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What kind of person takes kids camping....

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I am not a camper. I am sure that there are people out there who LOVE to camp. Me, not so much. I mean we tried it once, two years ago back in South Carolina… Picture it, Devils Fork State Park in South Carolina… June….102 ° …at night. For summer vacation we decided to go on a week long trip to visit many of the beautiful SC state parks and become  Ultimate Outsiders . This was to be our kick off at one of our favorite State Parks. Anyway, I head up by myself with the kids (who magically multiplied from 4 to 7… kids multiply in the summer when you are a mostly stay-home-mom). Get there around lunch time, and with my mad camping skills, ruining two pots in the process managed to crank out some beef ramen and chicken nuggets. Kids were satisfied. I did get everything out of the car, made a halfhearted attempt at putting up the tent, and dealt with 7 kids and the two dogs that would die of boredom if we left them home. When my husband got there at 7:30 and helped me take the h
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Reflections on a long week

This week has been hard. I've seen both sides of a debate that no one knows the answer too.  I've seen friends post pictures of the most adorable new born sons who are worried that they will not survive to adulthood because of the color of their skin. There are those in this country who try to say that race is not issue.  However, what happened in August in Ferguson, Missouri is eerily similar to events in Money, Mississippi in August of 1955 . It saddens me to that despite our best efforts, as people we have fallen short.  We claim to be a Christian nation but yet we are unable to offer comfort to those who mourn without pointing out why they are unworthy of our love. How do I justify the privileges that I enjoy because of the color of my skin?    I don’t have to worry that my son will be killed playing in the street by someone who is scared of him.   I will more than likely never feel the pain of losing a child and have him vilified for the world.  Yet while man
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Our Trip to Dollywood

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Wings of America Show        This was the first time we had ever tried to take our family to an amusement park. Having two children with ASD it is intimidating to venture out into large crowds. Add to that a husband with motion sickness, and the inability to wait in line, such a trip has potential nightmare written all over it.  Additionally Dollywood does not offer accommodations for children with ASD. At least fellow patrons were pretty calm about some of the behaviors my kids exhibited in the 2 hour wait for the Firechaser.  This time I went with my brother and his family with Grammie in tow. It really was quite fun.  I ended up with the bravest of my four children, my brother and sister in law with their son riding the fun rides while my husband and mother took care of the less adventurous kids. Little Piggy Ride     I ended the day in the Country Fair part of the park which was little kid heaven.  The lady at the little piggy ride must have been a retired school
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The Little Things

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      Well it is official. I met with my thesis committee last week and it was confirmed that I will never make the NY Times bestsellers list. Oh well, I knew that going in.  However, the project passed.       While I am far from being a bestselling author my five year old learned how to write his name. :)  The picture on the left is his and while it only has the first three letters, they are correct and in the correct order.  Since this masterpiece he has managed to include the other three.  I realize that many kids master this in 4K, there are many more who may never master the skill and I'm pretty lucky that he is able to. Now on to potty training. Oh and we are down to two major meltdowns a day :) Like I said it's the little things.    Emily is progressing. She is reading on her grade level. A skill at one point I thought she would never master.  She has also learned to swim and wants to join a swim team.  While for us swimming was a safety issue, she tends to wander o
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2012

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It can't believe that another year has come and gone.  And while I may be older than the internet I realized this morning that I'm not over the hill yet. I've accomplished a lot this year so here's the list... Finished my BS  Finished all but three classes for my Masters :) Discovered that we can take the kids to a restaurant with fewer odd looks :) The youngest started 4K so I have a quiet house until 11 am :) Cleaned something almost every day. Survived 4  IEP meetings. I really don't like parent teacher conferences. Reorganized the kitchen (it involved a sledge hammer :) Still have 4 kids Discovered that I live town with lots of parades :) Regrettably I still have not learned patience.  It's not a resolution just an observation. I don't even try to make those anymore, I never make it past January 2nd.  I think patience comes with age and experience, I have more than when I was 20 but not nearly as much as I will have when I'
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Why do we want to maintain a system that keeps us poor?

You know, I've come to accept that I'm a bleeding heart liberal.  I really try to care more about people than things.  When I get a pay check, I feel guilty that there are those out there without a job, or for those who are underemployed. And even though I give as much as I feel that I can away, I am overwhelmed at how little my donation is able to relieve over all poverty. This seems to be the point of view of many liberals who try to equalize a sytem that only benefits a rather small portion of society. In a free market workers are not people, they are merely inputs to production.  A free market seeks to find inputs at the cheapest possible price, and this pushes wages lower and lower.  Already wages at the lowest levels are lower than what it costs the worker to provide the labor.  In my opinion one of the biggest problems facing our country is that our workforce is not being paid an honest wage for honest labor, they are being paid less, and expected to produce more
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After School Mayhem

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Shower Organizer It's official we are all in school. My youngest started school last month for some reason it just hit me that we are all in school at the same time.Stephen will finish his Phd sometime next year.... I will finsish my Masters next fall..... And I have four children in Elementary school. 4th grade, 2 in first grade (no they are not twins), and a child in 4K. Ok so how do I get through the day? One of the most hectic times of the day is after school.  Now I readily admit that I do not get everything done. Just ask my kids teachers. But here's one thing that I do.  I took a shower organizer from and an over door hook and hung it on the back of the pantry door in the kitchen.  Since the kids most often end up doing homework around the kitchen table all I have to do is open the pantry and they have supplies that they need for school. Additionally I keep this craft caddy in a cabinet that I can pull out when the kids come home between the two things t
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