them. She washed the potatoes and put them into the oven to bake. After awhile she came and told me that it smelled like french fries. When I went to investigate i discovered that she had stabbed thirteen of the spuds and they were cooking just fine, but number fourteen was splattered all over the oven.

I had just cleaned the oven about a month ago and sure had no intention of doing it again anytime soon.

Karre says "so that`s why you stab potatoes, I thought it was just some crazy mom thing that you did for the fun of it".

Oh yes, I have great fun stabbing spuds, maybe to take out some of my frustrations after dealing with the nutty system all day. In that case we will be having baked potatoes very often.

Two More Weeks!

Two more weeks today and I send them out the door to school, at least four of them, the kindergartner does not start until two days later. Are we crazy here in Minnesota or what? Why the heck aren`t these kids in school? I guess it is because some folks are supposedly making some bucks by having the kids on vacation until after Labor Day. For me the bucks have already been spent for the summer and now it is time to get back into the school routine.

Karre will be a senior this year and she has been working so she is not getting to me, but the rest of them are running out of things to do and even when there are things to do they need to be supervised ALL the time so it gets a little crazy. Hanna and Lauren have both gotten themselves into trouble lately, Lauren just being immature and not getting what she wants and with Hanna it is the same old battles that we always have. Allen is Allen, he does not cause much trouble, but he still needs to be supervised, dressed, fed, entertained , toileted, fed, entertained, toileted,fed some more, showered, teeth brushed, toileted, medicated, put to bed, and then we get to start all over again the next day. Paul my busiest of busy bodies is now able to play for about thirty minutes at one thing (thanks to new meds) but he is so impulsive that you never know what he will do next, he needs a great deal of intervention and redirection all day long, and he talks ALL the time. If he is awake his mouth is running and that nonstop chatter, which for the most part has nothing to do with anything that is going on around here is driving me nuts.

It is time for them to go to school so I can have a little peace and quiet around here. I am counting the days of in my head 14, 13, 12, 11, etc.

Mori

A few weeks ago Karre brought home this Caterpillar. She named it Mori which she says means forest is Japanese. The kids put it in the fish bowl and fed it Milk Weed leaves for several days until it turned into a chrysalis.

This morning Mori turned into a butterfly. Karre says he is a male. I have no idea if she is correct or not so I will go along with that.

Karre, Allen , Hanna, and Paul took Mori to the park this morning to set him free. They were there for nearly two hours. I guess Mori wanted to stick around. Finally they left him on a tree.


Paul got very close to Mori. He looks a little bit traumatized here. Paul avoids any kind of critters if at all possible. For him to get this close to this butterfly is amazing. Hanna does not believe that the Caterpillar really is the butterfly since she did not see it change. I guess a little magic is okay since getting her to understand is never going to happen.

No Parking

This is the "No Parking" sign that is in our front yard this morning. They are resurfacing the streets in our neighborhood so that means that all vehicles had to be moved off the street, we have to keep all kids off the road, and we get to enjoy the smell of tar all day long. After today we get to drive on the rock pile that is being spread on the street. This street project reminds me of a summer a long time ago.

Jared was eight, Trevor was seven, and their neighborhood friend Krystalyn was also seven. The city had put "No Parking" signs (likely these same ones from the looks of it) out all around our neighborhood because there was a national softball tournament at the park at the end of our block and they wanted people to be parking at the high school and bus over here instead of on the lawns here. Well anyway the kids decided that there was no need for those signs to be out there so they went around and pulled all of them up and piled them in the tree house. As soon as I figured out what they had done I gave them a couple of hammers and loaded those signs into the wagon and I sent them around to pound all of those signs back into the ground where they had come from in the first place.

The kids had just finished putting every last one of them back, I think this was much harder work then pulling them out had been, when a guy driving a yellow city truck drove up and started pulling them out again. Jared was furious, he couldn't believe that this guy was taking those signs down after all of the work he had done to put them back. Trevor and Krystalyn asked the guy if they could help him collect the signs and he let them, so they went around the neighborhood walking the curb picking up signs.

I called Jared this morning to see what time he was going to get here to work this evening and I told him about the "No Parking" signs being out there and he just chuckled and said that he remembered putting those signs back. We will never have trouble with these boys and signs, ever.

Supplies

The school supply list for kindergarten boggles my brain. It contains Chlorox wipes to get rid of germs, 2 packs of crayons (whatever happened to one box a year?), 6 notebooks, 6 folders, scissors, tennis shoes, a pencil box, 10 pencils, and 20, yes two zero glue sticks as well as 2 bottles of glue. I can only imagine what my five year old who is developmentally acting like a 2 1/2 year old is going to do with all of those glue sticks. He will either be painting himself or gluing his hair into some sort of wacky fashion statement. They also want a blanket for napping, are you kidding, we can not even get the kid to sleep for more then seven hours, that is on a very good night. He is not going to be allowed to take a nap, which he will not do anyway. I have Hanna up after 1 am every night and certainly do not need Paul joining her. He will not be bringing a blanket.

I read an article in the paper that was telling that some schools are adding to the school list staplers, paper clips, and toilet paper. Do we not pay enough taxes to even provide our schools with toilet paper?

Salsa

Since I have cherry tomatoes everywhere I decided to make a batch of salsa with them. I chopped tomatoes, peppers, and onions, simmered them, and added the spices. The results smelled and tasted wonderful. I have the usual takers who will eat anything, Lauren, Allen, and Angie (PCA), everyone else who is at home right now, Karre, Hanna, and Paul turned up their noses and gave me that "no way" look.

I then ran the salsa through the blender, and oh yeah I suddenly have takers. It is amazing what a blender can do. I have only Paul who will not eat the salsa, but then he eats no vegetables, except, now here is the irony, the cherry tomatoes that I put in the salsa.

I have plenty more of these tomatoes for Paul and everyone else to eat, coming right up as soon as I get time to go pick them again.

One Thing At A Time

There is just far to much stuff going on around here right now and I am swimming up stream and this is very hard work.

Monday Rene` came home to a house full of sweaty cranky kids. Allen in particular is not happy because I will not let him go outside all day. It is just to hot for that right now and he does not understand when to stop and come inside. Physically dragging him back inside is building me some extra muscles that I do not use. I decided that once Dad got home from work and Rene` got here we were going swimming and a picnic. We also stopped for ice cream on the way home after all of that hard work. It was lots of fun and it tired some of us out.

Tuesday I left the house at 6:30 am as Lauren had several medical appointments at Gillette. That was the usual hurry, wait, fill this out, do this, do that routine, but we got it all done so other then the orthodontist she is good to go until November. We met a relative for lunch and picked up some needed groceries. I had planned to go to the adoption support group in the evening but when we were more then a half hour from home yet at the time the meeting was starting I decided that was not going to happen, oh well we did get a lot done for one day.

Yesterday we did the school shopping for all five kids, yeah it is all done. Hanna absolutely hates to go shopping and she gets an attitude so this was no fun trip. The rest of the bunch did well.

Today it is paperwork, oil changes for two cars, and trying to catch up on laundry and housework.

I can only do one thing at a time and there are only so many hours in a day to do it, never enough time to get everything done. I am glad that Rene` and Karre are both is a helping mood. The three of us can get a lot done when we work together, now all we need is an attitude free day from Miss Attitude and things will go smoothly.

Brush Or Comb

Lauren was trying to tell Paul that he should brush his hair because it is messy, really messy. He has the thickest head of hair I have ever seen on such a little kid and it gets messy all the time. He was having nothing to do with the idea that he should brush it and look handsome. His hair is so thick that if I get it cut really short so that he will not have to bother with it he looks like a porcupine with its quills sticking out all over the place.

"Girls brush their hair not boys. Boys comb hair". Paul, completely serious when he told her that.

I guess I had better only leave combs in his drawer from now on, maybe he will actually do something about that gorgeous crop of very dark brown hair that he has.

I Am A Hamster

Angie has come to rescue me today from the thunder storm. She is keeping close tabs on Hanna. Allen is outside swinging and singing, and the other two are laying low for now. I had to shut myself in the office to get some things done.

I have been dealing with Medical Assistance stuff for several hours now and it feels like I am a hamster running on one of those wheels, I keep moving but am getting absolutely nowhere. Hey, state of MN do you really want to save yourself lots of money? If so just open your ears and actually listen to parents who are raising kids with multiple disabilities for a minute or two.

Instead of paying for four cheap, leaky, diapers a day why don`t you let us get one of the super absorbent ones a day. I have tried this and it keeps the kid`s bed dry 90% of the time verses 8% of the time.your way. It would cost you fewer $ and save me LOTS of laundry.

Instead of buying cheap, plastic eye glasses that the kid will not wear and breaks on a daily buy a pair of flexible frame glasses that fit well, are light weight, and believe it or not the kid will keep them on. State of MN, you paid more then $2,000.00 for glasses for this kid BEFORE you finally bought one pair of the good ones which cost about $250.00. He has had those glasses for five years now and this has saved lots of money. Guess what.the cheap ones are the plan again, what a waste of tax payer $$. Hey, we can do this, but really I can find better things to do with my time and your money. Allen will have lots of fun with this.

Instead of allowing surgeons to remove all four impacted wisdom teeth at one time BEFORE they cause damage to the kid`s teeth (which you are paying to straighten) you are willing to take them out ONLY after the damage is done AND only the one causing the problem at the time, really now state of MN you are going to put this kid through FOUR surgeries? You want to save yourself LOTS of money and my kid can be spared all of this trauma which she does not need let us do this at the same time she is having another procedure done.

These are only three of the many examples of what this hamster is dealing with today, and tomorrow and the next day, and on and on and on. This whole process keeps the makers of extra strength Tylenol in business, is going to give me an ulcer, and is causing my hair to gray very quickly, too.

Summer Storm

We have been watching it off in the the distance for a couple of days now, the Hanna storm that has been brewing out on the prairie. The humidity was rising quickly when Allen put the forks on the dinner table, supposedly in the wrong place and he did not want her to move them (like it really matters where they are) and neither one of them was willing to budge on the matter. Everyone knows that you just do not argue with Allen unless it is a life or death situation, which it was not. Dad settled the fork issue and got Allen back on task. Hanna was another matter altogether, she did not like anything we were eating hamburgers, fruit, and vegetables (there are no choices, you eat what is served or go without, no one has starved yet), she did not like who she was sitting by, and she did not like the fact that she was going to have to help me clean up the kitchen afterward.

Clean the kitchen turned out to be when the thunder and lightning came crashing down with all its might. Hanna was washing dishes and threw a cup full of water at the window, I told her to calm down and finish up, instead she filled a sandwich box with water and threw it at me while I was loading the dishwasher.That got her out of cleaning the kitchen as I figured she was making a bigger mess for me so I might as well do it myself.

She was then told to take her meds and get ready for bed. She refused to take her meds so Dad hauled her to her room where she continued her behavior. She made another hole in the wall (sigh)and destroyed some clothes. I need to try and get a look in her mouth to see what kind of damage she did to her braces.

It has been a really nice summer for the most part, but we have had birthdays, a camping trip, and special school activities so we knew that sooner or later the stormy weather would be back. She just can not stand to much fun, family, or love. I hope this storm blows out of here soon so we can finish off the summer with a lot less noise and drama. I would be perfectly happy living out in the desert where thunderstorms are rare.

They Are All Gone

This morning the house is empty and silent, I can even here the annoying cricket outside the open window. Dad is at work, Lauren, Allen , and Hanna are on a picnic/swimming adventure with there special education class and Karre being the helpful sort went along to help out, and Paul is swimming for the last time with the preschool kids. He will be a big kid is about three weeks when he starts kindergarten. This is the last quiet morning until school really starts in September.

Rene` is done with her medical anatomy, five hours in the lab and two hours lecture, five days a week for ten weeks class today. Good luck on the finals!!! She is picking Trevor up at the airport as he is coming back from Washington DC and they are spending the weekend at the lake with friends before Trevor heads back to North Dakota to train RA`s (residence assistants) and Rene` comes home to work until the end of August.

I have gotten so much done already this morning that I think I will have time to build a garage for Paul`s cars after lunch. /The other kids will not be back until later this afternoon and when Paul is the only kid here he does nothing but hang on me so I might as well play with him since I will not get anything else done anyway.

Just A Little Bit Impulsive

Well we have a bit of impulsive behavior going on around here today. That is all to common in the days when there are kids who have FASD in the house. Some days are worse then others, but in general these kids are far to impulsive for their own good. It sure gets them into a lot of trouble.

Hanna got in a big hurry and fell going up the steps when coming in from outside and scraped her arm. She will survive, even though she sure thinks this will be her last day on earth. She can not find her swimming bag, which she needs for school tomorrow. I know where it is, and she has opened the drawer at least twice already, but she has not taken the time to look before slamming it shut again. Eventually I will give her a hint as to its whereabouts, or should I say I will directly stick her face in front of it and then she will tell me that it was not there before.

Paul is stomping around here going crazy because since he dumped the entire crayon box out on the floor in the family room he has to pick all of them up. He will get to it after he is done screaming, flapping his entire body all over the place, and spitting (the spitting makes me the most crazy as it is disgusting).

There are times when it sure would be nice if they could some how get it into their brains to think before they act. These impulsive behaviors we can live with, but when I think about their future as adults with these behaviors it is down right frightening. They are going to need a lot of support in order to live successfully in society.

Duty Calls

It is your civic responsibility as a law abiding citizen to serve jury duty. That is all fine with me except that the set up stinks. From September 1 through December 31 I am "on call" to serve. Well lets see here how does that fit in the schedule of at least two kids having surgery, IEP meetings, Orthodontist and doctors appointments, medication changes, laundry, feeding everyone, massive amounts of paperwork, and a court date that we have scheduled, and by the way we ARE GOING on vacation in December.

I am able to get the time off for the vacation YA-HOO! Everything else I have to call the court house at least ten days in advance and request it off and there are no guarantees that I will get excused. I have already made arrangements for Angie to be available if needed and Dad, even though it stinks will have to take some time off from work too. I have dealt with all of this medical and school stuff for all of the kids and they really need me to be at all of these appointments all the time.

When I spoke with the lady at the court house she told me that I could get excused for now, but then I would have to schedule a time in the next nine months to serve, like all of my responsibilities will have gone away in the next nine months. I decided that I might as well deal with it now because it would be the same mess later.

Get ready Angie and Dad because if there is a crisis and I am busy being good American citizen you get to handle it. Really world this mom REALLY does not have time for this.

Camping

We went camping with some wonderful folks. We had plenty of good food including this breakfast Jared made for us.



We relaxed and visited. That is my friend Mrs. Coffee or whatever she calls herself sitting next to Jared and Allen just doing his own thing as usual. Mrs. Coffee`s husband, Jared, and the other dads took the kids out for boat rides and tubing for the afternoon. Thanks a million guys! The break from FASD was ssssooooooo nice. Karre helped the kids tye-dye and screen print. The shirts, shorts, and bandannas turned out well.

This just seems a little bit crazy when you are out roughing it, but Jared and Paul had to watch The Mickey Mouse Club House on Jared`s phone. Allen is not quite ready for the day yet. Hey it kept the little guy occupied for about twenty minutes, whatever works.