Positive Reinforcement or Bribery??

This is always a major topic of discussion between the hubs and I. I am not gonna lie, I don't like admitting I am wrong, but I am beginning to think, he may be right!!!!! Shhhhh, don't tell him!
Our son has always seemed to have a very stubborn frame of mind (though I'm not sure where he got that :D) So, typically when I want him to do something, I "positively reinforce" the action or behavior. It all started when we would go grocery shopping. "If you're a good boy, when we are done, I will take you to the Dollar Store and buy you a prize." Well for the most part that worked (unless it was a meltdown, in which case that stupid toy made NO difference to him.) To potty train him, I made a sticker chart. It looked like a game board. He got one sticker for pee pee, and 2 stickers for poo poo. Every 5 stickers, he got to pick a prize, then we went to every 10. I also had FREE PRIZE spots, every so often on the board. So, I thought, "wow! I got this mommy thing down!!!" Now all the while hubs is telling me, it seems like bribery to him (mainly the whole, "be good in public, and you get a prize.") I argue that I am merely trying to positively reinforce the idea that, good behavior, reaps good things. Fast forward a few years. LJ is smart. Sometimes I fear, smarter than his father and I... Anyway, now it goes like this, "LJ please pick up your toys for momma." Lj, "if I pick up my toys, then you owe me 5 bucks!!!" REALLY???????????? I didn't receive a 5$ ALLOWANCE until I was in my teens and helping my mother with daily household chores. My response to him is, "if you don't pick them up, I will and you WILL NOT like where I put them!!!!!"
So it is in this new light that I ponder......Was my hubs right????? Did I create this "monster" by "positively reinforcing" him his whole life??????? If so, I'm not telling! I will NEVER live it down :)
Thoughts anyone??????

Mommy's lil monster <3

Doctors and Nurses and EMT's, OH MY!!!!

When they say it gets worse before it gets better, they weren't kidding!!!! Our week started off with a bang, literally! Sunday was the Valley Walk for Autism, and it was beastly hot! So when we got home, I got Hubs in bed, and took LJ to the creek for a swim. A friend was "on call" a few houses away in case he needed anything, so I left feeling confident. When we returned, she told me hubs had called, and he wasn't feeling right. I rush home to check. Apparently he decided to get out of bed, and 3 times he started to collapse. He caught himself twice, but the third time he went down, bending the handle on my oven and cutting his nose.UGH!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes without saying that at 1130 that nite, the ambulance was at our house. His blood pressure was all over the place that evening, of course when the EMT's get here, its normal. So, hubs refuses treatment. Next am, calls his doc, and since he has an appt Tues am, he decides he can wait to be seen. Monday nite at 11 pm, the ambulance is once again at our house. This time was MUCH worse, it happened like this: Our dog was whining, hubs gets up to see why. He tells me he doesn't feel right. Before I could get up, (I was sleeping on the floor next to him) he was down like a tons of bricks. It was one of  the scariest things I have seen (other than when LJ had his febrile seizure)! It was over in 15 seconds, but felt like a lifetime! Thankfully LJ did NOT see his dad convulsing. I screamed the most God awful scream, I couldn't help it, it just flew out of my mouth! LJ got me the phone, and the EMT's were on their way. In the meantime, LJ puked in the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom because he was so upset! The EMT took hubs' BP and it was 90/54! There was NO way hubs was getting out of going to the hospital this time! They ran a CT scan and some labs, and all looked fine. So home he comes. Back to the docs in the am. Now, the good news is his blood clot in his leg dissolved, WHEW!!!!!!!!!!! One less thing to worry about! However his BP is still all over the place. His doc did an EKG, that looked fine too. UGH!!!!!!!!!! Their conclusion: Orthostatic Hypotension. In other words, hubs BP is plummeting when he sits up. Their fix, keep an eye on him, don't let him get right out of bed, take his bp often. I am not done with this! This is NOT a good enough answer! Even laying down his BP is often VERY low. I will insist on another EKG at the next visit. I am pushy like that :)
I will say, that the week started off super crazy and so far (knocking on some wood) seems to be calming down. Thank the Lord!!!!!!!!!
Oh, I forgot!!!! Last nite I got a call from an educational advocate! Seems NEB will be sorry they messed with this family :) More to come on that at a later time......
Soooooooooo, I guess now that I rambled on about the crappy start of our week, I will now share my Ryan's for the week. Again, I must thank Sunday for the opportunity of this meme so I can have a break from  my stressed out mind for a bit, and concentrate on something as lovely as Ryan :)

YES PLEASE RYAN!!!!

Ha! Take that NEB!!!! 

As always please head over to Adventures in Extreme Parenthood, and check out Sunday's Ryans' and all the other link ups for the week. They are sure to put a smile on your face. Have a great holiday weekend all! <3

This too shall pass....

Whew! My head is still spinning from the events of the weekend, and just when I thought things would calm down this week, I was made to face the fact that once again, I was wrong!!! (Yeah, I admitted it, as much as I don't like to :))
So Saturday was lil man's big 6 party that we put off so hubs could be there. It was a great day! All those kiddos had a blast, and the smiles all over their lil faces was reward enough for all my hard work! LJ even told me, "it was the bestest party ever momma!" Now, thats a compliment!

I can't believe his is 6 already!!!! Where has the time gone????

Wonder what he wished for????

Sunday was the Valley Autism Walk in Athens. It was a hot, but great day! I got to meet some new autism parents, and finally put some faces with names. Even hubs was able to go, as our friend's Nicki and Thomas brought over the electric wheel chair so he could take part. I even won something!!! I never win! I won a beautiful puzzle piece photo album and doll made by my friend Cassie and her momma. The best part.......

DRUMROLL PLEASE.......

A Legion for Liam, with the help of my momma and daddy, and LJ's TSS Krista, raised 560$ for Autism Hearts! We were so proud of our lil man!!!!

That afternoon, I left hubs to take a nap, and took Liam with some friends for a swim at the creek. Well, hubs had some "episodes". I will NEVER leave him alone again. In the process, he bent the handle on my stove and cut up his nose :( At 11 Sunday nite, an ambulance was here. Oddly enough his BP went from Low to normal, and he felt fine. He refused to go to the hospital and called his doc Mon. am. Since he had an appt on Tues, he didn't go in. Monday he was fine. Ate well, drank lots of water, said he felt fine. Last nite at about 10:30, he got out of bed, said he felt funny, and before I could get up, (I am sleeping on the LR floor on a mattress, LJ on the couch, since I won't leave hubs alone) he went down like a ton of bricks, hitting the fireplace, then taking out a fan. His eyes were rolled back, his body was in convulsions, and after about 15 seconds he came too very disoriented. I immediately called 911, as LJ began to vomit profusely all over the living room, then the bathroom, then the kitchen, he was so scared. I know I must have let out an awful shriek when it happened, I couldn't help it, it was terrifying. Some great friends, rushed to the house to wait with us for the ambulance. At about 230 this am, hubs came home. The ER doc did a CT scan and bloodwork, said all looked fine. He said he doesn't want to say it was a seizure with no proof, as they will pull hubs license. I am not so sure. I am NOT happy an EEG wasn't ordered, so I called Hub's PCP first thing this am. He has an appt with a vascular surgeon this am, then will see his PCP, and I am NOT leaving without and EEG for him!!! Will keep you all posted as soon as I know more.

Please keep us in your prayers. This has been a very rough couple of weeks for this family and we could use some better days!!!

"I've got designer bags~under my eyes!"

I saw this title on a pic and I LOVE it!!!! Its perfect for me this past week, as I don't think I could get any more tired. Hubs is home from the hospital, yay!!!! However, playing nurse is quite the job, and doesn't stop when it gets dark. I am setting an alarm to take his BP and give him meds every few hours. On top of that, LJ spiked a fever nite before last (103.3) He has always been my fever boy, spiking real high in the wee morning hours. Then yesterday am was very upset because his ear hurt. He wouldn't let me touch him or comfort him (not happy about it!!) His ped said it was a nasty ear infection and cleaned a lot of yucky pus out of his ear. So after 5 (when the office is closed) I notice blood and pus draining from my baby's ear. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Google, to the rescue. Looks as if his ear drum ruptured/perforated. Also glad I spent a few years working in a ped office, bc I can remember other kiddos having the same problem. No ER visit since hubs can't be here alone, and doc said to call in am if there was discharge. Part of me is glad its Friday, the other part, not so much!!!!! LJ's party is tomorrow afternoon, and with all that has been going on, I AM NOT READY!!!!!!!!!!!!! The wookie cookies are done, and the yard is mowed and trimmed. I still have to pick it up, rearrange the furniture out there, make the lego cakes, make the cone cupcakes, clean the house, and care for 2 ill men, UGH, BLAH, POO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want nothing more than to crawl in my bed, close my eyes and sleep for a few days. Since that is NOT going to happen, I smile, suck it up, and do the best I can :D

Ok, done ranting now, here are my Ryan's.

Seriously, who wouldn't????????

Oh Ryan, you read my mind!!!!

Maybe I should try this pose??? 

I have to thank Sunday, for yet another Ryan Friday!!!!! I LOVE Ryan Fridays!!! Most importantly I love the little escape from reality when I am making my pics. So a BIG THANK YOU TO SUNDAY :D

Now don't forget to head over to Adventures in Extreme Parenthood to check out Sunday's and the other Ryan link ups :) Have a great weekend all. May the force be with you!!! ( sorry, Star wars themed party, so Star wars on the brain, lol)

A Bed Meal Fit for a Queen

I have to say, turning 6 turned LJ into such a little man. Or maybe its because with hubs gone, he IS the man of the house. Anyway, I woke up yesterday with a headache from HELL!!!!! So my lil man put one of his fave movies in, and said, "you relax momma, I will watch this." So I asked him if he wanted some breakfast while he watched his movie. "Oh, its your day momma, let me make you a "bed meal."" Thats his way of saying breakfast in bed :) So he goes into the kitchen and gets to work. "No Peeking!!!" he tells me. Not a good sign I think to myself, lol. In a few minutes he returns from the kitchen with this:

The rundown: First let me start by saying he looked positively ADORABLE in his new Legion tee, it comes down past his knees, I wanted to squeeze the poo outta him!!! Now, the MENU: He made momma lemonade in his nifty Backyard Safari Canteen. A pb sandwich on a hamburger bun, complete with SALT and PEPPER! Yep, I said SALT AND PEPPER!!! A pack of Angry Birds fruit snacks, and a piece of "BREATH REFRESHMENT (gum for all those that don't speak Liam). 

Okay, so the first thought that went thru my mind was NOT how sweet he was being, it WAS how am I going to eat is!!!! Sorry, no sugar coating here, and anyone who watched their 6 year old prepare them a meal would be lying if they said they didn't wonder how in the world they were going to eat the concoction! My second thought was how much I love this lil man, and how sweet he is! Soooooo, after he served me, he went into the kitchen to get himself something to eat. PRAISE JESUS!!!!!! (he was surely watching over me, and KNEW I needed to discreetly feed the dog!) I quickly fed Miss Josie all but ONE bite of the sandwich before Liam returned to the living room. I started to make a big fuss over how yummy it was, and how FULL I was. "You fed it to Josie Momma!!!!" No wool to be pulled over those young eyes!!! "No, I didn't Liam. She is licking her lips because it looks so darn yummy!!! I couldn't eat another bite, it was just so good! Maybe we should let her try the last bite?" "I didn't hear you sneeze from the pepper, so I don't think you ate it." NOW WHAT DO I SAY??????? Ummm, quick, think of something before he asks to smell my breath (he totally would do that!) Saved by ADHD, a commercial came on, and got his attention. HALLELUJAH!!! He then let me feed the last bite to the dog (thank you josie for always being there :)) 

And that my friends was my momma's day morning!!!! As I am writing this, he is in the kitchen preparing me ANOTHER breakfast. Oh Lord, I hope you are with me again this morning!

Happy Momma's Day~It BETTER be!!! :)

Happy Momma's Day to all you AUSOME momma's out there! I am hoping for a nice, relaxing day. I did say hoping right???? We are off to visit hubs this afternoon. I am NOT looking forward to 4 hours in a car, but I am eager to see him and see that he is well. I am still exhausted with a minor headache from yesterday, and I hope to feel better soon. (Allergies are NOT helping the situation.) On the bright side, CYS and or the cops were not called after Liam's meltdown outside last nite. See, miracles do happen :D Day 5 without his daddy home was really starting to get to him. He was very aggressive yesterday, and becoming more combatant as the  day progressed. After playing all day, and spending time with friends, at 730 last nite, I told him we had to go home for the nite. That was the straw that broke that damn proverbial camel's back. All hell broke loose. I had to pull him from the car. (yes, I said pull him. If I left him in there he would have taken off, and then the authorities would def have been called.) I hoisted him (all 60 heavy pounds) over my shoulder, kicking and screaming (him, not me :)) and managed to get him inside. All the while he was screaming, "SPIN, SPIN, SPIN." So I put him on the recliner to drag his spinny chair over, and off he went. Out the door, across the yard. He wrapped himself around the shepard's hook his bird feeders are on. I counted to 3, bent to untangle him, and instead, he threw himself backward, slamming his head off the ground. NICE!!!! Hope the neighbors saw that, and didn't think I shoved him. (Never know, small town, and they all THINK they know your story, and how it happened, yet somehow its NEVER how you KNOW it happened!) I managed to get him up, back over my shoulder, and into the house. I took many punches, a few kicks, almost lost some teeth (guess I could have used the extra money from the tooth fairy)but he was in the house once again. I locked BOTH doors, put him on his spinny chair, and spun him for 30 minutes til he calmed down. I was WHOOPED!!!!! He was too, as he was asleep not 10 minutes later. I wish I had been. Meltdowns just leave me feeling so, I don't know, emotionally pissed, I guess is how I want to say it. Pissed because he can't help it. Pissed because I can't help him. Pissed because it hurts us both. Pissed because Autism ultimately rules our lives. Now, I am not trying to be a downer here. I am a very positive person. However I would be lying if I didn't admit some aspects of Autism totally suck. You'd be lying too if you didn't admit it.....

Never the less, today is a new day! A sunny day. And come hell or high water, it will be a happy day!!!! :D
I hope you all have a WONDERFUL, tantrum/meltdown free Momma's day. Much love to you all <3

Social Vibe

Click the link below to help fund early behavioral intervention for kiddos with autism. Its FREE to click :)

http://www.socialvibe.com/s/main#/causes/57

Is it Friday yet???

Another LONG week!!!! Hubs had his surgery on Tuesday, that went well, but his recovery not so much. He spiked a fever last nite, and they are worried it may be pneumonia, poor guy!!! My parents and I are taking LJ to see him today. 6 years ago today we welcomed our miracle man into the world! (I love you LJ, happy birthday!!) He was very upset daddy won't be here for his big day, so we will take the big day to daddy! Found out yesterday they are pulling LJ's TSS and BSC for the summer, I am not happy about that. (more to come on that in another post) This week has been another, long and aggravating week, and I for one am glad it's RYAN FRIDAY!!!!!! With out further ado, here are my Ryan's :)

Can you tell LJ has been bugging to play with daddy? Ryan, where are ya when we need ya??? Ha ha ha :D

So don't forget to head over the Adventures in Extreme Parenthood, and check out Sunday's Ryan's and all the other link ups for Ryan Friday. Have a great weekend all~Hugs!

Orbeez are AUSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  I can't tell you how many therapy boards on Pinterest show kiddos playing with water beads! My son was given about 5 of them from someone before, and he LOVED them. It was the owner in some mom and pop store, and I had no way of knowing where they got them, just that WE wanted some. Just last week LJ was online "shopping" for birthday ideas, at his favorite, WALLY WORLD!!!! HE stumbled upon Orbeez. "Momma, momma, I want these, look I want these!!!!" So, I had to check them out. Low and behold, LJ found water beads!!!!
  If you have never seen or used Orbeez, then you are missing out and I must explain them. They are like a mini science experiment, and therapy fun, all rolled into a tiny water filled bead!! They are as I say in this title, AUSOME!!!!
  Orbeez were originally developed by the agricultural industry to help maintain water in plant soil in times of drought. Orbeez are superabsorbent polymers—that means they are made of several smaller molecules joined together. With the addition of water they can grow to more than 100 times their volume. That’s right, place a tiny Orbeez bead in water and watch it swell! The water is absorbed into the spaces between the molecules. These polymers were invented for agricultural use back in the 1960s to irrigate crops during times of drought. Today you will find superabsorbent polymers in diapers to prevent leaks, in food packages to absorb liquid and in floral vases to hydrate cut flowers. What is even cooler is, as you are growing them, they look all bumpy, so you can actually see the water being absorbed between the molecules. 


This is how they look sans water.........

 After soaking for 4 hours.....

 They look awesome with the flash on :)

Trying to pop one. They will pop, and the bigger you let them get, the easier they will pop....

He was obsessed with this one because it looked like a tear.

He had to see how they felt on his feet!

He let me mix the Blue and Teal ones, I was surprised!

 

 And the orange ones....

 He got out his measuring cups and spoons that he uses in his water bins, and he went to town. He plays with these, EVERYDAY, and absolutely LOVES them! I have to admit, they are addicting to feel.Even Lj's TSS agrees :)

We found these at Wally World for $5.88 for a box of 1,000 Orbeez in 3 colors. You can find them at Kmart, Toys R Us, and Target as well. Bottom line, go get some, your kiddo will LOVE them. LJ wants to buy enough to fill his wading pool! That would be AUSOME!!!

I Need Some R & R

I am so glad its Friday! It seems the weeks just keep getting longer! Lj had his tonsils and adenoids out on Wednesday and has been quite the handful ever since. I really hate having to restrain my child, but he refuses the meds they gave him, and then cries because his throat hurts so bad. Then they tell me, day 4 or 5 will be worse when the membranes (a nice way to say gross scabs) break free! Oh yay, you mean it gets better?!?!?! To top it off, hubby is getting his major surgery next Tuesday, so it will only get better, NOT!!!! I thought I was tired before, now I am literally a zombie! I am up every 3 hours to give LJ his meds, and will have to do the same with hubby in a few days. I hate to say it, but I am a little thankful for the 3-5 day hospital stay for hubs, by then LJ should be good to go. Just hope they release hubs on Lj's birthday, or I will have one mad lil man. 
Well enough about this, onto the good part, RYAN!!!! I wish I was able to make more, but computer time this week has been slim to nil, so only one Ryan pic this week :( Here it is...

Don't forget to visit Sunday at Adventures in Extreme Parenthood  to see her Ryan's and the others that link up. Have a great weekend all!!