Getting Away Is Always Bitter Sweet...

I know I am not the only one that experiences this battle of feelings. When I am going through the motions of every day, I look forward to my chance to get away. When it happens, I miss them terribly and feel so bad....

Got a chance to go to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL with a few girlfriends this week. I was looking forward to it for months. My mom got into town and off I went, only to feel so bad while I was gone. My guys can be tough, and spent the days testing limits and hazing poor Grandma. I was hoping to hit big and be able to send her away to the Bahamas for a few days to recooperate ;) I am so grateful to have her here and get these chances to escape reality for a few days...

I had a blast! Relaxed by the pool, played cards until the wee hours of the morning, ate & drank for free and won enough money to fund the whole trip! To me, that is a win!! If you can leave a casino after three days completely even, you won big!! I took pics of every guitar, hat, shoe, and outfit in the place! A music junkie's paradise!! Where else can you get in the elevator and hear Soundgarden?? We also met Ponch AKA Erik Estrada :) Still looks good for being 61!

All in all, a great time. I missed they boys terribly but am already looking forward to the next chance I can sneek away ;) Vicious cycle.....

Autism Mothers ROCK!!

Last week, a good friend of mine pulled off a photo shoot in a few hours, as the deadline for photo submission was two days later (nothing like the last minute!)

The Autism File magazine was taking picture submissions for a calender they are putting together. The concept is capturing images of strong mothers of children with autism from around the world. A text saying meet at House of Refuge with a black dress and attitude was sent out and nine hours later, we were together. What a blast!!! Some of my favorite gals, a few bottles of wine, a great location, and perfect lighting all came together to make one great photo! I don't even care if it makes it into the calender...I am just so happy to have it for the memories :) Love You Ladies!!!!

SFA Cocoa Beach Adventure...

Well, I have fallen off the blog scene in the past few weeks, so today I play a little catch up :)

SFA Cocoa beach was fun! I got to hang with some cool Moms and the kids had fun, although they hardly surfer...they were OBSESSED with the hotel's Pirate Pool. I decided to pick my battles and skip the waves...it was their weekend and if they wanted to run around in two feet of water all day, so be it!

Funny story, they played Friday night until about 10:30 pm, woke up the next morning begging for the pool. We hit the beach, they pouted, and I gave in. We headed back to the pool to find it closed!! OMG...EMERGENCY!!! I called and started to complain to the front desk and found out that someone pooped in the kiddie pool the night before (as they are pumping that water into the pool right where our kids were playing....) EWWWWWW!!! As this is happening, there is a mass baptism of about 50 people in blue tshirts occurring in the hotel pool...seriously?? You can't write this shit ;)

Aside from all of this, we had a blast!! Hung out with great people, had some drinks and laughs, and made some good memories <3 SFA pulled off another stellar event xoxo

I found out a week later that I have a fairy godmother that called ahead and treated us to our room!! I have since found out who it was, and a million thanks to that great gal!! What a wonderful surprise <3

Our Adventure Weekend Ahead...

So I am super excited about our weekend plans. Heading north about 2 hours to Cocoa Beach for the Second Annual SFA Event and staying the weekend. I am broke as a joke, but this is the one thing these guys REALLY love to do and they have worked hard all summer with therapy so I decided to throw it on the Visa and think about it when the bill comes :) A few of my friends from here are going up too so it should be a great weekend! The hotel is right on the beach and has a big pirate ship in the middle of the kids pool...they are going to FLIP OUT!! Surfing AND pirate ships??? What else could they want?

I am a little worried about the rain in the forecast, but Mother Nature really watches out for SFA...seriously. There have been numerous events that should have been rained out and not a drop! Good things happen to good people...

The funny part is I feel like I am packing to camping for a month! Not only do I need the extra stuff that comes with two kids (toys, DVD players, toys, diapers, plenty of clothes, and did I mention toys?) I have to pack provisions for the weekend. That means three meals plus snacks for two kids over a weekend. I even bought a cheap toaster oven so I could cook their stuff in the room! Upgraded to the "Kids Suite" that has a fridge/microwave and a separate area with its own TV and bunk beds. We are going to look like we are moving in LOL.

So I will update everyone on how it went...wish me luck :)

I Must Confess....

OK, this may sound horrible to some, but to those that know me, you can understand because you know what a weirdo I can be about stuff.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am a real foodie. I was partners in a restaurant and did menu planning and cooking for special events/parties. I love nothing more than a fantastic meal with good wine, decadent dessert and delicious coffee.

I don't consider myself a bad eater. I hardly EVER eat fast food anymore. I love fruits and veggies of all kinds (except water chestnuts). Average meals are protein, tons of veggies, and a starch. I don't really drink soda, and if I do it is ginger ale. I do, however, drink a ton of coffee and have a sweet tooth, especially for good Tira Misu ;)

I also am a bit weird about food, too. Food carts can make me nauseous. I very rarely eat leftovers. I'm fanatical about expiration dates. I don't do restaurant buffets, and rarely do salad bars. I typically don't eat at "Pot Lucks" if I don't know the person or kitchen it came from. I can be weird about what I eat...

This leads to my confession. The boys have been GF/CF since November 2009, but we tried for a few months back in the beginning of 2008. I have never tasted a morsel of the things they eat :-( I Just can't bring myself to do it! It is "weird food" to me. The bread sucks, the cheese is horrible, and for the most part, it's completely unappealing to me. Does this make me a bad Mother? Is it really wrong? I feel so bad about it and know that the stuff they eat is so much better for them but I just can't do it.

I hate that they miss out on the good stuff. I have found things that they love and I am so glad about that, but it just kinda sucks. They won't eat what I cook and want to eat what they can't have, and so we settle half way...in the land of chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, waffles, cereal, pretzles, chips, and "Mocklate" bars...all GF/CF and mostly SF :-/ I dream of the day that they eat veggies, a nice grilled protien, and a starch...one day <3

Community Is What It's All About...

I wanted to take a minute to reiterate how happy I am that we live where we live!

Florida's Treasure Coast is not only beautiful, but the communities have small town feel with all of the amneties of a big city. I have networked with an INCREDIBLE group of families that I am so happy to consider friends. Sure, the economy is in the toilet and the housing market is crashing, but that is the story all across our great nation. What I really can't get over are the things made available to special needs kids. I am not talking about traditional therapies like speech, OT, and ABA. We have some fantastic therapists here that do great work with our kids(a bit of a shortage on certified Behavior Analysts but I'm doing my part to help fix that!). I am talking about a type of "Alternative Therapy"...not HBOT or Infared Saunas, but things that bring smiles to kids faces and make them feel like everyone else. Surfing, baseball, swimming, sailing, kayaking all designed to help families with special needs kids experience thing they may not have the opportunity to.

Now, first and foremost, Surfers For Autism...my heroes!! This grassroots orghanization travels up and down Florida's coast bring the joy of surfing to these incredible kids. The surfers smiling as big as the kids and families...a truly moving experience!

Then there is Challenger Little League. Uniforms, helmets, and trophies provided free to all that participate. Kids get out and experience the feeling of running the bases, having fans cheer them on :)

Sunshine Swimmers is a group of local high school students that spend their Saturdays teaching kids how to swim (CRUCIAL in South Florida, as there is water everywhere and drowining is the #1 cause of death in children with ASDs). They are swim certified through The Dan Marino Center and do this out of the kindness of their hearts. Jack now swims like a fish and by the end of this session, Owen will be right there with him...say goodbye to the floaties!!

As I was watching them swim today, a mom gave me a flyer for Access H2O...a group that takes kids out sailing and kayaking once a month...we are going tomorrow :)

It is a sense of community, togetherness, and inclusion that makes my area a great place to live. For that, I am truly grateful <3

Reporting Live From The Scene of A Bio-Medical Intervention...

At times, I feel like a mad scientist. Hunched over sippy cups so they can't see me...adding a powders and liquids to juice, hoping that they can't smell/see/sense the stuff in there. These kids have the noses to be world renouned sommeliers ;) We have been GF/CF since November 2009, working in probiotics soon after. In May 2010, finally found a way to sneek Omegas. Jack takes a bunch of gummy vitamins and fiber...Owen won't. He puts them in his mouth, gets them wet and spits them out. I usually find them in his hair requiring a "snizzors" (as Onie calls them). We use melatonin to get to sleep and honestly i don't know where I would be if I hadn't discovered it.

Anyway...next step, Methyl B12 with folinic acid and N-Acetyl Cysteine. The mission began to find a local pharmacy to compound it into a liquid. Finally find one but the pharmacist tells me, "Oh you can't mix this with juice, they have to take it orally." What?? Excuse Me?? Ummm, OK if you say so...I can't do this, right?
I'm a Mom who spent ten months having to administer suppositories every few days so the kid wouldn't explode, this B12 will be a piece of cake....Right??

WRONG!!! Complete traumatic nightmare for all three of us involved. B12 is red, so combined with the spit and fighting me to get away, it looked like there was a crime scene in my bathroom every morning. Not a good way to start the day...

OK...next option, the shots. If they were diabetic, I would give them insulin so if this helps them, I gotta do it. Yesterday was their first dose. They ran around like maniacs for almost an hour and then, out of nowhere, they sat at the table and started to play with Toy Story figures...TOGETHER! Most of their play happens next to each other, but rarely is it real, genuine play WITH eachother. Their interactions are mostly physical...running, jumping, fighting ;) Talking, moving figures, acting out a scene (from Spongebob but WHATEVER!). I didn't make a peep, afraid I would rattle the energy and send them off to their own spaces. This went on for close to 15 minutes.

So, do I chalk it up to the B12?? I know it takes more than one, but maybe this is a good sign. They felt a little better. That is all I want...I just want them to feel better...so a shot in the ass every few nights it it :)

Funny, some people critize the shots. I say, it's vitamins...can't hurt them as bad as the ones that did this to them....