The fine line

 I started to write a post last night and really share my heart on some struggles and then the sarcastic side of me just took over as I replayed some of the days events in my head and imagined Cruz's future. To break things down for those that are new... Cruz needs structure. Not just structure, a ton of structure. Plus sensory stimulation and adrenaline. Oh and well constant supervision to keep him off of fences, out of the street, clothed and within view. Ever wonder what it was like for Evil Kneival's mom as he grew up? I can imagine those conversations cause I'm pretty sure they are about the same as the ones in our house. You can't help but watch some of those freaks, sorry, 'people' like that guy that just walked a tight rope over Niagra Falls without wondering what is wrong with them. Really, I glanced over ocassionally out of my periferal vision while it was on tv and listened to comentators discuss his desire for adrenaline. "What would make someone want to do this?" I can't fully answer that question right now but for 5 million dollars I would let you start a home study with Cruz to watch him try the same thing at home. Sure, the top bar across the swings is no Niagra Falls, unless you are 3 feet tall and weight 30 pounds. That's right just got back from the Neurologist, still only 30 pounds. Plus add to that little adventure being naked, which ups the danger factor for anyone. Oh and how about every now and then trying it with eyes closed. No lie. We can even throw the sprinkler underneath for the added effect.
I would like to think that I will be like Michael Phelps mom someday. Sitting in the stands wearing a t-shirt with my child's face on it, cheering him on as he channels all of that wild energy into accomplishing a life long goal. I could go ahead and wear the shirt now and cheer on the side but it would probably scar him for life. Mrs. Phelps would cry after each swim and during each interview recalling how her son had issues similar to Autism and overcame all odds. I watch the men's gymnastics team and listened to the crowd cheer at their amazing ability to commit to running jumping and throwing their body throught the air to land without breaking a bone. Sure its amazing but let me remind you they are trained and on a spring board floor. How about trying it barefoot on gravel, and of course naked. I watch them attempt the pommel horse and laugh imagining how that event first started. Most of these things had to have been dares between friends. Its easy to imagine the origin of swimming and track races. That concept doesn't really twist your mine. But the pommel horse? That's a different story. I imagine two men long ago, pick a century it probably doesn't even matter, standing by their horses. 'Watch this. I can mount my horse, hold both sides of the saddle and spin around on my hands.' 'Oh yeah, I can do a handstand on the saddle and then flip off.' Before you know it a crowd has gathered and their wives roll their eyes. I can probably google it and set my mind at ease but its way more fun to imagine. Or maybe it was two dudes and a barbed wire fence. 'Bet you can't hold these two fence posts and spin as fast as you can without shredding your legs and bleeding to death.' 'Challenge accepted'. All I know is that Cruz would have been one of those two guys. Here, maybe if I stack trucks, sticks, rocks, and a book like the leaning tower of pisa I can climb on it, balance on one foot, and then in an act of complete defiance rip off my diaper and throw it at my mom just like the true animal I am. He is already setting himself up pretty nicely for the high bar, parallel bar, uneven bars and our shins can attest to that. If you come by our house, don't prop your feet up on anything unless you are prepared for a small fast moving blur to run at you and flip over your leg and give it a good Indian burn.
"Oh wow, Lindsey are you anemic?" "Oh no, the bruises are from my son, thanks."
There is that fine line between daring and stupid. You watch those youtube videos and cringe when you watch teens attempt really dumb things like jumping off of a roof, skating behind a car, etc. I used to roll my eyes at those videos and laugh. Now its like looking at a crystal ball and I cringe. Yes, yes, he's still so young surely he will out grow some of these crazy things. I'm sure that's what Evil Kneival's mom said, and David Blaine's, and probably Mrs. Wallenda. I probably should've googled first to see if she was a member of the act. 'Yes, don't worry Mrs. Kneival, he's just a toddler. This is just a phase. He can't have the desire for speed and adrenaline forever' Don't you think Mrs. Blaine's mom wondered when would lock him self in a shoe box and try to break out of it at age 2? I don't have to wonder because Cruz did that yesterday. Yep, found a tupperware storage container and hid in it for thirty minutes trying to lock the lid on top. If you decide to sit on the floor in our home for any reason, you must be prepared for this one because it will catch you off guard. Cruz will suddenly climb up your back and try to stand on your head and balance, like a totem pole. I wonder how early they accept applicants at Cirque du Soleil. I hope we can harness this and send him to the Olympics in 2028 on the gymnastics team or the swimming team. Of course he may be better fitted for the winter Olympics. The luge seems right up his alley. He is more of a one man team after all and he would like the deep pressure of the suit. We will probably try it this winter down our street if we get a good snow. "Here son, let me pour this EVOO all over you and push you down the hill, just keep your head down." I wonder how that one originated. Probably was an accident when Mr. Luge was working under his carriage in the winter. Oil spilled all over him and he shot like a rocket down a hill and around the village. Everyone gathered to watch. His wife probably was standing there ready to remind him what a loser he was when the crowd erupted in applause and cheering and other men formed a line to try it. Like I said, there is a fine line between daring and stupid. Sure he's cute now when you see those little naked cakes running down the street with a helmet on, bent on speed and destruction, hopping chain link fences and banging on your front door asking for candy and gum. In thirty years you would call the police and lock your doors.... stay tuned for the next adventure. Tomorrow is the 4th of July... this will be interesting.


This is a disclaimer. We love the Olympics and are of course amazing by the talent yet we are not sponsored by them to mention them in our blog and have no intent of using their names, images, and logos for monetary gain. Especially since we have 120 people regularly tuning in from other countries around the world. This is purely a sarcastic attempt to process through daily drama and laugh instead of cry.

The latest...

In an ongoing never ending attempt to stimulate the senses and provide a rush of adrenaline, my little Mowgli (Jungle Book, for those of you that don't know-- i.e. my husband) will try just about anything. This summer alone I've already had to pull him off the top bar that the swings hang from and rescue him a few times from the chain link fence that his shorts got caught on while he attempted to jump it. The following pictures capture events that occured in less than 24 hours. 

Above, he tried to squeeze between the narrow tree limbs and below he rolled around in a tub of birdseed as he does now on a daily basis.

Not sure if anyone else has ever tried to climb a Rose of Sharon Shrub, but this kid did

He has been a handful the last few weeks... Hence the lack of posting on my part. We are planning on meeting with the Pediatric Neurologist in 2 weeks to re-evaluate our current situation. Over the last few weeks he has tried to 'escape' and run away almost every day. I have caught him naked on the loose more times than I can count.
Yesterday, I had been playing with the kids in the backyard for a couple of hours when I walked inside momentarily to use the restroom. Upon my return I found Wren playing quietly alone on the screened porch. I immediately had a dropping feeling in my stomach. I raced out the screened porch to find a wagon pulled up next to the gate. "Franklin, where's Cruz?" I asked the giant dog. He replied only by staring intently out the gate. As I looked over towards the gate I saw a t-shirt, shorts, and then a diaper. That crazy little dude stripped down naked before hopping the fence. I ran out front and looked up and down the street. Nothing, no sign, no kid, I couldn't hear anything. Wren and Frank slowly walked out behind me. Some help they were. "Frank, where's Cruz, go find him" Frank layed down on the ground and rolled over. "Wren where did Cruz go?" Nothing. She was pre-occupied with her tricycle that was still in the garage. I ran up and down the street. "CRUZ???" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "Cruz say 'HERE'... CRUZ , WHERE ARE YOU?" My eyes darted back and forth. I saw a postal worker at the end of the cul-de-sac and ran towards her. "Excuse me, have you seen a little boy running around?"
"Yes,"she replied. "I think I saw one run that way".
I ran inside to grab my shoes and threw Wren into the stroller so that we could sprint around the block to find him. As we took off running towards the end of the street I heard the Postal worker yell, "Here he is, I found him!"

He had gone across the street to a neighbors, opened their gate to their backyard, gone into their back yard and was trying to climb their fence into their neighbors yard to see their dogs.

Seriously??
"Did you not hear mommy yelling your name?" He had no idea that he was in the wrong. I was livid. Then to make it worse, he made me chase him. For like 20 minutes. It's one thing to make me mad, it's another to make me chase you. The whole 'hide behind a car/tree/fountain/ anything to make me chase you really REALLY REALLY REALLY makes me mad. This has happened literally 5 times in the last two weeks. Needless to say we are going to order some kind of I.D. bracelet and hopefully implement some new behavioral strategies.

Friends

As soon as we knew that Cruz had special needs, we knew we wanted to do more to get involved in the community. We weren't exactly sure what that looked like but we knew God had big plans for the little guy. We knew we were given this little guy to learn from him and in turn help others and give back. It's amazing to think of all of the times Cruz has pushed my buttons, how drained I have felt, and how I longed for some type of program that might help be another outlet for him. It's amazing to see how God stirred it in our hearts and immediately brought people into our lives like Deb Fusek and Brooke Allen. In just two weeks the first ever Superstars program will begin. This summer program for special needs kids will focus on social skills and preparing kids for the classroom. 

It’s amazing to think of how many families are going to be blessed, how many kids, siblings, and parents are going to be able to grow and connect. It’s not just the kids with special needs that will benefit from this program. Their siblings will greatly benefit as they are learning how to share, play, and exchange with other kids. Their future classrooms will and peers will benefit as a foundation is being layed for appropriate behavior. Parents will benefit not only watching their child grow, and continue to work on listening skills but will have a chance to meet other parents and connect with them in ways that only parents can.

When you finally realize that your child has special needs one of the first things you wonder about is the quality of life that your child will have. Everyone wants their child to fit in, to make friends, to be able to sit in the classroom with their peers, to be able to participate in extracurricular activities. Everyone remembers the triumphs of our youth. Whether its playing with friends on the playground, playing sports, being a play, riding bikes, swimming…. Everyone wants their child to be able to do these types of things. It is this type of class, this type of therapy that will help set them up for success.

The Superstars program is being created to fill a gap in services offered in our community.  There is no other Social Skills and Movement class offered in our area for this age group of 3-7 year olds.  This is a very important window of time in the development of children.  The children's faces you see in the pictures below are some of those who will enjoy the lasting impact of the Superstars program. This type of program would normally be out of reach since most insurance plans do not cover developmental disabilities, leaving many families to struggle to pay out of pocket. This is why POINT Performing Arts partnered up with The Reach Effect to take in donations to lower the cost to families....

Disney World

There are few places on earth that have seemed so magical to me as Disney. No matter my age or state of mind I have been able to escape, let down, and enjoy myself. I'm not sure how many times I've actually been but I can probably credit my previous visits as a child with the influence to be a theater major. This however was my first time to go with kids, with 5 kids under the age of 7, to be exact. My usual excitement was mixed with natural anxiety as I wasn't sure what to expect of the two plane rides, nap times, long lines, and total sensory overload... for all the kids and even myself. Left to forego my usual selfish tendencies to ride the thrill rides and satisfy my own whims, I prepared myself to wait in incredibly long lines to receive a hug from adults dressed up as cartoon characters. Looking down from 10,000 feet it is probably really hilarious. Our first morning we attended a character breakfast. As soon as Minnie walked in my kids flipped out. Wren was screaming in excitement and practically elbowed her way across the room just to touch the mouse. Cruz mirrored her excitement and I knew the trip was going to be amazing. There was truly something magical about the mouse.

Taking a prime position for all of the parades was well worth the 45 minute wait. All of the kids jumped up and down, waved, and yelled to get a look from Woody, Buzz, or any of the Disney characters whether they actually knew who they were or not.

The kids got their faces painted, watched live stage shows, and the little ones even got to ride a few rides.

Because Cruz is a sensory seeker, he craves constant stimulation, he was in heaven. He was never lacking adrenalin or excitement. There was constant, noise, visual stimulation, special treats, rides, you name it. When nap time rolled around we simply reclined the stroller and let them crash out. At times they'd have to cry it out but you never really noticed the volume of their cry above the roar of the crowd. My little adrenalin junkies loved the rides, even Pirates of The Caribbean. They would have gone on any ride that they were tall enough to go on. They had a blast, especially with their cousins being around all week. There was never a dull moment... literally. Even if we were back at the hotel the kids were non stop until they fell asleep. It will be fun to do this again when the smallest ones are 40 inches so that they can ride all of the rides!