Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Juiceology Review ~ Something Yummy!

The YuckMouth house isn't known for healthy...with picky eaters its hard to get them to try anything new and actually like it. So when I was approached to do a review for Juiceology I jumped at the chance to do it. When it came I just poured it into cups for them and they actually drank it and LOVED it. Even my picky drinkers loved it. At my house it didn't last more then a hour and we actually had to go get more.

We received Peach-Mango and Blueberry Acai to try, both tasted great! I have to give this juice bragging rights because the healthiest juice we have in the house is the V8 Fusion Splash and Juiceology beats it out in taste and numbers on the label! I would buy it on a regular basis! Its currently only available in CA, but hopefully they broaden that range a bit!

You can find more information on Juiceology by visiting their website and also join their Facebook page.

I know that my mommies will find this juice just as outstanding as the YuckMouths did! The added bonus is that not only does it taste good but its healthy too! lol just don't tell your kids that!


Juiceology gets the YuckMouth seal of approval!





Tuesday, November 1, 2011

How My Life Has Changed

I know some of you have probably wondered where I have been lately, and most of you know that the YuckMouth house has been in a bit of turmoil lately. Between losing our house, my eldest son leaving to live with his Bio dad in AZ (we live in CA) and now testing two more children with possible special needs, I've been at a loss for words.

But I've written something I wanted to share, I wrote this to share with another site where we are trying to get help with a car but I wanted to share it with all of you.

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Four years ago if I knew it would be like this, I would have invested more, saved more. But no one would have known the turn our lives would take, that in one fell swoop we would lose all we knew and never gain it back.

It was Nov. 9th 2007, I was in the hospital having my 6th child and on the news was the report that the movie industry was going on strike. I cried cause I knew that the life that we were used to was going to disappear quickly. It took about 3 months but by Feb of 2008 we were out on our butts with no car or home. We had lost everything, because if there were no movies or tv shows to write then there was no crew or equipment to watch. The work that was there was far away, well past the drive being worth the pay.

We had also just gotten the Dx of autism for Racer, so our lives were slowly crumbling apart. We spent two months in a run down motel I still cringe about the living conditions of that place. I was trying to finish school which left the hubs living in the motel with 5 kids and a newborn.

When our time ended there we had to split the family and I stayed with my dad and the baby while he went to his dads with the kids to be close to the school they would be going to. It was the hardest year of my life, raising a newborn, living in Los Angeles, and commuting to Rancho to school everyday. I missed my kids, I missed my husband.

When we both realized that we just couldn’t do it anymore I dropped going to school to take on the full time job of caring for Racer while the hubs took odd jobs here and there. We found a run down house to live in that we could afford on unemployment and the SSI money we were getting for Racer. We barely made ends meet, thankfully we had foodstamps. For those that want to judge, I have no shame….we had it all. The perfect car, the nice clothes, the nice apartment, my kids never wanted for anything. But when you have to put food on the table you swallow your pride and do what needs to be done.

The hubs found a job as a security guard getting paid under the table for a while, till they company he worked for got out bid and he lost that job. Then he lucked upon a job at the local courthouse as a clerk typist, it was perfect for us, 9-5 and no weekends. It was such a change to have him go from 17+ hour days 6 days at week working in Hollywood to 8hr days 5 days a week.

If nothing it strengthen his relationship with the kids and myself. But it wasn’t enough and then the CA budget cuts came and the courthouse had to let some people go. Since the unwritten rule is always last hired first fired, the hubs once again lost our only slice of good.

Cut to a year later, no work….who wants to hire the guy who used to make $30 and hour to flip burgers. I remember putting in 80 applications for him in one month and no one return phone call or email. It was heart wrenching to watch the man I love struggle with his ability to support his family. In my eyes he was still the man I loved, I knew he had it in him to be that man again and no matter what I was going to be here with him forever.

About a month ago we got the most devastating news ever. The landlord we had taken crap from the last 3years sold the house we were living in. The new owners were house flippers and wanted us out in 45 days. I remember standing out there when they showed up at my door, I was frozen in place, it took all my strength to nod yes and mumble answers to their questions. When they left and I walked in the house, I just started weeping, I couldn’t stop I couldn’t even let the words escape my mouth. We were going to be homeless once again.  That was about 30 days ago, we have 30 more days till we are out again. If I thought that finding a place for 6 people was hard before, finding one for 9 was mission impossible. We have recently found a mobile home that would keep us in the area but we have to get rid of one of the family pets. That makes a harder situation regrettably sad. But at this point it’s the only place that hasn’t turned us down so we have to take it.

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We have in fact found a place since I wrote this, its small but it will be ours and the risk of this happening to us again is zero. But in efforts to help make the move easier I have started making crafts to help us earn the money to move. I have no more excuse, no shame and I can say that we need all the help we can get. What I ask is that you share this, share my Jars By Lisa page. I believe in making things happen and this is how I'm doing it. So while yes there is a donation tab on my blog page, I'd love to make something for anyone who wants to help. 

The support I've gotten from my friends has been enormous and I love you all for this. I hope that one day I can turn the tide through all we have suffered. 


Sunday, October 23, 2011

A Monster Among Us

There is a monster among us, a lot of people know him by a few names....JB, Jeremy Brown and as his twitter handle @techieteacher. He was part of many twitter chats that most people found informative and useful. People trusted him and put their necks on the line for him, they also stood up for him in recent online arguments between him and another person on twitter.

But what shocks me to the core, what makes me want to lock my kids away forever is this article.....  ....I can't even write in a decent link tag.

In this first blog back from being away I think its important to remember, that not all people working with our children are God's gifts. But there are some out there...lets not forget that either.

To those fooled by him and his " greatness" let it be known that he was good at what he did and that was lying. That could happen to the best of us, and we can't beat ourselves up about that.

Its not enough for me that he was caught, it won't ever be enough for me that he will go to jail. Nothing will ever be enough for what he could have or has done to any child.

There just aren't enough words....

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The IEP from Hell



That's my two youngest boys there. They are both special needs and I love them to death, I'd walk over hot coals to get them the services they need. 

For Racer, getting help hasn't been as hard as its been getting help for Wolverine. But the need is still there, that need for services won't ever go away. 

This picture was taken on a day where my older daughter wasn't with us, on those days the boys cling to each other, they need each other. Whether they realize it or not I think deep down inside they see how different they are and that forms their closeness.


Since birth Wolverine has been different, he was my 4th born and in no way does that make me an expert but I knew he was. All babies like to be burrito wrapped, but Wolverine was at least 8 months old and still needing that wrapped feeling. He liked the dark, so I would have to put a blanket over his bassinet and he would be fine. He never craved that close comfort from either me or his dad, and only really allow me to barely hold him, he would scream and cry when Roy held him. It was odd but when we took him to the doc they said he was fine. When he was lil he was always just a little more bouncy then the rest of the kids, a little more aggressive then them as well. BUT he was my first full term boy, my oldest son was born premie so he wasn't much of a guideline as to what boys are like. 

It wasn't until school started that I thought we might have more of a problem then just the usual "boys will be boys" behavior. Kinder was a breeze for him, the teacher was stern but nice, but home life wasn't any better. The aggression was off the charts, it was almost like he knew he couldn't misbehave at school and brought it all home. I looked into all sorts of things it could possibly be ADHD being one of them, but every where I looked most places and research says that kids can't be Dx until there are issues both at school and home. For now I just had a emotional wreck of a 5yr old.

1st and 2nd grade were pretty much the same, start off really great but then it turned horribly bad, with behavior issues and outbursts and aggression. Towards the end of 2nd grade I finally got them to listen and agree to test him. I've blogged about it before and you can read it here and part 2 to that blog is here.

Finally the evaluation process is done. I was feeling good about it, I mean with all that Wolverine has done how could they not see that there was a problem......boy was I wrong!

Long story short they aren't giving him services, they feel that since he tested really well ONE ON ONE that he's fine. He's really smart, and at grade level and showed no problems focusing or any hyper activity.......ONE ON ONE. For those of you who have gone through the testing process, you know they send questionnaires  home for the parents to fill out, they also give them to the teacher and one to Wolverine to fill out. 

For the first time ever my answers along with the teachers answers were almost the same, we found him to either be "at risk" or having a problem in most of the same areas. But even this didn't matter to the special needs team. What a real eye opener was the results of Wolverines questionnaires....Now for those not knowing, most of the scores either have to be 70 or up to receive services, and others have to be lower then 30. But according to Wolverines answers he scored a 69 in the area of depression, so he's "at risk" BUT still they aren't going to do anything! 

I was shocked and shaking, and so pissed, that here they were saying he was "at risk" for certain things but since he tested really well he doesn't get services. No it didn't matter that they tested him alone, no it didn't matter that when he goes to class he refuses to do work and flips off the teacher, no it doesn't matter that he won't do rotations and so his other two teachers don't even know who the heck he is. None of that matters...cause guess what?!! It was all mine and Roys fault, we are apparently pawns in an 8yrs olds grand scheme to create domination and control....now that may be a paraphrasing BUT WTF IS THAT?  All his problems at school are MY FAULT?!! I'm not even fucking there but its my fault.

Bottom line, I refused to sign it....I left shaking and crying. Got home and relayed all of this to Roy and then we just kind of sat there. I don't even know where to begin when someone tells me my sweetheart of a lil boy is at risk for depression. I don't even know if he knows what it means....how do you tell your child that even though he knows he can't control what is going on inside his head and body that he's ok? 

So I pulled him from school, he's going to be doing this homeschooling online classes till we get the answers he needs. I can't let it go that he's at risk for anything and that the school refuses to do ANYTHING about it. Even as I sit here now writing this I look at the test scores and just cry, why or how they can let him wander the halls and look at him and know that this child is depressed or could be is a mystery to me. 


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Games in Review ~~~ Discovery Bay Games

The last few weeks I've been bringing you tech stuff, like apps but today we have something really special to review!!

On my many adventures at BlogHer I was able to meet and speak to one of the reps of Discovery Bay Games!

Can I just say I LOVE THEM!! Not only did I get two really great games from them but the YuckMouths have been having a blast playing their games!




The first one I got to review with them is Highlights Match Patch



The directions were really simple and easy to remember. Basically you have to match either the food pictures to other food pictures on the cards or match the household items to the other household items. There is a point system, one point awarded if you play a hidden picture card. You earn hidden picture cards when you cover all the surrounding sides of the tiles.

The ages on this game are 6+ but I had no problem with my 4yr old who played and actually won a few games over her older siblings! There are so many ways to play this game, with or without the hidden picture tiles and with them. They get to create really silly patterns with the tiles as they match sides. It was a great tool for the younger ones to learn what items go together and thinking about which tiles could match certain spaces. 

The second game we got to review was 
Smithsonian Mission Museum Case of the Missing Mummy


Since I was able to pick two games to review I decided to go with something my older kids could enjoy.

The object of this game is to find the 3 artifacts that are on the mission cards you pick before the mummy escapes.  The directions for this game were simple as well and easy to explain to the kids. 


What I liked about this game is that it is set up for the players to work together as they solve the challenge cards and come up with an answer. Each challenge card has the answers on the back but you have to use the red magnifying glass to get the answers. Since it was a work together game I let my younger two play as well and they loved it!







The kids have really enjoyed playing these games the past few weeks. Its made for great family time and time where we are totally unplugged and just enjoying a good time. Please feel free to visit them online on their Facebook pageon Twitter and on their website! I loved them and you will too!


Monday, October 3, 2011

Rett Syndrome Awareness Month~~ Guest Blog By Terri

I want you all to meet someone! Her name is Abby, and I have the great pleasure of being friends with her mom! I wanted her to guest blog for me to bring awareness about Rett Syndrome! Before I met Teri I had only barely heard about it, I'm guessing some of you might be in the same boat! 







How exciting. I’ve never been asked to guest blog before so Thank You to Lisa and 7 Yuck Mouths.

My name is Terri and I am Mom, Advocate, wife and all around Autism awareness terrorist.
I run a little website called rettgirl.org and a YouTube channel called Rett We Can.

Why? Well thank you, I’m so glad you asked.

My 7 year old daughter Abby has Rett Syndrome. An X Chromosome Linked form of Autism, X chromosome linked means it is the only form of Autism with a known genetic cause. Because it is a mutated or fragmented gene on this Chromosome is why it mainly affects girl,s but there are a handful of boys that have it to and they are just as deeply affected.

The Bastard gene of which we speak is called MECP2. It is known as the regulatory gene between your brain and your body. It is the gene that tells every other gene when to turn on and off. Unfortunately for families this gene doesn’t turn itself on until your child is between 18 months and 2 years of age. Up to that point you have a perfectly normal, typical child doing all the things they are supposed to do. When this gene kicks on...if it is faulty like in Rett Syndrome everything shuts down, There is a rapid period of regression where every acquired slill is lost. Most purposeful hand use disappears almost immediately, a constant wringing, tapping or hand mouthing starts. All speech goes during this regression stage and your child turns back into an infant where she will stay…trapped in her own body until a cure is found.

Rett Syndrome is considered the first Curable Neurological disorder and it was announced in 2007 that Rett Syndrome had been reversed in laboratory mouse models. It’s there and until we can get it funded in a way that gets it right for humans, our babies remain locked in a world they can only observe.
The major debilitating factor in Rett Syndrome is called Apraxia. Apraxia is defined as the will to carry out intent is there, the physical ability is not. Some describe it as having Aurism,Cerebral Palsy and Parkinson’s all rolled up in one little girl.

Need to Knows:
·                    Debilitating neurological (movement) disorder that predominantly affects females.
·                    Baby girls are born "normal" but begin to lose acquired skills between the ages of 1-3 years old. 
·                    Caused by a single gene mutation that leads to underproduction of an important brain protein.
·                    The most severe form of autism.
·                    The leading genetic cause of severe impairment in girls - most cannot speak, walk or use their hands.
·                    Despite their physical disabilities, girls with Rett Syndrome are believed to be functioning mentally at a                                       much higher level than previously thought. 
·                    As prevalent as Cystic Fibrosis, ALS and Huntington's.
·                    Another little girl is born with Rett Syndrome every 90 minutes.
·                    Rett Syndrome is a potentially REVERSIBLE disorder. Research has proven once protein levels are back to normal levels, symptoms subside

Why have I never heard of this you may ask? That’s why we are here today. To inform, educate and raise awareness so little girls like mine will no longer be held in the unknown. Thank you to Lisa for allowing me to spread the word here.


To donate to Rett Syndrome research in Abby’s name and follow her personal story you can go to:
Thank you
Terri




Sunday, September 25, 2011

Out of Necessity an App is Created ~ Kyle Tomson of Mobile Ed Store

I had the great fortune to speak to Kyle Tomson today, he is the founder and President of Mobile Education Store. But first and foremost he's a dad and like most of us struggled to get help for his daughter, and after spending lots of money on useless apps that never quite fit his daughters needs he developed his own. After losing his job in 2009 and having tons of time on his hands, decided to take the fate of his daughters education into his hands. In the three months that he was off he learned all the coding it would take to do the apps  and Mobile Education Store was started. Now he has two jobs, creating great apps and returned to the job he was formerly laid off from.

 Sure at first he was just filling a need for his daughter, but when he realized that he could be filling the needs for many children all over he put it on itunes and thus really began this amazing journey of apps. Ones solely built upon needs, the needs of his daughter but also the needs of so many children everywhere.

When you visit the site and I hope that you do, you will find some really great educational apps but with a fun twist. They aren't just for special needs children either, they are perfect for any child struggling with language, conversations, story building, sentences, and questions.

So here is what is making Kyle Tomson so special right now....in case you aren't part of the great community that is A4cwsn you are missing out. Over 5,000+ community members sharing ideas about apps for children with special needs. It isn't about the giveaways or the great app parties, its about being a part of a community of giving and sharing. BUT coming up we have a great app party one which Kyle Tomson of Mobile Ed Store is going to be reducing prices on some of his apps, and giving Gary some codes to giveaway. Some of which are going to include are the ones for the ipad and ipod/iphone and a new app that we the community have yet to see which is the preposition app! If this app is like the rest of the great ones he's come out with so far we will not be let down!

One last thing I would like to share with you all, and I hope you all share with any teachers you know. There is a education stimulus that schools/teachers can use but it runs out in 5 days!! Please let your teachers know that this is open for them and then send them to Mobile Education Store ! He does a lot for our community, lets get the word out! He wasn't given the first Developer of Distinction award for nothing!


The app party is next week! Running from Sept 30th to Oct. 2nd! It will be hosted right  here by Gary James. With apps from tons of developers either free or at a reduced cost!


Hope to see you there!





Saturday, September 24, 2011

Why Askate

Before I start there is something I want you all to watch....




When you think skate boarding I bet the first thing that comes to mind is "how could that ever help my child?" Well you may be right, but until you try you NEVER know what could unlock your child. Be it skate boarding or surfing, horseback riding or the other millions of things that we have all invested money into.

Now here is where you can help Pepsi Refresh and the Askate project......click on that link! It sends you directly to their page and vote for them!

After you've done that do the text vote!

Once you've done that you know all those yellow caps you see! Snag them, beg for them....heck buy pepsi and then use those caps to vote again!!




Its that simple....and by helping you could be unlocking more and more children. Time is running out! What can you do to help!?



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Head Over

Today dear readers I have a simple request I'd like for you all to visit and enter the giveaway hosted over at Nathan's Voice. Its fairly simple and you get a great book out of it if you win! While your there read her blogs, share her page with someone you know. If you don't win you can always buy the book!






Adventures of One Sock


Put please go visit, a few simple clicks is worth the time to support fellow autism bloggers!


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

#TechTues ~~~ ClickN KIDS Review

During my journey at BlogHer 11 I had the chance to speak to a rep from ClickN KIDS. It sparked a interest for me because I have younger children who will be learning to read soon. I loved that they were partnering their program with Looney Tunes to make Looney Toons ClickN READ Phonics are they are a huge hit in our house.

I was lucky enough to be able to get the program and use it with Racer. You can read more about their phonics program here!

I have to say I'm not very tech savvy, or as savvy as I should be with 7 kids. But going through the enrollment process to start the phonics reading program was really simple. I was able to have 8 open slots for the kids but since Wolverine and MommaHen are already reading I did two, one with Racer and the other with PigPen.


After reading through the skills directions we got into it.  Racer started off at level 10, he speed through it pretty easily but 11 was a bit harder for him so we decided to not skip any levels. I have to say that the 20 min or so lessons held his attention the entire time. Being a special needs child the task of attention and staying focused can be difficult  but the Looney Tunes ClickN READ phonics program worked for him.



The lessons that we have done were listening ones and simple mouse clicks to answer questions. You can change the pace of the questions and completely customize it for your child's ability. They even sell on their website child sized mouse and keyboard to work with the program.

Since Racer never does anything without his sisters they sat with him and said the sounds out loud as well.


I thought I was going to struggle to get Racer do to this program but he was entertained and engaged in what he was seeing and learning. Reading and word recognition aren't his strong suit so this program was perfect for him. We've been running levels with him for the last 3 weekends since school started, I've noticed he's sounding out words more. I can honestly say that I would recommend this to other parents with both special needs children and normal developing children. It was a great program that all three of my younger children enjoyed including the 1yr old. It was cute hearing her try and say the sounds with her siblings or cheering Racer on as he worked through the level. There are free sample lessons on the home page for you to try out with your child as well. 

I will revisit this review in about a month to update everyone how his progress is going!




Tuesday, August 30, 2011

#techtues ~~ Apps in Review ABC Song Piano By Kiboomu

Recently I was given the special chance to review an app, so it will be the first #techtues blog that I run!

Apps are a fairly new thing for the YuckMouth house, we've played around with a few but finding the right ones to either entertain the masses and teach them at the same time can be quite the battle. Luckily I've happened upon a few good sites like A4cwsn and Kiboomu! The app I'm reviewing today is from the ladies over at Kiboomu who I've had the pleasure of tweeting with, you should totally follow them, they are awesome!!





The app is called ABC Song Piano, its available on the iphone, ipad, and itouch. Its an age appropriate app for toddlers and preschoolers and awesome for special needs kids learning their alphabet. When I first got it open I fooled with the settings, checked out the four different options, but as soon as that song played all the kids came running to see what I was doing. I gave each a turn and of course as amazed at how easy it was for them to try out the different settings and then actually record themselves playing. The loved it! So the YuckMouth clan gives 7 thumbs up!

Once I shooed them all away, tried out the different game types. I really loved the ease of switching from one type to the other. The button tabs were all easy to see and use, and the song was hilarious to hear with the barn animal sound enabled.  The letters were brightly colored and easy to hear and see, and the pace was slow enough that even my 1yr old was able to handle it and press the keys to hear the sounds. I'd say it is a great starting app, and at a great price $1.99! You can view it on the Kiboomu apps page and purchase it on itunes. My kids loved it and I loved hearing them sing the ABC song and giggle together!

Thanks to Mommy Perks for giving me my first app to review!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

People on a Lake, 3D Shark, Sept 2nd

I'm typing away on my computer when my older son walks into the room.  Since I have my headphones on (like I always do when i write) My son taps my leg while shouting Dadda (yes my son and older daughter call me Dadda) I take off my head set to listen what he has to say. He tells me he wants to see the movie where there are 7 people lost in a lake then there's a 3d shark eating them. I interrupt him.

ME: Did you just say there's a 3d shark in this movie?

My son looks at me confused. He continues to talk about how there's 7 people lost in a lake then there's 6 people then there's 5 people and this 3D shark attacks them. He continues to tell me it's like the Piranha movie but with a 3D shark eating everybody. I stop him again before he can continue.

Me: There you go again with this 3D shark. Why aren't the people in the movie 3D?

So this really confused him. He then tells me the movie comes out on September 2nd. So me not knowing what the hell he's talking about I go check out IMDB.com and look this 3D shark thingy up. The name of the movie is called "Shark 3D" (how original)









 Now I know many of you are probably asking why is my son of 8 asking me about wanting to see this R rated flick, and how did he know about the Piranha movie that came out last year. So it's like this, I show my kids movies that I believe they would probably see themselves late at night. Now I don't show them Porn or anything but if I want to watch a movie in this house they either like what I'm watching or they can go and watch cartoons. There's nothing wrong with cartoons, I watch tons and tons of toons ( I have 5 kids) But I know many people lecture me when I tell them my kids watched movies like "The Matrix" or "Blade" or even the movie "Piranha", def not movies for kids. I did make them close their eyes when there are always dirty scenes on tv. I just don't want my kids to be that kid who's never seen a R rated movie in high school and when they do a sleep over there not the odd kid out, or scared out of their mind after watching a R rated movie at the age of 18. Trust me; I've seen many people get freaked out from movies that they never watched before. I even experience sleeping with the lights on through out the whole house because of a few horror movies at my house that my girl never watched as a kid growing up. If the movie is too scary for my kids they leave the room but if it's not they stay and watch the whole movie. I'm a huge movie lover and I think my kids should experience every cinematic creativity there is out there and hopefully sparking that creative flow within themselves to come out as it did with their daddy:) No my kids ain’t weird like the kids from the movie "Village of the Dammed" but they are full of excitement and curiosity and know how to enjoy a good movie. By the end of the movie I'm usually left only with my older daughter who's def a movie lover just like her daddy:)


For Racer on His Birthday

Its been a odd month of sorts, the kind where everything that could go wrong does. If you've been reading my blog then you know that life lately hasn't been easy to say the least. Five of the YuckMouths have had birthdays, I've put on my brave mommy face and we celebrated the birth of my babies. For Racer I knew it would be different, it always has been. Big parties scare him, to many people set him off and lately he has a issue with eating sweets and getting dirty.

So today was his day, I left it up to him but it would be easy cause most of his day would be spent at school. I usually bake the kids their favorite cakes for their special days, but today it topped 103 and in a house with no A/C using the oven was out of the question. We bought donuts and put candles in them and sang happy birthday.

We id have some good news though! The book that the hubs has been working on is finally done and the proof came in today early. Racer was on cloud 9!





Now if you've never seen pics of him before he looks like the normal kid. Except this picture is different, I almost just made it a wordless Wednesday post because it speaks volumes for me....he's smiling. He never outright smiles, NEVER! Its always a smirk, or some weird half smile half "get this camera out of my face" look he gives me. That book he's holding there, its about him, the YM daddy wrote it for him! It was the best birthday present any of us could have asked for. If all goes well this might just get us out of the hole we are currently in.

So Happy Birthday to my baby! I was going to write a long letter about how you are special to me, how your progress everyday is something to celebrate! 

But I can't cry anymore right now, I need to celebrate and since I have girl parts writing a letter like that would have started the water works.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY One Sock!! I promise mommy won't always be sad! I love you!!


I promised the hubs I would link the book here....if you are interested in getting The Adventures of One Sock click here.



Friday, August 19, 2011

CreateSpace~~~ Why I Love to Hate You and Hate to Love You

So despite our current situation we have been trudging along, doing stuff to help keep our heads above water.

I promise Jill those jars are going out this weekend.....I'm a totally jerk about it seriously.

So here it is the YuckMouth daddy wrote a childrens book! WooHoo and all that good stuff I couldn't be more happier for him. Its funny and cute and its about Racer, he's excited, I'm excited and so is the hubs! Read his stuff here and you can now find him here on his very own tab  YuckMouth Daddy Blogs!

Ok so he got the copy back from the artist and he was ready to slap that bad boy into CreateSpace. For those that don't know that is amazons free self publishing site, the site itself is pretty easy to navigate through it should have been a breeze.

Boy was I wrong.

So lets keep this short and sweet cause I could blog for days about how screwed up this process has been. From not being the right size, to not having the correct cover PDF, then the pictures not being the right DPI. I live in the land of acronyms and these pissed me off to no end.

He's had to go back to the artist 4 times to get to fix stuff, first off being how CreateSpace has a 24 page minimum and the book is 22 pages!! Took us forever to figure out that  that was the problem, luckily the artist fixed it and it was off to the next section. The cover.....ugh! Lets just say I didn't know that it had to be a wrap around image. So after reworking the cover image A MILLION TIMES, I finally got something to work for it. Finished the process and waited for the approval email which can take up to 48hrs.

I'd say the hubs was excited, nervous and giddy, I was tired and ready to put my computer through the wall. Since he isn't very techie, and I am only in the sense that I like to "pretend" I know what I'm doing, I sat in front of the computer trying to figure this crap out.

So cut to 5 emails later, each one saying "Hey stupid! You got it wrong AGAIN!!" (ok so they didn't say that but still.....)

A email about how the cover had to be a wrap around image, duh...to having to then create a new cover, to the book not being sized right....fixed it AGAIN. Then BACK to the DPI problem...meanwhile this all creates a new restart for the 48hrs approval.

I've never hated my computer as much as I have right now!! I may never want to see the inside of a email inbox AGAIN!!

Anyways lets close this horror story with a "happy ending" (no perverts...not the kind you get at some seedy massage place) He finally got a "approval" email, I jumped on the computer ready to sell the heck out of this book! Ummmmm no sorry now we have to wait a WEEK to get the copy approval sent to him, THEN we can sell the heck out of this book. But I'm not keeping my hopes up.....knowing CreateSpace we'll have like another 48hr wait.

So in closing.....this book was loving written by the hubs but blood, sweat and tears have gone into creating it. Not my blood of course, but the hubs blood cause I may have to stab him once this is all done.

Monday, August 15, 2011

They All Came Out of Your....?

So as you all know I was able to go to BlogHer this past week.  I wasn't sure what to expect, I didn't follow may posts of the twitter stream in prep for my trip. I packed and went with the flow, even my weekend motto of "I don't care" was pretty easy going.

We ended up going to the parties over at BlogHer....actually we ended up looking really lost and some hot hotel guy with a deep voice said to us "ladies are you looking for the parties?" (thank you deep voice hot guy)

Now here is where it gets weird, and I have to say living in Los Angeles all my life, and the hubs working in Hollywood I've met all types of people. But this fruit cake takes the cake, we met her going down the ramp instead of using the stairs cause Caryns hot shoes we just couldn't walk down those steep steps. Now I expect to meet various people here, talk to lots and lots of them. But here is how this one went....

Hi I'm so and so, oh those are really cute shoes, I can't take the stairs either I've had some vodka....

And of course we make small talk, about our blogs and what we blog about and then it happens. The conversation I was actually dreading "YOU HAVE 7 KIDS?!!" I knew eventually it would happen, it was actually the one thing I prepped myself for. But the way this went...no lol there is no prep for this.

"You had 7 kids out your vajayjay?!!"

I won't bore you with the entire conversation, because it mostly went with the above statement over and over again in different forms. Leaving me and Caryn kind of stunned... I mean who wants to talk about my vajayjay all night? Hell I don't think I've ever even talked about it that much unless I was at the OBGYN lol.

We lost her at some point, at her request to talk to others about the fact that we had 7 kids out our vajayjays. (lol yea like I wanted to be that oddball everyone blogs about) Till she found us again! I swear we hadn't even been there 12hrs and already we had a stalker! With drink in hand she proceeded to again talk about the vajayjays , asking if we talked to anyone else about then, then to talk about tribes in third world countries who also have many kids apparently.

I have to admit that this drunk woman broke the ice for me. I was nervous about meeting new people...other bloggers, talking to product reps and companies. After the whole vajayjay talk though, I figured if NONE of them asked me about that I'd be perfectly happy.

So thank you crazy drunk vajayjay lady!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Most Wonderful Time of The Year


Okay so this summer has been really hot, I live in a house full of people (9) and with no AC in the house to keep everyone nice and fresh, and throw in a son with autism and another with adhd you can only imagine how it's been. From short tempers to outburst to unpatient kids to finding out the owner sold the house with out informing us, for once I heard good news on tv. It was a jingle i havent heard in such a long time that really made my day. The song was from the commercial where the father is gliding on the shopping cart filling it up with back to school supplies while his kids look unhappy, with the song "It's the most wonderful time of the year" playing in the background. When seeing this commercial I right away looked at the calendar and noticed that the kids only have 10 more days til school starts again. 



Yay! 5 out of 7 kids will be at school for the whole day! Now it's not like i want to get rid of my kids but a few hours of break is really needed. With no babysitters or any help from anyone, i don't get to have any free time to write. ever try writing with 3 or 4 kids jumping all over you? It's kind of hard at times. 

Someone once asked me how come I dont blog as much. I tell them i do, it just takes forever blogging while typing with one hand as I use the other hand to keep the kids from jumping on my keyboards. What I did to burn the kids out for the summer was take them with me on my 5 mile walk then go swimming for 2 hours. But many of you who have kids know that they get this sudden burst of energy late at night every night! 

So hopefully now school will burn them out and get these kids tired so when they come home everyone goes to bed at a decent time and not 11 pm or midnight. So if you havent heard the commercial with the jingle yet, trust me it's going to make everyone who has kids and waiting for them to go back to school very happy:)



Tuesday, August 2, 2011

YuckMouth House Displaced~~~ Part two

So our countdown has begun. The new owner came today with paperwork for us to look over and sign when we are ready. His company will serve us with a 60 day notice which is standard for CA. Meanwhile I've been looking and its kind of grim. No places that are decent for a family take as many people as we have, or pets. I'll be looking into "no-kill" shelters for the dogs which is just going to break everyones hearts.

But I still haven't given up hope, I still believe that it won't go down like this. I have faith that we will find a place for all of us and the dogs even if it means moving out of state. I refuse to give up hope.

I plan on keeping the blog updated for whats going on in the YuckMouth house. Still plan to sell my autism jars cause every jar I sell makes this house money. If not to help us move but to get Racer the stuff he needs to deal with his everyday life.

Not down or out just yet!

Friday, July 29, 2011

My Limit

I must have stared blankly at this screen for a while....all I know is that what runs through my head when I'm about to blog is the millions of things that happen during the day. All of it happens right in front of this computer, in my living room and bedroom.

The screaming and meltdowns, the 5 normal (well sorta) kids and all their issues. Then there is the 3 that have issues. There is Racer with his speech issues, coupled with autism and his fears and his SPD. I have Wolverine with this ADHD and all the screaming and mood swings and just horrible things that come out of his mouth sometimes. At the tail end of all of this I have my sweet PigPen, who struggles with speech just getting someone to understand anything that comes out of her mouth can create a screaming fit throwing meltdown that sets off everyone else in the house. She's got some aspie qualities in there but its mostly the speech that all of a sudden has become more of a issue.

So I sit here day in and day out, trying to figure out a game plan, trying to get through one more day. To reach the end of it so I can maybe sleep? Maybe spend some time with the man I love and father of my children.

So lets just on top of all that, throw in there the bullshit issues with the insurance company, the issues with the school district we've been having. The possibility of being homeless in 30 days, losing the pets cause we can't take them to an apartment.

I wake up to this everyday, its my life and I embrace it with every ounce of my body. But today I thought about something, I thought about how its not just me that goes through this. Its not just my everyday crap its someone elses everyday crap. I embrace those who like me have no where to turn but our blogs and our online support groups. I may be surrounded by family and friends but the other day when I was filling out job applications I couldn't count on one hand all the local friends I might have to use as a reference. That makes me sad, it actually makes me cry.

In this world of autism its become very lonely, the one person the other adult who understands our daily struggles is so overwhelmed with the same issues that when bedtime finally comes for us its crash and burn time.

I can say with great honesty that my online friends are the ones who get me through. The support of my parents when I let them in to all that we go through, is what helps.

This blog post has made me cry more then I actually wanted to....but I needed to write this. If not for me then for all the others who struggle in silence, alone. Know that you are not alone....

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ban My Children?!!

You know I was going to come up with something catchy and funny before I started my rant.....but fuck that. It wouldn't be real, cause all I want to do is say WHAT THE FUCK is wrong with people? Maybe its society, uptight single people, DINKS (dual income no kids) and btw who the FUCK came up with that? You are so special you have to come up with your own acronym? Don't we all feel so special now?

But here's the thing, banning kids from ANYWHERE it seems like now is only going to raise a generation of children who don't know how to behave in public. That is the first thing that runs through my head, we send kids to school to learn and to experience the social atmosphere. So if they start to become banned from certain things how is that helping anyone?

Are you wondering what I'm talking about? Have you read this? Go read it...tell me what you think? Its actually the second article that has come out more recently about children being banned. You can't tell me that "oh that will never happen" BULLSHIT cause its happening RIGHT NOW!

I won't even throw in the special needs card cause that would see redundant. But what about those kids? The ones who will "look" like every other child but have autism. Do I have to start carrying around his IEP so I can explain that he's not just a brat but he has a problem.

Cause here's the thing, if I use the special needs card you need to think about this. With the numbers already at 1-110, and those numbers rising and the fact that it doesn't include all the kids who don't have a Dx, that just means there is a whole generation of kids out there who will be banned for no reason other then society saying, "your loud, you cry and scream, you look like a spoiled brat, your parents are no good, and we don't like you."

Is that what we want to say to our kids? Shouldn't we be raising a generation of kids who care about other people? This isn't going to happen if the previous one is telling them they are hated. 

So in all of this I have one thing to say to those DINKS the ones who think they are better then families. The ones who think they have more rights cause they have more money to spend.

I have seven kids, and if I have to raise them all to be doctors or people in power, you remember my children and all the ones you choose to disregard with your want to have silence....They will be the ones caring for you, running things when YOU get old. I wouldn't want to be the one who pissed off a generation of banned children and their parents...cause the future might just be a lil bleak.


Saturday, July 23, 2011

The YuckMouth Family is Being Displaced

Strange how everything can change in a split second, what you thought would last doesn't and then you are left holding the cards to this new strange life you never thought you'd have.


I can say I'm a strong person, I can handle stress to a point and that point is far off. Then the world collapsed on my life and I don't know what to do with the pieces. Sounds dramatic right? Yesterday we found out the landlord up and sold the house we were renting without letting us know. The new owners came over and told us that the sale was closing next week. They are giving us 30-45 days to move out, also giving us moving money and not making us pay rent while we lived there. As I stood there and talked to this couple the bottom fell out from beneath me, I just stood there is shock. When they finally left it turns out that I was outside talking to them for 20 minutes, it didn't even feel like that. But I just lost it, where were we going to go? What about the kids and the fact that they start school in 30 days? I couldn't believe it and I couldn't speak.

I'm really at a loss for words, with all the insurance drama I'm going through. Can't find a Speech therapist for Racer, Wolverine is in the middle of a timeline for his evaluation for ADHD, and the rest of the kids?

The shock of it all comes and goes....then I think about things like what about the dogs? I think about having to start off all over again with a new district and services for the boys...will that be a good thing? Most of all I think where the hell are we going to go? It was hell looking for a place to live with the last move and we were minus the two youngest. I can't even think about not finding a place or even being homeless....will it get to that?

For now we have 30-45 days

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Bath Time = Hell?

Bath time....it happens in homes every where around the country. But not everywhere in the country have a household like mine. Most of the time this is what even the word "bath time" invokes




Now just times that by 3 with a boy picture and you've got what bath time is like at my house. Usually leaves me and the kids wanting to lay in the fetal position like this...



BUT NOT TODAY!!

Not quite sure what happened I didn't do anything different. Picked up the first crying, screaming child, did my usual "its gonna be fine" speech. But here is where it changed....dumb butt mommy left the shower head running and didn't plug the tub, lucky for me I have a slow drain so most of the water was catching. For some reason this comforted PigPen and she got it, even played with the water from the shower....WET HER HAIR EVEN! I was amazed, came time to wash her hair she was more then happy to. Racer comes strolling in acting like Mr. Tough Guy and I think he even stood dumbfounded himself cause then HE wanted to get in with the shower running. That coming from the kid who won't even enter the room when the shower is running! I call this a success! May never happen again but I'm gonna bask in this silence that is after bath time.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

The Monster Mommy ~~~ Blog Hop!

I have a friend....and in my line of work she is one of the few that I trust with my soul. If I had the money I would drop everything and pack up the YuckMouths and go live near her. She of course is the Monster Mommy you can read all about her and the Monsters over at   Living With Logan.

So here is the deal....this mom, woman, super hero in mommy clothes does loads of stuff for others and is pretty much selfless in my book. Remember up there where I said I would drop everything for her!! Yea I would and she would do that and has for a lot of people I know. Do you ever wonder what you could do for her? Well here it is..... help her get to BlogHer! Read about  The Momma Project !

Its pretty much the end all be all for mommy bloggers!

Not only could all the information she'd get help her make her awesome blog rock more then it already does I have it on good word that she's willing to share what she learns with the rest of us! Plus since we both share the same amount of kids I know she could use the break!

I also got word tonight that an anonymous  donor is willing to match up till she reaches her money to get there. So from now until Friday night any money she makes will be matched! Plus this great giving mommy is donating any money that she makes over her amount to HollyRod and 4 Paws For Ability! You can't tell me that isn't selfless! I dare you to try!

So what can you do to help? Donate! Can't donate, blog about it, tweet about it, paste it all over facebook and all the other social sites you belong to!

I'm making this a blog hop to link all the great bloggers who are helping on this Monster Mommy project! I hope you can link up too or spread the word for her!







Wednesday, June 29, 2011

My Heartbreak

I've never claimed to be a good mom or even a great mom...I try my best and if that doesn't work I try again. I've been a mom for 15years almost now, I've never asked for a break or threw up my hands and said "I'm done". I've been a single mom before and raised my oldest kids without their dad for their entire lives. My oldest is 15 and I can say that he's never spent more then one year of their lives with him. I don't fault him for that anymore, he just couldn't handle it. I've never asked him for a dime and he's never given me one in return. I love my kids and I would have have done anything for them.

Recently my oldest has taken to wanting to go live with his dad, I've put it off for a whole year but its neverending begging  for him. A few weeks ago I relented and we started the process of finding his dad. (yes the man who he wants to live with so badly isn't even someone I have contact with) When we did get in contact with him of course he was over the moon about his son wanting to live with him. The following conversations between me and his father did not go so well and I didn't feel comfortable one bit letting him go. I put my foot down finally and decided it wasn't a good idea, cut to HUGE drama scene. Now he wants his dad to take him to court so he can say he wants to live with him and the judge will agree.

But here is what I don't understand.

Whats wrong with me? Why aren't I good enough? I get the whole golden mystery of his dad but why does he have to go all the way to AZ to figure that out. I sit here and it runs over and over in my head, I just don't understand it. Why are I just not good enough?

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Countdown

So I don't know how it works in other neighborhoods but I live in the ghetto and around here the 4th of July starts a little early. LIKE A FUCKING MONTH EARLY!! Used to be fun, I LOVE the 4th but not so much in the last 3yrs. At first it was just him hiding in the house, but at least we could go out and still enjoy them. Then one year he burned himself on a sparkler and then it was GAME OVER!  The next year we opted to stay home can't remember if we were broke or what cause buying fireworks is damn expensive.

*mini rant*  If I wanted to spend over a hundred dollars on something it wouldn't be fireworks...might as well just lite the money on fire.

Anyways we stayed home rented some movies and the daddy bbq it was awesome. I'd thought we'd be pretty safe at home since my city doesn't allow fireworks but I was wrong. I didn't count on the neighbors making it rain outside like a strip club on speed. So my kids begged and dragged me outside to see, and Racer being who he is wants to do what their doing and went out too. I don't even think we made it halfway down our sidewalk when the first firework went off when I just see a streak of Racer running back up the street, up our driveway and hear the door slam. That was a total bust and we spent two months of not being able to go outside at night at all, that's how afraid he was. That wasn't just for him, it was all of us. I mean here it was summer and hot as hell in Cali and me and the daddy would be sitting outside relaxing when we'd hear the begging to come inside before something bad happened to us. We couldn't even be out late and get home when it was dark cause he would be freaking out in the stroller or the car.

So to say that I've been FREAKING OUT in the last month is a understatement. Even now I'm doing a face palm because I just realized why he's been so off the last few weeks. DUH MOM.

But this year I'm prepared, my droid plays netflix now and I got him a pair of soft headphones and he'll just be able to escape to movie land if it gets to much for him. I think I'm ok with staying home (for now), I really miss family bbq's but we're just not ready for it.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Legos, Star Wars, YouTube and Daddy.

I realize that sometimes its hard to bond with Racer. He either wants you to play his way or play the same game over and over again. One thing that has become his favorite is watching "how to" videos on Youtube, anywhere from how to play Angry Birds to movie trailers to how to play his favorite game. Another favorite of his is the Star War Lego games on the xbox. Basically he's in ASD heaven lol. Legos + Star Wars = zero meltdowns....at least till its time to turn it off.

Those of you who know me and the YuckMouth family know we are a gaming group. Me and the kids and the hubs all have accounts on the xbox, the kids have a Wii and we have a kinect. So the hubs has been on a quest to get 100% completion on this game....don't tell him but I think it because Racer and Wolverine have finished more of the game then he has.

Anyways there are a few sites online that you can get "hints" how to finish a level or collect all the mini kits to complete extra characters. Then it dawned on me to try Youtube...when all else fails go to YT!  So the hubs has been checking out the videos on there, I don't think Racer paid much attention to it at first till he noticed that daddy was getting passed him in the game. (I swear this family...to much competition) So now Racer and him are watching the videos together lol. The scene that has unfolded all day makes me smile cause they two of them are working together and bonding and I don't think either one of them realizes how big what they are doing is.

But here is my little boy who struggles to express himself and play with others, talking to his dad about what he sees on the computer. And here is the hubs talking to him about how to do this level or "look what we missed". Warms my little heart I even took a picture but looking at it just doesn't do it justice.

This are the moments we autism parents live for, no matter who short lived they are they were there to begin with and that's what matters.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Fathers Day ~ For Roy

I got to thinking about dads and Fathers Day and how over the years its dramatically changed for us. Most don't know that there was quite a period of time before the autism came to be. There would be movies and dinners out, extended shopping trips and theme parks almost every weekend. The change was slow to be sure, it happened over a time and then all of a sudden I almost didn't even remember when the last time we went out was.

But here it was on Fathers Day, when dads are out, parties are taking place and here we are at home. I have to give the YM daddy a lot of credit. Most don't know he used to work in the movie/tv industry, he's used to the hustle and bustle of the crowd. He's used to parties and hanging out with friends and family, and in a way we are all.

He takes it all in stride that both his sons are different. That there might not be sports and taking a interest in what he does. Instead its replaced by legos and therapy and meltdowns. All those hopes for the college football star are put aside for the hopes of words and peer play. The things that fathers take for granted with their own children aren't there for the YM daddy. But everyday he wakes up and he loves his kids no matter the differences. He's learned to play, interact and love differently.

I applaud him for being the man he is today and everyday because he is my rock, he is the kids rock. He should have his own theme song. So even though today is "Fathers Day" and we should be honoring the man that gave them life. I want to honor him everyday by being the father that most men aren't, that most men don't think about. The father that takes everyday in the world of autism and ADHD and he makes it his own. That he doesn't just love his kids he loves their differences.

Friday, June 17, 2011

In A Past Life

I swear I must have some evil karma coming my way, I must have in a past life stepped on a freaking ant or something. I can't understand how there could be NO speech therapy that is cover by my insurance in my local area!

I want to stab someone at Regional Center for even suggesting to me a place that Racer would age out of in two months! It will probably take me longer then that to get him in there! Which leads me right back to the school...why aren't they seeing what Regional Center saw? Why aren't either one of them seeing what UCLA saw? I don't get it....I mean I get that budget cuts and funding is low but WTF?

I will never get the answer for this but I want to know why Racer has had 3 different evaluations in a little over a year and all three of them are drastically different? I stare at them over and over again, retrace our steps in my head, bang my head on my keyboard and lay awake at night trying to understand a system that has been put into place for our kids but blocks them and covers their tracks in red tape.

I don't live in the land of help I live in the land of "pass the buck". Well fuck you I'm keeping my damn buck and investing it in my son and doing what I can since so many seem to tell me that they can't do anything.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Searching For Change

I really wanted to blog about how depressed I've become, how I think the system is failing my sons. But my story is not uncommon and any different then millions of other parents out there struggling to do the right thing for their kids. I suppose that I could sit here and wallow in self pity and depression, totally throw in the towel and call it a day. But acceptance has never been my strong suit, it has never been my position to roll over and take it laying down.

So now how do we (I) fix it? Where to begin? I thought my blog would be enough, that my daily posts would bring my voice to a much needed community. But it has brought my attention more to the fact that there are so many out there like myself, begging and pleading for anyone to listen. Taking the small handouts of help in the hopes that its enough. Taking the snide and callous remarks of other parents and teachers and officials regardless of the right and wrong of it. Most of us take it, we smile and we push on in the hopes that maybe next year someone will listen. Meanwhile our kids sit quietly in the corner, or behave in a way that makes them look like the aggressor.

When will that change?

Friday, May 27, 2011

Never Again Part 2

I've never doubted the power of just one person....one voice can make millions listen sometimes. In my case it has been my loud momma bear one. I hate being "that" person, I hate my kids being "that" person but sometimes it just has to be that way.

Since the 24th its been somewhat of a whirlwind of events and missed appts, trying to fix things for Wolverine. But since that date I have also been able to secure him to be looked at by the special needs team. I wasn't breathing easy since then but I felt like at least something was now being done. Yesterday he was home from school for a doc appt so it was a fairly quiet day considering. Of course the random out burst and meltdowns over the most simplest things but that has become fairly routine with us.

This morning was no different, he woke up yelling and screaming about going to school but he gets dressed and begrudgingly walks to school. Around 11am I get a call because Wolverine has walked out of class for the second time today and now he needs to be picked up. I didn't have the willpower to want to struggle with him again so I sent the Daddy to go get him. Now we live maybe 10 mins from the school but he was gone for a whole hour! I figured he was talking to the school VP about Wolverine but I was sadly mistaken. Apparently the YM daddy got his workout for the morning chasing him around the school to come home, then having to carry him off school grounds to come home, then chase him the 10 min walk home. Now it gets bad in my house...broken toys and ripped books, broken doors and ducking from flung items BUT this!..its never been that bad.  *sigh*

The irony of all of this...the school VP tells the hubs that now he understands what we've been talking about all year long.

To this I say  (if you don't like cussing you should stop reading now)




FUCK YOU! Fuck you for telling me that it was a behavior parental problem! Fuck you for ever doubting that I didn't know what was going on with my OWN FUCKING SON! Fuck you for judging me as some over zealous parent! And finally FUCK YOU for thinking that now I can ever respect you as a school official, YOU dropped the ball and my son has suffered all year long because you lagged! FUCK YOU!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Never Again.

As a parent I make a lot of mistakes....its natural I accept it and move on. No one is perfect and if you are then suck it! But this past week has made me question my trust of other people, those who are in charge of  children's lives including my own. But lets start at the beginning here.....

My son Wolverine is 7 going to be 8 next week, he's my linebacker my crusher with a soft spot. I love him to bits and pieces. He's got this smile that melts hearts....here's proof



But behind that endearing smile and chubby cheeks is the ADHD monster. At first it was just problems at home, made me question my sanity at times. The mood swings the meltdowns the neverending energy and then the crash at bedtime.

Kinder was a breeze for him but I found out he had a "yeller" for a teacher. At first I thought it was a lil harsh for a kinder teacher yelling at all those lil kids but as I would soon realize its what Wolverine needed. Cut to 1st grade and this is when all the problems started now of course we were already having them at home but now it was showing up at school. The teacher he had was wishy washy, I couldn't stand her! I'm sure that she was well meaning and wonderful for other kids but I was going through my gruff stage when I needed/wanted things done and needed a strong person to keep up. I had at this time suggested to them perhaps testing but due to cuts they now have a process where they try to use intervention first instead of testing. I was ok with that at first, it was towards the end of the school year and I thought that maybe with a new teacher things would improve.

This year has literally been hell on earth....I don't always talk about Wolverine as much because I just don't know what I'm doing half the time. He's a whirlwind of emotions and rage and tears, its a scary process sometimes watching him go through all of that. This year we got what I thought was a godsend of a good Vice Principal who was willing to work with Wolverine one on one. He took him under his wing and things "seemed" to get better. But this is when the notes and calls started, all that took place needs to be another blog because its just so much.

So we'll jump to this week.....Now those of you who I talk to in IRL know a lil bit about Wolverine and how he's been the destroyer of classrooms and books and how his teacher ripped up his Easter basket and the crazy bitch that she is. Well I find out that yesterday he spent all day out of his classroom and refused to go inside. I found this out from my daughter...not the school or his teacher. To say that I was livid is describing it as nice as possible. I went off on this guy! Asked him if it was NOW time to test Wolverine....and STILL he said it wouldn't be a good idea. I ranted to him again about how everything he was already doing with him would and shouldn't be considered special needs services. This man is basically his shadow! To where he replies to me the words that I will never ever forget....."well have to done a written request to have him tested?" It dawned on me that no matter how well meaning this guy is that he did not have Wolverines or my best interest at heart. He is a school official and has budget and costs ingrained into him, of course all the other times I requested testing he would say no. He has to see that Wolverine has a problem but refuses to do whats right for whatever reason.

So today I served them with written notice requesting testing I know by law we at least have to have an assessment plan in place before the end of the school year. I refuse to let my judgement as a parent get clouded over someone who seems well meaning anymore. Everyone has their own agenda we all just hope its the same as ours.

Lesson learned.....but NEVER AGAIN