All in a Day's Quirks

Sharing a silly, fun holiday greeting...

http://www.art.com/products/p14764912-sa-i3569114/steven-johnson-strummin-blues.htm

A friend brought up the Blues Brothers movie today, which got me humming my favorite blues performers.  I couldn't wait to get the kids tucked in to listen to some deep rhythms, tap my toes, sway my hips.  It's called the blues; which defined is feeling low, depressed, cold... Funny, I experience it soulful, energizing and hot!  A few of my favorites...













Otis Redding, imagine the soulful songs that went down with him in his early death.


Love this scene from Pretty in Pink, a great date movie from my youth






































Hope you enjoyed it.  Now I can call it up and watch, listen and dance any time I'm feeling "blue"...

Had to share this 2009 UK ad campaign for autism early intervention that I just discovered by chance.  Simple, quick, engaging.  Dramatic message, riveting images, hard-hitting without being depressing.  Check it out here:

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/treehouse-talk-about-autism/

Brilliant!

"I'm thankful for my desk that we gave to Uncle S today. 

And...I'm thankful for my life." 

So autistically abstruse: a mundane, irrelevant thought followed by the profound.  I'm forever astounded by G and his enlightened words.  We are all blessed by his life.

Thank you Lord for my gifts of family, friends, love, laughter, creativity and the pursuit of knowledge.

Eyes on Google: fun new ad campaign

...can we get a plumber?

I LOVE these gurgles!


Holiday greetings - feeling the stress yet?


We've all fast-forwarded through someone's run-on messages...


Fab campaign - sure to delight!  Well done, Google Translate.

http://translate.google.com/

 
 

Check out Cheryl Piperberg's Gallery of colorful, playful images www.art.com/products/p12186521-sa-i1561550

G had school this morning instead of his usual afternoon time because Parent/Teacher conferences are this week.  Strange, but that's school for you.  So G's big sister M came outside with us while G watched the garbage truck in its full glory (bonus!).  She waited for a few minutes with us for his bus before heading off to her own.  She asked, "G, is your small bus going to pick you up this morning?"  He emphatically replied, "No!  Not the small bus, the big one!"  She wondered, "Oh, I thought you loved your bus!"  With a sweeping hand motion G explained, "I do, but it's growing bigger and bigger.  It's gonna be like yours someday."

Perfect metaphor for my G: enjoy the scenery while we wait for progress www.art.com/products/p964197353-sa-i4086731

 
We can only hope, little man. 

This is how Perky gets her Perk! http://www.art.com/products/p10397693-sa-i1058164

I forgot how wonderful it is to wave goodbye and settle in with a cup of java cuddled close in the morning. I can't remember the last time I was alone this early!  Take time to smell the coffee...ahhh.  I may not get a thing done...but I won't feel too guilty because I have a full day from noon on.  I dream that, but I hear the laundry calling as I type.  "Hey Lady!  Clean me, sort me, fold me!  I'm yours!"  


www.art.com/products/p10398611-sa-i1265647

Reality calls, but it was nice to post before midnight!  Espresso myself!

Enjoy your day's journeys.



Who says Sensory Diets have to be boring and sterile?  G the spinnin' machine on a gorgeous fall day




My 3 incredible kids....the positives that color my world.





 

M.C. Escher, Mind-Bending Visualist Extraordinaire



Oh darn, it's flying again!

Darn, I'm flying my freak flag again.  Sigh.  I believe that having a child with special needs makes parents prone to ADD (maybe just kids in general).   In fact, I think we're prone to many disorders, short-term, temporary, call it what you want.   I'd like to see a study on that...hold on, let me google that...OCD.  In my case, I'm constantly on alert with my son, who is always on the move and an accomplished escape artist.  I must keep 2-3 steps ahead of him mentally to foresee where he'll go and predict what he'll do.  So staying on subject in a conversation - merely completing a sentence - is not a priority.  His sensory-induced fight-or-flight response becomes mine as well....SPD.  My eyes are always on the prize, I'm in panic mode....ADHD.  I feel horribly rude when trying to listen to a friend while my eyes dart rapidly, punctuated by sharp intakes of breath, accelerating to calls, warnings, and many times a running panic and battle.  It's a wonder I catch any conversation at all, because when I do indulge, I feel like I'm endangering my son by not keeping total focus on him.  I endure mini nervous breakdowns several times a day...Panic Disorder...Anxiety Disorder....Social Phobia....  
At the end of each day when the kids are asleep, which is not always an easy feat for ASD kids; I crumble into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), reliving the frightening moments of the day, vivid flashbacks playing out, letting my fears of what may have happened bubble over.  Woulda coulda shoulda...OCD rearing its ugly tentacles again.  Sometimes my husband is unfortunate enough to still be awake.  I may be worked up and ready to vent instead of exhausted and ready to escape.  Pity the poor patient man.   While he's relaxing and trying to chill/unwind before bed after a stressful 12-15 hour day, I unload.  How does he keep from getting worked up too?  He works hard to counterbalance my emotional purging: anger, guilt, fright, pride, delight, wonder.  I struggle to differentiate his calm from detachment. 



Gotta google "Google Addiction" Is Google listed in the dictionary as a noun AND a verb?

  So I stay awake too late - researching, stressing, decompressing, reading or writing.  My attention flows between worries about my children, money, marriage, my miles-long list of must-dos, and friends/family who are going through rough times....Paranoia?  I pray, I worry, I cry, I laugh.  Sometimes all at once....Mania?  Depression?  Bi-Polar?  I need to cry, I love to laugh.  I try to find one thing funny or positive per day.  Usually it's several times an hour, some days I'm grasping to come up with just one.  That's life at DSM 4 Acronym Ave..


M. C. Escher

OK, so what was I talking about again?  Oh yeah, Mommy ADD.  Ha!  I figure I'm doing OK if I can keep my family's names straight, remember what day it is and keep schedules flowing, remember to defrost the chicken for dinner to keep stomachs full and gain/get my message across in necessary conversations, correspondence and business matters. 

Who am I and What have I done with myself?