I am a SAHM of 4, two of my boys have autism spectrum disorder. Caleb is 8, 9 in May. He has ASD, ADHD, and is delayed. Age equivalent, about 6-7yo. Gabe is 7. He has ASD, and mild-mod. mental retardation. Age equivalent, 2 1/2 - 3yo. Lots of tantrums, lots of crying.
Our day starts at 6 am. I get the kids up, and get the 2 boys dressed, this almost always results in at least 1 meltdown from Gabe. The other 2 kids dress themselves. Then I get Caleb(usually by bribery) to take his meds. FUN, not! Usually they are all dressed by 7 am, and are eating breakfast. Not always a "mom approved" breakfast, but somethings gotta give somewhere. 7:20 or so, out the door, another meltdown, this time about how he doesnt want to be buckled in. Mom wins, he is buckled and he proceeds to cry, kick, and scream the WHOLE drive to school. First we drop off the older 3, cause they all go to the same school. James(10), makes sure that anything that needs to be done(ie lunch money, teacher note, etc.) gets done. Wait and watch for them to go in, wave bye and all that jazz. Then it's off to Gabe's school( a whole 5 blocks away)! We sit for a few minutes,still crying, and I get to listen to the whole I dont wanna go, teachers mean, not feeling good..... and suddenly, he stops, because he saw his (only) friend, so then we go up to the school, with him glued to me, and stand there to wait for the bell to ring. Seems like it takes forever, but the bell finally rings, and it's time to go in. Now we play "pass the kid" as I try to get away and get him to go in. Yeah right, like that's gonna happen! So in we go, and I help him off with his coat, and his boots, and we work together to get his shoes on. Then I hand him his coat and book bag, and tell him to hang it up. As he does, I sneak out the door. Sliding out the door, I hear, where's mommy? And I hope he gets busy in class and doesn't think about it. I go and do everything I need to get done during the day, with my cell phone always on, in case the kids need me. And before I know it, it's time to get to the school and find a parking spot before they're all gone. The kids all get out at the same time, but the older ones can manage the 2 block walk to grandmas house. I pick Gabe up, and ask the teacher how his day was. Then we pick up the other kids, usually before they make it to grandma's(slow walker, easily distracted, chatting with friends). We take a few minutes to chat about school (insert meltdown here, this time because, apparently, we are only allowed to talk about how HIS day went, which was according to him BAD), and take an extra loop around the neighborhood before we head back across town. Home to do homework. Caleb has spelling words to write, Caitlin has a booklet to read and have signed, James has Math and Reading. Gabe has to color a picture(which of course, means another meltdown, can't find the color he wants, doesn't want to do it, who knows, we just try to get thru it). After that we start dinner, and the younger 2 boys play xbox, Lego Star Wars(more fighting, because "I the green light saber guy"). Dad is home by 4:30, and dinner is done by 5. Sound good so far?? Ok, cause the days only 3/4 over. James' turn to play xbox (Caitlin doesn't usually want to play), and the whole time Gabe's whining because "I wanna play" and how it's not fair. At least that argument is age appropriate! 7pm and time to start winding down. Easier said than done. Time for jammies(and the meltdowns continue, because apparently someone put his only *favorite* pair of jammies in the wash, never mind that he's got a gazillion other pairs, it's gotta be these or nothing!). The kids get ready for bed, and get their clothes out for school. I get out Gabe's and Caleb's and approve the other kids (You know what I mean, "No you can't wear shorts its 30 degrees out" and that kind of stuff). 8:30 is bedtime. Get the kids in bed, Gabe settled on the couch with the TV off. If he is put in his bed, he will scream for hours. I know, we've tried for the past 7 years. About 9 or 9:30, he passes out. Wait a few and then CAREFULL, ever so quietly, slip him into his bed, and wait a sec to make sure he's out. Watch the news, change over the load of laundry, quick do dishes, and HOPEFULLY he's still sleeping when I make it to bed about 12 or so. Wake up about 2 am when he sneaks upstairs to our room and climbs into our bed. Wake again at 3, when Daddy gets up to get ready for work, and still awake at 4 when he leaves. Then I pass back out till the darn alarm wakes me at 6am. This is just a regular day, some days are longer, more crazy, hectic, whatever you wanna call them. But it's my life, my every day psycho whirlwind kinda thing. And after a while, you don't even notice the weirdness, the tantrums, meltdowns and what have you. It just seems like it's normal. And it is, it's normal for me.
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My Mother-in-Law Is a Crapburger
- bamsmom2001
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