Autism As A Whole

I took my children to see the Santa in the mall. Yes, you heard me right, the mall Santa. I know, what was I thinking!! I know what goes on with a lot of them. Those shady creatures. I mean come on, take a close look at the pictures I posted!! They were taken 5 - 10 minutes apart. Santa said he had to feed his Reindeer and came back like that!! You would think that they would at least have a uniformed costume. My son actually recognized the difference in his beard. Santa's elves explained that he had to trim it down because he would be eating a lot of cookies soon and they would get stuck in his beard. I understand that Mall Santas get tired at the end of their shift but they really should attempt to play the role for the joy of the children.

TSo, We did it!!  We survived the whole day and I am alive, with hair!!! Charlie really tried to sit at the table tonight to eat but well, that did not work. So I had him sit away from the other children,but with me!! He loved the sweet potatoes and stuffing. He only ate a little turkey. It was a big step though. He tried the corn but says he doesn't like it anymore. I don't understand it, but maybe it is a texture thing. It went pretty good. I wanted to start by sharing the video of my children and what they were thankful for. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


There were a couple spills and a lot of craziness but I chose not to have any family over because it always seems to overwhelm my son. The other kids were a little disappointed but I am sure they appreciated not having food fly or shrieking shrills through the house. It just gets pretty crazy. I do feel guilty at times for the other children but I think that is better than them dealing with the behavior that follows over stimulation.

All of the children seemed to be very content and happy. I mean we had our fights over Mario Brothers and who was gonna be first, but that is normal. Then we had a couple melts over little issues that were easily resolved and then well.... Then we had the topper of the evening.

Charlie and Jacob had decided to carry moon sand from one room to another and had it everywhere. What a mess but I cleaned it up and Charlie and Jocelyn helped me too. It wasn't that bad. So... looking at my day this year and remembering my day last year, ummm... I think we had an extraordinarily Thanksgiving. So, What do I have to be thankful for?

If I had been asked this question about a week ago, I would have laughed. Thankful, yeah right!! But looking at my children today and hearing the laughter in their voices made me think about this. I asked my children at mealtime as we do every year. My daughter said she was thankful for me and that just made my day. While I do have my bad days it is days like this that make it all come together. Days like this that make me remember why I accept the title Mom. Looking at my children and knowing I do have a lot to be thankful for.

I am thankful for lasting through each day, sometimes I don't feel as if the end will come. I am thankful that my youngest son is who he is. That might confuse some but I don't want a cure for his autism. I want people to accept him for who he is. He wouldn't be him without his quirks. I am thankful to have two wonderful little girls. They are complete opposites so I get the best of both worlds. Although both of them are moody as hell and have a nasty attitude when they get upset. I am thankful for my son Jacob because he makes me see the sensitive side to life and his sweet eyes lighten my heart when I feel like everything is crazy. Lastly I am thankful my sisters, those whom I recently came in contact with again as well as all the others. It was my first Thanksgiving that I said Happy Thanksgiving to my sister in over 6 years. It was definitely a great feeling. It is nice to have family and friends who will stick by me no matter what I am going through. Thank you to all who have helped me and those who continue to help me jump over the hurdles of motherhood and life. Motherhood is not easy but it is wonderful to have people supporting me on my journey on another planet.