Thursday Organizing- I've learned my lesson

When I start to organize something I have to stop myself from putting things where "they ought to be" and put them where I naturally tend to stash them. I've lived in this house 6 years now and finally embraced the idea of putting my shoes on the floor of my closet rather than the cute little shelf at eye level. Why? Because I always kick my shoes off on the floor after a week of trying to remember to put them on the stupid shelf. Now that shelf holds some scrapbooking stuff and gift bags. No shoes. Shoes belong on the floor. I've learned my lesson.

Wednesday: Allergy Free Recipe: Oatmeal Cookie Bars

I love recipes that have simple ingredients that I usually have on hand. This recipe called for raisins and walnuts originally, but first- yuck- why ruin a perfectly good cookie with raisins and second- no nuts here. If you are not allergic to nuts I think they would be good with this bar. It's actually not too bad for you either. I added the raspberries on a whim and it turned out really well. Enjoy!

Egg Free Oatmeal Cookie bars

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup applesauce- I like the cinnamon flavored applesauce
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries or other berry

Direction

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C ). Grease a baking pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the brown sugar, white sugar, and applesauce. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the applesauce mixture. Add the rolled oats, top with raspberries.

Spread into a pan and bake for about 20 minutes.

Cell phones only

We have moved to only cell phones. Just wanted to let everyone know. We've finally embraced 10 year old technology and got a smart phone for Thomas. He's had fun playing with it.

For my Tuesday post- Effective Advocating...

It's always interesting to go back in time and think about Spencer at younger ages. I've had an opportunity to do just that recently while corresponding with an acquaintance over email. One thing I remember- if I expected little I got very little from him. It's easy to have an "I give up" mentality as a parent with a non verbal child. It's important with any parenting to have your mind made up that your kid can do it and have the faith in him/her necessary for them to succeed.

A few of my favorite quotes about autism:

"Just because I don't say anything, doesn't mean I don't have anything to say" is one of my favorite quotes about autism from autism speaks. Every behavior is a way of communication. I once heard Temple Grandin say "I can look at you or I can listen to you. You pick."

Wednesday: Allergy free recipes- a great midnight snack

This is my "go to" evening snack when I crave something chocolate. It's egg/peanut free, but not milk free.

Chocolate Fluff

1/2 cup cool whip

1 tbsp cocoa powder

a little sugar to taste (if you like dark chocolate just use a bit)

whip together the cocoa and cool whip with a spoon or a mini whisk. Stir in sugar. Dip in strawberries, raspberries, pretzels,marshmallows- whatever you fancy. It's great plain as well. I just freeze it for a bit and sometimes eat it like ice cream.

Tuesday: Effective Advocating

A list at the store was the ticket today for Spencer to succeed. We needed to go to the grocery store to get some things for Laura and the kids coming tomorrow. I made a list with Spencer and he was my helper on the little trip. It's still like herding sheep with 3 of them, but he stuck to the list and made good choices. Something as simple as a list can be all of the accommodation a kiddo needs to behave in a socially appropriate way. We did have one incident where a man bumped into me and apologized and Spencer went up to him and said "Hey, that's OK Man." in a very loud voice. The guy didn't really know what to think of Spencer, but we just moved on. :)

lack of sleep

I've been dealing with restless nights and it's frustrating because no one is causing them but me. No kids up and about, no dog barking outside, just can't sleep. At least Spencer doesn't have to be up early this week- we've slept in until 9:30 both today and yesterday. Picture day didn't get taken yesterday, but we'll catch up next week with Gizmo's photos from his b-day.

Saturday: Update

I didn't get to the gym much this week with a sick kiddo and I don't think I'll make it much next week because Spencer's home and I don't take him to the gym child care. I think that may be why the kids keep getting sick anyway so I'm taking a break.

I'm going to set a few goals that will fit in fitness next week in non traditional way. We'll see how that works out. I like my gym. I will miss my gym. Not enough to get up at 5:00 am. I will sacrifice to get back down to a size 10, but not that much. :)

Friday: What I like about YOU!

Meghan and James!

You are family.  Love you guys!

 

 

Thomas- They are fun to hang out with for Family Home Evening.

Dereth- True friends.  They love you even when they know what your life is really like!

Spencer- I wanta go see Meghan and James and the PUPPIES!

Sammie- They are always ready to have fun and play games.

Tyler- They come eat pizza and play games at our house.  They have cookies and candy at their house.

Gizmo- Indiana and Nipper!

sickness again

We have sickness again. Tyler is sick with the stomach flu for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. Say a little prayer for my baby boy. He's pretty miserable. I'm going to take him into the Dr. this morning if he throws up anymore. Although, all they seem to do for the flu or virus or whatever this is- is give them a pop cycle and tell them to sleep a lot and drink lots of fluids- things we are already doing. It's frustrating to see your kid so sick and know there's nothing you can do.

Wednesday: Recipes

I didn’t call this one “allergy free” because it’s just not.  However, once you read it you will understand that Sammie won’t be eating it so it’s not a big deal.  :)

Friday is Gizmo’s birthday!  We got him on January 16th and they told us he was about 18 months old.  We decided his 2nd birthday should be July 16th.  We invited his 2 puppy friends Indiana and Nipper and their humans Meghan and James. 

Doggie Birthday Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix:

• 2 cups flour, white or wheat
• 4 teaspoons baking powder

Add:

• 2 six ounce cans of your dog's favorite food
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• Approx. 1 cup milk (add slowly until mix reaches batter consistency)

Pour in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake for thirty-five minutes until set in center. Let cool in pan for twenty minutes before removing.

In keeping with the theme, why not substitute Snausages or Pupperonies for regular candles?

Gizmo loves cheese wiz in his hollow bones so I will probably decorate his cake with the spray kind. 

Yum?  I guess if you were a dog. 

I wonder if we can get him to wear a paper hat at his party on Friday?  One thing for sure- Picture day for Monday will be a blast!

** We’ll be serving ice cream cones for the people at the party. **

Tuesday: Effective Advocating

Self-Advocacy and Self-determination. 

I am impressed with this:

 Florida’s Project 10  focuses on transition education and has a great definition of these terms:

Self-Advocacy is defined as the ability to speak and act on behalf of one’s self and is an important skill for students in school settings, including IEP meetings, and in post-school adult life.

Self-determination is the process of taking control and making decisions that affect one’s life. A study conducted with more than 1,500 successful people from business, science, sports and the arts, revealed that "successful people in any field excel at making decision, self managing their behavior and adapting to changing circumstances." (Garfield 1986)

Self-determination provides students with the skills and abilities to

          - make choices
          - make decisions
          - problem solve
          - set and attain goals
          - self-advocate
          - independently perform

How many adults do you know who have all of these skills?

I’ve discovered on the road of effective advocacy that no matter how much we advocate for our children, if we are not advocating for ourselves we will struggle.  If our “cup” is not full how can we give what we need to our children? 

Monday is Picture Day!

Sammie got a camera for her birthday back in May and I think she gets some cute pictures. She has a good eye.

Sunday: Week of Fun!

This week has been a little bit fun, but a little bit sad. Sammie and Tyler took turns going to visit my parents. You’d think it would be easier having one less kid around for the week, but this has been a LONG week!

I realized a few things:

- Sammie is Tyler’s best friend. He’s a bit lost with out her.

- Tyler is Sammie’s best friend. Aww.

- Spencer is much calmer without Tyler around, but talks about him all of the time. Does that mean he loves to be annoyed? Sounds like a healthy sibling relationship to me.

- Sammie and Tyler entertain each other. I hear “I’m Bored!” a whole lot more when they are separated.

- The pool is much more fun when all 3 are there.

- It’s easier to cook for one less. Strange I know. Maybe there's just one more complaining about eating their food.

- Most important- I miss my kids when they are not near me.

So, while they had a wonderful time with my parents, I missed them and am happy to have my little group back. Maybe it’s good to have this experience so I can appreciate them. Check back in a few days to see if I still feel this way or if I’m ready to ship them back to grandma’s!

Saturday: setting simple goals

My summer goals with the kids have been:

1. Do something outside

2. Do something fun

3. Do something productive

Simple right? Easy to follow. Direct. Easy to remember.

Why is it when I set goals for my weight loss they are complicated and hard to follow or even to remember without checking the calendar or a list?

Here are my new exercise/diet goals:

1. Keep a food journal

2. Eat something fun and new each day

3. Exercise in a different way than I did yesterday

Simple. Easy to follow. Direct. Easy to remember.

Friday: What I like about YOU!

GIZMO!

This is the position you will see him in most frequently at our house.

That's why we call him "the rug"

Thomas- he’s funny sometimes

Dereth- he follows me around and I love his fluffy tail

Spencer- my puppy! Spencer always says: “Gismo takes us for a walk” when it’s time to walk him. It cracks me up.

Sammie- He’s so cute!

Tyler- He’s funny!

Gizmo- I have no idea what a dog would say about himself… that I like treats? I love squirrels? I love walks? I love sleeping 18 hours a day?

Thursday's Organizing Challenge: Willy Nilly Closets

A little thing called “Willy Nilly”

My organizing challenge is to conquer the closets. I have 3 closets in my house that seem to always be a mess.

1. Tyler’s closet because he throws his toys and books willy nilly in there.

2. The shoe closet as you walk in the door. (same reason as above, but all of us are to blame for throwing shoes, socks, and coats willy nilly) I have to say especially Spencer. He ignores every organizing option I have for that little closet.

3. My closet. For shame. I clean it every month or so and it’s the same issues- I just can’t seem to make myself maintain any system of organization for more than that amount of time and then everything falls apart. I’m the only one to blame for the willy nillyness of that space.

I give them another month before I have to clean them out again, but at least they will be nice for a little while.

The Great Cereal Mystery

I remember the last time Spencer ate cereal with milk.

January 2001

It was one of those random frozen moments in time where you remember every emotion you are feeling and could describe the room completely, but the actual scene is of no significance in your life.

When we first moved to Monroe we lived in a small furnished apartment while we house hunted. Spencer had just begun to have food sensitivities and had stopped eating milk with his cereal shortly before we moved.

I remember sitting at the table with him in that tiny dining room excited and mystified that he would all of a sudden eat his cheerios with milk again. I was rejoicing that he had out grown his picky eating. Boy was I wrong.

He didn't eat cereal with milk again for 9 1/2 years.

Today.

July 7, 2010.

I think this moment will be another moment frozen in time. The only difference is that I will remember it not as a random memory, but with great significance.

Wednesday: Allergy Free Recipes- Another Chocolate Cake!

Karen’s Chocolate Dump Cake

Just dump all of the ingredients into the bowl and mix! Put vanilla icing or cool whip on this cake and it tastes like a Ho Ho.

Ingredients

• 1 (5 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 1/3 cups milk
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix- some cake mixes have egg in them already- be sure to read labels.
• 2 cups chocolate chips of your choice- I think the white chocolate chips would be great and I’ve tried milk and semi sweet with good results.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
2. Combine chocolate pudding and milk in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, stirring frequently.
3. Remove pan from heat and add in dry cake mix. Mix together and pour into the lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Evenly spread the chocolate chips over the top of the cake.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F(175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cake cool and serve.

Book Review

Just a quick book review-

I have been reading the "Gone" series by Michael Grant. It was recommended to me by a bunch of 11 year old girls so it was likely that I would enjoy it. We have similar taste in reading material. :)

I did love the first one. "Gone" was great entertainment and a quick read- kind of a mix between the show "Lost" and "X-Men". Very cool. I'm about half way through the 2nd book "Hunger" and I am not sure if I will continue though. It's taking a turn for the disgusting. (I won't go into details here, but if you've read them you know what I'm talking about) Not much is being resolved in the story and more and more characters are being introduced to make for a dull and confusing book.

Poor Gregor the Overlander has been put aside and renewed twice from the library because the exciting sequel to "Gone" came up at the library on my hold shelf. I think it might be time to pick him back up.

Tuesday: Effective Advocating

Community Resources

Every community has resources available to support children of all abilities to participate in activities and programs. Summer time is often very difficult for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Spencer thrives on a good routine. Here are a few ideas I’ve used in the past.

1. If your child is on the August-May schedule or something similar- Check out summer school- for children with an IEP it’s called ESY or extended school year. The planning for this begins before Christmas break so if you feel you need more assistance this year be sure to check it out for next year. Call for a team meeting in October/November to request a detailed explanation of the upcoming quarterly report and to discuss the possibility for ESY next year. At that meeting let the team know that you will be requesting data to be taken over the first 2 weeks after winter break is over to see if your child looses skills over winter break. If there is loss of skills based on the report and the following data then he/she might qualify for ESY. There’s a bit more to it than that, but this information will get you started.

2. Call your community center. PLB (Productive Living Board) of St. Louis County is a grant program that funds a number of worth wile resources in our area including an inclusion specialist for the city of Maryland Heights. She and I meet before Spencer after I enroll Spencer in a program at the center and discuss his needs and how to best support him. She reads his current IEP and behavior plan for school and does an in depth parent interview. Spencer does a summer day camp through the community center and they provide a shadow for him funded by the PLB and trained by the inclusion specialist!

3. Swimming Lessons- Many teachers will take 1:1 students and some specialize in teaching children with disabilities. Ask around at your local YMCA or pool and see if they offer these services.

4. Speaking of the YMCA! Our local YMCA chapters have an inclusion specialist as well! We have not tapped into this resource yet, but we can enroll Spencer in an activity at the YMCA and he will have a trained staff person to assist him in succeeding in the activity. They also have packet programs for children with disabilities where they can come meet their assistant 10 times for a set amount of money and work out, swim, play tennis or any of the other multitude of activities offered at the Y for members and you don’t have to join.

5. Community Resource Fairs- every March our area does an Autism Fair to allow parents the opportunity to talk to local vendors of services all in one place. We’ve gone to this a number of times. It saves a lot of time and energy and you find out a lot of new things.

6. Ask. It’s simple, but asking questions is a great way to find out things. I think Big Bird said that on Sesame Street. Either way it’s good advice- If there’s an activity you think your child will like, but you wonder how he or she will do because of the specific challenges they have- call up the company and ask. You might be surprised at what you learn.

Monday is Picture Day! Guess who? Answers

Here are the answers to the much anticipated Guess Who game. :)

1. Spencer

2. Spencer

3. Spencer

4. Tyler

5. Spencer

6. Spencer

7. Tyler

8. Tyler

9. Tyler- I love this picture of him

10. Spencer

11. Tyler below

12. Spencer

13. Tyler

Sunday: A Week of Fun!

A few very exciting events happened this week for us. 

First, I saw Eclipse on opening night and LOVED it!  Ultimate Girls Night Out!   The food, friends, and flick were all AMAZING!  Thanks guys for hanging out with me at the movies!

Second, Spencer started his PCA hours- personal care assistant- associated with his behavior plan developed by his behavior therapist.  Translation:  we had an extra grown up in the house 2 afternoons this week.  Next week we will start with our 3 afternoons a week schedule that will last the rest of the summer.  All of us had a better afternoon the days that our PCA was here to help out and look forward to getting to know her better.

Third, we were able to go to Springfield to see Darrin, Alexis and Parker and my parents for a cook out.  The food was delicious, the company great and Spencer actually ate all of his meals that day!  yahoo!

We’ll miss Sammie this week- she stayed at grandma and grandpa Burnett’s house.  I’ll have to have Darrin and Lex send me pictures of the day because my camera never left it’s case for some reason.  I never remember to use it if I happen to remember to bring it. 

Saturday: I'm a weight watcher! I'm a Weight Watcher!

I'm going to have to change this post title to something else. I'm not really going to weight watchers although I am technically still a member. I'm just glad I didn't sign up for the monthly pass or $40 a month would be taken out of my checkbook and I would not be going. I've been paying by the week so I only have to pay when I go- which is never. Pretty cheap huh?

I've joined sparkpeople.com and find it's a great way to log my food and exercise. They tally all of the calories, fat, protein etc. and help me set simple goals. You get spark points that go toward nothing but a pretty trophy on your home page, but it's like a grown up sticker chart and I feel strangely motivated to earn those points. I don't know if I've lost weight since I've joined, but I feel more proactive and I'm eating better so it's a step in the right direction.

Maybe I'll change it to: "I'm a Spark Person! I'm a Spark Person!" he he. Sounds kind of goofy.

My exercise log from this week:

Monday- I honestly don't remember... so probably not much- Oh, wait a minute- I can look at sparkpeople... Ahha! I did heavy cleaning (scouring after the plague), went swimming with the kids, and walked about a 25 minute mile.

Tuesday- 45 minutes treadmill, walked dog, swimming

Wednesday- Walked 60 minutes- this was the day I took the kids and dog to the park and walked the track- I was wonder mom that morning- got the dog walked, exercise in, and kids playing at the park all in one setting.

Thursday- walked to the dog park and had to hitch a ride back with a buddy when Sammie got stung by a wasp twice. I guess it was about 30 minutes to get there. Found out she's not allergic to wasps. Good to know.

Friday- Packing for trip, walked dog... that's about it.

Saturday- off to Jacksonville for the 4th!

Sunday- off

Friday: What I like about YOU!

Tyler Paul Atkins

We have the most pictures of him on our computer since he was a baby when we got a good digital camera. The others have scrap books though so I guess it's fair.

The story behind Tyler's middle name:

Thomas' Grandpa Atkins gave us the name Paul for Tyler's middle name. We were considering Kenneth after him and told him so. He said that if we wanted to name our son after him to name him Paul. His parents had chosen the name Paul for him and his sister was adamant that he be called Donald Kenneth so they changed it. He thought Paul was a much better name than Donald Kenneth and wanted to finally right that wrong.

His first name came to me when I was driving home and I remember the exact section of road that I thought of his name. Ah, the exit ramp of highway 40 and 270 will always bring back fond memories for me.

What I like about you!

Dad- He's funny and a good boy

Mom- He's great fun to hang out with and I love that he always gets dirt on his lower left cheek.So cute.

Spencer- He is my brother

Sammie- He's always willing to play with me... most of the time.

Tyler- That I like to go to McDonald's

Gizmo- He plays with/torments me.

Thursday's Organizing Challenge: Report

Just a quick update about some of the things we've tried to do this summer:

- Summer Reading Program- Sammie completed her summer reading program. She's turned into quite the bookworm- she sleeps with books- reads herself to sleep and wakes up in the morning and reads until she gets hungry. Spencer and Tyler have a few more weeks until they are done, but they should finish too.

- Returns bookcase- except for Sammie's books that she cuddles with at night we have kept this up. I need to holler every now and again, but overall it's good. I have put a limit on the number of materials they can check out though- we are at 5 each right now.

- Laundry System- works when I actually do laundry. Hmmm... go figure. Actually I think Sammie's basket is upstairs right now in her room full... have to handle that today.

- Sammie's Bendaroo Work List- She is finished! We found some bendaroos at Schnucks for $10 rather than $14 online and $20 at Target so we snatched them up and earned them Saturday. We are so proud of her and her dedication. It's a two for one- learning good skills and understanding that it takes hard work and money to buy the things we want. She wants to keep working on the list to earn extra money for her next big purchase.

Tyler did a short one to earn some hot wheel cars and he was excited too. He was my laundry helper, my dishwasher helper, and my set/clear the table guy the other day and did great!

- Atkins Family Summer list- we've knocked off a few things, but we were for sure more "gung ho" about it at first. We'll have to take a look at it again this weekend and see what we can check off.

I guess that's about it. I think it will be good for me to reflect on what has worked and what hasn't. Next week I'll think of something else to work on.