A day in the life of a special needs parent: The walk to a VBS meeting

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

I wanted to walk to church for the vacation bible school meeting for volunteers. I haven't volunteered for anything in a while. I finally heard from the media ministry to volunteer with them. Since VBS has special needs class all week, I volunteered. I can help out, while getting a break from my kids. Of course, they can learn something too.

I took my kids plus my annoying great niece. She was a handful. When I started to leave the house, she came outside with us and refused to go back in the house. So I took her with me anyway, despite reservations. We got a few feet down the street before she wanted to go back home.

I let her run back home (house was still in viewing distance, a few houses a way). I was waiting for the doors to open and close to know she is in the house safe. The doors never opened and she ran from in the middle of my mama car and her mama car and ran back to us. I told her I am not turning back around if I get further up and she wants to go back home. A few feet up (still on my residential street), she wants to go back home, but house was too far away, so she was tagging along, whether she wanted to or not.

I had to be at the church around  6 and it takes 30-50 minutes to walk there with kids, but we had to get off my street; turn on another curvy road; walk down the main street into the neighborhood; cross the street; walk a few more feet until we reach gravel (which goes to the back of the church) and find an open door to the church and head to the meeting.

She cried the whole time.

#sariyah #greatniece crying lol #noturningback if you want to go home , then don't tag along

A video posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Jun 16, 2016 at 9:58am PDT

I want to go home. I want my mama. That is not my concern. You turned back like Lot's wife and returned. My kids was acting better than her.

We got to church. They drunk up most of my water, I brought for the trip.  I went to the meeting. Kids acted decent for the most part. Since the walk was extra long, I was in no rush to get back home. I knew Wednesdays are bible study, but I never been to a Wed. night bible study because I heard the special needs teachers are not there every week.

I saw one of their teachers in the meeting and asked her afterwards if she was staying. She said no. I grabbed up the kids, refilled my water bottles, and started to walk back towards the exit. I saw another special needs parent walking into services without her kid and asked where he was. If he was in class, I can drop mine off and drop niece off in her class. The other mother dropped her son off in the 1 year old class room with a former teacher of Kalen's. I asked Ms. T. if she could keep Brad and Kalen, while I went to service, she said yes, but Brad wasn't having any of this.

He kept trying to follow me. I guess he figured the 1 year old class was not his regular class. No computer either, but plenty of toys. I gave him my phone but he still was trying to leave, so I stayed.

The class was not as bad as I thought. Brad played on my phone, while Kalen ran around playing with various toys. Both of them turned down snacks.

I had fun interacting with the other kids. They did not act up either. Many of them did not talk much, except one little cutie, who seemed more advanced. She was talkative and she knew animal sounds during the bible story reading. When she talked, the other kids repeated her.

Like when the kids was looking at the fish tanks and we was ready to go, she said bye fishes and I heard a whole chorus of bye fishes from the other kids, except mine.

We walked home but not all the way. My mama saw us walking (we called first, but she said walk home since if she left, other people may want to ride with her and ask her to do stuff) and we caught a ride the rest of the way home.

Sariyah, the great niece, did great in her class as well.

A day in the life of a special needs parent: The cereal thief

I am trying to move away from doing mostly reviews and write more original content, like I did when I first started the blog.

So today is Sunday, June 12th, 2016. When I have a few dollars, I buy my Brad and Kalen some chocolate milk and/or cereal at church. It's a little snack until I cook something or someone cooks something. The usually wait until they get home to eat it so they won't mess up the church or the church van.


Today, I was debating whether ot not to get my kids milk because the house was full of kids and I had a limited supply of cash. I had money on my credit card, but Brad seriously needed new shoes because he keeps throwing them. When he needs them, it requires a scavenger hunt to find them. He also destroys them and the k-swiss, his father got him for his birthday, he removed the laces (and wont wear them without no tie or real laces). 

I didn't want to get my kids milk and cereal and then I have other kids staring at me, wondering if they can have some. I counted about 10-11 kids, plus my niece (18) will want some. I bought the cereal and milk anyway because why should my kids suffer because my niece wants to babysit a basketball team. She had more people stuffed in her room when Igot home, so I am glad I didn't buy extra. 

When we got home, the kids went to the bedroom. They drunk their milk without problems. The problem started when my great niece came in here, when kids was eating their cereal. She snatched some out their bowls. She already has a history of taking food of their plates and giving it to the other kids. When people cook on the stove, they cook enough for everyone, but I can't provide snacks for everyone. When you bring kids to someone else's house, you need to provide clothes, snacks, medicines, emergency information, with a prayer, your kids will survive the chaos of this household lol. 

I went downstairs to get some sausages off the grill. I bought them but my uncle was cooking them up. I wanted some before all the kids ate them up. I had bought a few packages but my uncle cooks up multiple packages of meat when he cooks. 

One of the little sausage snatchers is going to ask me WHY I was eating their sausages when they didn't pay for them, neither did my uncle. I kept walking before I snatched him up and locked him outside for a few minutes. While I was walking, Kalen walked downstairs with his cereal and was dropping it everywhere. Like a mad house or a bunch of ants flocking to food, the non biological minions scattered to pick up fruit loops off the floor. 

When I got back upstairs to eat my food, I peeked in my mama room because my sister was cleaning it for cash and noticed my great niece hiding Brad's cereal under my mama's covers. I am not dealing with Brad over missing food. Brad had followed me downstairs and didn't know his cereal was gone. My great niece's grandma was laughing but I was like why you let her take the severe Autistic's food? When he get upset, I am the one, who has to deal with holes in the wall; things thrown at me; or him trying to hurt my baby. 

I got his cereal back and gave it back to him so he can stay calm and collected. I got a new hole in my wall because he punched a hole in it with his fist because he couldn't use my phone (because I was using it).

This was a day in the ife of a special needs parent.