January, please leave!

Hi friends! I hope you are all staying safe and warm in this crazy month. I, along with everyone I know, is ready to heave January out the door and welcome in February. Ok actually, we would really like to welcome June, but you know, the calendar thing is pretty solid on how the months go.

As you know, we put our dog Molly down almost three weeks ago and we decided a week ago to start looking for another dog. Teddy seemed really sad and we thought it couldn't hurt to start looking. I am very particular when choosing a dog as having a son with Autism brings a whole bunch of things to think about (texture of fur, how how pitch the bark, size, etc) and we were in no hurry.

Then I got a text from a friend who had a friend who's Aunt was being put in a Nursing Home and they didn't know what to do with her 6 year old white shepherd, Bear. Bear and a cat had been raised by this elderly Aunt, and though he spent some time with neighbors, Bear is NOT used to the chaos of three kids and another Shep/Lab mix. I knew he was good with kids and other dogs, but I didn't stop to think that he has not spent much time around MEN.

Griffin and I went to look at him and Bear was afraid to get out of the car. This raised some flags for me because he is BIG and the last thing I needed was a big, scared dog. But we brought Teddy out of the van and they seemed to get along ok, so we said ok, we'll give it a go.

He is at least 85 lbs of love and fur. For those of you who aren't familiar with German Shepherds, they are great dogs but very protective. Bear very much took to me as being the older lady in the house and he loves Emily, too. He is very wary of the boys, though seems to do better with the boys then with Tom. If Tom ignores him, he will lay down next to him. He will let anyone pet him but will only come to me and Emily. I know it will take some time but I know he will be a great addition to this family.

It's an ironic twist because Molly and Tom were inseparable, and now Bear has adopted me and Teddy has become Tom's buddy. Jack has been great in respecting that Bear is a little afraid but Bear lets him pet him all the time. Seems like a great fit.

And he needs to lose some weight. Join the club, Bear.

Did I tell you I quit my Assisted Living job? Well, I did. I really was not enjoying it and it was killer getting up at 5am on Sunday's. I am in the process of looking for restaurant work Fri or Sat evenings as that is the experience I am lacking.

Emily starts in school driving class next week. Just that much closer to getting her license. YIKES.

Boys are doing well. Jack is doing so well at his new school and I try not to think about how misplaced he was at his old school. It makes me so mad that I have to put it on a shelf. I am reading a great book called Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm. It is an easy read and will make you cry. If you have family who doesn't understand what is going on with your Autistic child, this is a great read.

I have been going to Aldi and Meijer to do my shopping and I definitely feel that Meijer is way cheaper than Giant Eagle and has a much better produce selection.

Doing anything for Super Bowl Sunday? Yeah, us neither. But I am making a truck load of food so we can have left overs all weeks. I bought baby back ribs and will have to find out how to cook them. I usually get spareribs so this is new territory for me. I like a challenge.

Tom and I are doing well. He has been a real trooper staying home with the kids when they are off and my district is not. I haven't put on any weight but haven't lost any either. Darn you the last 10 lbs!! Though I suspect my body knew how crappy this winter would be and urged me to keep the weight on.

That's my story anyway.

Would love to hit 20 followers this year. Spread the word.

Gotta get Bear off my feet, throw Jack in the shower and get the dinner dishes done. Oh, maybe I could throw the dinner dishes in with Jack and he could wash them while taking a shower?? Ok, ewww.. maybe not.

Stay warm and safe friends!

Cat 

Spinning, stacking, sorting: Autism myths?

It is never my intention to offend anyone, as is the case in this blog. But I have been recently saddened and a little angry at how many young children (2 and 3 year old's) are being labeled Autistic due to spinning, sorting and stacking.

I belong to a great group on Facebook called Autism Mother's and it is no joke that just about every third post is about a young child being diagnosed Autistic because of the above criteria.

Short story on Jack: delays in speech, no eye contact, diagnosed Autistic at 3, re-diagnosed ADHD at 6, only to be evaluated again at 9: back to Autism. Looking back, I believe his speech delays were somewhat caused by the binkie that was in his mouth 24/7 (he had chronic ear pain till tubes, and the sucking soothed him). Could the lack of eye contact be because I literally took The Nick Jr slogan of "it's like pre-school for kids" a little too seriously and let him watch tv all the time? Why should he look me in the eye when he can look at Dora???

I will keep this brief.
Spinning: who doesn't like to spin? Remember being little and loving when your parents would grab you by the arms and spin you around? What about the Sit and Spin? Kids love that. How bout the Merry Go Round? All of these are popular because kids like to spin. Amusement parks: adult versions of spinning.

Stacking: from infancy, we teach kids how to stack blocks, round plastic donuts on a base. So why is it weird that my 3 year old would like to stack everything he can? I remember hours of Jack stacking and re-stacking my tupperware. Perhaps instead of being an oddity, this is what we are teaching our kids to do and just because they really enjoy doing it, shouldn't be frowned upon.

Sorting: again, this is something we teach our kids from a very young age. How to sort by shape, size, color, number, etc. Maybe sorting all the hot wheel cars into ones with yellow on them isn't so unusual. Perhaps that is the way Jack chose to sort this particular collection.

My point is: it seems like we are taking some normal things we are trying to teach our kids, and just because they do them to excess, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them. Maybe, at a young age, having some control over the way things are sorted, makes them feel more in control of their worlds.

Sometimes I feel Jack's diagnosis of Autism is wrong. I think he is developmentally delayed but capable of quite a bit. We caved all the time when he was little because he was the baby and we wanted him to stop banging his head on the wall. He has known how to play us for a long time. When he was little it was a matter of keeping him safe, now it is a matter of dealing with his frustration when we tell him no. We get better at it every day and he is learning, in leaps and bounds, how to NOT get what he wants.

I am not discounting any child who is diagnosed on the above three criteria, but as parents, look at what your 3 year old likes to do and should be doing. Remember, they have only been on the planet 3 years, they are not going to know how to use scissors, or skip, or do simple math. They are three, treat them as such.

Ok, enough out of me. Sorry, that was really bugging me today!!

Cat

Quick Update

Happy Sunday, friends! I hope everyone survived the week back to school and the warming temps.

It was a crazy week here with the two day delay, Jack starting his new school, two co-workers out with surgery and I have had a nasty sinus infection for about 4 days now.

Pile onto that our clothes dryer dying and having to put our dog of 14 years down, it has been an very exhausting week.

On the up side, Tom was able to fix the dryer with a $31 part and we know our pup is in a better place. Teddy, our 11 year old lab/shep mix seems to be enjoying the extra attention he is getting and doesn't seem to notice that Molly is not always barking at him. Or maybe he does notice and is relieved she has passed.

I spent $60 at Aldi and $40 at Meijer on Friday with the intention of getting thru about 3 days but I will be able to stretch that into at least Tuesday. I am going to stop at Subway today to get the boys subs for this weeks lunch (we cut them into thirds so you get three lunches for $5. Way cheaper than school lunch). I know shopping at Meijer has been cheaper than Giant Eagle, even though I miss the fuel perks.

Today may wield a trip to Walmart: Griff needs either new basketball shoes or a pair of tennis shoes to wear to school. He only has about a month of basketball left but his shoes are losing tread. I think we will get him a new cheap pair of basketball shoes and he can wear his old ones to school.

Jack needs pants, too. His new favorite thing to do is slide down the stairs on his knees. You can only imagine how many times it takes before the holes start showing up.

Laundry on tap, taking Teddy for a walk, football and crockpot french dip sandwiches for dinner. Sandwiches are a great, inexpensive dinner item. Pair it with a salad and chips or fries and you have a meal that makes everyone happy.

I am praying this week brings some normalcy and NO SNOW. I hope you all have a great week!!

Cat

What I've been up to....

The kids and I have been off a ridiculously long amount of time.

Really long.

Like, I don't remember what I am supposed to do at work when I go in tomorrow.

That's a long time to be away.

But as promised, here are some snap shots of the cooking I did yesterday:

Greek salad for lunch

Soup on the left is tomato and corn, soup on the right is noodle soup for the kids

Honey and balsamic roasted chicken thighs. Used the left overs to make chicken salad for the rest of this week

Tom, Jack and Teddy. Making the most of the cold

I am so glad we are all going back to school tomorrow. Tomorrow is Jack's first day at his Autism school and I am hopeful that this will be a major bonus to all of our lives. He is capable of so much, hoping we found a place to tap into that. He is excited so I am excited for him.

And really nervous, too.

I hope you all are staying warm. Be sure to check on your neighbors, too.

Here's to going back to school and new starts for all of us!

Cheers,
Cat

Shopping trip number two

With the pending White Death Storm of 2014 heading our way, I moved up my Aldi shopping trip by one day to Saturday. I guess it was a good thing I did but boy, the shelves were bare and I have NEVER seen so many people in there at one time.

I spent $56.04 which brings my total to $119.88 for a family of 5. With the weather being so cold, and the kids and I are off today and most likely tomorrow, I am going to do a thorough pantry and freezer sweep. I am hoping to not go to the store until the end of the week like I usually do.

I hope you are staying warm and safe where you are. This has been one heck of a winter that started in October for us here in Central Ohio!!

I'll post some pics on my blog about what kind of creative meals I have made with what I have on hand. Going to keep it simple.

Happy Monday Friends!!

Cat

2014: Will it and it will

Happy 2014 Friends!!

I hope you all had a great Holiday and a wonderful New Year celebration.

We did something very uncharacteristic of our family: we traveled over break. 

More specifically, we went to Chicago when they had the worst snow of the century.

Danger is our middle name.

We made it there and back ok, though the getting back was the hard part.

But, I think the whole experience is one the kids will never forget:

First cab ride

Seeing Soldier Field, Trump and Tribune Towers, going to Shedd Aquarium, deep dish pizza, seeing the city streets raise to let boats thru.

These are all big experiences to kids, especially when you live in the Midwest.

Next time we go will be a summer trip. There was so much we didn't do because of the weather, but it was a trip none of us will forget.

I don't do New Year's resolutions, do you? I used to but it seemed like I was putting so much pressure on myself to do something that was quite possibly unattainable (lose  100 lbs in 4 minutes, climb Mt. Fuji). You get the idea.

Of course this year I will continue with my effort to lose weight (I really made NO effort last year, though I didn't gain any, I sure didn't put my health first), eat cleaner and help my family enjoy more fresh and less processed foods. 

With the above notion, I am switching up the way I do my grocery shopping. I was killing myself to make a weeks worth of menu's for all three meals and snacks and it always seemed liked I had a lot of food left over. I go to the grocery store what seems like every day now anyway, so I am going to make my lists based on three days at a time, with one big Aldi's shopping day on my way home from work on Sunday's. 

I am going to keep track of how much I spend and if it I am spending more this way, not wasting as much food, etc.

So here's my receipt from today

Went to Meijer for this trip. My total was 83.84 but I am going to subtract $20 from that bcz I had to buy a new coffee maker, ours died New Year's Eve morning.

So, first total is $63.84

We'll see how it goes.

I will post every time I go to the store. Aren't you lucky?

Have any meal planning tips you want to share?

I got an immersion blender for Christmas, so there will be a lot of soups in our future, and maybe smoothies if I can get the kids to drink them.

Right now soup sounds good, crazy cold here.

Ok gang, you all take care. I am off to get on the elliptical for a bit. I have a trial of Netflix and I am hoping watching something while I am on my elliptical will take the sting out of my workouts. If it does, it is worth the $8 a month!!

Happy New Year's and thanks for reading!

Cat