As I sit here watching the preview to the Bully movie now playing in only select theaters, I wonder why it isn’t being shown everywhere, why everyone on this planet isn’t watching this, isn’t being made to understand that this has to stop.

13 MILLION Kids will be bullied in the U.S. this year.

3 MILLION Kids are absent each month because they don’t feel safe in their own school.

We are losing our children because someone wants to be mean. Because no one is protecting our kids.  Schools say they have a no tolerance policy yet the bullying continues. Kids get teased, they get pushed, they get hurt. Hurt in a place where they should feel safe, they should be safe. Adults are there to do their job to protect our kids when they are out of our hands. Yet they aren’t.

Stop making excuses, “boys will be boys”, “some kids are just mean”.

Those are excuses for not taking action, for not protecting our kids, for not doing our job as parents to teach our children what is right and what is wrong and how to be respectful of others.

No, bullying isn’t anything new. We probably all got bullied in some way or other when we were in school but you have to admit – it is so much worse now. Children are taking their own lives because they see no other way out.  This is wrong. We have to give our kids a way out.

We are all different. My child is different, your child is different.  I hear my child’s words that cut through my heart, “mommy, I was bullied again today”.  Each and every time, I let it be known to the school.  I will not keep silent about this.  But what has been done? He’s still being teased. He is still being pushed.  He has been at the same school for 5 years now and still it continues.  I won’t let the story of this family-  their heartbreak, their loss of their son happen without saying something.  I won’t be silent for this family, I won’t be silent for the many other families who’s lives have been changed forever, I won’t be silent for my own family.

See this movie if it is available in your town. If it isn’t get on the website and Demand it! be shown in yours. I just did.  Visit the Bully website!  Watch the preview. Visit their facebook page.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I was talking to a friend yesterday and she mentioned her daughter going on a field trip.  It made me sad that the school district my kids are in, the kids don’t get to go on field trips. They’ll never take a class trip to the zoo or the movies or museum or any other location that isn’t district property.

And then I got to thinking what else my kids are missing out on. What memories will I never have of them? What memories will they never have to look back on?

There was no kinder graduation. There’s no music programs they’ve been in.  There’s no class plays.  No costumes to make, no lines to help them rehearse. There’s no programs that parents are invited to to watch our kids on stage in the elementary schools.

This really makes me sad. I remember performing in school, singing, learning songs and being on stage and seeing my parents sit in the audience smiling and so proud of me. I don’t get to do that for my kids.

Did you do that? Did you get to perform for your parents?  Are your kids getting to do that for you?

I wish I had checked on this before we moved here. I wanted to have those memories so badly. It’s how I pictured my life. Sitting in the audience watching my son and/or my daughter up on stage saying their lines is a play or sitting back watching them sing or dance on stage little as can be but shining for all to see.

So very sad those memories just are not to be.

Photo courtesy of Jen of OneMomsWorld.com

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

For some reason, my princess can’t get herself to sleep at night.  Honestly the first night she was born, she was up literally all night long.  Daddy was a musician then and when he walked into the house and saw me sitting on the couch at probably 3 or 4 a.m. and princess had her big beautiful eyes wide open it should have told us something.

Now it seems she’s having the same problem. Last night it was past 11:30 p.m. and still she couldn’t close those big beautiful eyes.  It frustrates her to no end.  She cries and tells me she just can’t sleep.  I don’t know how to help her. I sit with, sleep next to her, rock her in my arms and still she can’t sleep even if she wants to.

We read nightly and she’s off to bed at 8:30.  We’ve tried earlier but it still happens.  She doesn’t fuss much in the morning either when it’s time to get up.  She’s up and ready usually before I can even get Bug out of bed.  I know she needs sleep.  Did you ever have this problem with your little ones?

Giving her medication or anything like that is not an option.  Perhaps something warm before bed would help.  Yes it is frustrating for us as parents too but I hate how it makes her cry at night because she just can’t sleep. I’ve never had insomnia so I can’t say I know how she feels but I can see it in her eyes. Those big beautiful eyes that sometimes she just doesn’t know what else to do.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

It hit me like a ton of bricks when Bug handed me a pink sheet of paper from his backpack.  I knew it was coming, I just didn’t know it would be this soon. What was that pink paper? It was the sheet asking what elective Bug wanted to take next year in “Middle School”.

He quickly narrowed it down to his top three choices: art, beginning band and choir. Art used to be my thing so it did make my heart joyful to know that’s what he wants although any of his choices because they are what he wants to do would have made my heart joyful.

How did middle school creep up on us so fast?  It seems like just yesterday I was holding my first baby in my arms and rocking him to sleep, cuddling him and kissing his tiny hands and feet taking in that wonderful baby scent.

I’m scared of this. I’m not ready for him to go to middle school. I don’t think emotionally he’s ready for this.

What if he doesn’t get one of his choices?  What if he ends up in math lab and doesn’t even get the opportunity to take an elective.  What if kids take advantage of him?  What if they make fun of him for putting his hands over his ears ’cause he just can’t take the sounds? What if he cries when he becomes overwhelmed? What if, what if, what if?

It’s starting all over again. Can you feel my panic?  Just writing this I am feeling the panic once again. Can’t we just go back to when he was just my baby boy? When I could keep him safe from everything around him? If only I could, I would.

I must remind myself, he’s come such a long way.  But when I look at him I still see that very innocent, sweet baby boy of mine. Once again I feel myself in an unfamiliar area of life. What will this hold out for us all?

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I’ve been I guess you could say out of commission for a few days now due to back pain but I gotta say my kiddos have been doing a great job taking care of mommy so daddy could get back to the office.  They have helped mommy so much over the last day or two and I am so grateful.

Princess has been my little nurse and every time I need to get up she is ready and waiting to help me walk to wherever I need to get to.  Princess is a little pixie. She’s so tiny and fraile but so sure she can help me if I fall.  Of course if I do I’d probably fall right on top of her but to her she is my strength.  In some ways, she is.  She keeps me smiling. Teaching our kids to be responsible is a big thing for us. Having them do chores is not easy. They both have done a great job at helping with laundry, getting themselves fed, taking their baths and keeping their rooms cleaned.  I guess we’re not doing too bad at teaching our kids how to care for themselves. They aren’t enjoying it but I know they can do it.  I’ll have to remind them of that later.

You know it’s kind of a good thing I hurt my back.  Well, not pain wise but it’s made me slow down. It’s made me not rush through life to get everything done.  The kids and I played some board games and card games and Bug’s new toy Bop It. I won by the way.   It’s not much of a fun spring break for the kids but they are making the best of it.  And it’s giving me some time to sit, play and simply enjoy my kids.

Yes, this time change and me moving slower has totally messed up their sleep schedule and before you know it spring break will be over and they will be back to school. I guess at that point I’ll be looking forward to summer vacation .

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

As I was cleaning out my desk drawers over the weekend, yes, it has been much too long since I cleaned out my file, what I found really took me back.  I came across a folder full of information we were given when Bug was first diagnosed with Autism.  I remember feeling so overwhelmed. There was so much information and this was but the tip of the iceberg.

The list of signs I missed. The indicators I should have caught but just didn’t see or maybe I just didn’t want to see them.  I kept reading the packet and as much as I didn’t want to see it, I couldn’t really deny it.  It wouldn’t have been fair to just close my eyes to it.  That wouldn’t help my son.  As much as I wanted to tell myself it wasn’t true, it was time to face the facts.  It answered so many questions and brought up many millions more. As scary as the possibility might be if you see these signs or someone suggests to you that you might want to get your child tested and as hard as it is not to getdefensive, take a close, honest look at what could be potential signs and find out.  It  may very well not be Autism but isn’t that beautiful child of yours worth the effort to find out? To even just inquire about with his/her pediatrician?  Of course he/she is.

These are just possible indicators.  I am not a doctor so don’t take these as facts just as what they are possible indicators that may be a red flag to you as a parent:

*Lack of speech or impaired speech
*Lack of eye contact
* Doesn’t respond when called by name
* Doesn’t like to cuddle
* Extreme distress for no discernible reason
* Spins objects
* Plays next to children not with them
* Has no imaginative play
* Echolalic speech (recites lines from t.v., etc)
* No fear of real danger
* Can’t carry on a conversation like peers his age

These were just a few of the things we noticed with Bug.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

I know Ive been missing from the blog for a little while but things have really gotten a bit hectic. My work at home has really picked up and I am so grateful for that but getting used to a much tighter work schedule is going to take a little while. Good thing is it keeps me busy and out of the kitchen pantry so I’m hoping it will help me get rid of some extra pounds I could stand to get rid of.  Now to just make sure I get up from my desk and get some extra movement in. This is where my little princess comes in.  She gets me moving by making get up and play Just Dance with her. Once you get comfortable dancing in front of others it’s actually kinda fun.

I’m going to try and get myself and my schedule in order so I can get my work in, my family time, the housework done, therapy and blogging, some exercise time in and a little me time which I’m hoping to spend taking photographs. That actually relaxes me.

Does it sound like I’m taking on too much or do you think I can do it?

I’ve got it easy compared to some moms who’ve got all their kids in extra curricular activities plus they work outside the home.  Hats of to them. I don’t think I could do it. I’m not even sure I can do this but I’m gonna try.

If you have any tips or suggestions that work for you I’d love to hear ‘em.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.

So, I had to share this photo with you ’cause Princess asked me to.  She is so excited about her new shoes.  She is a shoe fanatic like mommy. And she loves to sparkle!Now you might be wondering how the title of this post has anything to do with these sparkly shoes so I’ll tell you.  You know how sometimes you see just the perfect pair of shoes but they are just so high priced you can’t bring yourself to buy them even if you want to.  Well that’s what happened to Princess over the weekend. She saw these shoes and wanted them so badly but at $44 daddy and I told her she could get them but they seemed a little pricey for cloth shoes (you know how easily a little girl can get those dirty).  So, she chose not to pick them up right there. Then she was sad and a little mopey after that.

Then yesterday for no apparent reason I looked online at the store we were at and I saw a circular that had the shoes she wanted and guess what?  Yes, Tuesday and Wednesday only (a 2 day sale) the exact same shoe was sale priced at $19.99!  I love a good deal!

Now this was a price I was sure she’d be okay with.  She’s a smart little cookie when it comes to money. She’s not much of an impulse buyer and I am so grateful.  So right after school we headed over to the store we had seen the shoes at and of course they only had one pair in her size according to the sales clerk but neither he nor I could locate them.   Uh-oh this wasn’t good especially since the clerk told me they were being discontinued.  She got mad at me cause they didn’t have her size and was in tears already.  “Mommy, fix this somehow”, I thought to myself. I didn’t want to get her hopes up and then watch them come crashing down.  So mommy did what any mommy would do.  I asked if any other locations had them and there was one more store with one pair of her size left and fortunately it was just down the road. Now to just get there in time and find them.

As you can see we did and she was thrilled.  She wore them this morning to school and just insisted I tell my “AMomBlog friends” about it. So yes, it was a little risky and a tad bit of work and hope to get her the shoes she wanted but she saved $24, we used the store cash so technically it didn’t cost us anything and the smile on her face this morning was priceless. So, all-in-all her patience paid off in savings.

© 2012, Nanette Gomez. All rights reserved.