It's been a long weekend! Alex has a paper, project and presentation on a historical catastrophic event due on Wednesday, and he has barely started. This weekend was the time to really get to it... and, the syllabus of the assignment was left at school. ::sigh:: Without a doubt, I've done the fatherly default job of 'What?!!' and 'lecture, lecture, lecture,' rinse, lather, repeat all weekend... and every time I do this I wonder if I'm doing the right thing. I know there are other ways of handling this, but they just don't seem to work with Alex.

As a parent, I feel like I've really dropped the ball because he's been stalling on it for a month. He's been playing baseball and even attended an all-day Boy Scout service project this Saturday without my knowing the state of this bigger assignment (since the syllabus has been in his locker all the time!).

Well, we finally did find a copy of the syllabus from another student (thank you Berg family) on Sunday, but I can't help feeling the tugs and pulls of 'Should I try to help guide him to plan what he needs to do so he gets this thing done' OR 'Should I let him figure this all out by himself?'

Many of you know, our son, Tucker, is autistic.  Through Wed, April 30, there's a way you can spend 2 minutes online and raise money for autism research to help benefit him and other children.  Will you help?  It's easy, and here's how (from the organization Autism Speaks). 

"Autism Speaks has entered into an amazing month-long promotion with Chevrolet, in which we can receive upwards of two million dollars - but we need your help! Please visit www.autismspeaks.org and click on the large orange logo in the center that says "Help Chevy Help Autism" - it will bring you to a page where a 2 minute video will play about the all new and exciting '08 Chevy Malibu. You need to let the video play all the way through for it to count, but don't worry, they won't ask you any questions afterward.  Upon doing so, you can also sign up for a free 30 day trial of XM online, but you're not required to. You do not have to provide your name, e-mail address or anything - just click on the video and let it play through. After it does, we will receive a generous donation from Chevy. In order to receive as much money as possible, we need as many people as possible to watch the video before April 30th."

For each of you who takes the time to do this, THANK YOU!  :o)

You know, when we started this blog, I had no idea that the majority of my posts would be about bodily functions.... all I can say to you is ENJOY!  {and sorry if you're eating right now}

Four mornings ago, Lief began sitting the girls on the potty when they get up (as encouragement [aka peer pressure!] to Tucker's potty training process [still not going well], and to get the girls used to sitting on the potty for when we eventually have spare energy to devote to their potty training [okay, they're not quite 2 yet - rushing a little???]).  Little Quinn has tinkled every morning while sitting on the potty!  Four mornings in a row!  I have never been so proud.  :o)

If anyone reading this is also potty training their kids (or will be in the future), let me show you the BEST potty seat ever!  It is easily portable, and the kids all love it (except Tucker, the one kid we WISH would love it).  Oh yeah and I ...um... broke our first potty (different type) when I was beating on it in frustration that it wouldn't "click" back together (yes, okay, and also in frustration that Tucker wouldn't use it). 

 http://pottytrainingsolutions.com/product_info.php?products_id=356

Man, does this blog look bo-o-oring!  All my photos have cycled off the page.  What up wit dat?  And why in the world didn't I put photos on some of my recent entries?  Here are some recent ones to brighten it up....

ALEX IN TEXAS

TUCKER SINGING THE HAMMER SONG

QUINN (blue)  and  CLEO (purple)

(For a recap of Part 1, check out my post from March 24. The gist is, Tucker's Monday morning preschool bus driver and I cannot seem to connect and get Tucker onto the bus.)

PART 2:  Last Monday, I had Tucker ready to go.  And this was early, mind you! 
Because remember, I found out that the bus actually shows up at my house 7 minutes earlier than the time given to me by the district transportation office.  I am letting Tucker listen to his favorite kids song on the computer, while I dutifully watch through the front door for the bus.  Said bus arrives 3 minutes earlier than the new "7 minutes early" time.  Mom flies into hyper gear, grabs child (now wailing since he couldn't finish his song) and back pack & flies out the door.  It is pouring down rain.  As I am buckling Tucker into his seat, the driver tells me that although he doesn't expect this when it's raining, I should normally be out on the porch waiting for his arrival.  'Scuse me, Lucy?  Did I just get scolded IN ADVANCE for being late?  Buddy, you don't know me well enough to call me late (even though everyone else who knows me does, which is beside the point).

PART 3:  This Monday it *could've* been my fault.  I choose not to believe so. (faithful readers, you decide)  My occasional Monday morning moms group (aka MOPS) was finally meeting again.  As is my custom on MOPS days, I called the district transportation office & canceled Tucker's morning bus pick up. Great, done.  I was getting ready to go, on time even, and loading the girls in the van when I saw it.  To coin Quinn & Cleo's current favorite phrase, "Oh no!"  Tucker's car seat was gone.  We had forgotten to put it back into the van after using it in the other car.  Well, heck, I'm stuck.  Everyone knows it's against the law to drive a small child around without a car seat.  In defeat, I called the transportation office, ate myself a little crow and asked to have Tucker's bus pick up after all (it was still nearly 2 hours before the bus was to arrive).  But the unthinkable (yet not unexpected) happened - no bus!  NOT AGAIN!  (unless the driver scurried right over to our house 2 hours early after getting the call - but somehow I doubt it).  So now what am I going to do?  I took Lief's great idea and ran with it - use one of the booster seats from the girls' car seats, which I feel are meant for bigger kids.  But what could I do? Well, the funny thing is, Tucker LOVED it!  I showed it to him and called it the "big boy booster seat".  He was grinning from ear to ear.  He even sat in it in the kitchen while I got the girls buckled into the van, just to take it on a "test drive". All the while I was thinking "I coulda had a V-8! I mean, gone to MOPS!"

The moral is, there is obviously some sort of cosmic disconnect between myself and the Monday morning bus driver.  And it is not my fault.  ;o)

We've been lucky.  After 4 kids, you'd think this would've happened to us before now.  But the other night, our luck ran out.  I'm drying off the 3 little kids after a bath in the girls' bedroom.  I think to myself, "What's that smell?"  My head begins turning slowly, making a sweep of the room.  "Hmm, is it poop?"  I spot one child in the downward dog position.  Something isn't right with this picture..... The words thunder from my lips, "TUCKER, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  But it's too late.  It is indeed poop, and it's already making its entrance - directly onto the carpet.  And I'm not talking about firm, well-formed feces here.  This is the kind you DO NOT want to see on your carpet, along the lines of throwing a spoonful of pudding onto the carpet (much more than a spoonful, of course - this would've made for one full diaper).  It's hard to imagine that I would be longing for a poopy diaper, but at that moment I most certainly was.  SuperMom here froze, wipe in hand, but SuperDad (cape held neatly out of harm's way) blazed to the rescue with a full roll of paper towels and some antibacterial cleaner.  Yes, that carpet will be shampooed at our earliest convenience.  (Apologies to those taking a moment from their lunch break to read our latest blog entry.....)

Have you ever had one of those parenting days where your child gets into a heap o' trouble, it seems like the end of the world, and you just don't even know what to do about it.....  [fellow parents, feel free to chime in with some words of wisdom here]

No, I didn't mistype my 80's musical multiples moniker (say that 5 times fast!).  Our 3 little ones have formed a doo-wop group.  They have all latched onto one of the songs on our kids CDs and have made it their own, "He's a Carnivore" - about a doomed romantic relationship between two dinosaurs, an herbivore and a carnivore. Sung in doo-wop girl-group style, they each have their parts.  Tucker is the lead singer, Cleo sings back-up, and Quinn drums along with the beat. It's especially charming to hear Tucker's interpretation of the lyrics.  For example:

ACTUAL                        TUCKER'S VERSION

"We don't have a            "We no have a chips"
chance"

"Don't make him             "No make in ANGRY [very loud]...."
angry...."  

"He's not a                     "He's not a ter!"
terminator!"

On that last one, I'm just grateful Tucker didn't include a "d" on the end.  ;oD

Yeehaw, y'all!  Alex and I recently returned from 5 days in the Lone Star State.  Why spend spring break in Texas, you ask?  Instead of the sunny beaches or Disney dreamlands?  Because Alex was born there.  We moved up here when he was 2.  Although he doesn't remember it, he has always considered himself a Texan (and more specific, an Austinite).  So we went on the "Tour of Alex" - seeing important places in his history:  hospital where he was born, places we lived, the famed grassy field where he cut his knee (yep, he still has the scar).  And I'm telling you, the kid couldn't have been more bored.  What?!  He BEGGED to see these spots!  I guess the allure of a knee-splitting grassy field sounds much better when told with mom's reminiscent touch, instead of finding it's a pit alongside a Mobile gas station (and one where only half the sign lights up at that) alongside the freeway in the middle of nowheresville.  And not to mention that Texas is BIG - that means lots of driving.  And of course let's not forget that things have changed so much (except in Waco) that it was hard to find my way around and I sometimes had to make a second (or third) pass before I found the right spots.  But don't feel sorry for him!  Yes, I indulged him.  We went to the wax museum, we stopped at Sonic for slushies and cherry limeades almost every day, we toured the Dr. Pepper Museum, and yes we stepped foot inside the big Cabela's in Buda, TX (you gotta see this place!).  And don't forget that he achieved his big goal - to meet his biological father, Jason.  And not just for a few hours on one day of the trip (which I spent all my time and called in all my favors to make happen).  What I didn't foresee happening, since I was so focused on creating the initial meeting, was that Jason would take a shine to Alex and want to spend more time with him during our trip.  (yes, I made sure that happened, too)  It was definitely awkward to be spending all this time with an ex-, and even weirder to be happily reminiscing the good times.  But you parents out there will understand when I say, you do what you have to (and what you think is best) for your kids.  Let the good times roll.....