What do you know about the good guys?

This is the question Liam asked me. He sat next to me with folded hands and with interest asked me this. When I asked him why he was asking me his response was that he is trying to get all the secrets of the good guys. So first, he obviously doesn't include himself in the "good guy" catergory. And second, at the ripe age of 4 years he is looking for weakness in others. I have been fully aware that he looks for weakness in me, but now he wants to know what good peoples short comings are? For every day we make it through, I realize how much more we have get through with Liam.
For all you "good guys" out there, consider this fair warning.

What the.........

I am firm believer that people have a minds eye. Its the ability to see what something will look like without it being in front of you or even put together. Its being able to look at a table or desk and just by picturing the room you want it in, you know exactly where it will fit.
I also believe that the moment we find out we are going to be parents we use our minds eye to picture our child. I say with certainty that we see an infant who sleeps through the night, a toddler who reads, a respectful, polite teenager, and a well balanced adult. We have expectations for who our children will turn into with our guidance. There is a confidence we feel. Knowing we will learn from the mistakes made by our parents generation.
I know I felt this way. I cried for joy when I found out I would be a mother. I read to the fetus that was growing inside me. I took my vitamins, stayed away from caffeine, and did all I could to protect and nurture my unborn child. I did all of this in preparation for the person I wanted him to be.
Then it happens, the moment when you realize they are more like you than you want them to be. It is different for each parent. Mine didn't happen when I learned Sammy wanted to watch TV ( I had assumed he would want to use his imagination and would have no interest in the television), it doesn't happen when he rolls down his window in the car to yell out to anyone who looks older than 30 to say" hey grandpa what are you doing?" Nor does it happen when he tells he says "excuse me I passed gassed" to the cashier at the grocery store. No, these have just become expected. For me it happened when we were at Keisha's house and the boys were playing together. I don't even remember the details that led up to Sammy saying "what the?" He added no words after that statement. But I realized that for all I had done to make sure he was better than me, he actually turned out to be more like me than I had realized before. Now, don't get me wrong I don't make a habit of yelling random things out the car window, and I certainly don't loose control of my bodily functions in the check out lane. But, so many times I have thought or even expressed that very statement. What the? So it has turned out he isn't like me when I was a child. He is picking up mannerisms from me now! So many times during my daily routine I think or say "what the heck are you two doing?" or "what in the world would make you think that is OK?" And I will admit that I have my days of thinking "what the H- E- L- L have I gotten myself into?"
So for all the planning we do to make our children better there will come the moment it will become clear that they are trying and planning to be like us. To that I say " what the heck are they thinking?"

Woody Wood Pecker Has More Pull Than Me.

I have never believed in making kids eat something they don't like or having to finish their plates. Josh and I have asked if they would like to try something new, but its not forced. Liam rarely likes anything I cook. He would rather have a bagel with cream cheese over chicken of any type. Since Sammy loves everything I cook and doesn't mind trying new veggies I enjoy making things I know he will like. One of his favorites is burgers. I make turkey burgers and usually only have to worry about making enough for 3 of us. That was until Liam discovered The Woody Wood Pecker show via netflicks. He loves that show. Every time he watches it he laughs and laughs. Well, when he saw that Woody likes burgers he decided that he would also like them. It just so happens that was on the menu for this week. He at his turkey buger and enjoyed it all because of Woody Wood Pecker. I asked him what made him want to eat that and his response was " If WoodPeckers like these then I do too."  If only there was an episode about Woody hating armpits then we would be set.

Froze Up.

Sammy has such a way with words. It is truly an expression of the way he sees things. At the convention I had one of my episode / seizures. Josh brought me by first aid while he went to get the car. The boys stayed with me, I'm not sure if it was to make sure I was OK or because of the 3 pretty sisters sitting at the desk. Sammy gave them his explanation of what was going on without even being asked. I am quoting him word for word, "Sorry ladies we can't stay at your meeting. My mom froze up again and we have to head home."
Liam on the other hand had no interest in talking to them about his mother. Instead he flirted as he usually does in these situations.
I like to believe that the way Sammy says things is the way it would be even if he didn't have autism. He speaks so genuinely that there is no doubt he is sincere in whatever he is speaking of. Its just one of the many things I love about him. I also appreciate that Liam will never bring attention to anyone but himself.

armpit.com

When Liam chose to stop nursing at 10 months he instantly replaced it with putting his hand in my underarm. I hated this especially after he spread and infection to me. So here we are over 3 years later and I still have to tell him multiple times a day not to even try putting his hand in my underarm. Its not my underarm either. He tries with Josh too. Now, he knows mommy won't let him do it but daddy can't always say no. If Josh isn't here and Liam needs to get his fix I find him hiding with our deodorants picking at them. The other day Josh was trying to get him to stop and Liam said " I need to go to armpit.com." Who knows where he came up with that, but I wish there was a website that he virtually scratch at someone other than me.

Why Is He Picking On Angela?

Our dear friend Angela Basnar came to visit. This wasn't her first visit and we hope not her last. For some reason Sammy always has something to say when Angela comes. In February she came for the day and around 9pm he said " OK ladies you've had enough time together" then looking at his wrist like there was a watch on it he continued with " its getting late and I think you're friend needs to leave." I realize that autistic kids don't usually have much tact, but it still surprised me that Sammy would react that way. Angela being the wonderful person she is didn't take it personal thankfully.
This time she came for a weekend visit. She first came to our house and then followed us to Keisha's house. Sammy is sitting in the back seat of our car with a plastered smile on his face trying not to move his lips and says " you're friend is following us."
This is the reason I let people know from the beginning that Sammy has autism. That way no one gets offended, hopefully.

Another Meeting Story

Another meeting has come and gone so of course I have another story. Since he was about 2 Sammy has wanted to hold his own Bible at the meeting. I don't think he realized exactly what the Bible was he just really liked the book mark attached. A few Sunday's ago he leaned over about half way through the meeting and said " mommy you see all the words? Well they are Jehovah's words." I was very impressed that he knew that. When it was time for the song he was still intensely looking at his Bible. I whispered to him that it was time to sing the song and his reply was " you go ahead and sing I'm going to try to figure this book out." I just smiled to myself thinking how I can't wait to tell him these things as he gets older.