Meeska, Mooska, Mickeeeyyyy MOUSE!!!

The funny thing about Autism is that you never know from one second to the next what the favorite will be. Jacob switches it up every month or so. Blue's Clues, Teletubbies, Toy Story, etc. 

Currently it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He asked for a few play sets for Christmas, and he got them all!!! My mom bought him a couple. 

And the biggest one he wanted, I should have gotten it at the Disney Store, but I waited too long, and then it was gone. So I ordered it online, and paid extra shipping so it'd get here in time. 

Emily helped him put it together. 

He LOVED it. 

After I ordered it, I thought, "That kid better play the CRAP out of this!" (Because I spent a lot on it) 

Be careful what you wish for, because that Clubhouse went EVERYWHERE with us! Not that I mind, because he was so happy playing with it, and, let's be honest, it diffused tantrums. ;-)

Then he got money from my dad for Christmas, and picked out another one. This one also goes places with us!

He is the cutest boy. I love seeing him light up when he sees something he's passionate about. 

Christmas, cookies, and chaos.

Kids and I got to celebrate Christmas early this year with my mom and Wayne. It was fun. The older Jacob gets, the better behaved he is while we have other things going on. 

After we went to lunch with the family, we headed to mom's house. I kept teasing Jacob about it, saying we were going to the mall instead. The kids were so wound up in the car, and Wayne finally said, "Are you sure you guys don't want to go to the mall??" Ha! I said maybe Wayne wanted to go to the mall!! We started out with presents. (Like we were gonna make the kids wait. Right.) 

Diva and Bubba passing them out. 

Jacob making himself at home. 

Grandma helping him with the tape. 

My gorgeous girlie. 

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!! 

The new AC/DC cd!! 

2 Big Hero 6 books, a hair curler/straightener, Build a Bear gift card, Christmas socks. 

AC/DC cd, Minecraft book set, Christmas socks, Deadpool comic, trivia game. 

Jackpot!! Loved his toys. 

My new sleep shirt. Accurate. 

Me n Wayne snuggling on the couch after the chaos. 

Minions played and read for a while, then we dove into cookie making. Shape cookies!!! Best ever!! 

Playing Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the computer while playing with his new train.  

Before. 

After. Nom.  

This is my Sergio cookie. Because he has one arm. 

FYI, my mom makes the best peanut blossoms in the history of peanut blossoms. So don't even try to compete. You'll lose. 

All in all, fun day. We love going to Grandma's house to hang out. And we didn't even drive Wayne crazy. 

Christmas memories.

"Awwww, man! Not AGAIN!" we both exclaimed while rolling our eyes. 

It was Christmas Eve. My brother and I were sitting with our parents listening to Christmas music while we got ready to open presents. It never failed, every year when Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" came on, my dad would start lip synching to it, with gusto. 

My parents divorced about 13 years ago. I was 26. It's weird the things you miss when they're no longer around. 

"DAD! We know this song is your favorite!" (On to John Denver and the Muppets) 

My mom was so funny. We'd get everything spread out, Jerrod and I would count gifts (duh, we had to have equal!) and start reaching for one. "No no, not that one!" my mom would say. "Open that other one first!" 

And for some reason, nothing was ever in the correct box. One year I remember opening a cordless phone and asking if that's really what it was. (It was)

And let's not forget the year that Jerrod was 3, and he was helping my mom wrap gifts. He came downstairs holding a box and said, "Daddy, this ones for you!" In true Dad fashion, he said, "What is it?" And without skipping a beat, Jerrod replied, "A belt." Gotta love preschoolers! 

Maybe he learned from that, because a while later, he came down and said, "Tina, I'm not telling you what this one is, but it has a lot of legs!" 

Anyone remember?? 

And there always seemed to be one gift that was forgotten, either hidden, or whatever. One year Jerrod got a calendar from my Dad. The following July. Thought, right? Ha. 

And the shape cookies. Oh boy. Love me some shape cookies! I know I have pics on Facebook of them, I'll dig them out eventually. We still make and decorate the shape cookies. Angels (one with a giant head, one with a tiny head), snowmen, and santas. One year, about three or four years ago, my mom decided to make different shapes, like a star, a tree, etc... That was the year that Jerrod and I had coronaries. #changeisbad 

For those of you that think Christmas is about getting the best gifts, or buying the biggest presents, let me tell you that of all the things I have ever gotten for gifts, I barely remember any of them. These things I'm thinking about? Memories. I'm 39 years old, and to this day, I can't listen to Nat King Cole without wiping away a happy tear from my eye. 

One year we were with my Dad's family, and my grandma dropped the pie on the floor. Granted, it was still in the box, but now we refer to it as French Spilt Pie. 

My grandma on my mom's side had ceramic NOEL letters on the fireplace. For as far back as I can remember, my dad would change them up to say LEON. Took my grandparents DAYS to notice! Now Jerrod has some letters, so of course we all take our turn moving those around now. 

 

I have never been able to spend tons on my kids, and this year is no different. But I hope that years from now, as they sit blogging in the Food Ave at Target about their memories, they'll have fond ones to look back on. Because really, what would Christmas be without family, music, laughter, and French Spilt Pie? 

Have a great holiday season, everyone. :-)

deep thoughts.

"Money doesn't buy happiness."

Profound thoughts from a 13 yr old. What *is happiness? I'm not sure if you know this about me, but I love baseball. The sounds, the sights, the smells....and sharing it with someone I love makes me so happy. Basically what it comes down to, is time spent. People need to stop focusing so much on what others do for them, and worry about what they're doing for others. You reap what you sow, right? Imagine if every one of us spent a whole day doing nothing but focusing on others. I bet not only would those other people be happy, but we'd feel pretty good too.

Unfortunately, my kids spend more time with their dad than they do with me. He buys them everything, and if he takes them places, it costs a fortune. Recently they've been asking why they can't spend more time with me. I assured them that this won't last forever. It made me feel good because not only do they have hardly anything here compared to at their dad's, it obviously doesn't matter to them.

I have been called selfish a few times in my life. Demanding. Insecure. etc. I think it's because that for me, spending time with someone lets me show them that I care. Even if we're only watching tv and eating pizza, it's a chance for me to be able to do stuff for that person. I can't ever pay people back for things they've done for me. All I can do is offer to babysit, or make dinner, or drive you somewhere. It's all I have.

"Money doesn't buy happiness."

People are too concerned with what someone else can do for them. If you're not focusing on someone else's happiness, then I can assure you that no one else is focusing on yours either.

I can't take you out to nice dinners. Or movies. Or baseball games. Hell, I can barely afford to buy you McDonald's. But what I can do is make you dinner, watch a movie on tv, spend time with you, and tell you that you're loved. Remember that when I ask if you want to go walk around the mall with me. It may sound boring, but it's all I have.

If that isn't enough, then I'm not the friend for you.