Get It Together, Lady!

     Alternate title: Why I Suck At Life.  So, I am in a full on shame spiral these days.  Overwhelmed doesn't even do it justice.  I feel like there's so much crap that I need to be doing, and I'm not getting anything done.  And I don't mean "I really should wash those baseboards" kind of stuff.  I'm talking therapies, educational needs, disability services...and those baseboards.  Skeletor has been making remarkable improvements with his speech and his behavior, but there is still so much to do.  I look at all these blogs and articles, and, where they used to inspire me to action, they now seem to exhaust me.  There is so much that I could be doing for my son and for my other children, but I can't seem to find the forward momentum to do one more thing.  And I'm not okay with this.  I'm an over-achiever.  I always have been.  And I'm not used to having to try so hard at things.  But this whole special needs parenting shebang is kicking my ass all over the place.  I truly have to get it together.  Because I can do better. 

How I feel about life, right now.

Merry Christmas from the Future!

Where our robot overlords are fair and just and not at all tyrannical or terrifying.

    

This Is/Was Halloween!

     As some of you may remember, Halloween is kind of a big deal around my house.  My boy child, Skeletor, feels that October 31 is better than Christmas, his birthday, Easter, and Valentine's Day all combined.  I tend to agree with him.  Other than working and baby raising, I really haven't done anything for the last few weeks except prepare for the big event.  I'm still exhausted, so I will now release unto the world a lame-o post that is mostly pictures.  You're ever so welcome.

Smarty Pants is clearly the most
 beautifulest witchy poo ever!

Miss Priss, the pretty gypsy girl.

Sassafrass as a gangster ninja. 
That's my girl!

Count Skeletor!

Captain Gingerbeard as Frankenstein.

Shield your eyes!  We're just too cute!

Miss Priss found that Corpse Bride to be suspect.

Visiting the graves of her enemies.

Reaching Nirvana.  Not to be confused with Narnia.

     And with that, my friends, I bid you good day and stuff.  I hope your Halloween was as awesome and spookalicious as ours was!

Inner Turmoil!

     ***Update/Prologue/Maybe It's an Epilogue Since I Wrote It Last***

     (Kimberly at All Work And No Play Make Mommy Go Something Something suggested that I link this up to her Secret Mommyhood Confession Saturday.  And so I am.  Because one does not dismiss a suggestion from such an illustrious lady.  That would be like turning down a cup of tea with the Queen of England.  Queen of Canada?)

    Today I took young Master Skeletor to a psychological evaluation at the hands of the State in order to see if he qualifies for SSI.  (SSI means Social Security something that starts with I, for those of you who are just not as informed as I am.)  As I'm unable to work full time hours while simultaneously preventing my son from laying waste to entire cityscapes, this extra cashflow each month would be greatly appreciated.  And thus ends the portion of this post where I attempt to justify my family's suckling at the government's teat.  Or suckling attempts.  Attempted suckling.  Whatever, point being is we went to a doctor's appointment today where, unlike any other place or time, we kind of wanted our child to be on his worst behavior.  Maybe that's putting it wrong.  More autistic-y?  Ugh, now I've probably offended.  We wanted the full scope of his condition to be shown so that the doctor could make an informed decision about our child's need for SSI.  (Whew, finally spit it out.)  The evaluation went very well, but during the course of the appointment, I grew very confused.  The doctor was giving Skeletor all sorts of tests and other official thingamabobs, and the kid was blowing them out of the water.  The doctor paused mid-question to inform me that "he's sharp!"  Which placed me in such a strange predicament.  There I was being all super proud of my clearly genetically enhanced child, while at the same time hoping that my son's performance on this test wouldn't negate his receiving the SSI benefits that we so desperately need.  Now I feel all guilty.  And dirty.  I'm going to go take a shower, and try to wash off my shame.

Please, sir, may I have some more?  (This is how I felt today.)

Parental Advisory: Explicit Content

     A couple of weeks ago, when I was on hiatus (that makes me sound important, right,) something hilarious/terrible happened.  I had the day off from work, and was all by my onesies while the kids were in school.  I should have done something awesome with my free time like throw a kegger, but instead I was slaving over Halloween decorations.  Anyhoozle, while I was getting my hot glue on, I got a phone call.  From my kids' principal.  Zoinks.  Apparently, Sassafrass, my darling six year old, was in the office.  Her offense?  Calling a little boy in her class a dick.  (In her defense, he was totally being a dick.  In my defense, she actually didn't hear that from me.  Any other curse word I could probably lay claim to, but I really don't know where she picked up this one.)  After my immediate horror subsided, I started getting a little pissy.  The intellectual part of me said, "That's unacceptable.  She can't just walk around calling people names.  Especially ones like that."  However, the dirty, damn the man hippie in me said, "That's horseshit!  Who decides what a bad word is?  If she had called the kid a poopy-head, she would have just pulled a quarter in class.  But, she calls a kid a word that's arbitrarily designated as a 'bad word,' and all hell breaks loose.  Shenanigans, I say!"  I'm still conflicted.  Obviously, because I'm a sell-out, I gave her a good talking to about curse words and name calling and all that jazz.  But it still just makes me all mangry thinking about it.  Not the school's reaction, really, just how random language is.  I'm tired.  And digressing.  Does anyone out there get as hot and bothered about stupid crap like this as I do, or is my crazy just showing?

Stuff That Happened

     Alternate title: Reasons That I Have Been A Terrible Blog Owner And Reader These Last Few Weeks, But Am Now Crawling On My Hands And Knees, Singing, "Baby Come Back," Because I Desperately Need The Community And Place To Vent. 

1. School started back, which went surprisingly well...
2. ...until it didn't.
3. I started back to work as to alleviate our crushing poverty.
4. I caught the three week funk.  Again.
5. I had (and am currently in the throes of) a Lyme disease flare-up.
6. Stupid people.
7. Halloween.  It's like Skeletor's Christmas, and, much like at Christmas, I stress out about every little thing while trying to make it fantastic.  I want it to look like Halloween threw up in my house, and right now it only looks like it may have dry heaved a little.
8. Autism (duh-doy.)

     In conclusion, take mercy on my wretched soul, and welcome me back into the bosom that is this blogging community.  Sincerely, Sanstrousers.

Victory Shriek!

     As some of you may know, when my kids started back to school recently, I was terrified of how my dear, sweet Skeletor was going to fare in kindergarten.  I didn't know if the more structured environment would make his behavior better or worse.  I didn't know if we made the right decision by having him attend resource classes for part of the day.  And, most of all, I had absolutely no idea whether he would be able to function academically.  Because, as everyone who knows him can attest, the boy has plenty of information in his head, but getting him to let it out at the appropriate time is the hard part.  Well, I still have plenty of fears, but look at his test from this past Friday!  Say, what?!  That's right; my boy made a 100!  You'll have to excuse me now.  I'm off to walk around and gloat.

Yes, this is the worst scan ever, but I'm tired.
He correctly identified all that jazz up there!  Yeah, boy!