Hello Again.

Welcome to the house of insanity - would you like something to drink? Take a seat, anywhere. Just kick the Lego's out of your way as you find your seat. Toss the dollies off the couch - but please don't knock over the pile of clean laundry. Post number 2. And I apparently can not figure out how to come up with a witty title for my posts.

My dad flew up from Southern California for a visit yesterday. So far so good. He is enjoying the kids. Mom says his hearing is much in decline - which explains how he can smile with joy amidst the screams of the kids. So, dad is here and I cooked him a good meal last night. We just lounged around this morning, waiting for hubby to get back from duty last night. Well, lounge being a subjective term. Dad lounged. Kids played. I did laundry, and dishes. And dishes, and laundry. Somewhere in there I fed them troops breakfast, and guzzled a cup of coffee.

Izzy isn't doing well. He was up at 2am fussing and not wanting to sleep. And why is it the kids save up these joys until Hubby is gone for the night? Well, at least I can say it keeps my prayer life active, and the knees of my jammies well worn. Back to Izzy. Yesterday he woke up way too early. Fussing and whimpering about his front teeth hurting. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with them - so I gave him a small dose of Tylenol and went on with my day. He seemed a bit irritable but got through the day without much more than the normal high maintenance, demanding moments. Fast forward to last night. 2am. Have I mentioned I don't sleep well when hubby isn't home? Well, I had just started drifting off at 1:30am...and at 2am Izzy is in my room fussing and whining. I take him back to bed, and spend the next 30 or so minutes patting his back, singing to him, and praying. Finally he settles enough to sleep. For a few hours. At 7am I call to see if the doctors' office is open on Saturdays. You think I'd know - but eh, we've only been here 8 months and the kids haven't been sick - so there hasn't been a pressing need. So I call, and yes they open at 9am. Yippee! I call later to get him in for a 12:10 appointment. After 30 minutes at the doctors' office we leave. Me - tired. Izzy has 2 ear infections and a sinus infection. The doctor's comment? "He must have a very high pain tolerance". Lovely. Now home, antibiotics in hand. Hoping I will indeed get a long winter's nap. For tonight it is hubby's turn for dawn patrol.

Welcome to my life.

I am a 39 year old mom of 5. Married to a wonderful, military man. We are currently living in the Pacific Northwest. As the title of my blog suggest, our oldest and youngest children are autistic. Hence the term bookends. They sandwich the rest of our children together. I am a homeschooling mama. If you were to peek into our home - you'd see the chaos that is our life. We are often in jammies until way too late in the day. Who needs to get dressed, when you only have shuffle over to the dinner table to get to school? The basement is home to an ever growing pile of laundry - threatening to rise up and take over at any moment. The sink is nearly always full of dishes waiting to be done. I love to cook for my family - but dishes, eh not so much. In reality, I do dishes. Everyday. Several times a day. In fact, my dishwasher is constantly going - at least 3 times a day. The poor thing - I am sure it is just going to pick up a sign and go on strike one day. And I am sure the washer and dryer will go with it. You see, ladies and gentleman - while others dream of cruising in the tropics, or insanely expensive - sporty cars, or living it up on a resort island somewhere palm trees abound and warm breezes blow year round ... my dream is to have a home with 2 dishwashers, and 2 clothes washers and dryers. Impressed? Aside from that - I am in love with my life. And to close this maiden post - I'd like to thank my wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ for every blessing and good thing in my life.