17 January 2011

Answers to YOUR Questions

Bonnie asked me about grocery expenses and how much are diapers here? Well, depending on how much "tandy" I want to give Woodjie for peeing in the toilet, and how many bowel movements everyone has that week (I know, TMI), I spend somewhere between $25 and $35 a week in diapers. I keep looking at the cloth diapers and thinking I could pay upfront and save A LOT. But... somehow, that would be like admitting that Woodjie is not going to learn to go potty. Um, cognitive dissonance here. Not to mention that I deal with enough poop without the diaper washing and rinsing and eeew stuff.

So in answer to your question on poop, Lisa, I have no idea. NO idea. With some of my older autistic children, who were able to speak and understand language, I gave them a little taste of vinegar I dabbed my finger in when they pooped their pants and TWO chocolates when it went on the potty. But you need to have that little success to "build on." How to do that? Well, you know the signs before the kid poops and pop him on the toilet reallly fast. But what am I saying? We've never had it happen for Woodjie. Or Rose, just yet, but I'm not worried about her in that area *yet.* I can't see myself punishing a child I don't think fully understands yet... and that would be Woodjie, big boy that he is. That would be mean to punish someone who doesn't understand.

Wilma and Blondee, I have to tell you that I do NOT have meal plans. Things are terribly chaotic at the house. They are super-adrenaline chaotic on many days. I am on dog paddling and keeping my nose above water mode. So, each week, D will come home from work via Sam's Club and buy mega popcorn chicken, mega pizza rolls, mega Pop Tarts and whatever else is on the "list." We sort of cycle between the same six or seven meals and when we run out of something, we buy more.

Eating almost nothing but bulk foods keeps expenses down a LOT. And did you know that Oreos are milk-free? So is Hunt's Lemon Pudding. Don't let the pictures of milk on the packaging fool you! Thankfully, Emperor and Woodjie are not deathly allergic to milk and eggs. If I make a mistake and they eat "trace amounts," it's ok. I just try to avoid doing that with most things.

Deb... on the glasses... they stay nice and unbroken if they are unworn. G needs glasses, but refuses to wear them. So do Elf and Emperor. I don't know how I'm going to get them to wear them for school later. And not to mention, a good deal of the reason WHY Emperor and Elf refuse to wear glasses is that Woodjie breaks them for fun, and then Emperor and Elf get into trouble for getting too close or whatever. It isn't always their fault because sometimes Woodjie sneaks up behind. I just see big dollar signs leaving the house whenever it happens. There are so many things I wish I could fix. SO so many dysfunctional things. This is a tiny one. Not enough energy to teach the kid to quit busting stuff. I can tell he plans it for times I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT go and get him into trouble. He just knows.

Tracy, my husband and I met in college. I'm not sure who introduced us, but we had many of the same friends and lived in the same dorm building freshman year. Here's a post with our pic!

OK, that's all I have in the public comment section. Have some doozies in the email... I think I'm gonna wait on those...

5 comments:

  1. Happy Elf Mom- I have NO idea how you stay sane and keep going day to day. It can't be easy, I know, I know...the things you do out of love, but man oh man, you have so much all at once on a day to day basis. I admire your drive and your ability to 'keep your head above water'. Kudos to you. I'd be in the corner hiding. No joke.

    Patrick sounds hilarious with the whole pedophile/freeloader comments. I seriously laughed out loud and my husband asked what I was reading. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, i never knew he would be so resistant towards the camera ... he is in A TON of my videos and LIKES being in them ... I guess because your his mom and i'm his friend, thats different.

    Thanks for trying, hehehe, i know asking was *ahem* kinda hazardous already, oh well.

    On a seperate note, why would he think i am a pedophile? I'm a perfectly normal individual. I just like blogs being more interactive. Adding pics, vids, links, ect.. make blogs more fun for both the blogger and the reader. At least, i try to make my blog that way (with some comical stuff in the mix).

    I know blogs are all about writing and reading, but i think Patrick is kinda loopy. I mean, just read his blog (case in point). Game, Set, Match! lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. Blondee, I do go to the corner and hide frequently. I am a regular person in an extraordinary situation and I don't always hold up well. Neither am I totally incompetent... but... I do understand it can look that way to outsiders.

    I do the best I can.

    Zachary, you know how Patrick is. He likes to say stuff to be controversial. Being as you are the same age, the worst that could be said is that you were gay. And note he never accused you of that? He just wants to be controversial and shock people.

    I know, the kid is all over your blog jumping on people and acting weird but can I take his picture??? UM, no.

    And we paid $1500 for half his trip to China, and can I post those pics on my blog?? Um, no.

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  4. Hey, Good luck with potty training the youngest two of your kids, I am going through a hard time and I just have the one, and he doesn't have enough language to explain things, but I know he will with hold while on the potty, even if you sneak him on there really quick. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nikki aka Widdle ShamrockJanuary 19, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Hey Mrs C,

    I love your honesty. Some of the craziness sounds like some of the craziness we have here. No food allergies, but sensory stuff.

    ReplyDelete

Non-troll comments always welcome! :)

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