Eco Fabulous Family

On this day 1 year ago I finally got to meet you.  I will not lie, I was terrified.  I was so scared because you have Down syndrome.  I had done autism, hell I did that twice but for some reason Down syndrome scared me.  A lot of it was worries about your health and a lot of it was worries about the unknown.  Well I have learned more in the last year from you than I could ever have imagined!  Here are some of the things I have learned:

I will do anything (anything!) to hear your laugh.

Your brothers have so much love to give and you have them wrapped around your finger.

Your Dad is an amazing father (not that I didn’t know that already!).

The sun can be inside a person and sparkle out their eyes.

Your cuddles can cure even the worst day.

You are mighty and you are a fighter.

You know what you want and how to get it.

I hope I can be more like you when I grow up!

You will be able to keep up with your brothers.

Your smiles can change everything.

A diagnosis is just that and does not define the person.

Most of all you amaze me.  Everyday I look at you and a feel so lucky to be your Mom.  Thank you for picking me.  I only hope that I can do you justice.

Happy 1st Birthday baby!

There is so much thrown at our kids everyday about “bad guys” that are out there.

At home we have lots of rules to keep safe.  Don’t open the door without Mom or Dad. Don’t tell people where you live.  If you see a stranger (called don’t knows here) when you are out playing come and get me.  Walk on the inside of the sidewalk.

At school it is much of the same.  Don’t open the front doors during school hours, use the office.  They have drills where they practice lock-down scenarios.

Don’t even get me started on TV.  Even when we are watching something kid friendly you get the news commercials.  “Tonight on the 5 o’clock news, find out what the abducted Northridge girl is now saying”.

What about the checkout line at the store?  Nope, lots of headlines there.

We can’t fool ourselves.  Our kids are hearing about bad guys.  Maybe they should be hearing about them, to a degree.  How can we expect them to stay safe if we don’t give them the tools necessary to arm themselves?  I want my kids to know what to do if they ever meet “bad guy” and I want them to feel empowered and safe.

I doubt, and really hope, he will never run into a bad guy.  But he learned during this class that no one has the right to hurt him and that it is okay to defend himself.

My friend told me about this program called radKids.  There was a class starting at CSUN being put on by the CSUN police department. It was 5 days long and 2 hours each day.  Chris took Bug to the first 4 days and I was very impressed by everything I was hearing.  On Friday the whole family attended to watch the simulations that Bug would be put through to practice what he had been learning.  I was very impressed!  Here is a video of Bug doing the simulation.

They teach the kids to: Yell loud, hit hard, run fast.

Bug did amazing and I was so impressed.  Now I have to make sure he doesn’t use his new “moves” on Peanut!

I worry about teaching my kids the right things.  I also worry about what those things are and which definition of right I will use.

Sex education for me at this age is about relationships.  I want my boys to understand intimate relationships.  Treating their partner with love and respect.  I want them to know our values.  Our church has an 8 week sex education program for 4th-6th graders.  At first I thought Bug was too young.  He is 9 for crying out loud!  NINE!  After some thought I realized that now is the time.  He will still listen to me and hear my values.  Will I have this type of attention at 14?  They call it “Our Whole Lives” or “OWL” and it is a holistic approach.  It is not just the physical act of sex that is discussed.  Bug was mad at first that I made him go but now he is having fun in the class.

On a lighter note: Peanut announced at the dinner table the other night that he was having sex with J.  J lives in another state and we don’t get to see her often.  After I stopped laughing and gulping for air I asked him if he knew what sex was.  He said “No, but I know it is something you do with someone you love and I love J and will marry her”.

I am so relieved that he is learning our values!  That was a moment I will never forget.

Oh and J, sorry to tell you this.  He is now planning to marry McKenzie.  He had fun with her on Friday and decided that you probably don’t want to marry him anymore.