The Secret of Living

7 Quick Takes Friday - November 6th edition

-1-

It's Friday, which makes this an easy day for NaBloPoMo, because it's time for Quick Takes Friday!  Yeah!  An easy post to do.  Which is good because my brain is toast.  Burnt toast.  Crispy flaking dark black burnt toast.

-2-

Look!  I'm already on the 2nd quick takes.  Could I just say that for each of the 7 and be done today?  I guess that wouldn't be an acceptable entry.  

I'll just move on to WHY my brain is toast (crispy flaking dark black burnt toast.).  My brain is toast because R would NOT stay asleep last night.  We moved him into our room, but he still tossed and turned and moaned and groaned ALL night long.  We kept him home today, thinking he'd need sleep, but instead he popped out of bed at 7:30, happy as a lark.  Oh, to be a morning person.  He is obviously one.  And I have never claimed to be one.  But I got up at 5 a.m. 

-3-

And why did you wake up at 5 a.m., Tracy?  Because the teenaged son got in VERY LATE last night.  As in after 11 p.m.  Because the band bus didn't return from the game in other town until then.  When the band director PROMISED that they'd be back by 10.  Right....  The game was moved to Thursday night because they had a conflict with the university game.  

Anyway, teenaged son hadn't finished a paper that he should have finished earlier (on Wed. night.  He says he just forgot about it.  Sigh.).  So I woke up and made sure he heard his alarm.  

To give him credit, he got up promptly when I woke him up.  And he finished his paper and turned it in.  So, that's good.  But I could not fall back asleep!!!!  So here I am.  Not that my brain wouldn't have been toast anyway, but that extra 45 minutes of sleep would have been nice.  Yawn....

-4-

Watching Nina be goalie was cool.  Tomorrow will be Super Saturday Sport Day in the Zookeeper's household.  She is going to a soccer tournament with her team, and thankfully another parent is driving her there, as we have the cross country district meet in the morning as well.  Mac is running with his team and hopefully will do well there.  After that meet, we will drive to the tournament and watch the girls' team's second game.  We will only have an overlap between their sports for one more week, as Mac will have his last meet, the state meet, on November 16th.  

-5-

My feet are cold.  I should go get some slippers or socks on.  I prefer to have my feet bare when I can, but it's definitely fall here.  We are holding off on turning on the heat as long as possible, because it keeps our utility costs down.  But we're all still getting used to having the house be about 66-68 degrees when we wake up (outside dips to the 40s).  I told the kids to get used to it, because unless I have company, the thermostat is staying DOWN this winter.   Gas just costs way too much to have it be higher.  

So we're making sure all the throw blankets are clean and available for sitting on the sofa and in the lazyboys, and the kids are getting new sweats for lounging around.  Besides, it's so much more comfy to change clothes after school!  

-6-

I worked three days this week and could have worked four, but I had appointments on Tuesday.  I thankfully didn't get called today and am happy about that, as I would have had to say no.  (See #2.  R is 5.  Mom stays home when R stays home.  Obviously.)

It's nice to think of the paycheck coming my way, then going straight into savings.  Every bit is helpful.  That's what I keep telling myself at least.  If I didn't need the flexibility of being able to say no at this point, I could find something that pays more, but this is a good start.

-7-

I have lost 7 lbs in the past two weeks.  Amazing what being on your feet all day and not having an opportunity to eat does for you.

Of course, I did say yes at the grocery store a couple of days ago, when Mac asked if we could pick up a couple of bags of discounted candy.  Oops.  I need to remind myself to tell him to HIDE that candy.  I ate 3 funsize bars this morning and if I keep that up, I will never make it to "funsize"... LOL!

For the home of more Quick Takes Friday, go here.

Soccer Mom

One of my newest titles is "Soccer Mom".  Perhaps not brand new, but newly regained?  The teens both used to play soccer in recreational leagues, but neither have played in over 3 years.  This fall, Nina decided to try out for the junior high team and made it.

I went to her second game tonight.  We lost - by several goals.  And our primary goalie got hurt... and the next thing I knew, Nina was racing for the bench and putting her keeper jersey on and her gloves... and my baby girl was in front of the main target for the opposing team for the remaining 3/4 of the game.  

She did pretty well, though they did get past her twice.  But considering how many shots at the goal they got?  She did very very well.

There will be many more games between now and the end of the season in December.  I'm really hoping that at least one of those games ends up in the win column!  But no matter what, I'll try to be in the stands cheering their team on, proud to be my daughter's soccer mom.

Grace

I've been getting calls every day to sub. Today I worked with a room of little kindergarteners, and tomorrow, I will return to the same classroom.  I enjoy working with them, but they wear me out.  I walk into the house after school and wish I could collapse.  Instead I made dinner, and then went to our church's Wednesday night youth and children's program.  I attend with R in the 4-5s class, and while I wonder sometimes what he is getting out of it, it is definitely good for him to be around other children.  And I think it is good for the children to get used to a child who is different.  They are learning to be more understanding of him at least. 

I was talking with someone tonight and she asked me what I need.  I told her I need prayer for grace and patience through the diaper changes.  (okay, pull-up changes, but they are still diapers.  Just ones that go up and down more easily.)  That I know that it's okay that he isn't potty trained, and I try to believe that it will happen.  Things I've said before, but I guess it's okay to say again, because it's truly what I need.  I am patient with working with him with speech, behavior, and other issues, but the diapers are truly getting me down. 

It's funny the things that he is mastering.  Today he figured out how to zip his own jacket, including putting the zipper together.  Last week he learned how to do buttons on his shirt.  It takes a while for each one, but he is getting better at it every time.  He is writing his name.  He is able to cut, paste, paint, color, all kinds of basic skills that a pre-K should be doing.

But he doesn't talk.  Not like other kids.  And he isn't potty trained.  And we don't know how to make that happen yet.  We've been told it could be another two years. 

And that is getting me down.  Two, or even more, years.  2.  I'm tired of this.

I mentioned this to my friend.  That I'd been changing his diapers for over 5 1/2 years, and I just need grace, so I don't get upset and exasperated with him.  It's not his fault, I said.  And then the strangest thing... I said... "it's my fault."

It's my fault.  It just slipped out of me.  Is that what I truly believe?  I'm not sure.  In my mind, I don't think it's truth.  But in my heart, I wonder... what did I do?  Did I cause this?   Is it our genetics?  Our parenting?  Something I did during the pregnancy or birth?  Something that I didn't do that I should have done?

They are hard questions, without any answers.  In the end, does it truly matter?  It's what it is, and somehow we have to keep putting one foot in front of the other each day.  And the only way that's going to happen is Grace.

Wow...

An amazing thing happened today.  I went to our local hospital to request a refund of some money.  When I had the MRI of my ankle, the insurance company had told them that I needed to pay over $300, to satisfy my deductible and all that.  But another claim was in the works, so when the actual claim for the MRI was paid, the charge was about $125 less.  I wanted my money back.  I took the EOB and went to talk with their business office.  

You can imagine my surprise when they pulled up my file and said, yes, it's been referred to reimbursements.  The check should be cut within 2 weeks.  

Wow.  I'm getting my money back, and they had started the process already - without me having asked yet.  I'm not used to that!

Thankfully today I wore REAL walking shoes, good ones, that I haven't been able to wear since I got hurt in July.  The physical therapy worked.  I have a theraband that I am continuing to use with the exercises they gave me to do, and it is so great to have my ankle and foot improving.  I can't wait to pull out the Wii Fit and try it out again soon.  I think I'll be able to handle the steps required for it very soon!

p.s.

Pumpkin Dip

• 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (plus more, I think I added another about 1/6 cup or so - until it tasted right)
• 1 T maple syrup (I used the REAL syrup that I have.  Mmmmm.)
• 1 T cinnamon (plus more - again, I added more until it tasted right)

Whip cream cheese.  Add other ingredients and mix until smooth.  Chill.
Serve with ginger snaps or apple slices.
Definitely was very yummy.

And the Winner is...

It's always fun to win.  Whether it is a race, or bingo, or a prize in a contest.  We've had a nice weekend for winning.  Mac finished 11th in a cross country race, and his team won 1st.  They worked hard.  They're peaking nicely, with districts and state over the next two weeks.  

I won yesterday in a pumpkin dish contest.  I made a pumpkin dip that was quite tasty, I think.  It was a bit different too, so that may have helped.  It was fun to be recognized in something.  

There is so much more to life than winning though.  The things Mac and I really won this weekend were so much more than prizes.  He has been reaping the reward of camaderie on a team, and he's definitely enjoying it.  He talked more about the ride down to Lafayette and back, and he also got to see a bunch of his teammates today.  Watching him sit and talk with his teammates, who are so much more than teammates - they are FRIENDS as well?  That's a prize that you can't win in a day.  Instead it's a prize that has been cultivated day after day, run after run, talk after talk.  

I won the gift of spending time with my son.  He and I made the dip together.  I enjoyed spending time with him, and just talking together.  I also got the gift of spending time with friends at the church picnic.  These are gifts that can't be won, but are instead blessings to be enjoyed when they are given.

And those blessings?  Those are why I feel like a winner today.

NaBloPoMo Day 1: What do I write now?

This is the day where I say - okay.  30 days in a row.  I can do this.  Really I can.  

And then I realize that sure, I can write 30 days in a row, but my expectations are so much higher.  Like, I should be a world-class blogger and writer all of a sudden.  But then I remember that's ridiculous, and all I have to do is write an actual blog post, 30 days in a row, and voila, I will have done NaBloPoMo again.

So... What do I write now?  I guess I'll start with who I am, and what I write about.

If you're coming here from NaBloPoMo, welcome.  I'm Tracy.  I mostly write about myself and my family.  As the tag says, I am always trying to learn to be content during the chaos of life, and yes, I'm a Christian, a wife, and a mother, most of the time in that order.

I write about autism a lot here, since my youngest has been diagnosed with autistic disorder, and a lot of our energy and resources are going to trying to get him to where he'll be able to function in this world we live in.

I write about teenagers, since I have two of them, and they are both driving me insane, and making me very proud, often in the same 5 minute timespan.

I write whatever I feel like writing - and that's what I'm going to keep doing... it's just that I'm not going to miss a day (or 7, as I recently did), for an entire month.

It's been fun and challenging to do this before (in 2007 and 2008), and I expect it to be fun and challenging again.  Here we go!