Extra Cheese, Extra Loud, Please!

America's Funniest Videos is going to cause me to go deaf.

But more about that later.

First, a bit of housekeeping....I was invited to guest post on the website http://www.actingbalanced.com/ for Autism Awareness Month.  You can find my article "Here's Looking At You, Kid."  under Recent Posts..AAM Guest Post... Here's Looking... on the left-hand side of the website.  I will post the article here as well at a later date.  Thanks to everyone for being so supportive!!!

Now on to the blog....

I didn't post over the weekend.  Not a single word.  I know, I know.  Strange.  It was merely one of those weekends where you feel like curling up on the couch with a blanket, a movie and something chocolate.

But that, for the most part, didn't happen.

5:24 am on Sunday... Why is it always on the one day you get to sleep in???  5:24 am Sean pounces on my bed and says, "Hey mom, Ashley needs you."

His hearing is incredible.  I wanted to explain to him that she was simply babbling and until I hear the distress call of "Mom!" that I wasn't going to go to her.

But it was 5:24 am....on a Sunday... did I really want to get into a major discussion with my son on raising a now 5 year-old child? 

I think not.

I "save" Ashley from her bed and take her to mine to snuggle and hopefully get back to sleep.  After an hour of twisting, turning and her feet burrowing into and under me, I call it quits and get up.

Sean was already playing on the computer.  I went into the kitchen to make some toast.  The furnace wasn't running and Smokey was not awake, the loss of the click-clack of her nails on the floors only adding to the silence.  Thus, the house was unusually quiet and yet, Sean still wore his noise-reducing headphones.

Hmmmm... quiet house... headphones... me in another room....

You can only imagine how loud his call of "Mom" was at that hour.  It was immediately met with an equally as loud "Shhhhhhhh."  I went over to him and attempted to explain, in my best "I'm trying not to be crabby" voice about how everyone else was still sleeping.  I asked him what he needed so badly that he had to bellow my name at daybreak.

"What are we doing today?"

Really?...Seriously?.... 

"Nothing, Sean.  We're doing nothing."

The day wore on and my crabbiness grew as the effects of 3 hours of sleep beat me down.  My brain was fried.  I did get a bit of respite, though, when the kids were able to go outside in between the scattered showers while Rich picked up take-out.

And then dinner came.  As a treat, we ordered pizza and watched America's Home Videos on tv in the kitchen while we were eating.  Some seats at the table make for better viewing than others.  I was kicked out of my usual place and not at all unhappy that I would not have the pleasure of viewing babies vomit or skateboarders tempt the fate of their future fertility while enjoying dinner.

I wound up sitting next to Sean. 

Sean likes to talk.... loud.  He doesn't mean to.  Voice modulation is just another thing we deal with on a constant basis.

"Sean, lower your voice," is a phrase that can be heard throughout our day.

It was used alot last night during dinner as the kids competed with each other and the tv to be heard.  The louder the kids, the louder Tom Bergeron and AFV became.

I was the one closest to the speakers.

I can not blame my kids for my impending hearing loss anymore than that Rick Springfield concert in 1982.

Thus, Tom and the whole ABC family will be getting the bill....