Category: Story Time

The last couple months schedule has created a lot of chaos but one day in particular last month was pretty insane. First let me set the stage and catch you up a bit.. Kam turned 4 September 29th and got a little golden retriever puppy that’s adorable but comes along with more work and responsibilities for all. Add in the floors and one of the bathrooms in my condo being under construction and I’ve been wanting to pull my hair out.

On top of all that it was a busy Friday full of therapy, work and running kids around. I also had a meeting with some women from church to plan our camping trip and I fully intended on bringing the boys with me. It was almost time to pack stuff up and get everyone ready to go when Kam announces his tummy hurts and he has to go potty. I’m thinking ok cool, this whole potty training thing is still a struggle but finally clicking and I like when he’s more independent. He sits down and asks for his iPad- we all like something to read on the toilet right. Two minutes later he’s screaming, “my eyes, mommy they’re burning”. I run over and he’s drenched! I’m frantically looking for the culprit, checking the counter top if a cup fell on him then I’m thinking Brady sprayed him with something or he’s sick and sweaty. I discover a puddle on the unfinished concrete floor and it’s yellow… yep he peed in his eyes. I guess I forgot to remind him to push it down.

I run him a bath, get his eyes clear and wash him up, not bad right.. I run to the other bathroom to pee and head back to check on Kam to discover the puppy and Brady have decided to join Kam fully clothed shoes and all. Fun! I get Brady undressed (not easy soaking wet) and the puppy dried off and call a friend cause there’s no way I’m getting everyone out the door and to my meeting at Panera in time. The phone call gets cut short by more screaming, “my butt hurts, I’m pooping!”.. Oh ya that was the whole reason for him sitting on the potty earlier. Crap! I run back to the bathroom to find Kam standing bent over with a log sticking out and Brady tracing his fingers through the poop stuck to the tub. Great! What now? I’m thinking keep calm and handle it.

I flush the poop, get the boys out, bleach the tub, get them back in, scrub them down and let them play a minute while I let the puppy out to pee. At this point my friend is pulling up to rescue me with a look of surprise on her face, pointing behind me so I turn around and both boys are out front naked, cracking up. Really?! Could anything else go wrong at this point.. I get them dressed and everyone situated and get in my car to leave.

I’ve never been so excited to have a few minutes to myself with my jams, secretly wishing Panera served adult beverages. I’m mentally patting myself on the back for handling all that like a boss and only 10 minutes behind schedule. I get to Panera and there’s maybe 4 cars there none of which from the people I’m meeting and I realize I drove to the wrong one. I remember talking to a friend about a meeting he had at that location the week before and I could scream at this point. I get back on the freeway and make it to my meeting 30 minutes late.. great first impression..

Years ago I would’ve cancelled my plans half way through that mess but Im learning to roll with the punches and enjoy the ride! Send me your crazy parenting stories so I can feature them on the blog.

I don’t have any pictures from that specific night but here’s some pictures of our new puppy Millie and the camping trip I referenced earlier.

As all of us know parenting brings some interesting situations. Special needs parenting brings a whole new meaning to interesting situations. Whether it’s due to ADHD, sensory processing issues or any other behavioral problems it creates some challenges to say the least. When I chose story time as the next blog entry I couldn’t decide what story to tell. So I made the decision to introduce story time as a fun new series I’ll post in periodically and feature other parents stories from time to time. Sometimes in the moment we don’t find these things funny but learning to laugh at ourselves is the only way to get through.

I usually get my errands done on days I work because the boys are with sitters or I do them while Brady’s in school and I just have Kam. Well on this particular day Brady had a doctor’s appointment downtown and missed school. Downtown appointments are eventful in themselves but on the way home I needed a few things from Target. I thought I’ll just stop real quick,  grab the three things I must have today and get out. No browsing, no Starbucks, just in and out.. What’s the worst thing that could happen in 10 minutes?

Brady had just turned 5 and was pushing 50lbs. He had grown out of strollers and we were waiting on the insurance to approve his wheel chair. He’s too big to fit in the front of a shopping cart, the Target near me doesn’t have a Caroline’s cart or the carts that have the seats for bigger kids in front so the only option was to let him walk. I knew better but he was in a great mood and I really needed those three items. So here’s how it went..

Caroline’s Cart

We aren’t in the store 30 seconds and he’s already doing snow angels blocking the entry way while I’m getting a cart. I grab his hands pull him up and we head to the vitamin isle. I’m looking for melatonin and he’s shaking bottles like maracas and squealing with excitement. What’s he hurting right? Well I’m getting looks like control your kids lady. I’m sure from the outside looking in that’s how it appears, at first glance you can’t tell Brady is developmentally disabled which I’ve been told I’m lucky but in all reality it makes some things more difficult.

Anyways, the laundry soap isle goes fairly smooth and we head to the feminine hygiene isle and it’s packed.  As I’m looking for what I need I get a whiff of something really stinky and immediately know it’s Brady. I look over at him and he’s on his hands and knees grunting, great.. Before I can pick him up a woman taps me on the shoulder and informs me the bathrooms are up front. Thanks lady.. I have what I need so we go to the bathroom to get him cleaned up and like always the changing stations are too small for a kid his size and you can imagine how difficult it is changing him while he’s standing.

We make it to the checkout line in one piece and Brady starts throwing one of every candy bar on the belt. As I’m trying to put them back he stops to smell the lady behind us(totally normal thing for him) but if you don’t know him it can catch you off guard. She doesn’t seem to notice or care so I continue to pay and hear “oh ok”.. I look over and Brady is running his hands up and down the front of this womans shirt. I’m mortified so I apologize, grab him and our bags and we dart to the car. Never. Again.

Next time you encounter a seemingly uncontrollable child keep in mind there may be more to the story than you know so be patient. We are all fighting our own battles.

Don’t forget to submit your funny stories to beautifullyunexpected.hope@gmail.com. I don’t have pictures of this particular day but here’s a few of some silly things Brady does..