It's Something Special

I get asked how I can stay so happy and so positive while having two children with disablilites. My first answer is, "Why wouldn't I be happy?"

I know it's not proper to answer a question with a question. Well, don't you want your child to grow up as happy as they could? No matter what kind of personalities they have you plan to make the best life for them. Yes, I admit. It is hard sometimes but isn't being a parent, period, hard?

The best way I can explaine what it's like to be a parent in my situation is with one of my favorite poems.

"Welcome to Holland"

By Emily Perl Kingsley, 1987. All rights reserved.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Funny moments at Disneyland

Today two moments from our trip kept sticking out in my mind. First was about my little girl. She wanted cotten candy so bad, but I kind of freak out about getting stiky fingers that constantly go into the mouth when the kids are still going on rides (it's like licking the germs from bunches of other hands...shiver....gag). So after two days of asking we finally baught her some on our way back to our hotel.

This was her reaction!

Yes, I feel the same way about the pink sweet goodness.

The second memory makes me laugh a little more. My family informed me that I have too much energy and they have a hard time keeping up with me. I mean I could have kept going all day at the park, but had to stop because the rest of the group were falling down dead on spot.

Here's the proof.

Really, he was fine. I only let him stay like this for the photo then moved him. But it's no lie. We stopped to get ice cream and less than 10 seconds later, he dropped, was out, zonked!

He wasn't the only one. Paisley couldn't keep up either. Luckily, she waited until we were going back to the hotel.

See, I know how to get my kids to bed on time!

Slideshow of Disneyland Trip 2010

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Disney Trip

We are back and the Smiths had a blast! Why is it that life is never the same after Disney? This year we took my little 17-year-old sister with us (it was nice to have one adult per child). The park was almost empty on Sunday makingit possible to get through 90% of Disneyland. Which was a good thing too, because we finished Disney and California Adventure Monday leaving Tuseday and Wednesday for our favorite rides. I mentioned before that it was a good thing almost finishing the whole park Sunday, well it seemed like on Tuesday and Wednesday everyone in America came to Disneyland. It was so full we could barely walk around. (Thank you Disney for giving us those special needs passes so we could go right up the exits and board the rides)

Seth got wiped out halfway through the first day and fell alseep when we took a break for ice cream and fell asleep on the cement steps. NO JOKE there are photos for proof. I got attacked by Goofy, he ran up out of no where and kissed me. Seth huged every Princess and female character (yes, he will grow up to be a ladies man). Dom wouldn't have anything to do with the girls nor characters that could be remotely prissy- AT ALL- notice he is absent from a lot of photos.

Did I mention the lovely weather? Well, it was G-R-E-A-T! Yes, very warm, very nice. Except for Tuesday morning, started out a bit chilly but warmed up later in the day. We all fell so in love with the sun that we forgot it's still winter back here at home in winter-topia Idaho. When we drove through Sardeen Canyon and hit a snow storm, the Smith family cried.

California and Las Vegas really reminded me how much I LOVE summer. And how much I miss it when it's gone.

Oh, and we had a bit of fun with the California Adventure letters to spell out my name.

How I spent my St. Patricks Day

A day of luck? Um, no! St. Patrick’s Day was always a day I looked forward to. Usually I would be showered with luck. All I had to do was wear green. But this year, that stinking leprechaun decided to take a crap on my four leaf clover.

The day started out very well, the kids all were in happy moods and excited to pinch their classmate who forgotten to wear the festive color. Then four o’clock rolled around and my pot of gold turned into a pot of—well you could only guess.

The DVD/CD drive on the computer tower broke. Did I mention I just got out of the shop literally hours before? Well, it had. The fan on our fire place broke, and we found our little treasure at the end of our rainbow in the basement. The main water line to the outside faucet blew! Really, BLEW APPART and shot water, insulation, and sheet rock EVERYWHERE!

Thank you, may I have another Sir-St Patty? (You Lil’ Green Prick!)

Umm, stay tuned for pictures of the waterfall from the basement ceiling. I’ll post them later tomorrow.
Looking on the bright side of this. At least these things happened before our trip we have planned in eight days. It could have been worse and the water line could have broken while we were on vacation and flooded the whole house. So there is my silver lining.

HAPPY FREAKING ST. PATRICKS DAY!

HELLO WRITERS!

Over on my friend's blog Shooting Stars is a GREAT giveaway!

Office Box Giveaway

An amazing give away is going on over at Cami Checketts blog. Click HERE to check it out!

My way Home

The television didn’t stay on a channel longer than four seconds as my husband surfed through the 400 stations of satellite entertainment. Out of frustration, he stopped on a show I was particularly fond of.

“There’s nothing on,” he said and tossed me the remote. I tucked the remote under my leg and finished folding laundry into piles.

A few towels later, a phrase that always made me laugh, played from the movie; “….smashing in the face of a piñata that resembles Summer Wheatley, is a disgrace to the whole Gem State…..” (I snorted, because sadly, I’ve actually heard a teacher say this before).

Our nine year old ran down the stairs and joined in on the final scenes of our hometown movie. (I think he is a bigger fan than me.) The final scene played and Seth popped up off the couch and pointed at the screen.
“Home! My home,” he said.

My husband and I laughed, because yes, in the background of the movie was our house. And, the scene was filmed at the elementary school next to us. I thought it was pretty cool that an autistic boy recognized his way home even from a silly movie.

Click here to see the scene Seth recognized his home.

To All You Writers!

All you writers out there. The blog Guide to Literary Agants is having another contest. Click on over for a chance to win and good luck to all who enter!

I Can Still See You

A tall brown haired boy flipped on the kitchen light. His mother followed him to the counter and poured him a bowl of cereal. She gave her son his breakfast and kissed the top of his head. It’s five o’clock in the morning and she couldn’t help smirk at how even the sun got to sleep in. Yet, she's up and starting her day.
The little boy snarffed down his Fruit Loops, bounced across the room, humming, and flapping his hands together with out a care in the world. His name is Seth and he has two disabilities; Autism and Fragile X Syndrome.

Seth put in his favorite DVD of Harry Potter. While waiting for the player to load, the family dog entered the room and licked Seth’s face. His mother loved the sound of the giggle Seth let out because it wasn't any giggle, but a contagious belly jumping laugh.

Suddenly, he remembered the movie but something is wrong. The DVD wasn’t playing. He tried restarting it, but it just wouldn’t work. Seth’s face wrinkled up and big tears rolled down his cheeks. He turned to his mom and uttered one word from his very small vocabulary.

“Help.”

His mom opened the tray and out slid the disc. She picked it up and found it covered in sticky finger prints. After cleaning it off, her heart sank. A crack ran all the way across the center of the DVD. Clean or sticky, it would never play. Mom returned to Seth to break the bad news.

“Seth, I’m sorry but this can’t play anymore.” His mom held up the disc. “Look at this right here. See, it’s broke.”

He didn’t understand and cried again, this time flopping down on the couch. Mom turned around to go back into the kitchen. Seth saw his shoes on the floor next to him and grabbed them.

The next thing his mom knew, something hit the back of her head. She grabbed the shoe from Seth’s hand. After a few minutes, her arms are bloody from trying to calm him down. Something shinny caught the mom’s attention from under the couch. She pulled out another copy of the movie.

Puzzled of how it even got there and where it had come from, she put it into the player. The movie started with out any problems.

Seth immediately calmed down and realized what he had done to his mother. His eyes filled with tears. Seth tenderly blew on the scratches, dig marks, and bites that covered his mom’s arms.

The movie’s theme music started to play as his big green eyes, still filled with tears, looked back at his mom. Kissing her cheek, he said, “Sorry,” and wrapped his arms around her.

“Seth, I love you too.”

This mother knows that even on the hard days when the Autism takes over, her little boy is still behind those green eyes struggling to understand his frustrations. So in those moments when he looks at her, she lets him know she can still see him.

I'm so sneaky!

My life just got a tiny bit nicer easier. I'm all about making things fair. My husband baught a new truck, well, it's not NEW NEW but new to us. To pay it off we sold his old Chevy, and that was a sad day for Seth. He cried as the guy backed out of our driveway after purchasing The Big Green Hulk (that's the name Dom gave it awhile ago). Meanwhile, I've been saving up for a laptop but the stash never seems to gain a high dollar amount. Plus, we have a nice desktop that already does everything pretty much perfectly and did iI mention fast? But having to share the computer with everyone gets kinda old, fast.

So, I am pretty good at a few things. One being, giving someone a guilt trip in such a sneaky way, you don't know what hit you until your giving in and commiting to something you would have never thought possible. Don't worry, this can only be pulled off about 3 times a year, and it's always on my husband.

That being said, guess who got a new laptop!?!

HAPPY DANCE!

So prepare yourself, you might get to see this mug talking to you via vlog post. Unless you think it might cause nightmares. If that's case I'll hold off on the webcam.  

Win the book The Long Way Home

Winning something is always good. In these cold winter months, I love to read a novel a week. When these said novels are new and pre-released, I get really excitted to start them. This book (The Long Way Home) isn't a pre-release but it's new. So, if you want a chance to win a copy click here to enter the contest.

Lucky Agent Contest on Guide to Literary Agents

Click here  to join in a writing contest.

How I Got My Kids To Take a Nap

"Give that back, "screamed my 6 year old, Dominic. "It's my turn for the Playstation."

"Mom, Seth's be mean," added Paisley. "He gunna scratch Dom, I know it."

"Seth, please share," I said, after getting pulled out of a great ZEN with my writing. I mean I was on a roll.

A scream of bloody murder pulled me down stairs to find out the paddle had magically bounced out of Seth's hands and landed on Dominic's head.

After calming down Dom and talking to Seth about not hitting for the 10,000 time, I came up with an plan.

"Why don't you guys go outside and play in the snow. You haven't made me a snowman this year anyway and our yard is looking pretty lonely."

You'd thought I gave them a whole new life to look forward to. Snowsuites, boots, hats, and gloves flew on faster than the clothes of a teenage boy who was about to be caught with his girlfriend.

Out the door they went and rolled snow quicker than I'd ever seen before. Two hours flew by like they were only minutes and the kids came back in wiped out. They lumbered to the sofa and I picked up the trail of clothing that would have put Hanzel and Gretal to shame. I can't believe how much moister a snowsuite can hold.

These are the days I'm thankful for living in an area that will provide weather that will wear out my children. Now, enjoy the snowman my kids made. Paisley thought up the hat.

All you writers out there!

There is a fun contest going on over at literary agent Kathleen Ortiz blog (Never a Page Turner) this week. Go check it out. Whats up for grabs? A very deep query critique! Click on her name to shoot on over.

Teen Pregancy

Tonight I watched the T.V. special The Pregnancy Pack. The idea of wanting to have a baby as a teenager is puzzling. Why would you want to do that? I have the right to ask that question, because I had a baby at the young age of 17. So, when all my friends were getting ready for their senior year Homecoming Week of high school, I was delivering a baby. Now my pregnancy wasn’t planned by all means, and I weighed all my choices after finding out there was a baby on the way. (After the rounds of tears). But do teenagers really have an idea of what raising a child means? I had an idea, but the real answer is, NO. It is SO HARD! It’s not like playing house with your dollies.


Now, I wouldn’t ever change the choice I made. I kept my baby, but I also had a guy that loved me and wanted to start our lives together right then. Sadly that isn’t the case in all situations and most of these girls think it is. My situation had an extra strain though. After I had my baby, he was diagnosed with a genetic mutation and therefore would be disabled for life. Now, isn’t that a blow to the heart? I’m so grateful I had the support of my husband to get through that.

That same year I got pregnant, there were 5 other girls along with me. (No, none of us made a pack. It was all coincidence… I PROMISE!) Not all of them ended with this fairytale out come of happily ever after and that’s the reality of teen pregnancy. I really hope the teenagers are seriously thinking about what comes with a baby. Let me mention a just few things; crying all night, nasty diapers, pucking….A LOT of pew-ook-ing, ear infections, more crying, always needing more money to get things, and lets not forget about the sleepless nights. So if you’re not ready for that then wait. Although I’m happy with the choice I made, it’s not for everyone. Like I said before, I would NEVER change my choice. My son has made me a better person and of course I kinda love the lil’ bugger.

XOXOXO,

Laci

My new favorite movie!

I saw this in 3-D, so if you have the choice--SEE IT! I can't begin to tell you how amazing this show is! Wonderfully done.

Everything about it felt REAL I would forget I was watching a movie, There were times that my heart was pounding so hard I couldn't swallow. My husband got us drinks and popcorn to munch on and when the lights came back on, we looked down and noticed we hadn't touched them. We were that into the show. I was happy to find out there is going to be a part two! So, now I can't wait.

NEW BOOKS

I've got some really good reads for you all! My husband made a mistake and took me to a book store.

Book description:  FALLENThere's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.
Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Book description:   HUSH, HUSH
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.


With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Book description:   BEAUTIFUL CREATURES
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.

We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything


There were so many more I wanted and am going back to get next week! Yes, I'm going to go broke on books.

PLUM, PLUM, PLUM STRUCK!

A client introduced me to my new obsession on Saturday. Stephanie Plum. As you can see there are 13 books, plus one for ever holiday that aren’t shown here. I’m half way done with the series. I spend half the time laughing out loud at some of the situations Stephanie gets herself into. So, if you don’t hear from me for a while, this is why. Sorry, but if you read them you’ll understand and be able to forgive me.

Happy reading!

My little 3 year old had her first dance performance. The teacher asked that the girls wear Christmas colors and left it at that. I'm so lucky, because I have a "princess" for a daughter. She wanted to wear a tutu. Well, Princess doesn't own a Christmas color tutu. I asked the other mothers what they were going to dress their daughters in, most said sweats.

*Now, I have to admit when I was little my mother put me in dance pants for my Christmas dance program, but I remember seeing the pretty skirts on the girls performing a scene from the Nutcracker. I longed to look like one of them and wanted to hide in my white t-shirt and pants.*
So, the resourceful (and prideful) motherly traits in me thought up an idea and quick.

“I’ll make her a tutu!”

Later that night I told (bragged really) my boss at how cute my daughter was going to look. Her client had two granddaughters in the same class and asked if I’d make one for each of them too.

 “Sure why not.”

 (That way my daughter wouldn’t look out of place being the only one)

The next morning, I took the tutu’s to dance practice and gave them to the two girls. NOT A GOOD IDEA! Groups of mothers loved them. Some how I agreed to make more. How many more you ask?

12 more….. In two days.

*Yes I have a stamp on my forehead that reads,”SUCKER. DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SAY NO”.

I thought about what had happened and realized only 4 girls wouldn’t have a tutu. (I’m tender hearted) I made them some too, all the way until 3 AM!

The day of the performance arrived and I brought the tutus, passed them out and met a big surprise. Each mother had donated $5 toward the tutus. Cha-ching!

Worth every second of sleeplessness, because the tiny pre-school dancers looked like little peppermint patties out there.

So cute.