Her Hillbilly Highness: April 2010

4.24.2010

long week....

This week was long! Maybe it was because the grandparents were in Virginia for Uncle Gerry's funeral. Maybe it was because I worked out at the gym with weights this week. Impressed? Or maybe it was because I designed everyday this week plus last night and this morning. whew! Regardless, I am ready for a GNO, date night or something really soon!

Thursday, I was asked to sub in the class across the hall from Kylie. There were some really sweet girls in that class and I made a point of introducing them to Kylie on the playground. You know, just in case she gets tired of playing "popular girls" with her current friends or they start telling her that she can't play with them on the playground like they are currently telling everyone else. LONG sigh :(

I walked into the empty classroom while the kids were outside and met the Homeroom Mom from that class. I started talking with her and found out some very interesting things. First off, she is a current breast cancer survivor. I was amazed by her strength and her story. We started talking about our kids and low and behold if she is not the parent of a precious girl in Riley's class that he adores! I blogged about it previously. So, I am looking forward to getting to know her better in the future.

Sometimes, it is such a small world that we live in! I also happen to think that God nudges me just a little in the social department lately. Since we have moved here, I haven't exactly felt like going out and recruiting friends. I have a group of friends that I do things with and they are so much fun! But as far as branching out and meeting people here and there, I have a little bit of a shy side. I'm not that peppy cheerleader that I once knew anymore. I have baggage now! ha! So much for being perfect! :)

4.22.2010

Trashy Fashion Show

Happy Earth Day! Today is Earth Day and I would love to be in Largo, Florida watching the Trashy Fashion Show. SO Project Runway!! Speaking of, the finale should be tonight. It's the first time that I really don't care who wins. I would just like Mila not to win. Plus, Emilio has gotten really conceited about his designs. So I guess I want Seth Aaron to win. Good thing I talked that out in my head. ha!

Also Real Housewives is on tonight. All I have to say is, "Grow up, Jill!" Why would you talk off camera? You are on a reality show! Hash it out on the show. UGH!! Jill grates on my nerves but not as much as Ramona. What a rude friend? Can anyone even call her a friend? I just picture those eyes bulging out and her walking down the runway like she had two pigs fighting under that dress! Fun times with the Real Housewives!

Today is also picture day at school and Kylie slept in sponge rollers but woke up with a really red eye. Poor thing. The nurse thinks it's allergies. I did manage to get a sweet little picture of Riles this morning while we were waiting for Kylie to get ready.

On a sad note, Alan's uncle Gerry passed away on Monday afternoon. He was in heart failure and was ready to go because he was in such pain. Alan has a lot of fond memories of Uncle Gerry because he could relate to him on another level. Uncle Gerry had an amazing mind and was very intelligent. You should have heard me try to carry on a conversation with him! He was always very nice to me regardless and we will miss him.

Alan and Kylie went to visit Aunt Rae and Uncle Gerry in Virginia a couple of years ago. I ran across this picture of him and Kylie. Kylie was really emotional when we told her that he died. She said that she was sad for Aunt Rae. So are we. Rest in peace, Uncle Gerry.

4.13.2010

out of touch

I feel so out of touch with my blog! I was blogging every day and then sort of hit a snag. Last week was really hard but I so appreciate all the sweet comments and emails. Those made me feel so much better. I am also enjoying answering questions about autism concerns for some of your children. Anything I can do to help!

This weekend, Kylie and I had a shopping day on Saturday. We had so much fun together! I am really enjoying my time with her. We went and ordered my new glasses, ate lunch at a fun place, and stayed out all day! The grandparents kept Riley which was so nice! I like taking him places too, but sometimes I just need to make my girl feel special. So much attention is focused on Riley that I just pray that we always make time for her and she knows that we are there for her whenever she needs us.

Kylie is doing so much better with Riley, too. For a long time, she resented him for "ignoring" her or not making time to play with her. She took it so personal. Then Riley got into behavior problems and started hitting people. She got hit a couple of times so that added to the resentment. Now, she is getting older and understanding that he is not doing things to intentionally hurt her- that's just the way his mind thinks right now. We talk about it A LOT!

So, when we were in Barnes and Noble, we found a book that was written by Holly Robinson Peete. It's called, My Brother Charlie and it tells a positive story from a sister's point of view. I asked her if she wanted me to read it to her and she actually wanted to read it to me. So we sat down in B&N and she read it.

We talked afterwards and she realized some things that she may not have before she read the book. I was surprised at some of the insight that she provided. Later on that night, I saw her trying to help Riley in his room and talking with him in a sweet voice. I feel like this may be the beginning to a more positive relationship in our house. :)

We also got our sweet bedroom furniture delivered at the end of the week. Alan surprised my by ordering a 6 foot tall mirror to go with it. It's so nice to see myself from head to toe before I walk out that door. Now I now what areas I really need to work on! I can't take a pic just yet because we still have cable wires running amuck! I expect that will be fixed sometime this week! :)

Riley Fact:
Riley has never been really into trains. It's funny because I hear a lot of people relate trains to autism. I think that all little boys like trains and if your little boys likes them as a hobby- that doesn't necessarily put him on the spectrum. We had a really nice train table and Riley could care less about lining up those trains and watching them run, so I gave it to my parents to keep at their house. Last time we were over there, he wanted to build the tracks and then we ran the trains. No obsession there!

4.07.2010

disappointed :(

Nope- I didn't do a blog post yesterday. Quite frankly, my feelings were hurt and I was really disappointed. It's a shame that in the midst of Autism Awareness Month, I just found out that Riley was left out of a HUGE class project. Left out. Forgotten. Oopsie!

Every year, the kids' school (which is an awesome school with even more awesome teachers) has an Art Auction Extravaganza. Every class does a class project and it is auctioned off at the Extravaganza to raise money at the school. There have been some really creative things over the years. How do I know this since this is our first year? Because I am Homeroom Mom for Kylie's class and went to the meetings for the art auction. Her class made self- portraits and one of Kylie's sweet friend's grandmother sewed a quilt with all the sweet little faces on it. It's absolutely adorable!

Riley's class made a book. I got a group email from the Homeroom Mom yesterday with a couple of pictures of the book. It's really cute! Each child has a page with a picture of the child and something about the child. The outer cover has all of the class' fingerprints on it. Except one. Yep- Riley's! So, I emailed right back and asked if Riley was included in the project. No response. So, I emailed Riley's AWESOME teacher and asked her about it. Well, she was NOT happy and went straight to everyone involved for answers because Riley was most definitely left out of the page and the fingerprint!

I know that Riley doesn't go to his homeroom classroom but all the kids know him and know that he is in their class. He goes to music, p.e., and art with them. Last week, Riley's grandparents moved to our town and live close to the school. The little boy across the street came over and told us that Riley was in his class at school. In fact he said, "Riley is in my class. He goes to a special class during the day." He was really sweet and every time we see him, he yells, "Hi Riley!" So you would think........

Needless to say everyone is embarrassed and I got lots of "I'm sorry" emails. I know that nothing was done intentionally at all, but the fact of the matter is- I'm hurt! I hate feeling left out and it's even worse when it happens to your child. A child who already is left out of most things that kids his age are doing- birthday parties, church activities, little league sports, I could go on and on.

Riley's AWESOME teacher called me yesterday to say that she met with the assistant principal and they both agreed that to have the book at the auction without Riley is unacceptable. To add Riley and have it reprinted would take time and it wouldn't be ready for the auction on Friday night. I was told that they were going to have it reprinted and if it wasn't ready in time, people at the auction would just have to understand that they would get it later. When the Homeroom Mom contacted me last night, she mentioned that they didn't have time to reprint it but they would add Riley's laminated page to the last page. hmmmm

I have no idea what is going to happen but I just know that I am sad. Sad, embarrassed, dissappointed- all of them! So, I guess that I am going to have to be sarcastic and bitter on the Riley fact. Here goes:

Riley Fact:

Get ready to enter into a world of disappointment. Your heart is going to break for your child! You will need to grow a thick skin. You will need to stay on top of everything that you may want your child to be included in. You will need to learn that your child will never fit in with other kids his age. BUT- just know and believe that in 20 years, your child will most likely be honored for his genius mind and may even make it into history books. The best is yet to come and your child has yet to show you what all he can do. Your child is and will always be a child of God. Right now, that's all that matters.

4.05.2010

NEW furniture!!

Riley fact:
Someone once told me that since Riley has autism, he will probably not sleep during the night and will have a crazy sleeping schedule. This really saddened me since my sleep is everything to me! But, so far, Riley puts himself to bed at about 8-8:30pm, sleeps through the night, and wakes up in a really happy mood! He is a great sleeper and we are really lucky!!

Speaking of sleep, I am so excited because this week Alan and I get our NEW bedroom furniture delivered!! I have waited for this day for 10 whole years. We have never had bedroom furniture that has all matched. It hasn't been at the top of our list and I guess I have never really pushed for it. We did get a beautiful cherry sleigh bed a couple of years ago and I was looking at the furniture to match. But, a couple of months later my brother and his wife offered us a fabulous King mattress that they had for a couple of days and didn't like, so we took it. That meant no more headboard but the mattress is so big and so darn comfortable!

Here is a preview of the set we picked out. It is a dark cherry and looks almost black. I love it!

We got a Christmas gift card from Alan's parents to a furniture store in town and have ordered a beautiful bedroom set. I have always steered towards red for our room but this time I saw a really sweet spring comforter set at Target and went for it! I have already washed it and put it on our bed and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the furniture!!

I am having trouble finding another fabulous pillow to go with it. They are out of stock everywhere!

So, while I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond the other day on an unrelated matter, I just happened to see a display comforter on clearance. I loved it! It was totally my style and something that I feel that I would be looking forever for if I didn't grab it up. It's a Queen comforter and as soon as we move out of this rental and into another house, it will be beautiful on my sleigh bed in my guest bedroom. I cannot wait!! I even have window treatments to match from our Dallas home.

I love the roses that pop off the comforter and I have pillows to match! Am I crazy or what?

4.04.2010

Easter Sunday

Yesterday I took Kylie to find some white shoes (they are slim-pickens around here!) and I also needed to get some "easter stuff" while I was out. But I didn't want to get the "easter stuff" in front of Kylie. But it would be so much easier if I could! So I sat her down and asked her if she believed in the Easter Bunny. And she said, "Absolutely!! How else would I get all that cool stuff I get on Easter morning before you and daddy get out of bed? That just doesn't make sense!"

So, I was at Walmart at 10:30 last night. Easter is expensive if you can't get your kids candy! This morning they woke up to lots of sidewalk chalk, bubbles, Barbies, and bunnies. Not real ones, of course! Riley got a blue bunny and Kylie got a purple bunny. And now they are playing. Pretty soon we will be going to church and then celebrating. :)

Riley Fact:
Most kids with autism do not point. Riley really struggled with pointing to something and then looking at us for recognition. Or, bringing us something that he is interested in. That's a big thing that kids are supposed to do. He still has some trouble with pointing but is doing lots better. Now he actually brings us things to show us. Like, he will make a book and bring it to me because he's proud of it. That's something that he never did in the earlier years.
It's interesting because when he was 17 months old, there are Easter pictures of him looking at bubbles and pointing. Maybe I will find it and post it here later.

4.03.2010

Easter Eve

Riley Fact:
Riley is super picky about food! He loves crunchy, salty foods and nothing soft and mushy. I thought it would be so hard to get him on the gluten/casein-free diet but really I just switched out his chicken, chips, and cereal for GFCF ones. Now he has added strawberries and oranges to his diet among other things. He won't eat green vegetables so we have to supplement this powder stuff in his drink. It's gross! One thing that I will not waver on is giving him foods with ANY dye in them. (ahem- goldfish!!) The dye makes him wander off into lonely land. More posting on that later....

We are gettin' ready for Easter over here! Today, Meemaw took Kylie and I shopping for Kylie an Easter dress. You should have seen the dress that Kylie picked out. I had all these really cute dresses for her to try on and she brings something that Britney Spears would have worn in her hot mess days. It was hot, hot pink with a circle rhinestone in the center. SO not anything that an 8 year old with attentive parents would wear on Easter Sunday. We finally settled on a pink dress that looks fabulous on her. I had to be the bad guy and tell her that her dress was inappropriate for Easter Sunday. But, if she gets invited to Studio 54 in the near future, maybe she could take her money, drive to the store, and buy it herself. She only pouted for 2 hours.

I just happened to find it on-line. Was I wrong?

Tonight, we decorated our eggs and Easter cookies. Everyone got in on the fun. Then before we put the kids to bed, we read The Easter Story to Kylie. I have read this book to her on Easter Eve for a couple of years now so it has become a tradition. Tomorrow, we go to church and thankfully Peepaw is going to keep Riley. Then we will all go over and eat lunch with family. Hoppy Easter!

4.02.2010

world autism awareness day

Today is world autism awareness day. Kylie has a friend in her class who also has a brother with autism. They decided to wear blue today to honor their brothers. I love it!

I am going to share little facts about Riley every day this month. Before Riley was diagnosed, I pretty much knew that he had autism. I scoured the internet just hoping that I would find ONE parent who was going through what I knew that we were about to go through. NOTHING. NADA. So, my goal in writing about Riley every day is that maybe I can encourage, comfort, or provide helpful information to at least ONE parent out there who may need it.

Riley Fact
When Riley was about 18 months old, he started spinning- all the time. Not just once or twice like any curious toddler would do, he thought it was hilarious just to spin around and around. I knew that spinning was a sign of autism so we would try to do other things to give him that sensation that he needed. Whether it was tickling or swinging him by his arms (gently), or using the sit and spin, we created other outlets for him to get that sensation.

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I got so excited when I saw all the participants that lit up blue yesterday for the cause. I really wish I could have been in NYC- I think I would have been overwhelmed!

4.01.2010

Autism Awareness Month

Every day is Autism Awareness Day in our house. This is why:

This is Riley. He is six years old and has Autism. Look at his sweet face. He looks like a normal boy. I believe that is why some people can't understand why he doesn't act like a "normal" six year old boy. From the outside, he looks normal so when he is overwhelmed or doesn't understand how to react, it looks like he has a discipline problem. You should see some of the mean looks that I get from people who think that I let my child scream and act out. Good thing that I don't really care what people think anymore. :)

It seems like more people are learning about Autism and are more understanding now more than ever. Every time I talk about Riley to someone, they usually know someone with Autism so they can relate. It's really sad that more kids are being diagnosed each day. I wouldn't wish for anyone to have to struggle like Riley does just to communicate with his family and teachers. I wouldn't wish for anyone to feel like their child doesn't know them or need them. I wouldn't wish for anyone to not have any friends because they don't really need them or know what to do with them. And I wouldn't wish for anyone to be scared of their sibling and not be able to talk or play with them. Plain and simple- Autism stinks! But we love Riley and are doing all we can to help him overcome these obstacles and matter!

Feel free to grab the button and wear it for Riley or for anyone you know that has Autism. Tonight, several places will be lighting up blue tonight for Autism Awareness and to commemorate World Autism Awareness Day on Friday, April 2. Check out the top of the Empire State Building that will be lit up tonight!

Her Hillbilly Highness