I'm back and life is good.

      Wow, it's been a long time since I posted.  I thought I might have posted here awhile ago, but I think now it was just on my facebook page.  Sorry to leave this blog hanging on a potentially scary note.  The good news is now I am a cancer survivor!  They did in deed catch it early.  I had two rounds of surgery on my breast and a round of radiation treatments and I should be good now.  So far the healing up afterwards stuff is going well.  So now I can put all that behind me and concentrate better on my kids again.
        I can't tell you how proud I am of my son.  He was my rock through all this.  He was my example.  He asked me once if I was going to be okay.  I told him that the doctors said I would be, and he took me (and them) at our word.  While the rest of us were nervous wrecks, he was Mr. Cool, calm and collected.  He did what ever I asked him to do when I needed help.  His calm helped me to be calmer.  I am so very grateful that I had him during this time. 
        Not only that, guess what?  He's doing well in his vocational training!  He had a few rough patches over the first few months.  With me being sick though, who could blame him?  The stress had to come out some wheres.  His people were great about it and helped him through.  The main thing they taught him was if he was feeling stressed at work and thought he might lose it, he should just quietly exit the store.  It took a while for him to get the hang of it, but he eventually did. I'm really, really simplifying it here.  There were some really bad days here and there.  No one lost hope that he would get the hang of  it and he did.  Not only that, he actually went shopping with my daughter and I once!  He used the same strategy to cope.  When he was done looking around, he just left the store and waited outside for us.  Of, course we hurried up so he wouldn't have to wait too long, but what a thrill!  I got to go shopping with my son! 
        So now it is May and his program will end sometime next month I believe.  He turns twenty-one this year and will have to transition to adult programming.  Thankfully they have an adult program where he is now!  Yes!  I just have to get the new government people, together with the school people and the vocational training people.  The school people have papers that need to get to the government people so that the vocational people can put him in the adult program.  Anyone want to take bets how long this will take me?  I started bugging people three months ago, and turned up the heat the end of last month.  Time for a treat before I drive myself crazy!
         I don't have an actual recipe this time.  I got a wonderful recipe from Martha Stewart in my email yesterday for New York Crumb Cake.  My son loves the Crumb Cake that Hostess puts out, so I thought I'd try it this morning.  It's wonderful!  The cake part was so moist and the crumb part was yummy!  She says to sprinkle powdered sugar on it after it has cooled, but I skipped that part.  Enough sugar is enough around here.  So hopefully I'll be able to post a picture of them on here.  My email is now down and I think I need to completely start over, so I can't even post any links to it or anything.  I'm so glad I copied the recipe out last night before everything went ca-poof!  It's got to be some wheres on marthastewart.com. 

       Yes!  I remembered how!  You laugh, I almost didn't remember how to get back on this blog.  Radiation fries the brain, but only temporarily.  I'm back, my son is wonderful and the adventure continues!  Hope you all decide to come back too!  Hugs all around.    Nancy

Wow!

      Hi everyone!  I'm totally amazed at how many of you took a look last month!  Thank you for stopping by!  We had a busy summer here and it looks like our fall and winter will be no different.  Unfortunately, two weeks ago I got a breast cancer diagnosis.  I have to have surgery soon and then we will know just what my treatment will be.  Whether I will be able to keep this up during my treatment, I have no idea.  It could be a good distraction.  They've caught it early, so I'm trying to be optimistic. 
       Since my last blog, my son has started his vocational training.  I have to say that I love the folks that he is working with.  He has spent time working at a Pizza Hut, at a Chelo's, at a Walmart, at places that get local fruit and vegetables ready for restaurants, and tomorrow the library!  I'm amazed at the number of retail stores and restaurants they have who are willing to give my son and others like him a chance to try out their skills in a work place.  So far he has been doing really well.  They know of my diagnosis, and so worked with him on letting himself into the house with his own set of keys.  Not only that, yesterday he had a dentist appointment along with his sister.  They offered to give us a ride there!  I declined, but now that we know they both have to go back to get cavities filled (oh well!), that just may come in handy.  So, so far vocational training has been wonderful.  I'll keep you posted as I can.  Keep smiling everyone!  Hugs.
                                                                                                                                  Nancy

My "Karla" story

      Hi everyone.  I'm sure by now everyone has read or heard about the story about Karla Begley on buzzfeed.com.  She is the lady whose family lives in Newcastle, Ontario.  They received an awful letter from an anonymous neighbor about their autistic son.  On one of the threads that I read, a woman said that Newcastle was a tiny town.  A woman and her family living in a small community with an autistic child, getting persecuted by her neighbors, is a very sad story.  It's also my story.
      My story happened close to twenty years ago.  Long before facebook, long before Autism Speaks, long before very much help at all was available, my family got the diagnosis that our son had autism.  Within a year I became pregnant and had a very premature baby.  When the baby stabilized they suggested I bring my kids in to see her.  Not realizing the fall out that would happen, I said that no way would I be bringing my son into the neonatal intensive care unit.  That I was worried he might run into an incubator, or cause problems there.  Apparently that sent off a bunch of red flags and they became concerned about our baby's safety.  We met in a separate room together as family and introduced my son and his big sister to their little sister.  All went well, and I thought everyone was happy.
      It turns out that the hospital had called the local child protective services.  Some time later I get a knock on my door and I have to let one of their representatives into my home and be put through their humiliating scrutiny.  There was a young woman and an older man that were assigned to us.  The young woman's response after hearing all that we had to say was that maybe we should just put our son into an institution or move out into the country somewhere?  Mind you, our backyard was acres of soy beans and across from us there were even more acres of corn field.  Just how much country was she thinking???  Well, the old guy got her out of there in a  hurry and I thought again all was well.  However, he returned again.  This time he said that the powers that be didn't like where we were living and that they would be willing to help us relocate to a better place.  Fine.  We find a new place in a small city, closer to the baby who is still in the hospital, and where we even have some family members. 
      Yet again, we thought we had everyone happy.  Unfortunately, it turned out we had some real nosy neighbors.  The baby finally came home.  She was on two medications and required quite a lot of care.  My son, being motor obsessive, needed a lot of supervision.  I was recovering from my third c-section and pre-eclampsia. Without some extra help, it was a recipe for trouble. 
      One day while I was nursing the baby, my son got out of the house.  The next thing I know I have the man from child protective services at my door again.  Thankfully, they had more compassion than my neighbors.  He just said that we were doing our best in a tough situation and good luck to us.  Did this shut my neighbors down? No.  Every day when  I would go out my front door, one of my neighbors would be on her front porch with her phone.  If I took the kids to the back yard to play, her friend would be looking over her fence at us.  We were prisoners in our own home.  Finally after enduring this a couple of months, we decided to move again. 
      We decided to move back to the east coast, where we had lived some years before.  This required lots of money that we didn't have.  We began selling our belongings.  I sold my late mother's desk and curio cabinet. I sold every stick of furniture that wasn't necessary.  I even pawned my wedding rings and a pearl necklace that my dad had bought my mom in Japan.  I never got them back, but we got our family out of there.  Though I miss my "things", my family was way more important.  It turned out to be a great move for us too.  We moved to a major city with a top notch children's hospital and a children's mental hospital that was very helpful as well.  We had all the resources and help we needed right at our fingertips to help us raise our unique family.  If you read my other posts, I think you'll find we did, and are still doing okay.
      So you can imagine now my horror when I read what Karla Begley was going through in Ontario.  Another family being put though a trial,due to ignorance.  She, however, has access to the internet.  She stood up for herself and her family.  When the local news called and said they wanted to come over and do a story about her family, she got busy.  She got on facebook and rallied her friends around her and they came.  Boy, did they come!  When her husband left that morning to take their son to school, they were greeted by a crowd of cheering people outside their house!  How very wonderful!  What a difference twenty years can make!  If  I had a magazine that did people of the year, she would be my person of the year!  I'm so very proud and pleased for their family.
       That's it for today.  I just wanted to get this posted while I could.  I promise a yummy recipe next time!  Until then, hugs all around.    Nancy

A Miracle Through My Tears

      Hi everyone!  Yes, I'm finally back.  After taking a few months off to deal with some family occasions, I am back and ready to share all that has happened. 
      This summer has been one of huge changes for our family.  It all started in June with my son's graduation from high school!  What a momentous thing!  I never thought that he would get issued a diploma. I never thought he would attend graduation. I never thought that he would walk across the stage to get that diploma. Yet, he did all those things....in his own unique way.
        The planning began even before his last day of school. We had talked about graduation day each time we had an IEP meeting and what the plans could be. Two days before the end of his schooling he came home with his cap, gown and honor society rope and tassel.  He chose not to go to graduation rehearsal.  This made me nervous.  If he didn't go and practice, how was he going to be able to handle the real thing? His teacher reassured me that they had been though this many times before with other students and he would be fine. I began to be even more nervous that he wouldn't attend graduation when he started to complain about going.  He really, really didn't want to go.
       Not wanting him to be without some kind of celebration, I decided to surprise him as he came off his bus the last day of school. As luck would have it my husband got out of work early that day.  Both his sisters were also home!  I had everyone make some signs and we waited on our front porch for the bus to arrive.  Of course, it ran late!  Finally after what felt like forever, with our neighbors watching us and wondering what in the world we were up to, the bus came down the street.  We raised a ruckus and then waited patiently as the neighborhood young men were let off three houses away.  Then it was our turn!  We yelled, waved our signs and the bus driver started beeping his horn as he made his way to our home.  I felt such joy and love for my son.  It was nearly overwhelming.  Well, I think he was more than a bit surprised because it took him a while to get off the bus! When he came around the bus to our side of the street, his face was a little pink.  There was that quiet smile of his though, so I know he appreciated it.  He ran right into the house without saying a word and began his after school routine.
       Over the weekend I took some time to talk to my son about how graduation wasn't just about him.  That his teacher really wanted to see him walk across the stage and about how much it would mean to his father as well (never mind me!). We talked about how much effort we had all put into get him this far and that he should go not only for himself, but for others too. He decided to go. So, first thing Monday morning my son and I were waiting outside the building were the ceremony would be that night. He began pacing, not a good sign.  Then his teacher showed up and she had books and things to occupy him with her. "No", he said.  "When is thing going to be over?", he said. Luckily we didn't have to wait much longer and in we went.  Unfortunately, my son's patience had run out.  He was quickly shown the room, tried out a seat and we were told that seats would be reserved for us so that we could show up after most of the speeches were out of the way.  Whew! 
        As planned, we got there with about two speeches to go.  We found our reserved seats right by his teacher.  He immediately complained.  It was too loud, there were too many people.  Out the door, into the foyer I went with my son.  Pace, pace, pace.  We walked and walked, waiting for when the names would be called.  I found a water fountain and had a drink.  We walked some more.  I have to give credit to the folks who work in this building.  I heard one voice say," Is he graduating tonight?!"  I saw smiles all around as I watched over my son. 
         Finally it was time.  We walked back in and sat down.  When he got up to get into line, my hand was on my chest! It was happening!  It was really happening!  By the time he reached the top of the stairs and was crossing the stage, I was hugging my daughter with tears streaming down my face.  I felt like I was watching a miracle through my tears.  When we got his diagnosis at three years old, I thought his life was already over.  Now here he was, proving me wrong.  Proving to me that with help he could even do the things that would make him uncomfortable if he had to. I've never been so proud of my son. 
        Now I'm sure there are those who are saying "They forced their son to attend graduation! How awful!"  No we didn't.  We pushed him to his limits, worked with him and saw him through.  Next week he begins his vocational training.  His first experience will be at a Pizza Hut in the morning, helping set things up.  Do you think he will like everything they ask him to do?  Do you like everything you're asked to do at work or even at home?  No you don't.  As with all experiences with my son, graduation was a learning experience for all of us.  Learning to do things, even if you don't want to, is necessary in this world.  I will never, ever forget watching him cross that stage.  It is one of the happiest moments in my life.

Taking a break.

      Dear folks,
               I've decided that for the next two months at least I will be taking a break from my occasional postings.  I have my oldest getting married in June and I just don't have the time and energy to give this blog my best effort.  I promise to come back at some point in the summer.  I assume you want to know how my son's graduation goes and what comes after that, right?   In the meantime, I can tell you that my younger daughter absolutely rocked her third semester report card!  We are so thrilled for her!  With all her challenges she managed to pull a B minus cumulative average! 
             Alrighty folks.  I hope you enjoy what's left of spring.  Get those veggie gardens planted!  It's great stress relief and oh so good for you too!  Hugs all around!
                                                                                  Nancy

Well????

      Hi everyone!  As most of you know I started this blog to share my journey with my son as he transitions out of high school this year.  It has been quite a roller coaster so far.  First we were told that last year was going to be his last year of school.  At the very end of the school year we were told that he was to stay in school for one more year so that he would be eligible for a diploma.
      Once school was started this year, his teacher told us she would be setting up an IEP meeting to discuss his transition to vocational training.  When the notice came in October, I was thrilled.  It looked like this was going to be a rather smooth process.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  That meeting was canceled, as was the one for November, and January.  We finally had a meeting last week.  I expected some one from his new program to be there.  Turned out that only his regular group of people were there.  What we discussed was his options, yet again, for where he could go for training.  I could have sworn we had decided this last year???  Anyway, it had to be rediscussed due to budget cuts and changes. 
      In our city there appears to be three options to choose from.  There is Option A, places that don't do much training and are more like glorified baby sitters.  Option B would be the Transition Academy.  There was a plan to make a special section just for the autistic students, but that didn't happen due to budget cuts.  They tell me it will happen some day, but probably not in time for my son.  Option C would be the privately run vocational training places that work with the school department.  It looks like we will be going with Option C.  My son worked with a program for half a year, two years ago.  They got him a job at a grocery store, in the meat department, packaging chicken.  He said it was boring and not only that , it turned him off fresh chicken.  I can only hope that they have been able to increase their list of job options over the past two years! 
      The last thing we discussed was his graduation.  It seems that since the academic part of his education is coming to an end this June, he can participate in the graduation ceremonies.  Now my first thought was "oh, he can't handle that."  Then his teacher began bringing up options about how they could get him through it.  You could see that she really wanted to see him walk across that stage.  My husband got all excited too.  It appears my job is to get my son warmed up to the idea that he WILL be participating in graduation. They will find a spot for him in line and just pop him in there when the time comes and pop him back out again.  I'm not sure what to think.  I think I have my work cut out for me.  June 10th is the day!  Hopefully it will go off without a hitch. 
      As you know I like to add a recipe at the end here for a little stress relief.  This month's recipe is an old family recipe for banana bread.  My mother was from Bermuda and banana plantations used to be plentiful there when I was a young girl.  With the tourism trade becoming more and more important in Bermuda, the plantations have become less and less.  My mother got this recipe from a cookbook that her mother had.  A local church put together a cookbook to raise funds to help people shortly after World War 2.  A Miss Nettie Peniston contributed this recipe to the book. I love this recipe because it is very simple.  I find old recipes have just a few ingredients to them, but are super good.
      Miss Nettie Peniston's Banana Bread

Ingredients:
      1/2 cup of butter
      1 cup of sugar
      3 eggs
      3 bananas, crushed**
      2 cups of flour
      1 teaspoon baking soda
      1/4 cup nuts (optional)

       Combine ingredients in order given. ** Please note that Bermuda bananas are smaller that the ones we normally find in our grocery stores.  You may want to use just two good size ones.  The more banana, the wetter the batter, the longer you have to bake it. 
        Grease and flour a bread pan.  Put the dough in the pan. Fill the pan up to about 3/4 of an inch from the top. You may have extra dough depending on the size of your bananas.  Have oven set for 350 degrees.  Center pan in oven and bake until toothpick comes out clean.  For me it takes about an hour.  My dough always seems very banana-ry and thus takes a while. 
        When loaf has cooled transfer to a plate.  If any of it is too browned, just trim that part off!  It still tastes delicious! 
        Hugs to everyone!  I hope everyone has an enjoyable start to their spring.  I can't wait to get back into my garden and get my veggies growing again!
                                                                     Nancy

Is being barefoot so bad??

      Hello everyone!  I've been thinking about an interesting situation lately.  It all started with a post from Autism Daddy on facebook about his son taking his shoes off at home.  This short little post got a response from 181 people all saying the same thing!  I was one of them.  It made me curious to see if there were any more out there dealing with the same thing, or was this just a fluke?  So, I made a post over at www.myautismteam.com.  In two days I got nineteen replies saying the same thing! I don't know why this is surprising to me.  I guess I'm used to thinking that I'm the only one dealing with the challenge of autism and that is more and more not the case any more.  It's rather freeing in a way.  I tend to be a high strung, nervous kind of person.  The kind of person who worries way more than she should.  The type of person who likes to have a place for everything and everything in it's place.  I married a man who is rather similar.  Then we had children.  Child number one is a writer/artist.  Her creativity flows all over the house along with her papers, art supplies, dishes, food wrappers, shoes and lap top.  I've made a small inroad here, but there is always something I have to clean up once she is out the door or in bed for the night.  I've learned to tolerate her messes over the years.  Then we had our son.  Yet another very unique individual.  At first I was thrilled to see how neat he was.  Yeah, he isn't a slob like his sister!!  Then the truly autistic behaviors began.  Dad totally freaked out, and I was just stunned.  I suppose that's a topic for another post.  Anyway, when your child hits a certain age and you start looking towards his future, you start to take a closer look at some of his habits to see if anything can be done.  This is where my head has been at lately.  I'm trying to get my son to be a little more self-sufficient.  Someone that I don't have to worry about so much. Here's where the shoes come in.  He's always been barefoot at home.  When he was little his feet would get filthy from running outside.  He even got a wart on his foot then.  Ever since then I have been hyper vigilant about his feet.  I've offered flip flops, sandals, slippers of all sorts, never thought of the pool shoes that one mother mentioned, but they were all met with a refusal.  I had hoped that someone had a solution for me.  That I wouldn't have to worry about my son's feet being cold in the winter.  Two hundred parents said I wasn't alone.  Two hundred parents said we've been there and nothing drastic has happen yet.  I turned to my daughter's fiance, who happens to be an aspie.  His response "Is there something wrong with being barefoot?"  I stared at him for a minute.  Me in my slippers and socks and thought "Is there?"  Just yesterday I found some cookies that I had made all sorted by color.  I laughed and showed them to his sisters.  "Guess who's been in the cookies!"  We all laughed because this is one of his idiosyncrasies that we have come to accept and adore.  I guess I've found another one now.  He will wear sneakers or dress shoes when he has to go somewhere.  I pray he will never have to wear work boots for a job, because I just don't see that happening.  This has to be enough.  So what if he is barefoot at home?  Is there something wrong with it? Is there?  As long as his feet stay reasonably clean, and they usually are these days, I'm thinking he's just fine.  Sometimes it's the mom's that have to be taught!
        I have a recipe for you this month.  This one is Applesauce Spice Cake.  I got it from a Betty Crocker cookbook that I found at the library back in 2001. I don't remember it's name, but I hope they don't mind me sharing it here.  My son never, ever eats fruit.  The closest I get is apple juice or applesauce.  This is a hit with him as you can see by the photo.  It never lasts long around here.

Ingredients:
       2 1/2 cups flour
       1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
       1 teaspoon salt
       1 teaspoon cinnamon
       3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
       1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
       1/4 teaspoon baking powder
       1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
       2 cups sugar
       2 eggs
       1 16 oz can applesauce
       3/4 cup raisins

Directions:
        1.Grease and flour an 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan.
        2. Combine first seven ingredients and set aside.
        3. In mixer place soften butter, beat 30 seconds.  Add sugar.  Then add eggs, beating one minute after
             each.
        4. Add dry ingredients and applesauce alternately to beaten mixture.
        5. Stir in raisins by hand and turn into the pan.
        6. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  It's done when toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.

        We once were out of nutmeg and cloves.  We doubled the cinnamon and added ginger (about 1/2 teaspoon) to taste.  It still turned out yummy.

        Until next time, try to keep smiling everyone!  Hugs to you all.  Nancy

Happy St. Valentines Day!

      Happy St. Valentines Day everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying your day and giving your love bugs lots of hug and kisses!  On a day when love takes center stage, I hope we all remember to look beyond our immediate family and remember those who may be feeling alone or having a hard day today.  Do you have an elderly neighbor who could use a friendly phone call?  Do you know someone whose spouse is serving their country?  Reach out into the autism community, www.myautismteam.com is an awesome site and give a kind word to new parent of autism who could use some encouragement.  There are a lot of people out there who could use a little extra attention.  Last, but not least, there is another person you should remember today--yourself!  Our days as autism parents are very busy and stressful.  Don't forget to do a little something for yourself today.  A few minutes of exercise, a quick walk outdoors, dance to some music for a few minutes, just stop for a few minutes and breathe.  Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have a wonderful day today filled with love.  Hugs to you all!
                                                                           Nancy

Trying to look forward to the changes in 2013.

     Happy 2013 everyone!  I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday season.  Last weekend all our decorations came down and we are now  in the thick of what is usually the hardest part of the year for our family.  My husband paints houses for a living and this time of year there is next to no work for him to do.  Thankfully, he does have one job to do right now and as long as they pay him regularly, we should make it to income tax refund time. 
      We do have a couple of things to look forward to this year.  First, my oldest became engaged right after the new year.  There will be a wedding this summer. I guess I know where our refund is going, eh?!  Trying to get my son to be there for at least some of it, will be a challenge.  I foresee a whole blog on how we end up handling this. Anyone with any advice? 
       Also, my youngest daughter turns sixteen at the end of this month.  She says she wants white roses.  For this low budget family, this sounds like a lovely way to mark this special birthday.  Of course we will try for something else as well.  I'm just so proud of the young lady that she is becoming.  She is sweet, kind and so good with her big brother.  She is beginning to be able to control her ADD to a certain extent and her grades were really pretty good for the first time this past semester. 
        Last but not least, this is the year my son finishes up high school.  His teacher says he will get a diploma at the end of the year.  We also have a friend who just advised us to NOT let him have a diploma because more services would be available to him.  Meanwhile, his teacher has been trying all fall to get him set up with the programs that he would transfer into when his schooling is done.  This is turning out harder than any of us expected. 

        So lots of things to look forward to.  Lots of things that will make us learn and grow some more.  I hope 2013 is a great year for your families, filled with wonderful,positive things. 
        Now you maybe wondering what that photo is.  These are some sugar cookies that I made with my youngest over vacation to pass some of the time.  We had so much fun!  We were gifted with the colored sugar.  Some of that sugar is silver and some of it is gold! I had never seen gold or silver sugar before.  They really sparkle! While we were making these I remembered a friend who was very frustrated with being able to make these kinds of cookies.  Here is my advice for goof-proof cut out cookies.  First your surface has to be right.  I use an old pillowcase, but any smooth cloth will do.  Then you can't be stingy with the flour.  I keep my flour jar right there beside where I'm working.  Cover your cloth with at least an eighth of an inch of flour.  You need a good coating or your dough will stick.  You need a good coating of flour on your rolling pin too.  You may need to reapply while rolling as well.  Each time you roll out the dough you need to reflour your surface and your rolling pin.  Are you seeing the theme here?  Flour, flour, flour.  After this you need to bake them.  Some times cookies stick to the cookie sheet.  If you have the money there are silicone sheets and also parchment paper that you can line your pans with to guard against this kind of thing.  As I have said before, we are a low budget family.  I have never used either of those.  After many years of use, I just replaced my cookie sheets three years ago.  I've never had a cookie stick.  I think the real trick is to just watch them and make sure that they don't overcook.  These ideas also apply to other cutout cookies like gingerbread men.  I made my first gingerbread men this year!  I'd have taken a photo of those but I still need to work on my decorating skills!  Maybe next year....!
      All for now.  Next month will be Applesauce Spice Cake.  I just made some yesterday.  It is so moist and so aromatic!  I love filling my home with the smells of yummy baking!  Hugs to you all.
                                                            Nancy

Autism and the holidays.

     Hello everyone!  As I have been reading the blogs and reading parents comments on different web sites the biggest issue we all seem to have is expectations over the holidays.  We imagine a picture perfect holiday with all the decorations and presents, with all the holiday gatherings and with our perfect kids.  The problem is our children are not going to all of a sudden not have autism because it's the holidays.  They are still going to have all their issues and in order for us to enjoy what we can, we have to learn how to accommodate them and still be able to enjoy the holidays ourselves.

      My son had lots of sensitivity issues when he was young.  We had nothing on our walls and no knicknacks laying around either.  How do you decorate for the holidays then?  First we let him have his room as it was.  Second, we kept things fairly plain.  We decorated with their drawings and a few small pieces on our own dressers.  We put up a tree, but it was monochromatic in his favorite color (thankfully red!).   As you can see by the picture there were no decorations on it except for bows.  This is actually an amazing photo of him then because not only is he dressed but his shoes are on!  I'm not quite sure how we managed that one!  Anyway, You can see how plain it is and how he even wanted to try to tie on a bow.  Each year we added more to it as he himself improved.
      We have no family near us, but do attend a church on a regular basis and do have social events that we like to attend there.  Did we drag him there where he would have been uncomfortable, causing a scene and making us leave early?  Well, we tried but became wiser. When he was young we took turns going to social activities or didn't go at all.  When he became able to be on his own, our lives improved.  We always invite him to come, but he always says no.  Does this make me sad?  Yes, but he has to take things on in his own way and in his own time.  He does go out with us from time to time and we just enjoy those times all the more.

        Having a child on the autism spectrum is difficult at it's best.  The holidays just add to it.  Don't expect more from your child than they can normally handle.  Let them take the lead.  Show them decorations in the store and ask if they like it.  Start very simple and slowly add things as the years go by.  They get overloaded by more than one present?  Open the rest yourself and give them to them over the next few days.  They will still enjoy them, whether they opened them or not.  My advice is to give your child the gift of understanding this holiday season.  Give them the unconditional love and care that they deserve all year long, including the holidays.   This is our tree from a few years ago.  We have multicolored lights, garland and lots of decorations!  He even has taken on the chore of putting  the tree up! 
       Part of our holiday tradition is the baking of lots of cookies.  I tried for years to find a good recipe for cut out sugar cookies and finally found one a few years ago.  Unfortunately, the book won't let me reproduce the recipe but you can find it in- Christmas Cookies! A Cookbook with Cookie Cutters by Susan Devins, illustrated by Barbara Lehman.  I found most recipes to be rather bland, but this one is just sweet enough.  For additional fun, you can make your own colored sugar!  Add food coloring (assuming dyes are alright for your child) to half a cup of sugar and stir,stir, stir.  I found red impossible to make but was able to make some lovely colors for springtime.  It lasts a very long time.  I still have some ready to go from last spring.
I found my son never really got into making cookies, except for licking the beaters and waiting impatiently for the final product.  He is also very good at stacking the cookies in the cookie jars! 
       I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season.  I hope you are able to find moments to enjoy the things that are important to you.  Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy new year from my kitchen to yours! (Sorry, I don't know how to move the photos around!)  If you notice...I found a use for all those ribbons that used to go on the tree!!  Hugs everyone!

In thanksgiving and gratitude with pumpkin pie.

     Hello to my few readers who are still here.  I always have at least five views every month, and so for those few I continue on.  I want to reach out and help who I can, where I can.
     It's been a very hard month for us.  It actually started in October when we had our semi-annual appointment at the welfare office about our food stamps.  First, let me back track.  Two years ago my husband worked for a contractor as a painter for houses.  He worked for him for a number of years.  Since painting is a seasonal job here, and I felt I needed to stay home with our two handicapped children, we applied for and received food stamps.  They agreed to help us with about $600 a month.  Last year the man that my husband worked for decided to retire.  Being that we are both over the age of fifty, my husband didn't think anyone would likely hire him.  He worked out a deal with his boss and now the painting company is my husbands.  If our family car hadn't broken an axle and the car company given us money for it, we would have never had had the money to get the business off the ground in his name.  Last fall it was time to renew the food stamps again.  As a new business, my husband made much less money than he did the year before.  What did welfare decide this time?  We only qualified for $189 a month this time.  I was nervous as we went into last winter as to how we would handle everything with a loss of $400 to our budget.  Some how we survived.  Now last month, it was time again.  This year, our income wasn't any better than last year and guess what?  They said we don't qualify for food stamps any more.  I'm terrified.  We only have a handful of bills, gas, electric, rent, our COX bundle and the business insurance.  All of them except for the business insurance are behind at this point.  Most likely we will lose our COX bundle in an effort to keep surviving.  Could your son survive without his computer AND his tv???  This so isn't good.  However, when things get bad, I try to find something good to think about.
     I'm grateful that I had the experience for voting with my son for the first time this year.  That's right, he exercised his right to vote for the very  first time!  We had great discussions about how our government works and what the current issues are.  I have never been more informed before an election as I was this year and I owe it all to my son.  It was wonderful seeing him deciding what he thought was right for our country.   I got a glimpse of the man that is inside him getting ready to come out!
     I'm grateful that my church has a welfare program of it's own and we are able to get a limited bit of food if we really need it.  This pains me because I want to be the one helping others, not the one getting the help.  We do what we have to do for our kids though.  Humility is a hard lesson to learn.
     I'm grateful that my church has an employment program and that they are going to try and help me be job worthy again.  After being at home for eleven years, no one is hiring me and I apparently am in need of a huge redo.
      I am grateful for my health.  I've had a good year health wise.  I am on new medicine for my blood pressure and I feel much better now.  Keeping your health is so important.  Along those same lines, I am thankful that I have a plot now at the community garden.  As our budget shrinks, I still have some green beans in my freezer and some tomatoes ripening in my window.  It makes me feel a little less helpless and the fresh food is so much healthier for you.
      I wish I could stay positive but did you hear what President Obama said in his press conference this past week?  I've been worried that I might lose my health insurance and will have to pay for my pills,  I'm worried that my kids SSI payments may be reduced.  Then Pres. Obama says that if the physical cliff thing doesn't go well, he doesn't want to hurt the woman on SSI with handicapped kids. That means that I am his next target.  We can't afford any more loses here.  We aren't making it now.  Please pray for me and my family, for your family.  I've been homeless once and it was awful. 
     As I am struggling to find positive things to be thankful for this year, I am also thankful for my friends and for you.  For many years I thought I was all alone.  Then I found facebook and My Autism Team and all of a sudden my world opened up a bit.  I'm grateful for you all.  Next week we have the opportunity to sit around our tables and give thanks for what we have.  May we all be able to put our fears aside for that short period of time and find something positive to hang on to.  Happy Thanksgiving all!
     Here's my older daughter's Pumpkin Pie recipe.  She got it off a web site a few years ago, but I don't know which one.  It's my younger daughter's favorite pie!

PUMPKIN PIE

1 15oz. can of pumpkin
1 12oz can of evaporated milk
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 pie crust of your choice

     All you need to do is combine all the ingredients above and turn it into the pie crust of your choice.  I use the ones in the dairy case, but you could also use a ready made crumb crust or even make your own if you are that talented.  Place it into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes,  Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40 to 50 more minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
     As I've said above, this is a huge favorite at my house.  We make it year round when when we can.  I hope your family enjoys it too! 

My son wants to vote?!

      Hello everyone!  I hope everyone has had a very busy and productive month.  I have noticed that for me it does take about that long for me to come up with something informative and interesting to write about and hopefully you will find this interesting and informative! 
       Most recently I have been blogging about my daughter and her IEP meeting and the results from that.  I'm going to have to say that it is a slow process now.  I never heard from her English teacher about this years books, so I could try and get them in large print.  Instead, when the first book came home, I took turns reading it aloud with her.  I guess it was a success because  this morning she told me of a book club that they have at the school library!  This from the girl who would never willingly read a novel on her own!  We shall see how this developes.
       As for my son, we attended his school's open house about two weeks ago.  We were able to meet with his teacher and get a quick run down of the year.  We are supposed to have a "real" meeting sometime this month, but I haven't heard anything yet.  I really hate having to nag their teachers to follow up on what they say they are going to do.
       As far as I am concerned, I have something that I am accomplishing this month.  I am a woman over fifty who has high blood pressure.  It stays under control with medication, but I do get seen twice a year by the doctor to make sure everything is good.  I think one of the most important things we can do for our children is to take care of ourselves.   We need to be around as long as possible, as healthy as possible, for them.  With that in mind and also because my mom died of breast cancer, I get my yearly mammograms.  They are easy, not that uncomfortable, and you can usually find a source that will do it for free if you don't have insurance.  I urge all you ladies out there to take care of yourself.  That said, that is not what I am having done this month.  This month I am finally giving in to doctors orders and having a colonoscopy.  In the United States it is recommended to have one once you reach the age of fifty.  I am fifty-three, so the doctors have been after me for the past two years to get it done.  I have finally run out of excuses, I mean who really wants to have one of these?!  So off I will go on October 31st to make sure my insides are healthy.  I keep telling myself that I am doing it for my kids.  I am keeping myself healthy for my kids.  I'll let you all know what it was like.  According to the folks that I graduated high school with (we have a facebook page) it isn't too. too bad.  I'm glad I have them rooting me on!
      As you noticed by my the title of this post, my son has expressed an interest in voting this year.  For those of you not from the United States,( and I know you are there and I am amazed!) we are having a big election on November 6th.  Not only do we get to vote for our local officials, but it is a presidential election year as well.  All the cities and towns have been checking their voter registration lists and sending out update/registration forms for the  people.  I got one in the mail about a month ago.  It dawned on me that my son is 19 and could vote if he wanted.  I asked him and he surprised me by saying yes.  So we filled out the form and I am proud to say that my son is a registered voter now!  That done, the political education of my son and as a result, all of us, has begun.  It's been an interesting time.  We have gone over again how our local government works and who is up for reelection.  We are listening to all the presidential debates for the first time ever.  He even wants to watch the vice presidential debate tonight, that I was going to skip!  I am so proud of my son wanting to be informed and asking all the questions that he is asking.  He is teaching all of us here how to be better citizens.  I hope all of you from the United States of America join me and my family by going out to vote on November 6th. 
      It's autumn here, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and all kinds of apples are in the stores!  I love the aromatic smells of ginger bread, pumpkin pie and all things apple!  It just makes the house smell good!  Here's a recipe I made from two recipes to get the flavor I like.  Enjoy!
APPLE OATMEAL CRISP
7 medium apples, cored,peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
Directions-
!. In a 1 1/2 quart baking dish toss apples with lemon juice.  This is so they don't turn brown in the air.  I usually skip this and just coat them quickly with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour.  Toss and coat throughly.
2. In a small bowl combine oats, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut in butter until it looks like course crumbs.  Sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake in an oven set at 425, 30 to 35 minutes, until the apples are softened and the topping slightly brown.

It's sooo good!  Oh!  Almost forgot- Happy Halloween!  I hope you are able to enjoy the holiday at some level with your kids.  My son only wore a costume once.  We just said he came as himself!  I also read recently that the sound of the crunching leaves under feet can bother those with sensitivity issues.  Another good reason to keep the leaves raked off your walkways!  I'd love to hear how you celebrate.  Do you go around the neighborhood?  Do you do a family party at home?  My church throws a chowder and chili cook-off followed by a trunk or treat.  That means we decorate the trunks of our cars and hand out goodies from there!  It's a safe, fun way to celebrate!  Last year it rained, so we moved into the classrooms to hand out the candy.  It worked out great.  Love and hugs to you all!
                                                                                     Nancy

The joy of advocates, IEPs and baked apples!

      What a busy September it has been with school starting for all three of my children.  The oldest is in her last year of college, and thankfully doesn't need any help from mom and dad.  We keep a roof over head, provide moral support and stay available for daily chats.  That is all the support she needs.
       My autistic son is in his last year of high school.  We had to deal with transportation issues with him,as the bus system had him listed as graduated.  It took two days to straighten out, but he's all set now.  I still don't know what his class schedule is this year and that is next on my to do list.  I've had to direct all my attention to my third child so far this school year.
       Child number three, my daughter with ADD and learning disabilities, is beginning her sophomore year in high school.  We didn't know what her schedule was going to be either.  I went to school the first day of school to see her schedule and make sure it was appropriate.  It all looked fine to me.  Last week I get the call to do her IEP.  I went on Friday and only her math teacher/case manager was there.  He was flipping out and saying maybe she should be in a different school.  So I let him get everything off his chest and said I wanted to schedule another IEP meeting with all the people who were supposed to be there actually there.  It was scheduled for this morning.  When you have an IEP meeting, your children's teachers should be there; OT, PT, and Speech teachers should be there; the school psychiatrist or social worker should be there and finally a representative from the SpEd dept of the school system should be there.  Over the weekend I contacted a couple that I know from my church who have two, grown, handicapped sons.  The husband is a retired judge and knows all the legal information. The wife has been involved with an agency that deals with handicapped adults for years.  They offered to come with me today for the next IEP meeting.  They had me call the school first thing this morning to let them know I was bringing advocates with me.  I'm here to tell you that everyone showed up for this meeting!  What a difference!  It turned out that my advocates have known the school dept. representative for years.  We all had a great conversation about my daughter, her strengths and weaknesses.  My advocates were so helpful in asking the right questions and also providing some great information on some services as well.  There will be some testing to see if she qualifies for any visual technology.  The math teacher was calmed down and actually admitted that she did really well on a quiz last Friday.  I am so, so glad that I bought advocates with me this time.  I have always gone by myself to IEP meetings.  I won't be going alone any more.  You get more respect and consequently more results if you have an advocate with you.  It's nice to feel like I did my all for my daughter today. 
         BAKED APPLES and fall, they just seem to go together.  I love going to the farmer's market and smelling all the fresh picked apples.  My son loves apple juice and apple sauce.  It seemed a natural to try him on other apple treats.  The easiest is the baked apple.  I use a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.  I'm not sure that I can print it so I'll just say that it uses apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and a little bit of water or apple juice for the apples to sit in.  I'm sure there is a cooking site that has their own version that you can find.  My son doesn't like cooked raisins and the wrinkly brown skin was a turn off.  However, once I scraped the apple out of the skin, he was fine with it.  Future blogs will have my very own apple crisp recipe and a recipe for apple sauce spice cake.  My son and all my family love both of these, plus they make the kitchen smell so good!  So stay tuned.  I hope you enjoy your fall and all the wonderful produce that will be out there!  Hugs to all of you!
                                                                                   Nancy

Some good information

      Hi everyone!  This is just a quick post to give you all some interesting information that passed my way today.  Going through my emails I found the recent Autism Speaks blog.  I read them to keep up on the latest news about autism.  I've read a lot of negative things about Autism Speaks recently on facebook, but I find them informative and I appreciate the research that they fund.  Any way, todays blog had an article entitled Finding Credible Autism Research.  They listed many places to look using many types of media. I wish I had a list like this 16 years ago when my son was first diagnosed!  All I got was a manila envelope with copies of a few articles in it from the Developmental Pediatrician that we saw! The world knows so much more about autism now than it did back then.  I'm so glad the information is getting easier to find. You can go to the Autism Speaks/blog web site to read it or my facebook page Autism and Cooking.  I have posted it there. 
       I hope you are all enjoying your weekend.  We've had glorious weather so far.  Today was warm, with blue skies and fluffy white clouds.  A perfect day by my standards.  I got out for a walk with my daughter and soaked it all in. Hugs to you all!
                                                Nancy

Sensitivities and school

      For at least the first three years of my son's elementary school years, this is how he looked as soon as he came home off the bus.  Off would come the shoes and socks, quickly followed by the pants or shorts.  Why?  In short, he was extremely over-sensitive to many things.  In my first real blog I talked about how we had to deal with this at home.  With school, the list of things increased. 
      He would only wear certain sneakers.  The ones that would stay on his feet at the store, were the ones that we bought.  Socks had to have the seams running across the top of the toes, not on the ends and sometimes had to be turned inside out.  To this day, he will not wear jeans.  He wears sweat pants because they fit snugly around his waist without the use of a belt.  He will wear a light weight dress pant.  I truly hope that the person who came up with the idea of printing labels on t-shirts, instead of sewing a label on, is a very rich person now.  What a wonderful thing that is!
      So now let's say you actually manage to get your child dressed for school.  You get him to school.  He likes  the school and seems to like his teacher.  Does he/she have a melt down after being there for awhile after initially seeming happy?  I read an article that said that even the pitch, volume or timbre of a new voice in class can set some kids off.  Was there a fire drill that day?  Those loud noises can really be jarring to our kids.  Suggest to the teacher to be warned way ahead of time.  That way they can practice, and parents can make the choice to keep their child home that day if necessary.   Did the melt down occur during gym?  Some children have a hard time with the whistle that gym teacher's blow to get the children's attention.  Suggest to the teacher to give your child a warning before he/she blows the whistle or come up with another method to get everyone's attention.  Some children don't like to feel hot or sweaty.  They may need frequent breaks.
       Some children are over-sensitive to odors.  We have had this problem at our house.  Some children can react to a smell 1 to 3 hours later after smelling it.  Here is a list of things to watch out for: perfumes, soaps, lotions, deodorants, hairsprays, air fresheners, gases from things like new rugs, plastics, rubber, paints, and paint thinners.  Children with a runny nose like allergies or itchy skin may be suffering from these kind of things.  I must say that my son's elementary school teachers were very good about this.  They never wore perfume or anything with an odor.  Windows were open as much as possible.  The floors were linoleum except for a small rug in the reading area.  Speak with your child's teacher if you think the room needs improvements and suggest ideas.  Don't just complain. 
       As far as the home scene, my eldest daughter loves all things smelly!  I felt that I could not restrict her in these things, but she is made to keep it to a minimum and to always have her bedroom window open as she is spraying.  I also have an air purifier in my bedroom so we have a "clean" room to go to if someone needs a break from a particular odor. All I can say is that it works for us.  My children also happen to suffer at times from seasonal allergies.  Claritin is a staple in our medicine cabinet when needed.  Always talk to your children's doctor before giving them a new over the counter medicine.
       School starts for us tomorrow.  I truly hope you all have a smooth transition back to or starting school.  I have found that there is always something to be dealt with every year with both of my SpEd kids.  This year my son wasn't put on the list to get a bus to school.  Not sure how long that is going to take to fix or how I'm going to get him to school in the meantime.  My daughter?  She isn't going to get her schedule until she walks into the door of school this year.  Her IEP is in the fall, so we have no idea what she is taking, with whom or if it is even appropriate for her.  I'll be walking with her to school to find out what is what. 
      I do have an after school snack idea for you- corn bread.  It's plain and simple.  I buy  the cheap corn muffin/bread mix that comes in the little boxes for about a dollar.  I stock up when they are on sale.  My son loves it warm from the oven!  It can be crumbly, so try to not over bake it. 
      My best to all of you.  As always, I hope I have helped someone if only in a little way.  Hugs to you all!
                                                     Nancy

Transitioning to a new school

     As a mother of three, I have gone through my fair share of transitions to new schools.  I've seen lots of posts on this topic and thought I would add my voice as well.
     To me the work of transitioning begins in the spring.  The schools here hold open houses in the spring and I went to them all.  I talked to the principal, the teachers, poked my nose into the  classrooms.  I made sure I got a good feel of the school before choosing it as my child's new school.
     With school just two weeks away, we are backing up our bedtime.  I saw a recommendation of backing up 15 minutes at a time.  You should get them (and yourself!) up earlier too.  I know, I hate getting up early!  During the summer I usually sleep until around 9am.  School days require me to be up at 6:30. Ugh!  Time for me to get ready.  Luckily my son is a natural early riser! 
      Prepare a one page brief about your child's disability and the assistance they will be needing.  Include allergies and any safety precautions.  Their old teacher will be sending their folder of information along, but it takes time to get to the new school.  Also, teachers just don't have the time to read through the mountains of paper that are usually there except during IEP meetings. Sorry, but that's the truth.
      Attend any and all orientation events.  Renew relationships started during the open house.  Again, talk with the principal, head of Special Ed., the school nurse and the teacher.  You can say something like " I'm so excited that Bobby will be attending your school!  We chose this school because....I think Bobby will be happy here because......I look forward to working with you.
       If for some reason your school doesn't do an open house or orientation, you could write a social story.  I'd also do a drive  by the school.  Let them get out and walk around a bit in the school yard.  Anything to make it more familiar to them. If they are going to go by bus for the first time, go to the bus yard.  Let them see and touch a bus.  Remember how visual our kids are.  Anything they can see, touch, hear will help them adjust to the school.
       I'd let them ride the bus the very first day.  Meet them at the school with lots of praise. Then take them in to meet the new teacher.  Of course, if  your child is older you may not have to go through all this.
       My last bit of advice is once you are certain your child is safe at school, that all their accommodations are being met, and they seem happy there--it's time to leave.  It took two weeks of going back and forth to get my daughter settled in middle school and just as long last year for high school.  Maybe your child will be all set the first day of school.  I certainly hope so!  It's a skill to learn from someone other than your parent and our kids need that.  They need to stand on their own two feet in a safe environment without you hovering once all the kinks are worked out.  Cutting the apron strings, as it used to be called, is good for you and them.  Go home, enjoy the quiet, watch your favorite soap and bake a batch of cookies for after school!!
       Enjoy these last two weeks with your children!  We still have a trip to the beach planned and a trip to get soft-served ice cream.  Yumm!
                                                 Nancy 

Teens with Executive Function Disorder « Smart Kids With LD

Teens with Executive Function Disorder « Smart Kids With LD  .  I saw this interesting article on my facebook page and decided to try and share it with you.  I have a daughter with ADD and this looks to me like good information.     Nancy

Shave and a haircut

     Hello everyone!  I've been wanting to write this blog for a long time.  As a matter of fact this is what got me to start blogging in the first place.  When my son was finally able to shave all on his own last year, I had no one to celebrate with.  There was no one I knew, besides his teacher, who would even understand.  I knew I had to find some others like myself and so I started exploring on facebook.  I found many blogs from mothers with young children and finally through them I found some mothers with older children.  It's been quite the journey reaching out to you all.  I don't have many people checking me out.  I don't mind.  I just hope I help the few that do.
      A number of the things that I read are about the trauma of getting our children's haircut.  My experience wasn't any different at first.  We took him to the hairdresser and he didn't even make it to the chair!  He totally wigged out and had to be removed from the store.  I apologized and offered to pay.  The nice young lady replied "Why?  I never got to cut his hair!"  Upon returning home, I informed my son that his hair was going to be getting cut and that I was going to do it.  Now I'm not a professional hairdresser and all I had been doing was trimming my daughter's bangs up to this point, but I knew I had to try.  The result was the "bowl cut" you see above.  It was all I could manage with all his wriggling around. Sometimes it took more that one sitting to accomplish this.  I remember sending him to school with one side of his bangs done once!  I found that by giving him control over how long it took by either stopping for the day if it was real bad, or taking a short break on a good day, he grew to tolerate getting his haircut.  When he was just about to enter middle school, a young lady in my church decided to teach the women in my church how to give a haircut!  I was thrilled!  She taught me how to layer and not be so afraid to whack away at my son's hair!  As I learned and practiced, so my son learned to sit longer and longer for me.  Finally the day came when my husband said that my haircuts just weren't hitting the mark anymore.  It was time for another trip to the hairdresser.  Only we didn't take him to a hairdresser, we took him to this old barber, with his own little shop.  There was only one chair.  The clients were all over fifty and quite compassionate as we struggled to get him adjusted.  It wasn't until he grew big enough to sit in the chair without a pad under him that he finally was able to relax in the chair. Eventually a few years after that I took him to a chain hairdresser for a more "handsome" haircut  than the buzz cut that the barber always gave him.  It's been smooth sailing ever since.
      Of course, by this time my son was starting to grow facial hair.  I thought I had a new nightmare on my hands.  His dad has a mustache and thankfully my son said he'd like one too.  Whew!  That put it off for awhile.  Eventually the night came though that the shaving had to begin.  I made him watch his father and he got all nervous, running around.  As with everything, I had to be the one to do it. He immediately took over putting the shaving cream on.  Yes!  Take control, my son! He put it on a finger full at a time, as if he was fingerpainting his face, but he put it on!  I had to do the shaving. When he had to start shaving every day, he was no where near taking it all over on his own.  We decided to buy an electric razor.  It is somewhat thin like the hand razor he was used to seeing.  I was worried that the buzzing and vibration might bother him.  He did get all wiggly the first time we tried.  The second time, I made him try to do some.  The night he took the razor from my hand and said he would do it, I let out a yell!  I was so excited!  He has been taking care of  his face ever since.  Well, okay, I still get called in to trim his mustache every so often!  Young man has to look good! 
       For today's stress relief, I recommend peanut butter cookies.  If your child likes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he'll probably like these too. A sneaky way to get a wee bit more of protein in!  Have him help by putting the fork marks in!
       Ingredients:
                       1/2 cup butter
                       1/2 cup peanut butter
                       1/2 cup granulated sugar
                       1/2 cup packed, brown sugar
                       1 egg
                       1/2 teaspoon vanilla
                       3/4 teaspoon baking powder
                       1 1/4 cups flour
      Combine ingredients as listed.  Place rounded teaspoonfuls, 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  Use a fork to make crisscross marks on dough.  I keep a fork in a mug of water off to the side for this purpose.  The water stops it from sticking to the dough. Bake 375 degrees for 10 minutes or edges start to brown. 
      REMINDER:  Those with nut allergies should avoid these!  Even traces of peanut butter in your mixer later could set someone off, so please be careful!
      This recipe was originally  from a old children's cookbook by Betty Crocker.  I no longer have it, as it was so well worn it fell apart!  Hopefully they won't mind!

      Well, thanks for stopping by.  It's fun to have someone to celebrate the small victories with now!  I hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer.  We are going to do a beach trip next week!  Whoo hoo!  I just love the ocean!  Take care.
                                               Nancy

You Just Never Know !

The HMS Bounty in Newport, RI

Snickerdoodles!

Lemon Squares

     Hello everyone!  I hope you all have been enjoying your summer!  As you can see by my photos, we have been keeping ourselves busy.  The first photo is from our trip to Newport.  My son loves history and architecture.  We try to go to some historical place, museum, etc. every summer with him.  After we toured our state capitol building last year, I asked him where he would want to go this summer.  He immediately, to my surprise, said Newport.  You have to understand that my son hates to get hot or sweaty.  He's basically an indoor type of guy.  I assumed he would eventually change his mind.  As you can see, he did not!  I saw on the television that the Tall Ships were coming to celebrate the bicentennial of 1812.  My son immediately agreed to go.  Really?!?  I had had a couple of conversations over the winter about trying new things.  That maybe you wouldn't be too comfortable the first time, but over time you might get used to it and eventually like it.  Had he really been listening to me and taken it to heart?!?  Apparently he had!
     The three of us- my son, my daughter with ADD and myself- all went to Newport on Friday the 6th of July.  We are a low income family, so we packed our lunch and some water and jumped on the local buses that go to Newport.  The bus ride took an hour and fifteen minutes.  I was nervous because my son will talk nonstop on a bus if he gets nervous.  He did very well.  There was plenty to see out the windows to keep him occupied.  When we got there he did seem rather wound up.  Luckily everyone from the bus poured into the visitors center, leaving us alone outside.  There was a safe place for my son to run, so I told him to go at it.  I could see him start to relax immediately as soon as he started to move.  After a quick sprint he came back over to us.  He was ready to go!
      I have to say we had a lovely time and I learned even more about my son.  Since it was a week day the crowds were not so big.  Always a plus.  Can you see how blue the sky is?!  We had beautiful weather.  Friday was the only day that didn't reach  into the ninety's.  We saw amazing ships.  The HMS Bounty was used in the 1962? movie "The Mutiny on the Bounty".  We also saw/smelled quite a few fish pots! 
     One of the most amazing moments came when we went into The Armory.  It has been turned into an antique dealers paradise.  I originally went in for him to see the building and tried to back out when I saw all the antiques.  To my surprise he became fascinated!  He looked at all the old ship things and even found some globes that interested him.  He didn't run or flap or anything!  I love poking around antiques stores.  It was thrilling to finally find something in common with my son!
      We had a lovely time.  He ended up with a sunburn because he refused to put on sunscreen, but even that didn't phase him.  All he said about it was "No wonder I was feeling so hot." So don't give up on having some good times with your kids.  It may eventually happen, given time and encouragement.  I just read a blog yesterday at www.whatlookslikeordinaryonacrazy.blogspot.com about how this family has finally been able to take their aspie son to baseball games!  Good things are always just around the corner!
     For instance, every week we do a trip to the library.  Last week I found Martha Stewart's Cookies book on the for sale rack for fifty cents!  You can bet I snapped that up!  It was coming unglued so the library decided to get rid of it.  Fine by me!  So far I have made the Lemon Squares (very refreshing) and the Snickerdoodles (yummy!) .  I had no idea when I suggested sprinkling cinnamon on my sugar cookies in one of my first blogs that that was actually what Snickerdoodles are!  Just leave out the vanilla and you are all set to go!  I made them this morning and my kids have already been eating them.  Perhaps I had better end this and get some while I can!  Be writing at you again in about a month.  Hugs to you.  Hope you can find a minute or two to relax!

Breathe!

     Hello everyone!  As the title of my post today suggests, I am breathing again!  My son had his transitional IEP last Monday and it went even better than I had hoped! 
      It started oddly enough with them sending me to the wrong building for the meeting.  My IEP notification had on it for me to go to our school department's Special Education Office.  The meeting was actually at his school, across town.  The lady at the office said she told them to wait as long as it took for me to get there!  Luckily, I was able to reach my husband and he took me right over.
      Once there, the normal room for IEP's was taken.  The teacher's lounge, which is the back up room, was being used for lunch.  We ended up basically in a closet that had one desk, one chair and a computer.  They couldn't even find any extra chairs to bring in!  It had to be the strangest meeting to date that I have ever been to.  The result , though, was wonderful.
      It turned out that the program that his teacher wanted him transitioned to would not take him without a diploma.  There were two other alternatives but she turned them down as not appropriate.  It was decided to keep him in his school for one more year to finish up his credits so he could get a diploma!  Apparently, all he needs is to do a computer class.  He loves computers, so I am not really concerned there.  So now I am cautiously optimistic.
       I do feel bad about one thing.  His teacher said he was one of four boys scheduled to leave this year.  She said if there was one boy who was to stay on for another year, she was glad it was my son.  Does this mean that the other three are leaving without diplomas?  I hope not.  All I can say is stay in touch with your child's teachers.  Let them know through your messages that you know what the laws are concerning your child.  Be as active as you can.  My son also made honor roll 9 out of 16 semesters.  He proved to his school that he is willing to do his all with what the good Lord gave him.  I think it all made a difference.
      Next week is the last week of school for us.  I'm looking forward to a little more sleep!  I'm also looking forward to having fun with my garden plot at a local community garden.  Yes, sadly, one cannot live on cookies alone!  I'm growing green beans, peas and spinach all for the first time.  I read somewhere this week that normal people need to try small amounts of new foods at least 12 to 15 times before they get used it.  Our kids can take even longer.  I'm determined to get my kids on one vegetable this summer!!  I'll let you know how it goes!
      Hugs all around, and I hope I've helped just a little bit!
                                                                                   Nancy