So far, so good...

Shelby now has three full school days under her belt. She tends to be getting tired in the afternoon but is trudging through it and will hopefully adjust. I can say this, bedtime has been a BREEZE! Normally she comes out of her room at least a dozen times to ask for a drink, to go potty, to get a dog to come lay with her, and so on. The past three nights have been a dream! Goodnight Shelby I love you, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. LOL
     So, have I been enjoying my time off? Well, Monday yes was nice and relaxing. Tuesday my middle child had a dentist apt. Run to town, do the apt, get him back to school, then curriculum night, yay! Today had to take Shelby to the Pediatric Ophthalmologist 45 minutes away, 2 hr long apt(which went well btw, no changes), then back for my oldest daughter's curriculum night. My husband asked if I had a day where something didn't need to be done and I had to look at my calendar. I'm happy to report Thursday and Friday look good. We'll see! All three are liking their teachers and liking school, I'm counting my blessings, now ask me again once homework really kicks in!
     A few things I've noticed without the kids here. When I clean something it stays clean, I mean, who knew?! I have a mini panic attack when I can't find Shelby only to remember she's at school. And there are not NEARLY as many funny things happening now that Shelby is gone for a good portion of the day. So now, I think I will find new and creative ways to torture my husband for my own personal amusement, he works second shift ;) So, ideas on how to do that?! *insert evil laugh here* This is what he gets for not reading my blog. And don't any of you that know him give him a heads up either! That'll learn him! Tehehehehehehehe!


Check us out on FB! Stuck On Shelby!

Back to school!

Shelby goes back to school tomorrow. Her first FULL day of school. She's done half days for the past two years but this is new. Same class, new teacher, new routine. Lots of old, lots of new. Shelby is my third child, my baby, my last. With the other two the first day of school was like an adventure to see what they'd learn, what they'd do next. There was no anxiety, no fear, no worry. Just happiness at seeing another milestone take place. It must be the baby thing. Now that Shelby is in school all day I have no more babies at home.
     You add that with the challenges Shelby faces and it just makes it harder. I've always been there for her. I always know what she is up to and for the first time I won't. From 8:15am-2:50pm she will be living a life separate from mine. Weird. Will she have enough energy, will she get upset she can't go home, will she wander, will she do good at lunch and recess with all of those kids? I KNOW it will be ok, I KNOW she'll do great, I KNOW she'll have the best year yet but still I'm her mommy!
     OK, enough pity party. Let's focus on what fun I can have with this. First, I can enjoy the house staying clean for a good portion of the day. I can take a shower with NO interruptions. I can watch any show I want. I can go to the bathroom in peace. I can take a nap if I am tired. And then to make my husband happy I'll search for a part time job ;)
     Now, something good I'd like to share. The other day I said to my husband, "man my back HURTS". Shelby then said, "Go lay down on the couch, it'll stop". *insert jaw drop here* This may not seem like a big deal to parents of "typical" kids. But, this is the FIRST time I can ever recall Shelby hearing something and giving such an appropriate, empathetic response! This was awesome! HUGE! So proud!

OK, why does it smell good in here?!

Now, typically a room smelling good would not be a bad thing right? Well, if you have a "typical" kind of house it may just be a good thing. Here however, not so much. Now unless I have my spray bottle in my hand while I clean or I just dropped some Scentsy cubes in my warmer I'm inclined to have a mini panic attack at any overwhelming scent. So a note to future visitors, if you like to wear strong perfume or randomly spray stuff to see what it smells like, give this mom a heads up k? lol
     So, back to why good smell = bad. A strong scent usually indicates Miss Shelby has gotten into something. I cannot tell you how many bottles of cleaner I've been through. I'll be cleaning, turn my back, grab another cleaner and forget the one currently being left unattended and next thing I know...*sniff...sniff, sniff, sniff* "Shelby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Do NOT worry, these are non toxic and environmentally friendly cleaners. *informercial voice* "I'm not only a customer I'm also an advertising rep!" No, seriously I am! So it's only costing me money to have Shelby "help" it is not a call to poison control! lol Anyhooo THAT is the cleaner scenario.
     Then we have the mystery smells. The "mmmmmmm I love the smell of hubby's deodorant, wait a minute...SHELBY!!!!!!!!!!!!" Or "mmmmmmmmm my perfume smells good, can't believe I can still smell it that....SHELBY!!!!!!!!!!!" Or "That clean fresh powder scent is ni.......gosh darnit SHELBY!!!!!!!!!!!".  At this point you are probably thinking, put your stuff up woman! Well I would if...1) I didn't have the memory of a mom and forgetting my name half the time. 2) Everyone else didn't have the memory of a fly. 3) I wasn't constantly distracted when I have stuff out by a ringing phone, screaming child, or a grown man child needing assistance finding his stuff. And finally 4) The fact that even though you "think" you've found a Shelby proof spot, eventually she proves to you just how silly that idea was.

So I leave you with pictures from an incident a few weeks ago, she sure had fun! I knew something was wrong when I smelled it, I confirmed it as I turned the corner and saw this...

 

Shelby...you are so busted little girl.  

Who? Me?

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Stuck On Shelby

We're also on Twitter @StuckOnShelby

Please also check out the website Apps 4 Children With Special Needs!

Annnnnnnnnnnd Good night folks!

iPad, oh how I love thee...let me count the ways.

1) From the first time we borrowed you from a friend we had tears in our eyes. Seeing our 5yr old, developmentally delayed child, complete her first 7 piece puzzle we were hooked. We stopped just shy of robbing a bank to get one ;)

2)Shelby has been able to show us that she has absorbed a lot more than what we thought. Through apps like "Spot the Dot" by Ruckus Media she has shown she knows several colors and can even find them in a "busy" background. "Shape Puzzle HD" has shown us our little girl LOVES puzzles! "My Play Home" by Shimon Young, has allowed her to explore a house and what all you can do in it without making an actual mess of mine! lol She can run as much water as she wants, "cook" things on the stove, and open and close curtains without pulling them down! And all I have to do to clean her "house" is push a button, where can I get one of those, hmmmmmmm? There are sooo many more that I love so I'll just show a pic of our faves! I've got stuff to do and this Signing Time episode is only so long!

4)When in doctor offices, restaurants, grocery stores, or anywhere a child is expected to be quiet and sit still the iPad is a parent's dream come true!

5)While Shelby is verbal the iPad gets her talking about things and showing you all the cool stuff it does. I can only imagine how this device opens up a world for a non-verbal child!

6)The iPad has given me something to be passionate about. I want to see the special needs world explode with the iPad. Speech therapists, teachers, special ed classrooms, doctors, therapists, insurance companies everyone should know what this amazing product is capable of and what a life changer it truly is.

7)The iPad allows Shelby to accomplish things she normally hasn't been able to do and to see the smile on her face when she completes something is worth so much more than words can say!

And NO I did not get paid or asked to mention any of the apps and developers listed.

I want to feel like a grown up!

Now, I'm...dah dah dah dah, 28, yep, 29 by the end of this month. I should definitely have my feet solidly on grow up ground. Well when you spend your days surrounded by kids you can loose that grown up feeling. Somewhere between NickJr and Teen Disney it all just gets lost. Some days I'm lucky if I've got a bra on by noon. Imagine my panic if someone comes knocking before then. No, solicitor, I'm not that p.o.'d I just have my arms crossed to keep my knockers from smacking you in the eye. I'm doing you a favor, for realz.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, lost grownupiness. So tonight after a particularly stressful bedtime I'm thinkin' what can I do to make myself feel better, feel adult like? Well, I could drink like a fish, there is that half bottle of tequila that has been collecting dust since my anniversary or there is that Miller Lite that has been in there for months as well. Hmmmm ok, I talk about drinking quite a bit, wishful thinking? lol I don't like alcohol much. I envy the moms that can talk about wine like they've grown up around vineyards. I can't do that, I think most wine tastes like vomit, YES I went there. I can just envision the wino's shaking their glasses at me. Sue me. lol Don't really though cause I'm broke, can't get milk out of a rock folks.

And again I was where?

Oh yeah, so here is a trick I've discovered. I can put ANYTHING in a wine glass and feel more sophisticated, more adult, less mommy, more me. It's silly I know really I'm just tricking my brain but you know what? It works! Try it! Right now I've got a strawberry kiwi drink in mine but you can try milk, juice, tea, pudding(yes pudding), water, whatever floats your boat. And if you really want to have fun put something that looks like booze in your wine glass and start throwing 'em back. Pretty soon your significant other will get all wide eyed and wonder what has got into you and will they be able to take advantage of "drunk mom". It's hilarious when they can't figure out why you're not smashed. This will work better if you have an empty booze bottle to pour it from. OH want to have even MORE fun? Do this around friends, family, or the in-laws! Bottoms up!

You're welcome! lol

Pay no attention...

Shelby has no problems being naked. However up until this point she really has kept it to trying to keep from getting dressed after a bath. Today however she decided that after she went to the bathroom this was the time to  go sans clothes. We were sitting outside when she went in to go potty. She came back out naked. After attempts to get her to go back inside on her own failed I tried to get a hold of her and escort her back inside. She took this as the opportunity to go streaking through the yard. Try keeping a straight face as you are chasing a naked child through your yard. Yeah, it's not so easy. Finally I can't remember what I threatened to take away but whatever it was got her inside but she was now contained. Perfect timing, let's take a bath and get your jammies on girly. Practice for spring break college edition is OVER! lol I then proceed to throw the naked minion over my shoulder, up the stairs, and straight into the bath! Score one for mom! Let us hope this was a rare occurrence and she doesn't discover the joy of being nude.

I'll keep it short tonight with a conversation I had with my oldest(9yrs old) earlier today...

Me: Grace, would you like to get your hair cut short?

Grace: Why?

Me: Because you don't like to brush it and scream when I do it.

Grace: Sure, if I get cancer it will grow back eventually!

Me: *insert confused wtf look here* Uh...............

Yeah I couldn't think of what to say after that. Grace is interesting because you honestly never know what will pop out of her mouth. The child remembers EVERYTHING! Any conversation, any event, something she saw on tv and these random memories pop out when you least expect them and confuse the tar out of you. I suspect this was what led to this gem of a conversation. Oy, kids!

Pffffffffffffffffffttttttttttttttttttttt...............

That is the sound of me releasing air in an exasperated fashion. No funny post tonight. The day went fine but from dinner on just....pft. Shelby thought it would be hilarious to throw food at her brother during dinner. We're talking sauce covered food at her brother. Then she got out her bag of cherries later and thought they made a great item to throw, you guessed it, her brother. She thought this was a riot. I calmly took the cherries, put them away, and began to cry. Yes I cried like a baby for a good 20 minutes or more.

I cracked like a nut. Seriously...while Shelby doesn't normally throw food this is wasn't any worse than anything else she's done but I just apparently need a tear fest. It drained me.

We are leaving for Wisconsin in the morning so my next post might not be until Sunday or Monday.

A little family bio for those that are curious and for my husband who says I need to mention our other two kids :)

Grace-our first born, she's 9 going on 19. We are in serious trouble when the hormones kick in with that one! lol

Wyatt-our only boy, he's 7, and a carbon copy of his father.

J(onathon)-my manchild. He hates it when I call him that, but seriously some days I wonder how old he is! ;)

There you have it...the fam has all been introduced, and I'm sure you'll be hearing more about them in the future.

Don't forget to look up Gary @ www.a4cwsn.com!

The adventures of being barefoot...

     So you wouldn't think walking around barefoot inside your house could be an adventure but in my house it is. Oh is it ever! Walking around your foot hits something wet. First thought is it warm? Warm most likely means pee, is it pee from the dog, from a child, you just don't know. If it's cold it could still be pee but at least you can pretend it isn't. So, if it's cold the next question is what is the color? Will it stain? If it is colorless it could still be pee or it could be water, you can still pretend it's water. Clean it up, spray some cleaner but still pretend you didn't just step in pee(dang pound puppy). If you really want to know you can sniff it but really who WANTS to know.

     Now, let's move onto solids. I know what you're saying, please don't. But, I'm gonna, because after all WE are on an adventure! I personally would like to think the world of solids, or, semi-solids is much more interesting. Remember we are going off of how things FEEL, we leave the looking for after we've had a mini panic attack about what it is we think we just stepped in. So, if it's warm, really not much good can come out of this because we have a rescue puppy in the house, warm usually means you just stepped in a nice fresh pile of poo. Congratulations you did NOT win a prize. Is it squishy? Is it cold? Cold can be good, because cold usually is not poo. I like cold. Did it mash into the carpet or onto your foot? Did it crunch(please don't be something expensive)? Did one of the kids go ewwwww after seeing you step in it? Solids can be so many things but in this house it typically is of course poo or some sort of food substance. But you won't know until you stop clutching your chest and look down. Like just now, I stepped on something cold and squishy under my desk, it was a wedge of clementine(little orange).

But Virginia, why don't you just wear shoes? And what, risk not feeling that it is poo and spreading it from one end of the house to the other? Oh yes now THAT sounds like an adventure!

You too can play this game. Come over to my house before I've had a chance to do a floor check, take off your shoes, put your chin up and start walkin'! So who's first?! Seriously I thought I'd have a line outside my do/r! No?

So stuck on Shelby today were cherries from a bag I left too close to her in the shopping cart. She's so proud isn't she?!

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Please only "like" a4cwsn if you plan to spread the word about Gary's mission and want to help, or you are a part of the special needs community :)

Please do me a favor and check out www.a4cwsn.com and their 50ipads/50states/50special needs kids campaign. Then head on over to Facebook and "like" them. When they hit 5,000 likes(they are wicked close) Gary will give away 5, yes 5 iPads! iPads to a special needs child can literally change their life! A mom can hear "I love you" for the first time through a text to speech app. A child can feel the sense of accomplishment after completing their first ever puzzle. Siblings can finally sit down and have something that they can BOTH do. It is absolutely a life changer! *******Please only like A4cwsn if you are interested in helping the special needs community or are a part of the community.

I'm happy for you, no, I really am. I just need a minute...

     It's back to school time! Yay! Seriously I love my hooligans I really do but after 24/7 with them all summer mama is ready for a break! An added bonus Miss Shelby will be in school a full day this year. I'm sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over the sound of angels singing. Anyways where was I going with this post? Oh, yeah, I'm happy for you.

     So, because it is back to school time there are going to be parents saying "my baby is going to school this year, my big boy/girl is officially a kindergartner", and so on and so forth. Kindergarten is a milestone year. It's the year where your preschooler, your "baby" is growing up and becoming part of the school aged minions. I get why they are nostalgic, I get why it is bittersweet, it is something to be celebrated. I get it and I'm happy for you, I really am.

But here is why I need a minute...

     I'm fairly new to the world of special needs, within the past year and a half it has gone from "needing more time" to "need to find an answer/diagnosis". So being the newbie that I am I still and I imagine I always will take a pause when Shelby's peers hit their "typical" milestones and we just aren't there yet. I am NOT ashamed, I am NOT embarrassed, I am NOT disappointed in my little girl at ALL. I am so proud of her and the progress she has made. Just remember we didn't plan for this, nobody does. You get so absorbed in your new world that sometimes you forget there is another world running parallel to your's and every now and then you intersect. These I like to think are the "pauses".

     Shelby should be a kindergartner, she should be getting excited, making new friends, and "growing up in front of my eyes". She should be gaining that independence and maturity that comes with Kindergarten and she's not. And, I'm ok with that. In fact this next year is full of promises and who knows what lies ahead of us. She will be doing a full day of ECE-SE and we hope that with the extra time and repeating in the afternoon what she did that morning things will start to "stick". In the end Shelby is Shelby, and she is awesome! So to look at is as a glass half full kind of situation, while your baby is growing up, I get to hold onto mine for a little while longer.

I have no clue what I'm doing...

This seems to be common in my life. I have no clue what I'm doing and yet, eventually, with a few curse words, some pain, and a new found appreciation for professionals, it gets done. I wanted to start a blog after joining up with a community called Apps For Children With Special Needs. Many of the people on their Facebook page have blogs. And I thought to myself, hey, I can do this! I was inspired to get our story out there and maybe help Gary James in his mission to get iPads into the hands of special needs children.

I am NOT an English major. I am a stay at home mom to three kids with about 6 weeks of community college education before I found out I was to be a mommy. Please do not expect perfect grammar, sentence structure, and if spell check doesn't catch it I won't either! My goal is to make you laugh, I might make you cry, and hopefully give make you say, "I have so been there!". If you like what I've said let me know, if you don't, well, follow the "if you don't have something nice to say, say nothing at all" rule our mamas hopefully taught us. Seriously nobody is MAKING you read this blog.

So, the name. Why "Stuck On Shelby"? Well for this you would need to know Shelby. She is 5yrs old with the mentality of a late 2yr old early 3yr old. She's not diagnosed at the moment so I can't answer any questions about that. We're on a journey to find out though. Anyhoo, Shelby is the type of child that can get dirty on her way OUT of the bathtub. I'm not kidding. Something is always stuck to this child, food, whatever substance that was left where she could get it, you name it she has probably had it stuck to her. I also chose that name because anyone that sees her picture or meets her immediately falls in love with her and they become stuck on her :)

So, to prevent this post from becoming crazy long I will promise to get to my two other lovely children and the man child later ;)

Here is my Miss Shelby...