Monday, January 24, 2011

!!!

The Shit has hit the fan friends! I'm rushing to fill out paperwork and take classes. All of this from an angry remark from the Ex.

I'm not Divorced.

I have no legal protection from him aside for precident. He's allowed this because he looks horrid on paper and knows he has no legal leg to stand on. He's angry now though, and when he's angry he's irrational. This weekend he threatned to file himself  for 50/50 custody because he was angry about the custody arrangement we have.

Not to worry, he has not a single chance of getting anything he's demanding. Piper and I are both safe. I just need to get my butt in gear. I heard his idle threat as a call for action. I am scrambling to dot the i's and cross the t's.

Sadly that leaves little time for blogging. I'll be here when I can but I hope you understand I won't be participating at the level I wish.

Mama Bear is on the scene! Wish me luck!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Hello! Goodbye!

Hi Friends!

It's a crushing week of work work work and too much to do. I wont be posting, I'll try to comment, but I will be reading!

See you here next week after the tide turns!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Playing Favorites

I am Piper's favorite playmate and plaything!

Wait, did you read that? Go back and do it once more, I'll wait. *muzak plays*.

Okay, you get it now don't you? I AM HER FAVORITE!!!

I've read this line in many parenting books, articles and blogs "a child's favorite toy is their parent" and I always thought "yeah right, you've never met a kiddo with autism". Piper's first favorite toy was a bottle of mustard. Yup, I was upstaged by a mustard bottle. She took it with her everywhere in the house. She loved that darn thing! I even saw her write in the cement Piper + Mustard= BFF. Ok I'm kidding about that last part, but she really did dig the heck out of her mustard.

Fast forward about a year (aside: don't you wish you could actually do that sometimes?) and the mustard is replaced by a tire pressure gauge. Best. Toy. Ever.

This object loving perseveration continued until it settled around age three on : white kitty. A small beanie baby cat gifted to her by a cousin seemingly no different than any other stuffy except it was THE ONE. I quickly learned that no outing was complete without white kitty. Oh boy did I learn. White Kitty became the most important thing in our household aside from the people.

Until today. Today my gal asked me to play with her. YES. She. Did.

I was doing my own mommy thing per usual and picked up one of the toys I saw on the desk. It was a finger puppet she received for Christmas and I plopped it on my finger and gave it voice. "Hi I'm Marigold the Butterfly and I drink nectar". I expected the usual indifference but instead I got the present of a lifetime! She picked up the bat and joined in the pretend play. For a full half hour I had her complete and total engaged attention. WE PLAYED!

I feel like I just got an award, like I just was voted Mother of the year!

My daughter wants to play.  With me!!!!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Come out of the closet? NEVER

Piper sleeps in a closet. It's true. She has a lovely antique bed frame and a comfy mattress and she has eschewed it completly in favor of, that's right, the closet.

The first night she requested to sleep in the closet I was surprised. I'm the kind of mom that goes along with these kinds of things, if I see no harm or unintended consequence I figure why fight? So I filled the floor full of cushions and tucked my gal into her closet for the night. She slept a full 10 hours and woke up happy and refreshed.

The following night she again requested to sleep in the tiny closet. Again I granted permission. Night three? You guessed, closet.

I was beginning to feel bad for her. Here she has this cozy bed and comfy mattress yet she's sleeping on the floor? Yikes! So I set out to find a better solution. I took the top mattress off her bed and slipped it into the closet and wouldn't you know it fit like a glove!

Piper loves her new bed and as a result has halted her midnight visit to mine. A good nights sleep for us both! YAY!

So yeah, my kid sleeps in a closet. What of it?

Friday, January 7, 2011

Blah Blah Blah

I got nothin'. I mean I have TONS to write about but no will or desire to do so. I could write about school, our new roomate, my ex, Pie's first why question and on and on.

Instead I've got nothin'. Pure process mode.

Blah Blah Blah.

Oh well, there's always next week.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Peace

I had a lovely break recently. I had a week of no work for me and no school for Piper.

The dreaded UNSCHEDULED WEEK.

No appointments.

No activities.

No school.

No work.

It was messy and real and imperfect and raw and well, life. It was life. I have to say that I enjoyed it. All of it, even the messy parts. Piper handled it quite well and really enjoyed herself and the pace of our days. I was afraid I'd find myself lonely. Instead I found something entirely different. I found my voice. Not my ability to voice; I've got the gift of gab.

No.

My inner voice.

I hadn't stopped to listen in a long time. 

I listened to me for the first time in a very long while and it was good.

I don't have the words for what this means to me but I feel it, deeply.

It feels like peace.

VICTORY!!!

Mom :1

Weenie pants: 0

The key to sucess? A bubble bath.

Know your enemy.