Dear blog, Can you write yourself tonight?

I just dont have the energy.... I cant sit down without whimpering. My legs/butt/back/arms....basically everything, even the lil hair on my lil head hurts! My throat is sore because my allergies are killing me........ I scratched my eye today and now my eyes constantly pour! I'm so sad LOL BUT on the upside, I'm no longer gray headed! My wonderful friend that cuts my hair is back in town from her cruise. She must never leave me again! Ever!

Do ya'll remember when everybody thought Roseanne (TV show and person) was so horrible and out there. Her show was just too much for television. I watch her reruns and think , "wow, she must have had some influence over me!" LOL I noticed this after a friend told me that my family could be the 2000's version of Roseanne. I was slightly insulted at first, then started watching the reruns and she's right. Can't argue with right huh?

So, was she really not all that bad to begin with or have we become immune to too much? The shock factor is forever gone from television. I think NYPD did away with that it over the boob shot. Can't blame it all on TV tho, you cant even go to the mall without seeing half naked women in store fronts. Yes I'm talking about you Victoria Secrets..... among others. I've decided those people aren't getting my business anymore.

I'm taking control back of my TV, who I give my money to and what my children are exposed to.

Well, before I get on a soapbox I dont have the energy for I'm going to bed ya'll ta-ta-for-now. Cya'll tomorrow

God might have created the birds and the trees but.......

Satan definitely had a hand in fitness clubs. Trainers are his personal lil servants. I really believe this. God gave us chocolate and Satan made sure it would go straight to our hips ergo...... fitness club and a need for exercise. Need... HA......Seriously, a need for something that makes me so sore I have to hold onto a wall to sit on the toilet!!! Yes, its my fault I'm this out of shape.... technically it's Baskin Robbins, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts faults. Isn't that the theme these days, take no personal responsibility and always blame others?



I just realized I skipped Tuesday. Cant believe I let all .... one...... of my readers down. Tuesday was a mixed up day for me. I woke up thinking it was Wednesday. Even got ready for therapy, Small Fryz was dressed, ready and pumped up for it. I get out at school, take him in, wait for the therapist....wait some more.... see McNuggit's class coming down the hall and he's in line. The entire time I'm thinking we'll join him because we have therapy on WEDNESDAYS............. Well, that would be all well and good when WEDNESDAY gets here! Small Fryz was NOT happy with me.



When will that feeling of being energized after exercising actually kick in? I feel exactly the same only with jello legs and sore buttocks! The entire time I'm joining this gym I'm thinking of all the health benefits....... good cardiac shape, toned muscles, weight loss, awesome sex drive.......more energy, awesome sex drive. So far, out of breath, sore muscles, water retention, too tired to think about sex.......... no energy, and well.......you get the picture. I understand it's only been one session but still, wheres my instant gratification? We thrive on instant gratification and I want mine.

McNuggit informed me today that I did not ruin his day again. He tells me this after learning that I was taking him to play. Its the simple things in life.......

Have I mentioned I'm sore???? You should have seen me even trying to LIFT my left to step up on a high curb....... SERIOUSLY........ it's sad. I'd feel bad for me if I saw someone like me walking around.

Tonight I'm going to leave you with this...........

Autism..... it's not what you think


I'm going to put a new spin on this section tonight. For parents with children who have difficult time transitioning or are having meltdowns frequently in public due to stresses here are some tips that worked great for us:

Takes two people: Take a bed sheet and hold it between the two of you to form a hammock. Put child in "swing" and swing back and forth. This will hyper stimulate and help believe it or not! Try this for about 5 min.

Use desk chair (that doesn't rotate to remove seat lol) and spin child around off and on for at least five minutes.

Try firm or light touch therapies before leaving house. My son still to this day prefers a very very firm touch. Joint compressions were always so relaxing for him.

All three of these were things we would try before leaving home and they'd all work. I used joint compressions in public if he got stressed and most of the time he would benefit from them. I've always found Cayden benefited from hyper stimulation. It accomplished exactly the opposite for him and does most with sensory integration disorders.

Hope this helps.......... ta-ta-for-now!

What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man......(apologies for such a long post)....

*guess I didnt get in my 30K (words) today so I saved them all for you ........arent you lucky!*




I'm sure he doesn't have a clue what he did! Monty has always made me feel like I'm Ms. America. I guess the poor man has on love goggles, I dunno. He never fails to tell me that I'm beautiful or make me feel loved and special even when I feel like a frumpy sack o'potatoes. He's like the real life Shallow Hal I think. Ok, so maybe I'm going overboard. It's not like I'm Frankenstein's bride and frighten little children merely by my presence.

Oh and before we get much further with our relationship....that's yours and mine, not mine and Monty's.......... let me be the first to say that this blog will not be the award winner of any grammar or spelling competitions, just sayin....

Anyway, today we go to a very popular gym to speak to a representative about joining. I've recently gotten myself together in a few areas and this is one that I feel I'm ready to work on. I'm almost 40, I'm diabetic and yes, I can check the "more to love box" in the physical description area. I'm thinking that I have got to do something to get my health in check because I've got to live at least another 80-90yrs to make sure my kids are taken care of.

Soooo, here we are at this gym and the rep is explaining how their program works, education on diet and exercise being the foremost important. He wants to make sure that we understand calories aren't just calories. You have to eat a balanced diet of protein, carbs, fat ...blah blah blah and he wants to make sure we understand that it takes a lifestyle change to benefit from any gym membership and its not a quick fix yada yada yada..... Monty, that wonderful man o'mine, pipes up and says, "Oh trust me, I can tell you, she is doing so good with her diet and stuff, she is committed and is doing good and making good choices!" How awesome is that???? Its nice enough that he noticed but it felt good that he wanted to brag about it! There are times I wanna slap him up side the head..... JUST being honest....... but for the most part, I think I'll keep him!

So today was a big day for McNuggit. First FULL day of Kindergarten AND he got to walk into class by himself! He's all excited about this too. We pull thru the line, the assistant principle opens his door and out goes my little man. You can see the pride beaming from his eyes. The asst. principle shuts the door, McNuggit's stands on the sidewalk with his lil hands crammed down in his pockets looking around at the birds, just loving life in general. ...... still standing there......still.......... now we're lunging back and forth.......... I'm driving off.......... he's still there, spinning, lunging and loving life. I stop the car, get out and say.... "_____ honey, you have to go in the doors and go to your class (right inside the door) like we talked about!" OHHH ok mommy he says and that was that.

Not sure why I didn't realize that I needed to say that for the 100th millionth time! Actually, I think he did just AWESOME. He's easily distracted........... wonder where he gets that from?

And here comes one of my favorite parts:

Autism, its not what you think................

Sensory disorders.......... want to know what that's like? Go to Walmart, turn up one of the TV's and stereos as loud as they will go on separate stations, better yet, turn every TV to a different station. Now, get several people around you all wearing different lotions, perfumes, deodorants and add in the smells of food from the deli and bakery. Factor in the two children that just went by you screaming . Now, you're also cold, so cold you feel like ice water was dumped on you.........ok, so we'll dump some ice water on you so you know what that feels like. You have an annoying tag sticking in your neck from your shirt but you cant remove it because you haven't realized this is really bothering you because there are so many other sensory input information being relayed right now you're about to explode............. NOW the hard part......

"Hi, (blaring tv's)wel(stereos all playing different song)com(perfumes and kids screaming)e to(nasty chicken smell)Wa(itchy tag, annoying smells, kid screaming)lmart, (getting the picture)can I (approaching, two seconds to meltdown, liftoff)help you?" HUH? What did she just say?

Did you actually see the sentence in there from the Walmart employee? It's difficult and that's what people with autism and sensory disorders go thru every single day all hours of the day. Sometimes they can tune things out one at a time, often times they cant. And we wonder why they don't make eye contact?!?!

Speaking of eye contact. Have you ever taken your hand and covered the bottom portion of your face? You can still perceive if you're in a good or bad mood, confused or excited by just seeing small portions of the face. Our faces give SO much information at one time. Our mouths and how we're holding them, eyebrows ...... everything. Its a lot of information to take in all at once, especially for someone with sensory issues.

My friend who is autistic, her name is Shannon, she's 25. She has told me that she can't look at you and listen to you at the same time. Its way over stimulating for her especially trying to make eye contact.

So in short, the next time you think a child living with autism is not paying attention to you, think again.......they are most likely taking it all in!!! Also, remember people like this when applying perfumes and lotions. Sometimes its just way too much for some people to handle. AND, if you see a child having issues in public, throwing a fit or having a meltdown, don't just assume mom or dad needs to "spank their bottom" or discipline the child..... perhaps they're having issues with their environment and for some that's the only way to express their displeasure.

Until tomorrow......... ta-ta-for-now!

Feast with a Beast, beyond your kitchen table!

Yes I know that everyday I get to feast with four beasts, the men in my life. Last night I feasted with a different beast. The Knoxville Zoo has their annual fund raiser and I got to be a part of it. I'll be honest, I dreaded this for two weeks, even tried to get people to go in my place but, in the end, I'm so glad I went. I wasn't fancying the heat, humidity, huge crowd and blanket all that with the stench of animals.... no thanks! I have to admit tho, it was truly a fun night. There were two awesome bands that I really enjoyed. Food beyond food.... you did not go hungry. The odd thing was, among my favorites of samplings was Buddy's BBQ. Go figger! My all time favorite entertainer was the local plant life. A woman, on stilts, dressed in ivy and grapes!! She was awesome! I have now affectionately names her "stick chick"! (cute huh? its a talent of mine... coining new phrases and renaming things) So, we ate ourselves silly. We got to meet up with Frank Murphy (from Star102.1) and his wife. Very very nice people who are now following us on Twitter. Yes, my name is Dena and I'm addicted to twitter...... I get my first chip...umm, wait you have to abstain to get chips, right? Ok, so I've got the t-shirt. Oh I've talked to ya'll about my opinion on Twitter a few days ago. In the beginning it seems sooooo, well, psychiatric issue"ish". You know, you get on, micro-blog about your day and you have maybe two followers if you're lucky. So basically, you're recapping your day...to yourself. We'll talk more about that later, what was I talking about?.............
Oh yes, FWAB! We finished off the evening meeting up with Jamie Foster and Claudia Russell. Both from Twitter. Jamie is WATE's news director and Claudia is an "avid editor, mom, tree hugger and lover of all things cheesecake"..... or so her Bio says! Both were very nice and I enjoyed their company so much. We're hoping to get together again soon! However, I can't believe we hit Sassy Ann's after a six year hiatus on a night when there wasn't a live band. They had a DJ but no band. I was hoping Jamie and Claudia could experience the REAL Sassy's but perhaps the next time.
A little, well, okay, a lot off topic but I have a need to share this. My husband has been on some kind of weird strike from cutting his hair. My husband can not grow hair, well, he can grow it, but not well..... he grows a chia pet. A fro if you will. I was very anxious for him to cut this rug off his head but now I'm a bit melancholy about the whole thing. He apparently is an either "all or nothing" kinda guy too because he now looks like a cancer patient. At least he doesn't look like a 12yr old anymore. You should have seen the looks we got out in public during that phase! No comment because it incriminates me.
Geezz I thought I had started a theme here, leaving you with a thought to ponder but right now I'm drawing a blank. I could have you ponder if men are bigger procrastinators than women but I think I'll wait til tomorrow to do that so...... I just have to say ta-ta-for-now!