Mindy from Pretty in Paint made this little doozie!

I saw this idea of a blessings board on another blog somewhere and I knew I had to do it. Usually sweet flowery things make me want to throw up a little in my mouth, but this little crafty poo is a sweet kick in the teeth.  So... I am writing a blessing on  post-its and sticking them to a board in my room ... so every time I want to have a pity party or complain... wham... it can kick me in the teeth and say, "Hey selfish, annoying, whiny lady... look at all of the amazing things you have in your life." Today I posted 7 to the board and here they are:

1. {Sibling Rivalry...} I guess I'll I just need to repeat costco, costco, costco... over and over in my head  so I'm not tempted to pull a Thelma & Louise during what seems to be NEVER-ENDING-FIGHTING! (costco)


2. {School Clothes...} My amazing big sister took all three boys shopping today and got them shoes and pants and shirts and socks... who does that?? My big sister!! That's who!:) I love you Abbers!


3. {Great Friends...} I swear I have the best friends ever... they love me for me and put up with my non-stop verbal vomit... they are some pretty darn amazing women (and some guys too:)) and I am so beyond blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people!


4. {COFFEE!!!} Seriously... this needs no explanation!


5. {God's Amazing Grace...} woops maybe I should have put this first... I was a little caught up in my costco moment... But He is so good... all of the time...


6. {The right words, when I need them} My hubby just has a way with words... this is what he texted me the other night while I pulled a mini Thelma & Louise at Costco (well I guess it was just a Thelma because Louise was at the coast) ... "You are beautiful... this is the life we GET to live." reminding me that we are so incredibly blessed to be parents to these special boys... even on the rough days. 


7. {An Amazing Family...} How amazing is it to have a HUGE and by HUGE I mean GINOURMOUS group of relatives that we would actual choose as friends even if we weren't related. We have the best family and don't take any of them for granted for even one second. 

Stats courtesy of Autism Society of Oregon

A couple of years ago our fence blew down from a big wind storm. The guy who came to fix it was huge...   Like 6'6 and over 300 lbs., he had a scruffy beard and wasn't overly friendly.  When he knocked on the door I opened it just wide enough to stick my head out... not because I was afraid of him, but because I have a 100 lb Burnese mountain dog and 3 boys who run for an open door like like prisoners on a jail break. I was talking out the details with him outside while using my remaining body parts to block any semblance of daylight so the wild beasts couldn't escape.  That lasted for all of 30 seconds before Sawyer, my oldest squeezed between my legs and made it onto the front porch. I should mention that Sawyer has always been HUGE for his age and at that point wasn't potty trained... oh and my kids are almost never dressed... ever... they hate clothes. Anyway, Sawyer squeezed out wearing only a pull-up... he was 4 then but he looked about 7. So he ran up to the big scary fence guy... wrapped his arms around him and said, "I've missed you so much". The guy didn't know what to do and awkwardly patted Sawyer on the shoulder and said, "Thanks"



April is autism awareness month...  so why should you care? Because Autism probably looks a lot different than you think it does... AND because 1 in 91 children nationwide are diagnosed with it every year. If you're new to this blog I should mention that Sawyer and Thatcher, my two oldest have PDD-NOS, a form of autism.  Sawyer knows no stranger, he has no clue about social boundaries and is what we call "hyper social". He loves to hug everyone and more than once has decided a stranger's boob also doubles as a great hand rest.



While I can think of hundred funny stories to share about my quirky guys, autism can also be a lonely place. Friends and family often pull away because they don't know how to help and honestly I find that it's easier just to stay home than it is to go out and brave the stares and comments of judgmental on lookers. After our middle son Thatcher was diagnosed I kind of went into a deep depression... there were nights (after he had spent ALL day screaming) when I honestly told God that it would be ok with me if I just didn't wake up in the morning... I know that's total drama, but I didn't know how I was going to make it one more minute... much less a life time with these special boys who needed so much more from me than I could give them. (OK, I promise you won't need prozac to finish this post.)



My point is... my boys are amazing... A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! They have given me so much perspective and they have taught me to find joy in every little victory... but there were days, and still are days, that are rough... and having the friends and family and support system that I have, is what gets me through. But I wonder how many thousands of moms go to bed at night hopeless, alone and lost... who desperately need a friend who just gets it... who doesn't judge or give them advice, but who can just be there. Someone who can accept and love all of the amazing things about her child... someone who see's how many gifts her little one has to offer. I'm writing this post because there might be a day when you need to step up and be that friend, that sister, that mother... who just gets it.



During the month of April not all of our posts on EMM will be about autism... but we will be going "blue" to show our support and spread awareness. We will also have links at the bottom of all of our posts to other mommy blogger who are also "Mother Warriors".  So check them out... read their posts and choose to educate yourself about a growing epidemic that possibly affects someone you know.



P.S. I am the biggest weenie ever and I hate public speaking but I am speaking on this exact same topic Friday night at an Autism Gala... your thoughts and prayers would be very appreciated since my pits get sweaty and I throw up a little in my mouth just thinking about it:)

With more and more awareness being spread about autism, I think it's only right to recognize the very overlooked needs of thousands of Mother Warriors.  Women who are involuntarily assigned to a life of fighting and advocating every second of everyday for their children to be afforded the same rights and opportunities your kids have.  Today, as I write, 1 in 91 children (nationally) are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, and 80% of the parents of these children WILL get divorced at some point.  I'm likely not the only person you know whose children bear the Scarlet "A", and I think it's safe to say there are so many mama's out there who need friends that just "get it". My heart is to help you know how to enter a friend's journey through autism, who might be silently struggling, and who undoubtably needs your love and support.



FIRST... My friend Emilie always says that no one understands a special needs mom, like other special needs moms. That said (and Puuuleeease don't feel bad if you've done this), the first days, weeks and months after a child is diagnosed is so completely overwhelming. We are inundated with information from every aspect of life about how we need to change EVERYTHING from parenting techniques to diets in order to help our kids be successful. That overload of information is accompanied by extreme grief, and guilt and mourning the loss of the child we thought we were going to have. So when someone tells you their child has been diagnosed...please, please please please don't say "Oh my friend has a kid with autism you should talk to her, I'll have her call you... " it's too much... too soon, and although your heart is in the right place, emotionally, we may not be ready to share the biggest heart ache of our lives with a complete stranger whose child is probably on the opposite end of the spectrum.

I only paint the toes that show on any given day. From a distance it looks like I have a decent pedi going … and I do mean a distance. But if you look up close you would see about 17 layers of gunky, chipped “You don’t know Jacques” OPI nail polish on my toes. My big toe on my left foot is still swollen and throbbing from an unfortunate forking (which is why forks don’t belong on the floor FYI) and the calluses on my heals…well it’s just not proper to talk about them in mixed company.