The Kreativ Blogger Award

WOW!!!! I won an award!!! This blog has won a reward!!!! I'm speechless!!!!

Now I must abide by the rules of acceptance. Those rules are:

1. Thank the blogger who presented you with this award.

Thank you to Grape Jelly on Pizza for bestowing the Kreativ Blogger award upon me! I had no idea that I had been nominated!!!!! I first followed your stories on your Facebook Page and love to read your stories. Pizza is my all time favorite food! How could I NOT love a blog with a title like yours????

2. Post a photo of this award.



3. Share 10 things about yourself that your readers don't know.

Wow -- that's hard considering I share so much of myself here....

(1) Instrumental Music has always been an important part of my life. I played piano from age 5 to 15, flute from 4th grade until well after college, I even tried the oboe and bassoon for a while. I auditioned for several groups. After acceptance into one of these, I had the opportunity to play on the stage at Carnegie Hall. That was AMAZING!!!!!

(2) I can't stand it when the light switches are unmatched (they should be all UP or all DOWN). It really drives me crazy.

(3) On my wedding day, all of my bridesmaids and maid of honor ran out of the bridal suite claiming that they wanted to get away from that "Crazy Bride". And they told this to my soon-to-be-husband.

(4) I like The Laurie Berkner Band at least as much as my kids.

(5) I really enjoy spending time alone. I enjoy the quietness of the house and have to remind myself that I need to step out and enjoy the sunshine as well.

(6) I am FAT (not overweight, not obese)!!!! I am currently trying to lose weight (so I look presentable at my brother's wedding later this year), but I just love foods that are bad for me. I need to find more motivation.

(7) I HATE to clean. I need to find a job not for personal growth and development or satisfaction, but so that I have the money to hire someone to come in and clean my house so that job doesn't fall to me.

(8) I always wanted to have 4 kids. I was 33 when my oldest was born and I thought that dream was just a dream. Then when I had 2 kids 21 months later, I still thought it was possible. Now at 40 years old, I still would like another child, but am quite realistic that it isn't going to happen. I'm happy with my family as it is, but I still would love to have a 4th child.

(9) I always hated to write. That is, until I started this blog. I'm always so surprised how cathartic I find writing. I can say things here that I can't say out loud. And I'm always amazed seeing the comments showing me that others are reading what I put here.

(10) (Going with #9)I recently started writing a second blog for the local Patch. I usually write about things related to raising autistic children in this area. At Ballerina's meeting yesterday, the representative from the Autism Office told me that my previous Patch article had been circulated to everyone in her office and apparently even beyond. Ballerina's teacher had also read it, and their praises gave me a huge amount of personal satisfaction (and caused a bit of embarrassment). It really touches me to know that the things I say reach others.

4. Choose 6 people to present the award to.

(1) Autism Twins -- KAL is a local (to me) Mom of identical twin boys, both on the spectrum. I was introduced to KAL by our case worker at our local EI services organization. Life always gets in the way of us getting together, but she is always someone I can turn to when I have a question. And the stories she shares in her blog are incredibly touching.

(2) Sorted Megablocks -- The writer of this blog is a friend of mine who I met through Facebook. Several things in our lives are so similar -- she is also raising girl/boy twins on the spectrum and her twins are about 9 days older than mine. But unlike me, she carries much more responsibilities as she works tirelessly from home. She shares her stories here.

(3) Apples and Autobots -- I don't really have a personal connection to the writer of this blog as I do to the ones I already mentioned. I found the blog long before I found the writer. I saw her comments on other blogs and read her comments on my own blog and found her that way. I am always touched by her posts. She writes about the real world. How it is and how she sees it all. It's very touching and always so grounded.

(4) In Allbri's Eyes -- Another blog that tells it the way it is. Her blog I think is similar to mine. She shares her thoughts. She shares herself. I always think about many of her posts as letters to her children for them to read when they are older, although I'm not really sure that's her intention.

(5) I Can Has Autism -- This is a blog I discovered recently. I really like this blog because it prepares me for what is to come. Her children are older than mine, but have similar issues. Will my kids face the same issues as hers? I really don't know. But I love to read her posts and try to figure out where we are headed.

(6) Life With Spongebob -- Jess hasn't been posting here very much, but I have read each of her posts. Life always seems to get in her way. She is raising 4 boys, 2 of whom have autism. She focuses mainly on issues about her youngest son who has classic autism. He is very young and she shares so many things that we all think about. She shares the best moments and the worst. But she's still one of the strongest Moms I know and hope that she finds time to write more posts soon.