Summer

I'm struggling with this summer. I miss quiet, and I miss being stuck in my house because it's below freezing and who really wants to go out in that mess. I miss my kids actually wanting to snuggle in bed and read or play board games. I miss hanging out with Isabella. She dashes out the door in the morning and runs two houses over to play with her friend every evening. Mainly, I miss togetherness, because it feels like we are separate this summer, and it's driving me a little crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love sitting outside and I love not having to bundle up in layers of bulky winter gear, but our nightly family dinners are rushed because the kids can't wait to get back outside and bedtime is incredibly late because the fireflies just haven't gotten my memo to turn out their lights at a reasonable hour! And no, I really can't deny the catching of fireflies because Isabella, already in pajamas and past the point of being tucked into bed, tells me they are calling for her. The fireflies will not leave my daughter alone! And then, Isaac hears all of this debate about firefly catching and he chimes in, "Me too! Mom, mom, mom, me catch fireflies too!". A year ago he couldn't put all of those words together, so out they go, cupping one firefly after another in tiny hands. 

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The last of our vacation pictures: 

*Isabella turned seven. To me this is unbelievable. It sounds completely ridiculous that I should be surprised that she is seven, but it's also completely ridiculous that every single week I am surprised and annoyed that I have to wash and iron all of Walter's clothes...again. And every single day I am annoyed that I have to clean my house...again. Why? I must be in denial. 

*Every time we say, "Who wants a hamburger?" or "Who wants a donut?" Isaac shouts, "Me, me, me!" Sips of water from a sippy cup and reluctantly putting a Cheerio to his lips--this is the progress we have made. Actually, the drinking of water, is quite a significant gain.

*Next week I am attending a writer's retreat. My friend asked if I would facilitate a discussion and I chose the topic, Writing for Healing. I am planning to discuss how reflection in the form of writing (journaling, prayer, poetry--any written form) can aide in one's processing of emotions and feelings. This blog has been an opportunity for me to share my struggles and joys in raising a son with special needs. I believe God uses many avenues for healing, and in my life, He compels me to write, and I look forward to discussing that with other writers and hear their own experiences. If you're interested in attending (women only), there are a few spots left, so feel free to contact me.

*Isabella's end of year homeschool evaluation went really well. Now that all of the paperwork is in the mail, we're just waiting to hear that we are approved for another year of home education. Even though Isabella says she never gets a break from school, after almost two months off, we began our school year on Monday. We are taking a fairly different approach to learning this year, which I will share in another post.

*Isaac's speech is exploding by the day. One morning as he stood in his room, he said, "Mom, mom, mom, you help me choose new shirt."

I think after next week, our summer is going to finally slow down. We had our trip to North Carolina, two trips to Columbus, family in town several times and business trips for Walter. I'm done! At least the weather has been amazing, and even though I miss that togetherness I wrote about, I do love the fact that my kids play outside all day and find so many ways to explore and be creative in our own backyard.

Ramblings

I tend to take life with Isaac in stride, knowing that even a year ago life with him was a lot more exhausting and trying. I have friends who daily lift wheel chairs in and out of cars, watch their children overcome daily seizures and a whole host of other things, so my tasks seem fairly minor in comparison. But this week I was tired of diapering and tube feeding and blending and mixing and putting on braces and taking off braces and calculating the risks and benefits of possible tantrum inducing settings. I was tired of lifting up steps and down steps and I was thankful Isaac isn't any heavier than he is, even though he's supposed to be gaining weight that I can't seem to get him to gain. I'm definitely tired of worrying about his growth in weight, in height, in color recognition, in counting, in overall smarts that we measure our children with that really in the scheme of things don't even matter. 

It's exhausting pretending to be a pirate (I have this whole pirate scene I act out in an attempt to keep Isaac from screaming when I wash his body--it's worked a couple times) while bathing a screaming tyrant and going from silly pirate to bad-guy mom who has to change the extension tube because it really has been in too long. And then there's the clothing issue. Do I let him stand there and scream until he finally consents to putting the shirt over his head on his own, or do I take the easy way out (so they say...but no one really counts on having to dress, bathe and diaper their four year old) and just do it for him. If I continue doing it, does that mean I'll be dressing him when he's eight, thirteen, sixteen? Probably not...probably. 

Anyway. My grandma says, "the complaint department is in the bathroom." I guess I should go spend some time in the bathroom. 

More about vacation...

Isaac is my brother's number one fan. For some reason Josh is allowed to walk up to Isaac and hug him or pick him up without assaulting his personal space and setting off his bodily alarms. Josh is also allowed to talk to Isaac and get more than a growl in return. He's magical. 

Everyone had to participate in cooking a meal while we were on vacation. Except Walter. Walter either feigns being unable to cook grilled cheese or he truly is incompetent in the kitchen.

This is an action shot to prove that my dad did cook, even if it was a matter of heating up already made meatballs and spaghetti sauce that my mom made at home and froze for a quick meal on vacation...or a meal that my dad could pretend he spent all day in the kitchen cooking.

Josh is also allowed to touch the iPad. You know you rank high in Isaac's world, if you're allowed to touch the iPad.

Isabella shared a room with Jesse and Josh and talked to them non-stop. Jesse and Josh like to sleep late and take naps...they quickly learned that Isabella likes to wake people up and ask completely random questions.

First night at the beach...

Thankfully Walter recognized that I needed time to myself today, or I just made that clearer than I usually do. I slept in, read a book in relative peace, managed to write this barely coherent blog post, and took Stella for a hike. Walking with Stella was probably the best part of the day. We don't let her join in on hikes because she believes all other dogs should be ferociously attacked. Today an old lady was walking her two ugly little dogs, sorry but some dogs are just ugly and mine isn't one of them, and I saved those dogs at the expense of Stella's claws attacking my thigh as she repeatedly lunged at them. The rest of the hike was quite peaceful.