Sweet Birdie and PlainlyJanes

I just have to brag on this site that I have stumbled upon. I love having unique clothes, one of a kids and not something that you will find in your local department store. As a result I have spent a great deal of time on etsy, one of my favorite sellers is Sweet Birdie. She makes great quality merchandise for mom and her children.

Her site can be found at

http://host.pappapak13.com/~sweetbir/

and her blog is located at


http://www.plainlyjanes.typepad.com/


Her work is truly unique and high quality. You can not find a better made dress/or skirt around. You will not be disappointed in your selection.

Latest pictures of the trio..

I am not taking pictures as often as I once was, we seem to be so busy that I forget to grab the camera. I feel like I am missing so much by not doing so. I hope to get back in the habit soon of taking pictures of the kids.

Life goes on..

I am so tired of being cooped up inside and am so ready to get back in the swing of things. I hope to spend some time this week out on the back deck at least. I am still non weight bearing, so anywhere I go I will be on crutches. I am not up for that. I am not really a fan of walking on those things.. but I may have to venture out, at least to lunch this week.

In fact I may suggest that my husband met me for lunch one day this week. Now that sounds like a plan.

The kids are doing real good with mom not being able to move around. They have been helping me out, bringing me things and helping me clean things up (maybe that is the silver lining to all of this)
In addition I think my husband is starting to get the idea of what all I do around here.

This week is more of the same, the kids will have school all week. Thank goodness we were not more effected by the flooding in the state. My prayers go out to those that were. It has been a stressful week for those of us that live here in Georgia, I can not watch the news feeds without crying, even now a week later it still makes me cry. I am not even native to Georgia and I feel such heart ache for the state and for those that have lost loved ones in this great flood.

Have a blessed Sunday..

Home from the doctors office!!

Just got home from the doctors office, the preop nurse screwed up, I should not have gone in for at least 14 days, but before we learned this the post op nurse had already taken out my stitches and removed the soft cast.

I have about 20 steri strips across the incision that is hideous looking (nice) and will be non weight bearing for two more week (thank God for the roller board and crutch coozies)

I go back in two weeks at which time I should start PT fun times...

I asked when I should expect to be running, he said six months so my goal or running the peach tree next July fourth may be out of reach. I will just have to pick something else to set as a goal and I will depend on all of you to help me to reach it...

My saving grace over the past week

So over the past week I have had to resort to crutches and a roll about to help me get around the house, do things etc.

The roll about was a loaner from a friend of mine and I have to say it has truly made life easier for all of us. With crutches you can get off balance and fall easier than you can with the roll about and it allows me to get around the house with more ease.

In addition to that my mil was thankful enough to get me what is called crutch coozies, they are awesome come in all sorts of colors and styles, even leopard print. Gone are the days of wrapping wash cloths or dish cloths around the tops of your crutches to keep from hurting your arms. Now you just need to get crutch coozies to save you the fun of being seen out with dish cloths around your cruthes. I have pimped out my crutches so to speak.


So here are pictures of the items I am talking about, and a picture of my foot. I am very happy to say that this very hot, soft cast will be removed tomorrow and I will move on to the walking boot. However I will remain non weight bearing for some time.

The site for the crutch coozies is http://www.crutcheze.com/.

I am not getting paid for these post, or reviews, this is simply an account of what has helped me with the hope that it can help others.

Thanks again for reading.. I will update after my doctors appointment tomorrow.

SPD advice and help from Homeschool101

This is a response to my last post and I think it is so well written and such great advice for parents dealing with SPD, and the "help" we get from others that it needed to be shared with everyone.


One thing I can say to this post is this: I know your pain when those talk behind your back, I have seen it first hand as I family with Special needs and a friend of mine has two with SPD. My reply to you I hope will encourage you to ignore what has been said even tho it can and will upset you. Turn with a smile and walk on.There will be times to address and times to look the other way. An other thing you and others can do is educate and make everyone aware of SPD.

There are some pretty rude people especially in todays world. I encourage you to find a way of comfort and security for you and your family and educate along the way. I have often thought about remarks said by others and ways to help educate or even get smarter with those bad mouthing by counter acting with educational humor. By this I mean find some way to humor with education to rude cruel remarks. Depending on the situation will determine your reply.. I can think of loads of ways to stop people in their tracks and turn the tables so that they are the ones feeling ignorant for their comment as well as feeling your pain.
By educating those as often as you can I assure you it can be a huge slap in the face to those bad mouthing or unaware and less understanding. The more educated others get the more they will begin catching themself or others in the bad mouthing and turn from a negative way to a positive way.

I also want to encourage you in one thing. There are children with the special needs all over. Each need an unconditional amount of love and support including dicipline. Many with Special are able to give all the above and others shy away from the dicipline using the disorder as an excuse to dicipline less. We all have to be dicipline at some point in order to grow and properly learn or experience in life. I am not saying you may be one, but keep in mind those who do do this also help make matters worse for parents like yourself. I have seen this and heard this often by those around me that I know personally with special needs. God love them all, they dont realize that they are hurting them by not showing the dicipline needed. All children are gifted and special in their own unique way. Some require more of everything then others do even in Special needs cases. Tho circumstances maybe different for some, ignoring or over looking because of a Special need disorder is no exception. These children will only love you more and learn to respect you as their parent as any parent trying to raise their children right in the nutty world we are in.

Just love your babies, Shelter them and raise and discipline how you feel is best and pray for direction on how you can educate others of the challenges you face on a daily basis.
Most importantly do not let every little thing get under your skin.

There are times when you honestly should be blunt in replying and there are times that you should lovingly turn your cheek. AS for your family maybe you could gather them all together for an evening of fellowship and share your feelings as to how they feel about you and your family and parenting. Then give them some education to all the challenges you face and disorders you are dealing with.

The only way you will get the support you need is by educating others. Good luck friend and God bless you.

"I am not a bad mom, Please do not judge me"

So many times I feel like screaming this at the top of my lungs, the looks I get the comments that are made behind my back. It is one of the problems of having a child with SPD and or Aspergers, people, strangers look at your child and how he or she is acting in public and they go right to the assumption that you are a bad parent.

I see the looks on their faces, the looks in their eyes when they see my children acting differently from their children. When I have to bring Douglas something to eat to a party because he has oral sensory issues, when JM gets fixated on something and can not let it go and cries, or whines for thirty minutes because it is not something he can have. When we are at a public event and Kalie does not say a word the entire time we are there.

My children, like all other children, with SPD and Aspergers look normal, they walk, they talk, they listen and yes they do things that normal children do. But they do have issues, they do have things going on inside their bodies and minds that we do not understand. Things we may never understand. Do not judge me as a mom when you see me do something that you think is out of the ordinary, do not judge me when you see my children act in a way that you think is not normal. Do not tell me I am a bad mom, do not tell me my children are the way they are because of something I did.

We know more today than we did 30 years ago, children do not come into this world a blank slate so to speak for parents to mold and turn into functioning adults. They are born with personalities, yes we have an effect on it, yes things we do effect the people they become. But some of these precious children are also given to us with a mind and body that does not work like everyone elses, things happen and while yes they develop into great young people, and later adults because of the work we as parents do, this wonderful children and adults have so much to over come.

Instead of judging me, help me and not by giving me unwanted advice. Try and understand what a day in my life is like, try and understand the struggles we are going through and do not ever tell me there is nothing wrong with my child, that the only thing wrong is my parenting skills. Do not dare tell me that my children are like they are because of me and that if I were a better parent they would not be this way.

It hurts the most when it comes from family members. My children have been diagnosed by not one but three different doctors, and yet I have some who say there is nothing wrong and I am just making excuses.
To them I say thank you for your input but really keep it to your self.

God has blessed me with three wonderful children, three children that I love, adore and would not trade anything for. I wish things were easier for them, I wish things were different and they did not have these struggles. I wish strangers would not stare, I wish strangers would not make rude comments. I wish people would just open their eyes to these children and these parents. Instead of judging us, help us.

John MIchael's art work.

Well just 24 hours ago I was asking for advice on JM and his bed wetting, it seems that had I just waited a day I would have had the confirmation that I needed. Today the kids did not go to school, as they were closed due to the floods in Georgia, thank goodness we were not part of the flooding and nor was our school, just a safety thing for flooded roads.

So today the kids did an art project, they each drew pictures, Kalies was the typical kitty and her, dougs was bulldozers and dirt, JM's was what his little mind thought was going on with mommy's foot, it was a serious of pictures and in one of them I was in bed and had only one foot. I talked to him about the pictures and he said he did not know why the doctor cut my foot but it scared him.

So we reassured him that mommy was okay and that my foot was healing and the doctor cut it to make it better.

So the poor man is worried and stressed about mommy.

I am going to take him with me to the doctor on Friday so he can see them cut the cast off and put the new bandages on, so maybe he will see that mommy is okay.

Wetting the bed.

About two weeks ago JM wet the bed, I thought well he just had too much to drink and did not wake up, changed his sheets did not make a big deal about it, then last week it occurred again. So we made some changes and said we would make sure he goes to the bathroom prior to going to bed, no big deal. Well this morning he was wet again, that is once a week for the past three weeks. He has never wet the bed before, in fact none of them have. This is new to us.

I am not sure if something is bothering him, if it is related to my surgery, if it is school or if this is just part of aspergers and part of our life now. I hate to think of him going through this and waking up scared and ashamed. I have to make sure that my husband knows not to make a big deal about it, the last thing I want is for him to be made to feel bad about an accident.

So we are now going to make sure he does not have liquids after a certain time and that he goes to the bathroom prior to going to bed. Poor guy...

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. He is now five years old and like I said this is a "new" problem, we did not even have this problem when we were potty training him. So please any ideas..

Three days post surgery doing well

I am starting to get my energy back and am able to move around better, I am three day sin and would give anything to remove this soft cast from my let, it is going to be a very long six weeks.

My pain is much better, I have not been waking up at night and seem to be making it longer in the day time without medication. Which is a good thing.

The kids are enjoying their time with nana, they watched Notre Dame play with us yesterday, KR was so cute in the end when they managed to win the game. I wish I would have had a video camera on to film her. It was priceless.


So I have another day in bed, or resting, not moving around very much this is getting old fast. You can only watch so many movies and read so many magazines.

Friday will be here soon and I will get to move to the "smasher" as the kids call it. After which I will have one to two more weeks of non weight bearing.. fun times..

One day post surgery - Ankle preaneal Subluxation Surgery

My big day was yesterday. We arrived at the surgery center at 6 in the morning after check in I was given a mixture of medication to help keep me calm and happy, wish I could have those happy pills at home...

Before I knew it I was in the OR and then waking up in the recovery room. The entire procedure took about an hour, I was then in recovery for an hour before I was allowed to go home.

Once home I went right to bed and sleep all day. I was woken a few times to be given medication and went right back to sleep after words.

It was a very uneventful day. I was not in a great deal of pain, thank goodness we were able to stay ahead of the pain.

I woke up last night around two am and was hurting, and itching. I took some benedryl and my pain meds and was able to get back to sleep.

My foot is in a soft cast and will remain there till Friday when I will move to the smasher as the kids call it, or the hard boot. I am very happy that I do not have to be in a true cast for six weeks.

The children are being very sweet, they all brought me a hand made card yesterday, they were so proud of what they had done and I have to say that they did a great job and were all so sweet to me. They even let me use their coveted blankets..

Thank you again for the continued prayers and support.

Childern learning "more" than I want them to learn.

I knew it was going to happen, as children go off to school they are exposed to different nationalities, different kids of different back grounds, families that have different rules etc than what we do at home. In previous years they have been in a private church ran preschool, so my concerns were not as great as they are now.

I am sad to say that in the short time they have been in school they have picked up some new behaviors and learned some things that we are having to unlearn at home. To start off my weekend Douglas was very proud to show me that he knew how to flip people off. Granted at age five he has no idea what he is doing nor what it means. I sat down with him (when we got home from church, as this is where he showed me his new skill) and explained that while it may not seem like it to him that doing that is not a very nice thing and not something that we do. He went on to tell me who in his class showed him how to do this and that this "friend" thought it was funny. I told him that if his friend did it again he was to simply tell him that what he is doing makes God sad and it is not a nice thing to do. I am proud to say that when he got home on Monday that he said he informed his friend that he was making God sad.

Then Monday morning as I was getting JM's clothes out he informed me. " Mommy, Morgan from my class gets behind me and pulls my underwear up my but" so now a girl, of all things, is giving my JM a wedgie, again JM thought it was funny and laughed about it. I spoke with him and told him that this was not a very nice thing to do to your friends and he should tell an adult when she does it. I then had to of course tell him that it was not something that was acceptable behavior for him to do either.

Kalie came home yesterday telling the boys they were fagots and to suck her balls. Now she did not hear this at school it came from a friend in the neighborhood. I am very good friends with the mom and know that I need to say something to her. I just do not know how to approach her with this, we are very good friends. And I know that the person that said it has some issues, I do not want to add to her plate so to speak, but on the other hand I have to let her know that her son is saying these things around the young girls.

Now how to explain to Kalie that well she does not have balls and that neither of these sayings is acceptable.

I am also having issue sright now with JM saying Stupid and Frikin, so Frikin is not really that bad but it is the context in which he is saying it. I have tried many things to get him to stop and would love suggestions on things that have worked for you.

Thanks again, Constant reader


on a side note, please say prayers for us on Thursday, that is our big surgery date.

So proud of Douglas, he does listen after all

We have new neighbors moving in and with new neighbors comes moving trucks. Late yesterday afternoon the driver of the moving truck unconnected the back of the truck to leave for the day. He will return this am to finish the job.

Douglas and his best friend were playing, riding their bikes in front of his friends house. (a side road beside our house that is a culdesac) The truck did not turn down their road, but my sweet boy heard him crank up the big rig cab and immediately got off his bike and went behind his friend and pushed him out of the road and into the drive way telling him we have to be safe the truck is coming. He then went back and got his bike. The truck cab did not turn down the road, that does not matter, in my opinion what Douglas did was awesome. He did not care about his bike, just his friend.

The most important thing to him was his and his friends safety. I could not be more proud of my little man.

Safety camp did a world of good for the three of them. So when you think they do not hear you, that they do not understand or that they just do not care about safety, think again. They are listening and it does sink in.

On another note about them "hearing you" I already talk to them about drugs, smoking, alcohol etc. about two months ago we were at a local park and they saw someone smoking, JM looked at me and said very loudly, Mommy that is gross, it makes him stink and his lungs are going to turn black and he will die.

I am a strong believer in telling them often and telling them early on in life that smoking, drinking and drugs are bad, no child is too young to here these things in my opinion and it is something we should preach from an early age with the hope that when the time comes it will be instilled in them that this is something that we do not do. It worked with my baby sister, all I can do is hope and pray that it will work with my three. I have seen what that road in life can do to someone first hand, I have an older sister who is a drug addict. So please tell your children, and tell them often.. Just say NO....

Surgery _ Ankle Peroneal tendon subluxation and Primary ATFL Ligament repair

Yes it is as bad as it sounds. Next Thursday I will be going under the knife to finally repair an ankle that is well past the time to get fixed. The final straw occurred last November when I fell while walking with the children.

We were walking around the block after eating Thanksgiving dinner and when I went to take a step my ankle was no there, this is a common problem of mine with my left ankle. I injured it when I was in highschool and have continued to injure it since. This will in fact be my second surgery on this ankle, lets hope this one does the trick.

After my last fall, which resulted in a break and a grade three sprain (my third one in three years). As a result of the fall it was determined after doing an MRI that I have in fact split my peroneal tendon, the doctor says it appears it is cut from top to bottom and that I have no ligaments attached to the bone any longer. His exact words, "I do not see how you are walking"

The procedure is expected to take right over two hours, we will arrive at the surgery center at 6 in the morning and I will be home later that day. I will be placed in a soft cast for two weeks, at which time I will move to a walking boot, however will not be able to be weight bearing till I reach the six week mark. I will undergo extensive therapy during this time which will continue till six months post op. At which time I should have an ankle that is better than new...

Lets hope so as I am tired of being in pain and having to limit my activities for fear of getting another sprain.

So what am I going to do after I am healed. My goal is to start running, which is something I have never done. I want to run a marathon, or at least a half marathon. I want to get back in to shape and start taking better care of myself. So much of my time and energy has been spent taking care of the triplets over the last 6 years that I have forgotten to do the things I love and to take care of myself.

So next Thursday morning say a prayer for me, the doctors and my family that all goes well with the procedure.


The pictures are from Last November when I had the last injury.

Walking in the park!!

For Memorial Day Weekend we deiced to do things as a family, we have spent so much time this summer with friends that we have not done much with just the five of us. What a relaxing weekend we had.

The kids were all very excited about spending the day with just us, we made plans to go to Swanee Mountain and hike the trail and then have a family picnic. It was a fun filled day that was full of exploring our world and getting to know about things in the woods. They loved hiking the mountain, seeing the trees, squirrels and various bugs. It was a lot of fun seeing who could find the most Grand Daddy Long legs.

Needless to say when we got home everyone was worn out, but it was a very much needed hike. It did all of us some good to just be together as a family and enjoy all the great things nature has to offer us. Not to mention that mom wanted a chance to walk the beautiful trails one last time before my surgery. It will be a long time before I get to make the trip again.

Good week at school

We are having a much better week at school this week, the kids seem to have been going through an adjustment period and now they seem to have settled into a new routine and are used to things. They really enjoy going and are liking their teachers and new friends that they are making.

Life seems to be setting in for us again, getting into a routine, every day things seem easier.

I went to Appleseeds yesterday and am going to create a word wall for them, to help them learn their site words. I will post pictures once I am done. In addition I got bob books and site word books. I had Douglas and Kalie sitting to read them last night. I got a site word card game that I am playing with JM. He learns better this way.

Who knew that it would mean I would be going back to school as well.

Now to the fun part, I will be having ankle surgery in two weeks, my MIL is going to come and care for the kids. I am not 100% sure of all the details of the surgery yet, just that it can not be avoided and after six months of intensive rehab I will be back to knew. I will post more about the procedure as I learn more, I have a doctors appointment soon to go over all that will be done and why.