My Top 3 Places...

...to NOT go with children.

Think you hate hearing kids scream and cry at a store? Believe me, no one hates it as much as the mother holding the hand of the child whose wail is filling the 50 foot ceiling and reverberating through out the mega mart.

Some places are worse than others. Just for fun I thought I'd share the three places I will do anything, seriously anything, to avoid taking my children with me.

#3 Home Depot/Lowes
There's nothing here to get their attention. It's just "Mommy and Daddy's stuff" to them. So they are bored from the get go.

"Are we done yet?" Are we in the check out line? Obviously, we aren't done yet! Stop asking!

And what do kids do when they see no other alternative? They turn on each other..... like hyenas over a carcass. Every time we walk out of a home improvement store, without exception, someone is crying. I remember one day we didn't make it 10 feet from the car. I decided it wasn't worth it, loaded them back up and left. The aura of the building is enough to set the kids on each other.

#2 Hobby Lobby
Let's put all the eye catching breakable things up front! What a great idea! Then all the kid paraphernalia in the back! Perfect!

#1 Petsmart
Let's start with the cornucopia of feces and urine we are going to walk through in the tiny obligatory patch of grass just outside the store. Are the kids watching their step? HA! Of course not. So before we even get IN the store someone is already crying because there is now poo on their shoe.

"Can I look at the birds?!" "I want to look at the fish!" "Mama! Rat!"

So now, someone has to go first and inevitably someone will have to go last. Someone's feeling are hurt and we've not made it 5 feet into the store yet. And no one is ever truly done looking at their favorite animals. How long do they get to look? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Start with the fish.

"Look at those!"
"I can't see! Mama, pick me up so I can see?"
Howler picks up a bag of gravel because it's, "Pretty!"
"Can we get fish today?"
"No."
"Mama, can we get more fish?"
"No."
"That one! That one!"
Convince Howler to give up bag of gravel and the tears continue.

Slowly make our way to the birds then the small animals midst another flurry of "Can I?" and "No." We manage to make it to the aisle I needed with a trail of crying and whining because no one was done looking. Did I mention I only came in here for a new bulb for my fish tank? We've already clocked 20 minutes in the store. We've scared off all the people who were shopping in this area, except the cranky old lady, holding her little white pocket dog, sneering at me.... both of them.

I Should Be Doing Laundry

Really, I should be. We have dance in a few hours and I only have one leotard and one pair of tights accounted for. Instead I'm going to try to add a few posts to my badly neglected blog. I started this one nearly 6 months ago and for some reason it's the one that speaks to me today:

I went to an autism support group and I have to admit I felt a bit like I was lying. After all I don't have a child diagnosed with ASD. Not that I claimed I did, but just showing up I felt like I was somehow being deceitful. However, I figured these are the parents that I can relate to when it comes to dealing with Howler's difficulties. There's not a support group that I know of for children with "generic developmental delays".

While in some respects I felt out of place it was nice to hear parents having the same issues with their kids and hearing that they don't exactly handle it with the best grace either. It's easy to feel judged when you are among families without a delayed child, but here I felt like I was among comrades. Everyone shared openly, honestly about their troubles. There were some things I was shocked to hear, but it was nice for people to know they could lay it all out for this group because they knew the others there would understand.

We brain stormed on how to deal with some behaviors that I deal with often and those who had older children shared what worked for them. I have to admit it was a bit depressing listening to the heartache of parents with adult dependent children, but I did leave with some good advice and a new friend that I've continued to talk to over Facebook these last few month. It's been wonderful to swap stories with someone and know that you aren't the only one dealing with issues developmental delays bring.

They meet once a month. Unfortunately, I've not had the chance to get back. Unavoidable work, weather, and sickness always seem to land on that date each month. I have a book from their ASD library I need to get back eventually! Anyway, if you're looking for a support group in your area. I highly recommend Autism Oklahoma. They have subgroups all over the state.

I think I might even make my first race this year their PieceWalk charity event.

Free Curriculum Resources

It's that time of year. Time to start planning next year's curriculum! If you are like me and change methods multiple times a year you know how important it is to get a good deal on what you buy since you will probably be looking for more in a few months. Here's a couple of websites to help you out. Think Zulily, but full of educational resources. They are free to join and run the gamut on subject matter.

Educents
Offers discount curriculum and resources, but the sales are time sensitive like zulily. They currently have a promotion for new members, $10 off your first purchase. There are usually one or two free downloads on this site as well.

Homeschool Buyer's Co-op
Just like Educents, but MUCH bigger. Searchable by subject. Some things they get fairly deep discounts that I've not seen anywhere else. The one drawback, they have the same couple of freebies that never change.

Currclick
Lots of freebies here. This is mostly teacher (public and home) created resources. Most are cheap, many are free.

Any sites I should add to my list? Please share!