learning by example

I've said it before...but instead just upped the supervision..it REALLY is time to start locking up the fridge...locking up the pantry. We have locked up meds at home for a long time...but I have been putting off putting the ole padlock on the refridgerator. How bizzare would it be to have company (not that we have that much) over for dinner and have all the food compartments locked up? Bizzare yet it is a reality with PWS I am not like facing. In all of this I have turned my pointing finger around at ME. Growing up...and really until Z was 2 I was skinny...skinny like friends asking...neighbors wondering (while growing up) if I had anorexia. I didn't. I could not keep an ounce on and I didn't like eating. Now? well I LIKE eating good food. ;) I do not eat a lot but ....and obviously since after breastfeeding my metabolism did a switch. In the last 7 years I have gained 65ish pounds....40 of that I did not NEED  to gain.

As much as my son sneaks food is he overweight? no. He is in the 75% for height and weight. Me? I need to be a better example. Up until the uber cold weather the kids and I (sometimes the hubby) walked 3-5 miles a day. I think it was good for the kids but it did nothing to help me loose weight. Now? very little excercise..I'm not even getting on the scale.

Not sure of the answers yet. (although I am going to start tracking food at sparkpeople) I need to be a better example in what I eat. How do I expect my son to keep an appropriate weight when I am not??

Christmas picture

I just had to post this picture. I glanced over and saw this and said...HOLD THAT POSE. That's kindof how life is every once in awhile I try to pause a moment...hopefully to hold it in my memory forever.

A~man by the way doesn't have a mean look on his face (it looks that way though!) It's just an intense look as he is reinacting church HAHAHHAHAH! Gotta love it.  I wish I could record the song he is singing. Then there is Z~girl who likes to cuddle with Slick. They love each other so much...puppy love.

What's in the big box? any guesses? its for my hubby...he says it's the biggest present he has ever had under the tree.

The "P" word

PUBERTY that is. Rough enough on the average human being....add in Prader-willi and autism.

I feel like my recent posts have been all negative. WAIT they have been. I need to say I love my life, love my children, love my hubby...wouldn't change it. BUT every few months it seems we get thrown a few new challenges.  The newest. PUBERTY.

I knew it was coming...I knew for the past two years to be on the look out. This week I saw the emotional results of it...that is the only thing I can think of. Looking back....his voice IS changing...my mom on the other coast has noticed. He has become aggressive. :( He has had bouts of it that were short lived...most always I was able to direct him to his bedroom so he could yell/ bang the walls all he wanted...but this was maybe a handful of times a year. I experienced the occasional kicking of my seat driving...or swatting me.

This is a difficult time of year for someone with PWS with all the sweets...special events...all around change in schedule at least in our house. I'm making excuses I think....we had our homeschool Christmas party this week....the kids DID have fun but even before getting there I knew A~man needed more monitoring than usual. At one point I put him in time out (for climbing all over the furniture...uhhh who's kid IS this? he doesn't do THAT???) and he hit me. (?????) We leave the party early as I know he is about to self combust...he does....in the CAR. Kicking the back of the seat and screaming on the way home. LOVELY. The reason? I told him he couldn't bring his "goodies" (school supplies) into his room until I found a container to put them in.  I somehow get him in the house....wondering if DSS would be knocking at my door. (he's screaming while I have a hold of his coat keeping him upright on our icy sidewalk) Once inside he attacks me. Thankfully I am not a small punny woman....the hits/slaps do not hurt but trying to get him to his bedroom so he can't hurt Z-girl or me resulted in me wonking up my back/arms/shoulders. I called the hubby...I texted one of my best friends (far far away) hubby called dev ped and got a prescription for a med he prescibed months ago....but we didn't need it and I lost it.  We all survived the day. My biggest pain is seeing the pain in my 9 year old daughters face during the whole thing despite me telling her to go in the other room. (she didn't want ME to get hurt)

The next day we were thankfully at home but the same thing happened. Over what?? something small...something normally we could have talked through...he was cleaning his room and wanted to give/throw something away he made in preschool. I tried to explain that I wanted to keep it for me. Then it all happened again. Thankfully hubby was able to leave work to pick up the prescription. ( even if I had transportation I couldn't have got him in the car)

I PROMISE to anyone reading this...my next post will be a positive one. This is my favorite time of year...I love celebrating Jesus' birthday...I love snow and the cold, I love decorating for the season. :) We have been doing lots of fun stuff...but a blog is a nice place to unload your burdens. (well in addition to God and I am definitely doing that  :) 

Oh and a special thanks to my blog and IRL friends K and D!!! love ya gals!!!

This isn't one of those posts....

You know the type. The kind that will give you warm fuzzies and think I am wonderwoman. I AM EXHAUSTED. This week has been rough on me. Honestly besides field trips, daily life skills, pet care, art, reading (ok now I AM making myself feel a bit better ;) we have done no formal homeschooling. I feel like I am in survival mode. Hubby has had to work several late nights and since we share a car that means the kids have stayed up way past their bedtime and it has threw A~man completely out of kilter. The result is a very anxious, jumpy, impatient mama. Sometimes I wish people that knew us could walk a day in my shoes. Now my days are filled with a whole lot of joy (well not so much this week) but even on the best day I feel like a wet sponged drained of any moisture. YIKES even this week I texted my hubby saying I didn't know if I could continue homeschooling. I feel like I get NO breaks, none, nada. On top of that I feel like I am not doing enough "school" or cleaning, or finishing projects I start. I am going to be 100% honest and say the last 3 days have been complete autopilot.

This results in my son's challenges becoming even more pronounced. The autism is in full force this week! He did this years and years ago but he is echoing/ copying every sound he hears. From the sound of his sister walking across the the floor in her boots to my raspy asthma cough. When we are in a store he mimics sounds/phrases from strangers which comes out sounding very disrespectful and mocking. That is just the tip of the iceberg....I do not want to explain the rest. Here's to praying that next week will begin with a more relaxed mama, thus a more relaxed functional son...and a lessed stressed out beautiful redhead.

Leigh if you read this....I am trying my best to kick this elephant off my chest...I hope you are too!!

Yeah me...that controlling freaky mom...

We went on a wonderful home school field trip today to see an awesome (seen on TV I believe) Gingerbread house competition at an extravagant old hotel. This is the third year we have been. It's fun but stressful. I did hear typical kids in our group say "I'm hungry looking at these" multiply that by 10 times with my son with Prader-willi syndrome. He did well for HIM though. :)

Afterwards with friends we went to a yummy local pizza place. I ordered a piece for me,(the pieces are HUGE), a piece for A~man...and an order of hummus and pita for Z~girl. (her choice) What did they bring to ds? 2 huge pieces of pizza....excuse me but I'm sure I had a WTF? look on my face. Somehow they thought he had ordered two pieces with one topping...I cannot begin to explain how big two pieces at this place is except to say NORMALLY the kids split one piece and have plenty. A~man was very excited at the two pieces...and then very upset when I said NO WAY.  I dealt...he dealt... it worked out for a pleasant experience...yet somehow due to me not being assertive enough I had to pay for food I did not order. I'm sure I come across as the most uptight woman about what A~man eats.....of course my friends are probably used to it and tolerate me (I hope;) that it is what it is.

While I'm venting...I very well may win grumpy mom of the week. EEEEK.  I've finding myself saying no no no, stop talking, hush, go play way more than I should be intitled too. That's not me...Could the real mama joy please stand up???