Day 2 of 31 for 21 - A Bit of History

Day 2 A bit of History...
When I met Tom he was a single parent. I soon learned he has not 2 but 3 children. We talked about our connection through the fact that we each have a special needs child. When we became I family I knew what I was taking on, well I knew most of what I was taking on. Oh Hell I only knew a fraction of what my life would be like. When I took on Brianna and her Downs and Autism I was so positive I could do it. I never in a Million years imagine I would be taking on a Bi-Polar child and that I would soon be taking on my own Autistic child.

We have had so much go on in the 6 years we have been a family and as we come up on our 5th Anniversary I realize we have come so far and been through so much. I mean many families would have fallen apart by now. I mean we survived a Hell bent Psychotic Ex, a time where we thought we were going to Lose Riley, Mac's shunt placement and then her cranial, A 16 month deployment, the loss of 2 of our kids and the fight to get them back, 4 more children, 3 NICU stays, Moving, Ally being diagnosed with Bi-Polar, Bri's mental breakdown, ALOT of up and down with Meghan and now Caden being diagnosed Autistic. But the important part is WE MADE IT! We are still a family, a little warn down and longing for a normal day. Ha ha Normal. What does that actually mean? I laugh because Nothing here will ever fit a layman's definition of "Normal".

When my friends complain about there hubbies, I always realize how good I have it with my husband. I mean he does not bring me home flowers but he is always there for me and he does come home and allow me to leave kid free or virtually kid free for a few hours every once in awhile (long enough to chase the last strand of sanity that is preparing to run away.) He is always there when I call and lets me vent on him about anything. I know I do not tell him often enough how much I love and appreciate him and I need to do that more often..

How far would you go for your child?

This man truly inspires me.

A Son asked his father, "Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?" The father who, despite having a heart condition, says "Yes". They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons. The father always saying "Yes" to his son's request of going through the race together. One day, the son asked his fater, "Dad, let's join the Ironman together."

To which, his father said "Yes".

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island.


How far would you go for your child??

I have been wondering lately why things have been going the way they have lately but you know, no matter what I would walk to the Ends of the Earth for my children.

Day 1 of 31 for 21 - The Flea Market

Ok SO today is Day one of the 31 for 21 blogging for Downs Syndrome Awareness. I have no clue what I am going to write about.

Well this morning I did learn a very important lesson. Do not drag 3 kids under 4 and your pregnant butt to the flea Market without the 4 seater stroller. No an Umbrella stroller just does NOT cut it! You need one seat for the baby, One seat for the screaming 3 year old who wants everything Spiderman (make sure there is a seatbelt because his Autistic little mind gets sidetracked and obsessed and tunes out everything else) A seat for the whining 4 year old who wants everything but does not want to walk, and finally a seat to put everything in. Man fruits and veggies are HEAVY. And Yes they will topple an umbrella stroller over in a heart beat therefore scaring the crap out of the baby strapped into said stroller! Well after filling up on Fruits and veggies the like of which my children have almost never tried before we head to the car to fight the never ending parade of traffic trying to get to the flea market. When will people figure out that if they move you can get out and they can park in your spot. Just MOVE already!! Also I do not speak the right language to shop there. I feel like i need to take an interperter just to understand everything! Hopefully my kids will learn spanish cause their life would be sooo much easier if they do. Well the kids get out early so I am going to relax while I can. I think I am going to take them to the park once everyone is home. I will probibally be back later or if nothing else I will be here tomorrow..

Following Suit

In Honor of October being Down Syndrome Awareness Month I am going to follow suit from PhamilyBlog and participate in the 31 for 21. I will blog everyday of October. Hope to see you all there..

It's my fault...

I am sitting here reading Jenny McCarthy's book Mother Warriors. God it is like she is describing everything I am feeling right now. Just like Jenny I do not know who my son is. all his quirks are Autism quirks not Bubba Quirks. His obsession with trains, lining up his toys, outbursts when he is upset, even the way he talks, walks and moves is all Autism. And while my mommy instinct KNEW something was wrong, I was not mentally prepared for that diagnosis. I mean I thought I was but I was wrong. This Autism diagnosis has for some stupid reason hit me harder that MacKenzie's diagnosis. Maybe because I saw his coming and I feel responsible..

I Keep looking at Caden and telling him I am sorry. I did this to him. I made him the way he is. I keep thinking about all the what ifs. What if I did not have him early? What if he had reached term would he still have had a compromised immune system? What if I had not given him his vaccinations or even what if I had just delayed them for a bit? Would he still be Broken?

Tonight while tucking the boys in I promised Corbin I would not make the same mistakes I had with Caden. I promised him I would do all I can to make sure he does not get Autism too. I also promised Caden that I would fix him.. Somehow I WILL fix him. Just how I am going to keep all those promises I am not sure but I Will do it.

I get depressed when I think that somehow I could have prevented this, I mean I know in my heart that I am responsible for his Autism and now I have to do everything in my power to fix it. We are going Gluten-free, I hope this will help both him and Brianna, This is our Chemo. I have very high hopes that this will help them come out of their Autism.

Don't send me comments on how his vaccines did not cause his autism. They did. Plain and simple. The way I see it, some people are Asthmatic. They most likely are their whole life but you never know till you hit that one thing that triggers an attack. Then because of that one attack their body is on the defensive, maybe something That never triggered an attack before will now trigger one because the first trigger made a weak spot in their immune system. I truly believe that some people have that Autistic possibility or pre-disposition and something triggers it to go off, therefore causing the autism. I truly believe for many kids that trigger is the vaccines. I truly believe that Caden and Brianna having already compromised immune systems Autism was triggered by their vaccines and there is not a soul on this planet that could ever convince me otherwise. Am I saying no children should get vaccinated? No. But there has to be a better way of doing it so we do not trigger anymore kids. Why can we not have a delayed schedule for vaccines? It is honestly going to hurt them to wait til they are a year old to start shots? Give their bodies a little time to build up their own immune systems before inundating them with all these foreign bodies..

So Is it my Fault? Yes. I should have followed my mother's instinct and not been pressured or bullied by my pediatrician and the pharmaceutical companies. I am glad my Mother's instinct has so far protected Corbin. I am proud to say he is over 7 months old and has never gotten one shot. And guess what neither had I till I was 18 years old. Corbin has also never been sick. Yes he has a bout of thrush from nursing and a bit of a runny nose for a few days but never a fever or any other sickness. Coincidence? I think not..

I am sooo Bad at keeping up

Well I am going to try to make sure to post here more often. I need an outlet and maybe someday some of my random ramblings will be useful to someone. My word was crushed a bit more in the past 2 weeks here is what happened:
How is it your whole world seems to end when your dr tells you something's wrong with your "baby"? Caden had an appt today and the dr confirmed what we have been thinking for a little bit now. Caden has Aspergers syndrome. (a form of autism). I know we have been suspecting it but there is nothing to prepair you for the reality. I was so relieved to know that Caden is not just being a punk or ignoring us, but then I was devistated. I have wanted to do nothing but cry all day. You would think with the fact that we already are raising 2 special needs kids we would be "used" to it so to speak. I did not expect to feel like this. I keep wondering if I refused his shots maybe he would be ok. Well Corbin has not, nor will he be getting any shots till they can prove to me beyond a doubt that there is no connection. I am trying to see this as God made him this way for a reason but I cannot for the life of me figure out what that reason is... I know it is not the worst thing that can happen to him but it seems like a type of death. the death of the life I thought he would have and now I have to get used to a whole new life, a whole new world. My son's world.

Cloth Diapers the "NEW" Internet scam??

Well I am on a site called Diaperswappers. It is an online Buy/Sell/Trading community for Cloth Diapers. We have recently had a lady, Pamperedshell come on and scam MANY, Many moms out of their hard earned cash to the tune of over $1600. Her name is Michelle Hidalgo and her husband is Martin. We are currently trying to recoop some of the momma's money but she is being anything but cooperative and telling lie after lie.
Help us catch this scammer. She lives in Anthem AZ her last known address was On W. Summet Walk Way in Anthem. She has 2 older sons, Mason and Micah (3 or so years old) a daughter Malia and had another boy via planned C-section at Shea on 9/16 and was released the morning of 9/18.
She has gone by several Emails:
MHidalgo7575@yahoo.com
Pamperedshell@yahoo.com
Shellsposi@yahoo.com

Here is one bloggers Link;
http://thyme2ghough.blogspot.com/2008/09/diaper-drama.html
For somemore info check out these reports also;
http://community.livejournal.com/diaper_drama/83546.html