judgment

lets get real for a bit, okay,
are you judged? im sure we all are, i can list a million reasons im sure as to why im judged, does it make them right? no, does it make me right? no, just different views on different subjects.

im a mom to 3 special needs boys, ive heard from some, maybe i should have stopped....but then i wouldnt have my babies, why would that be a good thing?

every time the boys have a episode in public i see the looks, the parents who think im not doing enough, or trying hard enough, those who think the kids are mearly brats and acting out.

because i choose to homeschool, ive been told lots, most negative, i admit it can cause me to second guess myself, to think that i should feel bad for doing something wrong, i try to let it roll off, but it hurts.

because im "crunchy" i get weird looks for being eco friendly, for trying to be safer with our food, comments like "everything is gonna kill us, why bother"

im okay with being different, i dont fit a mold, thats okay with me, my problem comes when i meet someone new, typically i try to stay as much mainstream as possible in our talks, dont mention the boys problems, or that i dont vaccinate, or that i homeschool, but as soon as one of these come up typically the person is no longer interested in talking. hard to make friends, thankfully i have a cyber world of wonderful like minded people.

if you take nothing more than this away from this, please try not to judge someone before knowing them. the world would be boring if we were all the same right???

crunchy?

eek i have lots of thoughts in my head, always a scary thing for me, trying to become more organized, trying to purge harmful things from our daily life, i spend many hours a week in my natural, organic and simple groups. ive learned alot from them and love my groups. ive decided to make a list of things we are doing to be more "crunchy" and then ill make a list of things we are working towards.

we try to buy our food items in less packaging
we try to buy mainly organic
i make our house cleaners, laundry soap, floor cleaner, mirrors, disinfectant, etc.
i buy "safe" items such as method dish soap and dishwasher tablets, as much as possible
the boys bathe with burts bees
i wash my hair in baking soda and vinegar (and no its not yucky or smelly:))
we dont use paper towels at all, only cloth
we dont use artificial sprays, candles or any other kind of fragrances, i use essensial oil in water to add sent
we try to buy as much as possibly without BPA in it
try to use natural cures to protect our health
no longer doing vaccines
we try in general to think about our health and the enviroments health when we purchase items

id like to do these and am working more towards it

making 90% of meals from scratch at home
using cloth wipes for zach (cant get harold on board with this)
use cloth diapers with zach (again hubs isnt going for it and im not sure they would have any in his size since he is beyond the typical diaper age)
grow a small garden
make more of the things we need at home
learn how to sew
learn how to knit

what are some things you do or would like to do to become more "crunchy" or if you arent interested in being crunchy what are your reasons for this?

more pictures

Zach got to see superman!

chance busted for eating the gingerbread house!

despite their faces, they WERE excited to see superman!

pictures

zach finally got a haircut....that was not an easy task, and of course i decided to do it at 1030pm alone cause the hub didnt want to help, since he knew zach didnt like the shearing sound, but we accomplished it! the boys loved seeing santa, even zachy, this was his first year to see santa!!
our house for christmas

christmas party

Tonight was the special needs network annual Christmas party, this was our first year to attend, it was at the peaceable kingdom. And as everything is at the place it was amazing! The boys saw some super heroes and Santa, they made gingerbread house's, decorated stockings and had a really good time. They each received a gift from Santa and one a outdoor game set, volleyball and some others, very cool. The best part for me was being with people who understand, so many things never needed a word uttered, a simple nod of the head. The kids had a blast with other kids, they were all so nice to each other. I was able to talk with another mom, a lady from Eci, and a lady who helps with the special needs bikes as well. Over all an A+.

Christmas is only 14 days away! Harold goes on leave in 5 more working days! I'm loving it!!

Fruit Chart | Nutrient chart | Vitamins and minerals in common fruits

Fruit Chart | Nutrient chart | Vitamins and minerals in common fruits

i heart december

hey all, wow once again its been a while, no excuses time just seems to pass so quickly thru the day and then its bed time. hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is having a great begining of december! we have our deco up, our tree up, i LOVE christmas, my all time favorite time of year and i tend to get a bit overly into it. :)

for thanksgiving i gave zach some baby food in his formula mixture for his tube feeding, it was a first but there were no bad reactions to it, it flowed a little slower, but nothing major, i have been thinking alot lately about a blended diet for zach where he would recieve more "real" foods, i want to discuss it and learn more with his nutritionist soon.

earlier this week while tube feeding zach he decided to get up and walk away....and when i say walk i mean RUN! couldnt catch him in time, he ended up popping his fully intact button full of water in the balloon out and we had to re-insert it, needless to say that was a first....he is such a wiggle worm now!

Another first for zach was he got to see Santa!! we hadnt done it in the past, either because of a hospital stay or fear of germs, yep im one of those that would bubble up my kid in a bubble if i could to protect him from everything, i know it seems extream sometimes, and im working on being better.but anyway back to santa, he didnt scream or fuss, but wasnt thrilled to be sitting on th ebig dueds lap either, he wanted to get up and run around. it was so awesome to see all the boys up with santa though, they all still believe, i know part of it is the autism, and part of it is the fact that they dont go to public school so they arent hearing other kids burst their bubbles about santa not being real, as long as they choose to believe i will go right on along....


before i end this i have a few prayer requests, one for a sweet baby born recently in a nicu waiting for a surgery to remove fluid from her brain, she also has a eye defect where she will be at least partially blind, she is having heart issues and has a cleft palate, they are waiting for genetic testing, a year ago her mom gave birth to another daughter born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia who lived only 28 days, please pray for peace and understanding for this family, her name is Ellie.

the other prayer request is for a beautiful nearly 3 year old girl named Liviana she was also born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and survived it! she was doing wonderful until a few months ago she began to get clumsey and having probles walking and playing mom got her in to see aneuro and after a mri of her brain they determined the problem, that was the good news, they have an answer, however its one you never want to hear, its one that isnt cureable. here are the words from her mom's mouth...

"Liviana has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Leukodystrophy. There are 2 dozen types of LD and we are awaiting tests to determine what type she has. The hard part....LD is not treatable. It is a progressive, degenerative brain disease. She is basically losing the white matter on her brain. I am sure I will talk in more detail about LD later but that is the basics for now."

she says she has showed rapid signs of regressing already. its heartbreaking, if you can please go to their blog and pray for livi, thank you.
http://livianasjourney.blogspot.com/


thank you all so much!