Spring Break Fun

We have had a terrific spring break.  

First, we had family visit from Chicago.  We love spending time with them!  They brought some much needed rain with them, and we had a nice, relaxing weekend together celebrating Darren's birthday and then the visit was topped off with a night out at the rodeo enjoying Zack Brown Band.  Lots of fun!

Mattie with his Godfather

Reading a story with Aunti C.

Out without the kids

Then the kids and I went with some friends to Galveston to play on the beach for the day.  Besides getting sunburns, it was a fantastic time playing in the sand.

They enjoyed the beach even though they couldn't get in the water, due to a bacteria warning.

They were covered from head to toe in sand.

We all had a great time!

Then, the rest of the week, we just did normal stuff-- played with friends, went to the store, watched some tv, and visited a few parks. Additionally Alyssa and Jackson spent a morning at gymnastics, played some video games, practiced t-ball and softball, and helped Granddad plant some corn.  A good time was had by all!

Fun at the store.

Alyssa helped push the boys on the swings at the park.

Entranced by the television.

Helping Granddad plant corn. 
Alyssa commented on the way home how good the corn is going to taste.

Matthew had a great time at the park.

Around the Web

Every so often, I am sent a link to an article about special needs parenting or I stumble upon one reading various blogs.  These are a few of the articles/blog posts that have resonated with me lately.  They say it better than I can.

-7 Things You Didn't Know About A Special Needs Parent  In particular, numbers 2 through 5 sounded very familiar to me. Once in a while I do get jealous, sometimes I do feel alone, often I am scared, and words can hurt. 

-Perhaps You Should Sue God  We know the beauty of the unexpected and unknown.  It is hard and wonderful.  We are constantly reminded that every day with Matthew is a good day!

-Does Intelligence Determine Worth  I've been thinking about how much our society values intelligence, and what that might mean for those with special needs.  We often revere and praise those who are considered 'gifted', but what does that say about those on the other end of the spectrum?  I stumbled upon this blog post in Parent's magazine and I started following her blog that same day.

Though our journey with Matthew seems unique (and a bit isolating as we still don't know about the one other person in the world with Matthew's disorder), our experiences are echoed in many of the experiences of other special needs parents, which is oddly comforting.  Matthew may be 1 of 2 in the world, but he is not alone, and neither are we. 

We are thankful we are navigating Matthew's journey in the age of the internet, which has helped us get knowledgeable about medical information, stay connected with friends and family, and form de facto support groups across thousands of miles.  Technology is cool!

What I'll Miss

When my kids are older, I will greatly miss hearing "Mommy, I have a surprise for you" and seeing their cute faces with a hand full of 'flowers'. 

Patience Reset

I won't be winning any mother of the year awards any time soon, and not just because I forgot to put sunscreen on the kids during our day at the beach.  Patience has never been my finest virtue.  I often half joke that I asked God for patience and instead of granting me patience, he granted me opportunity after opportunity to practice patience.

I feel like I haven't been doing a very good job of it lately.  Right now, Matthew is whiny and getting into every thing (as my broken iPod Nano can attest).  While developmental-age appropriate, which is a reason to rejoice, it is testing my patience.  Add in Jackson's periodic freak outs and over emotional moments and Alyssa's stubborn sassiness, and I lose my cool.  I have been too short with the kids lately, and generally not the mom I want to be.  

I'm not proud of it, but hope by admitting it here, I will be able to reset my patience bank.  I'm praying that I can be the mother my kids deserve, to be patient when the opportunities to practice arise.

Play Place Issue Resolved

I received an email back from the VP of the mall in which we had our ADA issue. They have reviewed their policies, and despite what I was told (but per ADA standards), they do allow medical walkers, wheelchairs, canes, and crutches in the play place.  According to his email, their policy has been reinforced with all personnel.   

Very good news!   I wish that it hadn't happened at all, but I'm so thankful that I didn't have to escalate, and all it took was a discussion and an email.  Matthew and I will be back there soon, with his walker.  It is a very nice play place for the little ones and I'm happy that they will be inclusive of all families with special needs.  

I am learning as we navigate Matthew's journey, and this experience taught me that I need to keep a copy of the ADA in my diaper bag for just such occasions.  Lesson learned, and thankfully, issue resolved!

More Baby Steps

Necessity is the mother of invention.  Our PT had voiced that there were a couple of forces working against Matthew walking-- 1 is that he is so very fast when he crawls and 2 is that he is so efficient with the push toy, he is relying on it too much.  We can't do anything about the first, but for the second, we hid his push toy.  We really want him to use his walker, though it is more cumbersome, because it keeps him in a more upright walking posture.  And within a few hours, Matthew had found other alternatives, both of which were more acceptable because he has to be more upright to push them around.

And as we've been working with Matthew in therapy and practice this week, Matthew is up to 3 steps unsupported. He still needs help getting started, and it will likely still be some time before he's able to walk independently, but they are baby steps!  And we celebrate those baby steps!

Happy Birthday to Darren

Happy Birthday to my beloved! 



Started the day hanging with Mattie at the breakfast table.

Jackson drew cat whiskers on his face.

Shared a bowl of popcorn with Matthew, while watching Puss in Boots.

Ate dinner out with family and then celebrated at home with cake.