I was very busy today trying to catch up on a lot of things that have been pushed aside the past few weeks because of problems. Laundry, paperwork, organizing all the school papers that were thrown on my desk in a haphazard pile, among other things. I did squeeze in my treadmill as well.
First Hunter came in from school. Because of his obsession with all things Pokemon, we pre-ordered the “Black and White Game” that was released yesterday. We were under the assumption that he would get it at least today, the day after the debut. Wrong. When I looked my order up at Amazon it said he would receive it between March 9th and 15th. This is not acceptable, Amazon does not understand what this type of delay does to Hunter. If we didn’t pre-order it, I could have bought it yesterday. I started counting down the minutes until he got home because I knew exactly what I had to endure. Sure enough, Craig got Hunter off the bus and as Hunter ran into the house yelling “mommy, mommy where is my new Black and White game?” I had to give him the news…..uh, well I checked at Amazon and it said you will receive the game in a few days (gulp, a little white lie on my part). Yup, it happened. WHHAAATTTT? he screamed, it was a PRE-ORDER, I SHOULDN’T have to wait. He bursts into tears “why is life so hard?” he says. “This is a nightmare, a tragedy, why do these unpleasant things always happen to me?” Ok, I know, he is being a bit dramatic, but having Aspergers, he really does mean all this. Everything is black or white, there is absolutely no gray area for a person like him.
Mind you now, after working like crazy all day, and before Hunter got home from school, I decided to watch the season opener of Celebrity Apprentice on my lap top. I was beat. I had watched most of the episode before Hunter got home, but had to pause when he first got in. After my bad news to Hunter about the game, and as he is ranting and raving, I am still trying to throw my eye on the show. I did have to keep stop and going. I suggested getting tissues, having a snack, drink, quiet time etc., just so I could finish the last 10 minutes of the show before Hayley got home. Didn’t work, Hunter was in the kitchen crying and crying while eating goldfish and getting crumbs everywhere. I went in and tried to console hime, bribe him etc. Finally, he calmed down and that is when I heard the chime on the laundry room door……..Hayley is home………
She throws her coat and backpack on the floor, runs into the kitchen throwing open cabinets and the refrigerator, she is ravenous when she gets home. It is always a whirl wind and I know I have to stop it and go backwards by bringing her back to the door, have her hang up her coat and backpack, go to the bathroom, walk nicely into the kitchen and have her appropriately ask for a snack using her words or a combination of sign language. Whew, let me just say, it doesn’t go quite as smoothly as I would like, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Hayley chooses Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup. I pour this in a bowl, in the mean time she is grabbing last night’s spaghetti out of the refrigerator, opens the top and starts shoving handfuls of spaghetti into her mouth. I am able to get this away from her as she is yelling “PASTA IN SOUP, PASTA IN SOUP”. I get her to sit down and promise if she has a quiet mouth, hands and feet, I will put some extra noodles in her soup. Hayley gets semi-quiet but is yelping. Ok, soup is out, I give it to her, with spoon, fork and a ton of napkins. Meanwhile, Hunter is back in the kitchen wanting to know why exactly Amazon did not send out the game yet, why does Craig curse, when will daddy get home, can he take a bath etc…………..
Right now I am counting my breaths and trying to tell myself to calm down. Hayley finishes her soup, puts her bowl in the sink and proceeds to take the faucet sprayer and wet her whole head! Water is everywhere. I yell to Hunter to get towels, Hayhley starts to run away, slips in the water and falls on the tile floor. Hayley is screaming “BOO BOO, BANDAID, BANDAID! I tell her she doesn’t need a bandaid, just get up. As Hunter is running in the room I yell “STOP”…..too late, he is down for the count. Now Hunter is screaming “I HATE THIS FLOOR, I HATE HAYLEY”. Both kids are totally wet. As I get the towels from Hunter and place them on the floor, Hayley jumps up and grabs the Kerug (coffee) water container and proceeds to throw it across the room. Water is everywhere, Hunter is wrestleing Hayley on the wet floor, she is hysterically laughing, they are soaked, I literally am using a whole brand new roll of paper towels trying my best to soak up the water………………..
Ok, cleaned up, won’t go into the rest of the gory details. Everyone is calm for the moment, I tip toe to the bathroom, all that water has made me want to go :). I run in, leave the door open and hear “HAAYYYLLLLEEEEYYYYY!!!! I get out in record time to find that Hayley has decapitated 2 Barbies and took all the stuffing out of her favorite arctic fox stuffed animal. Yes! this happened in less then 4 minutes. She is fast. I am exhausted! I look at the clock and realize Hunter has been home only 1 hour and Hayley 30 minutes.
This type of thing pretty much happens EVERY day. I am able to write this now because Hunter is helping Hayley on the computer. She likes to watch the Disney World rides on You Tube. Yes, Hunter is loosing his patience but I bribed him with the Ipad and that seems to placate him for now. Hunter is still loudly asking me why he didn’t get his game but I am tuning him out. I am getting this blog written quickly and hopefully when done will then see who gets fired from Celebrity Apprentice.
After an afternoon like today (really only 1hour total), and not knowing what is in store for me until bed time, this is the reason I watch “crap” tv. I definitely need an escape…….
Living with Autism Plus 