Friday, July 27, 2012

Fun times at Casa De Angel..

So, Hubbs has decided to stop paying for WW and just weigh in with me at home on Saturday mornings. He has officially lost 22 pounds! YAY go Hubbs! I have lost 14 pounds! YAY go me!

I do think that I may gain weight this week because I was stressed out and ate about a half bag of pretzels in one sitting (right before bed...and believe me my ass was so swollen the next day - it looked like I had been put in a barrel of brine for the night!). I also ate 2, count them 2 chocolate chip cookies from BK...omg they are so good...I remember when I could put 6 of them away..and I had to physically walk my ass away from the last one sitting there. I did give it to Lilli which made me feel like a good mom for sharing, but I watched her eat the entire thing....and she laughed like, "Ha, bitch..." LMAO...now I know that just not true..but really - she was laughing the entire time.

So I am 6 pounds away from my goal. It seems surreal and those 6 pounds could really take me 6 or 7 more weeks to get off, but it's possible. I never thought that would be possible.

Summer school with my kids with Autism is flying by. We only have 2 weeks (6 days) left. I can't believe how fast it has gone and how funny these kids are. They do get mad and I didn't get pinched or hit at all last week (sorry for my paras, cause one of them got the shit pinched out of them) but I have learned to not let any of my students go behind me and to keep a safe distance if anyone is breathing heavy (like heavy as in could supply wind to a power turbine) or flapping their hands or starting to shut down. After the first time I got pinched on my arm, the next day the same kid got me on my side of the stomach and I have a lot of flesh there to grab and I was like DAMNNNNN - but bruises fade and we learn from our mistakes. We are having a pizza party on the last day...which is basically for me, because I am surprised I have made it and that I still have all of my hair intact!

Bella seems to be growing like a weed. She has been getting up only once during the night, which I greatly appreciate, however - her ass is going to be one soon - so she needs to get her shit together and sleep all night long!!! She is still as cute as a button and tiny as can be. At this time last year, Lilli was double the size Bella is now. It's amazing how two kids from the same parents can be so different. Ha, how funny is chemistry, chromosomes, and God's creativity! :) She totally doesn't want to eat baby food anymore, however continues to choke on anything that we give her that is not formula or purees...but she will stare you into the ground for the piece of pizza you are eating...(yes, ppl on ww you can eat pizza!)

Lilli is learning to test boundaries, which is driving Hubbs crazy. He wants her to be 5 years old and listen to him, and understand "the look" he is giving her means something. I do have to say - that when he raises his voice - it hurts her feelings. I just hope that our words and approval means as much to her when she's 13 and not just now that she's 1 1/2.

It is really cute to see them together. They play all day together and share most of the time. Bella idolizes Lilli and goes where ever she is. I hope that they enjoy each other - Lord knows that there will be fights. But I want them to know that they have each other for support. I can't wait until they are in their teens - hating both of us at the same time. Then in their 20s and 30s when they have their own families calling each other for advice. Man - life is good :)

On to working out and trying to loose this weight. As some of you know- I have recently started jogging with the girls. I was walking like those crazy ass old people in the mall once or twice a week, but I decided to step it up, throw the girls in a stroller and jog with them (sorta resistance training) at least 3 times a week. This is the first week I have done it, and the morning after my 2nd day - I thought I was paralyzed. I was like, Oh, shit...what the hell did I do? So I took a day off and plan to go again tonight. I think that I may need new running shoes..but that will have to wait a couple of weeks.
Hubbs, bought me some new workout clothes and they are spandex...yes spandex...and I look ok if I don't sit down. When I sit down the muffin top becomes a spare wheel and that just isn't attractive on anyone. I was kind of hesitant on wearing these clothes out in public when I am working out, because I live in this neighborhood...I will see these people again. However, for the most part - no one stares, or laughs, or their eyes don't bug out of their head. It's not like anything is showing...but come on man - it's spandex. But spandex is SO easy to run in - esp. if you have big ole' thighs like me...they just slip and slide right past each other!!! On my first day I did have a couple of prepubescent girls giggle and point - but I just thought, how sad - their mothers never taught them to be nice. I do now wear my work out clothes (which are an XL ...just plain old XL, which was one of my goals - to be able to go into a regular store and buy an XL and wear it and have it actually fit. Cause you know, wearing something and having it fit is completely different. Yes, I am talking to you big girl with short ass shorts on, showing all your cottage cheese and goodies that the Lord gave you..cover that shit up!)

I am announcing to the world via this blog that we are going to start "trying" for baby #3 in September. Who knows how long it's going to take - it might happen fast (since my mom says Hubbs has super mexican sperm) or it could take 5 months like it did the first time. I have known a lot of people that have struggles with getting pregnant, so this will be a journey that I will share with you guys. I don't think that people should be ashamed and I know how frustrating it can be and how you feel like you have personally failed - but hopefully it will be easy the third time around. My mother is going to start stressing and gaining another wrinkle as she reads this because I think she would like me to wait 3 years to try again - but in all seriousness - I am an old ass mom. If I was in my mid twenties I would think about waiting - but I want to be done with all this pregnancy shennaigans by 35. The older I get the more problems can happen and if we ever want to go on vacation I need to get my ass a job! So, mom - I am sorry...in about a year or so you will have the girls for 5 days again and then we will have another Angel to add to our crazy ass bunch. Hubbs says threes his limit - we will see....I might just have to start getting dogs every year or two :)

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The toughest jobs are the most rewarding...right?

So, I am "student teaching" this summer to finish up my masters in ASD (Autism Spec. Disorder). I was thinking that this experience would be like the one that I did eons ago for my bachelors. Um, how wrong was I? MAJORILY wrong!!! I found out last week (classes started today) that not only would I not be in an early childhood/elementary room - I would be in with high school kids and I, yes me would be the teacher with a para pro. FOR REAL? I know how to make play dough and teach kids how to be nice to each other. I know NOTHING about high up and what is expected of them and what these kids could do.
So last week, while I was being told about my group of 6, 15 year olds I started to get really anxious and it took me 4 days and about a total of 10 hours to write my lesson plans for the first week. This is not normal to me. I am (if I may toot my own horn) creative, fun, quick on my feet, and a pretty awesome teacher. I was told my group was low functioning but to still teach to the GLCE (state standards) even though these kids are completing hs and not graduating. So I made these lesson plans that included group activities, sorting of many different kinds of objects, place settings and floral arrangements (job readiness) and for Science we were doing the senses.
School was supposed to start at 8:30, the buses got there between 8:15 and 8:45. The minute the kids hit my room, we were up and running. Out of my 6 kids, all of them are nonverbal, 3 of them are runners, 1 stood by the door and jumped up and down for 3 hours (I got him to put crayons into the package and that was a HUGE success - or so the para pros tell me), I have 2 that have potty problems. All of them seem to have some sort of obsession with the bathroom, I had kids coming in and out of my classroom bathroom in all states of undress and had my biggest kid (about 320 lbs) come out of the bathroom with no shorts or underwear on because he had an accident. I have never seen so many privates in my life!
The big kid's twin brother is not so big and talks like Darth Vader all day long. He recites lines from Star Wars and I almost peed my pants when I first heard it. He for sure made my day. He likes to be patted on the back too. It seemed to calm him down and me down at the same time. I have one who keeps his hands down his pants all day long and we had to keep telling him to wash his hands constantly and he would just laugh really loudly and then go wash his hands. The boy who stood by the door all day jumping and then sprinting across the room seems like he wants some interaction with others, but doesn't know what to do. He participated a little bit during science when it involved food, and they ALL sat down together at the table for snack. Which was totally their bad, because now I know that they can all sit down, be patient, and wait their turn when it's something they want. So, Ah HA! I got their number. We might all gain 10 pounds in the next 5 weeks, but at least they will learn something from me!
I was really upset that I my plans didn't go as I expected and I feel like I should have done more then, just kept them busy with matching, sorting, and puzzles. My para pro has been in the school for a long time and she said I did a good job, but she might have just been being nice since she has to work with me for the next 5 weeks.
Now that the first day is over, I know that tomorrow isn't going to be miraculously different, but I know what more to expect. I have different activities planned, and we are going to be doing some cutting and pasting since their pencil/paper skills aren't that great. FIRST thing in the morning we are going to go over bathroom procedures and how to knock! I saw wayyyy too much bush today and would like to keep that down to a minimum from now on.
Out of my kids, I have a soft spot for the twins. They have the sweetest faces in the world. Although, when I put away the snacks I thought for sure that the big one was going to body slam me for more goldfish. However, his brother made it better by using his hand as a puppet all day long and taking like Darth Vader..."Luke I am your father." Another one of my kids I think has narcolepsy. He is incredibly intelligent but he echos back what you say. If you give him a task he does it and then immediately falls asleep. I've never really seen anything quite like it. Then again - all kids who have Autism are completely different. I am hoping to make this experience better, and I think that I might be happier changing diapers at home and not at school - but I miss the babies. I miss the crying and all that good stuff. I remember my first student with Asperger's. The first day of preschool 6 years (almost 7) years ago he sat on my lap all day long and slept. Gosh - I love babies :)
So, here's to the babies that end up growing up into men and women....someone's gotta love and teach them...I guess it will be me!