MARY,MARY...QUITE CONTRARY....

CONTRARY- a fact or condition incompatible with another.



Okay, Mary Hutka is anything but CONTRARY....and this is the person I am
blogging about today.

Where do I start....

9 years ago August, Caitlin was promoted to second grade. She had the same
teacher for 2 years, so I was hesitant when she was to start the Second Grade
with a new teacher.
She was put in Mrs. Mary Hutka's class.
Mary worked very hard with Caitlin, and I knew that Caitlin was well-loved and
learning alot. Mary Hutka also made Caitlin accountable for her very disruptive
behavior. Caitlin was a much different child when she was 9 years old. She was
aggressive, screaming loud and very hyperactive.

This school year, we were lucky enough to have Mary Hutka to teach our little boy,
Patrick for Second Grade.

Now, Patrick is the complete opposite of Caitlin at that age and is an amazingly well-behaved
little boy.

Mary calls this child PERFECT PRINCE PATRICK. This will let you know how much
she adores my son.

Mary and her family have become part of our family. We adore her and her committment
to not only our children, but all the children she teaches. Mary is diligent in her teaching
and loving when it is needed.

Lately, Mary has become aware that she will be losing litte Patrick soon. I cannot
imagine how the last day of school will be emotionally for her. I know Patrick is
going to have a hard time.

I also know Ms. Mary reads my blog religiously and I need her to know this....

MARY, you are more like a Sister to me than my children's teacher..you are the type
of Aunt my child(ren) need at a time when their Aunt has checked out. You are the
teacher every up-and-coming teacher should observe and model themselves after.

You have loved and embraced a little boy who has sensory issues and is more
emotionally immature than most kids his age. You have overlooked his Autism and
treated him like a STAR....you have made him a much better person....

For that, I say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart and through my very
tear-stained eyes....

Love,
Jeanette

A MOTHER'S DAY...

I was woken up at 6:30 this morning to a very stinky diaper followed by "happy humming" sounds. Being thrilled that Kiernan finally had a poopy diaper...yes, he has issues with pooping...but, so did Caitlin at that age and now she poops just fine (thanks for asking)..I got out of bed.
I came downstairs to my breakfast waiting for me...Meaghan heard me get up and made me my Jenny Craig breakfast. I gained 12 pounds after surgery last year and have worked very hard to get the weight off...yeah, Jenny Craig.
I walked into the utility room and to my surprise was 9 rolls of toilet paper that have been taken off of the roll....thanks, Kiernan...just what I wanted.
Into the bathroom I find 1/2 of the bottle of shampoo I bought yesterday has been drained into the sink....yet again, Thanks Kiernan.
As I am grilling tuna steaks and chicken breasts on our outdoor grill, Kiernan has been very busy in our garage freezer...looking for ice cream. He did not find any, but I had a lovely mess to clean up.

Okay, to my point....yes, I have a point.

I am a Mother EVERY DAY....I am not all up on MOTHER'S DAY....it really is a day for people to spend alot of money on women who really do not do this because we have to...we do this job because we love our children.
I would not be the mother I am without the children I have. They test every limit I have and also reward me with their amazing talents and love.

I don't take anything Kiernan does personally....he really does try hard...but with his sensory issues, he must try to soothe himself with whatever he finds...be it toilet paper, soap, or even ice cream.

I waited until I was the ripe old age of 30 years old to have my first child...I am now 47 years old with 6 children. Thanks to all of them, everyday I have A MOTHER'S DAY.

PENGUIN PERFECTION...

As some of you might know, Meaghan, our only child without Autism, received Ty Pennington's "surprise room". It is a Winter extravaganzaof snow flakes, mountains and, most important, PENGUINS.
Last week, I received a call from a lovely woman. She explained to me that she has a very extensive penguin collection and she would like nothing better than to give the collection to Meaghan....if she was interested. OH BOY !!! Was she interested !
Two days later, this wonderful woman called me back. She wanted to know Meaghan's furniture brand...she wanted to match her furniture by buying her a display case for her new collection. OMG, this woman was going above and beyond what "giving" means.
I told her Meaghan's furniture was Ikea.
Lo and behold...promptly at 3:30 pm, an SUV pulled up in the front of my house. Out stepped 2 beautiful, well-refined women. They introduced themselves and I introduced them to the family members that were here at the time....
Gradually, one box at a time, we helped her unload her SUV. She then took out a display case...over 6 feet tall. It matches her furniture perfectly. One penguin by one penguin, we unwrapped these little gems. Over 30 penguins later, we have a beautiful display case with an amazing collection of penguins...some over 40 years old.
I will say this analogy of our home....I know I have said it before, but it fits our situation PERFECTLY...
The home we received from Extreme Makeover is a dream come true. It is better than winning a lottery. The builder, Jimmy Jacobs, had to gather builders, carpenters, painters, carpet layers, flooring person, etc. He shut down his business for 1 full month to build our home......over 3000 volunteers, people we will never get to meet, gave up a day, 2 days, up to a week to build out home. You cannot tell people thank you enough to let them know how much that means to you.
BUT....the house is just the cake....along with the house came the opportunities to meet some of the most amazing people on this planet. The producers, directors, designers and everyone behind the scenes. Also, the community in which we live....they all embraced our children and 1 1/2 years later, it proves to still be true. These wonderful people are the ICING...the best part of the cake. The only part 4 of my children will eat. Meaghan will cherish these penguins for the rest of her life.....I will cherish the generosity of a woman who gave a prized collection to a little girl whom she knew would love the penguins as much as she has....PENGUIN PERFECTION at its best....