…Wednesday’s post, as I have taxes to prepare for the tax man.  The thought of even preparing them gives me a headache.  God bless the people that actually do them for a living.  You’d have to pay me a lot of money.

Have you done your taxes yet?

Knowledge Safari is a social network catering to parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, siblings, friends and teachers of children who have special needs and those living with special needs. On their blog they discuss hot topics and raise awareness about various special needs.  And on Friday, they spotlighted (is that a word?) SOD with a link to my lil’ ol’ blog!  How special is that!  You can read their spotlight right here.  They also gave a shout out to my good friend, Bree, whose daughter Avery also has SOD.  You can read about Avery’s story here.  I met Bree and her family in Chicago last summer when Emma and I attended the MAGIC conference.

Thanks to Knowledge Safari for helping spread the word!!

This Not Me Monday is brought to you by Atlanta. Oh, and MckMama over at My Charming Kids. You can play along too! It’s fun!

So you want to know what didn’t happen in Atlanta?

Well…it didn’t start off with me drinking too much on the first night and not feeling up to par the next day.  Never on a vacation!!  Not me!  But the rest of the trip I was such a good girl!  I really didn’t eat my weight in Southern food!

–WAIT–  Can I change this post to “Me” Monday?? Of course I can.  It’s my blog.

Ahem.

So many great experiences this weekend.  Did I tell you that my Aunt Libby flew into Atlanta for the weekend too?  In the beginning it was coincidental.  But we three gals had a blast!  Lots of highlights, but I’ll share with you probably my #1 favorite: hiking Stone Mountain.  Since I didn’t get a picture of it in the distance, here is what it looks like:

It really has that cool “etching” in the face of it.  It was 1.3 miles each way and yes…it’s all stone!

See the Atlanta skyline in the distance?  It was a beautiful day, if not a bit windy.

On the way back down, Kim and I decided to be hot shots and jog most of the way down.  I have to say, we kicked butt!!

I’m in love with Georgia…it’s so pretty there!!  I thought about taking Emma with me in the fall when I go back.  She’s such a great traveler!  But I think I might go one more time without the kids so I can see more of it…just me!  Next time, Kim and I will travel to Savannah and spend some time there.  I’m looking forward to it!!

Phoenix Children’s Hospital saved Emma’s life. We are so blessed to have them so close to us!! She’s a happy healthy little girl and we count our blessings.

How do I know this?  I can have my windows open all day and night!

My kids play outside ALL the time…I love it!

My allergies are driving me insane.  To the point of wanting to cut off my nose and pull out my throat.  Graphic enough?  Physically impossible to boot.

And…the quail have returned.  For the 3rd year in a row they have chosen a pot by our front door to make their nest and lay their eggs.

Also, having nothing to do with spring, I’m in Atlanta this weekend!  I get to spend the whole weekend…without kids, mind you, in Georgia with my cousin eating Southern food and hanging out!  I am SO excited!  I visited her in Atlanta  1 1/2 years ago and couldn’t wait to get back!  It’s a short stay, but I will be back this fall again.  Biscuits n’ Gravy…here I come!  Oh, in case you’re wondering, Emma and Mason are staying with my parents.  I hope they survive!!  (my parents, that is!)

Kim and I in Atlanta (Centennial Park) in ’08.

Many people may not have heard this story.  However, many people who are raising a child with special needs may have heard of it.  It’s another analogy…a beautiful one.  Similar to the Going Greek story I posted awhile ago.  This story has been around a bit longer…and because I love to travel, I love the analogy of this story.  I hope you enjoy it too!

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by Emily Perl Kingsley.

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.

I haven’t ever done a Works For Me Wednesday post yet, but it’s a lot of fun and you can get some great ideas from it!  Works For Me Wednesday is sponsored by We Are THAT Family which is a fun little blog that everyone can check out!  Anyway, here’s what works for me!

I’ve been very open and honest with all of the struggles that Emma has, and that we share as a family.  One struggle we can’t move past is her knack for getting over stimulated.  It can happen anywhere at anytime. Usually, though, it’s in a situation that has a lot of stimulus, naturally!  And one of two things can happen.  She can retreat into a little imaginary shell, OR she can pitch a fit.  And I mean a toddler-sized good ol’ fashioned temper tantrum.  She’s queen at this.

I’m not sure when we started this…a few years ago, maybe?  Anyway, whenever she’s having a tough time, we kneel down put our hands on her shoulders, and tell her to “take a deep breath”.  We do this 2 or 3 times, or until she’s suffiiciently calmed down.  I’m telling you, it works 99% of the time.  And we do that with Mason, too, when he starts pitching a fit.

If you haven’t tried this with your kids (issues or not), try it!  And let me know if it works!

What works for you when your kids are having melt-downs??

Over spring break, I was asked by Mason’s teacher’s if we would like to keep Hermie over the break.  I asked about what was involved in Hermie’s care, and the teacher said that as long as Hermie has water and food, he’s good to go.  I though, perfect! I always wanted to be one of the students that got  to keep the class pet over holidays.  And I don’t think I ever was.  I’m also trying to remember what class pets I may have had in my academic career and the only thing that comes to mind is a snake in 4th grade.  In that case, it’s understandable that I wasn’t allowed to bring the snake home.  I do like snakes.  I don’t like feeding them mice, however.  And I have yet to find a vegetarian snake.

Back to the story.  We got Hermie home and Mason immediately wanted to take him out and play with him.  I believe Mason even showed Hermie his keys.  Hermie wasn’t very excited about it though.  Hermie did like the water that we sprayed on him…he came out and crawled about…trying to get over the lip of the tray he was on.  Anyway, lots of fun having Hermie here.  The dogs didn’t even notice.  And Hermie is now safely back in the classroom!

There's Hermie in all of his crustacean glory!

Trying (unsuccessfully) to escape...

Mason had fun with the squirt bottle...can you imagine?

Emma was a smidge hesitant.

We'll take Hermie anytime!

You can play along, too, by going here and linking to MckMama’s blog. ‘Tis so much fun!

I think it’s the perfect post for me today.  Because, well, I’ll tell you what I didn’t do last week.  It was spring break, however I didn’t use that as an excuse not to post anything.  Not me!  And the reason I didn’t post is definitely not because we weren’t taking it easy and relaxing.

We didn’t get to go anywhere too exciting for spring break, but I did take the kids down to Tucson to visit my BFF.  Has anyone driven down the I-10 from Phoenix to Tucson?  Let me tell you, it’s scary. But I definitely didn’t use any curse words in front of my kids while driving.  And I most definitely DID NOT flip off a truckdriver.  Not Me! (In my defense, he cut me off and almost side-swiped me)  Anyway.

Once in Tucson, we stayed at the Loew’s Ventana Canyon.  Not once did I feel guilty that I was ripping them off because of the wonderful price I got here.  And once we got out to the pool, I most certainly did not have 2 mojitos all to myself!  I would never do that at a hotel with just the kids.  Not me!  When touring U of A, where my BFF studies, not once did I secretly wish that maybe I should’ve gone to a big school.  Not me!  The thought never crossed my mind as we were driving down Greek Street (or Sorority Row, or whatever you want to call it).  I am 100% satisfied with my experience at my small, private, Southern Baptist University (which wasn’t located in the ghetto).

Once we got back to our real home, I definitely didn’t make Brett be responsible for the kids…not me!  And I didn’t ask him to take the kids when they woke up.  And I didn’t sleep in until 8:30 Sunday morning.  Not me!

And now, it’s back to reality.  Tonight was about finishing laundry, pulling outfits for tomorrow, making sandwiches for the lunches, throwing together the basket for the spring auction, etc. etc. etc.  All good things come to an end!

What didn’t you do on Spring Break?

While I get over the cold that Mason shared with me.

My ears are plugged.

My nose is stuffy.

My chest is congested.

My eyes have goop that seal them shut.

Enough about me.  I’ll be back soon!