"my a** is so tight!"

Been a busy couple days. Punkin's teacher called on Friday saying he was very out of sorts--crying, messy diapers, more crying. So I went and got him. He was sitting on his yellow triangle, chewing on Ducky, and whining softly to himself. When I walked in, he looked up and said "nuk?!" (pacifier). He was asleep before we got home. Once we got home he ate two corndogs, 3/4 of a can of fruit, and two cups of milk. Then he slept for well over two hours. When he woke up, we went to the doctor. Apparently his ear looks worse. The doctor on Monday said he could see his eardrum. This doctor said he couldn't because of all the wax. Neither were sure about his tubes. But they said he's just fighting a virus, and to keep an eye on him. So, probably when we're on vacation in a week he'll develop a fever and an ear infection. =) What do I do if his tubes have fallen out again? I don't think it makes sense to keep repeating the same procedure with poor results. He had tubes at one and then again at two. Now he's only 2 and 1/2 and he may need them again????? I always think of the movie 28 Days with Sandra Bullock: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

I helped with a wedding this weekend--my best friend in junior high. I mostly ran interference and pinned flowers on people. It's almost overwhelming to see someone have their dream come true--that event you've been whispering about since you were little girls, drawing pictures of your side-by-side houses with an underground tunnel connecting the two.

Today he was PERFECT at church! He even sat for a few minutes by himself coloring on his mini Magna Doodle. I LOVE that thing! Then right before the sermon he fell asleep (snuggled against me, of course, because it was exactly what I needed). And he woke up right as the sermon ended and asked for his Opa. I made the mistake of wearing a skirt with an elastic waist, so the entire time I was pulling it up so everyone behind me didn't see my undies. I was, of course, in the second row (he does better sometimes up front because he can see the action).

I have never seen a child, or any person for that matter, who loves Hamburger Helper like my Punkin does. OH MY goodness. He probably ate 2 cups of it today. At least. And it wasn't the cheesy kind. He likes Beef Pasta. With peas mixed in. He's just a "nooooo-null" eatin' fool.

So the title. =) Hehehehehehe.........snort.............hehehehehe...........close eyes and laugh so hard no sound comes out....gasp.........snort..........hehehehehehe. ANYway. I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store when I hear, "My a** is so tight." I of course have to turn and look. I mean, duh. This guy, no more than 20, is walking with a stick figure, I mean a girl, and they are in workout clothes. Then she says, "Ya, my hamstrings." So obviously they were working out and his butt is sore. But I couldn't take it. There was no one with me to look at with those big eyes and that tight-lipped grin that says, "What the H-E double hockey sticks? That is so random and funny." So as soon as I got to the car, I called Laura who died laughing.

Disaster averted. For four days I have been unable to play Crickler. And it took me four days, but I figured out what was wrong and fixed it all by myself. Needless to say, I was ecstatic. Crickler is basically crossword puzzles for ADD people. They are online, all of the clues are next to the spaces, and it adjusts difficulty based on the player's ability. I would NEVER do a crossword on paper, but I LOVE these. Did I mention I love them????

My parent's friend gave them Pagemaker and Photoshop for their beautiful new Mac. I am ridiculously jealous.

Has anyone else seen the commercials for Meerkat Manor? If you haven't, let me tell you that it is NOT about a house or a family or a tiny British town. It is about meerkats. There is a voice-over similar to Desperate Housewives. There are exaggerated rats.

fun and games

He put his head up to the house, looked through the windows and said, "sspspspspssp." SO funny!
This is what I saw. Thought you needed the full effect.
Doesn't it just make you wanna gobble him up?? I think he's thought of every use for his new house except "house."
He looks much better in these shades than his momma.
"Eyes," as he called them. He probably spent 15 minutes putting them on, taking them off, putting them on me, taking them off me, putting them on Laura, taking them off Laura, putting them on......you get the idea.

i like lists

1. Little Man is sick again. This time it's a fever and a sore throat. He keeps asking for food, and then he just sits and holds it because it hurts too much to eat. Right now he's clutching bread with jelly (one of his favs) and cheese slices. Yesterday he just played with a hamburger from Wendy's. Normally he'd eat two, plus fries. You know it's trouble when a Little Man won't eat a "booder" (burger).

2. The apartment is turning into a bacteria zone. I can feel it. I want it to be sparkling clean, but I have no actual desire to get up and scrub. So for now Little Man's booster seat remains sticky. The smooth metal back of the chair it sits on is now textured with food residue, and the floor calls out periodically, "soap." And I wonder why he's sick....

3. I love making to-do lists. It's so calming, especially before bed. You'd think it would be the opposite--I'd be overwhelmed right before bed with all of the things I should be doing besides sleeping. But instead it purges them from my brain and confines them to the paper. After which I promptly forget about their importance, unless I forget them altogether.

4. I don't know what this was all about:

4. Lion's BF saved the day. He told me to look online for free publishing software to make the church newsletter. It never would have occurred to me. Hooray! I found something, and it's remarkably easy to use. Now let's hope I can get the actual text and pictures together in the next week and a half. I'm sure it will all come together at the last minute. Just like college newspaper days.

5. "Down!" Our new game. One of his respite workers taught him how to play football back in the spring. Basically we run around the apartment and land on the couch, bed, or lazy boy, and say "touchdown!" and Little Man just LAUGHS.

6. My cable and internet bill arrived the other day. $128.00. EEEKKKK! Last month it was $86. Still yikes, but that was a $45 jump! So I got rid of my digital cable, which I never really use anyway, and just have expanded cable and the internet. That only brought it down to $105 with tax. So now I am trying to decide what to do to lower it more. I am interested in wireless, but I'm afraid it won't be as fast or that I won't get a strong signal because I'm in a brick building. But it's only $30 a month, versus $45. Hmmm. If I do anything with the cable, I will just get rid of it altogether. Because basic cable doesn't include E! or Bravo. But anyway, the real reason I brought this up. When I cancelled the digital channels, I had to return the remote and the box. Now I don't have a remote. And I'm getting a new TV soon, so I don't want to go buy a universal one. But in the meantime I have to actually GET UP or sit directly in front of the television and flip through channels. And the TV is programmed in a way where I don't get half the channels. I've heard bad things about Dish. Any ideas?

7. Lindsey Flipping Lohan. We are so tired of you. But it's all the media. They scoop it up, chew and chew and chew and chew, and spit it out. And we gladly eat it up.

8. I love the animated Frosted Mini Wheat in the commercials. He is so cute! He should have his own show.

9. My parents got an amazing iMac. One of those with the 17" flatscreen. You know, looks like a picture frame. I am so jealous. And my dad got a free iPod Nano with it. He's been jealous of my mom's iPod Shuffle for months now. By the way, can you believe how little those things are??? It's like the size of a quarter. Crazy.

10. I think I need to go clean something.

i didn't mean to!

Tonight I dug around in the fridge and decided to make a pizza. As I was adding the meat and cheese, Little Man came over to investigate.
He signs, "baa-bull?" (apple--it is actually a peach, but whatever)
"Later. You need to wait."
"Wait." He signs it. "WHAAAAAA." He gets over it.
"Deez?" (cheese)
"Mommy's putting cheese on the pizza."
"Za," he steps up on his tiptoes and sticks his fingers over the edge of the pan.
"Punkin! What are you doin'?"
"Deez. Some."
" Here."
"No."
"Okay, put it on the counter."
"Deez?"
"I gave you some."
"Deez," as his eyes start to tear up and his lips start to quiver.
"What? Why are you sad? Here, you can have some."
"Deez," eyes and lips still going strong. I scoop him up and he buries his head in my shoulder. We sit on the chair like this for a few minutes, and then it hits me.
"Do you want to help mommy put cheese on the pizza?"
"Ya. Deez."
"Okay. I'm sorry."
"Ya."

little known facts about those you know

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANY ONE? Nope
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Couple weeks ago
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes. I am picky about this--it has to look just right!
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Salami
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, the beautiful and brilliant PUNKIN!
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF? If I were very patient, yes.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I'm not good at sarcasm unless I am writing or have been drinking. And I miss it a lot when people are talking to me.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Got those puppies out when I turned 17. Ask me about the golfball incident.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? It's not the jumping or the heights--it's the idea of being flung around and destroying my back that makes me say no.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms with milk, Captain Crunch without.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I usually wear flip flops unless it is snowing.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Oreo Cookie Shake from Whiteys.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Usually their hair.
15. RED OR PINK? pink pink pink!!!!!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? Procrastination
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Lion
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO PUT THIS ON THEIR BLOG? Sure!
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Jeans and no shoes.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? canteloupe from the farmer's market
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the heartbeat cd
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? carnation pink, but macaroni and cheese is a fabulous one as well
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? when the seasons change
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Oma
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? duh!
26. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? basketball
27. HAIR COLOR? blonde
28. EYE COLOR? blue
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, but I need glasses
30. FAVORITE FOOD? I can always eat pizza--thin crust
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? for sure happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Evan Almighty
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? A blue and tan swirly thing
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer is nice cause the sunshine, but the heat makes me sick. I guess summer, though, because it's less work to leave the house with Punkin.
35. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs. But I have been getting so many kisses from Punkin this week, and I love it!
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? brownies, hold the nuts please, or white cake with white frosting
37. MOST LIKELY TO COMMENT? Laura cause I finally did it!
38. LEAST LIKELY TO COMMENT? James cause he's been reading since day one and has yet to say anything
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Goodnight Moon (j/k--I'm not reading anything)
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? 3-2-1 (3 contacts a day, 2 shows a week, 1 recruit a month--it's a PChef thing)
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? after Toy Story, nothing
42. FAVORITE SOUND? "Mom!"
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Germany
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? writing. definitely NOT singing.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Memphis, TN
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO READING? everyones!

another blurry picture

This is the best I could come up with guys, sorry. Never mind the sunglasses--they were a gift that we had to wear to the banquet. But the dress was a big hit, and the shrug was oh-so-comfy and oh-so-not sweat-producing.

Conference was fun. I feel ready to treat this thing like a business again. I am beyond tired. Punkin was glad to see me, but I think he thinks I am leaving again any minute now. The Hilton, for having such a fab name, was not that much better than the good old Holiday Inn. Except that it had two bathrooms--a must for 6 women. But no free internet! I was so sad. $3.50 an hour. I broke down and paid for one hour because I just couldn't stand not knowing what was going on in Blog World. But I felt much better about that hour of internet than my $3.00 bottle of soda (20oz) and my $7.00 Mikes Hard Lemonade. Can you see my cute little whisk charm necklace?? I got it for reaching $15,000 in career sales.

All is quiet

Today has gone very well. Punkin woke at 6 AM with some whines, looking for his pacifier. He wanted to get up though and we did. We watched "Larry and Bob" and "Woody" until it was time to go to school. After school was respite so I wandered Target and Walmart for 1 1/2 hours. The only thing I bought was a new bookbag for Punkin. "Cars". Well he wasn't so sure about it, especially when I tried to put "Ducky" in it. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning. He ate a good supper which Opa made :) and is now ready for bed. I don't know what happened yesterday, but God is good and didn't let it happen again!

Oma

By the way, I have talked with Punkin's mom and she is having fun learning all about the new products from Pampered Chef.

Multi-tasking is for the Young

It has been 24 hours since Mom left Punkin with me, Oma. Up until suppertime all was going very well. But then Emily called wanting to know about restaurants in Memphis where she could take 60 high school students and chaperones for BBQ TOMORROW. At the same time, I am trying to make supper, and Punkin is climbing up and down the basement stairs. I'm on the internet searching, calling friends in Memphis, and calling restaruants. In between Emily is calling to see if I had any news and Punkin's mom is calling to see how he is doing. Opa is at the dining room table talking business and totally ignoring or laughing at what he thinks is humorous. While Punkin is eating at the same table, he is showing Opa "bees" , taking one bite, and throwing them on the floor. He doesn't like that Opa said eat your beans and dumps his glass of milk on the table. While all this is going on, I am talking again to a restaurant and then Emily, and again a friend in Memphis, because I HAVE SAVED THE DAY. 60 KIDS AND CHAPERONES WILL BE EATING MEMPHIS BBQ TOMORROW AT ALFRED'S!!!

Opa offered to clean up the kitchen and dining room while I took Punkin for a wagon ride. I then put Punkin to bed where he stayed until the doorbell rang TWICE. AAAGGHH.

My wine tastes very good right now.

Oma

brand new lady

As promised--my new hair! I feel like I lost about 5 pounds. Happy Saturday! And don't forget to e-mail me at thefxfundraiser@gmail.com!

the haircut, and things that bother us

The haircut went famously well. We went to a place where Punkin could sit inside Lightning McQueen while watching the movie Cars. The place also has a big tunnel and slide inside for him to play on while we wait. He barely noticed anyone was touching his head because he was so interested in the movie. I do kinda miss the curls, though. And it's my turn today! Watch for pictures!

This lion is causing big trouble. One of Punkin's respite workers got it out the other day, and he started crying and ran to the other side of the room. I got it out again later, and he said, "no, no." Maybe it's the wild hair? (Kinda like Punkin's before the haircut.)

Okay, for something completely off subject: WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH YOUR PERSONALIZED LISCENSE PLATE????? It doesn't do the job if none of us know what it means. Some of them just puzzle me, and it's almost fun. Or it would be fun if I were like my mom and got into hurting my brain with impossible word puzzles. But that's not as serious an offense to me as the ones that are just crying out for someone to ask the driver "What does that mean?" For instance, "SCARRED" and "N LIED ME." Clearly these two women have personal issues that they need to work through. Tell a counselor. Talk to a friend. Don't stamp it on a piece of metal and affix it to your car. We don't care.

Now, if your liscense plate says "WE MILK" because you are a farmer, then that is funny. Or if it says "GUTEN TAG" because you are a German teacher, then that is cute. But advertising your failed romantic relationships or emotional struggles isn't witty. It's just confusing and slightly annoying to the rest of us.

The other thing that bothers me--Punkin was sent home from school yesterday because of two loose BMs. No fever. No crankiness. No nothing. When I went to pick him up, he was laughing and running around the nurse's office playing with the big jungle animals. Plus, he didn't have another BM all day. In fact, the next one he had was right now because I smell it and it sure does STANK. (Remind me to tell you the "Dat stank" story sometime.) But it only bothered me a little--leaving work early on a 75 and sunny Friday that is--not the stink. Cause I got to hang out with Oma and Punkin. And since I am going to be gone tomorrow night through Wednesday night, and I need extra bonding time.

Okay, Okay! I'll tell you the "Dat Stank!" story now. But it won't be as funny as when my friend Claire tells it. But some of you know her, so you can imagine. Anyway, Claire went to college near a cereal plant. And the cereal plant was BEYOND gross-smelling. It would permeate the entire city sometimes, I swear. (Jennie, you know what I mean.) But it would smell that way all the time, so after a while it wasn't a big deal. So, she was walking across campus one day when a guy--all by himself about 100 yards away--starts talking loudly and waving his hand in front of his face. "Dat stank! You smell dat? Dat stank!" And, my friend Claire being my friend Claire, got kinda nervous for a minute because she didn't know if she should answer him or just giggle. I think she just giggle/snorted and turned her head the other way.

and now.....pictures with captions, because my brain hurts

"She keeps promising a haircut, but it just gets longer and longer."
"It's practically blowing in the breeze."

"I'm cute and I know it."
"I love you, and I want to look at you, but I just can't."
"Seriously, it's too much."
"I will not make eye contact. Not even for the blog."

"I don't care what you think."

"Dude, why is this here?"
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Curvy slide!"
"I almost looked at you. So sneaky."
"What? I told you, not even for the blog!"

This rating was based on the presence of the following words:

pain (1x)

why i am a genius, for real

The. Most. Over. Whelming. Day. Ever.
Punkin and I are cat-sitting for some friends of ours all week. This meant that I had to wake him up at 6:15 in order to leave by 6:25 in order to get to the cats by 6:30 in order to leave the cats by 6:40 in order to drop off punkin at school at 7:00 in order to get to work by 7:15. In case you are wondering, Punkin was petrified of the cats at first. He wouldn't even walk into the apartment. I had to carry him, and he was still as stiff as a board. After a while, though, when he realized that the cats couldn't care less about him, he loosened up and stood behind them as they ate, silent, except for the rythmic, "Cat. Moooww."
After work, we stopped by the gas station to pick up a snack before going to WIC (Women Infants and Children). Now, going to WIC is always an adventure. There is always a new girl, and there is always a crabby lady. The crabby lady hates her job. She definitely does not appreciate my hyperactive son, and she doesn't really seem to care for any of the people she serves. She's the first with whom I have the pleasure of interacting. "Proof of address? Medical card? Phone number? Gross monthly income?" Then it's the nurse who weighs and measures and tests iron levels. And she always expects Punkin to know what she means when she says, "Stand still," not to mention she expects him to actually do it. Every time I go I have to tell her that he has Fragile X Syndrome. Every time she acts like she knows what it is, but just can't remember. Every time I tell her, all she hears is "autism." Then she gives him a band-aid even though I tell her he won't keep it on, and we are on to my personal favorite--the dietician. Now, the dieticians I have known at WIC are a special breed of people. First of all, they expect me to be able to recount everything I feed my son in a week. Secondly, they think kids like refried and dried beans. Third, they are quiet people. My son is not a quiet person, he will not touch a bean, and no, I don't recall how many ounces of juice I put in his cup. And like the nurse, she can't find in her chart (even though she wrote it last time) that he has Fragile X. But once I explain that the reason he is chucking a schoolbus across her office is because he is overly stimulated, she seems to calm down. This all took 60 long minutes.

After that delightful experience, we stopped by and fed the cats again, bought gas, drove through the ATM, and went to the grocery store. By the time we left the grocery store, he was crying, pushing the cart (and very peeved that I was helping him), and shoeless. I was sweating, my grandma undies were probably sticking up out of my skirt, and I was carrying a box of chinese food.

And this is where we get to learning why I am a genius. My D-LISH chinese food came with a fortune cookie, which read: Genius is merely patience. I found this amusing at first given the overwhelming afternoon and the fact that Punkin refused to even touch the eggroll, rice, or chicken. "Mo fuit. Peas." Then I remembered something the dietician at WIC said, "You have the patience of Job." (A little bit odd, admittedly, but meant very sincerely and with the most kindess.) And we all know Job had a LOT of patience. So, if I have patience like Job, and genius is merely patience, then I am a super-GENIUS!

perfect dress!

Mom and I went shopping. I need a black and white dress for Pampered Chef conference. I thought it would be hard, but there were dozens of choices. I tried on about 15, and this was the clear winner. AND it was $18! Then we found a little shrug to go over it ($24) cause those places are cold and it's speghetti straps.
Isn't the top cute?
The necklace I think I will wear, cause I want to wear this bracelet:
What do you think? Does it go?

happy things i found today

My pink princess dress that I wore every day for about three years.
My Barbie magnets from college.
My pledge hat.

mind reading

I have been wanting to blog, but unable to muster the intellectual capacity to do so. I was laying (is that right?) in bed last night, thinking of brilliant things to say, wishing Blogger would come up with some new-fangled way of taking my thoughts directly from my brain to the computer. But, alas, it cannot. And it might be problematic. There may need to be some sort of a filter on technology like that. Otherwise you'd end up with, "And then Punkin walked . . . hey, are they moving xerox machines upstairs again? up to me . . . I think I need some cheese . . . and said house . . . my neck hurts . . . cause he wanted to take his new dollhouse in the car with him. And then he picked it up . . . were those firecrackers? why am I turning into an old lady . . . and carried it out to the car all by himself." Didn't so much make any sense, huh? Of course, when I write, I use a different voice in my head than the one that says, "Hey, I need some cheese." So maybe the new mind-reading technology could tell the difference between blogger voice and personal needs voice. Okay, I have officially spent too much time on this.

We had a good couple of days. My parents took me out to one of my favorite restaurants--Thunder Bay Grille--where my sister and my friends and I used to slave away over the hostess stand. I worked there for four years, and I would still eat there every day if I could. I had an apricot-dijon glazed pork chop and a sweet potato, just like my mommy. Then we went to Whiteys Ice Cream and I stuffed myself with an Oreo Shake. And we headed off to see Evan Almighty. I thought it was much better than Bruce Almighty, mostly because of the lack of boob jokes. It bordered on hoaky, but I think it was intentional. It was cute. Made me feel warm and snuggly inside. Punkin slept 'til 7:15 this morning. We watched Charlie and Lola on The Disney Channel. ADORABLE. I think I will watch it now even if he doesn't ask.

I am excited about my upcoming vacation to Chicago for the conference. One more week!Hooray! I'm assuming the hotel has free internet, so I plan to blog away. My mom wants to put her two cents in as well, as she will be on diaper duty.

Did you read about FX awareness day?

And, a random bit o' fun about me: CanNOT press the garage door button and run out while it's closing. Nope. Petrified. Don't ask me, cause I won't do it.

fragile x awareness day--you don't have to spend money to help

JULY 22, 2007
NATIONAL FRAGILE X AWARENESS DAY!

Let’s celebrate the accomplishments of those researching Fragile X Syndrome

as well as those living with Fragile X!

Spread the word:

Visit www.fragilex.org and read about it

or
Challenge yourself to tell one new person about Fragile X.
or
Write your favorite talk show or news program and tell them about Fragile X

and the awareness day.
or
Make a donation to The National Fragile X Foundation.
www.fragilex.org
or

Contact me about my fundraiser at thefxfundraiser@gmail.com.

Your help is greatly appreciated!
the other lion, a Fragile X mommy

fourth o' july

I feel like I am cranky old woman when I say this, but willyoupleasestopmakingsomuchNOISE!! I can appreciate the occasional civilian firework display as long as it is actually meant to be colorful and entertaining and not just LOUD and obnoxious and LOUD. But this is seriously bugging me. Apparently, the Fourth of July is a free ticket to wake up everyone's sleeping babies FOR A WEEK.

In other holiday news, we actually had a great time. On the third, we went to see fireworks in the perfect spot. It was far enough away that it wasn't loud at all, but it was close enough and high enough that it provided a great view of our city's and another city's show. Plus, it was not crowded at all. Punkin loved it.

Today we went to Oma and Opas, where I suggested (demanded) a lunch of fishsticks and Velveeta Shells and Cheese. Punkin ate six. Then we went to the store, where he had two meltdowns. MAJOR meltdowns. Apparently he was hungry, because he scarfed down an entire apple (yes, the core as well) and was fine. Then we went swimming and ate dinner with friends. Three hot dogs, including the buns. Wouldn't touch the watermelon. Just an adamant "no."

One of the couples who came brought their son (almost 4) and daughter (5 months). By the end of the evening, the son told me "He [Punkin] isn't very nice." He was having a hard time understanding why he was being hit and kicked all evening. Little Man just doesn't know how to control his body and his impulses. He wasn't trying to hurt him. Their son was SO patient with him. And I think he does like him, because he kept asking him to play and watch movies. I just think it's hard because he knows that if he hit someone, he'd be firmly planted in timeout. And they were cute together. Little Man just kept trying to give him hugs and kisses. And he would climb up on the couch and sit on his lap, which was funny because he is bigger than him. At one point he even put his head in his lap! Do any of you have any suggestions for dealing with this kind of stuff?

Do you have any suggestions for making the firecrackers less annoying? Oh, ice cream. Chocolate fudge brownie? Okay. I'm willing to give it a shot.

not exactly what i had in mind

As you can see, I went ahead and bought the Little People house. It's pretty awesome, and Little Man likes it. But I think he had it confused with a shape sorter earlier today. =) But the Veggie Castle may still end up in our living room.

Pretty uneventful day. Went swimming at Oma and Opa's. He HUGGED his TEACHER! And he was trying to hug all of the other kids. Not sure if they reciprocated, but that is a big deal in his social world.

I'm sleepy. I wish the obnoxious curly-haired 20-something on Age of Love would have gone home. She is seriously BUGGING me. Night.

the story i have been trying to avoid

I've been hearing a lot about how Chris Benoit and his family died and about at least one other woman who committed suicide with her son who had Fragile X. I thought this was a really good response from The National Fragile X Foundation. It's hard for me to relate to that kind of devastation. I deal with depression and anxiety, too, but I have never felt like these two people must have felt. I guess it could be because my son is young and we haven't reached a lot of the same challenges yet. But I think it has a lot more to do with my family, friends, and faith. I do wish that counseling for all family members was part of the waiver program. We all need someone to talk to, need ways to ease the stress and the worry. Anyway, the FX Foundation is also sponsoring a webcast on July 20. They are usually pretty interesting, and they allow you to e-mail questions and comments before or during the event.

PRESS RELEASE June 28, 2007

The National Fragile X Foundation shares in the sorrow surrounding the death of wrestler Chris Benoit and his wife and son. Early reports indicate that the son had fragile X syndrome, the world’s leading cause of inherited intellectual disability, and that Mr. Benoit may have been depressed over that fact. While the parents and professionals who make up the National Fragile X Foundation fully understand and appreciate the difficulties associated with raising a child with fragile X syndrome, we urge all citizens to learn more about the condition and about how, with the proper diagnosis and intervention, those boys and girls, men and women, can be active participants and contributing members of their families, schools and communities.


The U.S. Congress has designated July 22 as "National Fragile X Awareness Day." The National Fragile X Foundation uses this opportunity to help spread awareness about the condition as well as to educate professionals about the best forms of treatment and intervention. This year, on July 20, the National Fragile X Foundation has organized a three-hour, international audio/video webcast featuring many of the nation’s leading fragile X syndrome clinicians. This free event is an excellent opportunity to learn about what can be done to provide the maximum opportunities for children affected by the syndrome.


Throughout the world, scientists, doctors, teachers, therapists and counselors are working hard to provide better forms of treatment and intervention. The National Fragile X Foundation has been organizing those professionals and disseminating information to the worldwide Fragile X community since 1984. Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a tragedy, such as that involving Chris Benoit and his family, to bring attention to so-called "rare" conditions.


To learn more about fragile X syndrome, as well as the upcoming webcast, please visit http://www.fragilex.org/
The National Fragile X Foundation

really? you don't think we need any of these?

Little Tikes Classic Bike. He started learning how to ride a tricycle because he wanted to so bad. His teacher said he did great!
A slide that's a smidge bigger than the beginner ones, cause Punkin is so tall. Busy Day House, Fisher Price. The toilet flushes. For real.

And the one I'm not sure we can live without. Seriously, we need this. It would be wrong for us not to have it. And it's on sale!

uumm.....

I gave Punkin an apple without slicing it up or anything. I think the hardness is good for his oral needs, and he can totally handle it. Anyway, I just looked over and the entire apple is gone--including the core. I guess I'll be changing a lot of diapers today and tomorrow. I think maybe I need to buy a corer. Just to be safe.
I'm so relieved that the Little Einsteins were able to fly Rocket adagio and wake up the sleeping Princess Bassoon by playing her happy song on their trumpet before all of the purple pebbles fell to the bottom of the hourglass. That was a tense couple of minutes.
Now Mickey, Donald, and Pluto are trying to get Booboo Chicken back from the giant after Donald traded him (the chicken) for some magic beans. Impulse shopping = lots of regret. It's a hard lesson, Donald.
I think we need to play outside today.