Wait wait...

Emma-ism 

Emma has taken to saying wait wait... She does this usually with a hand motion or the index finger up and wagging. At times we find this highly annoying and react with the typical parent montage of "No, you ..." However, being us we usually react by mimicking her. Jim and I have even been known to say it to each other when the kids are no where around!

So the conversation might go like this:

Jim: Go brush your teeth and then we will go to the park. Grab a jacket.....(continue with instructions)

Movement, pause, turn, finger raised, interruption....
Emma: Wait wait...pause The track park, or a different park. Let's go to the track park!

Jim:  Wait wait....Yes the track park.

At this point I don't think she thinks it is odd to say wait wait all the time. I don't think it is a tic that we should worry about. She has said or used other expressions in the past and they typically phase out as she continues to grow. Lucie likewise did things like this, expressive one or two word statements that would have us laughing or smiling because it was too cute. We just don't want to forget about it so I had to write it down.

A little Crazy Today

I feel the urge to write today but I have very scattered thoughts. I am find myself bouncing from one job to the next with a sort of purpose but easily derailed. My train of thought is also on crisscrossing tracks and I sometimes pause to chuckle at my own oddness. Oddly, (or not so much given what I do with my time) I have photos to accompany my thoughts.

My big plan for the day was to mop. My floors were messy messy messy and it was long overdue. My neighbor/friend stopped by and said, "don't you have two more months to get that done?" Ha ha. I get it. But no, it must be done today. So eventually, much later than intended, I mopped the downstairs. The upstairs is sadly still waiting for a turn. Maybe later today, or tomorrow, or the next day... The photo is relevant because after I mopped I could lay down the new throw rugs and they were met with approval from the cat!

I also have had the need/urge/need to lumen print. I specifically have been craving to pluck a certain type of lilly I have watched bloom all over the air base. I just couldn't muster the courage to go pick them though from government property. So on the way home from school I stopped at Lowes and thankfully they were on sale and I was able to buy them. So now I can pick them guilt free and plant them to have more blooms grow for my enjoyment and possibly more lumens. I couldn't resist picking up a few other specimens in the garden center. Not only are they beautiful they just made me happy!

My creative bug was peaked as I puttered around outside and felt my blood sugar drop. Once I ate my lunch and felt better it was back outside to capture the image that held my faltering mind. I love the cans waiting in line, ever ready to be used. I also digressed to the fact that they are the colors of a stoplight and in the right order.  This was not a staged photograph, it was just there.

Lastly, this is were I get really funny, my gardenias are blooming! I know how exciting is that?!? Well, for me it was a warm happy feeling to see the little white, intoxicating wonderful smelling blossoms. I found my brain coming up with an academy award winning speech of sorts, "...oh my gosh! oh my gosh! Let me thank the rain for all your encouragement, the ground; I couldn't have done it without your support, and of course the sun!..." Yes, this is where you can doubt my sanity.

Happy Mother's Day!

The kids randomly keep saying, its your day!

This morning they let me sleep in until 8:45 when Emma woke me up with a tray of food and declared she had made me breakfast. My pump was alarming (blood sugar dropping, also explaining how I was able to sleep in) so I slowly woke up and awkwardly reached for "breakfast", it was a banana, apple, and string cheese. Next Lucie joined us and heard my pump. She handed me the skittles on my table. I thanked her for listening to my pump and I ate a few of those. Then she took my apple and went downstairs and ate it. I laid there in bed for a bit and then Emma was back with a coffee cup. She said, "coffee is really hard to make!" In a panic I interrupted her and said, "EMMA! Do not make coffee, mommy can do that!!". Emma then continued with, "so I made you this". Now I take the cup and look inside, oh milk! Great! I say thank you and take a drink, NOT milk! Coffee creamer. Yummy! 

I decided it was time to go downstairs and make their breakfast and that pot of coffee that eluded Emma. Happy Mother's day 2010, it is already priceless. 

Things they say...

My children talk and talk and talk. They all have a speech issue, but none of them have the same problem with their speech. So for a long time I have been a translator, listener, and sometimes, confounded. They talk so much that at a parent/teacher conference one teacher was commenting on my son's need to learn there is a time and a place for talking and I said yes, I know...they all need that. She looked at me and said, "they all talk as much as he does?" and after confirming that affirmative, she looked at me and said, "I am sorry." I chuckled. The noise has become a fact of life. I realize that everyone does not have the same issue. There are days when I wish it was just quiet in my house, my van, my sleep...ha ha! So, I am going to post some of the things that have escaped their lips that caused me to stop and focus in and enjoy them and their stories.

Lucie to me: "Mom, you are so beautiful"
Me: "Ah, thank you Lucie"
Lucie: "you are more beautiful when you wear a dress!"

Oscar to me: "Mommy...(tears in his eyes, sniffling), I do not want you to die!"
Me: "I am not going to die today, I promise"
Oscar: "I will still love you when you die"
Me: "I will love you forever too"
(I have this conversation on a fairly regular basis with him, sometimes it is about his dad, we are not sure why he is fixated on our deaths but we have told him that everyone dies someday)

Emma to Lucie: "you be the mommy ostrich and call your baby like this...(high pitched, odd tones ensue)
Lucie mimics the noise.
Emma says "No! Like this....(more tonal range in a higher scale)
Lucie: "Emma. My voice is not like yours."

Emma: "When I get big I will live next to you and Daddy"
Me: "Okay! You can buy the house next door!"
Lucie: "I am going to live in Arkansas when I am big"
Me: "Ok, but there are lots of other great places to live too"
Oscar: "I don't know where I will live when I am big....(panic spreads on his face)...I will live with you forever Mommy"
Me: "Ok, you can live with me" (he is 7, I am fairly confident this will change as he ages)

Emma: (in the van) "Mom, go faster! That car just passed us"
Me: "Emma. I am going the speed limit"
Lucie: "That car must have a faster peed limit"
Me: "No. That car is going over the speed limit, it is breaking the law" (empathise the S in speed)
Emma: "Oh Oh!"

Me: "Do you know what I want?"
Lucie: "Quiet."
Oscar: "and peace"
Me: "yes"

Who says?

Who says an autistic child won't make eye contact? I used to! Emma is our child that is autistic. She is one of three awesome children we have been blessed with and for the most part I would tell you her autism is more about quirks and oddities than the  more severe cases on the spectrum, she is extremely social and high functioning. I know we are fortunate for this. We recognized early signs and had her evaluated for speech in her 2 year old year as she wasn't saying more than 2 or 3 words. She made eye contact but not terribly often and rarely with a camera. Her early photos are primarily of the top or her head and looking sideways. Still, I was okay with that. If she never made full fledged eye contact with my lens I could deal with that, I am after all a fairly artistic photographer! Still, she started attending a therapy school and made tremendous strides in language, physical skills and social skills. Somewhere in her 3rd year approaching the the age of 4 she decided the camera was her friend. A photographer came to her school and did dress up photos of all the kids. They specifically mentioned Emma and her desire to perform for the camera. Her proofs were all amazing and I ended up just buying all of them. Since that time when she is asked to smile for the camera it typically garners a performance. Usually complete with arm, leg and head movements. I now find it hard to capture the still moments of Emma, (no, look off in the distance. No! Don't go in the distance, just look!) Still, I love those eyes and I love my little performing girl.

It's been awhile...

My has it, nearly two years between postings, that is quite a bit of time. While I don't know if anyone reads this, I see my blog page when I log on to read my friends blogs, so I see my lacking. Jim left yesterday and will be gone until school starts in the fall. I don't know if he will be able to access this site where he is, I have heard the internet is sketchy. Still, I figure if I make myself keep track of the funny, sad, weird, crazy things that are bound to happen while he is gone, he will have a record to read and I will have a way to help me remember. So hopefully I will be motivated and post on a more regular basis. If you by chance are one of my friends or relatives that does check in to this spot you will get to share in our absurdities too! The photo is the most recent of the kids and it was taken at Easter. It was one of multiple shots but really the best one (eyes forward, decent expressions, etc), I labeled it crazy easter and that is pretty much what it was, but it was fun!

Not art...(one person's opinion)

I need to retract my statement that Emma's photo will be displayed in the Art's Center as it will not. The curator for the museum, the person who chose which photos would be displayed, said that it is a portrait, not an artistic print. So that leaves me greatly saddened as I was and still am very proud of the photo. I think it is one of my best pieces to date. It also leaves me with the contemplation of the question of "what is art?". Art, can be and should be many things. I think a portrait can be art, I also think that sometimes it is just a portrait. Many many people in the art world do not view much of any photography as art, they are pictures, not painting, sculptures, metal etc... Today I learned a valuable lesson for the road I am on. Some people see art where others don't and if it is the person in charge of the exhibit you are entering then you are out of luck. I will just continue my pursuit of what I enjoy and next time I will submit a flower! Have a great night :)